Budget Deficit Hits Record

The budget deficit hit a record, but what do we do now?

The deficit for fiscal year 2009, which ended Sept. 30, came in at a record $1.42
trillion, more than triple the record set just last year. In addition, future deficits are currently projected to total $9.1 trillion in the coming decade.

As a result of the budget deficit hitting a record, many republicans are saying Obama's health care plan is spending money we don't have.

It is hard to say what Obama should do. It takes spending to keep an economy going, but how do we know when to stop spending and where to cut back?

Going Solar

In Illinois a solar plant is being built. Next year this plant will be able to power over 1500 hundred homes. Other plants are also being built in Illinois. This state is seizing the head start that is available to every state by requiring 1/4 of it's energy to be from renewable resources by 2025. To me that seems a long ways away. If Illinois began building power plants continuously and promoted it enough, I believe this goal could be achieved by 2020, or even 2015. The cost of these solar panels is mentioned and said to be very high, but if a person were to purchase solar panels for their home, the panels would pay for themselves over time because of how cheap the electric bills would become. If every state, or the country, set a goal like Illinois did, we would be well on our way to completely clean energy.

Obama Confronts North Korea

Obama with the president of South Korea, Lee Myung-bak

On president Obama's recent visit to Asia, he stopped in North Korea, and had this to say regarding the nation

"If North Korea is prepared to take concrete and irreversible steps to fulfill its obligations and eliminate its nuclear weapons program, the United States will support economic assistance and help promote its full integration into the community of nations," Obama said. "That opportunity and respect will not come with threats. North Korea must live up to its obligations."

I think it is great that Obama is actually taking steps to encourage North Korea to be involved in the "community of nations", or at least be willing to negotiate. Also, I agree that if North Korea said they'd get rid of their nukes, then they should. But if other nations aren't, and we aren't, then why should they have to? While I don't think that nukes should be used ever, if one nation has them, shouldn't everyone be allowed to?

DC Sniper Put to Death

The issue of this sniper who killed 10 people in 2008 is a confusing one. It is confusing to me because many said he was insane, but he was still put to death.

Lawyer Jonathan Sheldon told the BBC's World Today: "A psychiatrist examined him and said he's paranoid and psychotic and delusional and gave many examples."

Mr Sheldon also said brain scans of Muhammad had revealed malformations linked to schizophrenia.

The fact that he maintained innocence seems crazy in itself.
I can understand why they would want to put someone who killed 10 innocent people to death, but it is my belief that if someone is mentally ill, they should go to a mental hospital.
In any event, I can only hope that those affected by the sniper killing have been able to achieve some sort of peace.

Tweet your weight?

Ahh, as if technology wasn't ridiculous enough: meet the twitter-equipped scale. That's right. This scale automatically updates your weight on twitter, it's supposed to "motivate" you?

What's next for Withings? An app to let the Twitterverse know how much debt you're carrying? How about a public questionnaire to rate how far you are from achieving your life dreams?

Good call. It just goes to show you how completely open the world is. It seems like nothing is private anymore, and people are doing whatever they can to make sure it stays that way.

Cell Phone VS. Your Brain

not only is it increasing your risk of brain tumors, it's in your pocket!

We've all heard that the use of cell phones causes brain cancer, or some form of that rumor... but how strong is the evidence? Well, many recent studies have been conducted and seem to support the theory that long-term cell phone use increases your risk of cancer, for whatever reason. A batch of people were interviewed, some with brain tumors and some without. They were asked questions regarding the use of cellular devices, such as how many years they've had one. There seems to be a correlation between those with brain tumors, and those who have used cell phones for many years. I am always skeptical, so I was glad to see the experiments were reliable:

The eight strongest studies made sure the investigators did not know which participants had tumors when they conducted the interviews about cell phone use, and they did not receive funding from industry groups.

However whether the people remember accurately how long they've been using their cell phone is uncertain. Unfortunately, since it isn't know exactly how cell phones cause brain tumors, the evidence isn't very useful. Just in case, I would say one should keep their child from getting a cell phone as long as they can, and use a land line as much as possible. The suggested method is to just reduce your overall exposure to the phone on your head.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell... Even if it Costs Us 2 Million...

CNN published a story about a man who was discharged under the policy of "don't ask, don't tell". I think, and have always thought, that this policy is absolutely degrading to gays in the military, forced to keep one of the biggest part of their lives a total secret from their friends.
In this story, Darren Manzella had served two tours in Iraq before he began receiving threatening emails and phone calls, saying he was going to be discharged. He went to his supervisor for advice. His supervisor reported him, but he still served another term in Iraq with fellow soldiers knowing he was gay. It wasn't until he went on television and did an interview about being a gay man in the military that he was officially discharged. His discharge papers read "homosexual conduct admission". But he didn't display any homosexual conduct whatsoever. He had a partner at home, not in the military. But here is the most ridiculous statistic:

Since don't ask, don't tell was introduced, the military has discharged more than 13,000 lesbians, gays and bisexuals, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. A 2005 government report found that about 800 of them had skills deemed "critical," such as engineering and linguistics, and that it cost the military about $200 million to recruit and train their replacements.

So, the military wants openly gay people out of the service so bad that they are willing to pay 2 million dollars to do it? This is absolutely heinous.
Obama said he would end "don't ask, don't tell". Okay Obama... I'm waiting...

Flu Shot causes Dystonia in a rare case

A redskins cheerleader Desiree Jennings went in for her seasonal flu shot which she had received before. However, this time was different. Ten days after the shot she began to experience flu-like symptoms that only seemed to worsen. Her speech and movement was impaired greatly and she would black out for periods of time. As it turns out, Desiree became afflicted with Dystonia, a rare neurological condition.
Desiree cannot walk a single step without convulsing violently as a result of muscle spasms. Strangely enough however, when Desiree runs or walks backwards, she can talk normally and doesn't stumble at all. Doctors have no idea why this is, but it may be connected that she was an avid runner before she was diagnosed with Dystonia.
Desiree's case was literally one in a million, but I'm not sure I will go in for a flu shot, It's a scary risk to take.

No legally binding agreement, says UK

WORLD LEADERS: MAKE THE CLIMATE CALL

Isn't time we deal with the climate crisis?

Two years ago, the world's governments vowed to finalise a new treaty at next month's climate summit in Copenhagen.

Hurray! Something is finally going to happen! Right...? Well, not necessarily.
The UK government has recently said that a legally binding agreement would probably not be possible, but that they will come up with a political agreement regarding how to deal with the climate crisis. I don't even know what that would entail, but like Climate Secretary Ed Miliband says,

"...I'll be completely clear about this: I think an agreement without numbers is not a great agreement. In fact it's a wholly inadequate agreement."

I'm with Ed on this one. Anyone can say, "I promise to not be bad anymore", which they did...

"China has published a five-year plan, India has published proposals, as has Brazil - and a few weeks ago Indonesia said it would cut the rate of growth of emissions by 40%, doing 26% of that by itself (without outside aid),"

...But that doesn't mean they will actually do it. They should be able to at least start something small. They need to set boundaries for the leading nations! They do believe that within the next 6 months something will be created, which I hope is the case.
We don't have much time.

Senate cuttin' some slack to the unemployed

Many college graduates with majors from prestigious schools are turning to minimum-wage customer service jobs as a last resort. 

Today, Senate voted to extend benefits to those unemployed up to 20 weeks. 

I completely agree with the vote which passed unanimously, 98-0. 

The bill is going to be brought to the house floor as soon as possible,

The bill would then move to the White House for the president's signature. Last week, the administration said it supports extending benefits.

This is crucial for those who are unemployed, and whose only source of income for their family is the unemployment check.

Some 7,000 unemployed Americans run out of benefits each day, according to the National Employment Law Project.

If we are going to spend money on anything, it should be this.
However if the benefits are extended to greatly, the risk is run of people depending on the check and deciding that searching for a job just isn't worth it. However, I feel this isn't likely to occur, since most people are taking any jobs available, despite their profession. Hopefully this will get unemployed americans through until the day where more and more jobs are available. 

Virginians Vote Republican

The voting in the gubernatorial election of Virginia took place today. Many people say that they are voting republican because of Obama.  

Tim Kaine (D) four years ago but switched to Republican this year to cast a ballot for McDonnell. The reason? "Obama," he said. "I came to vote against the policies going on in Washington."

I hope that this man voted based on the policies of McDonnell, not the fact that McDonnell is a republican. I don't know how much the governor of Virginia will be able to change what Obama is doing federally, but it doesn't seem as if he would make a huge impact. 

The bottom line, people are angry that Obama has not made the changes he promised, and it isn't just in Virginia, it is everywhere. I can hardly believe it has been a year, since so little has been done. Maybe the  Virginian governor will provide the change everyone is seeking.

"Free" Credit Report

You've all seen those commercials for free credit reports... they've got catchy jingles and it is clear they're trying to be "hip" and  "cool"

But are they too good to be true? They claim that it is completely free, and New York Times has uncovered that this may not be the case, unless you read the fine print. 

What happens, is that when sign up for Freecreditreport.com, you are automatically signed up for a "credit monitoring system", which is around 18 dollars a month. Most people who sign up, get their credit report, and then see strange charges on their credit cards.

So, be cautious when signing up for anything online, make sure to look very carefully.  

Abortion: Should the Government Fund It?

One of the major disputes in the health care bill debate right now is the issue of abortion. The fight is to decide whether abortion should be covered by government health care programs or not.
I believe that they should, personally. Without a doubt, it seems like it would be covered for rape victims or other serious situations, but I think it should be covered in general.
That is simply my opinion, because I am highly pro-choice. Sometimes it seems as if people against abortion think that having it covered by the government will increase the amount of abortions people get. That isn't neccesarily true, because if a girl went to planned parenthood, she could get an abortion for no charge and not have to tell anyone else about it.
This issue seems the same as gay marriage to me, because it is an issue based on personal belief or religion. I once heard someone in my English class say "people who have no morals, like people who get abortions...". This person obviously wouldn't support government coverage of abortions. Either way, a decision has to be made, and my opinion is pro-choice.

Bicycle Programs Jeopardized

A Velib Bicycle station

In Europe there are a huge number of places that rent out bikes for a cheap price. It is a great way to encourage people to ride bikes rather than drive a car, or even take a bus. The bikes are wonderfully custom made and cost 3,500 each to make.

Used mainly for commuting in the urban core of the city, the Vélib’ ’
program is by many measures a success. After swiping a credit card for a deposit
at an electronic docking station, a payment of one euro per day, or 29 euro an
annual pass, gives the rider unlimited access to the bikes for 30 minute periods
that can be extended for a small fee.

Unfortunately, this program has hit a lot of problems. These rental bikes
are being stolen, sold on the black market, left on sides of roads, and
vandalized, costing the bike rental places thousands of dollars.

With 80 percent of the initial 20,600 bicycles stolen or damaged, the
program’s organizers have had to hire several hundred people just to fix
them.

The country and city has been paying a lot to keep the program going. I believe it is worth it if people start being more respectful of the bikes.

So, despite the increasing costs, the city and JCDecaux are pressing on. The
company invested about $140 million to set up the Vélib’ system and provides a
yearly fee of about $5.5 million to Paris, which also receives rental fees for
the bikes. In return, its 10-year contract allows it to put up 1,628 billboards
that it can rent.

I can't imagine something like this program working in San Francisco or Los Angeles. It seems the damage would be exponentially worse. Best of luck, France.

Save Small Shops

I am someone who really loves shopping at small independent and thrift stores. However, their prices are usually much higher than "big-box" stores such as Wal-Mart and Target. In places like Target, you can find everything you need in one place, and therefore it is much more convenient to just go there. But, if I'm looking for good, hand-made merchandise for gifts or for myself I love little stores. I've recently been trying more than ever to shop small-business. It would be a sad world if all my shopping had to be done at "big-box" stores. Sure Target is cheaper, but is it worth it to sacrifice quality for price?

Sometimes I Just Wonder...

What goes through people's minds sometimes?
Last Friday in Carroll, Iowa, police received a call about a robbery. They found a vehicle that matched the description of the caller and pulled the car over. And what they found in the car was a little bit ridiculous. They found the robbers, still in their disguises...

I am literally speechless. Apparently they were both under the influence of alcohol, which sort of explains it. However they also received drunk driving charges on top of the attempted burglary. I often see people and the phrase "Dumb as we want to be", comes to mind. In this case what comes to mind is the word "Dumb". It often saddens me how much people underestimate the intelligence and, well, common sense of law enforcement.

The Social Security Game

Today, the full retirement age for claiming Social Security benefits is 66. Anyone can start taking benefits at 62, but those who do will get a monthly benefit that is 25 percent lower than what the full benefit would have been at 66.Waiting longer than 66 increases the benefit by 8 percent a year.

It is a strange system indeed. The longer you wait, the bigger check you get (I guess because you're expected to croak sooner?). So people have been "playing" the game by going as long as they can without the check to get a bigger total when they do get it. I hate to imagine, though, peoples grandmothers and grandfathers who have serious medical problems trying to work for as long as they possibly can to get more money in the long run. 

Also, this just in, apparently social security won't disappear when the money is up.
There are financial shortfalls predicted, but the program is not going to disappear. Unfortunately nothing in the article specifically said what will happen.

Whatever happens, I just pray to the universe that me and my parents won't have to work until we're 80 years old. 

Capitalism is my Friend

Capitalism is an economic system that has been globally debated time and time again. Those against capitalism say it is a system based on greed, but looking deeper into the system, one sees how capitalism is beneficial.
Many say that in capitalism one man gains at the expense of another. However, man does not profit off the loss of his fellow men, rather he gains from helping and serving his fellow men. For example, a doctor would not make money if he consistently made mistakes at his practice, he would lose business and money. So, if someone is driven by greed, they will help those in need to get the disposable income they desire.

Disposable income can only exist in a progressive economy, such as capitalism. Ludwig Von Mises

As Ludwig Von Mises states "If one were to prevent doctors from occasionally earning high fees, one would not increase but rather decrease the number of those choosing the medical profession". What Von Mises is saying is that people are driven to pursue certain careers because of the good salary they know that they will earn. If doctors made the same amount of money as librarians, then many people wouldn't go through the extra years of schooling to become a doctor. Many will admit, such as Hank Reardon in Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, "I work for nothing but my own profit...". Capitalism allows what humans naturally long for, excess profit and material posessions. It allows for this because in capitalism, there is much competition. As competition increases, better and better products are made, which is why capitalism creates economic progress. In a system where government controls everything, there is no excess profit, and no competition, therefore motivation becomes scarce. It is important to have a free market economy so that Entrepreneurship isn't stifled. In a capitalist economy, one sees new ideas being proposed everyday, and more products being made. A government-heavy system doesn't allow for entrepreneurship, because the government decides who makes what, not the citizens.
During the Era of the free market, as Howard Baetjer Jr. says, "All some poor immigrant... had to do to get into it was beg or borrow a car, and pencil T-A-X-I on a scrap of cardboard in the window. Guess what it costs today just to go into the business? Around 60,000!". At the time, anyone could start their own business, the American Dream was alive. Now, Americans are not free to start their own businesses without complicated processes of acquiring permits and paying fees. It is more convenient to work at a minimum wage job than strive for something more profitable.
With the free market system, prices steadily decrease. In the United States, the Consumer Price Index in 1801 was around 50. The higher the CPI, the higher consumer prices are. By 1905, the CPI had steadily decreased to 25, with the exception of wartime inflation. The CPI would have continued to decrease, but the government began placing controls on the market, and the CPI was back up to 50 by 1919, and it rose another 50 over the next 24 years. It is clear that Laissez Faire, literally "let it be", is a good economic system because the market literally fixes itself.
Capitalism is an economic system where one sees low prices and motivation in businesses. Stifling capitalism is denying that humans want material things by nature. The founding fathers who wrote the constitution set up government only to make sure human rights are not being violated, and nothing more. A system full of government controls denies humans their most basic right, freedom.

PostSecret

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

If you haven't seen Postsecret.com, I highly suggest taking a look. Every Sunday a group of new secrets are posted on the site, and they're all anonymous. Some are funny, some are strange, but a lot are very touching. My favorite thing is when I see a secret on a postcard that is my secret too. It really makes you feel not so alone.

They Beat Me! Just Kidding.

In Virginia, in 2007, a 22-year old woman found in a trailer with cuts and bruises said she was badly abused by 6 different people.

She said she had been stabbed in the leg and beaten, sexually assaulted, forced to eat feces and subjected to a racial slur by her white captors.

That is really terrible, I can't believe anyone would do that! I wonder what she did to... oh wait, she just recanted her story. She is now claiming the entire thing was made up because she was "mad at her boyfriend". All six of those convicted were sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Why, all of a sudden, is this woman coming out and saying that she made it all up? Something seems suspicious to me. She hadn't said anything about it for almost 3 years and now feels the need to say that it didn't really happen. I feel like there must have been some other person encouraging, or pressuring her to do this. But perhaps that's because I don't trust Virginians... (just kidding, My grandparents are Virginians).
I just found this an interesting story, and pretty outrageous. It makes me wonder how many people are in jail for false charges right now...

Americans Have Possibly Overstayed Their "Welcome" in Iraq

In Kirkuk, Iraq, American Troops are silently continuing their work. Daily they search houses for weapons, and check peoples ID's. They have made a few arrests lately, all people believed to be in some terrorist group. So we may be helping keep things calm, but does the city really need us?

"If you compare the operations by terrorists in 2007 with 2009, you will see a decrease in the percentage of attacks by terrorists by more than 80%."

So, for whatever reason, attacks are decreasing greatly. Perhaps it is because of the U.S. troops present, perhaps not. I think it would be really interesting to see what would happen in Iraq as soon as all troops left. People certainly are irritated that the troops have said they would leave, and haven't yet, so clearly they think the U.S. doesn't need troops in Kirkuk.
To me, it seems to risky to just leave and let the Arabs and Kurds start fighting. America wants this place to be safe and calm. Whether it has to do with the people, or the oil under their feet... I'm just not sure.

1 Billion for 1 Billion

Now I am not one who is normally affected by these types of videos, but this one stuck out for some reason. Something about the thought that, in the time I was watching this, 10 children have died, just from hunger. I really have never thought of donating to these things, but I may consider this.
But the part of me that wonders "Why doesn't my president do it?", just wants Obama to develop some method of feeding the hungry all over the world, so I don't have to spend $5".It's something I've noticed. The public, myself including, don't volunteer or donate, but want the president to do it. Lately, there are more people willing to take charge and do things themselves.
Well, hopefully this video reaches someone who will also be moved by this, and we can find many who would donate.

Public Option Support

Three cheers for Polls.

The number of people who used to be in favor of a public option for health care seem to have grown in general. People who used to be against it, such as senior citizens and independent voters, have warmed up to the idea, but some of Obama's fellow democrats are becoming less supportive. The number of people who used to be in favor of a public option for health care seem to have grown in general. People who used to be against it, such as senior citizens and independent voters, have warmed up to the idea, but some of Obama's fellow democrats are becoming less supportive.

Twice as many see the plan as leaning toward too much government involvement, but since last month there has been a nine-point increase in the number who say government should be more involved.

People cannot seem to make up their minds about whether government involvement is good or not. I don't know why Americans fear being labeled socialist, it really is nothing like a Marxist society whatsoever.

57 percent of all Americans now favor a public insurance option, while 40 percent oppose it. Support has risen since mid-August, when a bare majority, 52 percent, said they favored it.

So public option support is growing. That is great, I'm in favor of it. But when it really comes down to it, how much does that really affect whether it gets on the bill or not? Not very much.

And the Award Goes to... Nobody

Mo Ibrahim, founder of the African leadership prize, at a press conference.

A $5 million prize to reward good leadership in Africa was dramatically awarded Monday to ... nobody.

I found this quote to be slightly comical, but the reality of it to be rather sad. The committee of deciders just thought that there really wasn't anyone worthy of the prize.

Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Anna chaired the prize committee, which also included last year's Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari; Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency and another Nobel laureate; Graca Machel, chancellor of the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and former minister of education and culture in Mozambique; Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and former U.N. high commissioner for human rights; and Salim Ahmed Salim, a former prime minister of Tanzania.

So we know that there are some brilliant people here, and they said that there were some credible people that were considered, but none were chosen. It seems like a whopping amount of money, so I would hope they would choose someone worthy, if there's no one worthy, better to just save the money I suppose.
Maybe people will be inspired to be better leaders knowing that no one was good enough this year.

Obama Receives the Peace Prize. Okay then..

So, Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. He was actually nominated before he was presented and it was just recently awarded to him. My first reaction was, "what?". It didn't make any sense. But seeing this video led me to believe it isn't necessarily a bad thing.

If there is one thing that Obama is good at, its his overall demeanor. It is clear to me, and perhaps to others that Obama did not receive this because of something he did, and he knows that. He isn't parading around acting like he changed the world just because he isn't George Bush. He is extremely humble and recognizes his situation.

He seems just as confident as he always is, but clearly he is feeling very humble. Obama says he is going to treat this like "a call to action", which I believe he has begun to show already. He has already made a wonderful speech to human rights activists. Whether anything is going to happen is a completely different story, but it is apparent that B is stepping it up.

Sincerely,

A

Dow Hits 10,000

So today the Dow Jones market hit 10,000 points. This is noteworthy only because it's a milestone. The stock market has been working its way back up since around this time last year, and 10,000 is just a number. 

But it isn't as if the stock market is in the clear. More than likely Dow Jones and all other stocks will continue to fluctuate. If they continue to rose I would not only be surprised but I would be suspicious. We aren't back on our feet and it is going to take a long time before the global economy is back to a steady place.

NY State Court Hears Appeals on Gay Marriage

Mr. Raum argues that out of state gay marriages aren't legitimate in New York.

If you are a regular reader of my postings, (cough cough, seven subscribers) then you know that gay rights is something that I post about a lot because I feel strongly about it. Anyways, this particular article I read was specific to New York law. Basically, they're questioning whether the marriages of Gay Couples married outside New York should be considered legitimate once they're in New York. 

In one of the cases, opponents of same-sex marriage are challenging a 2007 policy, adopted by the State Department of Civil Service, that extended health insurance benefits to the same-sex partners of state and local government employees who married in states that allow such marriages. In the other case, opponents are seeking to overturn an administrative order issued in 2006 by Andrew J. Spano, the Westchester County executive, directing county officials to recognize same-sex unions performed elsewhere.

If I could address these people, I would say, "you shouldn't be able to take away the rights of someone because the make you uncomfortable. I'm willing to bet people with histories of spousal abuse get married daily, that makes me uncomfortable."
Which brings me to this quote, I got a kick out of this one:

In 2006, the court ruled 4 to 2 that gay couples had no right to get married under existing state law or the State Constitution, holding that limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples was based on legitimate societal goals, primarily the protection and welfare of children.

Oh don't make me laugh. Show me statistics saying that children are more likely to be abused or develop a drug addiction if they have two moms, or two dads. Until then, suck it up. Everyone needs to stop trying to play God by controlling everyone else's rights. Sometimes I just lose faith in mankind's ability to make any logical sense.

But the issue with these cases is that businesses and local government would be told they have to look at out-of-state gay marriages as legitimate. Doesn't really seem like a problem to me, but I guess some people just can't stand people that aren't like them

Sincerely,

A

Health Care Reform. No, Seriously.

You the man, Mr. Baucus.

Today Congress passed the "Baucus Bill", a bill for health care reform. What I found most exciting and interesting is that this Bill has some form of the Public Option, which I believe could be an effective system for health care companies.

Want to peruse the health care bill yourself?: Be my guest

A lot of points were made. Many say that the government shouldn't be given any more control, but some say it would benefit the public 

"The burden should be on insurance companies to make insurance affordable or else miss out on customers," Schumer said. 

True that, Schumer. People shouldn't be crushed by health care prices, in my opinion a market shouldn't work like that.

"This bill is already moving on a slippery slope to more and more government control of health care," Grassley said. 

I see where you're coming from, Grassley. However, I don't see how health care could get a lot worse than the current state it's in. I think the government controls will make sure citizens get a fair deal. There are still a lot of things to work out, and the bill still has to pass senate, but we are closer to health care reform than ever. 

Sincerely,

A

p.s. Did you catch the marble walls in the above picture? Classy.

Columbus Day: A Respectful Letter

Not knowing what Columbus day was really all about, I decided to turn to TIME magazine for the answer. After reading the article by Dan Fletcher I decided to write Columbus a belated letter, thanking him for the monday we all stayed home from school.

Dear Chris,

In 1942, you sailed the ocean blue, and ever since then kindergartners have known your name, and they won't soon forget it. Today was Monday, normally I would wake up at 8:30 and go to school, but not today, because today is a holiday when we celebrate your discovery of America by sleeping in. Now, truth be told, we all know that what you discovered was the Bahamas, not America, but I'm not complaining. And neither is the deceased Benjamin Harris, the president who first decided to acknowledge the day. Franklin Roosevelt and Richard Nixon were all for it as well. But come to think of it Christopher, you did reportedly enslave the Native Americans that you found where you landed. I guess you really didn't discover anything, because people already lived there. But you weren't the only one who did that, Columbus, 

even now America limits the land that belonged to the Natives originally. Many people don't think it should exist because of your behavior, such as people in South Dakota who rename it Native American Day. Personally I think the holiday is apropos considering the rest of American history. Anyways Columbus, thanks for sailing the ocean blue, and I'll write again next year. 

Sincerely, ArielThis is how most Americans picture Columbus, hanging out with the Native Americans. And that really skinny dog... probably an Italian Greyhound. 

Obama's address to Human Rights Activists

CNN.com describes Obama's speech as rousing, and I must agree. This speech has made me hopeful, but has not left me without skepticism. Ever since he has become president, nothing of importance has been done to help the LGBTQ (that is, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning) community. 

In his speech, Obama promised to work toward repealing the "don't ask, don't tell", a policy that I find to be degrading and innaporopriate because it violates the right for Freedom of Speech. Obama also promised to pass a law that will include crimes against sexual-orientation in the definition of hate crimes. He also made it clear that he thought the 

I hope that Obama keeps his promises, and doesn't procrastinate in getting these things done. It's things like these that show Obama really cares about changing things here in the United States.

The president said he backed the rights of gay couples, saying they should have the "same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country." He said he has urged Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and to pass the Domestic Partners Benefit and Obligations Act.

-CNN.com

I am impressed that he made a point of not approving of the "Defense" of Marriage Act. However, is urging congress going to get it repealed? I don't believe so. Obama will have to take initiative and pass a federal bill if he wants equal rights for all.

Are you convicted? Don't like jail? Try Drug Court, today!

Something that democrats and republicans have both supported is drug court. In simple terms, drug court is a program that non-violent convicted drug used can opt into instead of prison. This program involves multiple drug tests a week, weekly appearances in front of a judge, and counseling sessions. Personally I think this is an excellent program, and Obama is putting a lot of funding into it, about 118 million is planned to go to drug courts in 2010.
The courts were able to save around 1 million dollars in prison and law enforcement funds because of drug court. The only critique seems to be that there should be more drug courts, and a wider range of criminals should be included in the program.
They are also proven to work- approximately 13% of people that go through the program go back to using drugs. On the other hand, out of those who went to jail for similar drug related crimes, 32% started using again.

This is a wise funding choice on Obama's part because he is showing that he still pays attention to "the little things".

Retirement re-shmirement! Who needs it anyways...

Newsweek addresses something that I have been concerned about for quite awhile, social security, that is, retirement.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute estimates that "A couple retiring today would need to have $338,000 in reserve to be certain they could cover their medical costs..."
That is scary, because the biggest living generation right now is the one that is about to retire. So what happens?
There are plenty of people who are ready to retire well before they are 65, meaning they don't qualify for medicare, meaning they will pay for medical bills out of their pockets.
Citizens can no longer choose when to retire, because most will be forced to work until 65, it's really a sad fact.
The only thing that those who haven't retired can hope for is that their savings will cover them if they don't qualify for medicare. Unfortunately, there are so many pre-existing conditions that make you unqualified, its a gamble to see if they'll cover you.
All that I can say is that I am not sure what will happen, but if something doesn't happen with health care, a lot of people are in trouble.

New Jersey has got the right idea...

This video features one air conditioning company that was struggling with business. New Jersey at the time was pushing to weatherize homes. The video doesn't specify what weatherizing is, but I gathered that it is a type of insulation to keep houses cool in the summer and warm in the winter, using less AC and heat. This AC company profited from this by starting a new branch that was specifically for weatherizing homes. New Jersey was offering tax rebates for those who weatherized their homes, bothe consumers and businesses. In this case, the push by the state to "go green" created jobs, and profited both the business and the consumer.
This is something that all states should begin doing. By offering small tax cuts to people who drive cars with better mileage or use energy efficient appliances, we could really jump start the green movement in a new way that New Jersey has found to be successful.

A Time to Find Justice in Rwanda

The Rwanda Genocide is not recent news, but IIdephonse Nizeyimana is. Nizeyimana is one of the most wanted in Africa for being part of a tribe that committed mass murder in Africa.

"In the attacks that started in April 1994, Hutu militias and members of the general population sought out Tutsis and moderate Hutus, and went on a 100-day killing rampage. Civilians and children got incentives to take part in the atrocities, including promises of land belonging to their Tutsi neighbors."

A really disturbing fact was that Nizeyimana was part of the Rwanda Armed Forces, and exercised his power over troops to execute Tutsis and some Hutus.
This reminds me of those who shot Jews in death camps that later claimed they were simply serving their country, or that they would be killed if they didn't obey.
It is clear that not only were those involved in the rampages committing genocide, but civilians would see this happening and join in. I would guess that they did this to survive, rather than to simply be able to kill. Those dead number around 1 million, that is about 10% of the population of central Africa. It is wonderful that those who led the rampages are being specifically sought out, and two have already been arrested, but will the killings really stop because of it?
I imagine that millions of citizens are now corrupted and have completely different mindsets on how they must go about surviving.

Al Qaeda Threatens Obama

The second-in-command of Al Qaeda recently made of video in which he directly adressed Obama's denial of torture.

"Obama claims to respect human rights and condemn torture, and here I will not ask him about the expansion of the Bagram prison, and will not ask how he forgave the crimes of the CIA executioners. I will not ask him about his decision not to release the detainee abuse photos and will not ask him about the program to hand over detainees to other countries to be tortured, and will not ask him about the assassination teams that are deployed to assassinate anyone who is suspected to be an extremist," al-Zawahiri says in the message.

Now obviously I don't support terrorist organizations, but isn't there a point to be made there? America has repeatedly done the opposite of what it condones. It is understandable why countries are not only confused of what America's stance is, but angry, because we are hypocrites. This direct quote gave me the chills, "It will be about your blood and the draining of your economy until you stop your crimes, you arrogant tyrants,"

It is truly disturbing to know that there is someone who, if he could, would get rid of every single American.

So, my main question is, how will Obama respond to this, if at all?

Should he address things that were said in this video?

Who knows, but if there is a peaceful and reasonable way to calm terrorist organizations that are dishing out threats left and right, I would not hesitate a moment.

Secrets, Secrets, are no fun...

It has been revealed that Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, the Iranian president who has repeatedly attacked Jews, has a Jewish background. He has not only questioned whether Israel should exist or not, but he has denied that the Holocaust happened as well. I am suprised, yet I am not at the same time. It makes sense that if he wants to hide his past so badly from the public, he would openly curse Jews.

 

We saw the same thing with Hitler, he might have some Jewish ancestry as well. I want to say that it's ironic, but I think it is something much deeper than that. I don't know exactly what to think, but this man has something in common with Hitler that could definitely lead to violence. The world appeased Hitler and that seems to be happening with everyone's passiveness to Ahmedinijad. 

Frankly, it really frightens me: could another holocaust be attempted? Would the United States do anything?

speech, religion, the right to own a firearm...

I guess those people stocking up their ammo weren't completely crazy! But it doesn't seem to be their second amendment rights are being attacked by Obama himself. So, does gun control violate the right to bear arms? I personally think that so many laws violate these "core fundamental" rights, and they are violated everyday by police. I think that the amendments are what keep this country as decent as it is. And I think the U.S. just uses the bare minimum to be able to call itself decent. If we start revising the constitution we start messing with some serious stuff and I think they should leave it alone.
The constitutional rights have always intrigued me. They constitution is like the bible for the godless.
My favorite part of the video is when the man says that his fundamental rights are being violated, those rights being; "Speech, religion, the right to own a firearm..."
To me it just seems like those things are completely different.
Unless you talk with your gun, which some do.

Iran is at it again

Recently there have been some uranium power plants discovered in Iran. They refused that the plants were being used to make nuclear weapons, and told the IAEA, or the International Atomic Energy Agency, that they could inspect the site, but never made a date for it. Even if they weren't making weapons, the IAEA was supposed to be contacted as soon as the plant was going to be made, before construction started. Therefore it is curious that they would hide the plants.
Shortly after, Iran tested some missiles. It is pretty clear what happened, Iran lied. They hid their plants and made weapons.

"Iran insists that all its nuclear facilities are for peaceful energy purposes and rejects accusations from the US and others that it is seeking a nuclear weapon"

They also don't seem to respond very much to the threat of sanctions by multiple countries, among them are the United States, Russia, and France.
Thursday will bring talks among the nations to discuss. What exactly will be discussed, I am not sure. But I do think a face to face conversation needs to happen, because Achmedinijad and Obama have been talking, but not directly to one another.
Personally I find it ridiculous that Iran expects people to believe they're not making nuclear weapons for warfare after they kept their plants a secret. I think it was a terrible move on their part.
History shows that countrieshiding big secrets (like, say, nuclear weapons) from one another can be terrible, and lead to wars. I hope Iran will either own up to what they're doing, or provide a good reason why they were breaking the rules.

4000 troops out in October

Obama says that this month 4000 troops will leave Iraq. He also says that by next year he wants all of the combat troops to be out, and to declare the combat mission over, but security troops will still occupy the country.

I think this is a good idea. Why have combat troops where you don't need them and have the danger of suffering casualties. Also, there have been instances where Iraqi government has shown it can take care of itself in some respects, for example when Iraqi forces took over security of Baghdad instead of U.S. troops. However there has still been violence against government workers and civilians, so troops should be able to mitigate everything.

I don't know how stable the government is, but if we can bring soldiers home alive, then I am all for it. I don't believe war is a good way to deal with things for any reason.

Presidential threats are bad, nothing else matters?

There was recently a facebook poll asking who thinks Obama should be killed. The potential answers were "yes", "maybe", "if he cuts my healthcare", and "no".

The poll was found by the secret service and of course taken down.

I don't really mind, it is the job of the secret service to protect the president so they probably look around for stuff like that all day. Also, that poll violates the facebook term of service saying "You will not post content that is hateful, threatening, pornographic, or that contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence". This person of course posted threatening content.

However, there still remains a page titled "I want to kill myself" which appears to be a place where people write that they want to kill themselves and post "suicidal pictures". This page has been up for a while, it seems.

It simply intrigues me that when a person talks about killing the president it is removed in a matter of days, hours even. But if a person is talking about killing themselves it is completely overlooked.

How can such a heinous governmental system exist?

In Afghanistan, conditions for residents there are utterly terrible. In America, many of our greatest concerns on a day to day basis consist of things like, "Will I be able to buy a hybrid car", or "Do I have enough credits to graduate high school?". But for Afghans, the concerns consist of things like "Will I be shot today?".
Malalai Joya is an ex-parliament member who was, to say the least, kicked out after expressing strong negative opinions of the Afghanistan government. She faces the possibility of assassination daily and has hired a small troop of soldier to follow her. John Simpson from BBC news explains how (and I am going to bold this for emphasis..)Malalai Joya is campaigning against a new law which permits men to rape, beat, and starve their wives if they are denied sex.

To me, that is a huge wake-up call. I am often upset that Gay men and women aren't allowed to be married, which is also a somewhat recently established law. You can't take away peoples rights, I say. But this new Afghanistan law is outright disgusting. How can places like this exist? How can a government be so corrupt? And an even bigger question, will the rest of the world be able to stop such a horrifying government? Frankly, I don't know. NATO chief Fogh Rasmussen seems to suggest that the war may be lost without more troops. However, a rising death toll can't be helping many countries to want to send their soldiers into Afghanistan.
Can this corrupt government be taken down?

Lead is the New Gold

"Used to be gold, but now lead is the most expensive metal," said Donald Richards, 37, who was stocking up at the Jefferson store. "And worth every penny."

Michael Mayer explaining different types of Ammo

Ever since Obama has become our president, and even while he was running, people who use guns for a variety of reasons have been stocking up their ammo. Hunters and those who shoot at shooting ranges are worried that the democratic president will pass gun legislation prohibiting the sale of ammo and guns to civilians, although they have little reason for this. Obama has proposed nothing specific with the intention of banning guns. In fact, he signed a legislation recently allowing the possession of loaded guns in state parks.
The same thing happened when Clinton was elected, everyone thought their guns would be outlawed so they stocked up. As a result of this, there is a massive shortage of bullets, with manufacturers working overtime and still being far behind the demand. As the article says, "With demand, prices have also risen.". Of course anyone who knows even the most basic principals of economics would know that with demand, prices will rise. So there has been some ammo rationing- "Demand has been so heavy at some Walmarts, a limit was imposed on the amount of ammo customers can buy. The cutoff varies according to caliber and store location, but sometimes as little as one box — or 50 bullets — is allowed.".
I suppose the real question is, why are people assuming that gun control is going to be so strict when Obama has proposed no policies whatsoever. I guess no body can know at this point. Maybe in a year and 6 months guns will be outlawed for civilians, but I highly doubt it. People are just afraid that they won't be able to shoot things anymore. It is very strange to me that people jump to conclusions.
Personally I think more strict gun control would be beneficial, because it seems like it would probably be very easy for anyone to own one with the right connections.
When people realize that their stocking up is in vain, that is if Obama never cracks down on gun control, then we will have more bullets that we can use. As long as Americans are willing to cough up the big bucks just to go out shooting targets every weekend, they will keep producing and working 24 hour shifts.

Bank failure toll reaches 94

"A total of 94 banks have failed so far this year, with an average of about 10 per month. That's nearly four times the number of banks that failed in 2008, and it's the highest tally since 1992, when 181 banks failed."

The main concern I have with the banks failing is the possibility of one bank having a monopoly of everyone's money. That spells trouble for me.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

As I was driving home, I saw a sign that said "funded by the american recovery and reinvestment act". The above sign is actually in a different state, but it is the exact same one.
I was curious so decided to research it.

At the website for the American recovery reinvestment act, one can find what its all about.

• Save and create more than 3.5 million jobs over the next two years;
• Take a big step toward computerizing Americans’ health records, reducing medical errors, and saving billions in health care costs;
• Revive the renewable energy industry and provide the capital over the next three years to eventually double domestic renewable energy capacity;
• Undertake the largest weatherization program in history by modernizing 75 percent of federal building space and more than one million homes;
• Increase college affordability for seven million students by funding the shortfall in Pell Grants, increasing the maximum award level by $500, and providing a new higher education tax cut to nearly four million students;
• As part of the $150 billion investment in new infrastructure, enact the largest increase in funding of our nation’s roads, bridges, and mass transit systems since the creation of the national highway system in the 1950s;
• Provide an $800 Making Work Pay tax credit for 129 million working households, and cut taxes for the families of millions of children through an expansion of the Child Tax Credit;
• Require unprecedented levels of transparency, oversight, and accountability.

That all sounds like a pretty swell idea to me. However, I wonder if the funding might fall short before projects are finished. Will that money come out of our taxes in that event? I just hope that doesn't happen.

This seems like a good way to help the economy by giving more people jobs and saving money where we were over spending before. They predict that in the next to years, 396,000 jobs will be saved/ created.

so this picture shows where all the money goes. I pretty much understand it all, except for "protecting the vulnerable". What is that? I looked all over that page with no explanation because it doesn't have an asterisk over it. I am always suspicious of things with such ambiguous titles. But I shall investigate farther later.

This was something I thought was cool: You can zoom in on your town and see exactly which corporations are getting money, and exactly how much.

Well it all looks alright to me but I still have questions.

I suppose we shall see how this plays out.

1 lb co2/ gallon

"Imagine you are driving in your car and every mile you drive you throw a pound of trash out your window. And everyone else on the freeway in their cars are doing the exact same thing, and the people driving Hummers are throwing two bags out at a time.."

Nate Lewis from the California Institute of Technology says in Tom Friedman's book "Hot, Flat, and Crowded"

Sounds ridiculous doesn't it? Can't you just imagine the thousands of trash bags on the side of the road? Well, according to Nate Lewis, that's what we already are doing.

But we aren't throwing out a pound of trash, we are throwing out a pound of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

On the way home today that's all I could think about. I watched the mileage ticker number get bigger and thought of the trash.

I don't know about you, but that makes me want to drive less than I do.

If you think about how much 100 pounds of carbon dioxide is a lot, I'm throwing at like 5 times that every year, at least. It is no surprise that global warm is happening rapidly.

When you think about the fact that more and more people are driving every year as more people can afford cars in developing countries, the amount of co2 going into the atmosphere is increasing every year.

So what's it going to be people? Can we pull it together and find finding better ways of getting around? It's really up to us.

"You Lie!"

I didn't watch the president's entire speech tonight but I did catch the first half hour. Some parts made me very hopeful while others made me laugh. It bothers me when people insist that they're right or shove a point in your face without the facts. Such as Governor Palin saying that there would be "Death Panels", a rumor that Obama directly put to rest.
When Obama said that illegal immigrants wouldn't be covered in the new healthcare plan, I heard booing in the crowd. I later learned from CNN.com that the boo-ing was in response to Joe Wilson shouting "You Lie!". I would like to know what he was thinking, or why he said that.

"The bill, HR 3200, would set up a health insurance "exchange," in which consumers could compare policies and choose a plan. It would create a government-run health plan to compete with private insurers in that exchange, and extend subsidies for coverage to people who aren't already covered by employers or federal programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
It specifically bars illegal immigrants from receiving those subsidies. Section 246, which is included in the part of the bill that sets up the exchange, forbids payments 'on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.'

Well that's that. From what I heard, I feel like this plan may work if passed by congress. I noticed something that Obama tends to do a lot, which is state that his plans will take more than four years. Is he suggesting that he will go another term? It is possible if this works. Who knows, it is really up in the air at this point.

When will we get back on our feet?

"They were left out of the latest unemployment rate, as they are every month: millions of hidden casualties of the Great Recession who are not counted in the rate because they have stopped looking for work."

As a result of the horribly frustrating job market, many have taken to being stay at home moms and dads, or going back to school until the job market improves. Disturbing as the unemployment numbers are, they don't even include those who have given up working or have been forced to retire early, and there are a lot of them. this article spotlights a few individual stories that are worth reading.

A skilled carpenter who once owned his own construction business is forced to apply to home-depot and small family-owned hardware stores. He even applies for overnight shifts at convenience stores, and never gets called back. His wife makes ten dollars an hour volunteering. He has stopped applying for jobs as often as he used to, and feels completely hopeless. Can you blame him?

His story and others like it are discouraging. We need something to boost this economy, and fast. Hardworking, skilled people are forced to scrounge for cash and food. Trickle-Down Economics isn't going to cut it. Cash 4 Clunkers isn't going to cut it. We need ideas, now.

Finally, some specifics.

Obama plans to personally explain the specifics of his health care bill next thursday. Thank god! I have been wanting to know what the plans are but haven't known where to find out. This should be a straight-forward enough speech. Also I think people have been opposing it without knowing the details. I'm excited to see what Obama has planned, and if it is drastic enough to work, but not so drastic that it doesn't get passed.

Is Obama "indoctrinating" children?

The title of this video immediately caused me to be suspicious. 

"Obama Speaking To Schoolchildren "Creepy," Says Ingraham"

and I was curious to see how she would justify saying that Obama speaking to schoolchildren is creepy. 

I really don't know where to begin, so let's just break this down, shall we? 

1)"department of education has provided materials to school children... students are asked to answer the following: what specific job is the president asking me to do?... students should also be encouraged to ask.. 'what can i do to help the president'?...'what is the president inspiring me to do?"

Okay, I see where this could seem a little bit strange. As some one who happens to agree with Obama's plans and ideas, i don't see this as a problem. But to someone who doesn't agree so much, I get why they would be uncomfortable with their children hearing Obama's ideas. 

But even then, this isn't Hitler (as many people seem to think...).

You aren't going to look at these kids papers and see this:  

1)What specific job is the president asking me to do? Kill those of an inferior race. 

you may, however, see "Help clean up the earth". 

OH NO! NOT THAT! FOR GOD SAKES, OUR CHILDREN ARE GOING TO GROW UP THINKING THAT THE EARTH NEEDS TO BE CLEANED UP?

Oh and here's something I'd really like to say. If a parent says that Obama is 'forcing' his ideals upon these kids, what do you think you, as a parent, are doing by pulling your kid out of school? Even kindergartners know when they don't like something they're hearing, even kids of that age can think for themselves to an extent.  

2)"this is creepy! if not pure, direct indoctrination, its a slick move to market Obama to our young people"

Really, woman? I mean, come on. I understand why you would disapprove... but creepy? indoctrination? I think this is taking it way, way too far. 

3)"no child left inside act. which requires schools receiving federal funds to teach about 'the enviornmental challenges' facing the planet. in other words, brainwash the young and impressionable so that they become the next generation of eco-warriors..."

For god's sake this is so frustrating. Telling children that we need to pick up our trash and recycle to help save the earth is brainwashing? I've been told to pick up my trash and recycle my whole life, and I am a free-thinking individual. heck, i dont always recycle. See, Ingraham? I am not brainwashed!

to boil this down to one point, I understand why anti-obama parents will pull their kids from school that day... but dont make it something it isnt. it isnt indoctrination... and obama is not a nazi.