More Bad News for College Students and Those Paying the Bill

This Fall the average in-state tuition for colleges rose 8.3 percent compared to one year ago. According to an annual report published by the College Board the list price for a state school is at $17,000. The highest increase comes from the state of California which enrolls 10 percent of four year public colleges. However, even without California the national average still would have raised 7 percent. After reading through this article I found on MSNBC.com I see what a sticky situation the United States is in. We are in a time of great economic depression. Our economy is being surpassed by other countrys like China. We find ourselves in a dire need of great thinkers and those educated enough to find ways to pull ourselves out of this recession. However, with a higher education financially out of reach to so many it seems we will never be able to break this cycle. I truly wish I could fathom such ideas that would be able to pull us out of all time low. "The night is darkest just before the dawn. And i promise you the dawn is coming". -Harvey Dent from "The Dark Knight".

It Appears the Immigration and Customs Department is Finally Doing Some Good.

In fiscal year 2011 the United Stated has deported nearly 400,000 illegal immigrants from American soil. Over half of these immigrants had criminal records ranging from: homicide, sexual crimes, and drug charges. However despite this good news there are still those who believe there is fault in the system, "Immigration advocates complain law enforcement officers are spending too much of their scarce resources rounding up families living illegally who are otherwise law-abbiding". I believe in the American dream and that everyone should have a right to persue it, unless you are a convicted criminal. In that case you have no business, and I personally do not want you to live in my home country which I am so proud of. I agree with the immigration advocates, that we should spend less time worrying about families and indiviuals who are living in America illegally but are causing no problems and are mostly looking for work and or saftey. Instead of wasting time and tax dollars to seek these people out we should focus mainly on those who are obviously "trouble makers", the immigrants that cross the border while having a criminal record. Personally I have a rather humerous and completely hypothetical approach to completely solve all of America's immigration problems. The first thing we do is get about 10 semi-truck trailers, fill the trailers full of all the seditives and narcotics we have confescated in the United States from drug busts, take the full trailers and park them on the Mexico side of the U.S. border. Leave the trailers unlocked and open for about two days, then use every border patrol and immigration officer to gather up the sleeping/passed out immigrants. Then put the would be immigrants on trucks and drive them North to the U.S. and Canada border, drop them off at the border so that when they come to they believe they are still about to cross the border into the United States, however they will actually be crossing the border into Canada. Problem Solved.

New Factors in the Jackson Death Case Could Perhaps Pin the Death on Doctor Conrad Murray.

Since its beggining the Michael Jackson death case has taken many twists and turns. On Tuesday October 11 new evidence emerged that brings to question who is to blame for the death of the pop icon. Jackson's personal doctor claims that while he was away from the room Jackson was able to administer himself more doses of the powerful sedative Propofol. Not to incriminate myself, but take it from somone who has been under the infulence of sedatives, that it is extremely difficult to process any complex thought, much less move. Like the medical examiner who is in charge of presenting the scientific facts of this case, I find holes in Dr. Murrays statement that it was Jackson alone who was the cause of his death. Dr. Christian Rodgers who conducted the the autopsy on Jackson said the Dr. Conrad Murray, "had no precision dosing equipment". He simply had to eyeball it, and as I stated in an earlier blog Dr. Murray was not being paid by Jackson the amount he had earlier reached an agreement upon. The way I see it, you have a pissed off, underpaid, fly-by-night doctor who could have "accidentally" given Jackson too much of powerful seditive. At this moment, in my eyes it seems that all the pieces are there to convict Dr. Murray, but only time and further investigation will shed light on the truth on what really happened that day.

Cataloupe: The Silent Killer

Ever since recorded time, man has had many things to fear. To name a few, crime, war, God, disease, famine, and death. However i never thought i would see the day we have to fear Cantaloupe. A crop of tainted cantaloupe has spread throughout 20 states, made over 100 people ill, and lead to the death of 18. The reason these cantaloupe are so dangerous is because they contain Listeria infections. The Federal Food and Drug Administration is still trying to determine the cause of the outbreak but believe it started when Jensen Farms, a company based out of Colorado, had to recall 300,000 cases of the possibly dangerous fruit. The outbreak makes me question what it was that tainted the fruit, because i have never heard of a dangerous fruit outbreak in the days of early man. I have never read about farmers having to recall their crops in the days of the ancient Egyptians. I believe it is due to the mass amounts of chemicals and growth enhancers we put in our food in the present day. We should learn a valuable lesson from this outbreak that has taken 18 lives. We should let our food grow naturally the way mother nature intended and not let ourselves hinder this process which has worked for thousands of years.

Revealing New Evidence of the Jackson Death Case

On Tuesday September 27, 2011 new evidence came out of the court room on the death of pop singer Michael Jackson, which occoured over two years ago. Prosecuters explained to jurors that Jackson death was due to the actions of his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray instead of his own. After reading through this story I found on MSNBC.com there was one particular piece of evidence that stood out to me. At first the doctor proposed an over of $ 5 million a year payment from the singer for his services but later accepted a $ 150,000 a month payment. Which only results in $1,800,000 a year. This single piece of evidence is enough for me to tip the scales. The amount of money Dr. Murray accepted is far less than the original amount he proposed. Who is to say Dr. Murray was not mad about the payment amount and failed to maintain the proper amount of care he gave to the King of Pop. But was he angry enough to kill Jackson? Or was he simply not giving Jackson proper care because he felt he was not being paid enough. Only until they dig further into this case, i believe they will uncover the truth.

Troy Davis Case

Recently in Atlanta Georgia, an inmate by the name of Troy Davis is requesting a polygraph test before his exicution date. Davis was convicted in 1991 for the murder of Mark McPhail a police officer that wasoff duty in Savannah Georgia at the time. Perhaps Davis's request is the request of a man at the end of his rope, looking for one last way out. The thing about this story that caught my eyes is that several of the witeness that were involved in the 1991 hearing have recanted their testimonies. It just simply baffles me how in 1991 a person, who had sworn to tell the truth can change what they say happened 20 years later. Perhaps prosecuters should further investigate those who gave faulty testimoines. However on the other hand if they do agree to give the polygraph test to Davis and they find he is innocent it will raise question and lower faith in the Georgia justice system. I think it is a risk they should take. If they do find that Davis is innocent then they should charge the witnesses who gave faulty testimonies with obstructure to justice. I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THEY SHOULD PUT AN INNOCENT MAN TO DEATH. And they should be willing to do everything they can to prove Troy Davis's innocence or guiltyness.

"We Teach Tacoma"....no more.

I stumbled upon a video on MSNBC that showed the the teachers of Tacoma Washington staging a massive strike. They sat shoulder to shoulder in the high school gymnassium chanting "WE TEACH TACOMA!!" Later in the video I learned the teachers took a poll, and 87% of them voted for the strike. Fear of layoffs and lack of job security is what drove them to this harsh step. Its no secret that recently in the United States, bad economic times have occured. It is a situation that we are all suffering from, and struggeling to overcome. I believe that being a teacher is one of the most important jobs in our country. It is up to teachers to instruct and guide the youth of America so that the next generation will be well educated. Also, my mother is a teacher, so i have heard stories and seen first hand at how challenging it is to mold the minds of young pupils. With the stress of being an educator added to the stress of possibly no longer having a job is what pushed the 2,000 teachers in the Tacoma schools over the edge. I think further investigations should take place, and more should be do to ensure that the teachers of Tacoma Washington will have their jobs in the future. Finally, when I first saw this news story, my first thought was the children of Tacoma and what kind of example where their mentors showing them by going on strike. After pondering for a moment I realized that the example the teachers are setting is actually a good one. They are showing their students that it is right to stand up in what you believe in, and when things are not going the way you would like them to, it is your calling and duty to be proactive and change them.