Friday, March 20, 2020

Free Essays on Bush Administration Travel Budget

The article that I chose for my current events paper came from the New York Times, on September 25, 2002. The title of the article is  ¡Ã‚ °Cheney ¡Ã‚ ¯s Travel Budget Raises Eyebrows ¡Ã‚ ±. It was written by Katherine Q. Seelye. Vice President Dick Cheney ¡Ã‚ ¯s staff is asking Congress for an additional $100, 000 for his travel budget this year. Administration officials say it is for  ¡Ã‚ °additional unplanned official trips ¡Ã‚ ± related to the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Democrats suggest the money is being used for political trips in this campaign season. Mr. Cheney is given $386,000 appropriated by Congress, for the fiscal year. He has already spent that sum, as well as an additional $50,000 Congress gives him for unanticipated travel. In 1994, the comparable year for President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore was allocated $164,000 and spent only $51,000 of that amount. When asked his opinion about the funds, David Sirota, spokesman for the Democrats on the House of Appropriations Committee, said,  ¡Ã‚ °This kind of disregard for other people ¡Ã‚ ¯s money may have worked at Halliburton, but it doesn ¡Ã‚ ¯t work with the American taxpayer. ¡Ã‚ ± According to the figures in the article, Vice President Cheney has spent $1194.52 per day for a full fiscal year. That is an outrageous amount of money for travel. I have an idea for a budget plan. If we cut all the politicians ¡Ã‚ ¯ travel money for the fiscal year in half, I think we would have quite a substantial amount for some worthwhile government spending (like maybe bailing out Amtrak). I do understand that politicians and government officials cannot travel by commercial flight, but there has to be a better system in place. I am appalled to think that I pay $0.30 out of every dollar I earn to pay for this kind of nonsense.... Free Essays on Bush Administration Travel Budget Free Essays on Bush Administration Travel Budget The article that I chose for my current events paper came from the New York Times, on September 25, 2002. The title of the article is  ¡Ã‚ °Cheney ¡Ã‚ ¯s Travel Budget Raises Eyebrows ¡Ã‚ ±. It was written by Katherine Q. Seelye. Vice President Dick Cheney ¡Ã‚ ¯s staff is asking Congress for an additional $100, 000 for his travel budget this year. Administration officials say it is for  ¡Ã‚ °additional unplanned official trips ¡Ã‚ ± related to the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Democrats suggest the money is being used for political trips in this campaign season. Mr. Cheney is given $386,000 appropriated by Congress, for the fiscal year. He has already spent that sum, as well as an additional $50,000 Congress gives him for unanticipated travel. In 1994, the comparable year for President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore was allocated $164,000 and spent only $51,000 of that amount. When asked his opinion about the funds, David Sirota, spokesman for the Democrats on the House of Appropriations Committee, said,  ¡Ã‚ °This kind of disregard for other people ¡Ã‚ ¯s money may have worked at Halliburton, but it doesn ¡Ã‚ ¯t work with the American taxpayer. ¡Ã‚ ± According to the figures in the article, Vice President Cheney has spent $1194.52 per day for a full fiscal year. That is an outrageous amount of money for travel. I have an idea for a budget plan. If we cut all the politicians ¡Ã‚ ¯ travel money for the fiscal year in half, I think we would have quite a substantial amount for some worthwhile government spending (like maybe bailing out Amtrak). I do understand that politicians and government officials cannot travel by commercial flight, but there has to be a better system in place. I am appalled to think that I pay $0.30 out of every dollar I earn to pay for this kind of nonsense....

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Ornithocheirus - Facts and Figures

Ornithocheirus - Facts and Figures Name: Ornithocheirus (Greek for bird hand); pronounced OR-nith-oh-CARE-usHabitat: Shores of western Europe and South AmericaHistorical Period: Middle Cretaceous (100-95 million years ago)Size and Weight: Wingspans of 10-20 feet and weights of 50-100 poundsDiet: FishDistinguishing Characteristics: Large wingspan; long, thin snout with bony protuberance on end About Ornithocheirus Ornithocheirus wasnt the largest pterosaur ever to take to the skies during the Mesozoic Erathat honor belonged to the truly enormous Quetzalcoatlusbut it was certainly the biggest pterosaur of the middle Cretaceous period since Quetzalcoatlus didnt appear on the scene until shortly before the K/T Extinction Event. Aside from its 10- to 20-foot wingspan, what set Ornithocheirus apart from other pterosaurs was the bony keel on the end of its snout, which may have been used to crack open the shells of crustaceans, to intimidate other pterosaurs in search of the same prey, or to attract the opposite sex during mating season. Discovered in the early 19th century, Ornithocheirus occasioned its share of disputes among the famous paleontologists of the day. This pterosaur was officially named in 1870 by Harry Seeley, who chose its moniker (Greek for bird hand) because he assumed Ornithocheirus was ancestral to modern birds. He was wrongbirds actually descended from small theropod dinosaurs, probably multiple times during the later Mesozoic Erabut not as wrong as his rival Richard Owen, who at that time didnt accept the theory of evolution and thus didnt believe Ornithocheirus was ancestral to anything! The confusion Seeley generated over a century ago, no matter how well-meaning, persists today. At one time or another, there have been dozens of named Ornithocheirus species, most of them based on fragmentary and poorly preserved fossil specimens, of which only one, O. simus, remains in widespread use. Further complicating matters, the more recent discovery of large pterosaurs dating from late Cretaceous South Americasuch as Anhanguera and Tupuxuararaises the possibility that these genera should properly be assigned as Ornithocheirus species.