Life going nowhere

Ever get that feeling that your life is going nowhere and that it’s spinning out of control? Yeah? I can relate, hella. I seriously feel as if my life’s going nowhere at the moment, just a wait and see approach. But, there’s no point in complaining, as it won’t change the situation. We all need to see this fact for what it is: If one doesn’t care for one’s current state in life, they can change it with the right opportunity.

This is my opportunity and it’s really time to move on with my life. Don’t worry more posts to come, stay tuned.

Katie Cole's New Album: "Lay It All Down"

I first want to say that this is a post dedicated to the successful album launch by my friend, +KatieColeOfficial.

Katie Cole has done wonders putting together her new album Lay It All Down, and I believe I owe it to her to write this out. Much of the newer music is actually very captivating as in it's something I can relate to personally, but I think she makes it very clear about how we all go through the grinds of life, both the positives and the negatives. I would say overall, if there could be any additions, it would be a message to everyone that always keep one's eyes open (essentially using the old Russian proverb of trust, but verify).

This is +jgsf1987.

Tea Party Republicans and Beating War Drums

First of all, I think it'd be right to start off with this picture:

Yeah, it's a good laugh in the sense that +The Tea Party has no intellectual means of expressing their rage with +Barack Obama. However, one should not make the mistake that there's a second message, one where we need to punish Russia militarily for mocking us. I've heard of wars starting over circumstances even goofier than this, but this is no laughing matter. Here's the story from Addicting Info. A war with Russia, would cause more problems than anyone should care to think about. I mean, we're talking the world's largest stockpile of Nuclear Weapons.

Anyway, I find it infuriating listening to politicians such as +Lindsey Graham and +John McCain, talking eagerly about getting into another war, as if they simply want a first resort military option. That's not an effective foreign policy. Next of all, what is the point in going after Russia militarily? What do they have that we want? Oil? Natural Gas? News Flash: we have more natural gas than they do, and as for oil, there's a boom in North Dakota. Translation: We don't need it. Outside of their space program, and maybe new trade partnerships, there's nothing to gain from going after the Russians in a military sense.

Picture Credit: +Daryl Cagle 

Situation in Ukraine

Watching the events unfold in the ongoing war of words between Russia and Ukraine, I find it reletively unsurprising that +Vladimir Putin  would attempt something so bold. He’s causing mischief abroad to soak up support at home as a means of distracting the Russians from a practically free-falling economy. As a good means of keeping public support up at home meant attacking another sovereign nation within the "Near Abroad." By doing this, Putin's showed a complete disregard for any agreements that Russia's signed in helping to shape international law. In addition, it shows a complete disregard for any international law and national sovereignty of Russia's neighbors, this time being Ukraine. However, I will say this about Russians as a people: most are not like the current leadership in Moscow. As a people, they're largely docile and peaceful, and some of the most pleasant to be around. Another thing to bear in mind about Russian culture is that the people place a lot more emphasis on intellectuallism and pragmatism, rather than fierce ideology and violence.

All this mischief making was bound to get Putin in trouble sooner or later, and I think now it's pretty much gotten him in a deep hole. There's no denying it; even as events unfold in his favor, Putin's largely alienated any good will from national leaders (such as +Barack Obama and +Angela Merkel) that he needs to keep Russia afloat. Just as much as the West cannot get anywhere in solving problems without Russia, as history has proven time and again, the inverse is also true, as Russia cannot get anywhere solving problems at least current ones without the West. Both Obama and Merkel have noted a recent, yet disturbing, trend with Putin as of late, it's as if he's losing all connection to reality. If anything, an aggressive foreign policy and a leader whose spoken lines are badly slurred, it signals only one thing, a leader corrupted by vast power and money. Yet at the same time, Putin's also been saying several factors have to be strung together to get Russia's recognition of Ukraine's new governing administration, some of which do not coincide with each other. That's a sign also that someone's on the verge of a complete breakdown.

Turning to Ukraine, the deposed president of that nation, +Viktor Yanukovych, was an acolyte of Putin's, who only won the presidency in 2010 due to Putin's help. If anything, that's a classic case of Russia meddling in the affairs of its neighbors. Now that Yanukovych has lost power by fleeing to Moscow, he now has nothing to return to. The party that backed him, the Party of Regions, has said quite flatly they will not give him an ounce of support. It's apparent now that any return by Yanukovych to Ukraine would certainly see his arrest for his handling of the protests to start opening up the political rings to help solve problems, and his orders to violently suppress the protests in complete disregard of his citizen's lives. However, by fleeing to Russia, Yanukovych now has no connection to Ukraine at all, and now cannot credibly say anything on the people's behalf.

Dishonoring Our Nation’s Vets

Alright, I think that it’s better to start off by saying that the Republicans in Congress are complete chicken-hawks, and I’m being very kind in saying that. Basically, I don’t see why they can’t just bother to live up to the deal they made vets of this nation: don the uniform to defend us and we’ll cover your cost of living. That’s how it should be, but lately Republicans in Congress have been wrapping themselves in the flag, while paying lip service to the after-effects.

If anything, the Republicans have been using war and the troops as political pawns to gain any advantage in their quest to destroy the Democrats. This is beyond disgraceful, and it shows why the Republican Party has become the Party of Corruption. It needs to quit and do so now, if it wants to retain any credibility with the American electorate. If there’s anything that we as Americans dispise more than anything, it’s politicizing the military. The military is apolitical for a reason, it represents everyone and is a unified voice in our country’s defense.