Biggest Turkey of 08?

Is it Elliot Spitzer and his sex for hire scandal? Or is it Jeremiah Wright and his racist remarks? Could it be Ted Stevens and his corruption conviction? Or his fellow Alaskan Sarah Palin? I think without a doubt the biggest political turkey of 08 has been John McCain. He could have won the election had he stuck to his own game plan: being the mavericky maverick that he is known to be. Instead he gave in to the republican Party and Karl Rove politics, causing him to "choose" (and I put this in quotes because I highly doubt he handpicked her)Sarah Palin, possibly a the number two political turkey of '08. Had he followed his heart and picked a proper vice presidential candidate and run the campaign that he wished to run, he wold have had a fighting chance if not out right taking the election. He catered to the evangelicals and ran on a more of the same campaign but at the same time tried to make it seem like it was different. It was the same shit from 2000 and 2004 but with a different smell. McCain, for failing to stand up to your beliefs and losing an election cause of it , you are indeed the number 1 political turkey of '08. Happy Thanksgiving Johnny.

Cuba at a crossroads

Cuba is facing a critical time that will determine its future in the years to come. With Fidel Castro unable to rule and his less than charismatic brother Raul Castro taking over the reigns, the appeal of "La Revolucion" has lost its charms in the eyes of the mainstream Cubans. Sure, some hardcore loyal fans remain that will support a communist, isolated Cuba for the rest of their lives, but an air of change can be felt in the streets of Havana. Obama is sure to ease the economic blockade on Cuba and warm up relations with this inoffensive island country that poses absolutely no threat to us. Raul Castro will have to step down eventually because he does not have the ability ro run Cuba in the way Fidel did, and once Fidel dies things in Cuba will change forever.

Pakistan : the next frontline in the war on terror

The next front and arguably the newest current front in the so called war on terror will be Pakistan. With the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the only true moderate ally of the United States in Pakistan, the country's political future is very uncertain. Her husband, the current president, remains very skeptical of United States' incursions into Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, presumably where Osama Bin Laden is hiding. Although the situation is volatile, we are giving in to the terrorists demands that we do not invade the region in exchange for them not revolting around Pakistan. This is pretty much negotiating with terrorists; what we need to do is go in there with decisive and bold action and wipe out Bin Laden and his cronies once and for all. If they want to retaliate then we and Pakistan, if it is a true ally, will be standing by waiting for them. We have got to put a stop to the War on terror by taking bold action and hitting the terrorist where it hurts: their hideouts.

Liberal Media?

This blog is inspired by a recent visit to my class from talk show radio host Hugh Hewitt. He lectured us about a bias in the "mainstream media" that is left-leaning and claims that the conservative perspective is lost. He claims that people are fed leftist ideas since the "liberals" control most of the media, so lets take a look at that claim. Of the TV 24 hour news networks, MSNBC and CNN are arguably liberal. Fox News is without a doubt conservative. Thats 2-1. Not that much of a bias if you ask me. Newspapers? I can't really keep the tally of how many express a conservative point of view vs a liberal one, but the mainstream ones are mixed. The NY Times is liberal, sure, but the Wall St Journal is not. And it was just bought by none other than Rupert Murdoch! Lets look at radio then. Air America anyone? The ONLY radio station on the AM dial that is democratic. EVERY other one is conservative. So Mr. Hewitt, what media are you speaking of?

Is blogging good for democracy?

Although I recently argued in front of the class that's requiring me to keep this blog that blogging was not good for democracy (I did not choose my side!), I must admit that it is my strong belief that this new form of communicating news can only strenghtned a democracy. A democracy is strong when people are informed and educated, and blogs exemplify both. While many of the information out there may be erroneous or out right lies, it makes it no different than watching the news on T.V or listening to talk radio. It is not the blog or the blogger's fault that the information out there may be biased or wrong, it is the readers responsibility to have critical thinking skills and be aware that not all that he/she is being fed (no matter what medium it is we are talking about) may be right. But blogging provides for a new convenient outlet to inform people, and even if this information is only 10% right, it is 10% of stuff that people would have other wise ignored. Plus, there are blogs that are quite professionally written and have oversight, which although it doesn't mean it may not be biased at least it gives you a sense that you are not being fed total bull.

Prop H8

Proposition hate.. i mean eight, passed in California by a large enough margin for people to(in theory) accept the results. But in reality, it has caused a very strong discontent in minority rights activists and progressive citizens. Although supporters of the proposition will argue that the people have voted and the majority has chosen to abolish gay marriages, what they won't tell you is what is fundamentally wrong with this proposition. Forget for a second what the proposition is actually about, and think of it in terms of a minority issue being resolved by the majority. It sounds a lot like Jim Crow laws and Hitler being appointed Germany's chancellor to me. This country is supposed to grant minority rights and protect them against the tyranny of the majority, and proposition 8 clearly fails to do that. It is letting the majority decide on a civil minority right. It would be like letting the the majority of the country decide the fate of African Americans in the 1930's. The truth is that gay marriage does not affect anyone who is not gay and planning on getting married. It is not the government's job to regulate who can marry who and who cannot marry. If someone is allowed to marry, then everyone should be allowed to do the same!

Bomb Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran

McCain sang about it. It is on everyone's mind. And now with a new International Atomic Energy Agency report claiming that Iran has produced enough nuclear fuel to create an atomic bomb, the question of whether to bomb Iran has perhaps changed to when are we going to bomb Iran? Iran is a very dangerous country, aside from Ahmadinejad's ignorant rhetoric, because it has come out the only clear winner of the war in Iraq. Its longtime enemy was eleminated and replaced by a Shi'ite controlled government that barely falls short of being a proxy of Iran. Iran is dangerous because it now has a great deal of power in the middle east and with the development of a nuclear bomb it will emerge as the main military power of the region. It is dangerous because it sets a terrible precedent for other rogue nations to pursue a similar program. And it is very dangerous because the very existence of Israel is at stake with a nuclear armed Iran. For all that, and for much more, I believe we are overdue for a military operation inside of Iran that will cripple if not eliminate its nuclear facilities and reactors.