The Rundown: Another school shooting and falling gas prices By Kris Karkoski  Thursday, October 5, 2006

Perhaps the largest news story of this entire week occurred in a small Colorado town. Yet another high school shooting has occurred and no end seems to be in sight. In what was possibly the most heinous of all of the shootings, this most recent attack begs us to look at what can be done to protect students. You can help protect yourselves. One way is to become involved at your school and question your security there. You can question how well you are protected and encourage reform if none has been taken.

Oil and gas prices have continued a steady decline in recent weeks, falling to prices that haven’t been seen for a long time. These fuels are going to be hotly debated and questioned throughout our lifetimes and understanding the fluctuations in prices can help you become more informed and involved in the world around you.

The home market, falling fuels prices, and stable interest rates have made for a very healthy stock market. The Dow Industrial Average rose to an all time high as the stocks bucked the trend and showed steady gains in a typically slow quarter. Stocks are usually a good gauge at judging how stable the world we live in is and a stable or growing stock market is always a good thing. Stocks are one part of our bustling economy and become more and more important as we grow older. They form the basis of many people’s retirement funds. A good stock market and continued growth shows that our retirement portfolios may be better off. Although most young adults haven’t considered retirement, now is a great time to begin considering your options for the future.

The condition of Iraq remains as it has for the past few months. A curfew has been issued for the capital city of Baghdad due to mounting threats. The Iraq and entire Middle East will grow more and more important until the November midterm elections. The continuing turmoil in Iraq is one of the most debated topics for the upcoming elections; the status of Iraq will continue to be discussed well beyond November as the intense pressure for a pullout of U.S. troops mount. As long as the situation remains in a relative calm it is unlikely to be a huge issue but it will be an issue none the less.

Speaking of midterm elections, it is just over a month until the polls open on yet another election. Many states have seats that are too close to call and the majority balance may even shift to the Democratic Party. Opposite congress and president parties usually lead to very little government action, particularly over the following two years until the next presidential election. To help shape the world around you sign up to vote.

Iraq is not the only Middle East tension this week. India and Pakistan will be an issue to watch in coming weeks as the two nuclear-nations trade accusations of terror and spy involvement.

Recent Articles From This Column:
The rundown - a surprise visit to Iraq and royal going to war make headlines this week. - 02/19/2007
The Rundown: The bird flu spreads, Texas requires the new HPV vaccine, and weather continues to be fatal - 02/06/2007
The Rundown: The President addresses the nation and and the '08 presidential field grows. - 01/31/2007
The Rundown: Winter storms, the update on Castro, and Decision 2008 - 01/30/2007
The Rundown: Bad weather in our neck of the woods, trouble in Somalia, and relief in Japan - 01/16/2007