Research on Illegal Immigration in Texas

I didn't like the Lexis Nexis Congressional Publications at all. Either they had 500 search results with no real information or there were zero to five case hearings that told me nothing that I was looking for. I tried a good mix of words and kept getting the same results for the most part. I found the Lexis Nexis Government Periodicals Index to unhelpful too. When I searched for Immigration with the paste button from the subject list, it gives me information from almost a hundred years ago and things that are just not useful at all. When I tried to narrow it down with the additional terms, I got zero results. Now the Lexis Nexis Academic had a lot more information that was helpful to me. It has individual's opinions and good articles about the senator's and government official's points of view. That will definitely be helpful in getting all my research. Gale Databases also has a ton of articles and news about illegal immigration that will be great for me to use. I found a ton of results that are helpful from typing "illegal immigration mexico" and "illegal immigration texas". That will be a great place for me. Google also has a lot of results with juicy information in it.

Unit 2 Topic

I have chosen to do Immigration. It's a very hot topic for most of us that have seen and dealt with it first hand. Most all states and people living near the border of Mexico. It impacts the people close to the border mostly, but it is spreading throughout the country very quickly. Everyone talks about it and is aware of all the immigration problems that the country has had and is having. Some of the primary sources that could give me insight into to these issues are my friends and people that I work with. There are lots of families that I know that deal with these problems. This will be a fun and interesting topic hopefully.

Humor Piece

I chose to actually go against my article and make fun of McCain's energy plans and his age. I drew him with out some teeth and a really wrinkled neck and face, but it was hard to do without color. I also drew some skyscrappers on fire from the nuclear explosions that could come from all McCain's new nuclear powerplants if things go wrong which is always possible.

Humor Arguement

http://obamabiden08.wordpress.com/2008/08/27/madtv-john-mccain-ad/

I love Mad TV and thought this was a pretty good video. They take all McCain's "bad qualities" out of text from the North Vietnamese. All the good things that he does are turned around against him ironically. It's really funny to me, like the SNL clip from class pretty much. Then they interview Obama's 2nd grade teacher and Hilary's collage roommate and take what they say about the two out of context and turn it against them too saying things like "Hilary was a drunk..." from one night in college and "Obama never would have gone..." when he was only 7 years old. It's just clever what T.V. shows do these days, and always funny no matter who they're making fun of.

Op-Ed

McCain’s Energy Plans Trump Obama’s

“Not since the gas lines of the 1970s has energy loomed so large as it does in the race between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama,” says energy expert Kenneth Medlock from Rice University. We have seen record breaking prices for oil, gas, electricity, and heating in the past year. These issues, along with an expanding concern with global warming, have made energy problems one of the top issues in the 2008 election. The best way that our country can handle these matters is through John McCain’s energy reforms and policies.

Drilling offshore for oil has become one of our country’s largest energy concerns. In 1981, Congress banned all drilling in the 1.76 billion acre Outer Continental Shelf, which is the sloping underwater area between our continent and the deep ocean floor around the U.S. While Obama wants to beat around the bush and drill in tiny portions of the Outer Continental Shelf, McCain wants a complete repeal of the ban on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf. The U.S. has estimated that there are 86 billion barrels of oil out there. That’s enough oil to supply our country comfortably for fifteen years. Economically, the impact of such drilling would extend further than just the price at the pump. Employment and investment would rise as a result of lifting the moratorium. In the long term, it could reduce our much maligned trade deficit and help curb the influence of the Middle East on global politics. It is in our country’s best interest to lessen our dependency on foreign oil, and McCain’s idea would be a great way to start.

Electricity is also one of the most substantial energy problems our country faces. McCain’s plan to cope with this problem is to build 45 new nuclear power plants which emit zero of the gases that cause the greenhouse effect. Obama is skeptical of this plan and wants to first deal with the issues of the security of nuclear fuel and where to stock the waste that comes from the power plants. “He’s (Obama) putting so many caveats on it, he’s saying in effect we’re going to do nothing,” quotes Deborah-Wince Smith, the president of the Council of Competitiveness which is a group of university presidents, CEOs, and labor leaders. McCain has already solved the problem of storage for the nuclear waste. He plans to make a repository in the Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The Department of Energy has given the okay for the location, but some of the recent risks like earthquakes, have postponed these plans for now. The Yucca Mountain is still a very likely possibility though. The 45 new power plants would add significantly to the nation's current fleet of 104 active plants, which produce about 20% of the nation's power. The two candidates also butt heads on coal, which powers 50% of the U.S. but makes up for 40% of the carbon dioxide emissions, which is the main greenhouse gas. Both McCain and Obama want to create technology that traps and contains carbon dioxide from the coal plants. McCain wants to continue building the coal plants, while counting on his nuclear power plants helping out with the cutting of carbon dioxide emissions. This is a more superior plan than Obama’s plan of cutting some of the coal plants now to cut carbon dioxide emissions and designing new ones that wouldn’t be ready for use until at least ten or more years from now.

McCain is planning to back big fines on carmakers with low miles per gallon. By making the penalties for not meeting the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CASE) harsher, McCain plans to drive companies to increase the overall miles per gallons of their cars. CASE is the average miles per gallon of a manufacturer’s entire fleet manufactured in U.S. McCain also wants to give $5,000 tax credits for zero-carbon-emission cars like battery-powered ones. However, he does not side with mandating that all cars run on some sort of alternative fuels, as that would seem unrealistic with our situation with fuels today. Obama has an almost unrealistic plan of increasing the U.S. fuel-economy standard by 4% each year permanently. That would mean that the standard would be 49.5 mpg by 2025, which seems very farfetched to me. McCain’s plan of raising CASE levels is much more feasible. McCain’s plan for an improved fuel economy will help our nation achieve national energy security, reduce carbon emissions, and improve local and regional air quality.

I have done my research and come to the conclusion that McCain’s energy polices clearly trump Obama’s plans. Americans cannot afford to waste any energy, so I ask that none be wasted on Obama. John McCain’s energy plans will propel our country into a very dynamic future.

Article of Definiton

I found an article about doctor's bedside manner called "Study: Doctors show little empathy." It talks about how most doctors have little to no bedside manner. They recorded 20 conversations between doctors and their patients with 384 opportunities for the doctor to show some empathy, but the doctors only made 39 comments. That's pretty sad. The question of definition here is are all doctors all so apathetic?? I think that they should have done more recordings because I have never really had a problem with doctor's bedside manner. A lot of people seem to think otherwise though apparently...

Palin's Glasses

I found a very surprising article about Sarah Palin's new glasses called "Palin's glasses' designer grateful for publicity" for my article of fact. The Japanese designer Kazuo Kawasaki has designed some great new glasses apparently. The new glasses are made of titanium which is super light and non-allergergenic. Kawasaki normally makes about 8,000 of these MP-704 style glasses a year. In the last then days alone, he has already received 9,0000 from around the world, but mostly from the U.S. Palin has made these screwless glasses a hit the U.S. I would have never thought that so many people would want the same glasses she has. But, now that they've been pointed out to me, I really like the sleekness of them. They run for about $400 in the U.S. which isn't really that much for such a good pair of glasses. Even Kawasaki was surprised at this sales bump. He has sold some of them to Colin Powell and Whoopi Goldberg in the past, and they never got the great reception that they've had since Palin started wearing them. He's very greatful for her to wear his glasses. That just really surprises me, but it's a good deal for everyone.