One Final Post

As spring finals begin, second semester comes to an end. In previous years I have been excited for the summer break and the chance to enjoy some time with out having to worry about school. However, this summer I can not say that. I would much rather be here at school than back at home. I think this is a testament to the great opportunities for learning, fun and friendship here as SMU. Is anyone else gonna miss this place?

I can't believe that we have been here for as long of a time as we have because it has gone so by so fast. Im sure everyone can look back at the year and think of countless good times they had. I know this really hit home for me during our floor's closing meeting. I remember almost like it was yesterday our first floor meeting looking around at people and not knowing any of them. The second meeting I looked around at some of my best friends. Summer will be fun but I will definitely not be sad once next semester begins.

Aggressive Game

Some guys are known to have a very aggressive game with the ladies while others take a more passive approach. It seems to be a personality thing where some guys are just relentless. Recently a Washington DC man made headlines for his extremely aggressive game.

A girl he had been talking to at the party all night was leaving so he decided to make his move. Supposedly he told the girl's cousin that he would start shooting at them if she wouldn't give him her number. Stubbornly the girl refused and ended up getting a ricocheted bullet in the ankle.

As I tried to imagine this scene of events in my head I was just dumbfounded by the actions of both people involved. If anyone threatens to shoot me for my phone number it's theirs. Regardless of how creepy they are. Make up a number for christ sake. I know girls are sometimes creeped out by guys asking for there numbers but if you were threatened like this wouldn't you at least give out 10 digits of randomness?

And the guy... he needs to tone it down about 7 notches, don't you think? I hope I'm never to the point of rejection that I am having to ask for numbers at gun point. I mean rejection hurts us all but its going to take a very long cold streak, about 20 years, for me to get to that level of desperation. I'd say it be worth it to go ahead and strike out that night than to spend the next few years in jail over one telephone number.

Arizona's New Immigration Law

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signing the bill.

Arizona has recently passed a very controversial law regarding illegal immigrants and the police's power in checking IDs for suspected illegal immigrants. If immigrants do not possess the proper immigration papers they are subject to being detained and deported. Many view this laws as unconstitutional and predicted that people of Hispanic decent will be unfairly profiled and harassed. Laws similar to Arizona's are in place in some other countries including France but they are the first of their nature in the United States.

I think was Arizona did was smart for protecting their state. Not only have they brought illegal immigration to the national stage they have shown the federal government if they are not willing to step up and protect the boarder then they will do it themselves. It is a very cavalier attitude that is often not present these days. Also, it will most likely see a mass outflow of current illegal immigrants who decide to risk their American Saga in other states. It is arguably unconstitutional but the constitution was not written to protect the rights of those who are not citizens or legally in the United States. It is not fair that Arizona has had to bear the brunt of a national problem because of their geographic location.

I think it is hard for other states to understand the positions of Arizona, California, Texas and New Mexico because other states do not have to deal with illegal immigration as much. Other states do not spend their tax dollars on people who are their illegally and who pay no taxes themselves. If these states were dealing with this issue on a daily basis as well I think they would be much more willing to accept a similar law. It is hard to make it a federal law because 46 of the states are relatively unaffected by the consequences of illegal immigration.

Many notoriously liberal cities such as San Francisco have held marches and have declared themselves as "sanctuary cities" who will welcome illegal immigrants. San Francisco supervisor David Campos said, "We as San Franciscans need to send a very clear message that this kind of discriminatory law is not going to be tolerated." It is ironic that cities who are making public statements like this are being praised by Americans. San Franciscans are blatantly ignoring a federal law in order to protect people who are here illegally. However, if they are too open about it then they will have a major influx of immigrants and will be facing similar problems of Arizona. On behalf of Arizona though props to San Fran for taking the bullet on this one.

If many US cities decide to blatantly disregard federal law then we will have a large problem on our hands as a country. These cities think they are doing a favor for liberty but they are actually undermining the entire justice system, the one that protects all of our liberties to begin with. Fortunately other cities have not been as blatant in their disregard for federal laws and illegals do not have as many sanctuaries as they would like. Do you agree with San Francisco's disregard for federal laws or do you think they should be punished for their lack of enforcement?

Oil Spill Update

Crews have been unsuccessful in trying to stop the leak so far. Specialists have also increased their estimated leakage to 5,000 barrels per day from their previous estimate of 1,000. President Obama flew down to visit and witness what he called "a massive and potentially unprecedented environmen[tal] disaster." Obama pledged to send down National Guard troops down to help with the clean up and containment effort.

Obama has already passed on the blame to BP and has assured Americans that although the government is sparing no expense in the clean up effort BP will ultimately have to foot the bill. If it takes two months to build a new well then it could end up costing billions of dollars. Also, after two months of oil leaking into the ocean it could cause a great amount of damage to the ecosystems. Hopefully the National Guard troops will be able to stop the leak or at least contain it as best as possible in order to preserve nature.

Ocean Oil Well Explosion

The Oil spreading throughout the Ocean(above).

The Explosion being put out by boats (below).

Oil is one of the most precious natural resources in the World, especially in the developed world where the majority of transportation relies solely on what come call "black gold". If it were not for Oil many of the Middle Eastern countries, and some of the wealthiest individuals, would not have the wealth that they do today. Unfortunately, these countries have limited production in order to keep a constant supply to an ever growing demand. If supply does not increase along with demand then prices increase rapidly.

In order to counteract this trend the US and other countries began searching for Oil in a less hostile and closer region. In the Gulf Of Mexico they struck gold. Currently there are hundreds of off shore wells that are basically planted in the ocean and pump the oil directly out. A process that works great as long as the tides are kind and no ocean storms arise.

On April 22, a drilling platform had an explosion and a massive oil leak was created. The leaked oil has spread out to an area of over 1800 square miles. An area sure to have detrimental effects on the natural inhabitants. Currently, Oil is flowing out at a rate of 42,000 Gallons a day. Their are certain strategies that have been tried but it is not possible to tell if they have successfully worked. A worst case scenario would be that BP would have to drill another well and cut off the current flow, a process that would take nearly two months.

The ocean is an incredibly unpredictable place to put such a dangerous rig. I wouldn't be surprised if stricter regulations are required for all current and future oil rigs. Do you think it would be fair for an animal activist group, such as PETA, to sue BP for their carelessness? Personally, I do not think this would be fair because BP correctly followed all current procedures and the unexpected occasionally happens.

As for now let's hope the crews can get the leak stopped and the oceans cleaned before complete ecosystems are harmed. The Gulf of Mexico already has a "dead zone" where coral no longer grows. Hopefully this spill will not ruin what is currently a gorgeous coastline. Do you think the US should abandon its practice of building offshore rigs and drilling in the oceans?

April 15th- Not Such a Burden for All Americans

Everyone pays income tax in America right? That was always the impression I was under so I was astonished when I found out that 47% of Americans will not pay income tax for 2009. In fact a majority of that 47% will actually receive a check from Uncle Sam. It's no wonder why America has such a large national debt. The top 10% of American earners pay 73% of income taxes, it doesn't take much of a economist to recognize how skewed these percentages are. Granted the top 10% do have incomes larger than 10% of the nation's incomes. However, this is America and people should be able to enjoy their right to make money and not bear such a large burden of the Government's Tax Revenues.

These numbers would not seem so unfair if those who didn't pay any income tax just benefited by the fact that none of their income went to the government. But the fact that the government is so far in debt and still handing out checks on April 15th seems a bit superfluous.

According to Deloitte Tax Consultants a family of four making $50,000 a year would end up with a $31 dollar check from the government for their owed income tax for the year. I have never worked anything more than a summer job nor have I tried to raise a family of four so my understanding of incomes might be a bit warped. Do you think that these families should come away from tax day in the green?

Easter Travel Day

I rarely have reason to complain about SMU’s break and vacation policies, which I feel are very generous. However, I think that having Friday, April 2^nd off doesn’t really make much sense for the Easter Holiday. It is more customary to take a Friday off than a Monday but I think in holidays where Sunday is the day of celebration, for most, a Monday seems to make more sense. The whole reason for having the break it to celebrate Easter with your family and friends.

SMU is a diverse community. Professors, students and the administrative staff are comprised of many different religious backgrounds so one could argue that it is not right for Jewish or Muslim student to have their semester broken up by a long break. I am simply stating that if there is a break to be given I think for the majority of student's travel plans a Monday break would be more beneficial. In fact a Monday holiday could actually make the three day weekend less religious because the Friday that is given off is actually Good Friday.

Many Students though live far enough away that they will spend the majority of Sunday traveling to get back for Monday classes. I think Easter should be one of those rare exceptions to take Monday off and hold Friday classes. Do you like the way the calander is set up or do you think the days should be switched?