Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Never make an absolute



Obama recently made a comment saying that he was all right with "enhanced interogation methods" in certain circumstances. This goes back to one of the oldest politician trick in the book; never make an absolute gesture. When politicians say they are going to do something, they usually end up no doing it. For instance, Bush sr promised no new taxes so when he did raise taxes, people were furious.

Now Obama, once saying that this type of interogation is a terrible thing, is saying that he will leave it open becuase now that he has gotten in the drivers seat, it is not as clear as it once looked.

This goes back to the real question in my opinion, can we trust politicians "promises"? I feel that if we dont trust our government then what is the point of having a government in the first place. I am not mad at Obama for switching because I agree with what he has just done.
What do you think should be done about "Enhanced interogation"? Would you go back on what you said even if it meant going against your morals?

Monday, May 25, 2009

North Koreans have lost their minds


Yesterday, North Korea, against the will of the rest of the world, tested a nuclear bomb. This is the second time in three years that NK has gone against the UN and tested a nuclear weapon. Even China, their biggest ally said, "The Chinese government expresses firm opposition to this". They seem to think that the international world will just sit back and wait until they have the technology to launch intercontinental missiles. For right now though, i agree with them, not with what they did, but how the UN is doing nothing. They can sanction them, send them mean letters, and condemn them, but it doesnt change anything. They will still do it. It reminds me in a sense of Hitler, Europe got mad and said don't do it, but he just laughed.
In April NK sent out a statement saying that if any nation attempts to sanction their attempts at a nuke, they will consider it a declaration of war and respond in such. But what NK doesnt seem to realize is that they are alone in their crazy rants, they dont have an ally that will back them in the event of a war.
The scary thing about this is that NK is getting closer to perfecting their nukes/missles. In 2006 their nuke exploded with less than 1 kiliton of force. This one though exploded in the range of 10-20 kilitons, about the size of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Their missiles are also getting better, their recent missile made it half way across the pacific before failing.
What do you think needs to be done about NK? Is war inevitable?

Monday, May 18, 2009

The things the media refuses to cover


Why is it that when a person, specifically a white person, gets murdered in the north side the news is all over it like a vulter on a carcass, but when an african american gang member is gunned down in broad day light on the south side, it doesn't even make the nightly news? Is it because it happens so regualarly that the media has just stopped paying attention? Is it because the news is not "Spectacular", and the news is trying to cut spending? Or is it simply becuase the news is racist and doesn't want to cover that "type" of story?
Another thing to think about is the amount of attention the murder gets if it is a black man killing a white man, or vice versa. It seems that when you hear "another gang murder" it just skips your mind. But when you hear white man murders black man, a light goes off in your head and it says "Hate crime". I believe that the reason this gets so much attention is because people still haven't gotten over the civil rights movement and constantly seeing white police officers beat black men and women. Just like in the soiling of old glory, one small clip like the rodney king beating can spark a huge uprising.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

The Darkness of America

My next door neighbor to me is the stereotypical American. He works a 9-5 job, goes hunting occasionally, and loves American sports. Then only 2 months after 9/11 he bought an enourmous flagpole that is still outside his house. Every night, rain or shine, it is waving there with a spot light on it. But tonight when I took the photo, there was no rain and barely any light. This somehow made me think of the flag as America and how we are in a dark time in our history and how we do stand alone in the world. In the picture, you can barely make out the flag let alone the background. The only part of the flag that really sticks out is the stripes; the origional 13 states in all of their glory. It makes a person think that if our country went through a revolution where a bunch of farmers with rifles and pitchforks could beat the most powerful army in the world, then we can get through a war against a far weaker military and an economic crisis. Finally this photo reminds me that the light will always shine on the American flag and that there will be brighter times in the American future.
P.S sorry no photo yet, can't load onto comp