And…. We’re back.

Well folks, I would like to start off by apologizing for taking a little cebatical from the blog and never taking the time to write exactly why. For the past three months or so I’ve been studying for an engineering licensing exam that kind of took over my life and then planning a two week adventure to Thailand. Now that I’m back from Thailand and have no academic burdens, I’m ready to start having big boy discussions about many important topics. So much has happened since the beginning of 2010, but it would be exhausting to try and cover anything in the past so I will start looking forward. New posts coming soon.

Happy New Year

Happy new year everyone. Been on a break from posting during the holidays but will be back to regular posting in about a week. Enjoy the holidays.

Keep em coming Vdubya

Vampire Weekend released another track off their upcoming album Contra. This new VW album is going to be great for this winter. Their music has something summery about it that makes me forget about the cold and quiets the urge to throw myself off the bridge on the way to work (just kidding!). The web sherriff has been all over this one, so only streaming today folks, but give it a listen on their myspace page. Stay warm.

Listen Here

Heating up in Copenhagen

World leaders have been meeting since December 7^th in Copenhagen at the United Nations Climate Change Conference to deal with the issue of global warming. The hope was to come out of the talks with a treaty that would give clear cut reduction targets and a somewhat defined path to wean the world off of fossil fuels. Unfortunately, talks have not gone as smooth as people would have hoped. Bitter factions have continued to rise between developed, developing, and poor countries, culminating with a group of African leaders temporarily leaving the talks in protest.

I thought I would highlight a few of the main controversies regarding these talks and also highlight the dilemma that President Obama faces in his scheduled speech this Friday.

Climate reparations?

As the world becomes globalized, technology has spread to countries that has helped lift people out of poverty and driven nations like China, India, and Brazil to develop exponentially in the last twenty years. It is no coincidence that this rise of development has occurred in parallel with industrialization and the spread of energy and resources; after all, that is how the U.S. became the superpower that it is today. Unfortunately, development also means heavy use of fossil fuels and increased CO2 emissions. These developing nations are concerned that the US has been able to spew all the CO2 they have wanted in the past 200 years and are now trying to take that right away from developing countries and stint their development. Poor nations are even saying that rich nations have an obligation to put in extra funds to help them develop in a sustainable fashion in a carbon constrained world.  Although we might not want to hear it, they have a point.

350 ppm and 1.5 degrees Celsius

According to scientists, 350 parts per million (ppm) is the limit of CO2 in the atmosphere if we want to live a normal future. The only catch is that we are currently at 390 ppm, which means we have to reduce CO2 emissions dramatically… and fast. Corresponding with this CO2 limit is the limit on global temperature rise, where the debate has teetered between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius. Currently, the US climate envoy Todd Stern says that given the current amount of Carbon in the atmosphere and the political climate, 2°C is the best we can do. The catch is that, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (a neutral research body), a 2°C global rise will mean a 3-4°C temperature rise in African countries which could result in 1.8 BILLION people without water. Therefore, African countries feel in a sense that they would be signing their own suicide pact.

A perfect example of the possible effects of this is the War in Darfur. Many people mistake this war as primarily only a religious war. Although both sides happen to be of different religions, this war exploded to what it is today from a fight over the water resource of Lake Chad, which has dried up slowly due to increasing global temperatures. This war has left 300,000 dead and 2,000,000 Africans displaced.

US pulls a fast one

The US has pledged to reduce its CO2 emissions by 17%, which seems in line with what everyone else is pledging as well. However, that 17% reduction is based on 2005 levels while every other countries reduction commitment is based on 1990 levels. This effectively puts the US reduction commitment at a pitiful 4% of 1990 levels.

There are other issues I could bring up but this post is long enough already. Many people are looking forward to Obama speaking on Friday and he has a lot on his shoulders. Leaders are hoping that he can put something on the table that will break open the doors between the developing and developed nations. To do this, he is going to have to show everyone the US is serious about contributing to this effort. Unfortunately he is walking on thin ice because if he pledges a large monetary or reduction commitment, the Republicans will have a hay-day with it and use it to drive Democrats out of the job.

Obama has said before that he believes the country that develops the mainstream technology for clean energy first will lead the global economy. There is ABSOLUTELY no doubt this is true. I hope he still believes this and starts to play hardball on an issue that was one of his top during the campaign but has seemed to play second fiddle to other policies during his presidency.

Podcasts in the Information Age

It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to get information these days. I like to have conversations about how the human mind works in the Google age because I find it fascinating. Some people think that we live in an age of information overload. Is it?

Well even if it is, I personally love it. One of my favorite forms of media from this age of information overload is the podcast. Podcasts are a fantastic way to keep up with what is going on in the world. We are so busy these days that a lot of times we don’t have time to sit down and read the newspaper or even watch the news. Most of the time I find myself listening to podcasts on the way to work on the train or sometimes even at my desk if I ever find myself doing repetitious work.

Everyone is affected by what is going on in the world, whether they would like to think it or not. Knowledge is power and with the vast amount of resources out there, we should all be seeking to take advantage of what is available. There are tons for entertainment purposes too if you just want to sit back and hear a good story. So, I suggest you check out some podcasts for yourself.

While I am a self confessed moderate liberal, I’ll still give you some recommendations of my favorites. Please comment and leave some of your favorites as well, I am always looking for new ones:

Democracy Now! – A good overview of today’s news and a showcase on some of today’s most pressing social and political issues that often aren’t covered in mainstream media.

KCRW’s Left, Right, and Center – A great 30 minute fired up debate of current issues between (as the title says) panel members ranging from the liberal left, to the middle, and the conservative right.

KCRW’s To The Point – A 1 hr news program that covers the week’s most important topics and interviews a range of guests from all sides of the spectrum

NPR: Planet Money – A fun podcast that puts some of the more confusing topics of the changing global economy into layman’s terms

This American Life – Fun, short fiction pieces revolving around the American lifestyle and stories of everyday people.

For those of you not familiar with the world of podcasts, go to the iTunes store and browse the collection. I recommend subscribing to a few and changing the settings to update them daily.

U.S. Drone Attacks in Pakistan

A recent controversy that has been discussed a lot around the media is the U.S. use of drones to take out enemy targets in Pakistan. For those that are unfamiliar, drones are basically unmanned assault aircraft that can operate around the world while controlled by operators at command bases in the U.S. The controversy surrounding drones is two-fold:

1. The C.I.A. is running the drone program
2. It is being operated in a country where the U.S. has not waged war and civilians have been killed in some drone attacks.

The CIA’s general role is to collect intelligence and secrets from around the world to use them for the U.S.’s advantage. They have generally not used this intelligence to create targeted hit lists. It has never been a killing machine but it seems to be becoming one.  Should this be a concern?

The other issue is the fact that the U.S. is practicing questionable war ethics, by operating outside the war zone. Only 9% of Pakistani’s find the use of drones in their country favorable and most feel that the U.S. is infringing on their sovereignty. Not to mention that there have been many civilian casualties in the targeted killings. While there is currently no U.S. law legally banning the use of these drones, a lot of questions need to be raised:

What goes into the decision-making? Is there a balance between how many Al Qaeda and Taliban members are killed and how many innocent civilians are killed? What is the ratio that is considered a higher benefit than cost? Is it dangerous that we are making that decision?

This is a difficult situation because the use of drones also has a lot of positive aspects. It has helped the U.S. and Pakistan kill many Al Qaeda and Taliban, including a top Al Qaeda operations planner just recently. It is putting Al Qaeda on the defensive. However, even though this has tactical advantages, is it really the best for the U.S.-Pakistani relationship in the long run? Could the civilian deaths cause fallout and cause some civilians to join Al Qaeda or Taliban forces?

In order to establish a good long term-relationship, the U.S. should focus on winning the hearts and minds of the people. Is there a way to do this but still use the drones? Should the U.S. bring Pakistan in to share control of the drone use?

What if another country was operating drones to kill their enemies in the U.S. and your family was killed in the attack against a radical terrorist from the U.S.? Do you think this analogy is safe or flawed because of the extraordinary circumstances in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region?

Best Party Eva

I wanna party in Australia. By far the hardest partiers that I have met traveling have been Australians. They are crazy. Ever since Cut Copy paved the way in the mainstream, there have recently been a lot of electro-rock acts coming out of Australia and I’ve been digging it… a lot. Here are a few tracks to lead you into the weekend.

Miami Horror – Sometimes

Tim & Jean – Come Around

And lastly some classic Cut Copy for those of you that aren’t familiar

Cut Copy – Hearts on Fire

2000′s: The Worst Decade?

I just recently read an article in Time magazine entitled “The 00’s: Goodbye (At Last) To The Decade From Hell.” When I read the title, I almost felt a little bit insulted. After all this past decade I went through high school, college, living in several different big cities, traveling the world, getting my first job, etc. Basically I have gone through everything that has shaped me as the person I am today. As I started to read the article though, I began to see why the title fit. To give you an idea why Time finds the 00’s to be the worst decade, here is a list of the mentioned events:

Started off with a divisive presidential election (bush vs. gore)

9/11 attacks – 3,000 Americans killed

Waged war in Afghanistan

Waged war in Iraq

2001 Anthrax attacks

Washington, D.C. snipers

Wall street scandals - Enron and Worldcom

Hurricane Katrina – killed 1500 and $100 billion in damages

Worst decade for stocks

Mean household income went down ($52,500 to $50,303)

Unemployment rate just reached 10.2%

Percentage of people below the poverty line increased (11.3% to 13.2%)

Percentage of Americans w/o health insurance increased (13.7% to 15.4%)

Record number of corporate bankruptcies

Price of oil more than tripled this decade

More mass and school shootings than any other decade (ex – Virginia Tech, Fort Hood)

Many heroes turned out to be flawed – steroids, political scandals, sex scandals

Financial meltdown – housing bubble, excessive borrowing, derivatives, and the epitome of greed Bernie Madoff

More large-scale terrorist bombings and attacks than any other decade

Looking back at it… what a shitty fucking decade. This doesn’t even cover everything;  while the article mostly focuses on bad events for Americans, other world events such as The War in Darfur have cost 300,000 lives and displaced over 2,000,000 people. Lets not forget about the 2004 Asian Tsunami that took 200,000 lives. The article goes on to suggest some reasons why such unfortunate events happened in this decade and I recommend you check it out  here. After all, aren’t we supposed to learn from mistakes in history so we don’t repeat them? Pretty crazy stuff to reflect on.

Charging for extra baggage

My cousin Ryan was recently on a flight a couple rows behind this guy on the right. No joke. Apparently the gate staff let him on the plane although he had only purchased one seat. Airlines have started instituting rules that obese people must buy two seats on flights unless a flight is rather empty, in which they may be able to get a 2 for 1 deal.

There has been a poll on the huffington post website of whether this person should be required to buy 2 seats on a plane. To my surprise, as of tonight,  only 56% have said “yes, its unfair but necessary” while 16% said “no, its discrimination” and the rest said “only in extreme cases.”

I think we should take all the people who said no and stick them next to a man this size on a 20 hour flight to southeast asia and see if they change their mind. Also, I found it nice that Huffington Post politely phrased an answer in their poll as “yes, its unfair but necessary.” How in the HELL is that unfair? What is unfair is for someone who is socially responsible about their health  having to pay $250 for a flight to have sweaty blubber spilling over the armrest into his lap.

So do you think it is unfair? Here is the poll for you.

Swiss Ban on Islamic Minarets

The idea and practice of religion has been a part of man since his existence. Unfortunately, religion has its ups and downs. Although Islam, Christianity, and other religions can promote peace, certain factions can also preach hate towards homosexuals, suppress women, and even wage violence against entire nations. I think it’s become pretty clear that religion can be good in certain forms but can also become a dangerous tool for extreme fundamentalists. Unfortunately, most of the extreme violence connected to religion that we see today in the media is connected to Islamic extremists, and America has felt the wrath first hand with the attacks on September 11th.

However, one human right that prevails in most developed countries and is seen as a world norm is the freedom of religion. Recently in Switzerland, a right-wing party led the passage of a vote to ban any future construction of Islamic minarets. Minarets serve as an architectural feature on Islamic mosques where prayer is called five times a day. The justice minister of Switzerland has said that the vote is not a rejection of the Islamic religion or its culture but simply a reflection of the fear of the Swiss population.  As I’m sure you can imagine, many people around the world were outraged with the passage of this bill and the propaganda associated with it (see image above).

I personally cannot believe that the justice minister is that naive to make that comment. This ban is CLEARLY a sign to Muslim people that their religion is not welcome in Switzerland. Although I have my qualms with the basis of all religions and question how good they are for the world, especially in extremes, I think this is a direct violation of human rights.

Do the Swiss have a right to be afraid and have a point passing this bill? Although it is not true with all Muslims, there is much controversy regarding Islam and the treatment of women, homosexuals, and the fact that those who leave the Islamic religion can be legally executed in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan, and Yemen. Should we put similar bans on other religions that have controversy as well? Why should only Islam suffer? Would the world be better off without religion because of the extremes that can develop from it?

I ask these questions to spark your brain and I encourage you to share your comments.

Unreleased Common

Check out this chill beat from Common feat. John Legend, produced by Kanye. Apparently, it was unreleased from his last good CD Finding Forever (I think we can all agree Universal Mind Control sucked). Hope everyone is having a nice holiday and this beat can soothe your hangover(s). More importantly, it has some pretty powerful lyrics that can remind us of how we should all reflect on history and learn from other’s mistakes.  I’ll be back to some regular posting on Monday.

Common feat. John Legend – Strange Fruit

Something to be thankful for

Although it is extremely easy to become indifferent towards our political system, after looking at events surrounding elections in Iran and now the Philippines, we should be thankful that we live in a civil society that allows everyone to participate in the political process by voting for their representatives and expressing their views without threat of harm.

A few months ago Iran’s disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sparked peaceful protests in Tehran in response to allegations of a rigged election.  Riots erupted when police and paramilitary attempted to stop protests, ending up in 36 – 72 people being killed. Since the protests, hundreds have been jailed and sentenced to prison time. One of the most notable was the jailing and torture of Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari, who had established a solid reputation in Iran for fair and balanced reporting. Bahari was released just last Saturday. His story is remarkable and I recommend checking it out.

This week in the Philippines, 46 people have been killed that tried to support a local candidate’s run for office. These 46 people included lawyers, journalists, and relatives including the wife and other female relatives of the candidate Esmael Mangudadatu. Esmael sent the female relatives to file candidacy papers thinking there was no way that people would harm them. Unfortunately he was wrong and they were killed, simply for supporting Mangudadtu’s campaign for the governorship. It is thought that the over 100 armed men who have participated in the abductions and killings are associated with Esmael’s political rival and current governor Andal Ampatuan. The President of the Philippines has now declared a state of emergency and the military has been sent in to quell the violence between the two opposing parties.

Although our democracy can be very imperfect, let us be thankful for being able to live in a free and safe country where one can support their views with the right to freedom of speech, dissent openly against the government and its methods, and support candidates without the fearing violence. Although things might not always seem so great, our country is still a leading model of government for the rest of the world and we are lucky to be a part of its political process.

U.S.-India Relations for Afghanistan

Typically on Sunday mornings, I will sit down with some breakfast and watch a number of political commentary shows including Fareed Zakaria‘s show GPS. This weekend Fareed sat down for an interview with the prime minister of India to discuss U.S.-Indian relations on the eve of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s first visit to Washington with the Obama administration. To accompany the piece on his show, Fareed recently wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post focused on U.S. India relations as related to the war in Afghanistan and the relationship between India and Pakistan.

For those who are not familiar with the beef between India and Pakistan, here is a quick background. India, Pakistan, and China have all claimed ownership of an area in Northwest South Asia known as Kashmir. India and Pakistan have had three wars: 1947, 1965, and 1999. After a set of disputed elections in the late ’80s, insurgents and militant groups started popping up in the region and India has accused Pakistan of supporting the insurgency. Pakistani’s recognize Kashmir as a disputed territory and feel that the people of the Kashmir region should decide its fate.

Needless to say, Pakistan and India have some dislike for each other. Fareed raises concerns that the deepening U.S. relationship with Pakistan will cause the U.S. to view South Asia through the eyes of Pakistan. The main incident raising this question so far has been General Stanley McChrystal’s statement that Indian influence in Afghanistan would raise tensions with Pakistan and further destabilize the region. While India has mostly limited itself to infrastructure building in Afghanistan, Pakistan has made it known that they would like a pro-Pakistani government in place in Afghanistan. The U.S. has constantly questioned whether Pakistan is serious in its efforts against terrorism, especially since a Pakistani general told the director of intelligence last year that they must support the Taliban in Afghanistan or India will take over. On the other hand, India is committed to eliminating the Taliban, as the Taliban have harbored the terrorist group that had a hand in the Mumbai attacks last year. India has a well-established democracy and is the second fastest growing major economy and the oldest democracy in the region, whereas Pakistan and the rest of South Asia is as Zakaria says “a tar-pit filled with failed and dysfunctional states.”

Zakaria brings up many interesting points that the Obama administration should consider before meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this week. It seems very clear that India should not be neglected as we try and stabilize the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.

Freedom Fries

Instant replay in sports has become quite an important topic in the past few years and has spread to a range of sports from tennis to football. Just a couple of examples: Officials in the NBA use instant replay to review shots taken at the buzzer, NCAA officials use it two determine if a shot was a two pointer or a tre,  and NHL uses instant replay for reviewing a number of different situations when it comes to goals. MLB has even started using instant replay to determine if homeruns were fair or foul. The question that has developed is what are the boundaries of instant replay? Should we have any instant replay at all? If we have instant replay for one particular case, why shouldn’t we have instant replay for everything?

One sport that has chosen to not use instant replay time and time again is Soccer. Many people in the soccer world view instant replay as an infringement on the referee’s control of the game, even though there have been many calls in the past begging the question if instant replay is needed. This controversy recently came to light in a recent world cup qualifying match between France and Ireland. The game was tied 1-1 and there were 17 minutes from moving into penalty kicks. A France player lofted the ball off an indirect kick to famous French striker Thierry Henry, who purposely hit the ball with his hand to his foot to keep the ball inbounds and pass to another French player for the winning goal. (See video below) Thierry Henry has even admitted that he handed the ball to the press but claims that if the referee didn’t see it, it isn’t his problem!

This is outrageous. Soccer is a time-honored tradition and the one thing that separates soccer from other sports is the respect for the game all around the world. I think it is truly a disappointment to see a player of Henry’s caliber make a statement of the sort. What a terrible example for young soccer fans around the world.

Is instant replay needed in soccer? Should Ireland get a rematch with France? Is Thierry Henry a turd sandwich? Share your thoughts.

What up cuz

Another track has leaked off the upcoming Vampire Weekend album Contra. Can these guys ever miss, seriously? I was somewhat hesitant about “Horchata” when it came out but I’m digging this song. For those of you in New York, tickets go on sale Friday (11/20 – 12 EST) for a few select shows they are playing in the U.S. in January. Some music to take you into your weekend.

Vampire Weekend – Cousins

Just in case you missed the last song that came out from the new album. Here it is:

Vampire Weekend – Horchata

Obama, you got served

President Obama is currently finishing up a tour of several Asian countries, which included a 3-day visit in China and talks with Chinese leader Hu Jintao. Many people have had a lot of expectations for President Obama visiting and addressing many important issues such as trade, national security, climate change, and human rights.

President Obama has gotten some criticism for his recent visit for several reasons. Throughout his trip Obama was found to have a very conciliatory tone, consistently acknowledging the importance of China to the U.S. in one of the worst recessions we have ever seen. He even described China’s rise to prosperity as “an accomplishment unparalleled in human history.” Obama seemed to be showing that the U.S. was praying for China to keep us alive economically.

As far as human rights, Obama addressed a group of Chinese university students in a town hall meeting style forum. He discussed the freedom of information and how it creates a better democracy because it forces him to hear views that he might not want to hear and to contemplate all sides of the argument. Unfortunately, the Chinese are so good at censorship that they censored Obama’s speech from being seen or heard from the rest of the people in China. Furthermore, a couple of weeks ago Obama declined meeting with the Dalai Lama because he did not want to ruffle Chinese leader’s feathers before visiting. While he was in China, Obama only made one simple remark regarding the human rights violations against the Tibetan people saying that he encourages talks between the two parties.

The economic relationship between the U.S. and China has become a key issue more than ever. Since 1999, the U.S. trade deficit to China has exponentially grown from $60 billion to $268 billion and has been accompanied by thousands of U.S. factories shutting down due to American foreign investments in China (mostly due to the greed of American based companies and the exploitation of poor workers but that’s a whole separate issue).  China has now become our largest creditor with the U.S. owing them 1 trillion dollars. Most importantly, China has been keeping the value of its currency artificially low to the dollar to help promote its currency to increase their exports. Unfortunately, this is expanding our trade deficit even more. However, Obama forced no commitment by China to change its dangerous currency policy.

Despite this, the Obama administration claims that it was a successful visit and that the U.S. and China have never been closer. Should we call bluff? Does China have our balls in a vice? Is this a result of our large debt to China, or simply a different style of administration?

The case for more troops

As President Obama decides how many more troops he will send into Afghanistan, a lot of people find themselves wondering why we have to send more troops into Afghanistan in the first place. I can see why some people don’t understand the significance of Afghanistan considering the Bush administration successfully fooled Americans into falsely focusing their anger from September 11 on Saddam Hussein and Iraq, rather than continuing efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The main question of Afghanistan: what is our real goal there? Are we trying to destroy Al Qaeda or are we trying to prevent the Taliban from taking over the Afghanistan and possibly even Pakistan. A lot of people are surprised to find out that it is estimated there are fewer than 100 Al Qaeda left in Afghanistan. Much of their power base has been destroyed and they have become increasingly disorganized. The bulk of Al Qaeda members have moved to areas in Pakistan where they number around 300. The power has now shifted to the tens of thousands of Taliban on both sides of the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. In the past, the Taliban has offered protection for the Arab based Al Qaeda group in exchange for weapons, money, and training. Well all of that training has paid off and the Taliban has become increasingly stronger.

Although some factions of the Taliban have claimed to distance themselves from Al Qaeda, it is clear that Al Qaeda’s only hope for surviving is a Taliban win in Afghanistan. So, unfortunately the answer to my previous question, is that we have to do both. Reihan Salam from the DailyBeast.com describes the connection between the two very well in this article. I think it is obvious from my blog that I am left of center on the political spectrum, but I do not understand how people can say we should fully pull out of Afghanistan. I think it is extremely naive. Unless you want to sit by and watch an extremist Islamic group overthrow a country, completely suppress women’s rights, and help build up a terrorist organization whose main objective is the demise of the West, I don’t think you can truly say the U.S. should pull out all of our troops from Afghanistan.

I understand the argument that we are fighting in someone else’s civil war and that we can’t be the world’s police. Unfortunately, when someone else’s civil war could result in Pakistani nuclear arms being placed in the hands of terrorists who would not hesitate to take America out in one push of a button, we have to be America’s police. I don’t know what the perfect plan is, but I know it is not to pull out. What a mess. I strongly encourage you to share your thoughts through the comment link.

New Hot Chip

I feel like you either love or hate this group. The first time I ever listened to Hot Chip my reaction was basically, what the hell is this. Their first album I checked out was The Warning. After listening to it several times I started to appreciate its uniqueness and how talented this group is. Since then, The Warning has become one of my go to listens and one of my favorite albums in the past 5 years. They followed with an equally awesome album Made in The Dark.

They have just finished a new album that is due out in February 2010 and it is highly anticipated. Below is a track from their upcoming album entitled One Life Stand. Whatever your preference in music, I suggest you give this song a full listen and maybe check their last two albums and give them some time, you never know what you’ll find. That’s the beauty of new unfamiliar music. One last note, please listen with headphones or loud speakers to appreciate, laptop speakers do not suffice.

Hot Chip – Take it In (DL)

Here are some other older personal faves of mine for those of you who aren’t familiar with Hot Chip.

Hot Chip – And I Was A Boy From School (DL)

Hot Chip – The Warning (DL)

A Mature Father

How would you like if you grew up and found out that your mother’s pregnancy was an accident by watching an old pistachio commercial featuring your dad talking about how he uses protection these days, implying that he wishes you had never been born. Well Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin‘s son Tripp will soon realize what a douche nozzle Daddy is (see commercial above). As if the kid wasn’t already fucked coming into the world with a name like Tripp, his family tree will also be sprouting Uncle Trig and Aunt Willow. Not to mention the hockey mom from A-lask-a herself as the matriarch of this fine American helicopter moose-hunting family. It’s smooth sailing for this kid. Alright well maybe I’m feeling too bad for this little Tripp, I mean at least he will be able to see Russia from his back yard while playing in his sandbox!

Anyways, I digress. This post started about Levi Johnston and my disgust for Sarah Palin took over. Point of this post: Levi Johnston is a fucking TOOL.   What kind of a man-child scumbag tries to cash in on the fact that his son was not meant to be conceived?  Also, just in case ol’ Levi’s commercial doesn’t work out, he’s also been toying around with the idea of showing off his hang dang in Playgirl for all you young ladies out there. I seriously have no words.  This kid needs to be kicked in his little pistachios.

The fact that we have put this loser up on a pedestal is a crystal clear case of how stupid America can be. Levi is just another example of a person being famous for doing absolutely nothing. I’m sure MTV will be calling him soon for ‘Bromance  season 2.’ It’s time America stops glorifying fucking morons.

Representing the people

In the recent health care vote in the House of Representatives, only one Republican voted for the bill. Representative Ahn Cao of Louisiana. When asked why he voted for the bill, he simply stated that “I have a constitutional duty to make the right decision for my district whether or not the decision was popular.” He added, “I had to make a decision of conscience based on the needs of the people of my district, a lot of my constituents are uninsured, a lot of them are poor.” Cao sat down, took a hard look at his constituents, and made a decision that was best for his district, whether they knew it or not. I think it would be safe to assume that 30% or more of the people in his district don’t even know what the public option is. There is also a good chance that the majority of those who do know the words public option probably don’t know the details, or are misinformed and associate the option with “socialism” or “death panels” thanks to intelligent people like Sarah “Rogue” Palin.

These are the type of people who we need in public office. I expect the argument that public officials are elected to represent the people, that the idea behind democracy is that the representatives’ vote is supposed to reflect the thoughts of the majority of their district. Unfortunately, however, many Americans are not well-informed on the issues because frankly there are so many issues and so many daily developments that it is actually hard to keep up with. Not to mention that whenever people do have access to news outlets a lot of them can be extremely bias (i.e. Fox News). There is absolutely no question that Ahn Cao made the right choice for his district. Poor and uninsured people need an affordable health plan that is not going to be based on pre-existing conditions.

It’s time that representatives start making the best decisions for their people. Unfortunately the two-party system, lobbying by special interests, and plain old politics prevents public officials from doing this because if they don’t vote along the party lines or for special interests, they will be out of the job like the rest of America. Unfortunately for Ahn Cao, because the GOP is driving itself into the ground with neo-conservatives trying to form a ‘party of no,’ I think it is safe to say that Ahn Cao will most likely have an ultra conservative primary contender in his next election who is heavily financed by the GOP.  Just another reason why our Democracy isn’t so perfect.