Orlando Terror Attack . . . Worse Mass Killing Since 9/11

      What's Going on in the World? Mass shootings. If you haven't heard yet, there was a mass shooting in Orlando where 50 people were killed. This is the largest US mass killing since 9/11. What . . . in  . . . the . . . world!

      This occurred at Pulse, a LGBT nightclub, and the shooter is identified as 29 year old, Omar Saddiqui Mateen. According to investigators, they "have suggestions the individual has leanings towards (Islamic terrorism)". On pro-Islamic forums, ISIS sympathizers have been praising the attack. The shooter was killed by police. Due to this tragic event, the Orlando mayor has declared a state of emergency.

      The United States has the highest amount of mass shootings in the world. According to CNN, there have been 90 mass shootings between 1966 and 2012 in the US, but there have only been 292 in the entire world. It may be too early to say, but this seems to be a clear act of terrorism. However, to the LGBT community, they may see this as a hate crime. Whatever the motive is, we need to have better gun control. 

      Gun control has always been a divisive issue. According to Gallup, "less than half of Americans, 47%, say they favor stricter laws covering the sale of firearms". That is understandable because people want to be able to protect themselves and keep their rights as Americans. 

      Yet, there is some hope. According to Pew Research Center, people are more open to specific restrictions, such as a ban on assault weapons, which is one of the weapons used by the Orlando shooter. It's going to be hard to have gun control legislation passed through Congress because so many people love their guns. I just hope that people can overlook their own wants, and try to get specific, effective gun control legislation passed for the greater good of this country. 

      Some of you might be thinking that these shooters don't get their guns legally. You would be right. According to Mother Jones (an independent news organization), from 1982 to 2012, out of 62 shooters, 49 of them obtained their guns illegally. However, with more restrictions, there will be less guns to sell. As a result, a decrease in supply will cause an increase in price. Thus, this may help make it harder for potential shooters from obtaining guns in the first place. 

Climate Change . . . Look at the facts!

      What's Going on in the World? Climate change. I don't care if you're a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or an Independent, but can you understand facts? Then, why is there still controversy?

      

      The following graphs are from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). which is an United Nations body that seeks to understand human-induced climate change. As you can see below, over the years, the arctic summer sea ice extent has decreased. Also, the sea level has increased a lot in just over a century. As our world becomes more industrialized, the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide will continue to hurt this world since it is a detrimental greenhouse gas. 

      Now, some of you might be thinking: The climate has been fluctuating for thousands of years. That is true, but not to this extent. An example of global warming is called the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). This occurred around 56 million years ago, but there are some important differences between this warming event and today's warming.  First, the causes for PETM were natural, such as volcanic activity and fires. The main cause of today's warming is the burning of fossil fuels. During PETM, the amount of carbon dioxide emissions released per year was 5 billion tons and the temperature rose 0.025 degrees Celsius per 100 years. However, for today's warming, the amount of carbon dioxide emissions released per year is 30 billion tons and the temperature is increasing 1 to 4 degrees Celsius per 100 years. All of this information is from https://www.wunderground.com/climate/PETM.asp?MR=1 

      

      Now, Donald Trump has said his fair share on his opinion about climate change, which include calling global warming a "total hoax". However, when it comes to his own golf course, climate change is a real threat. Donald Trump wants to build a sea wall for his golf course in Ireland in order to combat the effects of climate change. What . . . in . . . the . . . world! We shouldn't reject climate change because it will affect our way of life or our business. Climate change is a real problem that needs the support of the American people. You are entitled to your own opinions, but you are not entitled to your own set of facts. 

      

Trump . . . What Now?!?

     What Going on in the World? Trump . . . again! In the past, Trump has mentioned he wants to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, have a temporary ban on Muslims, wants to deport over 10 million illegal immigrants, called Megyn Kelly a "bimbo", and now he is attacking the judge that is presiding over the Trump University case. What . . . in . . . the . . . world!

      Trump believes Judge Gonzalo Curiel has a conflict of interest for presiding over the Trump University case due to his Mexican heritage. Even though Trump thinks this conflict comes from his promise to build a wall between Mexico and the United States, Judge Curiel was born in Indiana and has in the past prosecuted Mexican drug smugglers. If judges can't work on cases based on their heritage, then African American judges can preside over cases involving police shootings where African Americans were the victim. What makes a judge professional is being able to set aside their own political ideology and personal experiences to make a decision on a court case that properly reflects the fairness of our legal system. As you can see, Judge Curiel is able to set aside his heritage to properly deal with Mexican drug smugglers.

      Even with all this, Trump is able to get endorsements from a big portion of the Republican Party. Most recently, he got the endorsement of House Speaker Paul Ryan despite previous objections to give Trump his support. The Republican Party is so concerned about keeping the party united that they will desperately support a candidate who has, in the past, been open to starting a third party bid (if he didn't get the nomination) and been harsh with other Republican candidates who had run for president. In a column, Speaker Ryan had mentioned that he and Trump had "more common ground than disagreement" on the main issues that make up their political agenda. Speaker Ryan does not mention that he fully supports Trump. It seems that Speaker Ryan is just attempting to unify the party in order to beat Secretary Clinton. Our political parties are more concerned about beating one another than working together to make America a better nation. 

Democrats vs. Republicans . . . vs. Libertarians?

      What's Going on in the World? Party polarization. As you can obviously see from this presidential race, things are as heated as ever. If you turn on the news, there is at least one segment about people from opposing political parties getting into fights, especially at Trump rallies. It is amazing that we have reverted to violence just because we have different beliefs in how the government should be run.
      When starting this great nation, George Washington couldn't have guessed how far technologically we would achieve. However, he did warn about how political parties can be detrimental to the nation at large. He was concerned about the parties attacking one another and not coming together to help run this new nation. The Democrats and the Republicans are those very political parties that George Washington had feared over 200 years ago. They are in a never ending boxing match that will lead to nothing but hate and division.

     However, I have hope. Down below is a picture of Gary Johnson, the current Libertarian Presidential Candidate, who was the Governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003. I like the Libertarian Party because its political platform is generally fiscally conservative and socially tolerant, which I believe a good portion of Americans believe in as well. Over time, I think the Libertarian Party can mend the divisive relationship between the Republicans and Democrats due to its platform having ideologies from both parties. 

      Yet, a lot of people don't either know about Governor Johnson or the Libertarian Party platform. What the general public needs to do is have Governor Johnson get to at least 15% in the polls (he is currently at about 10%), so that he has a chance to speak at debates with Mr. Trump and Secretary Clinton. With so many people against either Trump or Clinton, wouldn't it be nice to have a viable third option?

The Age of Oil . . . What's Next?

      What's Going on in the World? Well, gas prices have been going up. No more having gas being under $2. So, what now? Whenever gas prices are low, alternative fuels, such as solar and wind, get less attention. This is because we are currently in the age of oil.

       According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2011, petroleum constituted about 36% of total US energy usage. Many people say that we need to convert to wind and solar . . . NOW! However, according to the EIA, renewable energy only constitutes about 9%, where 35% of that is hydro-power, and wind and solar constitute  13% and 2% respectively. What . . . in . . . the . . .world! If we converted entirely to renewable energy sources, it would not be able to keep up with our infrastructure.

      How can we lessen our dependency on oil? Well, another important energy source is natural gas, which constitutes  about 26% of total US energy usage. I think that it is a good substitute because it can be used as an automotive fuel, and it burns cleaner than gasoline. Natural gas has a high energy yield and emits less carbon dioxide than oil and coal, which will help decrease greenhouse emissions. In the near future, the US should ban fracking due to its environmental impacts and because the supply of natural gas is already so abundant that fracking is not needed for the time being. 

      Now, there are drawbacks. Natural gas is still a non-renewable fuel that emits carbon dioxide and contains methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas. Also, it is explosive and requires pipelines to transport it. 

     We have gradually become dependent on oil, and it will take time to get off of that dependence. We should not abruptly change our energy usage to renewable sources because that transition would be costly and could hurt our economy. By using natural gas as transition fuel, we can economically become a cleaner world. Yet, we shouldn't become dependent on natural gas 50 years from now. What I'm saying is that we should allow natural gas to take the place of oil, so that renewable sources have the time to become more economically viable and efficient. 

      

      

Chinese Ad: Racism vs. Capitalism

      What's Going on in the World? Party polarization, terrorists attacks, rogue nations, reality shows we shouldn't watch but do anyway, long lines at the airport, Trump vs. Clinton, corporations that want you to buy things that you don't need . . . What's next? Well, if you haven't seen it yet, there was an ad for a laundry detergent where a Chinese woman puts a black man into a washer after putting a laundry detergent tablet in his mouth. After the washer is done, a Chinese man comes out. What . . . in  . . . the . . .World!

       Alright, it is 1916 . . . wait a minute . . . it's 2016, and this is still happening! This is a testament that there is still racism in this world! Also, it shows that we will do anything to sell something. Think about it. If this commercial was not so controversial, then it wouldn't get the publicity that it is currently getting. Some people say that there is no such thing as "Bad publicity". But, on the other hand, is it right to defile a race in order to sell a product? If you need to do something as drastic as this in order to sell your product, then your product must be really bad. It should be able to sell itself without the need to do something so vile. The spokesman for the company that made this commercial had said, "We meant nothing but to promote the product, and we had never thought about the issue of racism." What . . . in  . . .  the  . . . World! You are telling me that your firm, who is probably well-educated and has a lot of lawyers to protect you from lawsuits, didn't see that this could come across as racist!
      This needs to change because we are in the 21st century where we shouldn't be making prejudices based on the color of your skin. This will not be achieved until people are more open to diversity. I know diversity might be scary because it means we will need to work with people that are different than us. However, we can have diversity if we are united by some common core values. We must be united in our beliefs of democracy, respect, equality, and other important freedoms.Well, this is what's going on in the world. See ya next time.