Click here to get to know who is who in the next USA Presidential Elections of 2016
On this site, below each picture, you'll see a link-sentence: What ...(name)....would need to do to win.
Click there and read a little more about the candidates.
On this site, below each picture, you'll see a link-sentence: What ...(name)....would need to do to win.
Click there and read a little more about the candidates.
Hello, dearest students.
Hope you are all fine.
Let's warm up the cold weather in September by taking part in this discussion. Everyone knows how important the American economy is to us and the choice of the right president will make a big difference to all of us. Do you agree with me?
So, I propose this post in order to have your view on the American candidates and discuss which ones - Democratic or Republican - will be better for the USA as well as Brazil and the rest of the world.
FYI, this is the US map by states supporting either party:
FYI, this is the US map by states supporting either party:
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| The blue states are Democratic and the red ones, Republican |
Below, you'll see some links which will guide you to the following topics:
1) How the American presidential election system works - It's worth to discuss it in class.
2) Watch the Republican Debate of Sep. 16, 2015. - Choose the ones you feel will have more chances to win.
3) Democrats' Debate - Part I - Introduction
Democrats' Debate - Part II
Democrats' Debate - Part III - Guns
Democrats' Debate - Part IV - Iraq
Democrats' Debate - Part V - Benghazi.Libya
Democrats' Debate - Part VI - Clinton's email problems
Democrats'Debate - Part VII - Government credibility on Clinton's email
Democrats' Debate - Part VIII - Wall Street Crash
Democrats'Debate - Part IX - Financial Sector
Democrats' Debate - Part X - Obama Care
Democrats'Debate - Part XI - Why should Democrats embrace a political insider + Climate Change
Democrats'Debate - Part XII - Paid family leave + Legalization of recreational marijuana
Democrats' Debate - Part XIII - Which enemy are you mostly proud of?
Democrats' Debate - Closing statements
Democrats' Debate - Closing statements
In class, I'll discuss your choices and then, later, you'll write your comment here in order for your virtual friend to read it and comment on it, afterwards.
Let's make the best use of this blog to boost your English practice!!
Count on your hot participation!
Flávia
Hello, everyone.
ResponderExcluirI'm Regiane, an elementary school teacher.
I watched the Republican candidates' debate. I had some difficulty to understand it, but I could see that Carly Fiorina is well-prepared because she has a good notion of the country reality, she didn't look like racist or discriminatory when talking about immigration.
On the other hand, Donald Trump was very racist and xynophobic when talking about the Mexican people. In my opinion, if he were the President of the USA, he would cause many problems for immigrants. Besides, he would put the world in a conflicting situation.
I prefer a politician to an administrrator to run the USA presidency, because politicians will think more about the people's needs, not thinking about personal interest.
I would like Hillary Clinton to win the elections because she's very experienced politically. She worked side by side with Obama, and to me, he was an excellent president to the USA and she could continue his ideals.
Do you agree with me? Who do you think will win the presidential elections?
Bye-bye and I would like to know your opinion.
Hi, I am Monique and I am a physicist.
ResponderExcluirI watched only the first 30-40 minutes of the republican debate. In this part they mainly discussed the role/importance of an outsider as a president and foreign affairs.
Putting aside the fact that Trump is plain stupid, I think it is important to know the details of a presidential job before taking one. As an outsider, Trump or Fiorina lack this basic knowledge.
In respect to the argument that because they are not politicians they will not think of their own interests when making a decision, I believe this is purely naive. If you are a human being, you think of your own interests all the time and I don´t believe anyone is immune to that.
Regarding the foreign affairs, I don´t feel confident to say what should or should not be the best solution for them; however, in my opinion, any radiacal view in a world so connected as ours is unbelievably absurd.
Everybody has much to lose when sactions and war are concerned. Therefore, a more moderate view on how to deal with difficult issues makes much more sense.
Thus, I made my black list of candidates so far:
Ted Cruz, Scott Walker and Carly Fiorina.
let´s see when I finish watching the rest, who will be added to the list. Maybe all of them: ;)
So, do you agree with me guys?
Cheers
Hi, My name is Vitor and I'm bank clerk, in the investment area.
ResponderExcluirMonique, I believe you are so disappointed with political issues because of our situation here in Brazil. However, I think politicians in US are more concerned about the society welfare and life quality. On the other hand, I agree with your black list.
Like Monique, I watched the beginning of the Republican debate, and I was shocked how the majority of the candidates, for example Rubio, Fiorina and Walker, wanted to intervene in the Middle East conflicts.
>
> Many candidates want to strengthen US forces in the conflict area, like Iran, and try to solve the problems by killing the terrorists. In my opinion, it will increase the problem because the terrorists will try to attack America again.
>
> There are few candidates that want to solve the problems peacefully. In my point of view, this is the best way. I know it is very difficult, but the world leaders should talk in the United Nations to find solutions without war.
>
> Another important subject in the debate is if a business man is prepared to be the US president. To me, a business man, like Trump or Fiorina, could be a very good politician; however, I think they should begin in another situation, for example, as a congressman. They should get some diplomatic experience before running for the presidential elections.
>
> On the other hand, politicians always think about their own interests before the citizens' interests. Maybe a successful business man, who should be very rich, thinks about how to increase the quality of life in the country.
Whose approach about the conflicts in the Middle East do you think is the best? Do you prefer a politician or a business person for the next president?
Hello, my name is Victor and I´m a law student.
ResponderExcluirI agree with Regiane and Vitor, because I think that a President of US should have some political experience before taking over this high position.
I have watched the discussion between Jeff Bush and Mike Huckbee about gay marriage and the county clerk case, which is about a clerk in Kentucky who was jailed to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. The main topic was about if this kind of case should be worked out in a local or federal instance.
In my opinion, as we are talking about a constitutional legislation, this kind of decision should be part of a federal domain, and not of Kentucky legislation.
Although, the clerk Kim Davis is a religious person with the right of freedo. of speech, she should respect and comply with the legislation. Therefore, she has to be punished as anyone else that disrespects the law.
What is your view on this?
Bye, hope to see your opinion in the future.
Hello, Victor. My name is Vitor.
ExcluirI agree with you that everybody should comply with the law, independent of religious issues. It's impossible to judge each person by a different law.
If the majority of the population in Kentucky is against gay marriage, they should come up with local legislation to adjust to the state beliefs, in opposition to the federal law.
Do you agree with me?
Hello, my name is Mariana and I work in Internal Control and Compliance in a bank.
ResponderExcluirAs I watched the beginning of the debate, I'd like to compare two candidates that impressed me in a bad way:
The first is Donald Trump, and I agree with Regiane because he is very descriminatory and I don't think he has a presidential behavior. The second one is Carly Fiorina as she is very direct and has an opinion on every issue. On the other had, she is very inflexible because she refuses to speak with Putin about his belic maneuvers in Syria.
I agree with Victor in respect of who will be more qualified to be president, who already have previous political experience.
Do you agree with me?
Regards,
Hello, my name is Mariana and I work in Internal Control and Compliance in a bank.
ResponderExcluirAs I watched the beginning of the debate, I'd like to compare two candidates that impressed me in a bad way:
The first is Donald Trump, and I agree with Regiane because he is very descriminatory and I don't think he has a presidential behavior. The second one is Carly Fiorina as she is very direct and has an opinion on every issue. On the other had, she is very inflexible because she refuses to speak with Putin about his belic maneuvers in Syria.
I agree with Victor in respect of who will be more qualified to be president, who already have previous political experience.
Do you agree with me?
Regards,
It´s Mariana again! As I work in the financial area, I chose the democrat debate (Part VIII - Wall Street Crash and Part IX - Financial Sector) to watch.
ResponderExcluirWhereas the Democrats showed more experience in politics, the Republicans seemed unprepared in relation to their strategies to the big companies and banks.
They knowingly debate about the laws those companies need to comply with, for example Dodd Frank (Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act) and Glass Steagall (regulate the financial operation within the commercial banks and securities firms).
In my opinion, Hillary Clinton seemed more prepared because she has plans and strategies for each issue that came up. However, the other candidates didn´t explain exactly the ways they will develop their ideas.
Do you have any other idea or point of view?
Hello again, this is Victor the law student.
ResponderExcluirI watched the democrats debate, in particular the part they discuss how the legislation has to deal with gun manufacturing and selling, which is a really important and dangerous topic.
In my opinion, Sanders was so radical when he said that everybody in US has a mental problem and should undergo a treatment. However, I have to admit that his idea is better than nothing. Therefore, it is a beginning to turn the scenario around, because the gun shops would investigate the person that wants to buy a gun before selling it; otherwise, if something happens the gun shop will be liable for it.
Nevertheless, by the recent murders in the US, I believe the safest action is to prohibit selling guns in a federal instance. Therefore, with this action, more lives would be preserved.
If you watched the same part, do you agree with me ?
My name is Marcelo Chincoa, but please call me Chincoa. I work at Itau-Unibanco in the IT area (Governance).
ExcluirMy view on Gun shops in the world is a big problem, due to the black market. So, in relation to Victor´s opinion I agree with him on a federal legistation, but I guess this is a hard path, because in the USA the state laws are different from each other.
See you around
Best,
Me again, Chincoa!!
ResponderExcluirNow I'll talk about Marijuana! It's part 12 in the debate.
Sanders agrees on the recreational use of Marijuana, thus people should not be penalized and not go to jail, whereas a lot of CEOs walk away ("like the case of Petrobras"). On the other hand, Hillary believes in the only use for medical purpose and agrees with Sanders' position of freeing young drug users of any punishment.
I my opinion, both are correct, but it´s necessary to change the concept about drug users in general not in relation to young people. For example, education is always the first step.
Virtual colleagues, please give us your opinion on this issue.
Cheers.
See you soon.
Hi, my name is Vitor from Itau too.
ExcluirLike Chicoa, to me marijuana should be allowed for all purposes. If cigarettes are allowed, why no t marijuana? The legalization of this kind of drugs would reduce the drug trafficking and probably reduce the criminality.
For example, in Portugal, drug use (any drug: cocaine, heroin, methaphetamine, etc.) has been decriminalized for 14 years and the number of users has been reduced since then. To educate the population, anyone that is addicted to any drug is sent to a Commission for the Dissuasion of Drug Addiction (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/10/17/getting-a-fix). Each panel consists of three members—usually a lawyer or a judge, a doctor, and a psychologist or a social worker. This commission checks if the user must seek treatment, pay a fee, or do nothing.
It's difficult to know if this commission will work in the US, because of the culture of American citizens in relation to a Europen way of life, as they are more concerned about health care and eating habits - different from Americans.
What Americans should do to educate the population about drugs? What next president should do?
This is Victor, as a law student, I believe that U.S should decriminilize marijuana for medical and for recreational use, due to the fact the experiences that Netherlands and Portugal had had were so beneficial to everyone of all groups, because of the reduction of consumption.
ExcluirIn addition, I agree with Vitor because teenagers in US are so close to drugs, as I could see when I lived there for 4 months. Therefore, that Portuguese commission would be really important and helpful to assist them some how to deal with each particular case.
Do you agree with me ?