Letter to Senator

Dear Senator Christine Kehoe,
I am writing to you because of my growing concern for lack of water in California. It seems like Governor Schwarzenegger has no new or practical ideas to help California transcend these droughts that seem to occur every year. The Water Deal is not a new idea and it has not worked well enough in the past. Furthermore, they are planning to vote for the budget of $11 billion which I feel would be put to better use elsewhere. The technology that will relieve the water concerns for California is Desalination. This is because desalination is a renewable technology and is potentially limitless. The only limiting factor of the technology is initial startup costs. I am aware of the plant currently being built in Carlsbad, but this plant is much too small to relieve any real pressure from Southern California and if this is the approach that the state government wants to take, then there should be more under construction soon. The most exemplary plant is the one in Perth, Australia. Perth is an extremely arid climate and had previously relied solely on imported water and what little rainfall they could gather. Now, however, Perth receives up to 75% of its water from its desalination plant. It does run on renewable resources and has therefore eliminated its carbon footprint. If a few of these were built in Southern California, then the water shortage would be nearly eliminated. The countries that currently use these plants, like Iran, Israel, Australia etc., have had no environmental complaints about them. I know that Gov. Schwarzenegger supports this technology and so do I. I compel you, my Senator, to continue to vote in favor of Desalination plants in the future and support legislation concerning its approval.
Sincerely,
Andreas

On Desalination in California

As the world’s population increases, the water shortage will grow in severity. The solution to this issue is desalination technology. Desalination is the process of removing minerals, namely salt, from water making it drinkable and potable. This technology has been used all over the world in arid climates like Australia, Iran, and Israel. Many of these plants, like the one in Perth, Australia, are completely run on renewable resources like wind turbines, solar panels, etc. This plant alone produces 75% of the city's and the surrounding area's fresh water needs. The newest technology concerning desalination is slightly controversial and the government in the US has been hesitant to support or ban its use. The technology is very expensive to start or build a desalination plant. However, after the plants are built, they cost relatively nothing to run, especially if they are run using renewable resources and not petroleum products like some others around the world. Concerns of environmental side effects are the basis of most arguments against desalination. These accusations are unfounded and should not be taken into consideration when evaluating the validity of this technology. Desalination is the best possible solution to water shortage in the world because of its effectiveness in accomplishing what it was designed to do.
The best solution to water shortage is to force water companies to have a certain percentage of water come from desalination plants that they have built. The initial production costs would be expensive, but they cost about one dollar per household per week to maintain. At first the major auto companies of America were reluctant to develop hybrid models because of the immense amount of money it would cost them to convert their factories and research the technology. However, now after they have invested the initial amount of money, the hybrid industry is one of the most profitable in the world. A similar outcome is expected to occur in the desalination industry. My sollution is to create legislation stating that at least 20% of water sold to the public by corperations be collected from desalination plants that the companies have built. If this law were to be implemented now, it would still take several years for the plants to be built and operational which is the reason for the urgency of the issue.

On the Middle East and US Involvment

The United States has a right to be in Afghanistan, and possibly Pakistan, however, the US should not be in Iraq. The Taliban, a terroristy organization that attacked the US on its own soil, are being harbored in Afghanistan and possibly Pakistan aswell. I should hope with every ounce of my being that the military seek undying retribution from those people who not only committed atrocities against our country, but also unspeakable ones toward their own countrymen. If this statement is not made to the world, then attacks could escalate, terrorists need to know who they cannot escape from. The issue with Iraq is that Sadam Hussein, while a terrible person I am sure in need of a serious spanking from his mother, did not require US involvment because it is a discriminatory act which we lack the funds to correct. What we should have told Iraq is that we only have one candy bar and there arent enough for china, somalia, or sudan and if you all cant share what we have to offer, then none of you shall have it. Except Afghanistan. They arent telling who put the tack on our chair so they deserve it the most.

Barder and the World's First Snow

Mac was having a brilliant day. Actually, come to think of it, it must have been night. You see Mac was the god of what humans call the stars and moon. Now having knowledge of his occupation, it is obvious that Mac, sleeping most days, was having this brilliant day at night. He and his dog Barder would wake at first twilight and chase the moon across the sky. Barder was a frost dog. Mac's father had given it to him on his fifth birthday along with the responsibility of waking up the moon. The previous boy with this responsibility had died on the eve of his sixth birthday, crashing to the earth. But Mac knew he would be better. The best.
Because Barder was a frost dog, each paw print he left in the sky froze the sky into glimmering snowflakes which would glint in the light of the moon. Mac's father knew this was a big responsibility for his young son, as well as a harsh expectation, so he allowed him to take a night, once per month, and allow him to roam the skies with his dog. This night was one such night.
Mac was having the most fun running about the night sky with Barder as ever he could remember. They would push each other to their physical and mental limits, racing around the earth, increasing with speed with each circumscription. After a while, there were millions of beautiful little snow flakes in the sky, hardly any black left. Barder, however, would not let up, each slippery step launching them faster and faster about the night sky. Mac was getting scared, with all the ice around Barder could slip and be injured badly. He began to tug o n the bridle, shouting as loud as he could for Barder to slow down. Barder was concerned for his friend and with legitemate worry, lost all concentration for running and turned his head to see what was wrong. With the sudden loss of total focus, Barder slipped and crashed into the sky, cracking his skull and bones with the intense impact. Mac, having hit his head, slumped in Barder's saddle, unconscious. They both fell in complete silence toward the ground, helpless rag dolls. Both Mac and Barder were crumpled remnences of their former selves, unrecognizable in their broken states. Then, one by one, the stars fell out of the sky, swirling slowly around the terrible scene. They fell in a sickening silence, blanketing the poor bodies, casting a biting cold all over the world. Thus came to pass the world's first snow.

Subway Story

Josef M. Reedy woke up. Scratch that last. Josef M. Reedy got up. Struggling with every step, blinking away fatigue, he walked through the door less frame in his bedroom. Scratch that last. Calling the space in which Josef laid in bed would be far too generous a title for such a place. Adjectives fail to describe it however a few statements given by people who have been there that may aid in some vague understanding of the absolutely dismal space might be 'a rats nest', 'a nook', 'a windowless cave', 'infantesimal, and by that I mean it wouldn't be suitable for an infant sized man to live in', and the telling question of 'It's possible for a human to live there?' just to name a few. The answer to that question, to satisfy the interest for those who have any, is that it may or may not be possible. The 'bed', in relation to what one might think of as an inherent aspect of a 'bed'room, was little less than a foam mat, the corner of which having been gnawed off. The culprit of the deed is not known, though it is suspected by some that the sizable hole in the western corner of the room may have had something to do with it. Apart from the 'bed', the room had little else by way of furniture, however, there was a substantial pile of sick collecting in the opposite corner from the dark dismal hole. This all may seem very confusing given almost none of Josef M. Reedy's history. One detail as to Josef's history which is vital to this narration is that Josef has survived several boughts of various types of cancer. Over the course of these cancers, he developed several habits which have made his job, sex life, and standard of living very difficult to maintain. One habit, which he was so unfortunate to pick up, relates to the years of chemotherapy he was forced to endure. The details of which may be discerned by the making an educated observation at the corner of Josef's bedroom opposite the rat hole. In case there is still any further doubt as to this first habit, during his boughts with cancer, he developed a severe case of Bolemia, so terrible in fact, was this habit, that most nights josef was unnable to drag himself out of bed and throw himself into the bathroom quickly enough to avoid the inevitability which is simply being sick anywhere he happens to be when the feeling erupts, obviously displaying the difficulty of maintaining a job. He developed another habit in addition to the Bolemia. Perhaps habit is not the most accurate term for such things that Josef was sticken with, maybe conditions or curses fit better. Another condition he developed was from the medication, which he was prescribed to choke down on a daily regiment, after the chemotherapy to maintain a healthy white blood cell count. This ailment may help clear up the earlier vague allusion as to whether or not it was possible to sleep in that poor excuse for a bedroom. He was an insomniac; it is impossible to determine being that he is the only human who inhabits that room. This, of course, excludes the late night companions who leave him before falling asleep, however, not before relieving him of several months' pay. In addition to the medically induced insomnia, the post chemotherapy also succeeded in causing loss of muscle control in his face, the results of which were that he often had the air of utter apathy and boredom. This morning, after yet another sleepless night, he had an interview for a new job at nine o'clock, having been traumatically sacked from his late job. His boss had found him asleep and in a puddle of his own vomit, ignorant of Josef's many curses, and interrupted possibly his precious few minutes of sleep for that entire week with screaming and a pink slip. This job, the one Josef was about to interview for, would be different, he had promised himself that. He went to his ice chest, for he lacked the funds to buy a refrigerator, and fumbled around for some morsel which he could sink his teeth into. Hands coming up wanting, he decided to go out and buy breakfast. He showered, in the sink, no need for repetition as to the reason why not a shower, and donned his only suit, which his father had given him before passing away, possibly the only thing of some value in his possession. He left his extended stay motel and went into the subway where he would pick up some groceries at the subway mart. The reason why he did not go to a legitimate grocery store is because he was on friendly terms with the manger and could pay a reduced price for whatever he was buying. This man was perhaps the only friend Josef had in the world, the only person whom he was on a first name basis with, except, doubtfully, some of Josef's more regular late night companions. Upon arriving at the mart, Josef began picking out his favorite brands of milk and cereal and putting them in a grocery bag. When he went to pay for his items, he noticed, with fleeting alarm, a new man behind the cash register who Josef had never seen before. Normally Sal, short for Salvatore, a stout and greasy Italian worked there and, it might be noted, for quite some time. Curious, Josef asked the new man John, as indicated by the spotless plastic placard plastered to his uniform, the nature of him working there, behind that cash register, a job which Sal had, up until very recently, a complete monopoly over. John replied in an overly youthful and bubbly way, vexing Josef to no end, that the mart had changed managers and that Sal had left with the old manager.Twenty one or so questions later, Josef became privy to the fact that the previous manager, the one whom Josef called his only friend, had been robbed in the city and clubbed to death in its streets. Josef was destroyed. He was so exhausted from life the, the universe, and everything, however, to react. He simply paid the man and walked out as if on autopilot. He found a nearby bench above the subway and lost himself in his thoughts. After several minutes of deep thought, his thoughts were shattered by the realization as to the reason why he was dressed in his best suit next to the subway. He began walking down the stairs leading to the subway. While descending, a thought entered his mind. How much like hell a subway was. thousands of seemingly soulless, heartless people shuffling about their miserable existences in a sickening daze, rushing to wait in line. His thought was interrupted momentarily as someone snapped a photo of his entering the subway. Josef gave a thought to being aggressive, but his exhausted and achy body would not allow it. He thought of how he looked when he was taking his medication, however, his medicine was not the reason why his face was the way it was then. he glanced at the clock on the wall. Nine thirty. How much like hell a subway seemed to Josef. The only differing factor that Josef could seem to come up with was the biting cold of the subway tunnel and how pleasant hellfire would feel at that time. time. time. The train rushed up in front of him, scattering his thoughts into oblivion. The doors opened. He entered and turned away from the lifeless imps of hell toward the door. As it closed he could still make out the clock on the wall. Nine thirty two. 'My interview started at nine o'clock' he muttered...


...'I might kill myself today'...