Island Richards

• -Brandon is out. He wrestled good, just real tough competition. Proud of him! #
• On the way to Casper for the State Westling Tourney! Wish Brandon luck! #
• - Getting caught up on my reading lists and book reviews. #

Graph by MikesAmerica

According to President Obama’s 2010 budget blueprint, the Federal Deficit for the 2009 fiscal year will increase to $1.75 TRILLION! Written out, that’s $1,750,000,000,000. 175 with TEN ZEROES behind it!

A quick look at the graph will show that during the Bush administration, deficits had increased in the war time years directly after the 9/11 attacks, but steadily decreased during 2005, 2006, and 2007. In  fiscal 2008, however, the first fiscal year to begin after the Democrats took over both houses of congress in 2007, you can see a marked increase in deficit spending. In fact, 2008 was the largest deficit in U.S. history. This year’s deficit projection of $1.75 Trillion is more than double that!

To put that in perspective, with that money the federal government could purchase 9,716,824 homes at the median home value level from the fourth quarter of 2008. Since home values are dropping fast, it is safe to project that by the end of this year, our deficit spending could buy 10 MILLION homes!

Another way of looking at it is that the deficit could pay the annual wages of 34,836,657 Americans! Now say that to yourself out loud — the annual wages of thirty-four million, eight hundred and thirty-six thousand, six hundred and fifty-seven Americans! That is almost a quarter of the American workforce!

The spending bills that are coming out of Congress like ticker tape amount to a threat to the security and stability of the United States of America the likes of which we have never seen. Now we have a president who not only won’t try to curb congress’s outrageous spending, we now have a president who won’t miss an opportunity to add to it.

On January 23, 1996, President Bill Clinton announced to our country, “The era of big government is over.” With Obama’s budget blueprint,  that he calls, “A New Era of Responsibility”, what he is actually saying is, “The era of big government is back!”

Speaker for the Dead (Ender, Book 2)

Ender returns in Orson Scott Card’s Speaker for the Dead, the sequel to Card’s masterpiece, Ender’s Game. It is some twenty years later in Ender’s life, and because of the relativity of space travel, three thousand years have passed in the universe. In the aftermath of the destruction of an entire sentient species at the hands of Ender, now known as The Xenocide, Earth’s population has spread out across the galaxy, where, on the faraway planet of Lusitania, a new sentient species has been found. After years of peacefully studying the seemingly benevolant and intelligent species, the colonists are shocked when Pepo, the man who studies them, becomes the victim of a gruesome murder at their hands. While Ender’s Game was Card’s masterpiece, Speaker for the Dead was the book that Card truly wanted to write. In it, Card explores the question of how we really would react if we were given the opportunity to live side by side with another intelligent life form. It is an in depth critique of what really makes us human, and a must read, especially for fans of Ender.

Rating:

Xenocide (Ender, Book 3)

Speaker for the Dead (Ender, Book 2)

Ender’s Game

In Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card shows us his vision of the future where, in the wake of alien attack, Earth’s future defense centers around the discovery of a young military genius who can lead the world’s forces successfully against a hostile race that we cannot possibly understand. At only 6 years old, young Ender is plucked from his family, and the world that he knows, and thrust into a world of training, learning, and competition meant to groom him into becoming that great leader of Earth’s military forces. Card’s most famous novel is a masterpiece of both science fiction and psychology. The path he leads Ender on is full of surprise, doubt, tragedy, and triumph, and in the end, contains valuable lessons for eveyone who reads it.

Rating:

• -Heading to the High School for wrestling regionals. Brandon qualified at 125 lbs and most of the team will be there. Should be a good time! #
• The Tattoo Expo in SLC was a blast! Awesome artwork, and great people. #

• -Heading to the International Tattoo Expo in SLC for the weekend! #

• -Brandon won the second varsity position for the Ron Thon tournament this weekend! #
• -Spent the weekend watching wrestling. Brandon and his entire team did extremely well. Worst they can do is tie for first in conference. #

Ender’s Game