The Lost Generation

For decades, America has been in a slowly worsening state of stagnation that was initiated by the new neoliberal economics of the postwar era and has been perpetuated by the apathy and disillusionment of those living in the formidable shadow of the achievements of the greatest generation and the failures of its successors.

The United States emerged from the depths of the Great Depression into a chaotic world torn apart by the ceaseless march of progress, long smoldering ethnic and cultural rifts, and deep-seated differences in political ideology. When the bullets stopped flying, America alone stood largely undamaged, a powerhouse of industry with a booming economy, poised to recreate the shattered world in its own image. However, though fascism’s champions had been crushed, there remained another enemy with the potential to hamper America’s ability to exploit the markets recently created by the final collapse of old-style imperialism and the implementation of modern systems of government: the Soviet Union. The greatest generation responded to their newest challenge in much the same manner that it had dealt with their prior hurdles, by rallying around a common cause and working together to ensure success. They fought for democracy in the countries they felt threatened by the “communist hordes,” they accelerated scientific research at a rate never before seen by mankind, they funded development worldwide, and their efforts ultimately resulted in the crowning achievement of the human race, the landing of men on the moon.

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The Taxi Chronicles: Episode 2

GHANA - One Friday evening, my friends and I decided to go out to Oxford Street, one of the main streets in Ghana, to go to an Irish pub and, later, a street festival. A few acquaintances planned on taking tro-tros.

Tro-tros, which are the main form of transportation in Ghana, are medium-sized vans that have bench-style seating. Even though they’re not especially large, they are crammed full of people. I’ve been in one that had 27 people total inside. Tro-tros are generally pretty run down, but they’re a ridiculously inexpensive form of transportation. However, they’re also known for being somewhat dangerous, especially at night. In my time in Ghana, I’ve seen three nasty accidents where tro-tros were completely smashed in or flipped on their roof. On a different trip, one UC-EAP student actually died in a nighttime tro-tro accident. (more…)

Although Kennedy Has Gone, His Dream Will Never Die

Senator Edward Morse Kennedy, long known as the “liberal lion,” a champion of the causes of the disenfranchised and downtrodden, died Wednesday after a long battle with brain cancer. His death marks the end of the political powerhouse that was his generation of Kennedys, and although he lost all three of his brothers whom he admired so much long before he should have, he kept their dream of an America united through thick and thin, regardless of race, creed, sex, age or ability alive for decades. The tragedies he endured, as well as the scandals in which he was mired, did not undermine his political strength as it would have to so many others, but instead, with each time that he was broken, he would recover with his beliefs intact and his resolution stronger than ever before. (more…)

Ted Kennedy Passes; Hopefully, Obamacare Will Not

Newsweek, and the rest of the mainstream media, have lost their last lingering vestiges of credibility. After weeks of claiming that the recession is over, that we’re out of the woods and that Obama’s stimulus has “worked”, the latest jobless numbers show a worsening economy.

California, the nation’s most populous state and (formerly) the world’s tenth-largest economy all by itself, has a jobless rate of 11 percent. My stomping grounds, the Central Valley, have been particularly hard hit, with the water shortage-largely the work of our ineffectual state government and smothering regulations-killing of our agricultural jobs.  Las Vegas, Nevada has a jobless rate of over 13 percent. The dailynews.com reports that NYC has a jobless rate of 9.6 percent; not only is it the first time since November 2007 that the Big Apple’s unemployment rate has been higher than the national average , but it’s also the city’s highest unemployment rate in the last 12 years. As for the nation as a whole, unemployment stands at 9. percent, which leads me to ask, “Gee, Mr. President, didn’t you say a few months ago that, unless we act immediately, unless we pass the stimulus right now, that unemployment could reach 8 percent?” Well, here we are, stimulus passed, and unemployment is well over 8 percent. (more…)

Town Halls Actually a Cover for Republican Self-Help Meetings

John McCain’s town hall meeting in Sun City, Arizona, which was broadcast live Tuesday morning on CNN, was a surprising change from those that have been receiving the most air time as of late. Unlike town halls hosted by Democratic legislators, I was refreshed to see that there were no strung out right-wing extremists comparing Obama’s proposals to Nazi policies (although one would think that they would find those attractive), there were no screaming veterans, nor were there any sassy fifth-year seniors from the University of Colorado at Boulder challenging the President to an Oxford-style debate. However, my relief quickly turned to horror as I realized the truth of the situation: John McCain was standing in a church with a cadre of the elderly seated behind him in the choir section, and an even larger mob of seniors arrayed in front of him in the church’s seating. I could count the number of minorities in the audience on one hand, and the only young people present appeared to be McCain’s designated microphone caddy, a smiling Republican goon content to be a foot soldier for the conservative movement, and a wandering photographer. (more…)

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