Everybody needs to pay close attention on what’s happening in the Pacific right now. The Middle East is the US’s current focal point, but Korea and China could quickly supplant it. North and South Korea have been exchanging warning shots since Wednesday. North Korea claims it has been taking part in a regular military exercise by launching missiles over the disputed sea border. South Korea has responded by lobbing missiles back warningly. Earlier this week South Korea also expressed that they have no problem using force against North Korea. Keep your eyes on that because if they go to war the US will likely be dragged into the fight.
The US is also set to announce an arms deal with Taiwan, China’s disputed territory. China has repeatedly warned the US about arms deals with Taiwan, because China believes that Taiwan is its property. Taiwan claims that they are a free nation. The weapons are mainly defensive weapons, but in such close proximity anything can be used offensively. The US is already at odds with China for several reasons and this won’t help relations with the largest economy in the world (and our current world banker of choice).
Keep your eyes open.
CONSTANT VIGILANCE!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Ignorance is never blissful
A legal family member of mine recently posted something on Facebook that really disturbed me:
“Shame on you America: the only country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going to without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment—yet we have a benefit for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations? 99% won’t have the guts to copy and repost this!”
I had to read it several times to make sure of the tone and meaning of the statement. It made me so angry. I immediately went looking for statistics to disprove this most ignorant of statements. I looked up poverty levels by country and found this. According this graph we’re ranked 121 out of 141 countries reporting. There are 120 countries that have a higher percentage of people living below the poverty line. I’m sure our numbers have fluctuated since 2004, but so have the other countries’. Right away you can see that we aren’t the only ones with “homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going to without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment.” Soon anger turned into pity. To think that someone who lives in his own place, has food on his own table for he and his son, and who has a job can say something like that is pathetic. What is he doing to help those in this country? What is wrong with helping others? Isn’t that our job as citizens of the world? Isn’t that we’re called to be as human beings—caring, helpful, sympathetic?
I saw the benefit on all those channels. I was initially annoyed by it, but after traveling from channel 2 to 68 I realized that it wasn’t just on the major networks, but on various cable channels. I was impressed. I went up and down to see just how many channels were airing this. I thought it was brilliant. To witness the level of caring and humanity was impressive. The best way to reach Americans is through the TV or internet and to have something on almost every channel doesn’t give us a chance to escape it, we can’t run from it, we can’t hide from it lest we turn off the TV—and that’s close to blasphemy. I am impressed by all the help Americans have given to the country of Haiti, especially since it’s during one of the worst recessions in our country’s history. To look past our difficulties and help out people who are facing worse times than we are. We have military there, we have celebrities flying supplies there (Travolta flew a plane of supplies), and former Presidents calling for more, challenging our people to give more because more is needed and we are a country that can afford to give more.
I feel sorry for that family-member, but I feel more for the people of Haiti. Jesus said we would always have to poor, but he should have added that we would always have the ignorant. Oh well.
“Shame on you America: the only country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going to without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment—yet we have a benefit for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations? 99% won’t have the guts to copy and repost this!”
I had to read it several times to make sure of the tone and meaning of the statement. It made me so angry. I immediately went looking for statistics to disprove this most ignorant of statements. I looked up poverty levels by country and found this. According this graph we’re ranked 121 out of 141 countries reporting. There are 120 countries that have a higher percentage of people living below the poverty line. I’m sure our numbers have fluctuated since 2004, but so have the other countries’. Right away you can see that we aren’t the only ones with “homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going to without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment.” Soon anger turned into pity. To think that someone who lives in his own place, has food on his own table for he and his son, and who has a job can say something like that is pathetic. What is he doing to help those in this country? What is wrong with helping others? Isn’t that our job as citizens of the world? Isn’t that we’re called to be as human beings—caring, helpful, sympathetic?
I saw the benefit on all those channels. I was initially annoyed by it, but after traveling from channel 2 to 68 I realized that it wasn’t just on the major networks, but on various cable channels. I was impressed. I went up and down to see just how many channels were airing this. I thought it was brilliant. To witness the level of caring and humanity was impressive. The best way to reach Americans is through the TV or internet and to have something on almost every channel doesn’t give us a chance to escape it, we can’t run from it, we can’t hide from it lest we turn off the TV—and that’s close to blasphemy. I am impressed by all the help Americans have given to the country of Haiti, especially since it’s during one of the worst recessions in our country’s history. To look past our difficulties and help out people who are facing worse times than we are. We have military there, we have celebrities flying supplies there (Travolta flew a plane of supplies), and former Presidents calling for more, challenging our people to give more because more is needed and we are a country that can afford to give more.
I feel sorry for that family-member, but I feel more for the people of Haiti. Jesus said we would always have to poor, but he should have added that we would always have the ignorant. Oh well.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Why are we the way we are?
Last night was the President’s first State of the Union Address. Unfortunately I was only able to watch the second half of it due to being in class. But what I heard was fantastic. I enjoy hearing President Obama speak. He is awfully mesmerizing, but eloquent and very brilliant. One quality a President/Prime Minister/leader should have is being a good orator, and Obama is a great one. I also enjoy watching the members of Congress in the crowd. Last night, to quote my wife, “The Republicans are ridiculous and Democrats get up and clap and interrupt too much.” That’s how it is every State of the Union; the party in power gets up and claps at every other thing the President says while the other party sits and sulks, brooding over every word trying to show that they don’t like anything he says. I don’t get that. Why do we insist on being poor losers? Why can’t we get over ourselves and work together? Congress, you’re in Washington because We the People sent you there to represent We the People.
In what I did hear from President Obama, he addressed that mentality. He didn’t call the Republicans sore losers. That’s just my opinion. Obama addressed the need for cooperation between parties. He wasn’t ignorant about what divides them, but called for a common sense approach to working together. He argued that every one in the House Chamber that night loved the US. They loved their freedom, but acknowledged that they all have a responsibility to the People. Saying “No” just because you can and with the aim of preventing any program/idea devised by the opposite party is not how government should be. Give a better reason than “Because”. Do more than just sling mud. Rise above and be the bigger man/woman. The GOP relies heavily on the Religious Right, they should take note of the scripture that they “live by” and turn the other cheek. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Let he who is willing to work for the greater good, challenge others to do the same and then back that up.
President Obama was correct in his assertion that people are becoming disenchanted with our government. No one really trusts it. Congress has the lowest approval rates out of any branch and their rates have been decreasing for years. They need to redeem themselves. The Supreme Court made a bone-headed decision recently to rival the Dred Scott case and Korematsu. Constitutionally, it isn’t fair to keep people from speaking and spending their money supporting candidates. Corporations and labor unions represent the people that make them up, that work for them or that they fight to protect. But for a corporation to assume that every one of its workers supports a candidate is reckless. For them to pour money into advertising for a candidate amounts to mere coercion. The candidate isn’t forced to but is obliged to protect that corporations interests. The corporation has basically become a sponsor for the candidate, like a major league sports team. I contributed to a facebook thread about just that, it got carried away, but that’s what could happen. President Obama challenged the Supreme Court on the issue, and Justice Alito refused to believe him. Obama argued that corporations are going to drown out the regular voter, but Alito adamantly shook his head in protest and mouthed “No they won’t. No they won’t.” I wouldn’t expect anything less from someone that George W. Bush nominated to the Supreme Court. But we as the electorate can counter-balance the Supreme Court’s decision. If we educate ourselves about the issues, not just take someone’s word on it. Particularly someone who is paid to spout out “facts” about the issues. My former professor, who can’t stand Thomas Jefferson, Dr. Stooksbury would support Thomas Jefferson’s belief that an educated electorate is the best. That educated electorate must not be a mass of sheep. They need to think for themselves and decide for themselves—that’s democracy. We The People need to assert ourselves. Congress, the President and the rest of the government are responsible to We the People.
In what I did hear from President Obama, he addressed that mentality. He didn’t call the Republicans sore losers. That’s just my opinion. Obama addressed the need for cooperation between parties. He wasn’t ignorant about what divides them, but called for a common sense approach to working together. He argued that every one in the House Chamber that night loved the US. They loved their freedom, but acknowledged that they all have a responsibility to the People. Saying “No” just because you can and with the aim of preventing any program/idea devised by the opposite party is not how government should be. Give a better reason than “Because”. Do more than just sling mud. Rise above and be the bigger man/woman. The GOP relies heavily on the Religious Right, they should take note of the scripture that they “live by” and turn the other cheek. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Let he who is willing to work for the greater good, challenge others to do the same and then back that up.
President Obama was correct in his assertion that people are becoming disenchanted with our government. No one really trusts it. Congress has the lowest approval rates out of any branch and their rates have been decreasing for years. They need to redeem themselves. The Supreme Court made a bone-headed decision recently to rival the Dred Scott case and Korematsu. Constitutionally, it isn’t fair to keep people from speaking and spending their money supporting candidates. Corporations and labor unions represent the people that make them up, that work for them or that they fight to protect. But for a corporation to assume that every one of its workers supports a candidate is reckless. For them to pour money into advertising for a candidate amounts to mere coercion. The candidate isn’t forced to but is obliged to protect that corporations interests. The corporation has basically become a sponsor for the candidate, like a major league sports team. I contributed to a facebook thread about just that, it got carried away, but that’s what could happen. President Obama challenged the Supreme Court on the issue, and Justice Alito refused to believe him. Obama argued that corporations are going to drown out the regular voter, but Alito adamantly shook his head in protest and mouthed “No they won’t. No they won’t.” I wouldn’t expect anything less from someone that George W. Bush nominated to the Supreme Court. But we as the electorate can counter-balance the Supreme Court’s decision. If we educate ourselves about the issues, not just take someone’s word on it. Particularly someone who is paid to spout out “facts” about the issues. My former professor, who can’t stand Thomas Jefferson, Dr. Stooksbury would support Thomas Jefferson’s belief that an educated electorate is the best. That educated electorate must not be a mass of sheep. They need to think for themselves and decide for themselves—that’s democracy. We The People need to assert ourselves. Congress, the President and the rest of the government are responsible to We the People.
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