Gun Control

I am astonished on President Obama's lack of interest in maintaining the recent sensible gun control laws that we've had for decades. The most recent ruling to go into effect is one allowing for guns to be able to brought into the national parks. For me, this makes hiking on a trail through a national park more stressful than staying home.

We know that that the Mexican drug wars are, in part, being fueled by illegal guns bought in the United States. I think that we need the few
gun laws that are still on the books, especially at those gun shows. This seems to be one major source of fire power for drug dealers and other dangerous criminals.

Conscientious Consumerism

Every purchase we make has a consequence on the carbon footprint, human rights and even corporate behavior. For instance, buying a tea or coffee brand that uses sustainable practices for local environments and farmers would be better than buying similar beverage brands without such consideration.

Now, let's talk about Walmart. People like to shop there, because the prices are cheap. But, what's cheap at one end costs US employees at the other end. As the largest US employer, Walmart can influence wages, benefits and treatment of employment at other businesses. Also, there's a serious problem of Walmart buying from overseas sweatshops. This is how the company saves money by buying from businesses that pay their employees poverty wages.

New Inventions That We Could Use

There are many inventions that would be useful for the every person. Here are a few of my ideas:

1) A clip to attach to an upright vaccum to keep the cord out of the way. Does anyone remember the problem of snagging the cord while accidently running over it?

2) A clothesline that dries clothes by rotating and possibly some warm air blowing through them. This would free women from having to use public laundry facilities for drying and wouldn't need the standard air vents for conventional dryers.

3) A scarf that also serves as good cold weather mouth coverer. This would help people with asthma and bronchitis deal with the cold weather. Sure, you can just wrap the scarf around your face, but we could use a bit reinforcement in the area that goes around the face to be more affective.

4) Getting rid of the need for electric cords may just be around the corner using specific electrical frequencies. I've always thought cords to be a nuisance and eyesore, so this invention is fantastic. BBC Story: Wireless Power System Shown Off

I would like to see televisions come equipped with built-in DVR's and DVD player/recorders. This would reduce the mass of wires necessary to use the television and it's accessories.

Also, why not have computers and printers that have modems that built into the hardware? That would be another sore sight saver.

Chargers for cell phones and MP3's could be built-in so that one would only need to plug them into the wall to recharge. How easy would that be?

4) A digital watch that is easy to set and use. Who needs a stopwatch, calender, and seconds counter? Why not have a watch with the four buttons: One for setting the hours, the second one for the setting the minutes, the third one for setting an hourly alarm, and finally the fourth one for a backlight.

5) I would like to see dryers that can dry in 30 minutes, which is about the time it takes to wash a load of clothes. This would be helpful in saving time and makes it easier to do 2 loads back to back.

Making Shopping Fun

Do you ever dread going clothes or grocery shopping, because you know that you'll have to struggle to find what you want quickly and am bored throughout the whole process?

My solution is to have stores make sures that there's a simple grid pattern of aisles without stuff put in the aisles so that you can get where you going.

Also, how about a kiosk, where you can look at what they have and see where it is located? This would save wasted time wondering about looking for something that they don't have. Another helpful idea is to keep everything where they are in logical locations and not move them around so much.

Dealing with the boredom factor, I think that game and reading stations could be placed where you can stop and relax for a bit and get a beverage. It would also be cool to have fun murals on the walls with seasonal themes.

Habeus Corpus

Habeus Corpus: Where Is It?

I would like to see president establish the rule of law for the detainees in Guantama, Cuba and Bagram, Cuba. We, as US citizens, believe in fair trials for all, no matter how heinous the crime. If we don't allow the detainees to a speedy and fair trial, I believe this is a type of cruelty for the guilty and innocent prisoners in these facilities. We don't want to become the monsters that some of these offenders are. Those that are found to be guilty should get what they deserve and those unfortunate innocents that have been tortured and cruelly confined should be released with our apologies.

The US department of justice decided to downgrade the findings on the torture memo lawyers, Bybee and Yoo, from professional misconduct to "poor judgement". See, the Newsweek article. I am also wondering about the abilities of Eric Holder and his staff to adequately conduct investigations and create legal and ethical rulings.