The Word: Responsibility.

On July 18, 2010, In Food For Thought, Politics, Random, By Markand Francesca

I was reading my local paper last week, in it was an article about the deep water horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This article, unlike the rest, did not speak of the oil ravaged beaches along our south-eastern shores, nor did it talk of wildlife destroyed, or evil companies cutting corners. It spoke about a more philosophical matter, Americans personal responsibility. A women was quoted as saying “We don’t take care of our children, we don’t take care of our environment, we don’t take care of anything anymore.” The article went on to talk about American demoralization over the incident, how we went from fighting off the most powerful empire in the world, to taming an unbridled wilderness, to raising an industrial and socio-political superpower from nothing, only to now in our complacency being toppled by a leaky pipe.

I’m glad to see that somewhere some-one is recognizing what I and many of my compatriots have already taken notice. I know a great deal of intelligent, well-educated, and socially conscious individuals, but even they don’t take the time out of their weekends and free-time to do anything positive. Like most Americans they’re just a bunch of hot air anymore. Some don’t like the treatment of animals, but I’ll see them with an 89 cent rib from BK, others they hate big oil companies and the polluting of our environment and resource wars, but they still rove around in their oversized SUV’s that they got on sale at the local dealership (because the previous owner couldn’t afford the gas). I listen as they complain about the preservatives in our food, and the wholesale destruction of the American farmer, yet they won’t reach their hands a bit farther down the isle to grab the organic product that’s just a few penny’s more (while their 400 dollar music player and 500 dollar phone sit in their pockets). They speak of workers overseas being given bags of rice for their days work in a Nike sweat-shop,yet they still go out and buy their shoes and hand Nike their ridiculous profit margin. I see parents complain in the news that their children are out of control, then blame a school, or an “artist“, or some video games. All this rambling I’m doing is only saying one thing folks,  we are a selfish, irresponsible, ignorant, thick headed people. We feel as if we are entitled to our every whim and fantasy and even when we get it we have no gratitude for it, we simply move onto our next objective.  My friends we need to look deeper into ourselves and find some humility and some respect for everyone around us including for ourselves, not just for those who can do us harm physically, emotionally, financially, politically, or spiritually. What’s scarier is less and less of them seem to be thinking at all about anything.

Is there no hope? Is this a perpetual cycle of ignorance? I think not. The mainstream media (news, music, movies, T.V., internet) is probably the greatest enemy we have, it seems to be trying to teach us that doing whatever one likes because he/she likes it is perfectly acceptable as long as they are happy doing it. This is a bit flawed in it’s reasoning however, do not serial killers like killing other people? Yes that is a bit of an extreme example, but how about this one; A child hears and see situations on television and the radio that praise violent solutions to petty matters(killing someone over reputation/money/“turf“), thus ingrained in him subconsciously is this attitude. While he may not kill someone or even hurt anyone he is still going to present himself in that way, weather he has it in him or not is more of a problem concerning that particular individual. In-fact I dare you to find me one person who truly lives up to that motto, or any motto they may use justify their action (or inaction). What if our forefathers and families thought in that aspect? I’m sure some of us have grown up with drug addict parents, alcoholic parents, inconsiderate degenerate parents, or all three. They are a victim of this flawed view of the world, and even if you aren’t “that bad” what will it take to get you that far? Can you say for sure? Will you not be teaching your children that personality trait?

I’m proof that someone can take their lazy, unproductive, morally bankrupt life, analyze it for it’s inadequacies, and truly try to improve upon them and live by their ideals. I’m not perfect, I cheat sometimes like anyone else would, so please don’t think I’m being zealous or trying to demonize others, far from it.I live in the same crazy world you do. I want everyone who reads this not to get mad at me and marginalize me as some PC fascist. I want everyone to know that living a life based on principal is entirely possible.  In-fact if we all decided to live a little better than we do currently it would inevitably become more affordable in both sociological and economical terms. We could all show each other something different and call each other out and eventually grow together as a society. Capitalism, while not exactly my cup of tea, does give us one amazing ability. We can change our world, and what’s considered acceptable simply through our purchasing power. If we show the conglomerates that we’d rather buy local, organic food, they’ll start helping to produce that food, thus making it cheaper and driving the wheels of change on that frontier. If we show the powers that be that we truly care about the environment by purchasing recycled products, and ourselves recycling everything that we can (many people throw away plastic wrappings and paper boxes that are actually recyclable). We could maybe even show the music industry that we want more than just catchy beats, but artists who sing about something important on occasion and have a true musical talent.  Imagine a world where people got by on merit.

I’m guilty too, but I’m honestly trying. I want all of you to try with me as well. Maybe together we could really change something, maybe 3 or 4 people who read this article will change some of their ways, but what’s more important is that any of you who truly take something out of this and investigate these things on your own (investigation requires more sources than the first thing that pops up in Google), you need to tell your friends. Many of us fear being socially castrated for telling others how we feel about certain subjects, and with good reason I suppose. I for one have definitely been met with some stiff resistance from some thick skulled human-beings in the past. Stay calm however resorting to silly cliché’s and name calling only brings you to their level. Calmly explain that you respect their opinion, but the facts point in a different direction. No matter what however you will meet some completely unmovable people sometimes, mostly it’s out of their own ignorance, for many it’s not ignorance that is driving their opinion, but the force of habit, the fear of change, and the general lack of effort in shedding our enslavement to impulse.

Our unwillingness to accept responsibility has created the world we live in today. Don’t like what you see? Well the message I hope you take from this is that with your acceptance of  personal responsibility for at least some of that environment or culture you hate is the first step in creating a new world for yourself (and eventually for all of us).  Will things ever be perfect? I’m afraid that’s unrealistic. Maybe though we can at least get back to our fundamentals. Let’s all join together in a celebration of the human spirit, the spirit of life, of our ability to be our own people to be the non-violent soldiers of a new world order. Not one that subjugates and serves, but one that listens, thinks, reasons, cares, loves and respects.

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NAACP vs Tea Party

On July 18, 2010, In Uncategorized, By Fernando Ardila

A few days ago the NAACP had their annual convention, where they passed a resolution saying the Tea Party movement was racist. Where such nonsense has come from is beyond me, I can’t help but really sit and think about the logic behind this.

The NAACP has cited various examples including the myth that protesters spit on black caucus members and yelled racial slurs at them during the health care vote. Despite all the cameras that were around, not one was able to capture these supposed incidents. (A $100,000 reward still stands for anyone who can prove this happened.)

In addition to the false accusation of spitting and yelling, the NAACP has pointed to some of the signs critical of Obama. A big example of this is a billboard that compared Obama to Hitler and Lenin. I don’t see how this is racist; after all, nobody was shouting racism when Bush was being made to look like Hitler. Would the NAACP prefer that Obama be compared to African dictators like Robert Mugabe or Mobutu Sese Seko? Or would that too be deemed racist?

Since Obama was elected, racial tensions have been stirred up by the remnants of the previous generations that lived in the times of racial turmoil. As things have gotten better, these people have cried foul whenever it suits them. This time the NAACP has diverted attention from the big picture of an out of control government to focus on the myth of the Tea Party being racist. Such tactics are used out of desperation in an attempt to crush the growing number of dissenting Americans who are tired of big government and are ready to see real change. It appears that the NAACP has become an attack dog for the Democrats this election cycle, and has no intentions of easing up.

If the NAACP was so concerned about black people, why didn’t they speak up when black conservatives were called Uncle Toms? Or why didn’t they protest when Hillary Clinton was given an award named after Margaret Sanger, a eugenicist whose views on race were more aligned to Hitler’s than to Martin Luther King’s. The truth is the NAACP, like the political establishment, is shaking in their boots about the growing trend of people expressing their dissatisfaction with the government, and rather than being part of the solution, the NAACP wants to protect the problem, and maintain a status quo, of which they benefit from.

It is time conservative minorities speak out on behalf of the liberty movement, and reiterate to those playing the race card, that this has nothing to do with race, skin, or creed, it’s all about the policies, and enough is enough. The American people’s patience is wearing thin, and marginalizing the angry sentiment that exists, as some sort of racist lunatic fringe, will only go on to fuel the fires of liberty even more, and in case some of you haven’t noticed, this doesn’t appear to be a brush-fire that will be put out very easily.

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New Jersey Supreme Court Sets Dangerous Precedent

On July 14, 2010, In Politics, By Mike Mulraney

New Jersey Supreme Court rules that if an officer doesn't speak your language you are free to drive drunk.

Another case of legislating from the bench.  Once again the New Jersey Supreme Court has made a decision that will impact the safety of New Jersey’s citizens.  This time the Court has ruled that DUI procedures MUST be given in the driver’s native tongue.  If they are not the driver will go free. 

This decision comes from a case in which a man was told in English that if he refused a breathalyzer he would be arrested for driving under the influence and refusing a breathalyzer.  The man then filed a lawsuit and won the case. 

This is the first constitutional guarantee that you must receive these rights in your native tongue.  This forces police officers to be fluent in many different languages and puts an unfair burden upon the police force.  There are about eight million people in New Jersey with over two million of them fluent in a language that isn’t English. 

This will either cause the police to let hazards to innocent civilians go, or will force tax payers to pay for translators, tutors, translating technologies, etc.  Not to mention the fact that the officer may enunciate the word incorrectly or misspeak.  They may not be able to tell what kind of Chinese the suspect is speaking.  Officers now have to act as translators. 

It’s time we stopped accomadating and start forcing those to know the language of the officer and not the other way around.  The courts should have fallen on the side of justice and protecting the people but alas they have not.  The court has instead decided that officers must have an unreasonable burden and must have encyclopedic knowledge of foreign languages.  It shows just how out of touch this court is. 

There job is to protect and serve not translate.

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The New Great Game

On July 9, 2010, In Politics, topstories, us, world, By Matt Craven

Espionage is hardly a new phenomenon; in fact, it is perhaps one of the oldest arts with which nations have competed against each other. The Cold War was the pinnacle of spycraft; what many thought of as the penultimate point in an art which would die with the Berlin Wall. Those who thought that couldn’t have been more wrong.

Although the circumstances  surrounding the ten sleeper agents (eleven if Christopher Metsos, the bail jumper from Cyprus, is to be counted)  of the so-called “Illegals Program” are rather mundane by Cold War standards, the case is notable as it sends a clear message to Washington from the Kremlin: “We’re still interested in what you know.” Despite the fall of communism in the eastern bloc, and the supposed warming in relations between the US + NATO and Russia, the games of old continue. Everybody knew Russia and the US still spied on each other, but nobody cared to make conversation about it; these circumstances, however, brought that elephant in the room out into the open in a rather uncomfortable twist for the Kremlin.

Earlier today, July 9th, two planes met on the tarmac at Vienna’s airport in a scene reminiscent of meetings at Glienicke Bridge decades earlier. The way the ten Russians were handled by the US government suggests there was more at play than what was initially thought. Although charged with being “unregistered agents of a foreign nation,” and with the more serious “money laundering,” none of the ten were charged specifically with espionage, which would have been the most serious charge of all. This suggests some element of design to the situation, as considering how long the investigation was allowed to progress, and how quickly a deal was hammered out with the Kremlin to trade the ten for four convicted spies in Russia, all evidence points to the United States as having had specific motivation to capture Russian spies for their own use as tokens to trade. Although many perceive the US intelligence community as being clueless towards the War on Terror, the bust of the Illegals Program suggests that the community hasn’t lost its touch at its old game, while the humiliation Russia has endured suggests that the SVR isn’t quite what the KGB used to be.

Although both sides, especially Russia, seem to want to put this entire circumstance behind them, it will take some time for this wound to heal. The real issue, though, is will something like this happen again? The Cold War may be over, but Russia and the United States certainly don’t trust each other, and certainly will continue spying on one another. Almost fifty years of covert warfare made some habits that will be very hard to break, and some perceptions that will only change with more time. The Cold War may be over, but the Great Game still continues.

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Petraeus 2012?

On June 29, 2010, In Politics, Uncategorized, By Mike Mulraney

General David Petraeus may be gearing toward a run for the presidency in 2012.

General David Petraeus was recently named commanding general for the war in Afghanistan by President Barack Obama.  What President Obama could have done is set up a major challenger to emerge at the top of the list for GOP contenders. 

As we all know the United States is involved in two long term wars that have grown increasingly unpopular in the public’s eye.  Now who has steered Operation Iraqi Freedom toward a potentially successful end?  General David Petraeus.  He was the key figure behind “the surge” which has given the United States a much needed change from the “staying the course” agenda former President Bush was favoring.  Petraeus will be remembered as the man who finally gave the United States the much needed advantage over the insurgents in Iraq.  This advantage made it possible for US forces to leave in 2011.

Now the war in Afghanistan is also slated to end in 2011.  Afghanistan was the forgotten war for quite some time in America as the public’s interest was solely placed on Iraq.  Operations in the country had stalled and the war was stuck in a rut.  Then President Obama implemented a surge like strategy in order to get things going in the United States direction again.  Now the Petraeus plan worked in Iraq and for all intensive purposes appears to be working in Afghanistan as well.  Petreaus is now overseeing the Afghan war and the people will recognize his role in ending the war.

Petraeus is a registered Republican and could be the military hero that the party had hoped General Colin Powell would have been.  Petraeus graduated in the top 5% of his class in the Military Academy and has a PhD. in International Relations from Princeton University in New Jersey.  The general is a highly intelligent man in the field of foreign policy and who would you rather have in charge of the military than a military man?  All this talk of a presidential run started when the general visited Saint Anselm College.  A college that is well known for presidential debates and is located in one of the major primary states, New Hampshire. 

Now the major issue of the campaign could well be the economy and the federal deficit which it would appear is the generals one hole in his resume.  This is where I could see the general tapping Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) for Vice President.  Now I don’t want to lose Governor Christie before his term is over but if the country needs him then we must let him go.  Governor Christie made tough choices in cutting the New Jersey state budget and balancing the budget without increasing taxes.  The governor is a very powerful speaker and has showed that he can accomplish a Reagan Conservative agenda in the bluest of states. 

A Petraeus/Christie ticket may be what’s needed to take down President Obama.  Time will tell how Petraeus is viewed in the future and whether he believes he is healthy enough to do the task.  I for one hope to see the general out there because I feel he has a lot to offer the American people beyond the 2011 end date of both wars.

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Let Us Not Forget Senator Byrd’s Whole Life

On June 28, 2010, In Politics, By Mike Mulraney

Robert Byrd died today at 92. Byrd's checkered past seems to be forgotten by many who are honoring his life.

Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) passed on today at the age 0f 92.  Now I am sad to report this news and no one likes to see anyone else pass on, however we must view the whole life of an individual in order to know whether or not to completely celebrate his life.  For those of you who do not know Robert Byrd early in his life was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. 

Byrd was the head of his respective Klan and was known as a Kleagle or recruiter.  That means that everyone who Senator recruited who committed any sort of racial insensitivity is on the hands of the Senator.  Everyone whom they have recruited as well all stems from one Robert Byrd.  How can we fully honor a life like this?

Byrd’s race relations were still in question as he made his bid for the US House of Representatives.  Byrd made this infamous quote, “The Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia and in every state in the nation.” 

He also penned a note in 1944 that stated, “I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side… Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.” 

Senator Byrd was responsible for bringing people into the white supremacy movement and should be held liable for the actions of those recruited and for spreading the flamatory rhetoric of said movement.  However, Byrd also brought home a lot of money for a poor state.  Several roads and buildings bear his name in his home state because of his prolonged service.  He was a dear friend of the Mountaineer coal industry.  He was a vocal opponent of the Iraq Invasion and endorsed the Senator Obama for president.

Senator Byrd is a controversial figure and always will be.  His legacy will be haunted by those who remember his white supremacist rhetoric and views.  His supporters will remember his good deeds for his home state and his vocal opposition to the 2003 invasion  of Iraq.  The truth of course will always lie somewhere in the middle. 

RIP Robert Byrd (1917-2010)

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It Is Time For A Balanced Budget Requirement

On June 23, 2010, In Politics, Uncategorized, By Mike Mulraney

Balanced Budget Now is a grassroots organization devoted to getting a balanced budget amendment into the US Constitution

The Federal Government has sustained deficits so large that all the red pens in the world would run out of ink trying to keep track.  More and more states are forcing budget deficits to be smaller or by forcing states not to carry over into the next fiscal year.  If the citizens and the states must live within their means why can’t the federal government?  It’s about time we forced the federal government to live within their means and not escape by printing more money.  It’s about time we drafted a Constitutional amendment forcing the United States federal government into balancing their budget every year. 

With all the spending outrage I’m surprised that not many groups advocating this position have surfaced.  One that has surfaced is the Balanced Budget Amendment group that can be found at this site.  I would recommend to all that are for this cause to sign the petition and stay updated with this group.  This is an opportunity to get involved in a young grassroots movement supporting a great cause. 

With the current anti-spending sentiment in America I would not be surprised if this movement gained ground quickly.  It has been about six months since I witnessed Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) advocate for this on FoxNews and it is about time that a group like this surfaced.  Let’s stand up and say no more red ink, no more big deficits, and we will no longer fall for the same old accounting tricks that Washington has given us year after year after year.

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My waning sense of political efficacy

On June 21, 2010, In Food For Thought, By Michael Goonan

I entered college last fall as one of the most grossly opinionated and politically engaged 18 year olds you would ever care to meet.  After a year as a political science major, however, something very strange and counter-intuitive has happened.  I only glance at the headlines on Google News a few times a week, I don’t care what pundits have to say, and I have come to the realization that, in the big scheme of things, my opinions aren’t particularly profound or important.  What’s more, studying political science has opened my eyes to how predictable politics are.

The fact that politics can be studied almost empirically is an especially disconcerting thought to me.  It means that political behavior is robotic for most people.  90% of the time people just vote the way their parents do.  Race, religion, ethnicity, and socioeconomic standing are better indicators of who an individual will vote for than ideology.  In fact, I would bet that most voters don’t even know what “ideology” means.

What is even more unsettling is the fact that politicians must cater to this public.  With the voting public being as irrational as it is, it’s no wonder that, paraphrasing Ronald Reagan, politics is a very similar line of work to prostitution.  The fact that most politicians are simply whoring themselves out for votes, their principles and highest ideals be damned, has made it virtually impossible for me to admire any of them or feel particularly enthusiastic about voting for any of them.  Granted, I hold strongly to my own progressive principles and vote based upon them.  But, when it comes down to it, most politicians do not hold to their principles, and in fact cannot, if they want to be elected.

What has drained my enthusiasm for politics more than anything, however, is that fact that politics does not solve the world’s problems.  Instead of trying to find solutions to real problems, all politicians do is throw talking points at one-another in order to appease certain voting blocs.  Legislation is written with similar motives.  In a way, these are the seeds the public has sown for itself.  The public doesn’t think about issues, so politicians don’t think they have to either.  Quite simply, politics is a game, and people’s lives are not meant to be played with.

Well, there you have it.  The seeds of political apathy have been festering inside of me for quite some time, and have blossomed more and more with each passing day.  The funny thing is that I care just as much as ever about the well being of this country and the world at large.  Too bad politics do more harm than good.

 
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Fear the Boom and Bust

On June 21, 2010, In Uncategorized, By Matt Craven

It’s rare for a rap music video to be educational, but this one works pretty well at demonstrating the key concepts of current economic debates. It’s a personal favorite of mine.

 
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President Obama’s Oil Spill Speech

On June 18, 2010, In Politics, By Andrew Torba

 
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