Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee expressed his dislike of the Iran Nuclear Deal in an interview on Saturday. He compared his forecast of the deal to the Holocaust, saying that Obama’s deal will ultimately “take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven.” Huckabee’s stance against the Iran Deal is very different from his foreign policy back in 2008 when he was also running for president. At that time, Huckabee had argued for engaging with Iran rather than confronting the country. He argued that the US should approach containment when it came to Iraq, because if “we do not put other options on the table, eventually a military strike will become the only viable one.” Huckabee’s new position on approaching Iran makes us wonder - do you think Huckabee is sincerely making these comments or just trying to make headlines?
Should all 16 GOP candidates be allowed to participate in the first Republican debate?
The first Republican debate is a week and a half away, and according to the rules declared by Fox News, only the top 10 candidates (as determined by the five most recent national polls) will be allowed on stage. There are currently 16 Republican presidential candidates, which is a historically high number. While logistically, this decision seems smart and will allot enough speaking time to the chosen candidates, many argue that the rule is unfair. Cur Anderson, a consultant on Bobby Jindal’s campaign, has voiced his disapproval, stating that “The Republican Party should be looking forward instead of backward - and seeking every opportunity to feature its roster of excellent candidates, rather than trying to find ways to constrict the field." His employee, Jindal, happens to be one of the candidates that probably will not make it onto the stage. What do you think about this debate policy?
Rick Perry wants to address the Lafayette Shooting by allowing people to bring guns into theaters. Agree?
On CNN, Rick Perry was asked what he thought the government can do to keep guns out of the hands of people with mental and emotional problems. “I think we have the laws in place,” replied Perry. “There were individuals that I think, somewhere, somebody didn’t do their job in the standpoint of enforcing the laws that are on the books.” He then stated that “I would suggest that the concept of gun-free zones are a bad idea,” explaining, “I believe that, with all my heart, that if you have the citizens who are well trained, and particularly in these places that are considered to be gun-free zones, that we can stop that type of activity, or stop it before there’s as many people that are impacted as what we saw in Lafayette.” Do you believe that Perry is correct?
Does tweaking politically sensitive movie scenes compromise creative integrity for film companies?
It was revealed in emails leaked by hackers that Sony altered a couple of scenes in its new movie, “Pixels,” to avoid the censors in China. According to Times, China has the policy of censoring content that “disparages the government, endangers national unity or harms public morale.” To ensure the release of “Pixels” in China, a growing consumer of movies, Sony decided to alter a scene in which the aliens in “Pixels” strike a hole in the Great Wall of China. They also changed another scene in which China was suggested to be a suspect to the attack and referred to as “Communist-conspiracy brother” in another cyberattack. Sony avoided these politically sensitive scenes to ensure that the film would be played in China - but do you think they compromised their creative integrity in doing so?
How likely would the release of Jonathan Pollard ease tensions between the US and Israel?
The Justice Department has announced that Jonathan Pollard, a U.S. intelligence analyst who was convicted of selling secrets to Israel, is eligible for mandatory parole in early November. This news comes at a time when US and Israel relations are tense: Israel has been very vocal about their dislike of the US’s recent nuclear deal with Iran. Would the US’s release of Pollard help improve its relationship with Israel?
Did Obama do a good job of defending the Iran Nuclear Deal on ‘The Daily Show’?
On Tuesday, President Obama made his last appearance on 'The Daily Show' with Jon Stewart as the host. One of the topics he discussed was the Iran Nuclear Deal. Watch him talk to Jon Stewart about the deal below and let us know what you think!
Who wins - John McCain's or Donald Trump's kids?
Both John McCain’s kids and Donald Trump’s kids have responded to the backlash Trump has received after commenting that McCain is “not a war hero.” In his comments on Saturday, Trump said, “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” McCain’s daughter, Meghan McCain, told Megyn Kelly on Monday, “This is one of the grossest, most disgusting comments I’ve ever heard which is really saying something. I’m 30 years old. And it’s because it’s not just an attack on my father, it’s an attack on all veterans and it’s an attack on all POWs.” Her brother Jack was also asked his opinion on the matter. “Donald Trump has to understand he’s running to be the commander in chief of the United States military,” Jack said. “When you’re doing so, if an individual gets rolled up and becomes a prisoner of war, then is he going to abandon them simply because he doesn’t like people who are captured?"
In defense of their father, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump made a joint statement. “Our father, Donald J. Trump is a true visionary and a great mentor,” the Trumps said. “He is a brilliant negotiator with a proven track record of getting things done. Most importantly, he is an incredible dad and role model. He raised us to work hard and strive for excellence in all that we do.” Who wins this round of “Defending Our Fathers”?
Hillary Clinton is losing ground in key swing states. Should she be worried?
According to new Quinnipiac university polls released on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton is trailing behind three leading GOP candidates, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and Scott Walker, in three key swing states. These states, Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia, have preferred the GOP candidates over Clinton in hypothetical general-election matchups. Should Clinton be worried?
Better social media diss? Lindsey Graham or Katy Perry?
In reaction to Donald Trump revealing his phone number to the public, Lindsey Graham posted a YouTube video titled “How to Destroy Your Cell Phone With Sen. Lindsey Graham.” In the video, we see the senator destroying his flip phone in various ways. “And if all else fails, you can always give your number to the Donald,” Graham says at the end of the video. He then proceeds to throw his phone off-screen after adding, “This is for all the veterans.” His last statement is a jab at Trump’s statement about Senator John McCain last week, when the business mogul said that the senator was not a war hero because he liked people who weren’t captured.
Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift had a bit of a Twitter argument on Wednesday (although both have cleared up their apparent misunderstandings since). Insert Katy Perry into the situation, who has had bad blood with Swift after she hired Swift’s backup dancers in the middle of the popstar’s tour and Swift retaliated with her viral music video “Bad Blood.” Perry weighed in on the Minaj and Swift twitter conversation by sending a general tweet: “Finding it ironic to parade the pit women against other women argument about as one unmeasurably capitalizes on the take down of a woman.” Perry’s tweet is quite clearly targeted towards Swift, who had tweeted Minaj “I’ve done nothing but love & support you. It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot..” See the tweets below to understand the whole situation.
Let us know: Who do you think made the better diss?
How much will Bernie Sanders’ reaction to the #BlackLivesMatter movement hurt him?
During Bernie Sanders’ appearance at Netroots Nation on Saturday, #BlackLivesMatter confronted the candidate about racial injustice in the US. The #BlackLivesMatter began as a response to the deaths of black men and women at the hands of police officers. The activists were also chanting #SayHerName, in response to the suspicious deaths of black women while in police custody (including Sandra Band, an educated woman with no criminal record). They asked Sanders what he would do to stop racial inequality in America, to which Sanders replied, “Black lives of course matter. But I’ve spent 50 years of my life fighting for civil rights. If you don’t want me to be here, that’s okay.”
The activists continued to chant while Sanders attempted to continue his prepared speech, leading the candidate to raise his voice over the crowd at times. Sanders, who marched with Martin Luther King Jr., has a history of fighting for civil rights. But, he is criticized by the #BlackLivesMatter activists for believing that racial inequality is a symptom of economic inequality, and fixing the latter will fix the former as well. Sanders later skipped his meeting with the #BlackLivesMatter activists. He did go on Twitter later and tweet about #BlackLivesMatter and #SayHerName, as you can see below. Overall, do you think Sanders’ campaign will be hurt by how he reacted to this entire situation?