Obama for Reelection

Alright guys this is kind of old news, but it's been a while and I figured I would fill you in. President Obama announced last week that he would be running for reelection in the upcoming election of 2012. This has been expected for a while, but now it's official. This move will allow him to begin raising funds twenty months before the election, and money is important. Not really much to say right now, but we know who the Democratic candidate is and we'll see how this election turns out.

New Posts Coming!

Well it's been a long break and I apologize for anyone reading, but it's time to get back into the swing of things. New posts coming soon.

Egypt and al Qaeda

With the Egyptian revolution completely changing the Middle Eastern political landscape, it's interesting to look at a group like al Qaeda and think about what might happen to it in the near future. That area of the world is completely changing; the people are tired of the fear and stagnation al Qaeda has lived off of for so many years, and with democracy being the people's number one goal, al Qaeda may be antiquated and obsolete very soon. A terrorist group like al Qaeda simply can't function when all citizens are functioning members of government. The article goes on to discuss the possible survival or death of al Qaeda from all these protests and revolutions, but it's becoming clear that, if the people choose, they won't have to live in fear anymore.

Why Arab Spring could be al Qaeda's fall

Clinton Wants Internet Freedom

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is calling for Internet freedom on a global scale. She sees the restrictive Internet use in countries like China and Syria and wants that to end. Clinton sees the Internet as a place where free expression should be available to all who connect to it, no matter where they're from. I would tend to agree with her to a point. I do think it's wrong to take away people's freedoms, whether in cyberspace or not, and I do think it's wrong to keep people in fear of fines or prison because of what they say on the Internet. Take a look around the state of global politics and you'll see several nations rising up against oppression and taking government into their own hands. The Internet is just another way to oppress a people, so let's give everyone one more freedom. However, the article mentions the United States encouraging people to get around filters and censors, and I don't think it's the U.S.'s responsibility to have citizens of other countries disobey their country. We have no purpose in getting involved in these affairs, and I think it's time for us to stop mediating every global conflict and start fixing our domestic problems.

Clinton calls for global recognition of Internet freedom

Egyptian Revolution Ends

I'm happy to say, after (relatively) peaceful protesting the past 18 days, the Egyptian people finally got their way and the three decades of Mubarak's reign is over. I have to say, this is pretty exciting. It's showing that people on that side of the world are starting to realize the rights they deserve, are willing to fight for them, and are actually succeeding. If, and probably when, other countries follow suit, we may experience a huge political shift on one of the most oppressed sides of the planet.

New Updates Begin

Updates will start back up again tomorrow. Check back often.

Mubarak Stepping Down

If you've been following the news at all lately, you'll know about the turmoil in Egypt surrounding president Hosni Mubarak. Many Egyptians have wanted him to step down immediately and were protesting him running for re-election as well. It was just announced moments ago that neither Mubarak nor his son will run for Egyptian President next election. Hopefully this will cool Egypt down somewhat, and the tension will begin to cease. Many demonstrators will still likely call for his immediate resignation. We'll still have to wait and see how all this turns out and if the Egyptian military steps in, but for now this should be a step in the right direction.

Egypt's Mubarak will not seek re-election

Palin Criticizes The President

Sarah Palin had harsh words for the president after his State of the Union address, saying that he is disconnected from reality and saying his speech was filled with "a lot of WTF moments." This is making fun of the president's 'Winning the Future' initiative that he announced during the speech, as well as making fun of the speech overall. I think it's ironic that Sarah Palin would make fun of anyone for giving a bad speech, especially her nation's president, considering she choked everytime she was in front of an audience or camera and continues to look like a fool to this day. She gained fame for saying stupid things; I don't know if she realizes that nobody in the political world takes her seriously. It's about time she just goes away.

Palin on Obama's speech: WTF?

(Another) Apology

Hey guys I just wanted to apologize again for not updating like I'd like to. I hate not getting something out there each day, but I've been busy and sometimes it's hard to put time aside for blogging. Anyway I hope you all have been keeping up on some current events, maybe you even watched the State of the Union Address last night. I encourage you all to pay attention to what's going on and I'll be back soon.

Hu and Obama Meet

Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President Barack Obama met today for several hours to discuss such issues as global economy, international security, the environment, and human rights. President Obama felt this was the opportunity to lay a foundation for 30 years of good Sino-American relations. The White House held a formal dinner for Hu, and the visit appears to be going well. Now just because a world leader comes to the White House doesn't mean America and that country are automatically on good terms, but having a meeting like this between the leaders of two of the most influential countries in the world has to be healthy. There will always be tension between China and the U.S., but it's important for both sides to understand each other and learn how to benefit from each other. Trips like this are pretty commonplace, but getting those two together can't be a bad thing.

U.S., China pledge cooperation on key issues

The President's Speech

First of all, I'd like to apologize again for not updating this thing for a few days. I had a busy weekend and could only find time on Sunday afternoon to get on a computer.

Anyway, I know I'm a little late but I just wanted to talk about President Obama's memorial speech at Tucson. If you haven't seen it, you can view it here. I thought he did a great job of keeping his focus on the people involved in the Giffords shooting, and keeping politics out of the mix. He seemed sincere and genuinely upset about the incident. Amidst all the finger pointing and blaming that occurred because of the shooting, the president stepped up and focused on what really matters. Even Glenn Beck was happy with the speech, and that's saying something.

That's really all I had to say and I apologize for being so late in the game. But if you haven't watched the speech, I suggest you watch at least part of it. Let's hope the shooting and the president's reaction to it can clean up politics at least a little bit.

Twitter and the President

With President Obama preparing to give a memorial speech in Tucson tonight, Twitter is offering a way for all users to tell the president what they think he should say. By tweeting the hash tag #Obamashouldsay, anyone with a Twitter account can make suggestions on what they think the president should discuss tonight. So go ahead and try it if you want, hey you never know, maybe you'll hear him talking about your topic tonight.

What should POTUS say tonight? Check Twitter

Politicians Tone It Down After Shooting

Prior to the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, politicians were really stepping up the harshness and partisianship of their messages. Some even blame the inciteful language of politicians for causing the Tucson shooter to do what he did. Ironically, Giffords herself called for a need to "tone our rhetoric and partisianship down" the day before she was shot. Sarah Palin posted an image of crosshairs over the congressional districts of 20 Democrats. The speech in and around Congress was becoming violent, hateful, and nasty. Sadly, it took a tragedy for politicans to come to their senses and realize the need to tone down their speech, but things should now lighten up somewhat nonetheless. American politics is known to be toxic and unforgiving, and I think sometimes we lose sight of what's really important in the midst of all the competition and partisianship: bettering America as a nation and helping out her citizens. It's time for all politicians to take a step back and realize that we're all in this together, and we all want to make this country a better place.

Weight of words in focus after Arizona shooting

Limbaugh Defends Republicans in Giffords Shooting

Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh defended himself and other Republicans today after accusations from the left that their inciteful and charged words drove Jared Lee Loughner, the main suspect in the Giffords shooting, to do what he did. Although Limbaugh and others like him do say some outrageous and stupid things on the air, it's unfair to play the blame game in the midst of this tragedy. It's not right for liberals to blame an entire group of people who had absolutely nothing to do with the crime, and there's no way I could justify getting even the slightest bit angry at Limbaugh for defending himself. It's actually pretty sad that politics can find a way to turn something like this into a chance to blame the other party.

Limbaugh says Dems playing politics with Giffords shooting

Republican Presidential Run Heats Up

Little known Republican Tim Pawlenty, who will likely be running for president this upcoming election, had a few words to say about Sarah Palin Friday on Nightline. He noted Palin being a household name in the U.S., and that it will be hard to stop someone who is so well known and has so much influence. However, he says, he's not afraid of running against Palin. Overall his words were pretty positive, he really didn't slam Palin at all. But while it is true to recognize how well known she is, I don't think any candidate should be too afraid of Palin beating him or her out.

Pawlenty not afraid of Palin

Children and the Right to Vote?

It's no surprise to anyone that the decisions being made today are affecting our generation and the generations to come even after us. Most of the decisions are hurting us more than helping. So the question is, should children have a vote? As the baby boomers age, they're going to want their piece of the pie and that means growing the national debt more and more. Baby boomers come out in large numbers to vote, so to counter their vote, the idea of children voting has been discussed. I think it's a bad idea because most kids are influenced by what their parents believe, and would vote blindly. I think us kids will be a generation that sends the U.S. in the right direction, but it's not our time for that kind of decision making yet. Parents of children might be given the extra votes instead of the children themselves, but it's safe to say more parents would vote for their own interests, not the interests of their child. I just don't see this ever happening and I don't see the benefits of something like this outweighing the potential abuse of power it could create.

Should children have the right to vote?

Republicans in 2012 Election

As the Republicans are getting ready to start their presidential campaign, the media asked several prominent Republicans who they think will ultimately be the candidate. Columnist George Will ruled out Sarah Palin completely, saying she just wouldn't be able to get the vote of the moderates. He's actually looking at Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels to be the Republican canidate, if he decides to run. Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey thought Palin could become the Republican candidate if she were to focus on the fiscal issues that moderates care about. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham felt that Mitt Romney would be the best choice for the Republicans. It's still early, but the Republican party clearly isn't ready to endorse a single candidate. It'll be interesting to see who will step up to race against, presumably, President Obama.

Palin 2012: can she win or can't she?