Save $100 From The 'Gas Tax Holiday'--drive 979 miles/week?

According to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association..." the "gas tax holiday" would cost the Federal highway system nearly $9 billion in lost revenues...Over three hundred thousand jobs would be lost over the course of the next 3-4 years if the "gas tax holiday" were enacted. Also, though this article does not discuss this issue, if gas prices were lowered, demand would increase, and prices would increase, and if the oil companies were taxed more, we would be paying higher prices at the pump anyway.

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Facebook's Influence on the 2008 Election: Polling Millennia

Millennials, the generation of individuals from 18-29, are becoming more influential on politics and more excited about politics, smashing the apathetic and disaffected stereotype that still plagues Generation X. In general this article says that the Millenial Generation supports gay marriage but opposes universal health care, advocating instead for underlying problem of the increasing cost of medical care to be addressed. Religion and spirituality are more important to them than older “liberals.” For the first time in history, “nearly as many raw votes were cast by those 30 and under as by those over 65.” This generation has a great deal of power, but my question is: what happens if Obama, the overwhelming favorite of this generation, loses the primary and/or election? Will we become yet another apathetic group of young people with no appreciation for the rights we have, and disengage from the political process?

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The Countertraffickers: Rescuing the victims of the global sex trade, by William Finnegan, The New Yorker

A well-written and researched article about human trafficking from Moldova. While it discusses the situation directly as it pertains to that nation, there are a variety of themes that run through the different forms of human trafficking that are presented. It is a long, but comprehensive article about human trafficking that would be helpful for someone new to the issue and looking to learn more.

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Myanmar cyclone toll climbs to nearly 22,500

The recent cyclone in Myanmar (Burma) has left a confirmed 22,500 dead, 41,000 missing, and hundreds of thousands homeless. Up to this point, only World Vision Australia has been allowed in to help with the disaster relief. The cost of food and water has risen astronomically, leaving many in a desperate and dangerous situation.

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