Current Event #3

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37509776/ns/technology_and_science-space

On Friday June 4th, the SpaceX corporation launched its first successful test flight of the Falcon 9 rocket, boosting a dragon capsule into low-earth orbit. SpaceX is a private corporation contracted by NASA to develop a low cost space vehicle to bring supplies to the International Space Station. This contract represents part of President Obama's new space policy to privatize part of the space program. NASA will continue to develop programs for deep space exploration and manned space flight with more "mundane" space supply services provided by private companies. SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk, the founder and former owner of PayPal. It's expected that the cost of a Falcon 9 mission will be considerably cheaper than the one billion dollars it costs to launch a space shuttle flight.

I think that this is an important turning point in the space program, but it has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage so far seems to be that the companies involved so far are small and innovative. When big corporations are involved in what should clearly be public/government work, they sometimes put profit ahead of public policy and end up costing more. Also, small, private companies that are free of political patronage problems may be able to achieve specific goals more economically. On the other hand, space exploration is complicated and expensive. Having small, innovative companies with lots of bright thinkers may lead to some technological breakthroughs. However, space exploration remains expensive, difficult, and dangerous.

Senior Reflection #3 - Skydiving

School is almost over and we will be graduating in just a couple of weeks, so I really wanted to do something exciting to end my last year of high school. Therefore, I decided to go skydiving! On Saturday afternoon I drove out to a place called Skydive Orange which is about 2 hours away. I was scheduled to jump at 4 PM but it was raining so I had to sit waiting anxiously for 3 hours until the storm passed. Finally at 7 PM my instructor came over and got me suited up and into the airplane and we took off. After a 15 minute plane ride up to 13000 feet, the door opened and reality hit. I watched two solo jumpers go and then it was my turn. I tried to act brave as we scuffled over to the door, but really I was just hoping I wouldn't pee my pants. There wasn't much time to think because as soon as we got to the door, we were out and falling through the sky. It was the most incredible feeling; I can't even describe it. After at least 15 seconds of falling, my instructor opened the parachute and we floated peacefully back down to Earth. I really loved the experience and I can't wait to go back and do it again!

Current Event #2

Drug Wars in Jamaica

Over the past few days in Jamaica police and military forces have been battling against gangs of drug dealers led by a man named Christopher Coke. The violence has spread from the capital city of West Kingston into outlying slums. So far, there has not been reports of violence spreading to the northern part of the island where all of the resorts are located. Jamaica is the largest producer of Marijuana and also has one of the worlds highest murder rates. Gangs have grown into organized crime networks that are involved with international gun smuggling. According to the article from the AP, the weapons arsenals of the gangs rival those of the police power, making it difficult for them to put an end to the violence. These gangs are also tied to the governering political party, the labor party.

I think it is sad that all of this violence is happening in Jamaica. When most people think of Jamaica, they think of the beautiful beaches and resorts, but they do not realize that there is another completely different atmosphere surrounding the other side of the island. I hope that the police and military forces will be able to stop the gangs and that the violence will subside before it reaches the northern part of the island where all of ther resorts are. If the violence spreads there, tourism will come to a halt and that is a major factor of their economy.

Senior Reflection #2 - College

As high school begins to wind down, I am becoming more and more excited to go to college. I will be attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. This means that next winter, while everybody in Virginia is freezing and shoveling snow, I will be in warm 70 degree weather. :) The campus is located right in the heart of Daytona and is right next to Daytona International Airport and only a five minute walk to the beach. I am planning on majoring in Aerospace Engineering with an area of concentration in propulsion and minoring in homeland security. I will also be doing Air Force ROTC in the hopes of becoming a fighter pilot in the air force after college. That has been my dream since I was little. If that doesn't work out, I would like to use my engineering degree to design engines for jet aircraft. What attracted me to Embry-Riddle the most was the community and the atmosphere. Pretty much everything there is centered around aviation. It is also a small campus with only about 4000 students, which I preferred over larger campuses like Virginia Tech.

Current Event #1

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37176269/ns/technology_and_science-space/
On Friday afternoon, the space shuttle Atlantis launched from Cape Canaveral on it's last mission before it is retired. The launch went off without a hitch and the shuttle made it safely into space. Today, Atlantis finally arrived at the International Space Station, where astronauts will be delivering equipment that will help keep the station running after the shuttle program ends. There will also be three space walks made by the astronauts during their week-long stay. There will only be two more shuttle launches before the program ends: Discovery is expected to launch in September, and Endeavor in November. This is due to President Obama ending low-Earth orbit expeditions and focusing instead on asteroid and Mars expeditions.

I am glad that Atlantis made it to the ISS without any big problems. I watched the shuttle launch on friday afternoon on TV and it was pretty cool to see. It's kind of dissapointing that Obama decided to end the shuttle program. American astronauts will still be able to travel to the ISS, but they will now have to hitch a ride on russian shuttles. However, I understand that the program cost a lot of money and it might be better to focus our efforts on Mars expeditions, etc.

Senior Reflection #1 - Air Show

Today I went to the air show at Andrew's AFB with my family. It is a really great event and I always look forward to it every year. Unfortunately we got there kind of late because of the traffic, so I missed the Army Golden Knights jump and the F/A-18 Superhornet demo, as well as some other performances. However, I did get to see many other awesome things like the F-16, the F-22, and the AV8B Harrier. The Harrier was probably the coolest because it can take off and land vertically, but my favorite plane is the F-16 so it was fun to see it actually fly. Of course the main attraction was the Blue Angels performance at the end. They were amazing, as usual. They perform maneuvers with extreme precision; there is only an 18 inch seperation between the wing tip of one jet and the canopy of another when they are in the diamond formation. My favorite part of their performance was when the two solo jets did a high speed, low altitude pass. They were going over 600 mph! Anyway, overall it was a really great day and I look forward to attending the air show again next year.

Editorial #5

The Future of Flight <-- Link to Editorial

This editorial, from the Washington Post, is about the federal government equipping airports around the nation with a new satellite-based radar system, known as NextGen. This is much more technologically advanced than the current radar system which makes it difficult for controllers and pilots to know the exact location of aircraft in the air and on the tarmac. The use of the NextGen system would result in more takeoffs and landings and the ability to fly more direct routes. In the long run, it will reduce congestion, fuel use, and pollution. The problem is the cost. Many airlines do not want to pay their share for the upgrade, which will cost about $25 - $30 billion, according to the FAA.

According to the editorial, Southwest Airlines has already paid its share of the funds to retrofit its fleet with the NextGen system, and I think other airlines should follow suit. Although it costs them money now, it will benefit them in the long run with reduced fuel costs, etc. The ability to pinpoint the exact location of aircraft could also reduce the number of collisions in the air and on the ground.

Editorial #4

Better Student Loans

In this editorial, from the Washington Post, it was advocated that Congress should pass a bill that would reform the student higher education loan program. Under this reform, the US government would start providing loans directly to students, rather than subsidizing private banks in doing so. In a link to this editorial, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that this reform would save the government $80 billion over ten years.

I agree with what the author of this editorial is saying. The only reason why the banks are making these loans is because the federal government is paying them to do so by subsidizing much of the interest that is payed on them. The government might as well keep this money and use it to provide more financial aid to students. The government has already showed that it can manage these programs efficiently because it does so for other educational grants. This also is not a take-over of private industry because the banks wouldn't make these loans in the first place without government help.

Editorial #3

Link: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/02/white-house-land-grab/?page=2

This article is about Senator DeMint, a South Carolina Republican, protesting a "secret" memo in the interior department, which is studying whether fourteen tracks of land should be set aside as national monuments. DeMint tried but failed to pass an amendment that sought to prohibit the Obama administration from declaring these lands as national monuments.

From the editorial, it sounds like Sen. DeMint is protesting normal procedures by the Interior department to review how federal land under its jurisdiction is utilized and trying to make it sound bad by saying it is secret. He also appears to be distorting facts by saying the Obama administration is grabbing land away from the states. Really, this is federal land owned by all Americans. It is funny that Sen. DeMint (from South Carolina) thinks he knows what the people in these western states (where the land is located) want. People in these communities enjoy the other uses of the land, including tourism and recreation, which have more lasting values than the temporary jobs that come from tearing out resources to profit distant corporations. Mining and logging are important, but they have to be balanced against other long-term uses for the land.

Editorial #2

Goodbye Hummer! An article in the New York times (which can be found here) revealed on Thursday that General Motors will be stopping production of the gas-guzzling SUV. Their deal to sell the brand to a Chinese company recently fell through, which many people suspect was due to the Chinese Communist Party being worried about their image as one of the most polluting nations. The article went on to discuss a proposition made by many political analysts to raise gas taxes. They think that this will encourage people to buy more fuel-efficient cars and would increase use of public transportation. Statistics show that Americans drove 3.4% fewer miles in 2008 when the price of gas shot up to around $4 per gallon. This increase in fuel prices also drove down the number of Hummers and other large SUV's that were sold.

I am glad that I will soon be seeing less Hummers on the road because I think that they are really ugly and obnoxious vehicles. Not to mention they are incredibly inefficient when it comes to fuel consumption... As far as the increase in the fuel tax goes, I don't think that is such a good idea. I personally would support it because I think that we should be doing more to protect the environment, but I have a feeling that a majority of Americans would not be very pleased.

Editorial #1

http://www.newsweek.com/id/233854 <--- Editorial

In this editorial, Zakaria was responding to Sarah Palin's comments that Barack Obama can show he is a tough commander-in-chief by going to war with Iran and that she would support that. This discussion is timely because, as noted by Zacharia, the IAEA now believes that Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon. However, Zacharia also pointed out why it would be an incredibly bad idea to launch an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities at this time. For one thing, it would cause Iran to retaliate by having their allies attack US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. There would also be increased terrorism and it would cause the opposition (the Green movement) to support their government rather than oppose it. Not to mention it would also raise oil prices... The attack probably wouldn't do anything more than delay their nuclear development by a few years, at best. Instead, Zakaria advocates working harder to get a stronger coalition to put in tough economic sanctions on Iran and work to support the green movement against the government in Tehran.

I agree with what Zakaria is suggesting. Even if Iran gets the bomb, there is no way they are stupid enough to use it because they know they will be wiped out. After all, we've got a whole lot more bombs than they do. On the other hand, it would be difficult to stabilize things in Iraq and Afghanistan if Iran decided they had nothing to lose and they started causing even more trouble.

Political cartoon #6

This cartoon was published in The Arizona Star by David Fitzsimmons on January 18, 2010.
It brings up the issue of bank executives recieving large bonuses. The cartoon has a negative view of the situation, portraying the executives as stealing money from US banks. I completely agree with the message of this cartoon. It is rediculous that these executives, who are already extremely wealthy to begin with, are now recieving bonus checks, when so many Americans are living below the poverty line. The money should be spent on helping Americans during this tough economic time.

Personal Response - Crisis in Haiti

For my personal response I have decided to write about the crisis happening in Haiti. After an earthquake that measured 7.0 on the richter scale hit Haiti, it is feared that as many as 200,000 people may be dead. The rest of the world is rushing in aid, but it's difficult to get it out to the people who need it. There is also fear that there will be looting and violence, as people desperately try to obtain supplies. In my attempt to help, I donated twenty dollars to the Red Cross earthquake relief effort. It is not a lot, but if many people do the same, it could help significantly. I think that because so many of us live such comfortable and fortunate lives, we don't necessarily connect with what the Haitians are going through. We need to reach out and help those who are less fortunate. Until the crisis is over, the people of Haiti will be in my thoughts.

Political Cartoon # 5

This cartoon was posted by Monte Wolverton to Cagle Cartoons on January 10,2010. It brings up the issue of National Security. The cartoon's message is that the government is not doing enough to protect the country from terrorism, and that it is to easy for terrorists to sneak past the security measures that have been put into place so far. I agree with the message of this cartoon and I think that more security measures need to be enacted to prevent more acts of terrorism from taking place in the United States. Airport Security in particular has been a topic of discussion, since the attempted Christmas Day bombing aboard a Northwest Airlines flight. Since then there have been new proposals for security screenings in airports. Many people are against these new screening methods because it could compromise their privacy. In my opinion, I'd rather have to go through extra security screening at an airport than risk dieing because a terrorist got onto my plane.

Week 4: New Year - Obama Administration

It is the start of a new year, and according to many economists, the economic recession is ending as measured by an increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, even though we are undergoing economic recovery, the job market is still grim. There was a loss of 85,000 jobs last month, although that's not as bad as in past months. There is still at least half of the original stimulus money to be spent so it is likely that job growth will increase over the coming year. The job market will still not be as good as in past years prior to the recession, but the trends will be positive for job and business growth. Hopefully, the job growth can be in new green industries that will also help address climate change.