EDITORIAL BY DHIREN SHAH
Hello Readers,
An earthquake in Afghanistan killed over 1000 people. However, it was only a 6.1 magnitude earthquake (some sources have 5.9). The largest recorded earthquake was in Chile, 9.5 magnitude on May 22, 1960. The largest earthquake in the U.S. was in Alaska, which was a 9.2 magnitude on March 28, 1964.
Per USGS: Earthquakes of magnitude 10 or larger cannot happen. The magnitude of an earthquake is related to the length of the fault on which it occurs. That is, the longer the fault, the larger the earthquake. A fault is a break in the rocks that make up the Earth’s crust, along which rocks on either side have moved past each other. No fault long enough to generate a magnitude 10 earthquake is known to exist, and if it did, it would extend around most of the planet.
The Supreme Court says Maine cannot exclude religious schools from tuition assistance programs. The 6-3 ruling is the latest move by the conservative court to expand religious liberty rights and bring more religion into public life, a trend bolstered by the addition of three of former President Donald Trump’s nominees. “Maine’s ‘nonsectarian’ requirement for its otherwise generally available tuition assistance payments violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority. “Regardless of how the benefit and restriction are described, the program operates to identify and exclude otherwise eligible schools on the basis of their religious exercise.” Roberts was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. The three liberal justices dissented.
The Uvalde school shooting, where 19 children and 2 teachers were killed, was a tragedy. Out of those children and teachers, some could have been saved if officers responded and opened the classroom doors. Officers with rifles and a ballistic shield were inside the school for 58 minutes according to reports. The investigation is ongoing, and maybe someone will be held responsible for not ordering the officers to enter the classrooms.
President Biden has proposed to have a gas tax holiday for three months. Right now, a federal tax of about 18.5 cents per gallon is charged on our fuels. Something is better than nothing. However, 18.5 cents is about a 3.5% reduction from a $5 fuel price. It is good on paper, but does not look good in the people’s pockets, when the fuel companies raised the price about 200% since the Ukraine and Russia war started. Since Biden took office, he is distributing money (left and right) with some excuses to protect his declining popularity. Likely, the reduced income for the government will force lawmakers to find new sourced of income from the people by taxing with another source. This is all a game they are playing. So, we can be happy, but not overwhelmed by these benefits. We want not a temporary relief, but permanent relief. They are elected officials; they must find the solution.
Summer is here. We all want to enjoy it, but due to the gas prices, it will be difficult for many of us to adjust to our budget. There are so many places in New Jersey to visit in the summer. If you search for it, you will find all sorts of activities and natural beauty all around New Jersey. So, we don’t have to drive a lot and still have the same fun and memorable vacation.
Have a wonderful week. I’ll talk to you next week.
