Left, Rights?

I think it's really interesting that Republicans will fight for the rights for a person to carry a gun, but will not fight for the civil rights of the voters they represent. We live in a country that is more focused on gun rights, than civil rights and it blows my mind. Gays can't marry, but don't take away my assault riffle? -What's wrong with this picture. 

Then there is the dad in Texas... Who would have been blown away by the gun carrying janitors if Texas has it's way, while trying to prove a point that his children's school is not prepared for a small scale war. Call me crazy, but more guns is not the answer. The fact that some higher up politicians think it is also boggles my mind.

Then there are these guys...

Taking a stroll down a busy Portland commercial district with this years hottest accessory..I don't care what you rights are, I'd be dialing 9-1-1 the second my fragile mind could process this image.

Meanwhile, there are other serious things this country needs to focus on that are being overlooked for a half-baked gun control law. Come on..NRA, Republicans, you have to come to the table and have a serious discussion because I'm having serious trouble interpreting the 2nd amendment to include assault rifles in your right to bear arms..Meanwhile the almost weekly shooting tragedies continue to take the top spot on the news, second only to the Flu, which is how I'm assuming I'll die this year if you watch the daily news.

Guns at the End of the World.

America needs to examine their current gun control laws, simple as that. Not because of one particular incident, but because of many (especially this year alone). When the founding father drafted the second amendment it was a different time in our country. We were a new country, the British were like "oh hell no" and I do not think they could ever imagine the types of modern weapons we now have today. I mean they had to pack gunpowder into their muskets and load "bullets", a lengthy process. If those are the guns we want to make legal, fine with me, it takes like 15 minutes to get a shot off.
I do agree that Americans have the right to own a gun, I do not agree that they have a right to own an assault riffle.

Here is my idea for gun control:

IKEA should be the only company allowed to sell guns. They'd be put together with pegs and glue and break altogether 5 days after purchase. Bullets would be sold separately, packaged individually and of course be made of reclaimed Swedish wood.

Until that vision becomes a reality, Obama and friends have to look at our nations gun control laws, close the loop holes, create more stringent restrictions in ownership and look at what guns are legal to own in this country.


On a minor note, it looks like we are on the path to surviving December 21, 2012. Which is awesome because I have a lot still on my bucket list. But if you believe that what the Mayans truly meant was a change would be in the wind this particular year. Be that change, make a difference in the world. Make 2013 resolutions happen. Do. Good. Things.

Heartbreaking

My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the children and teachers who simply attended school and had to go through the horrors of today's events. It is truly heartbreaking. Newtown Connecticut, the nation is thoughts and prayers are with you.

Fox and Friends: Mind Blown..

Fox and Friends just explained to me that the EPA overstepped their boundaries by requiring stormwater regulations that will "tear down homes" and "shut down businesses" because water is draining into streams the same way it did in the days of George Washington and water is not a pollutant. Which is weird because I did not know we had paved roads, driveways, suburban sprawl, parking lots, big box stores etc in 1776. I can also personally assure you that the area around Valley Forge drains MUCH differently than it did in the 1700's...the 1900's even.

The real problem now is the amount of water being directed to drain directly into streams because of the construction of buildings and paved areas. This has caused waterways to grow, their paths to move, swallowing properties, destroying homes. This is not "another way the government is trying to screw the little guy", if anything it's an attempt to save lives. If nothing is done, not only will we continue to destroy our nations valuable ecosystems, but we will be putting the people who live along these waterways in danger. I look back only to last year when the effects of stormwater runoff caused the Wissahickon creek to flood to record levels when a tropical depression made it's way up the east coast. Yes, flooding would have still occurred, but the situation was made worse by directing all the rainfall directly into the streams.

Stormwater Runoff can Include:

1. Oil, gas and other vehicle chemicals.
2. Nutrients, which can cause eutrophication in water systems.
3. Soil, which can alter the path of our nations streams and waterways
4. Warm Water, which itself is a pollutant that can kill fish and needed algae and insects. 
5. Fertilizers, pesticides and lawn care chemicals.
6. Pet waste and bacteria

Some of the easiest solutions to mitigate the effects of stormwater are relatively cheap and make huge differences in how stormwater drains back into the environment. Our neighbors complained that our on gutter was draining onto their property and contributing to their basement flooding. We agree and purchased a 70 gallon rain barrel that is now used to collect the water from our roof which is then used to water our garden planted along the property boundary  Both the barrel and the garden have made huge impacts on how much water is now making it onto our neighbors property.

Rain gardens are not only extremely effective ways to slow down stormwater runoff and infiltrate water naturally back  into the ground, they can also be beautiful additions to your property.

Harrisburg Magazine

Many private developers are choosing to utilize underground detention basins when they do not have the surface space to deal with stormwater.

So, Fox and Friends could not have been more wrong when they said stormwater "drains the way it always did". That statement is so ignorant it's simply mind blowing. Stormwater is quickly becoming one of the biggest issues facing America planners and will only be further exacerbated with the weather swings caused by global warming. I'll get off my soapbox now, we all know Fox and Friends is not a legitimate source of news.

Keystone State

The keystone of this great Nation and this election. Congrats Obama, we look forward to 4 more years of progress, innovation and forward thinking.

Fly Eagles Fly...

 "The definition of insanity is doing the same 

thing over and over and expecting different 

results".-A Great Mustache.

I'm sitting here, gearing up for quite possibly the only thing more frustrating than tomorrow's election...tonight's Eagles game. At 2-5 the Saints are off to a rough start, but definitely capable of tearing the Eagles a new one. I mean seriously, Drew Brees, I'll look past the horrible Pepsi commercial with One Direction and point out the man is a living football legend. I'm thinking Saints 34-14, which means the Eagles will win 56-2 (the Saints get a safety).

Anyway, regarding the quote up top. The great mustache behind that quote is clearly the incredibly brilliant, 3 time golden glove winner and Academy Award Nominated actor, Albert Einstein and it applies to the two topics tonight, The Philadelphia Eagles (briefly) and tomorrow's presidential election (magic underwarely).

First off the Eagles. My frustration for you is beginning to know no bounds. Your horrific play calling, pathetic defense and you commitment to one of the greatest mediocre quarterbacks of my generation  continues to astonish me. I 100% believe you will lose tonight and we were looking down the barrel of a 7-9 season. That said you'll probably go 9-7, make the playoffs and lose the NFC Championship Game. I'll keep the whiskey handy.

Now onto tomorrows election. I think it's pretty clear I'm a democrat. Not because of my parents, not because I went to college, but because I truly believe in the socialist agenda. See what I did there? No I'm not a socialist. I mean I'm popular and I like to communicate with people at parties and via social media, but unlike some conservatives, I know of this thing called dictionary.com and looked up the definition of socialist, communist and happenstance, just to make sure I was using it correctly.

I never go into an election with one thing determining my ultimate vote. Abortion? Yeah no I promise, I have a penis, literally cannot have one. Religion? Do whatever the hell you want, I take my stance on god from an episode of Futurama, so who am I to tell you what to do.

I value the following things:

1. The environment
2. Innovation
3. Climate Change
4. The Economy
5. Education

Like I previously said, abortion is a non-issue too me as it should be for all males. I'll never understand what it's like to have someone living inside of me and gladly leave the judgement to the mother. I mean the best thing about being pro-choice, is it's up to you! You can do whatever you want. I think it's very ironic that the people who cry that the government is too involved want to them to control your body, who you can marry etc. That's a lengthy segment for a non-issue. But it really wraps up my issues with the conservative party. You've become a party of hypocrites. You've let the Tea Party destroy you. You say you want bipartisan efforts and then elect in people who REFUSE to work across party lines. You say Barrack Obama has does nothing and are blind to the fact that we are in this mess because of 8 years if Bush. And I'm expected to believe putting your party back in power is the answer? Yeah no, I'm not that stupid. Also, I aspired to be an Urban Planner growing up outside of Norristown. I wanted to fix it. I wanted to help people. Now I'm being demonized as wasteful government spending? You want to take away not only my job, but my whole career? Yeah..

Wise up America. We are better than that. I honestly believe it. We can't move forwards by moving backwards. We should be the leaders, the innovators, the progressives. We should be the country pushing the limits on research and development. We should be curing cancers, going to the moon, other planets creating fuels outside of the realm of fossil fuels. The American Dream is not dead, it's changed. There is not white picket fence anymore, but that doesn't mean it's gone. If you believe it is, you're part of the problem.

Anyway, I understand this post has gotten away from me several times. I really urge anyone reading this to vote tomorrow afternoon. I don't care who, I mean I would prefer Obama, but if you've done your research and agree with Romney, I really respect that as well. If you don't vote, you can't complain. Just remember, we can't keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect to get anywhere.

The Eagles are driving, looks like I already might be wrong about one thing tonight..

-SG

Learning from Sandy

After reading a very interesting article from  The Huffington Post comparing hurricane Sandy to 2005's Katrina, I decided to weigh in on some of the issues here. I live just outside of Philadelphia and we too were hit hard by the effects of Sandy. I lost power for 3 days, and I am still counting my lucky stars that it was nowhere near the devastation in New Jersey. Cape May was my summer home growing up as a kid, and seeing some of the Jersey Shore destination simply swept away by Sandy was heart-breaking. 

While the devastation from Sandy is mind boggling, we can still learn from this storm. If you live along the coast, a Hurricane is never impossible. Storms of this magnitude (even stronger) have happened before and they will happen again. New York City showed evidence of it's aging infrastructure during this storm, which unfortunately led to power outages for millions, damages in the billions of dollars and the even worse, the lost of human life. 

What shocked me the most was how early we were talking about the possibility of Sandy hitting the most populated portion of our country in advance. Sam Champion (of all people) was the first person I heard about the potential track hitting the Mid-Atlantic and even I laughed it off as I got ready for work. Then the computer models started pouring in, supporting what meteorologists feared the most, a direct impact on the New Jersey shore. We had days of notice, and some heroes were made in their preparation efforts as well as some losers. Obama handled this storm in a way that was almost refreshing when compared to the previous administration. Living in the Philadelphia area, I would also like to give a HUGE thank you to Mayor Michael Nutter who took the forecasts seriously early and created a sense or urgency that prompted many Philadelphia area residents to prepare appropriately. Even New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (who I am very much not a fan of) handled this storm well, preparing New Jersey residents for the worse, which ended up becoming the reality.

Speaking of New Jersey and losers, I was shocked to learn that the Atlantic City Mayor was urging people to stay in shelters on the island, and not to evacuate to the mainland. His stupidity put not only the residents in dangers, but the responders and emergency personnel as well. I also was shocked to learn how unprepared New York City, the largest city in our great nation and the symbol of American cities, was for this storm. I understand that hurricanes are a rare event for the region, but when our nationals financial capital goes underwater, I think there should be measures taken to prevent a storm surge from inundating 1/3 of the nations most populated island. 

I really hope that this storm can prove to be an example that we, as a Nation can learn from. Not to quote the same source twice, but The Huffington Post shed some light on the effects of global warming, creating conditions for situations like Hurricane Sandy to happen more frequently in the future. Just a week later, we are looking at another Nor'Easter storm eyeing the locations still recovering from Sandy. I am not going to go through the specifics, but changes are happening in our weather that are not political stumping points. They are real and having real consequences. We need to look at how we do things and adjust to make our nation more secure, during a storm and other disaster events. The one thing I never quit understood was above ground power lines? Why are we not burying them like other countries. I often here it is too expensive, but when 900K lose power in Pennsylvania and the millions, if not billions of dollars lost because trees fell on the power lines? It's worth the investment. (and no I'm not saying that because I was without Twitter and Facebook for 3 days).

I'm going to get off my soap box now, but I'd also like to add that since I saw the movie Twister, I have been a weather fanatic. Though I did not end up being a weatherman like I thought, I do have a degree in disaster response. I have books full of images of disaster from previous hurricanes and storms that have hit this area. This is not the last time we will be dealing with situations like this. So when we rebuild the Jersey Shore, New York and all of those areas effected by Hurricane Sandy, which should incorporate measures to prevent the loss from happening again in the future.

Finally, I want to say how amazing it is to see the stories coming from all of the area devastated by Sandy of people coming together and helping one another. From the clean up efforts at the Jersey shore, to the store owners opening up on generators to help feed those without power (I'm looking at you Phil's Tavern). It is  true testament to the human spirit and is amazingly inspiring. America is not broken/defeated and it sometimes takes a disaster to prove it.

I implore anyone that happens to read this whack-job's blog to donate to the Red Cross. Clicking that link will take you directly to the Red Cross Sandy Relief website. For all those individuals and families affected by Hurricane Sandy, know you are in my prayers and I hope for a speedy recovery from this horrific storm.

-SG