Travel: Official, but Necessary?

As much as our national leaders travel the globe, one must wonder with the anti-American sentiments in the world, is this a good plan? On this day in 1914 Archduke Ferdinand, the leader of Austria, and his wife Sophie were assassinated on an official visit to the capital of Sarajevo. Yet this act didn't only affect Austria. The murder of the Austrian Archduke was the first of a chain of events that led to World War I. Five years later, on June 28, 1919, the Allied Powers met with German leadership and signed the Treaty of Versailles that is considered the official end of the Great War.

In an age when the globe is connected through television, video conferencing and internet cell phones, is it necessary or worth the risk for our national leaders to visit countries that are in political unrest or are known for their anti-American sentiments?

Where'd you get that?

In our consumer-driven society we seldom stop to think about the mileage that our goods have seen before they get to us. Other than a "made in" tag or label or a bumper sticker encouraging purchasing goods made in the USA it is rare that one considers the effort it takes to get our goods.

The St. Lawrence Sea way is the navigational channel that connects the Great Leaks to the Atlantic Ocean. Since the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, June 26, 1959, more than two billion tons of cargo of more than $300 billion have moved through the 2,500 mile system of canals, locks and waterways.

As you get dressed or purchase an item today, see where it was made and consider whether your goods have traveled more than you have!

PollPub.com Vote

on what continent was your shirt made?

North America
South America
Europe
Asia
Africa
Austrailia



View Results

Poll powered by PollPub.com Free Polls

This land is your land, this land is my land….

Over the past few weeks Senators have been trying to get a bill regarding immigration to take a second pass before the Senate. The bill would allow millions of currently illegal immigrants a lawful status during the tightening of border security as well as create new procedures for eliminating illegal workers in the United States. The bill currently includes amendments such as $4.4 billion into border security, barring illegal immigrants from gaining lawful status until border security and workplace enforcement measures are created, requiring all illegal immigrants to go home within two years in order to receive a Z visa to live and work lawfully in the U.S. and many other issues that are still to be voted on.

Even as these debates and votes go on, work on a border fence is taking place. Yet ironically, in December of last year, one of the companies working on the fence was fined $4.7 million for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.

In a country founded by immigrants, it seems almost anti-American to create laws that make immigration harder for those who want to live the “American Dream,” but the idea of immigration laws is not a new one. On this day, June 18, in 1798, President John Adams passed the Naturalization Act which was the first of the Alien and Sedition Acts. These acts were created to give to the federal government the ability to deal with suspicious persons while America was threatened by war with France. The Naturalization Act changed the requirement of time spent living in the U.S. before applying for citizenship from 5 years to 14 years.

Many at this early point in the United States’ history were opposed to Adams’ imposed act, such as Thomas Jefferson who thought it to be unconstitutional, yet others, such as George Washington who fully supported Adams.

So as we consider these new immigration acts and the policies in which will be put in place, we must ask ourselves if we think they are constitutional. Further more, we should also ask if the freedom and equality which has been battled throughout the short history of our nation has been defined only for those who were born within this nation. Should the “American Dream” be only available to those who are “native Americans”? (And if so, how does that affect you, an immigrant or a descendant of an immigrant?)

The video below shows a parody of the meeting of the Native Americans and the British in reference to the current Immigration Debate (if you choose to watch the video, please pardon the buffalo's language)

"Never Again"

This day in 1942 Anne Frank received the diary that she used to portray the life of a Jew in hiding during the reign of Hitler. The story of a young, teen girl changed the world forever as her diary was published and provided an insiders point of view of the world that was so rapidly closing in on her. After World War II the world said that Geoncide of that magnitude would happen "Never Again." Genocide was a very real problem in the world of Anne Frank, but unfortunately it’s a problem in our world today too.

Today, in a region of Sudan known as Darfur genocide is a reality. The Sudanese army has directly supported attacks against the nomadic Darfuri people. As many as 400,000 Darfuris have died since attacks began in 2003 and over 2 million have fled their homes to neighboring lands.

With what we have learned about the Holocaust and the genocide during World War II, many question how genocide could ever be allowed to happen again, and especially at such a high level. High school students in Massachusetts asked just this as they began a project on Myspace and Facebook to elicit donations to help the people of Darfur and to change their world. This project grew into a network of high school and college students through social networking that has raised over $300,000.

Teenager Anne Frank wrote in a diary that informed the world of the injustice she and so many faced and teenagers today are able to use the Read/Write web to impact their world and attempt to help relieve the injustices that face others half-way around the world.

Check out the websites below to find out more information about Darfur and how you can get involved.

Save Darfur

Students for Darfur

Making a difference surfing the web

Taxation for Cruisin' the Nation

As gas prices are at an all time high, consumers are questioning what can be done to reduce the hike. Economists suggest that to decrease the price of gas, it is a simple supply-demand equation, meaning Americans should use less gas to decrease the demand and the price will drop. But how can members an automotive-driven society be encouraged to drastically reduce the number of miles they put on their vehicles every year?

One suggestion that economists make is that “the government should phase in a tax on gasoline to give drivers an incentive to travel fewer miles and use the revenue to develop mass transit and increase research in alternative methods of propulsion.” Taxing gasoline began in America on June 6, 1932 when congress enacted the Revenue Act of 1932. While this act taxed a variety of consumer goods, a 1¢ per gallon on gasoline included by Congress.

Today, gas taxes are determined both on the federal and state level and can be more than 25¢ per gallon on gas purchases. Could an increase in taxes on gas really solve the gas price hike or encourage Americans to search for alternative transportation measures?

Congress searches for phony villains in gas price hike

This Day in History 1932: First Gas Tax Enacted