Inmates first

There is another huge controversy brewing in relation to the H1N1 vaccine. Now the issue is that convicts who are at high risk for swine flu are recieving the flu vaccine before some members of the general public. I understand that people are upset because they have to wait in line with their kids for the vaccine, while prison inmates are getting the vaccine. However I don't believe that just because someone is incarcerated they should be denied a necessary vaccine, if someone is immuno-compromised it shouldn't matter that they're in jail, they should be vaccinated like any other high risk American so they don't get sick and die.

National Opinion or National Buzz Kill?

Recently Americans have been developing more pessimistic attitudes. According to a poll from the Wall Street Journal/NBC News, 29% of Americans feel that the economy has "pretty much hit rock bottom", thats more than a handful of fairly fatalistic opinions.

As our world progresses into the 21st century, capitalism is increasingly the economic system with which our country defines itself. In my opinion the "free market capitalism" that America applies economically has become the springboard from which corporations and individuals can sail towards corruption and selfishness.
The side effects of capitalism are numerous, as Paul Hawken the author of "Natural Capitalism" wrote, "Somewhere along the way to free-market capitalism, the United States became the most wasteful society on the planet". The waste accruing because of our flippancy and lack of concern for the ramifications of our actions, includes traffic jams, landfills, Styrofoam waste, and less tangible things like greenhouse gases, and radioactive waste. We have also developed a society of wasted souls, with issues like homelessness, drug addiction, and the neglect of the sick and the old, running rampant. In a society where individual success is all, and he who dies with the most toys actually does win, it should not even be surprising that a majority of people are basically incapable of looking a few years into the future and recognizing that the choices they make today have the potential to cause issues down the road. Another component of our system which should be completely obvious is the lack of regard that people have for one another. Unfortunately since it is not financially beneficial to care about others or help them, many just choose to live selfishly. In a society where there is less empathis on the individual's success and more empathis on living responsibly, there are less occasions of social waste.
Capitalism provides a strong perch for corporations like Wal-mart to create nests of corruption for themselves. Capitalism should be applied purely as an economic system, if at all, but it should most definitely not be invoked as a defense for greed and exploitation, which it all too frequently is. A society where the wealthiest members own businesses that do not provide particularly necessary services, and the economic bottom tier of the population is comprised of the employees of the aforementioned company, is obviously a very unbalanced, unhealthy society. I am not advocating pure Socialism, but I do believe that there should be more of equilibrium between the poor and the rich, and that everyone is entitled to the fulfillment of their basic needs. We are a nation of people whose lives are driven by attaining their wants, while a majority of people on earth live every day with the simple goal of fulfilling their basic needs. While there are people residing in our nation who do not have their needs fulfilled on a daily basis, the rest of us should be willing to sacrifice a few unnecessary luxuries to provide our fellow Americans with food and shelter.
America has always stood as a land of opportunity and a place where dreams could be achieved. Unfortunately we have become a society of selfish, greedy people who will run themselves into the ground working to provide themselves with any trivial consumer good that their heart alights upon, but they have absolutely no concern for their fellow man. In a nation where most people are much more concerned with buying a new car than with providing their fellow Americans with food and healthcare. In a society that unbalanced, I believe changes need to be made, and since Capitalism is the pillar which supports many of our nation's vices, I believe it should be the first thing to be knocked down.

Ageism?

Not exactly, but in a Florida retirement community, people are rallying together to evict a six year old girl. I totally understand why rules stating a minimum age for a resident of a community designated for retirees ( after me and my older brother had an adventure around my grandmother'
s community and we were shrieked at by every octogenarian in sight, I got the picture. They like their grandchildren, but not everyone else's).
However I think that it is ridiculous that the community members can't just be generous and drop their prosecution until the couple with the granddaughter in question is able to sell their home. Forcing a young girl to go live with foster parents because her grandparents can't sell their home strikes me as very cold-hearted.

Citations can be Issued for: Failure to stop, speeding, and.. not speaking English?

A Dallas, Texas police officer apparently gave a woman a ticket for not speaking English. This was not, however the only time this has happened! Over the past three years, 39 people have been issued citations for not speaking English, a completely invalid charge. There is a law stating that Taxi drivers and commercial drivers must be able to speak English, but no where does it state that private citizens must have a full command of the English language to drive a car in Texas..

Although considering that it is Texas, a law like that wouldn't surprise me. They do after all have a law stating that people are not allowed to eat their neighbors garbage without their permission. Doing so will result in Jail time!
hmmm.. ok Texas.
Also children in the city of Mesquite can not have unusual haircuts, namely mohawks.
I think it should be a law that no one anywhere can have a mullet.

The Zero Waste Movement

Delightfully individuals and corporations all through our country have upgraded from little waste policy to zero waste policy, Honda has become so efficiently zero waste that they no longer need dumpsters! Hopefully this will mean ZERO new landfills, and ZERO waste, I hope so, but the cynic in me won't be holding her breath.

32 new earths??

Now that would be exciting! Even though they are not earth like, the 32 new planets discovered by European Scientists are pretty cool. This record breaking discovery (32 at once!) brings the total of planets discovered outside of our solar system up past 400! Who knows when we'll find the next earth..