This is....

What I think a good speech should be.

Why not invade Iran?

Because they treat rape victms so well, or because of the equality of the sexes, or their humane forms of punishment? I forgot. Maybe all three?

It's a shame...

That Senators Lieberman and McCain will never become President. Article on Russia here.

Sec. Rice vs.the Illustrious leader

Good luck, cause all I can say is "oh crap."

Elections at last

These are our allies. But they're really not.

It's for our own good

"Above and beyond the humanitarian considerations -- which would be compelling enough -- we have an enormous interest in seeing this succeed." stated Deputy Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz referring to Indonesia and the government's there in this CNN article on further aid to the Asian tsunami victims.

And I agree with him, 100 percent. The United States government has a history of doing things for ulterior motives, and that's not always a bad thing. In this case we want to make sure that we're viewed as the good guys, and when you're giving people close to a billion dollars (what's a few million here or there) in aid, expecting nothing in return, it's nice that they might feel a little better about the US. They better.

Of course, this all means that we actually give the money that we've pledged. It's one thing to pledge to give a few million dollars like most countries, but it's quite another to actually hand out the cash. It may seem a bit like we're buying goodwill, and that may be true, I don't know. But one thing is for sure, whatever the reason why we're giving money to help these people, it's a good thing.

Etc.

Just notes to myself on future additions, just ignore:
The Budget
Henry Clay
Environment
1960 Presidential Election
Voting Machines

That third rail

"That third rail," a quote from this CNN article comparing the effect that the pending Social Security issue has on the midterm elections in 2006 with touching the third rail of an electric railway. The term itself is nothing new, but it seems to suit one of the major problem's with the President's future privatization of the Social Security issue. It's not whether or not the Republican's and Democrat's can come up with a solution to the problem, but whether they're willing to deal with the issue to begin with.

Sure it's not a crisis, but it is going to run into trouble one of these days, and it would be nice to figure out a solution sooner rather than later. It's refreshing to see preventive maintenance taking place rather than waiting till there's a fire and then putting it out (which pretty much seems the traditional way the government works).

The AARP is going to play a large role in the upcoming battle, and this is a reason why it's going to be such a hard topic for the Republican controlled Congress to push through. In a perfect world, I think most Republicans would jump at the chance of putting more control of the tax money in the public's hands, while at the same time, allowing investment in private companies. But of course, this is an imperfect world.

The AARP itself is a powerful lobby, but it's not so powerful that it could stop this legislation by itself. It has to have the backing of it's millions of members. Members who are of course generally above the age of 50. Which also happens to be just below the age at which a disproportionate (that is compared to the percentage of other voters in other age brackets) amount of voters turn out to vote than any other group. I mean this does make sense, they don't have "retired persons" in their name for nothing. It's just that these voters have so much more power than other age groups.

I find it sad that my generation cannot seem to get out the vote when it's our future that the older generation is deciding. I don't mean to seem improper, or crass, but I think the following needs to be said. Those that are deciding the future of the younger generations are the people that have already lived their lives. They are close to death, yet still wield a large amount of control over who gets into the government.

This is part of the problem with my generation, it's mostly our fault we don't vote. But there is also the issue that people are living much longer lives than in the past. With that includes newer drugs and medical procedures, that cost more money, to keep people alive. (Hey, I'm not saying we should get rid of this, just that our success at pushing back death has large financial costs). And with this comes their continued ability to be a power block among the voting masses.

So we come full circle. Politician's are voted in by the citizens, in their infinite wisdom, yet they have to carefully watch how they are perceived among the older generations. These older generations may have enough sway in close races to vote the politicians out of office. Do what they want (or at the very least, avoid the issue) and hope you stay on their good side. This is why the Republican's won't touch President Bush's SS plan. They have a fear of seeming against the older people. The AARP just knows how to exploit this fear. And the young kids don't have any fear of the future, or so it would seem.

I could say, hey kids, go vote. But like my generation, I don't think I care enough too. Whatever.

Kissing Butt and Taking Names

Recently, Secretary of State Condolezza Rice has taken a very vocal and public tour of Europe. Now, this is they type of trip that a Secretary of State would take anyways, just to meet the diplomats that he or she will be dealing with in the future. In this case however, it smells more like an ass kissing mission. We're apologizing to Europe for not including them in our war. We're kissing and making up. Even Sec. Rumsfeld is getting into the act with a trip to France of all places. He's trying to encourage other countries to help out in Iraq. It now seems bad that we're asking for help in Iraq from other countries. It makes the US look weak and the situation seem out of control. The sad part though, is that these European countries will have nothing to do with Iraq. We've already taken over the country. Saddam Hussein is already out of power. A new government is already being formed, and still Europe sits idly buy and does nothing while complaining. Maybe it's because they feel they won't have as much control over what they'll be doing and such, but tough for them, they weren't in on the original invasion, why they should they received the credit and spoils now. It's as if France, Germany and Russia are all saying "You're going about this all wrong, but we're not going to help you out of it, it's your mess to clean up." So be it. We don't have a choice in the matter now, the situation must be resolved, one way or another.

Told ya so.

The second article from the BBC in two days on Russia in which the rule of law is mentioned. In this case, it again deals with the Yukos affair. However, this time it's Rosneft playing dirty. It appears that Rosneft does not want to repay a loan that was taken out for Yugansk. However, when someone buys a company (at well below market value I might add) they are responsible for debts as well as assets. The managing director that controls Yuko's had this to say on the matter, "If they default, we will fight them where the rule of law exists under the international arbitration clauses of the credit." How democratic is a system in which people are forced into international tribunal's in order to seek justice?

Why I don't like Social Security

This will be short and sweet after my last train wreck of a post.

Say what you want about the President's plan on social security, or the GOP's in general. Or for that matter the Democrat's or the AARP's plan. I don't really care that much. I think this will be one of the President's biggest battles he has faced, and like President Clinton's health care plan, it will not succeed.

But I don't like social security for one simple reason. It gives you money just because you're old. You don't need to be anything else (generally, I'm ignoring the disabled that truly need it), you just need to be old. You don't need to be deserving. You just need to have lived to an age that's been deemed the age at which you have become useless. If I was 65 years old, I would refuse social security on sheer principal. I'm not useless, I can still work. I am still a productive member of society.

But whatever, I'm not, and no one listens to me.

Business as Usual

So today on BBC News there was an article on Secretary of State Rice's trip to Europe, with an emphasis on Russia and it's future as a democracy. In the article, the role of rule of law is mentioned. Briefly, the rule of law essentially is an belief that no one is below the law and that everyone must follow the law. There is more too it as well, such as the idea that the laws are codified and such, but the core idea that everyone is treated fairly in the eyes of the law. This is not the case in Russia.

In Russia, there is no real rule of law. It's a joke. In the case of Khodorkovsky and the Yugo's deal, there was no rule of law. Khodorkovsky was a Russian oligarch, one of the few men who was able to turn the chaos of the Soviet collapse into huge personal wealth. There was no rule of law during this time. It was every man for himself, and those that could use their political connections (which were essential if one wished to accomplish anything) could gain all the natural resources and industries at bargain basement prices. Khodorkovsky and other men fought battles over the profitable industries, bank fraud was epic, and men died for control of the media which were slowly gobbled up by the "businessmen." These oligarch's used their power to play politics in order to hold on to this wealth. Ex-President Yeltsin had one of the worst oligarch's as his personal money manager for many years, Boris Berezovsky. Now this is starting to change, but it might not be for the better.

Almost 15 years later, Russia has settled down and has a stable government. The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin has decided to take the power back from the oligarchs. Citizens of Russia cheer for his "reforms" in which he has essentially made an ultimatum to the oligarchs to stay out of politics and or else. The state has slowly reclaimed control over the media. The previously mentioned Khodorkovsky saw what the "else" meant. His oil company was once one of the largest and wealthiest in Russia, now it's bankrupt and faces billions of dollars in tax liability to the Russian government.

Khodorkovsky made the mistake of trying to again play politics. He made the ultimate mistake of not financing the power party controlled by Putin, United Russia, but the parties of Putin's opponents. He now sits in jail for charges of fraud and tax evasion.

Is this the right course of action? To punish those that have fleeced the Russian public of billions? No. There are other oligarchs out there that have done worse, they have not faced the penalties that Khodorkovsky has. Others still continue to mingle in politics, but they do so on the side of Putin. They continue to hold on to their power.

Russia can not help but forget about the past crimes of Russia, no matter how hard it is. Billions of dollars have already been taken out of the Russian economy illegally and hidden in off-shore bank accounts. This trend will only continue if crackdowns on oligarchs continue.

Yugansk, the main oil producing subsidiary of Khodorkovsky's Yugo's was taken unfairly and illegally from the company by the Russian government in order to pay the tax bills. The billion dollar tax bills were ordered to be paid in a ridiculous little amount of time, and then the government takes away the main revenue producing arm of the company? The company was then put up on the auction block and sold for well below market price, it's deja vue all over again from when the companies were first sold. Yugansk was sold to a shell corporation, which was then bought by another oil producing corporation with strong ties to the state, Rosneft. Now it appears that the Chinese government may have had a hand in lending money to Rosneft to buy Yugansk. It's just business as usual in Russia.

Putin has declared a "Dictatorship of law" rather than rule. How aptly that name fits. Like a dictator Putin picks and chooses the people he goes after with the state controlled criminal system. Sec. Rice stated, "and when we have differences, as we sometimes do, we have to work through those with respect for the differences, respect for both sides." No, we don't. Russia will never be a true democracy if cannot follow the basic rule of law that all democracies must. I know that our government needs Russia's cooperation for so many things during this time, but we need to stop placating poor governments for short term gains when the long term is so crucial to the continued survival of democracy and the rule of law.

People complain about how bad US politicans are, and how easily bought they are. But we have it easy compared to Russia. Our system isn't perfect, but nothing is. Russians have a long hard fight ahead to become a true democracy for all. Their history will take a long time for many to forgive and forget, but one day, if they're lucky, it will happen. Here's to no more business as usual in Russia.

Speech

I've been thinking of different ideas for speeches for certain politicians lately (blame the inauguration and State of the Union speeches). I'm not a policy wonk, and if you've read my previous editions, you'll see I don't have a gift for writing. That just means the poorly equipped to handle a situation must work hard to be successful. So I'd like to take this time to work on my personal ideas for a speech along the similar veins as one might see in the past few speeches given by the President. I have nothing to offer here for anyone on anything, so you'd better just ignore the rest of this post and get on with your life. You've been warned.

My fellow Americans, today we gather to discuss the past, present and future of this magnificent country. We can look among ourselves to see what great good has been created this past year, and ask ourselves, how many millions have taken their first breathe of freedom due to the work of America? How scared are those that wish to rule with a tyrannical fist of the determination of these millions of free individuals.

...and I'm going to play some games, I'll finish up later.

Drama and Dissension

When a mistake is made, the correct and acceptable behavior is to take the responsibility for the mistake, try to correct it, and make sure that it does not happen in the future. Then you move on. During the Abu Ghraib fiasco, in which prisoners were treated inhumanely by National Guardsmen is one of these times.

It has recently come out that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld submitted his resignation to the President, but the President chose not to acknowledge the letter. He decided that Sec. Rumsfeld was better off working with the United States Army and National Guard in resolving the conflict, than to give up on a problem perpetrated by untrained service men and women.

It also shows the type of respect that the two men have for one another. Many different groups were calling for the resignation of Sec. Rumsfeld, yet nothing was heard from the Pentagon or the Whitehouse on his resignation attempts. The President refused to leave a man whom appointed to do the job, to the viciousness of the public. This once again shows the loyalty of the President to his subordinates. Whether or not this is a good thing, I leave up to the reader to decide.

The issue of accountability though still lies in the fore front of the issue with Abu Ghraib. Who was accountable? Whose fault is it? Should Sec. Rumsfeld have had better information on what was taking place in the prisons of Iraq, undoubtedly. Should he had an idea what was going on, yes. Is he ultimately responsible for what occurred? Mostly. The buck stops with the President, but he's protected by his Cabinet. So the Secretary is a buffer between the President and the Pentagon. He takes the flack and he takes the responsibility.

It's unfair to believe that Sec. Rumsfeld had full knowledge of the abuse going on at Abu Ghraib. Even with the Bush Administration's weak view of the Geneva convention and the treatment of Prisoners of War/Enemy Combatants, it is unlikely that the type of abuse experienced at Abu Ghraib would be systematically used, as it didn't seem to be used for information gathering. The Secretary of Defense is accountable for what the military does, but he is not in control of everything that happens in a day.

Even the Republicans were distancing themselves from Rumsfeld during the Abu Ghraib and No Armor Scandals. Was this simply to pragmatically distance themselves for the upcoming elections, or does this signal things to come? Surely Republicans, such as Senator John McCain had real problems with the abuse and weren't using this tragedy of foreign relations to advance their own politics. But one has to wonder if this distance and the politics between the Republicans will be there in the future, especially considering the upcoming Bush Administration's agenda.

This concludes today's broadcast.

First Post!

Here we are. The first post of a new rising sun. A time for rejoicing and dancing in the streets. A time for music and merrymaking. A time for me to spout off with illogical and mostly incoherent thoughts on politics and stuff. Note the stuff, it's important to be general in one's thoughts. That way the ridiculous ideas can be glossed over and ignored by the author at a later date.

I'm not here to challenge the readers perceptions of reality or be witty, I'm here to perfect my writing. I have no particularly insightful knowledge to bring to the table, there are no stories of wild parties or academic breakthroughs. I'm here because my life is so spectacularly boring that I felt it was my duty to share it with the tired, poor, and huddled masses. Or I was rather sick of seeing hundreds of weblogs by authors who share every single thought, no matter how useless, how idiotic, or how pointless. And I realized that I could do that too.

Let me not tell you about myself, but rather give hints at who I would like to be deep down in side of my tender little heart. I'm a recent college graduate, who believed that a person (whether male or female) went to school to receive an education and expand hers or his worldview and experiences, not to receive training for a job. Boy, was I ever wrong. Having a degree that isn't worth the paper it's printed on is a great thing indeed. The school I went too was a public one in the south, which is focused on Engineering, so being a humanities student (like I said, not worth the paper...) was interesting. But I'm out now, and it's time for the next step in this great life's journey. As I'm sure everyone knows, the United States is fighting another war against another idea, and we're enforcing this by toppling governments. I'm a big fan of governmental engineering (the process of forming new or restoring governments, as I choose to call it), so I've decided to join the Army to see this up and close, as well as visit exciting places, meeting interesting people... And killing them. This is the type of brilliant thinking that I use on a daily basis. Don't expect much from me.

"Subliminable" is the term that President Bush once used in a press conference in regards to the notion that the Republicans had created a political advertisement on television and secretly snuck in the word "rats." This subliminal message was a hot topic for a few media cycles. But of course the accusations were ridiculous, and it was merely a case of bad editing by the production company. No political party is willing to be caught trying to sneak something past the American public, they're much better off doing it in the open. Note here, I'm not actually willing to back up this theory with any concrete proof, that's silly, and it requires entirely too much work. I'm a blogger now, I just make it up as a go along.

Back to subliminable. That's something that could have just as easily come from my mouth as the President's. I know what I would like to say, but somewhere between the electrical signals leaving my brain to the point when they are turned into sound, the thoughts get jumbled up, and it comes out wrong. We cease making sense, and start making up words. It happens to the best of us. With that non-lesson, I leave you dear reader and continue to fly under the radar with the vultures and eagles, wishing you a pleasant day.

P.S. I really hope I can edit these things.