Worst Corruption in America

In all my life, I have never seen corruption quite this bad. For many Americans, this holds particularly true, and for those around the world. America does not need to be this way, but with all our new gadgets and other distractions, this situation is exactly as those on top want it to be. Corruption has marred Americans’ belief in both the political and judicial systems, as well as in the media, religion and other institutions. Where does this all come from? Well start thinking back to the decade before the Reagan debacle and the catastrophes of its horrid legacy. If there was one thing, we can be thankful to Pres. Ronald Reagan for; the massive deregulation that he put in place that allowed these powerful corrupt forces to become involved in our daily lives again. Everyone thought that generations of past years solved these issues a long time earlier, but apparently the Baby Boom generation, who helped to put Reagan into office, did not bother to read its horrible history about how deregulation, and some cases non-regulation, can lead to massive economic disasters. All it took in 2008 was a credit/financial crisis to pull the country to its knees and force the American people to tackle the corruption in front of them. So far, it looks like the corrupt will not only win, but will stay in place forever. I credit Pres. Obama and the Occupy and Tea Party movements for getting this conversation started, but I seriously think that they will not succeed in changing our current situation. The status quo will stay intact and Pres. Obama will not be in office come Nov. 2012 and Jan. 2013. The reason: the radicalized forces of the corrupt status quo are willing to rig the electoral and judicial systems to the point so that they can defend their economic dominance. Just watch, they did it under Bush (using the Republicans as their pawns), they will do it again. I just hope that this time, they will not be successful, but I know it is completely wishful thinking.

At what point will the American people say enough? Probably sooner, or probably not at all, depending on how far the right pushes them. Yes, I will admit, I am a hard-hitting, despicable, no-good, loony liberal, but the fact is that I really do not think that it is the government’s place to be taking resources away from people who need those the most to give to those who really are without any to begin with. Not to mention, there is no reason to be eradicating people’s rights in order to achieve some political agenda, nor is there any reason for discrimination, or in some cases segregation, to return. Lastly, whose stupid idea was it to make unregulated capitalism our law? I really do not understand the logic of the Republican Party or the Conservative movement in general to undo what Pres. Roosevelt put in place in the 1930s. They kept us from getting into a bunch of crises like our current one for nearly fifty years (1933-81). I really think that to allow corporations to monitor and enforce compliance upon them and privatizing the entire system, from election and government posts and benefits to justice is among the dumbest ideas ever. It sends the message that only those who can pay or who are of a specific race or background have the ability to get justice, while others have to suffer, as they must for being the worst infections to society. To me, this is exactly like living in Nazi Germany again, only this is 21^st Century America. We can be better, but we need to change our thinking.

**An update to al readers**

While many of these concerns of mine have so far not unfolded as of yet or at all. Pres. Obama is clearly still in office as of January 2009, having won another term in November 2012 (I know, old news). However, some things have come close to what I was scared of happening. For one thing, the Republicans are trying new gimmicks to rig the electoral college again, in addition to having a green light from the Supreme Court to engage in voter suppression across the states. In addition, they're trying to set the scene for taking away basic rights that we as Americans have, and are looking to expand their ability to wage further indefinite perpetual warfare, which we'll be paying for not only in dollars, but in blood. For what? Crusades to de-Islamify the Middle East (to Republicans in Congress all Muslims are Infidels, though not all voting Republicans think this way).

Even though segregation has not become law of the land as of yet, it's always a concern that it will be. I'm exceedingly opposed to any efforts, to quote the late Strom Thurmond, to prevent, "The amalgomation of the races", as it will only create a permanent underclass of second-class citizens. History proves time and again, that subjecting people who are different to permanent second-class citizenship is an invitation to open rebellion and/or possible revolution. Think of the Civil Rights Movement. Even though it was non-violent under the direction of Martin Luther King, it was an open revolution against the Jim Crow system. That didn't mean the activists and protesters didn't lose their lives, as they did. The resistance to the Civil Rights Movement was often violent and was joined frequently by local and sometimes State law enforcement.

Far-Right at it again

How the heck is this reality shaping up? I understand that people are pissed and frustrated about the economic situation and not having their voices heard. I feel that way myself, but I don't think we need to go to crazy extremes just to get our voices heard, nor do I think we need to engage in divisive politics in order to get to the top.

Well, now that the Far-Right is in power, or at least controls the House and has a stronger presence in the Senate, I can see their crazy ideas coming out into the light. Who the heck will benefit from a flat tax or from shutting out all immigrants from coming to this country? And lastly, what is the reason for trying to prevent African American and other minority communities from voting, or stripping union rights? I honestly don't see the logic in it, unless you're trying to take out the Democratic base for the 2012 election cycle.

This is the problem I have, the Far-Right is using our current crisis as an opportunity to drag America backwards to the 1830s. I would not even be surprised should they try to reinstate slavery again, or make it so that we can rescind citizenship to those who are not White and Christian. I have to say, this is complete horseshit.

The Far-Right's bullshit has me ready and willing to put my full effort into get getting President Obama re-elected in 2012. Yeah, I can say that our president has made some decisions that I don't particularly agree with, but I can say that he's also done what he could considering the circumstances as well. I personally think he did not go far enough in some instances, such as Healthcare and Wall Street Reform. I think those bills needed to be made stronger. However, I still think that he'll be better than the yahoo that comes out of the Republican nomination process (which my instict tells me is Perry).

Current status of Mideast Peace

I don't believe this, Pres. Obama goes out of his way to try to end the ongoing dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, and at every step, PM Netanyahu continues to fight him. I don't know how Israel can think that by putting off the peace process and demand that it get recognized not as a state, but a Jewish state, when that was not a part of the initially agreed upon text. I think for the Arabs to complain is more than legitimate, as Israel has been dragging its feet for the past year or so.

As for the Arab side process, I think that Pres. Abbas needs to realize that by daring Israel to annex the areas the Palestinians want for a state is only giving the Israeli radicals and settlers what they want, the right to oppress the Palestinians without any kind of rebuke from the international community. Additionally, it is going to damage Obama's credibility as an even-handed broker, working to bring both sides together. Abbas should not give in or cave, he should continue to fight for Palestinian sovereignty and call for Israel to end the construction of settlements. As long as he continues to work in tandem with the Arab League, and the UN, that should provide him enough political cover to make the hard choices necessary to create a Palestinian state.

As for President Obama, he needs to be more vocal. He really needs to display more disapproval of Israel's severe misbehavior on the international scene. If he doesn't start showing America as being more assertive, it'll only show that America will always turn a blind eye to any of Israel's consistent flouting of international law with its settlements. Not to mention, it will forever damage America's role as an honest peace negotiator in the eyes of the Muslim world. Now is not the time to give in to Israeli demands, Mr. President. Today is the day that, politics aside, someone can actually make a situation a lot easier for a nation with no homeland. The last thing we need to do is treat a humanitarian crisis as a military conflict, and this should be your consistent message to Netanyahu. Where are you now, Mr. President? We need someone of your standing to go out and really create a fuss. We need you to remind Israel that its actions are alienating its one true ally in a world where everyone else remains extremely critical.

One more note to play before concluding. Iran has been causing more hell than Israel, which is something I do recognize off-hand. They still provide support to various militias in the Mideast, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Not to mention, it's this kind of backing that's keeping the Arab states in a constant cycle of fear, more than anything else. I don't see how everyone is blaming the Arabs for all the violence directed towards Israel, or more specifically how there's state funding from the Arabs. Let me be clear on this, outside of possibly Syria, the Arabs are largely content on leaving Israel in peace. Most have become resigned to the fact that Israel is not going anywhere anytime soon, and are still trying to settle old disputes and extend diplomatic recognition. However, they're not venturing anywhere near the final step of recognition, not only because of the settlements, but because of Iran's meddling in their affairs. Most Arab states fear a revolt from Iran, so they largely stay quiet. Which brings me back to my original point, which is that if anyone is causing trouble for Israel these days on a state-based level, it's Iran. The Arabs see the militias largely as an unnecessary hindrance to peace and are making it clear that their aims don't reflect Arab nationalism. Iran doesn't and that's how these groups are still able to operate.

To conclude, this process does not seem to make itself any easier to work with. Now matter how many steps forward are taken, we always have to take about four steps backward to compensate. I don't see how in a world where people can agree on a consensus gap of 95%, can kill each other of the remaing 5%. Oh wait, I remember, it's because of extremism.

Life as of today

Well, I'm back in school and have been moving crap for a very long while. Thank God I'm finally outta University Park North. It's not to say that it was a bad place, it was decent for what it was, but I just didn't feel that it was the right place for me. I would have preferred to have lived elsewhere only because I didn't want to be in an area I knew I'd be bored in. The area around SFSU has almost nothing to keep you entertained. I'm serious, you have to take between a 30-60 minute trip on Muni to go for some entertainment. Most people on the weekends don't hang out on campus anyway.

It also doesn't help that I don't do anything, either. Now at this point in time, I'm thinking I may want to spend more time out of the next domain. It's better to do that, than staying inside bored all day. That was the problem @ UPN. Just bored all day, looking for something instant to keep me hooked. Well I gotta say that it was the worst decision I could have made. I'm on campus another 2 years, might as well see what's there.

Fire Alarms

I don't know how to put this. I'm sitting at work, about to start doing something, then I hear some fire alarms go off. And to think I deal with this on a 6-8 week basis at school, where my ears still ring even with earplugs in after they're turned off. Well, right now it's giving me a massive headache and I wish that SFFD would simply shut them off wherever they're coming from (most likely Westfield). God, they're so flipping annoying. Whatever, I'll end the rant here.

Israel & International Flottila Inquiry

Once again, Israel has proven it's not willing to live up to international transparency standards. It's saddening to think that the land of my ancestors would threaten to return to their boycott of these kinds of international investigations. And yet, it's not surprising either, as they claim bias within the investigations. It's not bias, it's the fact that Israel has a tendency to overreact and blow all kinds of nonsense out of proportion. I don't even believe for a second that Israel acted in self-defense against the pro-Palestine activists, it was more like a case of state-sanctioned piracy and terrorism on the high-seas. This is the 21st Cent., most countries don't engage in this kind of activity any more.

My hope is that Pres. Obama, and his administration, will reign in PM Netanyahu's govt. Not only are they backing down on their promise to let an international investigation look into this, they also promised to participate. I personally think that America should condemn this and let a resolution go through the security council condemning Israel's decision. To let Israel get away with this is completely absurd. They should be held to the same standards as everyone else. America needs to face this fact and get out of the way of any international appeals to reign Israel in.

Western Islamophobia

God, I've been seeing so much Islamophobia in several Western countries. It's been breeding laws that seem to restrict what Muslims can and can't wear when out in public. Example: In Spain, there's currently a law in the Parliament to ban the wearing of Burqas (just like in France and Switzerland). I can't believe the amount of ignorance and intolerance being thrown around. This kind of hatred just saddens me, especially because it suppresses people who are only trying to live their lives. I understand the countries want the new comers to adopt the dominant culture, but those same countries should allow them to retain some parts of their culture as well.

Not to mention, there's still a bit of Islamophobia in America, as well. Like, just this year, there was some large scandal about CAIR (Council of American Islamic Relations) infiltrating the Congress, forcing it to hire more Muslims. It was a bogus scare tactic, that can be used Republican strategists to gain seats this November. I think its callous and cruel, and I largely condemn this. It's sickening to think that people can be this cruel, especially in America. I know of America's violently racist past, and I've seen pictures of it. I also know of the same violence happening today. Muslims are one target today, just like they were years ago.

And to think, much of this comes as a reaction to Islamic extremism. That's the problem: extremism breeds extremism, and, before we know it, we'll all be at war. I think that it's this veneral hatred that's driving the West to war with Iran. I give you, Iran has been baiting Israel, to a point, but still Israel is very close to nuking Iran, as is America. I fear, within the next couple of years, war will come to fruition.

America and Russia: spies in our midst

Oh God, where do I begin with this? Well, after Obama and Medvedev had successfully recalibrated the America-Russia strategic relationship, a spy scandal pops out. Now everyone knows about the diplomatic posturing of denying any knowledge, which was appropriate on Russia's part. Of course, they demand an explanation for why some of their citizens have been arrested and about to be prosecuted for espionage. Well, turned out that didn't happen.

I'm absolutely amazed at the expediency exercised by the Obama Foreign and Justice Depts. as well as the CIA chief working with his Russian counterpart for a swap. It looked like the details of what played out were agreed upon in backroom dealings and that Obama had approved before meeting with Medvedev. Well, seeing that neither Obama nor Medvedev are likely to publicly comment on this, shows that they're moving past the scandal and will likely not have to deal with too many politics involved.

Israel's at it again

I find this hard to believe, that as a Jew, I see extremists hijacking my faith and twisting its text for their own grand designs. I'd like to ask where they get the evidence within the Old Testament that allows them to settle in the disputed areas, but I'm not in Israel. I don't plan to go either, as these extremists will try to do everything possible to get me to see the Palestinians, as well as other Arab nationalities, as evil. I don't see them that way, they're people who want to live their lives in peace and respect.

Now as for why I'm slamming Israel yet again, it's that they're cutting off a Palestinian village in the West Bank from the rest of the World. Most routes in and out are not accessible and are largely blocked off by the Israeli govt. I know that once they cut off this village, they'll bulldoze it to place another settlement. The international community, along with America, has called upon Israel to quit doing this, and meanwhile, Israel is thumbing its nose, saying it can do what it wants. This is a bogus argument and an immense double standard, as when the Palestinians try to rebuild their lives, they're looking to steal Israeli land. It's no wonder that the Palestinians have no interest in direct negotiations, the Israelis won't listen to their needs. They never will, because the extremists run the country. America needs to pull out of these negotiations now, Israel is only going to make it look bad in the Muslim World.

Beck's University

God, I know that America has become a nation that honors immense stupidity, but this is the worst. Beck opening a new university is the biggest laugh I can have. Honestly, for a guy who never graduated from college, nor one who's particularly fond of education as it is, happens to be the biggest joke ever. Seriously, it undermines the real prestige of American higher education.

Look, it's nothing more than a scheme of Beck's to grab your money. Not to mention, the rewriting of American history for purposes to advocate violence is undeniably idiotic, and I'm being very kind in saying that. Beck is a business man who goes about scaring you so that you will buy his sponsors' products, i.e., Gold. He's an excellent pitchman, I'll give him that, but for the love of God, actually expand your horizons and listen to other news sources.