Actual Education Initiatives

Now that energy is out of the way, it is time for my next big, hot topic issue: education. Education? Yes...I actually care an immense amount about this issue. At the heart of the strength of the American economy is the strength of the American education system; we need to give everyone in this country the best education we can so that we can compete in the global economy. Education is too important of an issue to let the market economy take its course; government needs to act to ensure that we are capitalizing on the intellectual talent of this country, including the talent hidden away in school districts without proper funding or qualified teachers or in young adults who can not afford to pay a tuition.

So, on to the actual policy proposals. I am trying to separate the political fluff from actual meat. I am not interested in the candidates opinions on education (we should have a stronger education system!); rather, what each candidate plans to do to make that goal a reality.

John McCain:

John McCain Will Build On The Lessons Of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). There should be an emphasis on standards and accountability. However, our goal cannot be group averages. Instead, our focus should be to inspire every child to strive to reach his or her potential. While NCLB has been invaluable in providing a clear picture of which schools and students are struggling, it is only the beginning of education reform.

John McCain Will Provide Effective Education Leadership. John McCain is committed to high standards and accountability, but he is also committed to providing the resources needed to succeed. He believes we should invest in people, parents and reward achievement.

John McCain Will Work To Ensure That Our Children Have Quality Teachers. The single biggest challenge in turning around a failing school is getting quality teachers into that school. To overcome this challenge, John McCain will:

Encourage Alternative Certification Methods That Open The Door For Highly Motivated Teachers To Enter The Field. John McCain will devote five percent of Title II funding to states to recruit teachers who graduate in the top 25 percent of their class or who participate in an alternative teacher recruitment program such as Teach for America, the New York City Teaching Fellowship Program, the New Teacher Project, or excellent university initiatives.

Provide Bonuses For Teachers Who Locate In Underperforming Schools And Demonstrate Strong Leadership As Measured By Student Improvement. John McCain will devote 60 percent of Title II funding for incentive bonuses for high performing teachers to locate in the most challenging educational settings, for teachers to teach subjects like math and science, and for teachers who demonstrate student improvement. Payments will be made directly to teachers. Funds should also be devoted to provide performance bonuses to teachers who raise student achievement and enhance the school-wide learning environment. Principals may also consider other issues in addition to test scores such as peer evaluations, student subgroup improvements, or being removed from the state's "in need of improvement" list.

Provide Funding For Needed Professional Teacher Development. Where federal funds are involved, teacher development money should be used to enhance the ability of teachers to perform in today's technology driven environment. We need to provide teachers with high quality professional development opportunities with a primary focus on instructional strategies that address the academic needs of their students. The first 35 percent of Title II funding would be directed to the school level so principals and teachers could focus these resources on the specific needs of their schools.

John McCain Will Ensure Children Struggling To Meet State Standards Will Have Immediate Access To High Quality Tutoring Programs. Local school districts can certify education service providers but providers can also bypass the local bureaucracy and receive direct federal certification. Education service providers can then market directly to parents. Title I money will be directed straight to the provider.

John McCain Supports Expanding Virtual Learning By Reforming The "Enhancing Education Through Technology Program." John McCain will target $500 million in current federal funds to build new virtual schools and support the development of online course offerings for students. These courses may be for regular coursework, for enhancement, or for dual enrollment into college.

John McCain Will Allocate $250 Million Through A Competitive Grant Program To Support States That Commit To Expanding Online Education Opportunities. States can use these funds to build virtual math and science academies to help expand the availability of AP Math, Science, and Computer Sciences courses, online tutoring support for students in traditional schools, and foreign language courses.

John McCain Will Offer $250 Million For Digital Passport Scholarships To Help Students Pay For Online Tutors Or Enroll In Virtual Schools. Low-income students will be eligible to receive up to $4,000 to enroll in an online course, SAT/ACT prep course, credit recovery or tutoring services offered by a virtual provider. Providers could range from other public schools, virtual charter schools, home school parents utilizing virtual schooling resources or district or state sponsored virtual schools. The Department of Education would competitively award the funds to a national scholarship administrator who would manage the student applications, monitoring, and evaluation of providers.

No actual initiatives are listed under McCain's plan for higher education.

Barak Obama:

• Zero to Five Plan: Obama's comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan will provide critical support to young children and their parents. Unlike other early childhood education plans, Obama's plan places key emphasis at early care and education for infants, which is essential for children to be ready to enter kindergarten. Obama will create Early Learning Challenge Grants to promote state "zero to five" efforts and help states move toward voluntary, universal pre-school.
• Expand Early Head Start and Head Start: Obama will quadruple Early Head Start, increase Head Start funding and improve quality for both.

• Reform No Child Left Behind: Obama will reform NCLB, which starts by funding the law. Obama believes teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. He will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner. Obama will also improve NCLB's accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.
• Make Math and Science Education a National Priority: Obama will recruit math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession and will support efforts to help these teachers learn from professionals in the field. He will also work to ensure that all children have access to a strong science curriculum at all grade levels.
• Address the Dropout Crisis: Obama will address the dropout crisis by passing his legislation to provide funding to school districts to invest in intervention strategies in middle school - strategies such as personal academic plans, teaching teams, parent involvement, mentoring, intensive reading and math instruction, and extended learning time.
• Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities: Obama will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children.
• Expand Summer Learning Opportunities: Obama's "STEP UP" plan addresses the achievement gap by supporting summer learning opportunities for disadvantaged children through partnerships between local schools and community organizations.
• Support College Outreach Programs: Obama supports outreach programs like GEAR UP, TRIO and Upward Bound to encourage more young people from low-income families to consider and prepare for college.
• Support English Language Learners: Obama supports transitional bilingual education and will help Limited English Proficient students get ahead by holding schools accountable for making sure these students complete school.

Recruit, Prepare, Retain, and Reward America's Teachers

• Recruit Teachers: Obama will create new Teacher Service Scholarships that will cover four years of undergraduate or two years of graduate teacher education, including high-quality alternative programs for mid-career recruits in exchange for teaching for at least four years in a high-need field or location.
• Prepare Teachers: Obama will require all schools of education to be accredited. He will also create a voluntary national performance assessment so we can be sure that every new educator is trained and ready to walk into the classroom and start teaching effectively. Obama will also create Teacher Residency Programs that will supply 30,000 exceptionally well-prepared recruits to high-need schools.
• Retain Teachers: To support our teachers, Obama's plan will expand mentoring programs that pair experienced teachers with new recruits. He will also provide incentives to give teachers paid common planning time so they can collaborate to share best practices.
• Reward Teachers: Obama will promote new and innovative ways to increase teacher pay that are developed with teachers, not imposed on them. Districts will be able to design programs that reward accomplished educators who serve as a mentor to new teachers with a salary increase. Districts can reward teachers who work in underserved places like rural areas and inner cities. And if teachers consistently excel in the classroom, that work can be valued and rewarded as well.

Higher Education

• Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit: Obama will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Obama will also ensure that the tax credit is available to families at the time of enrollment by using prior year's tax data to deliver the credit when tuition is due.
• Simplify the Application Process for Financial Aid: Obama will streamline the financial aid process by eliminating the current federal financial aid application and enabling families to apply simply by checking a box on their tax form, authorizing their tax information to be used, and eliminating the need for a separate application

So who gets my vote of confidence on this issue? Both McCain and Obama talk about different ways to recruit and reward teachers in the public education system. I could not begin to decipher which one is the stronger candidate on this issue. I will say I am very happy that both believe Math and Science teachers are highly valuable and and are prepared to take various steps (pay increases, recruiting efforts, tuition assistance) to give students in this country a higher quality education.

Both McCain and Obama discuss the idea of paying teachers more to work in under performing school districts. I believe this is an excellent idea, and I am happy that both candidates are putting a focus on this within their plans. Again, it is hard for me to decipher which plan would actually be more successful.

Obama is the only candidate that discusses expanding early childhood education. I think expanding early childhood education will help give students the skills they need to succeed in school and is a terrific idea. Obama is the leader on this issue in my book.

Obama is the only candidate that discusses in detail how he would support higher education. McCain's website does make mention of simplifying and improving the financial aid process for students, but it really does not come out and say just how he would do that. Obama is very clear on how he would simplify the financial aid process for students. Obama also is the only candidate who makes mention of providing real tuition assistance in the form of an immediate tax credit, not related to financial aid, for "most Americans". While $4000 does not sound like a lot of money, it is a hell of a lot more than McCain proposes. Furthermore, $4000 is enough to allow everyone the opportunity to start their higher education career free of charge.

Obama is the clear winner to me when it comes to education. Although McCain has excellent ideas and detailed specifics on how to provide everyone in this country with a better education (mostly through teacher recruitment), Obama takes this issue away by coming close to McCain on teacher recruitment and simplifying the student loan process, while adding tuition assistance "for most Americans" to his list of proposals.

Joining in the armed services already gives you a way to have the government pretty much pay for your entire education (http://www.military.com/Recruiting/Content/0,13898,rec_step02_education,,00.html). Joining in the Peace Corps, however, is not so lucrative (http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whyvol.finben). I would like to see a candidate propose a similar educational reward for those that decide to join the Peace Corps.

I also would like to see a candidate propose a dollar for dollar match on the cost of an education; meaning, I pay half, they pay half. The eligibility standards for this program should be as follows:

1) This assistance, in the form of an immediate check from the government, would be available to students who choose to enroll in public education, or at a private university if their desired field is not available at a public school within reasonable driving distance, that they applied to and got accepted at, with a cap of $3500 a year.

2) Students who chose to enroll in fields where the United States is currently lagging (math, science, engineering, etc.) could receive a higher payback from the government.

3) Students must maintain good academic standing and maintain good behavior/legal standing.

4) The assistance does not cover the cost of staying on campus; however, it could cover certain additional costs levied by the college, such as printing or parking, as well as the cost of books and a limited school supply credit.

Now the big question; how would the government pay for this? Well...some of the costs could be paid for by the decrease in other student loan funding from the government. Simply put, with the government paying half, many students would not be eligible for some of the financial aid they receive from the government now. But there would obviously be a surge of students entering the higher education system that currently do not even consider it as an option.

Lets say we taxed the 300,000,000 people in this country an additional $50 a year. That comes out to $15 billion. If we say the average cost of tuition at a public school is $7000 per year (this would include books and fees, and is still a pretty high number), $3500 divided by the $15 billion would allow over 4 million people to go to a public school at half the cost. The $50 a year is an extremely small investment when you consider the economic impact these students would create for our country. Of course, we could play with the numbers...there are more than 300,000,000 in the country now that are paying taxes, for example. Those with kids could pay more of the tax. Those with higher incomes could pay more of the tax. We could build a big chain of national casino's to help pay the bill. We could cut some programs to help foot the bill. However we do it...the $50 education tax would be the maximum we as Americans would have to invest to protect our economic futures.

Please let me know your thoughts, if there are any...also, does anyone know how many people graduated from college last year? I would like to know if by 4 million number is far off?

Actual Energy Initiatives

Over the course of the next few weeks, I will be evaluating both McCain's and Obama's websites in an effort to find ACTUAL proposals on various issues. I am not interested in political rhetoric; rather, I will be bringing to your attention actual ideas that illustrate HOW each candidate plans on getting the United States out of its current energy crisis. Some points posted may not seem like an actual idea to you; it is difficult to find specifics related to actual plans and ideas (and rightly so; any specifics spelled out will probably be changed by the time the bill makes it through Congress). What is important to me is whether the candidate is doing more than proclaiming an empty goal; rather, the candidate at least needs to say, in rough fashion, how he will achieve that goal. I am sure it is every candidates goal to reduce carbon emissions 40% by 2020. These goals and statements mean nothing without a proposed course of action to achieve that goal. The following statements are taken directly from the candidates websites, and have not been embellished or edited in any way by me:

John McCain:

John McCain Will Commit Our Country To Expanding Domestic Oil Exploration. The current federal moratorium on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf stands in the way of energy exploration and production. John McCain believes it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use. There is no easier or more direct way to prove to the world that we will no longer be subject to the whims of others than to expand our production capabilities. We have trillions of dollars worth of oil and gas reserves in the U.S. at a time we are exporting hundreds of billions of dollars a year overseas to buy energy. This is the largest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind. We should keep more of our dollars here in the U.S., lessen our foreign dependency, increase our domestic supplies, and reduce our trade deficit - 41% of which is due to oil imports. John McCain proposes to cooperate with the states and the Department of Defense in the decisions to develop these resources.

John McCain's Clean Car Challenge. John McCain will issue a Clean Car Challenge to the automakers of America, in the form of a single and substantial tax credit for the consumer based on the reduction of carbon emissions. He will commit a $5,000 tax credit for each and every customer who buys a zero carbon emission car, encouraging automakers to be first on the market with these cars in order to capitalize on the consumer incentives. For other vehicles, a graduated tax credit will apply so that the lower the carbon emissions, the higher the tax credit.

John McCain Will Propose A $300 Million Prize To Improve Battery Technology For Full Commercial Development Of Plug-In Hybrid And Fully Electric Automobiles. A $300 million prize should be awarded for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars. That battery should deliver a power source at 30 percent of the current costs. At $300 million, the prize is one dollar for every man, woman and child in this country - and a small price to pay for breaking our dependence on oil.

Today, Isolationist Tariffs And Wasteful Special Interest Subsidies Are Not Moving Us Toward An Energy Solution. We need to level the playing field and eliminate mandates, subsidies, tariffs and price supports that focus exclusively on corn-based ethanol and prevent the development of market-based solutions which would provide us with better options for our fuel needs.

John McCain Will Commit $2 Billion Annually To Advancing Clean Coal Technologies. Coal produces the majority of our electricity today. Some believe that marketing viable clean coal technologies could be over 15 years away. John McCain believes that this is too long to wait, and we need to commit significant federal resources to the science, research and development that advance this critical technology. Once commercialized, the U.S. can then export these technologies to countries like China that are committed to using their coal - creating new American jobs and allowing the U.S. to play a greater role in the international green economy.

John McCain Will Put His Administration On Track To Construct 45 New Nuclear Power Plants By 2030 With The Ultimate Goal Of Eventually Constructing 100 New Plants. Nuclear power is a proven, zero-emission source of energy, and it is time we recommit to advancing our use of nuclear power. Currently, nuclear power produces 20% of our power, but the U.S. has not started construction on a new nuclear power plant in over 30 years. China, India and Russia have goals of building a combined total of over 100 new plants and we should be able to do the same. It is also critical that the U.S. be able to build the components for these plants and reactors within our country so that we are not dependent on foreign suppliers with long wait times to move forward with our nuclear plans.

John McCain Will Establish A Permanent Tax Credit Equal To 10 Percent Of Wages Spent On R&D. This reform will simplify the tax code, reward activity in the U.S., and make us more competitive with other countries. A permanent credit will provide an incentive to innovate and remove uncertainty. At a time when our companies need to be more competitive, we need to provide a permanent incentive to innovate, and remove the uncertainty now hanging over businesses as they make R&D investment decisions.

John McCain Proposes A Cap-And-Trade System That Would Set Limits On Greenhouse Gas Emissions While Encouraging The Development Of Low-Cost Compliance Options. A climate cap-and-trade mechanism would set a limit on greenhouse gas emissions and allow entities to buy and sell rights to emit, similar to the successful acid rain trading program of the early 1990s. The key feature of this mechanism is that it allows the market to decide and encourage the lowest-cost compliance options.

How Does A Cap-And-Trade System Work? A cap-and-trade system harnesses human ingenuity in the pursuit of alternatives to carbon-based fuels. Market participants are allotted total permits equal to the cap on greenhouse gas emissions. If they can invent, improve, or acquire a way to reduce their emissions, they can sell their extra permits for cash. The profit motive will coordinate the efforts of venture capitalists, corporate planners, entrepreneurs, and environmentalists on the common motive of reducing emissions.

Greenhouse Gas Emission Targets And Timetables:

2012: Return Emissions To 2005 Levels (18 Percent Above 1990 Levels)
2020: Return Emissions To 1990 Levels (15 Percent Below 2005 Levels)
2030: 22 Percent Below 1990 Levels (34 Percent Below 2005 Levels)
2050: 60 Percent Below 1990 Levels (66 Percent Below 2005 Levels)

The Cap-And-Trade System Would Allow For The Gradual Reduction Of Emissions. The cap-and-trade system would encompass electric power, transportation fuels, commercial business, and industrial business - sectors responsible for just under 90 percent of all emissions. Small businesses would be exempt. Initially, participants would be allowed to either make their own GHG reductions or purchase "offsets" - financial instruments representing a reduction, avoidance, or sequestration of greenhouse gas emissions practiced by other activities, such as agriculture - to cover 100 percent of their required reductions. Offsets would only be available through a program dedicated to ensure that all offset GHG emission reductions are real, measured and verifiable. The fraction of GHG emission reductions permitted via offsets would decline over time.

John McCain Will Make Greening The Federal Government A Priority Of His Administration. The federal government is the largest electricity consumer on earth and occupies 3.3 billion square feet of space worldwide. It provides an enormous opportunity to lead by example. By applying a higher efficiency standard to new buildings leased or purchased or retrofitting existing buildings, we can save taxpayers substantial money in energy costs, and move the construction market in the direction of green technology.

John McCain Will Move The United States Toward Electricity Grid And Metering Improvements To Save Energy. John McCain will work to reduce red tape to allow a serious investment to upgrade our national grid to meet the demands of the 21st century - which will include a capacity to charge the electric cars that will one day fill the roads and highways of America. And to save both money and electrical power for our people and businesses, we will also need to deploy SmartMeter technologies. These new meters give customers a more precise picture of their overall energy consumption, and over time will encourage a more cost-efficient use of power.

John McCain Does Not Support A Windfall Profits Tax. A windfall profits tax on the oil companies will ultimately result in increasing our dependence on foreign oil and hinder investment in domestic exploration. Jimmy Carter put a windfall profits tax in to place with little to no useful results.

Barak Obama:

Enact a Windfall Profits Tax to Provide a $1,000 Emergency Energy Rebate to American Families.

Obama will enact a windfall profits tax on excessive oil company profits to give American families an immediate $1,000 emergency energy rebate to help families pay rising bills.

Swap Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Cut Prices.

With oil prices doubling in the past year, Barack Obama believes we have an economic emergency that requires a limited, responsible swap of light oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) for heavy crude oil to help bring down prices at the pump.

Increase Fuel Economy Standards.

Obama will increase fuel economy standards 4 percent per year while providing $4 billion for domestic automakers to retool their manufacturing facilities in America to produce these vehicles.

Create a New $7,000 Tax Credit for Purchasing Advanced Vehicles.

Establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

Obama will establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) to reduce the carbon in our fuels 10 percent by 2020. Obama will also require 60 billion gallons of advanced biofuels to be phased into our fuel supply by 2030.

A “Use it or Lose It” Approach to Existing Oil and Gas Leases.

Obama will require oil companies to develop the 68 million acres of land (over 40 million of which are offshore) which they have already leased and are not drilling on.

Weatherize One Million Homes Annually.

Obama will make a national commitment to weatherize at least one million low-income homes each year for the next decade, which can reduce energy usage across the economy and help moderate energy prices for all.

Develop and Deploy Clean Coal Technology.

Obama’s Department of Energy will enter into public private partnerships to develop five “first-of-a-kind” commercial scale coal-fired plants with clean carbon capture and sequestration technology.

Prioritize the Construction of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline.

As president, Obama will work with stakeholders to facilitate construction of the pipeline. Not only is this pipeline critical to our energy security, it will create thousands of new jobs.

Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

Obama's cap-and-trade policy will require all pollution credits to be auctioned, and proceeds will go to investments in a clean energy future and rebates and other transition relief for families.

Make the U.S. a Leader on Climate Change.

Obama will re-engage with the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) -- the main international forum dedicated to addressing the climate problem. He will also create a Global Energy Forum of the world’s largest emitters to focus exclusively on global energy and environmental issues.

Now we can see where each candidate stands on the issue of energy, and to a lesser extend, the environment. As you can see, there are many differences between the two candidates.

I believe McCain is taking the right position on a Windfall Profits Tax. As terrible as high gas prices are, it is unfair of the government to step in and say how much profit a corporation should be allowed to make. Furthermore, energy corporation profits go back to consumers in many ways; profits are kept at banks, where many people work, and are invested back into the economy; profits are used on research and development efforts within companies; profits are used to pay employees; profits are distributed amongst shareholders. To set a precedent of limiting the amount of profit a corporation is able to make would not exactly encourage free-enterprise, which is a central economic belief in this country. Energy corporations should not be punished for success; if you are unhappy with the price you are paying for energy, adjust your energy use and eliminate the reason why these companies are successful in the first place.

I believe McCain is taking the right position on drilling for energy here at home. Obama makes no mention of this issue on the portion of the website I evaluated. Drilling here at home will keep energy dollars in our economy, as opposed to transferring them over to other regions of the world. The long-term benefits are obvious; more domestic energy will reduce our dependency on the geopolitical climate and simply give us more oil to consume, bringing down energy prices. Short term benefits are less obvious; the creation of jobs and the sending of a signal that the United States economy will not be held hostage to the price of oil.

I believe both candidates are taking the right position on a tax credit for the purchase of fuel efficient cars. Although McCain's policy is more straightforward, Obama is also on the right side of the fence when it comes to this issue. A tax credit will steer the market in the direction of producing fuel efficient cars while allowing corporations to maximize their profits without government intervention. Oil demand will surely drop with more fuel efficient cars on the road, and the American public will be less at risk when it comes to price hikes.

I believe both candidates are taking the wrong position on greenhouse emission caps. The government should not directly interfere with the business of American corporations. I am fine with the government providing a tax credit to those who emit less carbon (on a scale depending on line of business, of course) but not with the government dictating how much carbon corporations should be allowed to emit. As we adjust our energy to cleaner sources due to the current supply and demand situation, it will be profitable for corporations and the energy industry as a whole to switch to a type of energy that does not leave a large carbon footprint; nuclear, solar, and wind. Simply put, this problem should take care of itself without government intervention.

I believe Obama is taking the wrong position on fuel-economy standards for automobiles. Similiar to above, the United States government should not be allowed to dictate fuel economy standards. Automakers will be forced to reduce fuel economy in their fleets due to the high price of energy. Government should not be allowed to dictate manufacturing laws to American corporations that do not improve the safety or protect the rights of the American people. I sincerely hope that manufacturers decide to make their automobile fleets more fuel-efficient, but it is not the job of the government to do so.

There is my take on this energy debate. I am open to any and all comments!

We Miss You Already LeRoi

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 marked a sad day for Dave Matthews Band fans. The death of LeRoi Moore, the band's saxaphone and flute player, brings a high degree of anxiety to the Dave Matthews Band community. It wasn't just the sound LeRoi gave to the band that we appreciated; it was the high level of musicianship that many of us find will be impossible to match. Simply put; Dave Matthews Band will not be the same without LeRoi Moore.

While all are saddened by this loss, many are incredibly nervous as to how this will play out for the future of the band. Will the band pick up another saxaphone player? Will Jeff Coffin take the job? Will the band just use a trumpet? Will Tim Reynolds offer to stay full-time? Will the new album still go as planned? Will this affect the length of time the Dave Matthews Band plans on playing music?

It is my opinion that, unless Jeff Coffin agrees to stay with the band full time, the band will not immediately choose a full-time saxaphone player. Doing so would be highly shallow. The band may employ guests for some time until finding someone they are happy with, but no one will replace LeRoi unless Jeff decides to do so. The band will not break up due to the lack of a saxaphone player; they will break up if it is not worth playing without LeRoi.

Listed below is a set I composed of some of the best released LeRoi moments; if you have any of these recordings, listen in amazement:

Grey Street - Hartford
The Stone - Alpine Valley
Kit Kat Jam - The Gorge
Loving Wings - Golden Gate
Lie in Our Graves - Weekend on the Rocks #5
Best of Whats Around - Golden Gate
One Sweet World - Golden Gate
Sweet Up And Down - 2007 Summer Tour Sampler
Stand Up - Weekend on the Rocks #5
The Maker - Hartford
Say Goodbye - Hartford
Bartender - Hartford
#41 - Weekend on the Rocks #6
Jimi Thing - Weekend on the Rocks #3
#34 - Weekend on the Rocks #3
JTR - Hartford
Ants Marching - Hartford

ENCORE

Typical Situation - Alpine Valley
Proudest Monkey - Crash (album)
Warehouse - Central Park


Honorable mention:

Seek Up - Worcester
Heartbeat Intro - Chicago
Pantala Naga Pampa - Chicago
Rapunzel - Chicago

Additional Special Note

SPECIAL NOTE:

I fully plan on actually trying to post more; please let me know if you would like to be notified by e-mail when I make a post!

My e-mail address is joe.mignano@gmail.com.

Changing the Drinking Age

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26352179/

College and university presidents have added an extra responsibility to their schedules during the week before the beginning of classes this year - a debate on how old their students should be to consume alcohol.

Almost everyone has heard, and understands, both sides of this debate. Many would like the legal drinking age to stay at 21 due to evidence the roads are safer with a higher legal drinking age and the idea that keeping alcohol legally out of peoples' hands should cut back on other dangers involved with alcohol consumption.

Still others contend that, if the standard age in this country for almost everything else is 18 (recognition of adulthood, being tried as an adult in our legal system, buying a lottery ticket, voting in our political system and fighting for our country), surely the legal drinking age should be 18 as well.

Here is the bottom line: if someone wants to come home from work and crack open a beer, the legal drinking age is not going to stop them. Drinking alcohol is a personal choice; not a legal one. There are undoubtedly exceptions to this rule, but most people would agree this is simply the way it is.

The illegality of alcohol goes against the personal rights that many in our country, on both sides of the political aisle, value highly. Even to those who support a high degree of government intervention, the idea of the government limiting their beverage choices must seem highly invasive. So, why keep a law that is 99% unenforceable? Why highlight a personal activity that is, in theory, no different than any other action one could entertain themselves with? Because alcohol is an easily abused substance. Just like we would not want to turn a blind eye to drug trafficking or speeding on the highways due to the predictably disastrous results (as well as the invasion of the right to safety) we would not want to turn a blind eye to alcohol consumption. Here is my idea for a solution:

Allow for responsible alcohol consumption from all of those 18 or older, if not younger. How do we do this? Permit alcohol consumption at these ages in a public setting, such as a bar or a restaurant, but no where else. Bartenders and waitresses should be responsible for monitoring drink intake (for a $.50 charge on each drink, of course). As one gets older, they should be allowed to drink...more drinks. Doing so will allow young adults to drink alcohol while working to eliminate the desire to abuse alcohol behind closed doors in large quantities. One drink could be allowed to a 16 year old, two to a 17 year old, and so on. This will also build up the tolerance of young adults, so that then they are able to drink behind closed doors they will not abuse their privelage. Those participating in this program would have to pass an in-house sobreity test before leaving the restaurant. Businesses would win, law enforcement would be better off, and more importantly, minors could enjoy alcohol.

Similiar policies have been adopted in most countries throughout the world. Have you ever been to Canada? I do not know how to buy alcohol in that country unless I am at the border or at a bar. I have a high value for personal rights. I understand that one should have the ability to drink one night as well as drive home the next without the fear of being hit head-on by a drunk driver. This compromise satisfies both desires while setting up minors to successfully consume alcohol in larger quantities in the future.

If an eighteen year old can be tried as an adult in a court of law and fight for his country, it simply does not make sense to not allow that person to drink a beer. I have been casually drinking since the age of 19, and I can find no rationalization for not allowing this to occur legally.



SPECIAL NOTE:

I hereby predict Joe Biden as V.P. choice for Obama - it makes no sense to choose anyone else. Obama's biggest weakpoint (from a non-biased point of view) is experience, particularly in foreign policy. Joe Biden satisfies these requirements while providing everything that Dick Cheney does for President Bush: he knows how to say what the President is thinking but is not allowed to say, and he knows how Washington works.

ADDITIONAL SPECIAL NOTE:

PLEASE WISH DREW TSCHAPPAT A SAFE RETURN FROM MEXICO!