Thanksgiving and Black Friday

I hope everyone had a wonderful break and had a great Thanksgiving with their family. There may be variations to how people celebrate this upcoming holiday season, but what most people would agree on is that this is the time to spend it with family and loved ones. The food is always good too! Then of course the day after is Black Friday, and almost every store has price cuts and deals for the Christmas season. I’m not quite sure the history of Black Friday, but please leave a comment if you have any knowledge on the subject I would love to know more. Last year I heard someone got shot at a Wal-Mart and this year two people were shot to my understanding. It’s totally outrageous what people will do to reach their idea of the American dream. Is it really worth killing someone over products that are being pushed onto us by big corporate America?  I think not, but some people are forever brainwashed. I did of course participate in the “festivities” of Black Friday, but it was mostly to make sure my mom wasn’t robbed. We went to a few stores and I felt like it was a never-ending line, of just waiting. I'm definitely ready for class to resume so I can finish out this semester, that seems never ending as well! 

Issues With Laws

So a couple of weeks ago the election took place and Obama was re-elected as our president. There were other pressing maters on the voting ballot as well that will be some what addressed in this post. Such as the question of eminent domain, and small details involving the senate. In some states the question of legalization of marijuana was put on the ballot. For the first time it was legalized in the states of Colorado and Washington for people who were 21 and older for small recreational uses. This decision is questionable, because it is unconstitutional for sates to go against federal laws. These states could argue that they are going with what the majority of voters want and that Cannabis should be an issue for sates to decide. Another issue that sprang up after the election was the issue that states waned to succeeded from the United States. This brings up past history when South Carolina wanted to succeed in the 1800’s. With both of theses pressing matters occurring soon citizens and the government will have to choose what they believe is the right path for this nation and we must work together. For my readers, please comment with your thoughts on these issues.  

Halloween Fun

I hope everyone had a good Halloween last week. Usually people have plans to hand out candy, go to parties or some people just don’t care. It is a very particular tradition that we take on. Sort of funny if you think about it, kids dressing up to ask for candy. Some would say that the holiday is just a ploy for companies to make money and exploit the consumers to media manipulation. But all the same it’s still a fun holiday, goblins and ghouls, tricks and treats. I even went with a friend to KD for the hallow-scream festival, It was pretty scary with all the people dressed up and trying to scare you. Maybe the best part about Halloween is the movies that come on TV. I’m a big fan of scary movies, even though some can be outrageously stupid, it’s still all for good fun. I’m interested to hear what some parents have to say about trick or treating for children these days. Are there any concerns about where the candy is coming from and if it’s safe for kids to be venerable to those risks. I definitely saw a difference in turn out of kids this year, there was a lot less. 

Apple Festival

So this past weekend I took a trip to the mountains to celebrate a local festival. I had never been before, and was invited to go along with my friend Kim. The festival was being held in Graves Mountain, two and a half hours away form Prince George. The drive itself wasn’t as bad as anticipated. We took the scenic route and rode by lavish houses on large estates. We even passed Montpelier, the estate of James Madison located in Orange, Virginia. The Apple festival had a lot to offer with an assortment of tent shops, kids activities, apple picking, pumpkins, a live band, and horse back rides through the mountains. I bought a cool shirt to use for Halloween and funnel cake (yum, yum). Right before the end of our trip Kim and I hiked a part of the mountain; the view was just amazing, and the air was fresh. The only real disappointment about the trip was that there were no granny smith caramel apples. All in all the trip was fantastic and I plan on going with my family again next year, and maybe even visit Montpelier this time.

D.C

So this past Monday Richard Bland took at trip to D.C. My friend Kim and I both attended the trip happily. The bus left at 7:15 in the morning and we arrived in front of the National Gallery of Art. From there we could do as we pleased as long as we were back to the bus by 2:15. I wanted to see more of the museums but since time was limited Kim and I went and saw the monuments, like the reflecting pool, Washington monument, we walked passed the Whitehouse and Lincoln Memorial.  From there we took the Metro to Pentagon City, which is a mall area. The mall was 5 stories tall and there was everything you could imagine. So we ate lunch and shopped till we had to head back to the bus. I ended up putting 6 dollars on my metro ticket, which can add up if you live in the city, but definitely a lot cheaper than owning a car. That part of D.C was very clean and well attended so I did feel more comfortable walking around with out being paranoid I was going to be robbed. The only negatives about the trip were the weather since it was raining off and on again, and the fact that I didn’t have time to tour the Native American Museum. I will definitely be going on the trip next year. 

Democracy and Voting

The time to vote is approaching us quickly. Has anyone yet registered to vote? If you have or have not, please tell. I sent in my information to be registered, but I haven’t received any sort of conformation, so I’m a little sketched out on if I’m registered or not.  Most people vote according to their party denomination. In this country we can have more than a one party system, but for some odd reason we have continued to stay with this same stagnant system.  To tell the truth I feel like the people who run our government should be thrown out and we reinitiate who we want as congress men and such. That is easier said than done. Not everyone is well informed on how our government runs and operates and there are many things that cannot simply be fixed. But at the same time I feel as if our government is corrupt, and one idea about democracy is that we can over throw our government whenever they do not abide by a contract theory of government. The only way we can move forward is if people start to educate themselves and start voting in the right people to represent us in congress, maybe then some sort of progress could be made for the situations we are in now