Is $3.17 paying to much for a gallon of gas?

As someone who has had to buy gas over the last few years or so, i have to agree that i have at some point complained that gas was getting expensive and ridiculous. Matter of fact i used to cherish the days when gas $1.65 or so a few years ago (when i moved to the US) but then i  was amazed when people tell me gas used to $.79 (79 cents or less) a gallon. But then it got me thinking, what is the actually price of gas? How much should i be paying for gas?  With my little knowledge of cost 0f production from microeconomic classes i realized that for me to asses the actual cost of gas, i have to take into account the military budget set aside to protect oil fields, the lives probably lost in protecting these oil fields ( we all know a person's life is beyond any monetary value ), the lives lost since 2003 in Iraq; soldiers and civilians alike (if we agree that the war was for oil), the cost to pay the workers and employees of the oil company, the amount of money for transportation of oil to the refineries and from the refineries to the gas stations and of course the actual refining process. So now i ask myself and in so doing  ask you all that how much do u think is the price of gas? Before you even think of saying I'm crazy of thinking like this, keep in mind that this is the same procedure used to assess any  business venture worldwide by entrepreneurs of any caliber (small and big business alike)- the difference between this cost and the outcome is what we all call gain or profit. Personally i think that it might be more than $3.17 a gallon but now before we can complain, i think we should consider how lucky we might actually be to pay $3.17 giving how much is put into oil production. We should think of the brave men and women over in iraq every time we stop at a gas station when we fill up the car to drive down the street " and cool our heads" when we could just walk. We should think of the lives lost in making sure we pay $3.17 a gallon since 2003 rather than fuss about paying for gas (granted it may be a strain on most of America). Most of all we should count our blessings for being part of a free nation and know that there are people out there who can even afford a single decent meal, let alone a car or gas for its smooth running                                                                                         

Why are we in Iraq?

Well this question has pondered  everyone from the political minds in our government  to the layman in every city and even to students in colleges across the nation. This question has been posed in different forms and versions since 2003 when the United States Military invaded Iraq but here I am today still been faced with the same question; a question even our President hasn't till date answered confidently and sincerely. To some, we are in Iraq because they had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and they posed a treat to the US and the world as large. Members of our government even took it a step further;Donald Rumsfeld said he could even pinpoint the actual locations of these WMDs and Colin Powell boasted to the UN the actual weight in pounds of how much weapons Iraq was concealing. Nonetheless, the UN's inspectors could find anything and the US government could assist to protect their confidential sources... Moving on! 

Another possible explanation for our massacre in Iraq was to dethrone Saddam Hussein the dictator but then we all know the long history of the US working hand in hand with Saddam as well as other "dictators" especially when it is to our interest as a nation. 

                               

 Point is this wasn't the reason either why we went to war because the UN has in place procedures for dealing with war criminals and leaders like Saddam as seen with the those involved in Rwanda's genocide.

Bottom line to me at least is that we went to war for our selfish economic reasons and whatever positives we got out of that like dethroning Saddam and introducing democracy is nothing more than a cover-up. The US sought to control Iraq be it for its oil or whatever natural resources because it once more put us in control of other nations who might need these resources and more importantly restored the US as the "superior" nation. Supporting this train of thought crossing the minds of every free-thinking American, Harley Sorensen even writes that; " conquering Iraq was the first step toward dominating the oil-producing nations of the Middle East and eventually the world" as well "eliminate Iraq as a treat to other nations like Israel!  

Saying Goodbye to "the American Patriotism" and Hello to an "earthly patriotism": A response to Robert Jensen

To quote Eugene Debs, " I have no country to fight for, my country is the earth and i am a citizen of the world", i think this hits the nail on the head as to why i agree with Robert Jensen's position in the article "Goodbye to Patriotism" because we have to stop think of ourselves as citizens of individual nations but more of as citizens of one race belonging to the earth. When the terrorists bombed the World Trade Center amongst many other realted attacks, they claimed they were doing it in the name of Allah (God); some may claim that to be patriotism-the love and loyalty to a belief or religion (rather than a nation) so how different are we who despise terrorists when we bomb Iraq, hurt innocent civilians and claim we are defending our country or worse of all as some say "the lives of US citizens are more important that the lives of Afghanistan citizens". Why do we continue to isolate ourselves be it by sex, race, ethnicity and nationality from those of the opposite sex, race, ethnicity or from different countries? Last time i checked. the USA is part of this world so when people say "we should bomb Afghanistan till there's no earth to bomb" doesn't that include bombing the US as well? Its time i think we start looking at the bigger picture- World Unity and fighting for a common goal and being patriotic to the world rather fostering our individual goals as a nation. American feel the same grief when they loose a loved one and i can bet my life savings that Afghanistans who have lost loved ones feel the very same grief! So the question isn't being patriotic to the US, the question setting aside all our differences as a nation( from others) and realizing that we would achieve more if we all show "love and loyalty for the world".

Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right

Personally i think capital punishment (lethal injections or hanging or electrocution) for crimes like murder or whatever are morally wrong for the simple reason that we are indeed killing someone-granted that they killed too. Some may even make the ethical argument that capital punishment is also wrong because it defeats the purpose of correction (correcting someone) because the person doesn't live to learn from their mistakes but the purpose of this blog isn't to get into a debate about capital punishment and all that hoop-la. I used that example because i think it is fitting with the topic of patriotism and our support of the war in Iraq. I condemn acts of violence be it the 9/11 attacks, or apartheid in South Africa or better yet wars because i think there might be more-peaceful alternatives and especially since innocent citizens get harmed in the process. How is destroying a whole nation solve the problem of terrorism or better yet how does it prove my patriotism if i don't support this war. The war in Iraq affected many citizens for the worse and the grief those people feel for their loved ones is the same as the grief felt by families across the US who lost friends and family to the 9/11 attacks.Fighting violence with violence isn't necessarily the answer thus why i don't support the war in Iraq but that doesn't make me less patriotic to the US. If anything, i wished we didn't have to send troops (our brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, uncles and aunts, friends and neighbors) out to war but since we did and can't go back in time, all i can do is support and pray that they return to their families and loved ones.

The Human Contribution

A classmates of mine (jeremy paquette) intelligently suggested that although we might blame the human race for many environental and ecological mishaps that may affect or somewhat destroy the fitness of the earth and its ability to support life, we might just be contriubting to the ever present concept of evolution. Pollution, global warming, research on animals, having a preferance as to what animals to eat, selecting a female partner and etc are all human activities that are comparable to other animals who prefer a certain food source to others, display a trend to mate with others outside their group (allopatric speciation) etc. The bottom line is we all; human and non-humans animals alike, are part of this earth and whatever we do might after all be just a matter of natural selection which in turn increases our fitness (the ability to survive from generation to generation) and consequently our contribution to evolution. When a deer from the savoy state forest decides to mate with another from North Adams, it does that to increase its genetic variations and in so doing, its fitness. Humans on the other hand do the same-that why the normal, average human being will mate with someone genetically different from them (outside the family). These activities are just natural to animals and are our contribuion to the evolution process. I make the same argument for technology as well, especially the research on animals. I do in no way condone the suffering and pain we might inflict on animals during research but i do say doing research into the gene that causes a strain of CMT is as important and similar to peahens prefering peacocks with bigger, brighter tails ( a representation of their healthy status and good genes). If due to research we can succesfully block the gene that causes the genetic form of CMT, without any aftermath, then we can possible have a couple with the blocked out gene pass it on to their children who intend pass it on and in due time have a sizeable population with no HSP27 gene thus eradicating the possibility of CMT. So although i think research could be at times cruel, i think it is just our contribution to the natural order of things, in the same manner by which gray wolves (Canis lupis) tend to mate with domestic dogs (Canis familiaris)- a possibilty of giving the respective specie a better chance or survival, thus shouldn't be judged at least on a moral basis for its intent but rather for the manner in which the intent is fulfilled!

Defending Meat Eating: A response to Pam Saunders

Before i even start this blog, i would like reinterate that i in no way necessarily support the views expressed by Pam Saunders but after searching for hours and hours for an article or piece of writing that could defend why myself and others eat animals and meat-products, i thought the least i could do was share this with my readers. In her three page article termed; "In Defense of Meat: Guilt- Free Choices, Pam Saunders raises two main (atleast to me) that are credible defenses for meat eating;what do we do with the cows and livestock we've grown for food and the a second issue referring to how plants use animal products-manure and decomposed matter for their own sustenance. The first argument she makes is widely known to many involved in animal rights discussions wherein it poses the question that we can't exacly let these animals back into the wild for the obvious reasons that they wouldn't be able to fend and provide for themselves as their wild counterparts would. I know we are the reason behind why these animals may have lost their natural instincts so some will say keeping them as livestock doesn't fix the problem either so they are better off being free and through generations, they can get these instincts back via evolution or just natural selection. The second argument and the one i'm most interested in ( for the purpose of this blog), is the idea of plants using animals for their survival as the natural order of things. Some may say this is a version of Benjamin Franklin's argument : if they can eat each other...then why can't i?" but i think its got some credibility! I'm not taking the "if they eat animals, then i could eat animals too" route but i would like to know how others feel especially the vegans and vegetaranians. Do you rethink you plant produce now that you know that it may have absorbed its nutrients and stored its reserves from animals themselves? Are u indirectly consuming animals when you eat plants?

Reality Check

What is reality? We may not agree on what we individually define as reality for the simple fact that the facets of reality are sometimes subjective and compiled with the discrepancies in our knowledge of the world or better yet if our knowledge or belief of our knowledge of the world is solely based on our interpretations of that "truth' or is it the "truth" beyond any human interpretations. Well we may never come to terms on the reality of the world or the truth of the world but what we can all agree on is the reality of the disaster in New Orleans called Hurricane Katrina. As my spring break, i alongside 18 others from MCLA (Massachusetts College of LIberal Arts) volunteered with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and together with other student groups from Miami University of Ohio, Oklahoma State, Taiwan, South Dakota, Portland-Oregon and many more (totaling and sometimes surpassing about 100 students daily) were responsible for planting 25000 trees (oak and cypress) in the Fontainbleu State Park in Mandeville ( on the city limits of New Orleans) which lost 90% of its trees thanks to Hurricane Katrina. The trip was eye-opening for it gave me and many others a perspective on how much the lives of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana were affected. Even after two years and counting, the devastation is still evident by the number of destroyed houses and bare foundations left standing in the neighborhoods of New Orleans. I was brought to tears listening to the stories of habitants who lost everything but are still steadfast in their faith in God (something or someone we still haven't come to terms to...His existence or none thereof) and are moved by the volunteer work and dedication the youth and many others are showing towards the rebuilding efforts. I write this blog to offer a voice for those in New Orleans that a lot still needs to be done and the reality of the matter is that although we may not necessarily have ties to the state of Louisiana, we kinda owe it to humanity and the people affected by this tragedy by doing whatever we can to help rebuild. In the words of Lady Chase who has owned and operated the Dooky Chase restaurant in New Orleans since 1942 " “If you come down here and don’t put a hammer to a nail, that’s ok. Just come. You being here is a push, and we need a push. We’ve have a lot of work to do down here.” and that sums it all......doing anything is something worthy of helping.