Support our troops?

The budget for next year’s Iraq spending is being debated and passed in Congress currently. It comes in total to about 165 billion dollars, and includes an increase in pay for the troops of 3.9 percent. The Democrats in Congress increased this raise from the White House’s suggested 3.4 percent. Last week President Bush released a statement saying the extra raise was “unnecessary” and that he “strongly opposes” the pay increase. So I ask all the flag-wearing bumper-sticker-donning half-hearted Republicans who have tried to patent patriotism—who supports the troops?

Stop it!

I am not an environmentalist and am brutally disinterested in animals. I know. So certainly I am not the most credible source for critiquing litterers, but when the aesthetics of my hometown are at stake I must speak out. Rarely does someone walking down the street throw their trash on the ground, next to a bench, in a potted plant, mixed in with the mulch—it is quite lazy let alone reprehensible. Everyone must agree; littering is bad. Then why do smokers find it completely appropriate and normal to throw their dirty burning cigarette butts around the community? It is a piece of trash. Just because you are addicted and have to annoyingly carry the remains of your habit around once every three hours it does not excuse littering. If you are a smoker and throw your butts wherever you happen to be when finishing, you are a strain on the community and make our cities look worse. Stop it!

Side note: CNN just did a story about a girl who was choking and was saved by her teacher. How many times has everyone seen that happen, experienced it, or known someone that it happened to? It is quite common. Considering a war started a few hours ago in Lebanon, at least 20,000 died in Myanmar, and gas prices hit an all time high again for the fourth straight day—you’d think they’d talk about something worthwhile? Slow news day? No—they just have mixed up priorities.