A portion of President Biden's speech yesterday:

"I’ve asked Ambassador Susan Rice to lead the administrations charge through the White House and Domestic Policy Council, because I know she’ll see it through. Every White House component and every agency will be involved in this work because advancing equity has to be everyone’s job. Today, I’ll be shortly signing an additional package of executive actions to continue this vital work. Housing, for example. 

Housing is a right in American and home ownership is an essential tool to wealth creation and to be passed down to generations.

Today, I’m directly in the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs and Urban Development to redress historical racism and federal housing policies. Today, I’m directing the federal agency to reinvigorate the consultation process with Indian tribes. Respect for tribal sovereignty would be a cornerstone around engaging with Native American communities."

Allow me to summarize:

1. The government is responsible for advancing equity in domestic policy. Equity meaning "fair and equal" to all American citizens.

2. Housing is a right in America.

3. He will redress racism and federal housing policies. Redress meaning to "address and correct".

In a nutshell, he claims that housing is a right for every American and by addressing racism and correcting Federal housing policies, housing will be fair, equal, and available to all Americans.

I agree that housing, as well as other things like healthcare and education, should be fair, equal, and available to all Americans. I also agree in addressing racism within Federal housing policies to achieve this.

But housing is not a right for every American. 

ACCESS to housing is a right for every American.

The ability to access and purchase housing on merit, without racism or favoritism is an example of capitalism.

The idea of being entitled and provided free housing is an act of socialism.

I believe our government should help those in true need, to get out of sticky situations or unseen life events such as unemployment, divorce, or medical issues. But this assistance should be temporary and a catalyst to get back on track. So the individual may become self-sufficient and a productive member of society.

However, there are many citizens accepting free or assisted government housing. This assistance may last 10, 20, or 30 years or more. Many cases involve those who can provide for themselves but choose not to. They enjoy and abuse the entitlement from our government.

A push from the government to provide widespread funding is an act of socialism. The intent is to establish government dependency and control. This will devalue and destroy an individual's identity, productivity, and self-worth.

Having the freedom to work and fairly obtain accessible housing is capitalism - the bedrock of our country. This ensures the ability to work and provide a home as a productive member of society.

Without government dependency.

Nearly 40 years has passed since the last soft
landing on the Moon. Last month, China accomplished this task with its Chang’e 3 lander and Yutu rover. 

A soft landing is accomplished when spacecraft thrusters are used to slowly lower the craft within several feet of the surface
of the Moon before touching down. These landings are more difficult to accomplish than hard landings – a lunar touchdown at full orbital speed. Since the mid-1970’s, the Moon landings have been hard landings. With this latest landing, China has revealed to the world its involvement and dedication to space exploration. 

The lander Chang’e was named after the Chinese goddess of the Moon. The Yutu rover is named after the Chang’e’s pet jade rabbit. Yutu has a three-month mission to take pictures, gather rocks, conduct analysis and measure the structure and depth of the Moon’s surface to nearly 100 feet. 

Yutu is powered by our sun which limits travelling to during the lunar day only – during the lunar nights, Yutu waits patiently for the next lunar sunrise. 

The Chang’e 3 mission has sparked a debate about possible exploitation of the Moon’s resources – who has rights, if anyone to extract resources from the Moon? Chinese scientists’ believe that the Moon is a potential source of minerals.  

“Currently, no one can claim ownership of the Moon,” says Planetary Science Professor Ian Crawford, of Birkbeck College University of London. “The legal status of the Moon is governed by the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, Article 2 of which specifically prohibits nation states from appropriating the Moon," said Crawford.
 
“Within the next few decades the economic exploitation of the Moon will be technically feasible," said Crawford. "Even if there are not minerals to be extracted, the space tourism industry is gathering a lot of momentum so one might imagine interest in sending people to the Moon as just fare-paying passengers.  None of this is currently covered by the 1967 Treaty.”

Many feel that countries like China will surpass the United States in technology and space exploration. Some in the space industry fear that and cost American companies dollars. Robert Bigelow is a commercial space entrepreneur who owns Bigelow Aerospace Company. This business creates inflatable space habitats. Bigelow believes that China will continue to rise and eclipse the United States in leadership in space
exploration. “China is likely to claim ownership of the moon if other nations do not step up to challenge them,” claims Bigelow. 

NASA’s reaction to China’s successful rover landing came from a late December post on Space Policy Online, stating, “…We welcome all countries' peaceful exploration of space, and look forward to China’s public release of the scientific results from the Chang'e 3 mission to the moon.”

Houston has the world’s largest concentration of refineries and chemical plants in the world. This industry provides thousands of jobs in our area. Safety is a major factor for these employees and their employers. Flame retardant clothing containing Brominated Flame Retardants (BFR)
is widely used to prevent injury from flash fires. There is a concern that BFR may cause cancer.

BFR is a compound that helps inhibit the ignition of combustible organic materials. This
is most widely used as a commercialized chemical flame retardant. BFRs are used in the uniforms worn by chemical and refining employees. It is also very effective in reducing the flammability of electronics, clothes and furniture at the home – affecting pillows, upholstery, paint, kitchen appliances, televisions and carpet.

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is a BFR used in several consumer products. It was initially released on the market to replace Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PDBE). PDBE was phased out of the market when a study linked it to increased hormone activity in the body. The new study suggests that TBBPA causes the same type of interference as PBDE - each chemical has the same biological effect. 

Brominated Flame Retardants are believed to be toxic to the environment and to humans. Recent studies have linked BFR to increased neurobehavioral effects and endocrine disruption. Earlier this the year, a study revealed TBBPA to cause cancer in lab animals. It is not certain that it can cause cancer in humans. This study showed that TBBPA attached to the enzyme estrogen sulfotransferase (EST) on an atomic level. This enzyme regulates estrogen levels in the body. This interaction between EST and TBBPA can cause abnormal enzyme activity, which has been linked with uterine cancer. 

There has been increased criticism against BFRs. Although studies show BFRs could have harmful effects on humans and animals, the production of TBBPA has not stopped - it has continued to increase. It is the most heavily produced brominated fire retardant in the world. Over 200,000 tons of TBBPA are produced annually. Through medical screenings, BFRs have been found in people all over the world. Due to safety concerns, a few European countries have decided to ban some of these chemicals.