| Don't let Uncle Sam take you for a ride
April 15 is just around the corner. Hmmm, that date sounds familiar. My friend's birthday? No. Parents' anniversary? No. Damn it, what was that date? Oh. Right. Tax Day.
April 15 tends to be more of a concern for our parents than for us, especially if we don't have a job to worry about. These days, however, more college students are working while they are in school. Although a large number live on the campus, many work jobs in local restaurants, bars and bookstores. Of course, these jobs don't pay as much as Wall Street investment bank jobs (I hold an on-campus job, and I definitely need a raise), but they do provide a little extra income on the side.
Along with earning money comes the most enjoyable civic responsibility of all - giving Uncle Sam his due. Many people avoid this by using loopholes that allow them to avoid paying taxes on most of their annual income.
D - League-ing it one day at a time
I havent written a thing in 3 weeks. Why? Well Ill say it has 30% to do with the fact that I play Madden during my usual blog time, but also because I was in the middle of a very productive month on the court. Since Ive sucked the last few games, I guess I can get back to my old bloggin ways. Its been a long few weeks but there havent been a lot of developments on and off the court. This month saw such events as my 27 point 14 rebound game, but also such events as my 2 point 3 rebound game where I was ejected with two techs. Yea, me, Rod Benson ejected with two techs. People who know me know that it takes quite a lot to get me mad. Many people dont even know what an angry, frustrated, kick-me-out-of-the-game-before-I-lose-my-mind Rod Benson looks like...heres an example: .
Time, money running out to feed Chadians
N'DJAMENA, Chad (Reuters) -- Tens of thousands of displaced people are running out of food in strife-torn eastern Chad as rising violence spilling across the border from Darfur forces more people from their homes, the U.N. food agency said on Friday. The World Food Program said it had planned to feed 50,000 Chadians in the parched scrubland region but ethnic conflict has displaced an additional 80,000 people who need urgent assistance. They require an additional 7,500 metric tons of food at a cost of $7.5 million. The agency faces a race against time as food must be delivered before the rainy season starts in June, making roads impassable. "This is not a sustainable situation," said WFP Chad Country Director Felix Bamezon. "Life in eastern Chad has always been precarious, but now tens of thousands of Chadians are being pushed to the breaking point." "There is simply not enough food to go around." The WFP already feeds 225,000 Sudanese refugees in 12 camps in eastern Chad and more than 45,000 Central African refugees in four camps in the south.
Wasteful decisions
Did you see me down at the Ann Street landfill yesterday? I was on my monthly recycling run, hauling my containers of glass, plastic, tin cans, aluminum cans, corrugated cardboard, newspapers, magazines and “office paper” (mostly junk mail). You didn’t see me? No surprise. It’s lonely there, around the big metal containers. I might see one or two diehards on some trips. More often, nobody. It’s not a popular pursuit here. Nobody’s ever made much of a case for it. And when our leaders act as if recycling is irrelevant, well, that’s exactly what most folks make it. Big mistake. We’ve got less than a dozen usable years in our county landfill. After that, we need to find a new place for our garbage. With much tougher state standards on the way, developing new landfills will cost a fortune.
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