SAT scores dive; prepare for change!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/28/AR2007082800648.html?referrer=digg

SAT scores reach a low.

By "prepare for change" I mean to just start thinking of the US as a declining country. When I was growing up, we were #1 in pretty much everything, including defense, technology, education, health care, you name it. My first inkling that something was wrong was Ronald Reagan. He promised to cut taxes AND increase defense spending. That could only be done with deficit spending, which he proceeded to do at an astonishing pace.
Next was a friend from Finland who told me in 1983 or so that Europe no longer looks up to the United States. That really surprised me.
The final straw was the current Bush administration. First he was just a lazy president, which is survivable. Then after 9/11 he became a crazy activist president, reacting in exactly the wrong way over the Twin Towers attacks. Bin Laden was a cult leader of a small band. Bush reacted as if the USSR had just dropped a nuke on us, and attacked 2 countries.
Bush and the republican congress went on a huge deficit spending spree again, on top of the war costs (about $500 billion so far). So now our military is worn down, our economy is weak, our infrastructure is crumbling, and our SAT scores are going down. My how times have changed. Prepare for them.

So you think the US economy is healthy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGpY2hw7ao8
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1948.shtml
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/column?oid=oid%3A494048
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article1204.html?ref=patrick.net

The US has spent its money on a military that is larger than ALL the other militaries in the world combined. And we still can't keep an army in Iraq.
The Bush administration has given huge tax cuts to the wealthy, thus starving the federal coffers. Meanwhile, it borrows like crazy, which means that this year we spend billions in interest that we wouldn't need to pay if we'd just pay-as-you-go in federal buying.
We need to strangle the military industrial complex, put that money toward the federal debt, drop the tax breaks for the rich, and start building up our infrastructure again.

China threatens to use its hold on US debt against us

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/08/07/bcnchina107a.xml

That's what you get when you become a borrower nation.

don't mix religion and politics

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/18922/evil-george-bush

Helping to reduce heat island effect in cities

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0804greencolumn0804.html

A replacement for asphalt is available that does not absorb the sun's energy like asphalt does. This can help reduce the "heat island" effect from cities' roads, parking areas, etc.

Things are About to Change

Time to change, my country. Be nice to other countries. Be nice to the environment. Make your own energy. Respect the law.