In response to Steven's "Has Gas Prices Killed You Yet?"

I cannot agree more with Steven's complaint of rising gas prices. There is almost not a single person who hasn't felt this blow. His porposals are bright too, we could create a lane on the highway just for buses that shuttle people to the most popular of areas. people who sit in high traffic areas such as I-35 or Mopac towards downtown might just be compelled enough to pay a small monthly fee and take the shuttle that would normally pass him right up as he inches through his commute. It's good to see Americans are trying to figure out solutions these days instead of blaming everything and Government and waiting for them to fix it. i concieve that alot of the problems we have such as these gas prices are because "bad" governing, but it's not gonna do much to just pout and wait for change. people can do many things such as find alternative forms of transportation, budget better, lobby ideas etc. Steven's ideas are excellent but his flaw is that Americans simply wont give up the luxary of driving. they can go when and wherever they want. the keyword being when, and are just too spoiled to wait for a bus in the rain or cold to sit next to another person. Many people do find alternative ways such as carpooling but i just dont think it will ever be enough people to make the difference. i feel as if the only immedicate solution is the new line of more fuel efficient vehicles automakers are developing as of now.

Welcome to the University of Guns at Austin?

After the mourning of the Virginia Tech shooting, many people became alarmed about the susceptibility of college students at Universities. It has always been thought that Universities have been a haven of knowledge where students of all ethnic backgrounds who were capable and wanted to further their education could merge under one facility and pursue the task of doing so. The concepts of school shootings were confined to nothing higher than high schools due to the stereotype that the grade school students who lacked mental reasoning would one day lash out and create such a travesty. Now that shootings at universities have become more prevalent in these past years, faith in the facility’s security has dwindled to the point where students want to take initiative into their own hands, Referring in part to the push for carrying concealed firearms.
One of the largest emergences of this idea was a group on Facebook immediately created after the Tech shootings. Afterwards, the topic appeared on the news and began gaining momentum when receiving props from the NRA. I don’t believe I am considering all aspects of this issue but as of now, I do feel the concept of carrying concealed firearms to campus is ludicrous. The legislation has passed in Utah and one other state. The remaining has either rejected or is still pending the legislation. Advocates of the legislation conclude by asserting that firearms would only be obtained by the mentally capable. I ask the question, where is the line between that of who is capable or not. Some people who may seem or even are capable of carrying a gun may still pose a hazard to the student body. I feel as if that rational person may lose this thought process when caught up in the heat of an argument or dispute and may make a quick judgment to pull out a firearm and use it. Have you ever been so angered at another person, you felt or said or did something you regretted later? I predict a common dispute between people that would force them to act in such a way, might be over relationships, as that topic tends to make people act before they think.
In conclusion I feel that enabling a student body with such ease to access firearms would result in more shootings due to the fact that people are not always rational at all times and access to a gun could be the bridge between animosity and violence.

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In response to ThePoliticalFunhouse

I could not agree more with your views “Yo.” America’s education is slipping down the drain more and more these days compared to other nations. Your conclusion that America is mostly focused on the “procedure” and not the “concept” like other nations could not be any more true. I would always remember in my classes, my teacher would always show me methods of solving problems but rarely would they ever tell me why we do the problem (assuring me that i would know why later). After completing grades one through 12 a couple of years ago and comparing it to my college experience, I realized that there were many more teachers in high school that were just not as motivated to really teach the students as in college. It seemed as if the high school teachers just wanted to focus on meeting their daily agenda to where college professors really wanted to push the envelope on education and leave students with a new perspective. It also angers me how certain high schools spend their money given to them to increase their student’s performances. I love the way some schools like Pflugerville offered $100 upon completing a three or four on AP tests. Although the students should be compelled to further themselves for their own satisfaction, this method has proven more beneficial to students’ performances instead of building a new track or gym. There are many problems with our educational system and the system is not completely at fault for it’s the parents’ responsibility to help motivate the child. All that is certain is that the system needs to be changed.

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New-Clear Energy

If asked a random person on the street what the first factor of environmental pollution is, most likely you are going to hear carbon dioxide from motor vehicles. This is a large if not the largest form of environmental toxin leading to global warming. I do acknowledge however, that the government on both national and state levels is trying to reduce this hazard. Multiple methods and suggestions have been put into effect such as hybrid cars, city buses, O-Zone action days, emissions tests and much more. There isn’t much to say about vehicle production of CO2, as big of a problem it is, as long as the government continues to create more conservational methods of transportation or even a new vehicle that uses alternative energy, there is no reason that I can’t see this problem dissipating.

The question is… “Is there another source that is injecting substantial amounts of CO2 into our atmosphere as much as vehicles?” Our power plants aren’t nearly as numerous as the number of vehicles out there; in fact the nation’s power plants amass to 600 total. 600 isn’t even close to as many cars you find in Travis or Williamson county, but when “a coal-fired plant creates about 7.2 million megawatt hours of electricity, or enough to satisfy the needs of 800,000 homes. It would burn more than 3 million metric tons of fuel, producing 500 pounds of carbon dioxide PER SECOND, as well as 1,200 pounds of ash per MINUTE and 750 pounds of sulfur dioxide every FIVE minutes!” Can you imagine the 600 plants creating that many toxins? Even worse, can you imagine how much energy an actual plant must produce to meet the needs of all the nations’ people and not just 800,000?

Nuclear power plants that can create all of the before mentioned energy needs for the 800,000 homes while not leaving a single carbon footprint behind! Nuclear power will out benefit our current method in almost every way. In fact the biggest concern that pops into everybody’s mind is a nuclear meltdown, which is probably due to twenty years of watching the Simpsons. It’s said that nuclear energy is much more dangerous than our current one but “reactors worldwide have gone 689 days without pause or fail.” Compared to the “24,000 people that die every year due to the coal-based pollutants sulfur dioxide and mercury.” The main fallacy with people’s perspective of nuclear power is that they “derive their opposition based on the magnitude of a possible accident, not the probability. In relation to coal-fired plants, “where harm the environment in both and certain but comfortingly slow. This allows us decades or centuries before global warming or acid rain claims millions of lives. To where as the worst possible case with nuclear power is the loss of a city.”
Nuclear power may seem the most dangerous of all energy sources, but in retrospect, it’s the most efficient and safest method that we can possibly offer. The top CO2 producing items are vehicles and power plants. As we continue to make strides to improve our vehicle’s carbon footprint, we could switch to nuclear power and already be halfway to eliminating the problem.

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Quotes taken from: "Meltdown" by Wil S. Hylton of GQ magazine. (March 2008)

Texas Latinos look for a president with answers

Before Clinton and Obama took a step into Texas, it was predicted the large majority of votes would reside with Mrs. Clinton. Now with early voting well under way and almost up and the primaries being only less than a few days away, it has been predicted that Obama may now even have the lead over Clinton. With such a close race underway, it is still unsure who is actually winning when considering the margin of error.
There have been many “groups” that were expected to vote for certain candidates. For example, mostly women for Clinton and mostly young voters for Obama, but two main groups seem to be one of the largest factors in keeping the two candidates head to head. The Latino and African Americans
Hillary Clinton is making great strides in the Latino community and especially that of Sequin, Texas due to Ex-president Clinton’s incorporation of Latinos in his administration. The Latino population of Sequin expresses their expectations from the new president are the concerns of all other Americans. Rising cost of drugs, the failing restaurant industries and inflating gas prices are among the most discussed. The citizens of Sequin are centrally concerned with the economy and not much of immigration because most of the residents are of Tejano descent.
With such a large percentage of Latinos residing in Texas, the margin between Obama and Clinton would seem rather inaccurate, if it wasn’t the African-American vote that pushed Obama neck and neck with Clinton. Obama knows this and has set his strategy on the town of Houston, Texas making a Second visit to the town in just a few more days. Houston being one of Texas’ most industrial towns along with Dallas, is sure to give candidate Clinton a run for her money.

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Latinooooos (please be aware that the link is only available for members)

Post-Castro Cuba needs to be democratic, Bush says(III)

"Castro Cuba needs to be democratic, Bush says" & "President Fidel Castro to step down"

The infamous President Fidel Castro of Cuba has announced today, February 19, 2008 that he will relinquish his position after serving almost half a century in Cuba. Castro has been undergoing surgery for an intestinal complication and entitled his younger brother, Raul Castro, to his governing duties, which may or may not be Cuba’s successor. There has been much speculation to which the leadership may pass to seem to point toward Vice President Carlos Lage, “a 56-year-old physician by training who was architect of the modest reforms adopted in the early 1990s.” Lage seems to appeal to the Cubans that prefer for more economic opportunity, which is the largest majority. There has been talk of Fidel’s successor aimed at the Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque who “served as Castro's chief of staff for years and is believed to adhere to his mentor's harder line against economic liberalization.” But ever since
Castro fell ill, Lage, seems to be of majority popularity. Castro of eighty-one years old has been through rough roads with the United States from the Invasion at the Bay of Pigs or the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is not certain to whom his successor shall become but it is certain that his reign is fading.
The fate of Cuba will ultimately in the end, have its effects trickling off into the United States due to its proximity to the U.S. President Bush has already stated that Cuba was “entering a period of transition and it should be the beginning of a democratic transition in Cuba.” President Bush’s statement is obviously showing that America still remains headstrong about democratizing Cuba. What ties all of this together in its relation to U.S. Government is that Bush has his prospects about Cuba’s future but depending on who shall become the next president could totally affect the U.S. Economy. If Felipe Perez Roque, the advocate of anti-economic liberalization becomes the new president, will Bush believe that Cuba needs to be “saved” and intervene with foreign affairs? Again… and continue to use more funds to pay for the “freedom of the people of Cuba?” or perhaps the prominent Lage will succeed Castro and help push Cuba towards an economic democracy with America. Speculation will continue to whether Cuba may remain communist or begin its “transition” into democracy. It is for certain however, President Bush intends to keep an eye out for the changing country waiting for the opportunity to “stick his foot in the door.” Hopefully, President Bush will keep out of Cuba’s affairs and focus on his own nation which has a few entailed problems of its own. (i.e. deepening federal deficit, border issues, imminent recession, and more).

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2 references

-link #1 LA Times "Post-Castro Cuba needs to be democratic, Bush says"
-link #2 LA Times "Castro hints at a younger face for Cuba"

Bush Budget Would Bring Record Deficits

America's budget problem is so simple?

“The record $3.1 trillion budget proposed by President Bush on Monday would produce eyepopping federal deficits.” In addition to this outrageous budget, Bush also wants to cut back on several programs such as Medicare. It is becoming evident that President Bush is trying to fix his “mistakes” and leave the American public with a more bittersweet rather than the current “sour" impression he has created during his term. The problem is that Bush is ignoring all repercussions of his actions, leaving it to his successor.
A sizeable portion of The President’s budget comes from a requested total of $588.3 billion for defense spending in 2009 which is about 81.7 billion less than the actual amount used this year. The problem is that the president only allocated $70 billion towards the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is about $119 billion less than this year. Bush originally predicted a $48 billion surplus by 2012 a couple years ago that would of made his tax cut possible, but now is relying on cutting down on non-profit programs, due to his non-existent prediction of only a $70 billion dollar war. The cut-back on programs doesn’t just stop there, “Bush proposes killing or cutting back sharply 151 programs to save $18 billion next year.”
To conclude all of this in a nutshell, “the total federal debt held by the public was $3.3 trillion… Now, debt held by the public — including foreign governments — is expected to reach $5.4 trillion this year and $5.9 trillion in 2009.” Perhaps Bush’s fault in this purposed budget was his initial thought. “"Our formula for achieving a balanced budget is simple: create the conditions for economic growth, keep taxes low and spend taxpayer dollars wisely or not at all," Bush said in his budget message.” There is no simple way to balance the budget or we probably would have done it already. Mr. Bush, The budget is simply the backbone of America.

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http://www.statesman.com/search/content/shared-gen/ap/US_President_And_White_House_Advisers/Bush_Budget.html