Limiting Gun Sales a Good Idea

In response to Francisco Jaimes blog "Limiting Gun Sales"I would have to agree with you and the Obama Administration on limiting the sales of guns along the bordering states of Mexico.  I was born and raised in south Texas and have personally seen the effect of this drug war that is currently taking place.  It's not like the old days when you could cross the border into Mexico safely and make it home with no worries.  Times have changed and the war on drugs is growing stronger with every passing day.  I am a owner of firearms and know the responsibility that comes with owning a gun.  Limiting the sales of firearms will help slow down the smuggling of firearms into Mexico.  The last thing we need to have, is the Mexican drug cartel arming themselves with semi-automatic weapons giving them the upper hand on law enforcement.  The drug war in Mexico is going to be a never ending battle.  We need to do anything possible to help stop the war on drugs, limiting the gun sales in bordering states of Mexico is a good start.  Here is Francisco blog so you can read on what he had to sayhttp://talkinggovernment.blogspot.com/2011/04/limiting-gun-sales.html.

Are Banks in trouble?

              The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (F.D.I.C) closed 5 banks recently bringing the total number to 39 for the year.  The F.D.I.C shut down banks in Florida, Georgia and Michigan last Friday, a total of five closures. The F.D.I.C seized First National Bank of Central Florida, based in Winter Park, with $352 million in assets and Cortez Community Bank of Brooksville, Florida, with $70.9 million in assets.  In 2010, authorities seized 157 banks that succumbed to mounting soured loans and the hobbled economy.  Florida and Georgia have been the hardest hit states for bank failures this year.  A total of twenty-nine banks were shut down in Florida last year and 16 in Georgia.  Counting the shutdowns recently on Friday, four Florida banks have been closed this year alone and 10 in Georgia.  It was the most in a year since the savings and loan crisis which happened over two decades ago.  Which makes you wonder if our hard earned money is safer stuffed under our mattresses at home then in our banks?  The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation does insure your money up to a sum of 250,000 dollars if the banks do fail.  With many banks being closed down this early in the year, it does raise awareness of our current economic crisis we are dealing with as a nation.  With our economy still struggling you can guarantee the F.D.I.C will seize more banks by the end of the year. 

We Do Need To Try Harder

After I read your article http://thebrainofbryan.blogspot.com/, I cannot help but also too realize the problems with our education system today.  When I was in high school I could also recall walking the stage telling myself how did that one individual earn enough credits to graduate when he or she wasn't present half of the time.  The nations education system has fallen over the last couple of decades and are struggling to keep up with other foreign countries education.  Compared to other foreign nations, the United States has the biggest education spending budget which spent an estimated 26.5 billion alone in 2002.  With all this government spending on education you cannot help but ask yourself what is the problem?  I also believe having the best qualified teachers for the job would also help with the problem.  Attendance is another problem with our public schooling, most schools are way to soft on this matter.  The Government pays the schools based on the number of students walk across the stage.  Teachers just don't have the passion for teaching anymore and don't care to watch their students succeed.  We are not preparing our students for the real world but sheltering them from the reality.  We have the funding and resources for our students to succeed in life with a good education, our teachers just need to challenge the students more.      

The Truth to the Federal Reserve Bailout

             At the height of the financial crisis in the fall of 2008, the Federal Reserve loaned as much as 3 trillion dollars worth through its "discount" loan window.  Hardly any loans are now being made through the program because banks are in stronger financial shape and economic conditions have improved.  Earlier this week the government released the names of the company's and banks that received bailout money.  The biggest borrowers from the 97 year old discount window as the program reached its crisis era peak were foreign banks.  Accounting for at least 70 percent of the $110.7 billion borrowed during the week in October 2008 when use of the program surged to a new record.  

            The central bank is being forced to take the action because commercial banks had lost a court battle to keep the information private.  With the current turmoil happening in Libya, a current company part owned by the central bank of Libya also received a substantial sum of bailout money.  Six European banks were among the top 11 companies that sold the most debt overall for a combined 274.1 billion to the Commercial Paper Funding Facility.  The disclosures may stoke a reexamination of the risks posed to United States taxpayers by the central bank’s role in global financial markets.  Other foreign discount window borrowers on October 29, 2008, included Society Generale (GLE)SA, France’s second largest bank, and Norinchukin Bank, which finances and provides services to Japanese agricultural, fishing and forestry cooperatives.  A Paris based Society Generale borrowed $5 billion that day, and Tokyo based Norinchukin borrowed $6 billion. 

              Makes you think what is our government doing passing out money that we don't have to foreign banks and companies over seas?  We have our own financial problems here in the United States with hard working citizens not being able to pay their mortgage's on their homes and the unemployment rate being so high.  The problem with our government is that they are always putting other foreign countries problems first and not focusing about ours first as a country.

Guns on Texas School Campuses

            There has been a much heated debate in Texas recently over a bill that would allow students who have a concealed hand gun license to carry a firearm on campus.  I recently read more on this bill and came across a article called, " Texas lawmakers' guns on campus bills still a bad idea".  The article is out of Dallas Morning news and is written by a journalist named Jeff Wentworth who works for the newspaper.  In his article Wentworth describes all the possible scenarios and examples for complete failure with students carrying concealed hand guns on school campuses.  As how heated arguments between students can lead to a situation going to far as pulling out the pistol and shooting the other student.  Jeff also considers the circumstances such as accidental shootings that can occur from a handgun being set off.
            Concealed hand guns would not only be allowed in the classrooms but students will be allowed to carry them around the whole campus and in there dorms.  Wentworth also argues with amount of alcohol present with college students would be a recipe for violence and killings.  Wentworth makes very good arguments that i cant even disagree with but with all that put aside i am a fan for guns on school campuses.  In the state of Texas before you can carry a fire arm legally you must first get a concealed hand gun license through the state.  You must complete a course that is based with knowledge and safety regulation with owning and firing a hand gun.  After you pass the written course you must demonstrate firing the gun with confidence and accuracy before an instructor.  You can complete the course within a day and only costs around 300 dollars for the course and actual license itself.  Having that said no ordinary Joe would be allowed to carry a gun on campus only permitted students with a concealed hand gun license.  It would make me feel safer and I am sure other students will feel safer knowing they can protect themselves and even prevent a catastrophe such as the Virginia school massacre.
             Me personally as a Texan I have been around guns my whole life so I don't feel violated if another stranger has a permit to have a fire arm on them. Jeff Wentworth has very good credibility that he is a journalist for the Dallas Morning News but I do not agree with him on his agreements.  Yes Wentworth has very good arguments against concealed hand gun licenses but the world and students would be safer having their own protection.  Wentworth is trying to reach out his arguments to the community who do not support gun control laws in Texas but the truth is half of the legislation is for passing the bill.  I hope the legislation passes the bill it would be for the benefit for us students and for citizens letting us know once more its our right to bear arms as citizens.

Here is the article i got my opinions on and more you can read off of http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20110225-editorial-texas-lawmakers-guns-on-campus-bills-still-a-bad-idea.ece

Trouble With Public Pensions?

I have recently read a column published by Ruben Navarrette Jr, who is a reporter at cnn.com.  The title to his column is called The trouble with public pensions? Ask San Diego, is about public pension being cutting of to the state and making the pension money come out of the state to pay their retirees.  It would be a huge cut to the city of San Diego, where he reported a 3.6 billion budget shortfall.  He explained that the city had been shortchanging its public pension fund to the tune of more than $1 billion.  The city of San Diego does not have the money to pay out what it already owes to the current retirees, let alone the multitudes of the future city retirees waiting for their turn.  The public blames public employee unions for the collective bargaining powers they have and the corruptive scandals of political powers in the state.  For instance in the case of the retired city head librarian who makes more than 200,000 a year who received a lavishing pension plan.  The city officials knew of the budget shortfall and the gold plated pension plans but kept quiet to the public.  Know more than thousands of retirees are sitting with no pension plans and its looking like theres going to be no hope for future retirees.  Ruben is doing a good job of reaching out to the public letting the city of San Diego know of there corrupt political figures and their short budget pension plans.  By reaching out to the audience of San Diego they are more well aware of there current situation and can act on it.  Once the word got out of the pension problem city officials who were linked to these deals or knew about it have run from office and were replaced by reformers.  Navarrette Jr, has good credibility being he is a reporter for cnn and presenting strong evidence through out his column.  He shows good evidence of the scandal with the pension plans by presenting column pieces from the San Diego Union Tribune helping him win over his audience of the city.  Having read this story it makes you think really hard about us as working class citizens knowing if our public pensions are being handled properly by our state.  Going through life working hard knowing one day when we retire after being with a company for a long time, we will have a pension plan will let us sleep better at night.

You can read this column at http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/02/24/navarrette.pensions.wisconsin/index.html .

Balancing Our Nation's Budget

I have read an article entitled Balance the Budget Now by Jim DeMint, it caught my attention and decided to write a blog about what he had to say.  Our nations debt has reached it's highest point ever recorded by the government at an astounding 14 trillion dollars.  Our current president Obama has raised the current debt ceiling again for the four time since he has been president.  The government has been borrowing substantial money for the last couple of years in order to keep up with there huge spending spree.  Increasing our nations debt is going to raise our taxes in order to keep up with the surplus of our governments spending.  The republicans and democrats have not yet come up with a solution to cut back the spending.  The year 1990 our national debt was at 3 trillion dollars, here in 2011 the debt has risen to 11 trillion dollars. That as an amazing 450% increase in our nations debt, its on track for 26 trillion in the next 10 years.  With all this government spending a small percentage of the money is trickling down into our economy.  Big industries are benefiting from the large government spending but the small business don't see any of the profit.  Hopefully the government will look closer into the situation they are putting us American citizen in.  We are feeling the full effects of our weak economy today, our future generations are the ones who will suffer from our massive nations debt. Changes in our government spending need to be addressed in order to help our current economic status.  The senator from South Carolina made very good points, i would recommend this article to anyone.

Balance the budget now