The electoral significance of a national convention’s location is often exaggerated, though. Far more important is the question of whether the community is equipped to pull it off, and Tampa left little doubt.

Based on what we saw
when the Super Bowl was here, Tampa will not only meet, but exceed expectations. 

As a small (and growing) downtown business owner, the growth and forward progress we are seeing is awesome.  About 2 years ago I published a 
series of articles related to “New Urbanism” as a movement that our country (USA) would embrace and migrate toward over the course of the next 20 years.  With that, KC and I invested in the development and operations of a bicycle shop in downtown Tampa.  It has been a challenge to say the least, but entering into our 2nd year, we can see that the decision we made was the right one.  Truth be told, we probably could have had an easier first year if we opened just outside of a suburban development, but in the long run, we are confident that based on our research and experience, the decision to invest in Tampa’s downtown was the right one.

Rock on Republicans!

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I have
listed it locally on Craigslist, but being a bicycle dealer myself (see :
citybiketampa.com), I also have the ability to box and ship it to anyone across the USA who is interested.

The only reason we are selling these bikes (my wife’s Trek 7100 is also up for sale) is because we are not Trek dealers and have access to whatever bikes we want from the manufacturers that we represent (Kona, KHS, Manhattan Cruiser, Free Agent, All City, Civia and Eastern).

Let me know if you are interested and remember, I can ship anywhere and accept payment via PayPal.  Feel free to email me at jason.cyr@jcyreus.com

Thanks,

- jc

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I’m not saying that Obama is a perfect candidate, but as the embedded video below points out, some of the propaganda that McCain’s camp is distributing about him are just outright lies.

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With good reason…just yesterday I put $25 in the tank of my soon-to-be-replaced gas guzzler and it didn’t even break past the quarter tank mark. Today, we are seeing news articles everywhere detailing the likelihood that fuel prices are going to increase this summer as they typically do. Interestingly, all indications that I have seen in recent days indicate that the high prices have little to do with the
actual supply of oil and is more a function of the strong demand that still exists for gasoline and diesel fuel even as prices hover around $4.00 with the threat of rising higher.

So what do we do to counteract this effect?

In the short term…very little can be done. Americans might try a few simple things to reduce their consumption and spending, like carpooling, cancelling a family vacation or a trip to see distant relatives, but once these temporary behavioral modifications become too inconvenient or when prices dip a little bit, the typical American will resort back to what worked for them before.

If we are going to continue to import the majority of our fuel oil, what I anticipate it will take to bring prices down to a more affordable level is a series of long term changes in nationwide infrastructure and how cities and towns are configured in terms of where people live as a function of where they need to travel on a regular basis. The other option would be to
tap into our vast domestic reserves in order to curb our dependency on oil imports.

Reconfiguring how and where we live…

Flash forward 12-18 months…Americans eventually get fed up with paying $4.00+ for gasoline and concede to the fact that prices are not going to return to where they were
6 years ago. Hummers, Expeditions and Tahoes are being replaced with more fuel efficient models, but prices have not changed because with more drivers on the road, consumption has remained about the same. My theory for what happens next goes something like this…

Eventually a significant portion of the American work force will grow tired of the extended workday commute and realize that their
McMansions, which are really just garages with living quarters attached to them, are not worth the burden associated with their locations. In search of a better way of living and renewed quality of life,
the 1960’s image of the American Dream (house in the country with a white picket fence far from the hustle and bustle of the city…) is abandoned. Life and the American way for millions of suburbanites across the country is re-engineered as
families adopt a new-urbanist approach to living.

Along with the renewal of the urban core in cities across the country comes improvements to schools and parks as well as new businesses, all benefiting from the influx of spending (and tax) base from the area’s new residents. Ultimately, the cash that was otherwise spent on fuel and car payments is redirected toward products and services provided my local merchants. Quality of life improves as adults have replaced the 7.5+ hrs on average of commute time each week with time spent amongst family members, friends or simply getting more exercise.

Finally, as a not-so-surprising dividend, air pollution decreases and fuel prices stabilize making vacations to the countryside, where all of those sprawling subdivisions used to be, more affordable for all of those new urbanites and their children.

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One of the biggest problems with the United States government is that it spends too much money, time, and resources trying to fix other countries’ problems. The United States is not a perfect place and we still have many improvements that require such time, money and resources to fix within our own country. The United States on a global scale has the top economy and is a big player in many aspects of the world’s success; however, with the war waged in
Iraq and other various problems in other countries, the U.S. government has managed to run the
national debt up to over 9 trillion dollars in the past eight years.

Furthermore, U.S. homelessness has been steadily increasing and the economy is slowly slipping through the cracks, yet the U.S. government continues to spend millions of dollars daily in a feeble attempt to solve Iraq’s problems. This problem with our government relates to two of the four purposes of every government system.

It relates to
economic decision making because the government must decide how to spend its money, and whether or not it will try to help another country or its own. In addition, it relates to the government’s responsibility to provide public services for its citizens, because if all the United States’ money is going to the repair and betterment of other countries, there is a severe lacking of services provided for Americans with the money that is left over. Yes, it is a good thing to try to improve other countries conditions but, in my opinion, this situation is outrageous.

The United States government should not sacrifice our people’s economic growth, success, and the well-being of the American population in an effort to solve problems in a third world country or any other countries for that matter.

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