Categories
Politics

Politics 2008

I usually don’t talk politics on here, or at least not blatantly. Well, I feel like I need to. Especially with the upcoming election. I am concerned with two fronts; the obvious, John McCain, and the not so obvious, voting.

John McCain. First off that name should scare you. It should send shivers down your spine and make you cold all over. People bitch and bitch about the state of our country yet the Republican candidate is a carbon copy of our current dictator…err..“President.” His stance on almost every issue is that of George Bush to a T. He supports the continued occupation of Iraq and the use of military force against nations like Iran. Why all the sudden are we becoming an militant nation? We have always had a military in case, but as of recent times (if you can call recent the past 8 years) we are just flexing our muscles. We are like that geek who took up Karate to learn self defense, but now is a complete jack-ass and wants to fight anyone who questions his methods or gets in his way. We used to be a nation of negotiators, but now all we have is our guns to hide behind. Sometimes use of force is justified. If negotiations fail and you have no choice, but defense. Sure, stand up for yourself, but non of this “preemptive strike” bullshit. This nation can’t stand another 4 years under the same rule. It can’t. We would come out the other side completely ravaged.

I would like to state that this is going to cover far more topics now that I am writing.

John McCain just recently chose a VP by the name of Sarah Palin. Arguably this name should frighten you more than Mr. McCain’s. She is one wack-a-do nutjob. I mean not only has she had next to zero experience. The “experience” she does have is being mayor and governor of ALASKA for 2 years. It’s like McCain put zero thought into it. He just threw a dart at a map and said “THAT’S THE ONE!” Here is some of the stuff that scares the poop out of me:

  • Wants to teach creationism
  • Self-proclaimed religious nut
  • Thought dinosaurs existed only 4000 years ago
  • In true republican fashion, has a 17-year-old pregnant daughter even though religion dictates NO SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE.
  • Somehow believes that troops in Iraq keep us safe here.
  • Thinks Iran is dangerous to the whole world.

You know what scares me even more than that; she has a shot at becoming the next President. I mean lets face it, McCain and dinosaur bones might come up with the same number in a Carbon dating test. According to actuarial tables McCain has a good chance of “buying the farm” within his presidential term. (*shutter* I just said “his presidential term”)

We need a change. We need a dramatic change. The current status is appalling. We don’t have time either. Other countries are already passing us by. You know what, THEY DESERVE TO TOO! They got their act together and although we might scoff at some of their methods for doing so. It worked. We need to get the United States back to a nation to be proud of. A nation where people used to come from all over just for a shot at the “American dream.”

Now I will tell you know. I am about the biggest anti-socialist person you will meet. I think the government should be small and do what a government is supposed to do. i.e. Protect our property. The smaller the government the less the manpower and money needed, the less taxes, etc. I am also a stone cold capitalist. People HATE stone cold capitalist. It’s because it’s just that, cold. Capitalism has no feeling or morality. It’s pure money. The market controls everything and I really think that’s the way it should be. On a side note, if you think this country is capitalist you are really deluding yourself. Having probably made myself a few enemies with the previous statements, I support Barrack Obama. Between the two viable candidates he is by far more socialist, but he brings change. It is a change we so sorely need. On top of his ideals, he is a very articulate and educated man. We need someone with some goddamn brains in the white house. He bring so much to the table and although it is impossible to expect him to fix everything, and completely unfair to expect that from him; he can start the process to turn it around.

With all this information I bring you to my final portion of my rank. It is pointed squarely at you! The vote turn out in the United States is something you all should be ashamed of. We are given the opportunity to decide our leaders. All the way back 200 years ago our forefathers started a war for our independence just because we didn’t have a say. The voter turn out is roughly half That means HALF of you are not voting. For what reason? Too lazy? Bitching because you think you vote doesn’t count? Well get off your sorry asses and go vote. You know how you can insure your vote doesn’t count? Don’t vote. Then your voice is gone forever. If you do happen to miss voting on election day, you better shut that damn mouth of yours about anything that is going on because you have officially lost the right to complain about this country. There is literally a million opportunities to register to vote. Especially in college. I have witnessed three events just walking by trying to get people to register. It’s such an easy process and it takes almost no effort at all. The best part is you can enact change. You, personally, can make your voice heard. Wasting that right is like spitting in the faces of our forefathers and people who’s nations don’t have elected officials.

The big point of this is that we are in trouble people. Everyone in this nation. We can change it, but it is on us. Accept what has happened, realize our status, and being taking responsibility.

Categories
Music Politics

Rantings

I was listening to Godspeed You! Black Emperor today while I was in the library and the whole album revolved around this guy’s rant about the government. Well about 3/4 into the album he says a poem and I thought it was very well written. so here it is.

There’s an evil virus that’s threatening mankind
It’s not state of the art, it’s a serious state of the mind
The muggers, the backstabbers, the two faced elite
A menace to society, a social disease
To brainwash the mind is a social disorder
The cynics, the apathy one-upmanship order
Watching beginnings of social decay
Gloating and sneering at life’s disarray
Eating away at your own self esteem
Pouncing on every word that you might be saying
To attack someone’s mind is a social disorder
The constitution, the government, martial law order
Superficially smiling a shake of the hand
As soon as your back is turned treason is planned
When every good thing’s laid to rest
By the governments hate, by the constitution and their lies
And every time you think you’re safe
And when you go to turn away
You know they’re sharpening all their knives
All in your mind
All in your head
Try to relate it
All in your mind
All in your head
Try to escape it
Without a conscience they destroy
And that’s a thing that they enjoy
They’re a sickness that’s in all of our minds
They want to sink the ship and leave
The way they laugh at you and me
You know it happens all the time
But it only happens in your mind
The rats in the cellar you know who you are…
Or do you?
Watching beginnings of social decay…

Categories
Japan Personal Philosophy Politics

Never again.

This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to hear a recount from an actual hibakushya or atomic bomb survivor. Sachiko Masuoka was only 18 when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. It was such a weird way in how she told her story. She didn’t show much emotion or anything. There was no tears or being choked up. I can’t say, but I speculate when something like that happens coupled with the amount of time that has passed between then and now you kind of just block it out. You can’t possibly go on unless you deal with it and I feel she dealt with it long ago. It was just horrific some of the stuff she told. It’s something you imagine seeing in a movie, but can’t possible comprehend it happening in real life. I am still in awe of how a nation, a group of humans, could possibly make a decision like that, and not just once, but twice. You can spout wartime jargon at me until you are blue in the face, but the truth is there is no justification for using such a weapon. None. It is such an important issue and it’s almost never talked about. Even in our history books all we see is a 1 page blurb about it. How can you skip over something so very significant? It’s so SO very pertinent to what is going on today. The world is at a tipping point right now with nuclear weapons. If one, JUST ONE nation agrees that it is better to wipe another off the face of the earth instead of live, the human race is gone. The bombs at Nagasaki and Hiroshima were ridiculously powerful, but they were on the scale of kilotons or a number 1×10^3. The bombs we have now are measured in MEGATONS or 1×10^6. I know numbers are not everyone’s best way of representing something, but just thing about it. 2^3 = 8 and 2^6 = 64 that’s 8 times more. That’s just using 2 since it’s an exponent is can’t be represented linearly without logging the bases. I’m getting off track with math. If you have ever seen pictures of the destruction of Nagasaki and Hiroshima just think of that times 8. It’s almost impossible to imagine the damage that did happened let alone times a factor of 8. The important thing take away from this is we must as a nation, as a world, erase nuclear weapons. Erase it from all nations. Destroy all of them. Immediately. I have never felt as much shame as I did this weekend. I can’t believe I am a citizen of a nation that is capable of such absolute destruction. It makes me sick to think that a collection of people could OK that. I am going to include a collection of art I have found around the internet from hibakushya. I think that drawings and paintings more than any other medium can convey the feeling of this event. Pictures are just caps of real life. Drawings and paintings contain emotions and feelings that photography is incapable of capturing. Tears actually came to my eyes when looking at some of these. Please take them time to examine them and to look into the entire event. It’s part of human history and it’s something that needs to be prevented from happening again. I am leaving names and titles of the pieces off so you can get what you will from it without external influence.