November 17, 2009
After drifting away from the spotlight for the past few months, the former small town-bred Alaska Governor who ran for VP is making her way back into the headlines. Love her or hate her – where she goes from here is a matter of relevance. From taking time off following her resignation to writing her memoir and attacking Newsweek’s supposedly sexist portrayal of her on the front cover, its increasingly hard to predict where she will go from here. If she plays her cards right she will maintain her sphere of influence in the political arena for years to come and still possess the option of returning to elected office. While she discussed many of her past issues with McCain staffers and Katie Couric in her interview with Oprah, the future of her career was left open-ended and she sounded like she could see herself as anywhere between a pundit and a future presidential candidate.
For a while people were asking themselves “does she want to continue?” As soon as she got a piece of the national spotlight, both her and her family were viciously torn apart by the elitists and the attack dogs in the mainstream media. The Katie Couric interview was particularly devastating for her image. The sudden change in her life would have made a lot of folks decide that they had had enough. Her resignation as Governor of Alaska after the campaign might have been perceived as a retreat from the national arena, but she supposedly talks about that in her upcoming book. But if she did end up giving up, a lot of her fans out there would be disappointed. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in News, Politicians | Tagged Establishment, Going Rogue, McCain Staffer, Newsweek, Republican Party, Ron Paul, sarah palin | 2 Comments »
November 15, 2009
The United States stands distinct from most other countries on Earth in not having an official national language. In Germany the national language is German. In Italy the official language is Italian. Our neighbor to the north – Canada – actually has two national languages: English and French. All official government documents are available in both. Yet the United States does not have a national language. You might be asking yourself – does this really matter? After all, if English were made the official language, it would seem a mere symbolic gesture. English is already the de facto national language and many people actually believe that it is already the national language. How much do our other national symbols affect our day-to-day life? We have a national bird – the bald eagle. How often does that cross our minds? Do you take frequent pauses during your regular routine to reflect on the eagle? Probably not. It is a federal crime to hunt a bald eagle, but that’s about it. A more visible national symbol is the flag. But English is already the official language in several states, so what exactly is the point of saying it?
The answer lies in the nature of the effects of making such a policy official. Policies regarding the flow of immigration and the management of the system regarding it are controlled at the federal level. Presently, the citizenship tests are available in both English and Spanish. Education in the United States is typically taught in English, although there are certain uncommon deviations, such as the Oakland example in the mid-1990s. Medicare business is also dealt with in English. The United States does have the distinction of being a “melting pot,” but at the end of the day English is what is used to communicate. This is partially why I believe it is important to separate the past identities immigrants from the American identity they are absorbed into. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Immigration | Tagged Border, Diversity, English, Immigration, Mexico, Official language, United States | 12 Comments »
November 11, 2009
At the end of last month, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia noticed the size and scope of the black market for firearms in their country that was created by their overly-restrictive gun laws. The Interior Ministry will be in charge of licensing the legal sale and distribution of handguns, which Saudi Arabia has finally legalized. This is a brave step forward for the Middle Eastern country, whose citizenry will now enjoy a little more freedom than they had before. This is Saudi Arabia, remember. Where women can walk only covered and in the company of men and where things which are mere trivial offenses in America can earn you the death penalty. However, at least they’ll be able to defend themselves with their own private handguns.
On the downside, a lot of people in Saudi Arabia are not enthusiastic about the loosening up of the law. Growing up in the land of the first democratic republican revolution in modern times, I know that I can never take the principle of freedom for granted and when I see people elsewhere not sharing my sentiment, it troubles me. They see people as ticking time-bombs rather than responsible adults who keep their best interests at heart. If a law-abiding, tax-paying citizen wishes to use and own a gun in their spare time, who should be so presumptuous as to stop them? People really do have an irrational fear of freedom sometime. Even in the United States. Until a recent Supreme Court case, the District of Columbia also had a ban on handguns. Fortunately, I have high hopes that as soon as the Saudis get their taste of gun freedom and continue to go about their lives they will find that there really is nothing for them to be scared of. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in International Conflicts, News, States, Theory, War on Drugs | Tagged gun control, Gun Rights, Handguns, Right to Bear Arms, Saudi Arabia, Second Amendment | 4 Comments »
November 8, 2009
So, a health care bill barely squeaked by in the house with a public option provision intact. The public option is a controversial and pivotal point in this debate which is opposed by many Democrats and supported by almost no Republicans. The public option is a dangerous step toward a crippled insurance industy and further government involvement in health care. This could very well be one of the most important debates in American history because whichever side wins it will be a turining point. If the public option wins, the government role will only grow greater until we have something barely recognizable and the care provided to Americans will get more bureaucratic and substandard as we plunge further and further into debt. If the public option loses this time, it will not stand a chance in any other Congress and the politicians will likely be forced to focus on more real reform.
It is vital that every attempt be made in the Senate to filibuster the bill that the House has just passed. Some moderate Democrats have signed on to this task. And even Olympia Snowe, the RINO who voted for an Obama-backed reform package, has come out against the public option. The circumstances seem well at the moment but they are still too cl0se for comfort and therefore uncertain. Harry Reid has put forth the idea of having the public option but allowing individual states to opt out of it. While that is better than a full public option, I do hope no one else will be tempted by it. Make no mistake – it would be a victory for the public option. It would be just as disastrous. It would merely take longer to sink in.
Filibuster. Filibuster. Filibuster.
Posted in Economics, News, Politicians | Tagged 220-215, Filibuster, Harry Reid, Health Care, House of Representatives, Joe Lieberman, Olympia Snowe, Public Option, Senate | 3 Comments »
November 4, 2009
Well, things don’t look so good for either of the two principled Dougs out there – Doug Bennett fell behind early and ended up coming in last in the race for city councilor. It was a tough campaign and we came a long way but I guess it just was not enough. And Menino won mayor again. Given these developments, I solemnly believe it is doubtful that there will be any real change to the way things are here in Boston.
As for Doug Hoffman, the most recent polls had showed him out in front by a substantial margin. However, he’s way behind his rival Bill Owens now so Hoffman’s prospects look just about as grim as Bennett’s. The local Republican Party nominated Dede Scozzafava but she was a disappointing candidate for so many people that Hoffman, the Conservative Party nominee, won more support than either of his opponents. Eventually his rising poll numbers forced Scozzafava from the race and she actually had the nerve endorse the Democratic nominee over Hoffman, who was supported by National Chairman Michael Steele, Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin and a host of talk radio hosts. Although Hoffman would have been really good as a Congressman, there was far more at stake here than just one more seat out of 435. This was supposed to be a valuable lesson for the Republican Party not to give in to Conventional Wisdom and play the safe card with nominees like Scozzafava. Now we can only hope her betrayal is noted and she is never considered for a political office again. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in News, Politicians, Sovereignty, States | Tagged 2009 Elections, Activist Judges, Bill Owens, Christie, Corzine, Dede Scozzafava, Doug Bennett, Doug Hoffman, Gay Marriage, Maine, McDonnell, Michael Flaherty, Michael Steele, New Jersey, New York, sarah palin, Tom Menino, Virginia | Leave a Comment »
November 3, 2009
There are a number of decisive elections going on today. Doug Bennett, whom I mentioned in my posts before, is on the final ballot in the running for Boston City Council. Finally, with him, we might just have a voice we can count on in that position. With two city councilors retiring to run for mayor this year, Doug Bennett has a shot as he just has to beat four out of the other seven candidates in the running for the At-Large councilor position. We are also having the mayoral race here in Boston today, with four-term mayor Menino up against challenger Michael Flaherty. My feelings on this race are not nearly as strong, but sixteen years is an awful long time for one politician to be running the show and with all the problems we’ve been having there has to be some accountability here!
The other big Doug I’m pulling for today is Doug Hoffman, a third party candidate running in New York State against Bill Owens, a Democrat. The Republican was polling poorly in the final week and withdrew from the race. I think that a lot of Americans are frustrated with our current situation and our current government – on both sides of the aisle. Doug Hoffman seems like a real reformer who can bring that message to Washington. And who better to bring it than someone outside both party establishments?
I will be watching for the returns closely in these two races. There are also two big state governorships up for grabs – Virginia and New Jersey – the two states of the Connecticut Compromise, how about that? Just for the history buffs out there. These two statewide races may play a big role in what happens next November during the main federal election.
Posted in News, Politicians | Tagged Bill Owens, Boston, Christie, Conservative Party, Democratic, Doug Bennett, Doug Hoffman, Elections, Governor, Jon Corzine, McDonnell, New York, Republican, Virginia | Leave a Comment »
October 29, 2009
It’s official. Obama signed it into law yesterday. Federal “hate-crime” dogma has been extended to include sexual orientation. This is another loss for freedom and another loss for the First Amendment. This law targets not what crime someone commits but who they commit it against and what they think when they are committing it. Hence, it has become known as a “thought-crime,” something which sounds Orwellian in nature. Even more shady is the fact that the provision was not put forward in its own separate bill, but attached to a military spending package. It was not an attractive enough option for proponents to attempt to pass it on its own so they made it an earmark.
According to the coverage on World Net Daily, “U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder admitted a homosexual activist who is attacked following a Christian minister’s sermon about homosexuality would be protected by the proposed federal law, but a minister attacked by a homosexual wouldn’t be.” This is thus not about justice – true justice is blind and unbiased, but about a cheap political coy. At least there is a provision in the bill which exempts religious organizations – that provision passed as part of the bill despite opposition from the secular socialists who formed the backbone of the support for this measure. However, if some activist judge decides to overlook that part of the bill, bad things might happen.
Oh, then there’s the “hate speech” section of the bill. Careful what you say to a gay person now – you might get sued.
Posted in First Amendment, News, Obama Administration, Religion | Tagged First Amendment, Freedom of Religion, Gays, Hate Crimes, Lesbians, President Obama, Religion, Sexual Orientation | 3 Comments »
October 28, 2009
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20091001/wl_ynews/ynews_wl936
Both he and Couric are unbelievably radical with a habit of compulsive lying. I hate them both. Ahmadinejad is actually worse than Couric on an empirical basis, but I still routed for him in this exchange simply because Couric is able to get away with her nonsense more since it is unfornately not always obvious to everyone.
Posted in News, Politicians | Tagged Ahmadinejad, Couric, News | 1 Comment »
October 25, 2009
I do not routinely watch reality TV shows. In fact, I find them kind of trashy and fake (despite the name.) Nevertheless, I have been watching the second season of Tool Academy since it began. It was somewhat of an unintentional endeavor. There was nothing much else on TV and my friend Carl convinced me to watch an episode or two with him. I ended up watching the next one and the next and hence I got addicted to it. It’s like Law and Order or CSI. I find it overrated but once I start watching I can’t stop. Fortunately I do not see this addiction going past the end of this season finale. And since there are only four contestants less, this season’s days are clearly numbered.
For those of you who have not seen Tool Academy, it is a show on VH1 about guys who were bad boyfriends. They’re girlfriends signed them up for Tool Academy, where they go to learn to be better boyfriends. Each week has a theme like maturity or fidelity. They accompany their girlfriends to a therapy session and then compete against each other in the challenge of the day where one of them wins a date with his girlfriend. At the end of each episode, a guy is expelled from the academy and has to go in front of the mansion where all the girls are standing. His girlfriend then decides to either keep him even though he’s a tool or dump him on the spot and move on. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Culture, Fads, News | Tagged Charm, Final Four, Tool Academy, Tool Academy 2, VH1 | 7 Comments »
October 18, 2009
There was a recent exchange between Glenn Back and Law Professors Duncan Hollis and Chris Borgen. The topic was Harold Koh – one of Obama’s new appointees who has advocated using international law as a precedent for interpreting American law. Glenn Beck pointed out that if we cede our sovereingty to an international body, our Constitution is dead. Law professors Hollis and Borgen interjected, pointing out that Koh only advocated looking at decisions in other countries for educational expertise. Well, first off, America has been doing this for 233 years, I think we have our own educational expertise. Secondly, while Hollis and Borgen are probably right in the short-run, Beck is right in the long-run, which is what actually matters. Accepting Koh’s philosophy is like planing a seed, not giving a shot. If you give a shot to someone, it is a one time stimulant. If you plant a seed, it will grow and grow to something far bigger and harder to escape then what you had originally.
In other words, if we start using foreign law as an “educational basis,” we run the risk of allowing too much foreign law into our own, which would contribute to the decline of the American Constitution and the American sovereign nation. Koh advocates that we see ourselves not as a unique free nation, but as part of a global human rights movement. Koh may be reframing our law in order to further his anti-freedom agenda regarding gun rights. He has advocated a global regulatory agency to outlaw all firearms, something which international agencies from other countries who lack understanding in the gun issue as we do. Other countries have gotten better over time and good for them but America remains the first and the best. If we allow foreign influence into our law precedent than we are merely watering ourselves down. And besides, our Constitution was crafted by geniuses and we would do best to preserve it so we can enjoy such freedom as long as possible. If any manipulative interpretation is made, from foreign law or not, it spells our demise. A living Constitution is a dead Constitution.
Posted in News, Obama Administration, Sovereignty | Tagged Constitution, Glenn Beck, Global Regulation, Gun Rights, Harold Koh, World Government | 2 Comments »
