Gas Prices Shoot Up Because of Fire

On Friday gas prices were raised the alarming amount of 21 cents. People assumed that gas prices would raise slowly one nickel at a time, but this three hour fire created so much damage that gas prices shot up. Prices were actually supposed to slowly decrease but since the fire destroyed some of the resources California is going to have to pay.

In Relation to Sexual Abuse: It's Affecting Parents and their Views on Men and Teaching Postitions

Another conversation I happened to over hear today was about a mother who wouldn't let her child attend an early science engineering class because she feared the male teacher was a pedophile. At first I was angered at this thought; how dare she just assume any male teacher is a sexual predator. It's not within the teachers capability, once the gossip starts, it never stops. And the poor, innocent teacher gets accused of a title he never deserved. But then I tried to think as a mother, and I realized she doesn't have much control of her thoughts either these days. The amount of pedophiles today are growing and seemingly good people are turning out to be disgusting and twisted. I have no solution, the teacher does what he loves, teaching; but the mother is showing her natural instinct to protect her children. I wish we could prove that not all people are like those who torture; and show that there are good people. Good men, who can teach our generations valuable education without sexually abusing them. Our world has changed so drastically.

Local Dad, Local Sex Offender. Finally Caught.

I hadn't heard much about this particular case of sexual abuse before a member of my family came home and started talking about it. The member of my family had worked with this sleazy father and was horrified when he heard the news of the abuse. I finally looked it up online to discover that this local, church-going, father of six, had been sexually abusing his daughters. On one source it gave the detail of the abuse starting at the mere age of 3. Horrifying. Disgusting. What's worse? His wife was in collaboration and even watched the sexual acts. This brings up Jaycee Dugard case. It just exemplifies that sexual abuse is no longer an act of man, but also woman. It makes me wonder how my future children's life will be. How can I tell if my husband will be a sexual predator. Another thought, this sexual predators are no longer just blank faces in the newspaper, the sexual predators just became real to me. This thought is frightening.

Mixed Embyos; Mixed Emotions

This couple decided to have their another child by way of an implanted embryo. Somehow the mother ended up pregnant; but with the wrong embryo. When the couple heard the news of the mix up, they were naturally devastated. They were disappointed that they would be having a child of a different genetic heritage then them. However, this couple already had three children of their own blood. I feel like since they already had three children, they were overreacting when they would not be having a biological child. They are pro-life, so the option of aborting the embryo was out of the question; if they feel so pro-life, then they should just feel the joy of growing another life. The idea of a human growing inside of a person is already amazing, and when you already have other children, you should realize what a gift it is. Is this couple going to love this child any less? Will they treat it any differently than their other children? Probably not, but if the idea of having different blood in their child is so devastating that they are upset, then I feel like this couple doesn't realize what parenthood is about. I feel that loving a child is not affected by the blood running through their veins, but affected instead by their environment.

Another point of view to take is over population. This couple has three children! They don't need any more!

Our World and It's Illness

Al Gore once said, "...our Planet Earth has 'a fever'." When he said this, he was talking about how we, the people of this planet, are abusing our natural gifts. I then realized that he was right. I am only seventeen and I drive to and from school everyday, without carpooling, to swim practice, to church...I drive a lot more than I should be at this age. I wonder if everyone in America, who was able, could possibly drive just ten miles less each week. It doesn't sound like much, but just ten miles each week will add up to a lot.

The Police Sited Garrido 3 Times; They Still Didn't Notice Dugard

Just another comment on the Dugard issue, it's shocks me to know that the police had caught and charged Phillip Garrido three times and they still didn't search his house. I realize that a stolen girl in the world is like a needle in the haystack, but honestly for offenders, there should be routine checks. I'm not saying every sexual offender needs to be checked in on, but those with more than three accounts are screaming for attention. Horrifying.

Obama Endorses Education with complaint from the peanut crowd?

Today President Obama gave his education speech, and to my surprise people still objected to this statement. As my gov teacher said, Reagan and Bush Sr. both did it with little or no complaints fro the population. George W. Bush however, also endorsed education, but to my recollection, wasn't he holding the book upside down? Thank you Obama for showing that you care.

Clean Safe Water in California

In California alone, there are 150 thousand people who do not have access to clean, safe, drinkable water. Even though California said they value domestic use of water, it is not a guaranteed right to have that access. It's appalling, people should not have to pay for water. We as a nation encourage it though. We pay for bottled water made by soda companies. And right now, there is a bill in front of the California Governor which would guarantee clean water for individuals, not companies. This bill is for the people, it's not to protect the business.

Horrified or Relieved

It's really unbelievable that after 18 years, Jaycee Lee Dugard, was alive. She walked into a police station at the age of 29 and identified herself. It's really surprising that for the entire time she was hidden in a local home in Antioch. I am horrified to think that the police gave a mediocre search for her and couldn't seem to find the girl hidden in a backyard. Also horrifying information, she was raped, most likely countless times, and bore two children. The ages of her children? 11 and 15. She had her first child at the age of 14. Barely entering puberty. Also astonishing, the wife of her rapist was completely informed of the situation, and did nothing about it. It surprises me that she was "ok" with her husband raping a young girl (clue enough to get help). It's terrifying knowing this story and being a young female. It makes me believe that there really is very little safety in this world.

Bush vs. Gore (What we could have had)

In Thomas Friedman's, Hot, Flat and Crowded, he mentions a quote of Al Gore. "The planet Earth has a "fever"." It sparked my interest that Al Gore is still quoted to this day about his concerns for the world. He shows his interest in the future of our planet and of our species. I wonder how our world would have been shaped differently if in the 2000 elections, Al Gore was elected instead of George W. Bush. Would we have made less mistakes, would we have made more? Would our world be in a better place, physically and figuratively? Would America have more alliances? These are all questions we will never know because America made the crippling decision of electing George W. Bush. I'm not saying that Gore would have been the best President, or even a better President; but he would have taken us in a different direction and today we would be in a better place.

Obama's Stay in School Speech - PTA member objects

At local middle school, it was known that a parent of the PTA strongly objected to President Obama's "Stay in School" speech. I don't know which I find more surprising; the fact that a parent of a student objected to a President encouraging children to stay in school, or the fact that in our past we have had more disappointing Presidents that didn't show good examples of supporting education and she [the parent] will not condone the support of President [Obama] that shows compassion towards education. As a parent of a child, I would have expected her to show gratitude towards a leader who tries to keep her child in school.

The Power of Hatred is Immense

What could he have been thinking when he stated his thoughts on Obama. I am sad to know that he holds such anger against our President and such prejudice against homosexuals. And just a question, I'm not a Christian/Catholic/Jewish follower, but is it within the terms of his religion to wish death upon a person or group of people?

If you want to know how I'd like to see Obama die, I'd like him to die of
natural causes," said Anderson. "I don't want him to be a martyr, we don't
need another holiday. I'd like to see him die, like Ted Kennedy, of brain
cancer."http://primebuzz.kcstar.com/?q=node/19782