This weeks assignment

Guns Guns Guns

America has always loved it's guns. In early times, they were a necessary tools. When one thinks of early settlers, covered wagons and guns come to mind. From far abroad, they are iconic and synonymous with American liberty. When one sees Clint Eastwood on the silver-screen, they need not ask where he hails from. Now, guns scourge our cities and classrooms -- another news-story broadcasted to far away lands. We used guns to fight for America's independence -- against a Monarchy.... Still today, the gun is King in personal warfare; and everyone knows, America always wants to be the King.

Most Republicans staunchly hold our gun rights as sacred. They will invoke God alongside these rights. Backed by the dollars of gun manufactures and the NRA ($15M)*, they will uphold the rights of Americans to bear arms. Since Obama took office, "The gun industry and other large corporate and individual donors chipped in $71.1 million in 2011 to NRA coffers, compared with $46.3 million in 2004, according to a Bloomberg News review of NRA tax returns."** In a nutshell, gun manufactures have seen profits rise by spreading propaganda, filtered through SuperPAC's and the voice of the NRA, playing off the fear that the President would take all the guns away.

Many Democrats will call for tougher laws -- some even a ban. They want the world to be a friendlier place, where we can all hold hands and sing a song. They hope the world can sing -- perhaps in perfect harmony -- and discuss things over a Coke, while standing on a hill with their multicultural neighbors. In this dream, President Obama is there with them -- holding their hand -- teaching them to sing.....They want stricter gun laws, more background checks, and the outlawing of high capacity guns and clips. Above all, they want the end of useless tragedy.

Americans love guns -- and money. "In 2009, there were 310 million personal firearms in the US."*** I doubt the guns are going anywhere -- what would we do with them all? I would love to see better gun controls, tighter restrictions, better background checks, and national regulations. Also, I think the ban of high-powered weapons with the capacity to take out a small town is quite reasonable. However, with all these guns around, one must wonder: Will I be safer if I own one? Playing into the hands of the manufacturers: All the hope in the world cannot fix a bad neighbor; a gun is much faster.

* http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/nra-spent-15-million-defeat-obama-2012-article-1.1254996

 ** http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/11/nra-gun-control-firearms-industry-ties_n_2434142.html

 *** Borrowed from this weeks lesson!

The Energy Crisis

The Energy Crisis

Since man found fire, we began our quest to sit by it. Years pass, we find that our cave is dirty, and we are almost out of wood. With each new technology comes a price -- something we must all sacrifice. The worlds prosperous nations have sat in their Lazy-boys recliners and become fat -- clicker in hand -- questing to buy more "as seen on TV" products. The worlds emerging nations will craft those products, burning whatever is needed, with the dream of becoming morbidly obese. Our fossil fuels are running out. We are destroying the environment. Yet, we must allow ourselves and others to prosper.

Republicans will say that free market should reign supreme. We need all the power we can handle in our endeavors to become more prosperous. We should not be held back by petty concerns of what MAY happen tomorrow. Those scientists don't KNOW what will happen. We must think about our bellies TODAY. We need jobs TODAY. We need cheap energy TODAY. We must think about our bottom-line TODAY.

Democrats will say we must regulate and tread carefully. We need to find new green technology so our endeavors can continue to prosper. We should give some thought to what MAY happen tomorrow. Those scientists might KNOW what will happen. We must think about our children's TOMORROW. We need jobs for a clean TOMORROW. We need clean energy for TOMORROW. Our bottom-line must wait until TOMORROW.

Clearly, we need to research ways to make all this energy a lot cleaner. Also, we need to dispel some of the myths made by industry. Machinery is not my strong suit, but there is tons of information about running cars off alternative fuels. There is information about oil changes that last for 300,000 miles. Someone other than the petroleum and automotive industry needs to start paying engineers.

As people, we need to scale back on our creature comforts. Do we really need that new iphone?What was burned to make it? How much fuel was spent shipping it? Will we buy the new one 6 months from now? Did I leave the lights on? Is my house cold because I didn't install new windows? Do I have the air-conditioner set to 60 degrees because I got hot sitting in my Lazy-boy in October? Should I drive to the McDonald's 2 blocks away?

If we don't ask these questions today and deal with these issues soon, we might find ourselves scrounging around in the cold dark night, fighting over wood.

 

The Boston Marathon

The Boston Marathon Bombings

5:14PM April 15, 2013

Upon rolling over and checking the time on my phone, I'm furious to find out that I overslept on one of the busiest days of the year. Anger quickly turns to shame, shame to self-loathing, and self-loathing to depression. I might as well check these messages and have a peek at Facebook while I wallow in my sorrow...

3:12PM April 18, 2013

I have to go to work....%$^&*#$ bastards! Well...Statistically, I am wayyy more likely to die in a car accident than I am from a terrorist attack*. Wayyy more likely to mugged** Anyhow, those guys must be farrrr away from here by now. Bet there are a lot of people who are still trying to flee to the airport....

10:47PM April 18, 2013

"Oh my god! Someone got shot at MIT!"
My head whips around,"What?!"
"Our campus security sends us alerts! They said someone got shot at MIT!"
Shaking my head, I suggest,"You guys might wanna pick another bar....."

 The Boston Marathon has been a yearly tradition since 1897. During this past years tragedy, even though they crossed the finish line, many kept running to donate blood. After 26.2 miles, some even turned right back around and willingly ran into the face of danger. The City of Boston and the surrounding suburbs learned that they can enforce martial law, even without a play-off game going on. The nation learned that even Bostonians will compliantly remain in their homes after such events -- if asked. The world learned that even Bostonians will cooperate with law enforcement -- long enough to hunt your ass down.

I even heard that next years race will be bigger.....

**"According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 510 drivers were murdered on the job between 1992-98. Taxi drivers are also victim to more violent assaults (184 per 1,000 workers) than any other occupation with the exception of police (306 per 1,000) and private security guards (218 per 1,000)." OSHA

*"You are 1048 times more likely to die from a car accident than from a terrorist attack" -- infowars.com

This Weeks Subject

9/11/2001

On the morning of 9/11/2001, I was sleeping as usual when my creepy friendly neighbor decided to let himself into the house to wake me up. He barged-in, yelling some nonsense about stuff being blown-up that my asleep brain couldn't decipher. However, alerting me to danger before my slumbering mind could figure out where I had left my baseball-bat, or utter the words, "someone better be dead", was really in everyone's best interest. Ignoring our tea while trying to make phone calls to loved ones, we looked on in horror as the second plane hit the towers. He was trying to contact his wife, who had left earlier that morning for work, while I tried calling my boyfriend who had departed a few days ago, to drive a truck around the country.

In the wake of 9/11, everything seemed to stand still. The only animated life to be seen were the talking heads on the television; even they seemed to talk slower, their facial expressions bereft. In the relative safety provided by the flimsy cages of their homes, Americans sat glued to their televisions, their loved ones close by. In the event that you needed something from the grocery store, you might have found that you'd forgotten what you'd come in search for, among those familiar aisles, coming unfrozen some time later, near the Hungry Man dinners. If you had to go somewhere -- absolutely had to hit the highway -- you had to wonder if the person in front you might have a break down, inadvertently losing control of their car.

Americans had never seen a terrorist attack kill so many people on their home soil. People were in a state of shock, ready to believe what they were told, and wanting someone to blame. Traumatized, they were too shaken-up to think clearly, and ask appropriate questions of their leaders. Patriotically, they were ready to do as they were told, thinking it was in the best interests of their safety. However, I think some leaders used this to advance their own personal agendas.

 Additionally, with 9/11 being carried out by extremist individuals originating from outside the U.S., it gave our leaders that much more leeway in exploiting the general public's fears. Extremists, and their always righteous views, inevitably breed contempt -- especially from other extremists. In the aftermath of the attack, America has a surge of extremists finding themselves surrounded by like minded people.

There are reasons that other countries have been known to dislike or distrust America, which speaks to the good sense of trying to pass yourself off as Canadian while traveling abroad. From American soil, it's hard to say who is winning George W. Bush's "War on Terror". In a sense it is unquantifiable, as I won't be informed of what our government can't acknowledge, and my only real gauge is that I am alive, writing a blog.

Today, even after new laws were enacted to help thwart terrorists, giving the government access to an array of personal information, and all the airport scanners were paid for, so the general public may safely travel, it is hard to say if we really are any safer than we were on that day. Waging wars around the world does not make America look more favorable, instead it just throws fuel on the fire, adding weight to extremist rhetoric. Also, America is home to many home-grown, lone-wolf, school-boy terrorists. We are a land of gun owners, with a high ratio of gun related deaths. We top the list in incarceration, and boast the most serial killers. We never know what the future will bring, but now that George W. Bush is out of the White House, I know I feel a lot safer.