On Saturday morning (today) I was meeting my group for an accounting project on the bottom floor of the Carlson School of Management (one of the Midwest's top business schools). There's an anti-war conference going on at the school and a socialist group has a table set up. I can't help but think that maybe the socialists could be looking for a more likely audience than students who are studying for the sole purpose of profiting off of capitalism! Obviously they did not take any marketing classes, maybe because they wouldn't want to take any of those evil business classes, but who knows. Anyways, it made me somewhat upset, and Jesse wants me to post, so it is what it is.
Welcome to the A-times Mayank! Im sure you'll have plenty to say, and maybe i'll be posting regularly sometime soon!
After all the instability that has occured in Iraq, including the assassination of the head of the governing council, there has been much speculation that Blair and Bush are going to pull out of the country. This is a mistake that we cannot afford to make. If we were to pull out, it would be a decision made in order to save political careers, a very stupid reason to abandon a country that we have an obligation to help rebuild. What happens in Iraq will decide what is going to determine the future of the Middle East for as far as the eye can see. If Iraq could become a flourishing country where citizens are given freedoms, the entire Middle East will progress towards greater liberalism as well. If the US and UK withdraw their troops, extremists will have won yet another victory and fundamentalism and totalitarianism will continue to reign over the Middle East. The United States will be dragged into the region time after time as the threat of international terrorism will continue to grow if something is not done in the Arab World. The United States must not waiver.
To show you just what a tool John Kerry is, I don't care who wins the election. I think that the same policies are going to be carried out regardless. I can't think of any clear cut differences between the candidates, so as usual the status quo is going to be maintained.
What is the deal with The Passion anyways? Personally, I don't want to pay $7.00 to see a guy flogged for 2 hours, but I think that the ADL and Simon Weisenthal Center, organizations which I respect, should be spending their time fighting real anti-semitism, rather than a religious movie which most critics, including Conservative Judaism, agree is not anti-semetic. In Saudi Arabia, they ban Jewish people from getting Visas to enter the country. Now that is real anti-semitism. In Egypt, the state sponsored television ran a miniseries on "The Elders of Zion," a book which claims Jews conspire to conquer the world. That is anti-semitism. From what I've heard, "The Passion" bends backwards to shy away from blaming the Jews. I hope that now that it is out I hope the controversy is put to rest.
I am not going to give the movie a free pass on violence however. I do not necessarily blame the movie for being violent, but idiot audience members who think seeing it is part of their children's religious education. Roger Ebert, who has seen thousands of movies over the years, said that "The Passion" was the most violent and gory one he has ever seen. I see pictures on CNN of children waiting in line to see it. This is unacceptable. From what i've heard, the Movie is boarderline NC-17. Parents should know much better, especially since it has an R rating already.
After Howard Dean's blowup after Iowa, I think that he is getting some very unfair press. People are portraying him as a crazy man, but all that was was one incident where he got excited. He has been totally minimized now, and I think that it's unfair. I feel rather bad for him actually.
OK, I am sick and tired of U-F's censorship on the AP Gov forum, so for old time sake....FUCK YOU ALL!!! YOU ARE ALL FUCKING MORONS AND DESERVE TO ROT AWAY IN A PILE OF SHIT!!!
Ok, I just needed to get some "inappropriateness" out of my system. Thanks.
OK, Dean's going to go down. Most people agree that he's going to be the nomination. His platform is all about anger, and I don't think that an angry candidate is ever going to be able to win the electorate. He also comes off as some kind of a snob, something, though George Bush may be one, he doesn't come off as one. Finally, Dubbya has a lot of things going for him. The economy is great, he has been able to push through medicare and educations legislation, not to meantion the tax-cuts. The only thing that Bush's opponents can bash him on is Iraq, and even then, Bush has instant credibility just because he's President. So Dean's going down. Dubbya's president until January 2009, when Hilary Clinton will be sworn in.
"What did everyone think of the Pledge? Does it abridge civil liberties? Is it a blatantly political move by a conservative government in the face of an upcoming presidential election? Your call, not mine."
1st: Giving people the option to say the pledge or not does not abridge civil liberties because you can choose your course of action.
2nd: The bill had broad support from conservatives and liberals, so it was not a political move by a "conservative government"
3rd: The vote had nothing to do with the presidential election because it was passed on the state level, so they really are not affected if Bush is elected or not.
The Democrats really need to get their act together. With the coming of Presidential election season, 2/3 of people have no idea who any democratic presidential candidate is and the party itself is in shambles, unable to agree on anything. With Howard Dean as the frontrunner for the Presidential nomination, I would be really concerned if I was a democrat. Bush leaves so much to be desired, and can be probably beaten on almost every issue imaginable, yet he is leading in nearly every poll taken. The democrats fail to capture the public's imagination the way they used to and are in need of a major makeover. Unless one of the current candidates is able to change the face of the party, which doesn't look likely, we can look foreward to four more years of Dubbya.
