tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-116589522011-11-09T07:30:14.838-05:00This is a blog devoted primarily to National and International issues.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger681100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-5817417462112604612008-01-11T22:57:00.000-05:002008-01-11T23:14:34.355-05:00

There was a republican debate yesterday. Here's my take and some grades.Huckabee: AYes I'm biased. However, Huckabee gets an A for being a great speaker, genuine, funny and hitting two questions out of the ballpark. Here are the links to the videos.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyUXdkrwrd4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWyjvLmiMjIThompson: BGenerally good. Contrary to what most people said,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-15103487951120388312008-01-09T01:06:00.000-05:002008-01-09T01:07:18.357-05:00

So much for predictions. It's going to be more interesting than I thought. At least Huckabee still came in third.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-80662110638851364362008-01-07T22:26:00.000-05:002008-01-07T22:42:30.604-05:00

I've noticed more and more lately that talking heads, both liberal and conservative, often times have no clue what they're talking about...much like sports commentators. That being such, I have predictions for tomorrow in New Hampshire:McCain 30%Romney 28%Huckabee 15%Giuliani 11%Paul 10%Thompson 6%Rationale: Most of the independents will vote for Obama so that hurts McCain but he's far enough of

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-63474044071457253812008-01-04T22:13:00.000-05:002008-01-04T22:21:50.468-05:00

For a long time I said Hillary was the best of the Democratic candidates. I bought into the myth of experience. But the more I've thought about it, the more I've realize how limited her experience really is. Senators like Biden and McCain have spent a lot more time in the Senate than she has. And executive experience in the governors mansion is more valuable anyway. Mitt Romney spent a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-61789753001097150662007-07-20T13:45:00.001-04:002007-07-20T13:45:31.539-04:00

Finally, a protest that isn't retarded. A parade went by the office today with a band, banners, hundreds of people, etc. I went outside to see what it was for. They were protesting the CCP (communist party of china), its repression, etc. In essence, it was a pro-China, anti-communism parade to the square and then a subsequent rally put on almost entirely by Chinese people. No, I don't think

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-2667343378804978892007-07-10T15:20:00.000-04:002007-07-10T15:30:56.964-04:00

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/07/071007debate.htmThanks for shooting yourself in the foot. That's all I need to say. I'm not sure when "approximately 4 percent of the voting population" came to be a "decisive electoral force" especially when their issues alienate much of the rest of the electorate. What Democrats should do is focus on dissatisfaction with Iraq and other things Republicans

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-37480637683445356972007-03-08T09:34:00.000-05:002007-03-08T09:53:42.552-05:00

We watched a video in my Campaigns class last night. Two hours long. Could have been half an hour and that would have covered it. To summarize:Candidate in primary: My life sucks because my opponent has lots of money. I can't win.Candidate wins primaryCandidate in general election: My life sucks because my opponent has lots of money. I can't win.Candidate loses general election.Candidate: I

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1164404017852453232006-11-24T16:16:00.000-05:002006-11-24T16:33:37.886-05:00

Some have said that Joe Lieberman is not a moderate democrat. I have been shown some of the statistics for that argument but I find them unconvincing. The statistics show him, overall, to be 67% more liberal than the rest of the Senate in 2004. With the 51-49 split that existed that year, that does indeed suggest that Lieberman is more liberal than 16 of his fellow Democrats. However, it also

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1163093742835610912006-11-09T12:20:00.000-05:002006-11-09T12:35:43.593-05:00

Though the Senate was a surprise, the Democrats had to win something in this past election. If they didn't, their position as a significant alternative to Republicans on a national scale would be gone for quite some time. In light of their campaigns of 2002 and 2004, I fully expected a loss for them in 2006. However, they did something that I did not expect. They got smart.I had to read a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1163007112992897812006-11-08T12:17:00.000-05:002006-11-08T12:45:00.096-05:00

From the looks of things, Democrats will have control of the House this session. There's also a high probability that they will control the Senate by the slimmest of margins. I must say, I'm impressed. I didn't realize the Democrats were capable of, you know, doing anything right. This must be what they felt like in 2004. Oh well. After the 2004 election in which my predictions were dead on

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1162930941164680162006-11-07T14:56:00.000-05:002006-11-07T15:22:21.350-05:00

Today is election day. I was asked by a coworker today if I'm nervous. The truth is, not at all. I'm confident that I know how this election is going to turn out. Democrats will pick up a number of seats in the House and a few in the Senate. They'll fall short of a majority in both cases. Technically, this election will be a victory of Democrats. Psychologically, it'll be a huge defeat.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1162527407756839782006-11-02T23:03:00.000-05:002006-11-02T23:16:47.766-05:00

So one of my teachers was talking about Karl Rove tonight. This is a teacher who, though he's liberal, I respect. My respect mainly comes from the fact that he, unlike just about every other liberal professor, does not live in the delusional world that Democrats are going to sweep every election every time. He admits the genius of Karl Rove...however, I've been thinking lately that his

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1160375630563361042006-10-09T02:20:00.000-04:002006-10-09T02:36:03.656-04:00

That was the topic for our Doctrine Study this evening and the news that awaited us upon returning to our homes seems eerily ironic. North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon. They've claimed to have them for a while but they've never actually tested one yet so they probably had just been making it up before. The estimated size of the explosion is testament to this. At first I heard

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1158363142976461792006-09-15T19:18:00.000-04:002006-09-15T19:32:22.986-04:00

That's something I've heard from certain political science professors at this university practically since I was a freshman. Yet they continue to harp on it as if they just read it in the horribly liberal New York Times that they use as their Bible. I've heard the stats they throw around and they are typically dubious at best. They suggest that many middle and lower class Americans are just

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1156615159862176182006-08-26T13:38:00.000-04:002006-08-26T15:53:08.383-04:00

It sure has been a while since I've updated this thing. Thus the reason for the title. There are many things I could talk about. For today, I'd like to go into what I believe to be a massive shift in American national politics.During the 1980s and 1990s, the Republican Party had some stress between the comfortable, upper-middle class, more socially moderate members of the party and the more

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1150995373017004402006-06-22T12:51:00.000-04:002006-06-22T12:56:22.990-04:00

So we found WMDs in Iraq. We found a decent number of them. Where did they come from and when were they made? That is largely irrelevant. The important thing is that they could still be used effectively and Saddam claimed he didn't have them. From what I've read, it's likely that these are leftover from the 1980s and early 1990s...but that really doesn't make much of a difference. If that

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1149880418085408432006-06-09T14:53:00.000-04:002006-06-09T15:58:16.153-04:00

It makes me sad how many people either don't seem to know who Zarqawi is or don't understand how this is going to change things. Here are some facts:Zarqawi was the head of Al Qaeda in Iraq.We took out both him and his number 2 in the attack.We conducted roughly 17 raids soon following his death. These raids were targeted based on intelligence gathered in the Zarqawi attack. These raids

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1149805427095179762006-06-08T18:05:00.000-04:002006-06-08T18:23:47.113-04:00

I am going to make a prediction about the future. I predict that in a year, the Iraqi insurgency will be over. More likely 6 to 9 months but a year is a nice round number. I base this prediction on several things. First and foremost on activities taking place on the ground and also on the history of insurgencies throughout the world. Most specifically the Filipino Insurrection and Germany/

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1149696669862335732006-06-07T11:55:00.000-04:002006-06-07T12:11:09.890-04:00

That article is somewhat informative, though it could be better. Its biggest problem is that when it talks about America losing ground in the world it compares us to China and India. When it talks about how America is not losing ground it compares us to the EU and Japan. Quite frankly, increasing economic distance between the US and Japan is irrelevant if China is catching up.Most of those who

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1148668947353319112006-05-26T14:31:00.000-04:002006-05-26T14:42:27.370-04:00

A few years ago, outsourcing was the latest outrage. Unemployment was up somewhat (though not a ton) and people were yelling that all our jobs were going overseas. As I predicted, when the economy got back on track and natural market forces created more jobs and reduced unemployment, talk of outsourcing became relatively muted. Now the debate is over just the opposite. Apparently there are so

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1148436915617531502006-05-23T22:03:00.000-04:002006-05-23T22:15:15.636-04:00

So China has been building up its military even to a greater extent than was widely believed. And my foreign policy professor thought that they were the greatest thing and would only be peaceful. Ha! With the growing economic power of China, coupled with its manpower and the tendency of Russia to develop and then sell as advanced weaponry as they can, this is a serious problem.This reminds me

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1148169879250780822006-05-20T19:43:00.000-04:002006-05-20T20:04:39.270-04:00

Over recent weeks, I have become increasingly alarmed at what I perceive to be a move toward civil war in the Republican Party. Too many of my fellow Republicans seem to forget that yes, while we have our differences, any 9 out of 10 Republicans is still better than a Democrat. The Democratic Party is on the run. Another major loss or two in national elections and they are finished as a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1147310029017783882006-05-10T21:12:00.000-04:002006-05-10T21:13:49.033-04:00

We're hoping to get more members to join the GovSim game. Its fun, you all should try it out. There is a lot to grasp at first...but if you're like me, you figure out the couple areas you actually need to read and learn to ignore all the rest. :-)

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1146182656573398142006-04-27T18:56:00.000-04:002006-04-27T20:04:16.666-04:00

Marxists annoy me. Now I'm not talking Communists...rather, economic determinists. Economic issues are important, don't get me wrong. And for that reason, it is easy to get sucked into the economic determinist mindset that says everything is determined by economic conditions. Yet, this is a narrow vision.I will not go into great detail as much of what I could say has already been covered in "

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1145133365215518222006-04-15T16:22:00.000-04:002006-04-16T20:46:56.513-04:00

Social issues are important. In many cases, they are more important than economic issues. If a culture is corrupt and immoral, what good is a few extra dollars? I am pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-liberty and pro-responsibility. What little I know about the formerly existing Whig party has impressed me. They impress me for their stand that we have economic diversity and always will,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1143663986437463382006-03-29T15:21:00.000-05:002006-03-29T15:26:26.456-05:00

I am not a moderate. I have always known that. However, I have come to the conclusion recently that among just Republicans, I am either dead center or just slightly to the right. I prefer conservative candidates to moderate-liberal ones but I am not so far to the right that I refuse to compromise. Political quizes seem to fit this. You know the typical grid system? Up and down is social

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1143051607250013772006-03-22T12:59:00.000-05:002006-03-23T18:06:55.473-05:00

First, I wish to dispel a myth about the election. Namely, the idea that Brady cost Oberweis the election. Let's break it down a bit. Totals for the top 3 candidates:Topinka-38%Oberweis-31.8%Brady 18.7% (for the sake of easy numbers, lets round to 20%)So the question is, if Brady hadn't been in the election, where would that 20% have gone? I think it is fair to say that some people, though a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1142116207867991072006-03-11T17:15:00.000-05:002006-03-11T17:30:07.880-05:00

In regard to the topic of government involvement in the economy, there are two main schools of thought plus a third which is unfortunately overlooked.First you have those who say the government should have nothing to do with the economy. While there are many who claim to believe this today, I doubt they fully realize what this stance means. This means no workplace safety regulations, no

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1141164477700346702006-02-28T16:52:00.000-05:002006-02-28T17:07:57.723-05:00

America was founded on the principles of equality and liberty. Ironically, those two ideals contradict each other at times but that is a post for another occassion. The country was founded upon democratic ideals. However, our Founding Fathers were skeptical of "mob rule." The Declaration of Independence as well as the Bill of Rights in the Constitution affirm that the power of the majority,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1141090748813604392006-02-27T20:23:00.000-05:002006-02-27T20:39:08.830-05:00

I was reading a book for class entitled "What's the matter with Kansas?" tonight and noticed a particular irony. First some background:This book was written by a liberal. He attempts to explain why poor areas such as the south have been voting solidly Republican in recent history despite the fact that Democrats are "the party of the working man." I don't believe that about the Democratic Party

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1140894726861597692006-02-25T13:32:00.000-05:002006-02-25T16:45:22.476-05:00

I was discussing various political issues with some friends late a few nights ago and the topic of the Civil War came up. Some individuals questioned the legitimacy of it so I've decided to formulate and post some ideas here. If this doesn't get comments from people, nothing will. lolThe main objection I tend to hear is that the states entered into a contract (the Constitution) and thus had a

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1140306253063901732006-02-18T18:14:00.000-05:002006-02-18T18:44:13.076-05:00

I have always been in favor of immigration. Illegal immigration from Mexico, on the other hand, is something I strongly opposed. Yet, as it seems with most things, the arguments of our Founding Fathers (in this case, Alexander Hamilton) are far more pursuasive than any proposed by the intellectually bankrupt left-wing of American politics.It is true that many Mexicans come to the U.S. illegally

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1140115544256971052006-02-16T12:28:00.000-05:002006-02-16T13:45:44.310-05:00

I had an interesting conversation with my friends Mike and Dale on the train last week regarding the recent turn in world events in the Middle East. You've got Iraq, Hamas, Iran, plus now the Danish cartoons. Add to that Europe's growing frustration and their anti-immigration tendencies. So where is it all going to go? Let's go one step at a time.If Hamas tries to do anything to Israel,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1139874126406208042006-02-13T18:41:00.000-05:002006-02-13T18:42:06.426-05:00

The simplicity of Realism in terms of international relations is as beneficial as it is misleading. Human nature is marked by selfishness, greed and lust for power. Nations will act accordingly. This part of realism is accurate. However, this will not always result in a fluid alliance structure and a balance of power. Other factors such as culture and religion interfere with alliances,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1139796867291590502006-02-12T21:01:00.000-05:002006-02-13T11:36:59.326-05:00

Normally I don't post anything on this blog about what I do in real life but tonight I'm going to make a brief exception. Yesterday I got back from a trip to Washington DC where I participated in CPAC. It was a fun, if crazy time. During this trip, I saw both the best in people (Mike and Dale especially, plus the rest of our group of 6) and the worst in people (Joe and Aakash). It amazes me

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1138861671515213352006-02-02T01:16:00.000-05:002006-02-02T01:27:51.530-05:00

Save Darfur. A worth goal, yes? Yes. Unfortunately, nobody seems to have much of a plan. I applaud people who say we should help. What is going on there is truly a travesty if there ever was one post-Cold War. Unfortunately, writing a letter to President Bush, a Senator, or a Representative saying "please do something about this, thanks" is not much of a plan. The industrialized world will

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1138304497059703352006-01-26T14:24:00.000-05:002006-01-26T14:41:37.076-05:00

Unlike many others, the results of the recent Palestinian election do not worry me a great deal. Naturally, I would have prefered that Hamas gain some seats but fall far short of a majority...but what can ya do? From what I've read, most of their campaign proposals dealt with weeding out the corruption in the Palestinian Authority and improving conditions for their people. Decent proposals if

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1138171878653610732006-01-25T01:40:00.000-05:002006-01-25T01:51:18.673-05:00

Oh the French, they will hate us forever for going into Iraq. Oh no! The Canadias hate us! Crap, not the Germans too! etc etc etc...or so we were led to believe by the media. Massive demonstrations against Bush and the US in these foreign countries who were traditional allies...and yet...A few months ago, Germany narrowly voted a new party into power...a party that, as part of their platform,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1137882266462504392006-01-21T17:07:00.000-05:002006-01-21T17:24:26.476-05:00

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/01/19/syria.iran.assad.ap/index.htmlSo Iran and Syria have been strengthening ties recently. There are a few reasons that should be of concern.First off, there are rumors that Iraq's WMDs were smuggled into Syria. Being that both groups were dominated by Sunnis, that did not seem totally unrealistic. However, this article states that Syria sided with Iran

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1137340274165548252006-01-15T10:36:00.000-05:002006-01-15T11:51:30.923-05:00

Very well, I guess I'll do this too--Four jobs you’ve had in your life: Newspaper reporter, Fast Food production assistant (lol), official cookie handler, lab assistantFour movies you could watch over and over: Gladiator, SW Episode III, Independence Day, Hot ShotsFour places you’ve lived: Lincoln, LRH, Pennyroyal (only 3, sorry)Four TV shows you love to watch: most things on comedy central,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1137174762110335632006-01-13T12:41:00.000-05:002006-01-13T12:52:42.123-05:00

Not saying it is likely...not saying it is even a possibility at the moment. However, with the situation as it currently stands, how might we invade if the situation required it?There has been a major shift over the past few days as the E3 (England, Germany and France) have agreed that negotiations with Iran have failed and that the country should be referred to the UN Security Council.If an

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1136658952821757582006-01-07T13:10:00.000-05:002006-01-07T13:35:52.833-05:00

There are many different opinions on the causes for the end of the Cold War. Very likely, it took many events working with each other to spell the end of the Soviet Union. However, having just taken a class on the Cold War, I believe I have discovered a new cause that people don't talk about much.The arms race took place during much of the Cold War. Reagan breathed new life into it after

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1136317850351858342006-01-03T13:57:00.000-05:002006-01-03T14:50:52.683-05:00

We've been having problems with Iran for quite some time now. The Big Three in Europe haven't been able to accomplish anything of substance through negotiations. Iran recently turned down a Russian-brokered compromise. They refuse to compromise national control of their nuclear development in any way. This means one of two things. They are either bent on creating their own nuclear weapons or

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1133322875520062932005-11-29T22:40:00.000-05:002005-12-02T13:57:44.936-05:00

We talked about Africa in my foreign policy class tonight. Most of what I would say, I already said in a previous posting a while ago...but there are a few things I want to mention.Some true statements: Subsahara Africa generally has a security and corruption problem across the board. This leads to instability. This prevents foreign businesses from wanting to invest there. African

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1131262783148525252005-11-06T02:20:00.000-05:002005-11-06T02:39:43.160-05:00

LOLOkay, now that I've opened with that fitting remark, it's time to get down to business. They've been having trouble in France recently with rioting. The poor, minority (primarily Muslims) have been rioting around Paris. I heard on the news today that unemployment is 10% worse in the riotous suburbs than the national average...which sets unemployment at an incredible 30%! My understanding

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1129918364234879742005-10-21T12:44:00.000-05:002005-10-21T13:12:44.246-05:00

This is an interesting international issue that slipped past my radar. It was brought to my attention by my good friend, Drew. Here are two articles on it:http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__business/&articleid=253445http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/30/tech/main892400.shtmlI don't understand the details of the situation, but I'll go with what I have.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1129237365930525492005-10-13T15:35:00.000-05:002005-10-13T16:02:45.970-05:00

I am typically fairly pro-military. I believe in giving our troops the tools needed to fulfill their mission with a minimal loss of life. However, there is a problem with this mentality. The military, like any other organization will always ask for more. A little more could always make the difference and keep a few soldiers alive who would have died otherwise. The problem is that no matter

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1128231262875474022005-10-02T00:24:00.000-05:002005-10-02T00:34:22.883-05:00

In time of national emergency extending from military conflict, a nation's population must make a choice. It must decide how damaging being controlled by the opposing government would be. This conclusion inherently determines the level of freedoms which can be acceptably taken away. If a foreign power would take away all constitutional freedoms if it wins the conflict, then the citizenry

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1127282997265090332005-09-21T00:36:00.000-05:002005-09-21T01:09:58.276-05:00

We recently did a simulation in my American Foreign Policy class. We divided into groups and were supposed to come up with a solution to the present situation with Iran pursuing nuclear weapons. A few of the simulation details were altered from the real life situation, but the situation was the same for the most part. A few interesting ideas came out of our discussion.My first proposal for

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1126727839605860022005-09-14T14:42:00.000-05:002005-09-14T14:57:19.613-05:00

It is interesting looking at the 20th Century in the United States, or throughout our entire history for that matter. We have declared war few enough times to count on one hand. Yet, we have entered into a multitude of military conflicts. Why are some situations worthy of a declaration of war whereas others are merely 'conflicts'?When you consider the countries we have had "conflicts" with as

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1126645486319615992005-09-13T15:48:00.000-05:002005-09-13T16:04:46.326-05:00

A popular topic for debate is whether or not we should have dropped the atomic bomb on Japan. I have heard a lot of different ideas. The most popular, of course, is that we wanted to save American lives which would have been lost if we had invaded the island. The bombs possibly saved Japanese lives...which would have been lost as they would have defended the island to the last. The Manhattan

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1126385334450369122005-09-10T15:05:00.000-05:002005-09-10T15:48:54.456-05:00

So I'm in American Foreign Policy this semester. It has been interesting so far. Last class we were supposed to talk about what America's foreign policy should be. We've read The Pentagon Papers which espouse a completely Realist viewpoint. Simply put, the Papers surmise that America should do everything within its power to prevent other global, or regional powers from forming. The fear is

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1124335945145349582005-08-17T22:30:00.001-05:002005-08-17T22:32:25.153-05:00

I was reading the most recent issue of Army Times today and there were some interesting articles on “nation building” and “winning the peace.” These specific articles focused mainly on Iraq but they got me thinking, how convince an enemy that they’ve lost? To answer that question, I want to look at two of the most successful “nation building” ventures as well as one of the biggest failures and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1123895032684333262005-08-12T20:02:00.000-05:002005-08-13T11:52:23.316-05:00

I am hardly an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian situation as it presently stands. However, I was reading an article about it recently and had a few thoughts.Israel is pulling out of the Gaza Strip. So long as the Palestinians can enforce order when Israel is gone, I’d say this is a move in the right direction. “But they’re appeasing the terrorists!” some might say. This is untrue. Pulling out

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1123371206109771912005-08-06T18:07:00.000-05:002005-08-06T18:33:26.116-05:00

Al Qaeda is making threats again. They're saying that any country who supports the U.S. will be a target and the 9/11 attacks were only the tip of the ice burg. To prove this, they enginneered the attacks on Spain and more recently England. Instead of building bombs, they would be better off spending their money on a history course or two.Historically, England and the US have had very close

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1123302055900736042005-08-05T23:20:00.000-05:002005-08-05T23:20:55.906-05:00

Somebody give me a good topic to talk about. I've got nothing :-(

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1122787991493872912005-07-30T23:59:00.000-05:002005-07-31T00:33:11.503-05:00

Hello everyone,Yes I know I haven't posted anything for a while. Suffice it to say the 'spirit' hasn't moved me...until tonight. I've been reading a little Manstein recently, maybe that put me in the mood to think up and discuss controversial topics. In anycase, here goes:I've been giving some thought to the Africa situation. Yes the situation is bad there, yes they need immediate aid for

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1114631985312170812005-04-27T14:35:00.000-05:002005-04-27T14:59:45.316-05:00

I just recently finished up a paper for my Ancient Empires class on the topic of "Was Athens an empire?" In writing that paper, I had to take a good hard look at what exactly an empire is. How is it different than a kingdom or a dominion, etc. I came to the conclusion that while empires often exploit those under their control, that is not necessarily a characteristic of all empires all the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1114368136362952982005-04-24T12:36:00.000-05:002005-04-24T13:53:02.026-05:00

No, I'm not going to discuss communism vs capitalism. Rather, I want to spend a little bit of time dealing with Marx' idea of economic determinism. In a nutshell, society is driven far more by economic means and the struggle between classes than by any other cause. That's Marx' thought...but it is incorrect.Take any of the major turning points in the last five hundred years. The Reformation, the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1113961102071695172005-04-19T20:20:00.000-05:002005-04-19T20:38:22.073-05:00

They just selected a new pope. Joseph Ratzinger, a german. I don't know much about this guy, but from what I've read today, he sounds like he'll do a good job. He'll be contraversial, no doubt. However, with the abuse troubles the Catholic Church has had, a hardliner might do them some good. Plus this guy is already 78 so if things do go awry, somebody new will probably take over in 10-20

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1113750624659283312005-04-17T10:01:00.000-05:002005-04-17T10:10:24.660-05:00

I was at SteaknShake last night and I heard two political rumors that I want to put to rest once and for all. Now I realize I may start to sound quite rude...but when my BS detector goes off, that's what happens.First of all, China is indeed Communist. Saying it isn't is like saying Germany wasn't fascist just because it didn't follow the Italian model perfect. Italy was fascist first and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1113258564912569212005-04-11T17:12:00.000-05:002005-04-11T17:29:24.913-05:00

There is a place in the Republican party for moderates, traditional conservatives, and more radical elements.An unfortunate truth is that I hear hear time and time again the traditional conservatives and moderates derading their more extreme counterparts. The job of the extremers are to say and do off the wall things, without going too far. This gets attention.The very nature of traditional

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1112741069257587522005-04-05T17:05:00.000-05:002005-04-05T18:19:19.466-05:00

I was talking to one of my distinguished classmates earlier today about various issues which all revolved around centralized power in government to one degree or another.It is essential that any individual or group that does not desire to live in pure anarchy be willing to give up a certain amount of freedom to a centralized source. That source must be strong enough to effectively support the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1112230035527758402005-03-30T19:04:00.000-05:002005-03-30T19:47:15.530-05:00

After thinking about the end of yesterday's post a bit, I decided it could use some clarification.Essentially, the international power structure is in the shape of a pyramid. The US is at the top. Unquestionably superior economically and militarily to every other country in the world. Right below the U.S. are countries that are also especially powerful both economically and militarily, but

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1112146118817135022005-03-29T19:52:00.000-05:002005-03-29T20:28:38.820-05:00

Just a little note on Terry Schiavo,If she really lacks sentience, then what she wanted shouldn't matter. Her consciousness is gone. Therefore, there's no reason she should be killed if there are those who still want to hope that she'll come back. Mentally, she isn't there anyway so it doesn't matter to her if she's dead or alive. On the other hand, if she does have consciousness then killing

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1111859863648252632005-03-26T12:50:00.000-05:002005-03-26T12:57:43.650-05:00

We're in the process of selling a small number of F-16s to Pakistan and will probably be doing the same with India shortly. I realize that politically, we owe Pakistan a favor for the support we've received in the face of opposing popular sentiments over there. However, this is a country which leaked (intentionally or unintentionally) nuclear information to Lybia. At present, we're trying to

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1111725842344674832005-03-24T23:21:00.000-05:002005-03-24T23:44:02.346-05:00

One issue in the news today is the overthrow of the government in Kyrgyzstan. This is a small country that borders Russia in central (slightly eastern) Asia. The old government allowed us to base our planes there from which they run sorties in Afghanistan. That little bit suggests they have been an ally in the war on terror. I do not know the likely nature of the new government but I hope it

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658952.post-1111635188744050622005-03-23T22:17:00.000-05:002005-03-23T22:33:08.746-05:00

So I finally decided to begin a political oriented blog. I don't know how often I'll be updating this...but it seems like a good idea. Enough about that, time to move on to national and international news.First, Iraq. Things are going well. The first elected Iraqi government is in power. Hopefully they'll come up with a good constitution soon. We're on track to reduce the number of troops

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3