“I emphasized that this has to be a point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter based on improved governance, a much more serious effort to eradicate corruption, joint efforts to accelerate the training of Afghan security forces so that the Afghan people can provide for their own security.”
-President Barrack Hussein Obama
You just have to love how Obama stands by his principles! Ahmadinejad steals an election in Iran, and the most “the greatest orator of our time” can manage is a tepid wag of his finger. The people of Honduras peacefully (and by legal means) expel a Castro-Chavez-wannabe for trying to illegally alter the constitution, and Obama cries bloody murder. And now the Afghanistan re-vote, called because of rampant fraud in the first one, is cancelled, giving Karzai the presidency once more (and less democratic legitimacy than George W. during his first time), and Obama is all smiles and praises. Finally, when a Muslim Army Major kills a dozen people, rather than focusing his whole speech on it, he gives it a passing mention, after an off-script “shout out” to a man he claimed had won the Congressional Medal of honor, but who had, in fact, actually won the Medal of Freedom; it’s surprising mistake for Obama to make, especially seeing as he was the one who presented him with the medal. [1]I tell you, this guy is already as disgraceful as George Bush, and it’s only his first year! (more…)
My relationship with Halloween is what you might call “complicated.” I love the creativity and positive energy of our students dressing up. I love this Gaucho spirit and unity. Only at UCSB do you see your Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, and Dean of Students come out to greet the crowds of students on D.P. on Halloween night.
I don’t like the violence, ass grabbing, fighting, property damage, and all the trash. Last year, Halloween fell on a Friday. In spite of the rain, over 45,000 people came to I.V. There were over 230 arrests made and 560 citations given out (instead of treats). 55 people were transported for emergency care and over 50 cars were towed. Two people fell off the cliffs.
This year we will have around 250 police officers on the streets, on horses, and conducting DUI checkpoints. But, if we have the same or more visitors as last year, it will take more than just the police to keep the peace over the weekend. Here are a few simple things you can do to help: (more…)
Our country’s pathetic excuse for an “organized” left, the Democratic Party, has once again begun to disappoint, much to the dismay of those that the party so vigorously claims to represent. Although time and again the Democrats have promised massive change and reform for America, the postwar and post-FDR left in the United States is somehow still reeling from an identity crisis that subverts its platform when viewed in the limelight. Aside from the four years of Carter and the twelve years of Reagan (ok, and Bush), the presidency has pretty much followed the eight-year cycle of alternating stewardship shared by the Democrats and the Republicans since the end of the Second World War. (more…)
On October 3rd, 2009 Saturday Night Live mocked President Obama as a man elected “to bring this country change we could believe in”, but who has thus far accomplished “jack and squat”. Less than a week later, President Obama is the “surprised and deeply humbled” recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the Peace Prize is to be awarded “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” (more…)
Apparently our Dear Leader is being considered for a Nobel Peace Prize. The rational questions of course are “Why?” and “For what?” The answer to the former is “Because he’s the first Black president, and because he’s a European-style socialist.” As cynical as that may seem, it’s actually pretty much the situation. Here in Ireland, most of the people I’ve met seem to very much like Obama but are unable to articulate why they like him so much. They always mention how he’s the historic first African-American president in a country with a long history of racial discrimination, but beyond that, they can’t name a single accomplishment of his aside from his being elected, and are usually shocked when told that his administration has even further polarized the electorate. (more…)
In the middle of his show that aired on September 24, 2009, after playing a clip of schoolchildren celebrating Barack Obama’s being the first black President by singing a song (during Black History Month) to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic that lauded the President’s accomplishments, Glenn Beck encouraged Americans to “listen to the gift of fear: it’s there for a reason.” Wow, thanks for the inspiring words Glenn. I can’t think of a less helpful thing to say to an already terrified public mired in the midst of a recession that, while slowly lessening its grip on the American economy, remains a painful reality for many of those who have already or are about to lose their jobs or houses, not to mention the other things they already fear thanks to the 24/7/365 inundation of information that is omnipresent in today’s society. (more…)
There were many things that I noticed as different and new my first day here in Dublin. The weather, for one, was so different from that of the hot, dry, stifling Central Valley, or that of sunny, sea breeze-swept Santa Barbara. Cars are driven here on the left side of the road, ice tea is nowhere to be found, and I, aged twenty, was able to drink legally. But what struck me the most were the political posters. I soon learned that on October 2nd of this year, Ireland will vote on the Lisbon Treaty for the second time, with massive implications for the future of Ireland, the European Union, and Europe itself. (more…)
A few days ago, my fellow Daily Nexus political blogger Audrey wrote a piece detailing the “disinformation” that she believed Obama was spreading about health care reform. After reading her post, and feeling entirely unmoved vaguely interested, I knew that my terrible impulse control would, per usual, betray me and before I realized it, my fingers were already flying. While I will not deny that I left a somewhat snarky comment, her response to my comment bewildered me. She wrote, sarcastically of course, that next time she wrote a post she would not, and I quote, “back up [her] statements with so many facts; it might send the left into a tailspin.” While I would not exactly call my five sentence, one paragraph response a “tailspin,” it was her sheer confidence in her beliefs and unquestioning loyalty to her party’s line that really blew me away, not her attempt to hurt my feelings by referring me to the dictionary. (more…)