President Obama

Just the title alone brings me joy. And I'm mad pumped to now be living through the Obama Administration. 

The inauguration was pretty intense. After a fumble during the oath of two new-comers, Justice Roberts and President Obama, and intense inaugural address was given. It wasn't like many of his uplifting and inspiring speeches. It's tone was definite; it was a charge to the American people--not a promise.

So now its up to us to promote our ideas, draft our own legislation, talk to our own politicians. And if you haven't already, give WhiteHouse.gov a check. It's pretty schnazzy. 

Of course, I have nothing but good things to say right now. The secretary-designates are on their way to the senate over the next couple of days and weeks, and hopefully we'll have a fully functioning cabinet before February. Speaking of Cabinets, Sen. McCain (yeah, remember him?) told the Republicans to STOP IT NOW and confirm Sen. Clinton and Secretary of State.

WHOA.

Secretary of Peace and Non-Violence

In a return to popular politics that would make President Martin Van Buren party like its 1799 in his grave, Pres-elect Obama instituted Change.Org a couple weeks ago. The website was a forum when members could vote on issues that matter to them on an array of subjects, from LGBT rights fair Trade. One that I have to talk about is the Department of Peace.

For more information, see http://www.change.org/ideas

Now, an except from the site that lists the ten winners of all the ideas states: "Over the next week we will be working with nonprofit sponsors for each idea, including 1Sky, Health care-NOW!, and The Peace Alliance, to craft national campaigns around each idea. In the meantime, we have opened discussion for how to most effectively turn each idea into a successful national campaign, and would love your suggestions."

Get this. Hear this: the government asked people what they wanted to get done, and now they will promptly get er done.

The Department of Peace and Non-violence? Martin Luther King, Jr., who we will rightfully observe tomorrow, would be more than proud. And quite frankly, I never thought of it. It's a great idea. If we're going to be a country that always keeps military operations an option, then shouldn't peace? I say absolutely. To restore the moral fiber of this country we must continue to show compromise when it benefits us and the other side. The way that the peace operates is that it is omnipotent. It is always an option. It must be the precursor to fear and anger.

This idea is paramount. Will it be followed through? I'm optimistic. I hope that they do because who know what the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security is spewing in terms of the military? There must always be opposition. There must always be options.

Those elements built the foundation of this country. War has been successfully avoided numerous times and under numerous presidents, from Jackson to Kennedy. A Secretary of Peace maybe able to keep us from making the fatal mistakes of launching two unsuccessful wars.

I am highly disappointed that action to end the genocide in Darfur only made the top 25. But I can understand the situation within our borders has begun to cloud our international foresight. But we can't afford to forget.

My prediction: The Department of Peace and Non-Violence will be up and running by January 1, 2011

War and Pieces

This is a topic I haven't much talked about, but it's worth noting because if it's importance to, well, all of us. Or at least I think it should be.

The war will more likely than not end under the Obama Administration. And I think this is great. Scary, but great. It's like a victory that demands a burden. Oh wait. It IS. The war must be ended responsibly. Key word being responsibly. And the way PE-Obama has put it, I really believe that is a shot for a short-term peace.

But let's be real. All the diplomacy and nukes in the world wouldn't allow the Middle East to be a peaceful place.

For all of you who were in attendance with my first ever Human Rights Celebration, you'll understand how excited I was after this statement was issued by the transition team:

"Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that America has both a moral obligation and a responsibility for security that demands we confront Iraq’s humanitarian crisis -- more than five million Iraqis are refugees or are displaced inside their own country. Obama and Biden will form an international working group to address this crisis. They will provide at least $2 billion to expand services to Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries, and ensure that Iraqis inside their own country can find sanctuary. Obama and Biden will also work with Iraqi authorities and the international community to hold accountable the perpetrators of potential war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. They will reserve the right to intervene militarily, with our international partners, to suppress potential genocidal violence within Iraq."

This, my friends, is what we need. Because now he have foresight, not blindness. And to be quite frank, if my cousins have to go on another tour of duty in that ruined country, I'll go nuts. This is the precise amount of motivation we need, because this has ALL the makings of genocide. Saddam's death poses less of a threat, but I'm extremely apprehensive to say dictatorship is out of the question. There is a probable rise of al-Quadea. All we can't have that.

We didn't ruin their country, war did. We didn't displace those people, war did. We didn't spark civil war, war did. We didn't knock the country down piece by piece, war did.

I look for the day this war ends, so that all may be fine again for the people who love God, their country, peace, and retain their innocence. They're no more guilty than we are, yet they must suffer a far worse fate than we will ever experience or even face.


Leaving on a high note, I just met the Congressman and holy crap is that man tall! He's doing some Academy award (for the military, not mainstream) stuff so I didn't spend to much time there. He's a great guy, and he's looking forward to the 111th Congress as a true catalyst for change, and I agree.

Good Grief

Building off of my inspiration Jay Sanin's introduction on change, I have to write about it.

Obama promised change. We're getting change. But how much change? Is change definable by all, one, or none? Well the former senator from Illinois (Obama officialy resgined as of November 2008) would not be please to know of the mess that he has escaped from his occupational state of Illinois.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, has been arrested on corruption charges of trying to sell Mr. Obama's senate seat to unnamed candidates. The FBI charged, arrested, and began trying the governor. He was realeased by a judge under the governor's own 'recognizition.'

Are you KIDDING me? If its one thing i hate more than the neo-conservatives, its corruption. And that's for all sides of the spectrum. I don't care if you're a Democrat, by all that is good in politics (and truse me there isn't much), why the heck do you think you'll get away with corruption.

Here's what I have to say. Let's start with an analogy: Remember when Spongebob and Patrick stole the baloon on (unbeknownst to them) Free Balloon Day, and to cover thier steps they used RED PAINT? Well Mr. Governor, drop the painbrush. I'll avoid the cliche, but you all know where I'm going with this.

The Lame-Duck President Bush has made it impossible to keep privacy. And in his last days (which really couldn't make his presidency better but certainly worse) you don't think his vengeful side is going to creep up? I, for one, am convinced that it is. Sure he's the president. But he's also a man.

And how about the Governor? Well, if all this is true, I certainly hope you're kicked out of office before they can pass sentence. If it's not, well this is a shame that the FBI can't even do their job right before going to the mass media that is debateably pulling the societal strings.

I cannot stand corruption. And the thing that gets me is that the previous Governor that Blagojevich succeeded is "serving a six-year prison sentence after being convicted on racketeering and fraud charges." He was a Republican. Blago said he would clean up the mess.

Ha.

If I may, I'm going to quote Chicago's sly attorney, Billy Flynn. "May God save Illinois."

With All The Strength Of A Raging Fire

Hello World! It's been two very exciting weeks for me, but I'm back to give you your inappropriate amount of liberalism. Aren't you excited?

A few preliminary things, if you have not checked out my followers' blogs (COUTORI for fashion, The Armchair Quarterback for sports, litter ature for comedy, and Wishful Thinking for everything in between) you are missing out. Trust me, you'll want the bragging rights when they're big timers in ten years. That is, if the world doesn't end in 2012.

Speaking of 2012! It's highly likely the world will end by then. The financial crisis will have actually become a fully functioning machine, akin to China, and devoured the country from the inside out. And by country I mean East and West Coast. And from inside out I mean every city simultaneously. Mark my words, if the Republicans win the White House in 2012 I'm moving to Mars. Call it blue flight if you will.

All silliness aside...wait...no. Let's keep it! After all politics is just as ludicrous as anything else in this world.

President-elect (no longer Senator) Barack Obama was already proven to be more effective than our lame-duck President Bush. He has turned every weekly address into a dual video and radio address. You ca now view every weekly address since the election on his new website, ChangeDotGov. They're accessible on YouTube--I recommend it.

I have some unfortunate lose. I'm already doubting the Administration. Leaks have been pouring out since November 5 more than Joe the Plumber could handle, especially about Cabinet positions. The most controversial being Senator Clinton of my home state, New York. Commerce Secretary, which I didn't know mattered these days, is most likely going to be Gov. Richardson of New Mexico (one of the states in the Southwest that unexpectedly turned blue i the presidential election). This is a real win for me, because Gov. Richardson is a Hispanic-American. As treasury secretary, he has picked the president of the new York Federal Reserve Bank, which is a huge step in the change direction. Timothy Geithneris only 47, just the age of the president-elect himself. No official statements have been made about true cabinet positions, but they're all expected after Thanksgiving.

He must proceed with caution. The right picks, especially in the departments of the treasury, commerce, infrastructure, interior, and department could rally the stocks. Poor decisions would increase the downturn.

The way I see it: Things will get worse before they get worse.

Also, Obama has said it is "likely" the Bush Tax cuts will remain in place until 2011. This is a big disappointment. I'm all for taxing the rich more than the poor. It makes perfect sense. The Busch tax cuts are on good of the economy. As a part of Obama's emergency rescue plan, which is pretty much saying, "Do you exist? Here's a Benjamin. Feel free to burn it.," he should include the repeal of the Busch tax cuts. Sigh. I knew this would be complicated.

But how about some good news? I got an internship with the Goshen Office of my Congressman, John Hall! Talk about WIN. I'll be updating on the amount of wins the internship will be providing me. This is a great opportunity for me, and I plan to keep it.

Back to a little seriousness, I urge everyone who is reading this to start savign your money more than ever these days. Money is becoming a luxury, especially to people like me who are trying to go to college. Spending seems to get the best of us at the holidays, but don't start 2009 of on the wrong foot. If you're going to use a credit card (which you really shouldn't), track every expense and be on the look-out for fraud. Gas has been going down, but this is no time to bring up old habits of spending too much on gas and travel. Be smart, be safe, and save. Spend and save at the same time, and enjoy your holidays.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. My next post will be after the Cabinet announcement.

The National Debt is $10. 6 billion at the end of this post.

The Sunshine State, The Party, and The Future

Wow. I still can't believe it's real. Barack Obama, our next president. An African American and a Catholic?

First thing first, I have to tip my hat to the Sunshine State--Florida. You have fully redeemed yourself. I'm not going to take away your "God's waiting room" title (I mean come on, one must face facts) but WOW. I was uniquely impressed by the following states that I ever thought would go blue: Colorado, North Carolina (still awaiting further cofirmation), and Virginia. But wait Jose, didn't you project Virginia? Yeah I did. But that was my wishful thinking coinciding with fallible data I can't really credit the success to President-Elect Obama himself: the volunteers deserve the laud. People like myself were finally recognized with purpose. Obama gave people purpose. The people gave people time, paitience, and even money. That m word that haunted people to the polls.

So whats in store for both parties? Well the Democrats have every reason to jump for joy: They won the White House and a filibuster-proof majority in both houses of Congress. But we can't keep celebrating. Our lame duck president and Congressional members who will not be returning come January may have a few tricks up their sleeves. Also, this is not just an opportunity this is a test for the Democrats. Will they self-destruct under pressure? Will Obama fail to bring the change that compelled people to give so much? Will Congress be even worse than it was the last 2,4,6, even 8 years? Time will tell folks. As for the Republicans, they've got some shaping up to do. They've become marginalized and a minority. They shouldn't feel to threatened, because many of these states were almost to close to call with 50/50 splits in more than one. Assuming the influx of new voters stay, sure they have a little problem. They must appeal to the people once again. The millennials are growing up. Let me let you in on a secret: we don't like labels and we don't like being told what to do and who to like. The independent electorate is swelling. Even I'm going to register as an independent. The Republicans must adopt people friendly measures and candidates. They must prove that they are in focus with the problems and are willing to work in tandem. You'll always have die-hard Republicans and you'll always have die hard Democrats. But really, when it boils down, follow the words of the late President Rutherford B. Hayes: "He serves his party best who serves his country best"

I can't really elaboate on the future, but I think the world, arguably, is looking forward to it. I wouldn't call Obama's Win a landslide because the Electoral College just does'nt tell the Truth. Obama only grasped 53% of the popular vote. The Electoral College tells us a (current) score of 349-163. We'll know the full thing when the electors meet on December 15. But the nation has spoken, or at least around 125 million people of the nation have.

I have to go destroy a SUPA paper now. I won't be updatig for the nex couple of days, but o my next post I will most likely be looking into the people who helped and hurt the ticket: Biden and Palin. Have a good one kids.

Why So Blue, America?

The entendre is intentional and ironic. The country I feel is going to take a huge turn to the left in the coming years party because of the past eight years.

Consider the following:
The children born between 1986 and 2003 have been inscribed with contrasting memories. The rise of conservatism fell as the Clinton Administration presided over the biggest economic boom in American history (shouldn't the then next-presidential-candidates have seen the bust after the boom coming?). The Clintons presided over a time of relative peace that would crumble in the post 9/11 world. The Democrats, thus, are subconsciously being processed as the party of peace, prosperity, and good times while getting blowjobs at the workplace. None of which are, arguably, bad. But now we have the Republican party, ashamed of their own president. I can't say President Bush has single handedly ruined this country: he doesn't have the brains. But his mishandling of these crises is inexcusable. Not since the Grant and the Hayes Administrations (1869-1881) has the country seen such a dishonorable leadership. They were Republicans, too. I'm not going to mislead you however, because the Republican Party as we know it didn't morph into its self centered enigma until after Theodore Roosevelt's Administration (1901). Thus Republican's were still the party of big business, but they were also the pro-black party. Things have obviously changed.

Moving on, President Bush's blunders have been played over and over on the news, in soundbytes, and YouTube clips galore. Some of us know Bush is a terrible president--at the least a mediocre one--but can't explain why, save "he's an idiot." That alone and once again the lack of blowjobs can't warrant a horrible President. But its the subconscious fact that he is that has turn people away from the Republican and conservative ideals.

As teenagers we tend to be very liberal unless we follow our parent's footsteps, we lack social interaction, or are brainwashed by the ruthless vortex that is ROTC. This is purely my experience. I live in Republican central, and I see a lot of kids growing up to adopt fiscally conservative ideals while behavinng liberally and adopting the moderate liberal views. The moderates are also being pulled left and right; they're forced to make decisions because the lefts are growing larger and the rights are getting more extreme. The result of this administration put a lot of trust into the Democrat's hands for the future. Should Obama win the election in less than 24 hours, and the next four---maybe even 8?--are as successful as Clinton's, we could see a successful one-party rule.

This theory needs developing. I'll post my edit following the results of the Election of 2008 tonight. Be proud kids, you're part of history!

OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT!

My Projection

Here's my prediction for Tuesday: Obama 313- McCain 225

I'm predictig an unexpected upset in Virginia and Ohio in favor of the Democrats, nonetheless I'm expecting Missouri to be as annoying as it usually is, along with Florida. Fox News has placed Florida in the Dem's column, but considering its God's Waiting room full of patients from the Civil Rights Era, I think not. Colorado, a whopping three votes, will most likely make an about face into the red column. Pennsylvania, a huge battleground state has seen record fundrasing by Senator Obama and a huge influx of volunteers from the surrounding Northeastern states, namely the Great State of New York (what what?). So I'm anticipating a blue result, although I'm not too confident on that one. Same with Ohio. West Virginia is absoultely going Red, so I don't know why Obama is waisting his time and money there. Indiana, which is in a statistical dead heat, is favored to go Republican by Fox, but a legit tossup by CNN and Yahoo! Because of it's closeess and ifluence of Illionois (Obama's home states) he'll take the cake.

Ah, sweet victory. But don't jump for joy yet. Anything could happen.

For the locals I'm predicting Nancy Calhoun as my town's Assemblywomen, Bill Larkin as state senator, and a landslide win for John Hall as the 19th District's Congressman. I actually like Larkin because he got a $500,000 grant for the Town of South Blooming Grove (my town) so that we could repair and reform our water system, which has not been replaced since the LBJ (1964) administration. So Kudos sir! You would have my vote.

Why I Support Sen Obama

"Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.

That's the promise of America, the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper."

Need further explanation?