Money Going Down the Tracks

President Obama announced today that he was allocating money for a new high speed rail to help relieve travel times around the country. The President also commented on how our nation's railroad system looks like a "caboose" when compared to those of other nations.

Well, this is a great IDEA. There's no doubt about it. Just like the high speed rail in the state of Florida was a great idea a few years ago. The state's voters originally approved the funding of the railway system by referendum in 2000, but after it was seen how much money it would take to complete the construction of it, 64% of voters repealed the funding, again by referendum in 2004.

According to the New York Times:
"Mr. Obama said the $8 billion included for high-speed rail projects in his stimilus package — to be spent over two years — and an additional $1 billion a year being budgeted over the next five years, would provide a “jump start” toward achieving that vision."

Now that's some "jump start"!!

Well, I am looking forward to seeing how this current plan does. I really don't see the need for this new high speed rail. and I don't really see this going the way the President thinks it will. If it does end up going all the way into completion, I think it's going to end up costing billions of billions of dollars more than it is currently thought it will.

I personally think there has gotta be a better way to spend this money in today's economy.

What do you think?

"First Dog" Arrives

With the economy, the environment, and national security up in the air, the internet is buzzing with stories about "Bo," the Obamas' newly arrived Portuguese water dog.

There are a number of people in an uproar over whether Bo was really rescued or not. During the campaign trail, Obama stated that he would like to get a dog that was rescued from a shelter.
Well, it seems as though Bo wasn't rescued but was pretty much a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy.

I'm thinking..."who really cares?" Apparently many people do!
I think we need to worry about real issues. Like how is the Obama administration going to help the economy recover? What are they doing to protect our environment? How safe is the nation?


The above picture, by Getty Images, shows President Obama and Bo running down a White House corridor. I have to admit it is a very nice, fun picture.

It may be an interesting story, but as a future journalist, I think there are much more newsworthy stories out there. Right?

photo credit: Getty images