Some Local News With National Implications (Updated)

I live in the country outside of a very small town in Illinois. On Sunday, FBI, Homeland Security, and local police officials raided a local meat packing plant which is operated by Muslim owners. The plant specializes in goat, sheep, and beef which is slaughtered in the customary way of Halal which is needed to follow Islamic customs. It has been around since before 9/11 and everyone who works there, who were not taken into custody, have no idea why the raid took place.

According to FBI spokeswoman Cynthia Yates, this was "part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation." No charges have been made and there have been no arrests. Local newspaper, The Joliet Herald News, begins the story by asking "Was an al-Qaeda cell lurking in the Grundy County village about 20 miles west of Morris, residents asked?" How about we ask this instead? Why was there a raid in a small town with no arrests or charges being filed with such secrecy?

While I admit, I do not know everything about this story, but neither does anyone else. All that is known are that federal, state, and local police raided the business, took people into custody and confiscated computers. So once again I ask, why the secrecy? Being a history teacher, I hate to pull back into history for a comparison, but the Gestapo pulled the same thing under Adolf Hitler. I refuse to accept the common talking point of "We will have more to comment later" from police officials.

Where I live is a very, how do I say this nicely, white area. Part of me cannot take out of this aspect of the story when trying to draw conclusions on why this raid happened. The Morris Daily Herald has a quote from a worker who used to work at the slaughterhouse stating “Who works there is a good question. Three or four Mexicans. The rest are Muslims. They pray together, 5 to 7 times a day (in a nearby building). They’re always saying, ‘I’ve got to go pray.’ When it’s a big holiday, they set it up in the meat locker and do their prayers there.” While some may view this as someones description, myself knowing the people who live in that community, there are usually undertones which cannot be expressed in text.

Part of me wonders why the race or nationality is even an aspect of the story. Could the story still have the same impact is they stated that men were taken into custody by a raid. Yes, but then people would be asking why only taken into custody? However, by stating all the details of the slaughterhouse as one done in the custom of Halal, operated by Middle Eastern men, who when arrested were wearing "Middle Eastern" garments, who pray 5 times a day. Was this done to silence the people in asking why? I think so. This is a rural, conservative area and by making mention of these details, is used to infer terrorism charges. For if it was not, they would have focused on the fact that there were "Mexican" workers, so must have to do with illegal immigration and labor.

This story has taken the idea of the destruction of the Constitution to my doorstep. What happened to due process of law? We have people living in this country being taken into custody without being charged with any crime because no charges have been filed. I honestly do not know what to do at this point to raise awareness about these events which occurred only yesterday. To me, spreading the news of this is necessary to make the public informed about what has happened, especially if this has been done under false pretenses or discrimination based on ethnicity. The more I learn, the more I will write, but for this moment what I see in my backyard is the "land of the free and the home of the brave" becoming the land of the imprisoned and enslaved through fear. I will keep this story updated as it progresses.

***UPDATE***

Turns out that the raid was in response to "immigration irregularities" according to the Chicago Tribune, not terrorism. I have sent letters to the editor for all local newspapers which covered the story to either apologize or retract what was said in regards to the idea that this was related to terrorism while alienating those of Middle Eastern origin.

Capitalism: My Personal Love Story

In recent years Michael Moore has become the butt of many jokes from both the left and the right for his sensational tactics in approaching documentary film-making. From blowing himself up in Team America: World Police or having Fakes News consider him one of the worst American's alive, Michael Moore never ceases to disappoint. His most recent work goes directly at the source of many of his films, capitalism.

In Capitalism: A Love Story, Moore looks at the most entrenched special interest in Washington, D.C. Business itself has become a lobbying firm where congressman and women are up for sale to the highest bidder. Take your pick and you can get your own personal democracy for a nominal fee. He tackles many issues which are still on minds of Americans from foreclosures, to bailouts, CEO bonuses, and workers taking back their places of employment for the workers.

As someone who lives in Illinois and has close connections to the Chicago area and central Illinois, this movie had a personal connection to myself as I am sure it would to most people living the in state. One of the first families we meet in the film is from Peoria, IL and they have become victims of the sub-prime mortgage lending scheme, because lets be honest, there was no way it was a legit aspect of the lending business. Also, there was a focus on Republic Windows and Doors and the work in which they did in restoring their dignity as workers when faced with a bank who received public bailout funds and then closed the business down.

Looking back at his first major work Roger and Me, Moore hearkens back to a time in the late 1980's when many conservative capitalists would consider the glory days where we had it right. However this film brings his original vision of Roger and Me full circle where we the viewer see the consequences which that first film foretold 20 years ago. Moore also takes a very hardline approach in looking at the policy makers who perpetrated this quagmire as well as those who were bought and sold like derivatives on the open market.

While Moore's bias is already known, this film is probably one of the more unbiased films he has made since this is an issue which affects 95% of the population, regardless of political party. We look at the everyday worker who struggles to get by, only to find a CEO who basically inherited the company making money off their labor and devotion to their work. Feudalism has returned but this time it has been hidden behind the veil of profit margins and CEO's while the peasants toil for their daily bread.

This film will make you mad, confused, saddened, but also hopeful to some degree. Near the end of the film Moore takes a look at how the economic landscape has begun to change in the United States to where people realize that capitalism is not the perfect system which we have been indoctrinated through education. He looks at the campaign of Barack Obama, who while still receiving large amounts of money from corporate banks in an attempt to calm his "socialist" talk, could not stop him from telling "Joe the Plumber" about spreading the wealth.

Many times Moore has been prematurely criticized for his views but by looking at his last 2 films in perspective, he was right about Iraq just as he was right about the current state of our healthcare system. Now he takes the leap into the ever so holy doctrine of capitalism which has caused the film to see such a small release. This mindset of distributors and theater companies in my view only perpetrates the bias in which the business world has for new ideas. Moore does not ask for a complete revolution of the current economic system but a refinement to a time where the worker had rights from their employer the same way we as citizens have rights from our government.

This 2 hour and 7 minute film on economics has in my eyes should become a wake up call for the entire nation to realize that cheaper is not always better and that just because you are doing well does not mean you are doing good. There needs to be revolution though for the people to realize that they themselves are not workers with free choices but slaves stuck to their masters in which in many cases there is no freedom or underground railroad for you to travel.

Capitalism: A Love Story delivers as that wake up call for a new generation of Americans to reevaluate the choices in which they will make later in life to not only do better for themselves, but for society as a whole. Perhaps in a few years the majority of people will look at this film with the same sense of reflection as many now view Fahrenheit 9/11 or Sicko. While I went into this film looking to become angry at the "Evil Empire" on Wall Street and look for a revolution I realized that each person can hold their own personal revolution in which we just chose not to participate in their system. Because their system requires obedience and participation and I willingly accept the challenge to refuse their ways of living.

Balloon Boy and the End of Corporate Media

Yesterday was a rare day in media history, the truth came out. But perhaps not the truth in which most would hope for; weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq, a picture of Dick Cheney signing an order to torture, or Rush Limbaugh eating children for lunch. Instead it was a bit of truth which most have known, but refused to accept because it would mean disaster for the way in which they thought they became informed on the world.

As I drove home from a long day of teaching, I was listening to NPR and the news made a brief mention about a young boy in Fort Collins, CO who maybe disappeared in an experimental balloon which was released. Then they moved onto the next story in which they were discussing Barney Frank's committee in the House passing a bill onto the floor to regulate derivatives, which I will return to shortly. I came home, turned on the Weather Channel to see what it was going to be like tomorrow, only to find they were covering the story about the boy in the balloon. Ok, so it may have been a weather balloon, I could understand a mention. So I waited for a forecast, only to hear 20 minutes of "weather" related questions about this national tragedy which was ensuing.

I flipped channels to find all networks covering this story with the same intense devotion as election day or 9/11. I was just waiting for Wolf Blitzer to call on CNN's resident balloon expert Slink-O the Clown who has experience with kids fascination with balloons. It was at this moment of sheer terror that I realized I had been duped. This non-news story which would be reserved for the Onion if it was fake had the entire corporate media by its throat and they could no longer let go. As it turns out, the whole story was pretty much the biggest prank in US history next to the election of Bush II since the kid was hiding in a box in his attic. So either this was the biggest OOPS ever, or this kid is amazing at Hide-and-Seek because his ability for deception is phenomenal.

Now I don't want to devote any more time to the 6 year old Criss Angel who magically went from airborne balloon to attic box, so instead I'll turn to the responsible adults in the room, the media. Lets begin with that as soon as this happened the parents called the local TV station, then the police. Red flag in my eyes. Second, for hours they kept looking at the same images of the Ft. Collins UFO crashing in the barren CO landscape asking the same dumb questions to different dumb people who know idea why they actually get a paycheck. Third, when it was discovered that balloon boy was really attic-box boy, they kept on it, becoming the home for fair and balanced places for politics while being the most trusted name in news, into Comedy Central.

This story brought about a red flag in the psyche of Americans that they have been spoon fed for 24 hours of everyday "news" which holds no real relevance in their lives. The news desks of "Run It!" have fallen for the news desks of profit margins and ratings. In other words, where has the responsibility gone? With only a select few companies controlling the majority of of the information which is distributed to the public, those few companies have a responsibility to give the truth on stories which matter in the lives of the people. And by people I mean the masses, the majority, not the select few who have no lives but to flip from channel to channel searching for the latest gossip.

The country has become a nation of fast food gorging people which only 5 second attention spans. We have been trained to accept only instant satisfaction from everything around us. To steal from Louis CK, we have people complaining about how long it takes for the cell phone call to connect. Its going up to space and back, just wait for a second. Drive-up windows in fast food restaurants have clocks timing employees which are a matter of "quality control" for their cooked so fast its undercooked meat which will give you E. Coli but as long as I get it within 2 minutes while speeding down the highway while talking on my phone, its ok.

The media has become the same entity which focuses on the mile a minute society of news with tickers, side bars, and stories so brief you barely even know who was involved with the story. They look at something which will give the audience flashy lights and sirens to keep them entertained until they can find the next midway attraction to sell to them. This has no longer become news for the masses, it has become propaganda for the advertisers to keep people watching between commercials.

So what may have been missed by the harrowing tale which became the farce of the week? Well as I mentioned before, the House Financial Committee past a bill out of committee to regulate derivatives for the first time in history. What does this mean? Stock brokers can no longer use the same rules (which did not really exist) when placing bets on your investments failing. AKA, stuff which caused this mess as derivatives on the housing market only added fuel to the fire. Also the House passed a bill onto the Senate which would finally allow Gitmo prisoners to be tried here in the US to finally start restoring some credibility to our justice system.

Here is only a list of two, but two stories which I find to have great affect on the lives of all Americans. However, you cannot really sell Coors Light to stories about politics, but a kid in balloon in Colorado, I can almost see the mountains turning blue as we speak.

At what point do we as a nation begin to realize that the media is not a tool for us to become informed about the world, but that we have become tools for corporate America as we are fed the stories they want us to hear while telling us what products to buy and use. I am sure most people who will read this understand this point as well as anyone else, but it has become the duty of the people to take back the information systems of the country and the airwaves back for the people. For until we do, all we will see are fluff stories which are meant to distract the people from the real issues. Regardless of your politics, anyone can relate to desire for our media to begin working in a way which can be summarized in one word, responsible. For until that happens, America will continue down a hell-storm of lies, deceit, and greed until we are left with an oligarchy of corporate news in which there can be no return.

An Eye Opening Day

Some days are just meant to happen. Not in a Calvinistic pre-determination BS sort of way, but one where you make decisions that at first seem a little out of place or out of your comfort zone, but then you grown because of it. This morning I woke up cold because it was 32 degrees outside, went to my computer and figured, "Lets see what movies are playing" Wanting to see Capitalism: A Love Story I found it playing, at a theater 45 minutes away, at 10:15. All of which seemed like, why would I want to do that? But I decided to get ready and go for the early showing.

I won't write my review for Capitalism here, but let me just say these few words about it. This is by far one of the most important films of the decade. Regardless of your political beliefs, religious beliefs, economic beliefs, and any other dogma which has been fed to you; you will come out of this movie mad and ready to see things changed. I looked at the world from a little better of a perspective that moment actually being able to synthesize the message which was portrayed in the film.

After the movie I stopped to pick up some supplies for my classroom since some punk kid stole all of my grading pens. After that I went to Barnes and Noble since it is Teacher Appreciation Week and they were having a huge sale for educators. Couldn't find anything I really cared for, but mostly stuff I already own. However I did run into someone I knew from back home who wanted me to come speak to a couple of her students about the Peace Corps. She knew I was going in and really wanted someone to speak to these students about the program and what to expect. She teaches at an alternative school where many of these students have little or no opportunity to leave where the come from and any chance I could have at helping these students along would be well worth it.

I decided then to go to the mall for some lunch and outside of the mall was a homeless man asking for some change. I asked him if he wanted to get some food and out of the cold. He said yes and as we were entering a mall security guard stopped him and said he cannot loiter inside the mall. I told the cop we were going to get some food and he is not loitering if he is a patron if the mall. He stepped aside and we went to Panera to eat. We got out food and I had one of the greatest conversations in my life. Found out this man's name was Dave, lost his job 2 years ago and had been searching ever since. He lost his home in the housing crisis, and his wife left him and took the kids. I talked to him about what I was doing with my life and what I would be doing in the future. That was about it for me, but I let him talk and after a couple cups of coffee and him telling me stories about his life since he lost his job I could see it was taking its toll.

I could see in Dave's eyes something I had never really seen before, total hopelessness. To this man America had failed him. He went to work everyday for 25 years at a plant only to be laid off because the board of directors weren't making enough money in his eyes. He tried and tried to find a job to sustain his family and mortgage but eventually that was a futile effort because in October of last year, the last plank in the floor supporting he and his family was taken out beneath him and his world crashed. I can never know that feeling but today I came the closest I have ever been to feeling that same mindset of total loss. I will never forget today's lunch by the window where I learned more about the area that I live in than from anything I have experienced in my life to this date. Most importantly, I will never forget Dave and what he taught me today.

I woke up today feeling cold and wanting to stay shut in all day and just watch a couple movies and finish up some school work. Instead I decided to go to that early showing and because of that I had probably one of the most educational days of my life. If I wasn't at the right place at the right time, I may have never ran into that person from my hometown, I would have never had the possibility of going to that school and hopefully getting those two girls on the right path to serve in the Peace Corps. And if I did not decided to go to lunch up in Joliet and just go home and eat, I would have never met Dave and heard the story of someone who lost it all. Hopefully to him today meant a tenth of what it meant to me because maybe that could give him just a little bit more hope to keep fighting and trying to find work.

When I left Panera today and Dave stood outside the door with his cup of coffee, I shook his hand and told him "Just go for whatever it is you want, because you're the only one who can do it". I don't know whether or not he took to heart what I had said, but I hope he is willing to take things into his own hands and get back the life he, and every person in the world, deserves.

When Politics Turns Violent

So as the debate on health care reform wages I have to look at one aspect of this which really makes me fear for my country and the direction in which it is going. This may seem similar to a former posting in regards to election bantering and fear mongering trying to make people think President Obama was a Muslim, and even more outrageous, that being so was bad. I spoke out against Sen. McCain and at the time, and his lack of ability to quell these outrageous claims which could turn violent placing the now President’s life in danger.

But now this idea has been taken a step further during the debate on insurance reform. Right now, at least 4 congressman and senators have had death threats placed on their lives. Let me repeat that in case you didn’t catch that, they have HAD DEATH THREATS PLACED ON THEIR LIVES. With a past that has greatly harmed the political and social integrity of the United States before with assassinations of such leaders as Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, Harvey Milk, and the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan this needs to be removed from the discussion immediately. Every single one of these killings or attempted killings has sent shockwaves through their respective communities while alienating and dividing the nation.

But this is not just a movement that has come from a grassroots, radical, right wing fringe. It has even been perpetuated by pundits gracing the screens of Fox News but even worse, from across the aisle from Republicans. First, lets look at the fine journalists at Fakes News. First, Glenn Beck. Recently he has stated that the reasoning behind the push for change including healthcare is part of a guise of reparations. I don’t even think I can form a response for that lunacy, other than to only point the sponsors who keep pulling ads from his show. In honesty though, the idea of bringing up reparations in this debate (which President Obama is openly against as he has stated before) has only one purpose, to play into the hands of those who see race as a division and play into the fear of those who have extreme racial tendencies (Neo-Nazi groups, KKK, etc.) But he even made the inference to poisoning Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi by poisoning the wine which they were sharing (which was really an intern/staffer wearing a Pelosi mask). So we see Glenn Beck openly joking about the murdering of an elected official. I thought he was pro-life? Well maybe he is for abortions in the 140th trimester, just not the first 3. Now if the idea of a democratically elected official being poisoned (although a joke) does throw the idea of political assassination into the realm of humor, should we be allowing this on the public stage?

Now we have Dick Morris who stated that “blue dog” Democrats needing to be, in his own words, “terrorized” into voting against this bill and against reform. It is interesting to see the party who used the fear of terrorism to act against our civil liberties now use the same people to terrorize elected officials. Let me state this to be clear. Regardless of your political views, this nation was formed on the basis of democratic transgression where through civil discourse we make our voices heard in regards to current issues. Terrorism is not civil discourse and works against everything this nation stands for. So to those who use terror tactics today, and claim they want their country back; from you, I want my country back.

Now we see politicians playing into the same tactics which are working against political reason and just spurning the hate-speak even more. Senator Chuck Grassley who has worked across the aisle to see healthcare reform passed and sensibly, has now switched to pandering to the crazies who think Obama will personally line up the old people of this nation and shoot them down himself. Stating that people “should be afraid” of the healthcare plan only adds to the hysteria which we are currently seeing in town halls across the nation. Taking a total 180 on his original stance, Grassley is treading a fine line of losing his base and with a fairly strong contender in 2010 Grassley could see this become his break issue because of his playing into the fear politics which for some reason has become standard operating procedure in the Republican Party.

Now the bigger issues which have been raised all work together to create a cocktail for destruction, not just disruption. Fear, racism, and terror tactics are all turning into devices which can only lead to one thing at the rate they are going, violence. I’m not using this as a way to spread fear, but that we as citizens need to recognize this not as democracy in action, but democratic inaction. But what we have seen is the threat of violence thus far. Yesterday in Portsmouth, NH where President Obama was holding a town hall of his own, there was a man who was standing outside with a gun strapped to his leg holding a sign reading “It is time to water the tree of liberty” in reference to Thomas Jefferson’s famous line stating that it is sometimes necessary for the tree of liberty to be watered with the blood of patriots and tyrants. Today, outside of a town hall held by a Democratic congressman, there was a man holding a sign stating “Death to Obama.”

What have we become? Are these people truly happy with the America they are willing to create? These are the same tactics which have been used the extremist pro-life movement to kill doctors who perform abortions, who face threats like this every day. And sometimes, as we just recently saw, they act much as how George Tiller was murdered as he attended church on May 31. We see references to Obama as Adolf Hitler or a Nazi, even Representative David Scott of Georgia receiving death threats calling himself and President Obama as niggers and vandalizing the sign to his office with a swastika.

What we are seeing is un-American. Regardless of party lines, using hate and terror to persuade people to vote against legislation is a mob action, the same way if unions went to go terrorize a Republican in voting against a bill. Now we what we as American’s need to do is stand up against this nonsense. I spoke last time about Bill Pierce who wrote The Turner Diaries which spoke of a racial civil war which inspired Tim McVeigh to bomb the federal building in Oklahoma City. By spurning this type of mindset, those who propose such things are just as guilty as those who commit the act in my eyes. Before this gets taken to far we as citizens must be willing to address this matter for what it truly is. In denying what is happening, we only allow it to fester like an infection, until it spreads to far from us to be able control and it takes over the once healthy body.

Change I want To Believe In (Part1)

For nearly 2 years, I waited in anticipation for the inauguration of President Obama. When he announced his campaign in Springfield, I was excited beyond belief to hear about the change he would bring to Washington, D.C. For eight years, we had a president in office who for a lack of a better phrase, couldn’t care less about the average American, giving kick backs to his Dad’s old buddies, while making our nation less safe through his foreign policy.

A change in the way we did business with other countries was the thing I looked forward to most with President Obama. With a name which strikes chord’s in Africa and the Middle East, I knew he would be looked at differently than the “Good ol’ Boy” from Texas we had before. Now while his use of vernacular has helped our nations view abroad, his actions in my opinion, have not yet stood up to the change we have hoped for as a nation.

Let me begin by stating where we have gone right. The announcement of the closing of the prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba was a great moment for America. The largest propaganda piece which was created for extremists would be closed in a year. Next was the draw down of American troops from Iraq, which would eventually lead to a complete end to combat activities in that Middle Eastern nation. And finally and most recently, a changing of tone in the way we approach the current war. The War on Terror as well as many other Bush administration coined terms would no longer be used. This had moved from a cosmic war of good versus evil, to a war of the United States against Al’Qaeda.

Now, while these things seem great, have they really been the change we voted for and many volunteered for? Lets look deeper into these matters. First, I shall look at Guantanamo Bay. President Obama stated that while many would either be set free or tried by the legal system, President Obama kept the door open on two issues. First is the use of military tribunal even though some who have been in Gitmo for years are US citizens, or were arrested in the US and have had no direct ties to military action against the United States. Second and by far the most damning of this problem is the indefinite detention of inmates who are deemed to valuable to be sent to trial or be set free. Indefinite detention without legal cause is a crime against humanity and we as Americans should not stand for it. Now we have heard it will take longer than expected to close the prison. Now we don’t have a date of closure to look forward to. When now will this place be a part of our past as we look forward to the future? So now I ask the question, was this the change we were looking for in regards to Guantanamo Bay? Personally, I think not.

Next is the war in Iraq. The troop draw down as President Obama’s way of ending the war in Iraq is a joke. He’s basically changing the focus of the two wars back to Afghanistan while making Iraq the secondary war. There will be around 60,000 troops still in Iraq at the end of the drawback. As the only candidate who was opposed to the war from the start, while in the Illinois State Senate, Obama at the time made it clear that this was a “dumb war” which was against the nation security interests of the United States. So now I ask again, was this the end of the Iraq War we were looking for? Once again, I think not.

Lastly I want to discuss something which has not really been discussed in the news. The School of the Americas, or now so nicely renamed Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. For those of you who do not know what this is, it is a training school located at Fort Benning in Georgia where we train political dissidents from Latin America how to wage guerilla warfare. That is a blunt assessment of what they do but it is what they do. This is basically the Bay of Pigs invasion replayed time and time again, and once again sponsored at the behalf of American tax dollars. Last month, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was overthrown in a coup recognized by every other “developed” western nation but not the United States.

So what does this have to do with President Obama and the School of the Americas? Two of the main leaders of this coup were trained at the School of the Americas and for some reason we in the United States refuse to recognize this as a coup. When you teach someone to kill, and they do kill, you cannot pretend you have had nothing to do with that act. The US is doing the same exact thing right now and even though President Obama was not around when they were trained at the SOA/WHISC, he now needs to recognize that this facility serves no purpose here in the United States or anywhere in the world. This is by far one of the most un-democratic aspects of America, yet it still exists. The School of the Americas needs to be closed down, much of the same way Gitmo is going to be (hopefully) closed down quite soon.

Now I write this entry as a supporter of President Obama. But I strongly feel that, as I have stated before, just because I worked to get someone elected does not mean I should trust everything they do. In fact I feel one should be more critical due to the time, effort, and money personally vested into political campaigns. I am critical because I know when someone I have respect for does not do right by me, I have to make it known or I am not doing that person or myself any favors. Things are getting better, but they could be so much greater if we focused on the real issues present instead of looking to appease both sides of the aisle. Not all people, Democrats or Republicans, have the right answers, but sometimes you need to just do what is in the best interests of the country regardless of party lines in order to ensure this nation lives up to its ideals.

Coming soon part 2 on domestic issues.

Republicans have officially gone over the deep end

So now that we have gone through the first 6 months of President Obama's presidency, we all know that Republicans have been searching for a way to rebrand themselves. So lets look at a couple of things which have come up in the news recently.

First on the Rachel Maddow Show...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

So let me get this straight, Pat Buchanan feels that its ok that we only have white men serve because they were the signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, etc? Oh yeah, and only white men died for this country. Apparently a Jim Crowe America is now the Republican America? Somehow, Republicans (Patty B in this instance) have managed to turn reverse discrimination against whites, back into blatant racism against minorities. I don't know how they managed to do that, but its like Marx proving capitalism is a great thing in the Communist Manifesto.

Now for something even more unbelievable...



Ok, so let me get this straight... he's not an American? Oh wait, but there's this...

So now Bill Posey (R-FL) has introduced a bill which states that a candidate must present a birth certificate in order to run. But hey, this has nothing to do with the "birthers" who are not total crazies. So here is my question, why are Republicans not just doing the right thing, and saying he is a citizen, here is his birth certificate. (If by some odd chance a Republican is reading this, please refer to the photo above).

So now this begs the question, what's next for those pesky pachyderms? I feel like I'm looking at 9-11 conspiracy nuts or people who are Scientologists. I hear what your saying, but how can people actually believe that crap? They seem like a 5 year old who didn't get a toy when they went shopping with mommy and daddy and now they saying that the parents don't really love them. I have lost any and all possible faith in the Republican party. And yes, that means I had some faith in that they might actually become responsible adults who act mature. I went from having the mindset that bipartisanship should be striven for, to wanting to see all Republicans destroyed. That's right I said it, its time for the Republican party to go the way of Whigs, Federalists, and Democratic-Republicans. They hold no relevance in the nation today and right now serve no purpose other than to insight insanity.

Ok so where is this rant going. We need to be looking forward and dealing with things that matter in the country, not pandering to the fringe nutbags who question Obama's citizenship or who still think white people are the best and brightest in the nation. I feel like I'm watching a faux-reality of America where I am going to wake up from and realize that we still actually care about important issues. So now I say this to the Republican Party. Grow up, realize who is President and that the American people wanted him there. You are not helping anyone by what you are doing. It is time for us to be rid of you, be GONE!

Neda. One of 6 billion becomes world figure.

On the streets of Tehran and across the Islamic Republic of Iran, peaceful protest was met with force. In the case of one 16 year old girl from Iran, she was met with the greatest of all force, her life was taken. Simply known as Neda, which in Farsi means "The Voice", has now become the voice of a new generational revolution in Iran.

Much like how Tank Man became the unofficial logo of the Tienanmen Square Massacre, Neda has already become an important figure in the protest movement. Much like in 1979, when one was killed, the marches grew, when more died, more people were unified. Islam is a religion which preaches that we are all connected as one and it is our duty to care for one another. This is exactly what is being done.

There is no way to deny how this figure in the protests movement gained her popularity. Twitter began to spread her story around the world through many phrases such as " Rest in peace, Neda, the world hears your voice." and "If an innocent girl gets shot halfway across the world, does she make a sound? Yes, the whole world hears her."

I personally mourn her loss and the loss her family is currently going through. I mourn the losses in which all of Iran has been going through. The loss of life is unacceptable, the loss of civil liberties is reprehensible, and the suppression of free expression is irreconcilable. I will leave this post to the words of the Qu'ran which easily expresses how the lives of all that are lost will not be in vain.

“Say: Surely my prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are (all) for Allah, the Lord of the worlds. (The Cattle 6.162)”

True Courage

These words are not my own. They are from an Iranian blogger. I don't know how anyone could not moved by these words.

“I will participate in the demonstrations tomorrow. Maybe they will turn violent. Maybe I will be one of the people who is going to get killed. I’m listening to all my favorite music. I even want to dance to a few songs. I always wanted to have very narrow eyebrows. Yes, maybe I will go to the salon before I go tomorrow! There are a few great movie scenes that I also have to see. I should drop by the library, too. It’s worth to read the poems of Forough and Shamloo again. All family pictures have to be reviewed, too. I have to call my friends as well to say goodbye. All I have are two bookshelves which I told my family who should receive them. I’m two units away from getting my bachelors degree but who cares about that. My mind is very chaotic. I wrote these random sentences for the next generation so they know we were not just emotional and under peer pressure. So they know that we did everything we could to create a better future for them. So they know that our ancestors surrendered to Arabs and Mongols but did not surrender to despotism. This note is dedicated to tomorrow’s children…”

What Should the President Do About Iran?

There is a fierce debate on what the US should be doing in response to the situation in Iran. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has come out strongly stating that President Obama has been "tepid" in his response to the situation and that the US needs to come out and denounce these elections as a fraud and demand the truth to be shown.

On the other side, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) explained earlier today in an op-ed that the US could do more harm by speaking out than by remaining silent. He also criticized Sen. McCain directly in this sense. Describing the situation in the New York Times, Sen. Kerry lays out a great past and present day history of Iran.

But this still leaves the question though, who is right? What should the President do? What we see in Iran are the largest protests since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the world is watching. What we are seeing in Iran is a true grassroots and organic democratic growth in Iran. Democracy is something which must be organic and homegrown to the state it will represent. Although these systems may not the the "American" democracy many would like to see, it works though for the people. This is why democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan have trouble in taking hold because they have been set up under the eyes of the United States.

Is the President being cautious in this situation, of course he is, and its the smart thing to do. We do not know the facts yet due to the misinformation which has been spread by the Iranian government. Right now there is a dark room with plenty of obstacles that the President has yet to enter yet and to rush into it would be disastrous. We must not mistaken caution with weakness. This is the change in Washington policies he was elected for and not meddling in Iranian affairs is allowing this to grow to be something which can benefit both Iranian and American interests.

Iran, in pictures

So I am not going to write anything on this issue today, but I will just show it through images. Some may be graphic, but the truth must be seen.











The truth must been seen. You can kill the protester, but you can't kill the protest. You can murder a rebel, but you can't stop the rebellion.

Expanding the Peace Corps

Currently, the House of Representatives is working to expand the Peace Corps hopefully to double the program's size. As someone who is in the process of getting ready to serve in the Peace Corps let me say this, ITS ABOUT DAMN TIME! All too often, politics gets in the way of doing something good for the rest of humanity. The Peace Corps however relies on volunteers who have only one thing in mind, helping out fellow citizens of the world. They care little for borders and political minefields. They have one goal, to serve.

If anyone has traveled outside of the US, it is pretty safe to say the two things people of these nations are used to 2 types of Americans, the military, and loud tourists who want their trip to be the perfect vacation just like it was in America. The Peace Corps provides an oppotunity for the true sense of America to be played out, where we cherish the relationships we have with fellow man and want to ensure the basic rights to everyone in the world.

The sad thing about this, there will probably be a debate in Congress and the Senate on whether or not extra funding is needed. I hate to say this, but I welcome it, but only for this reason. It will let us, the American people, see who actually cares for the betterment of the world. Maybe this is me thinking in black and white too much, but this is the one thing which makes the view of us oversees for the better.

I hope this makes its way through Congress and on the President's desk ASAP becasue the more people we have serving showing the true sense of what America really is, the better every person will be.

Iran: Democracy "In"action

On Friday, the people of Iran cast their ballots for what they hoped would become a great showing of democracy in their own nation. People came out in record numbers to show support for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mir-Hossein Mousavi at rallies, debates, and most importantly the election. A few hours before polls closed, Ahmedinejad was declared the winner. With polls starting to make a move towards Mousavi, and record turnout of younger voters, many began to see what could very well have been a stolen election.


Now what we see 4 days later, are clashing protests; which are in violation of Iranian law banning demonstrations. Protests have been broken up with club wielding motorcyclists and even gunfire. Some see a nation in turmoil, others a democracy beginning to flourish through the organization of peaceful protests. But are we truly seeing? With foreign journalists now out of the country by governmental order, blocking of websites and even the jamming of satellites, what is Iran trying to hide, and can they even hide it with the digital age we live in?

What I see is hope for Iran's future, however currently demonstrations are underway in support of Ahmedinejad and the militia are currently marching along side of them on their way towards a pro-Mousavi rally. This nation first began to look like a nation about to move its way through a peaceful revolution through election. But now what we are seeing is oppression through these types of action and the rounding up of student organizers in dorm rooms and the shutting down of news stations in Iran.



For the future, may we hope for a peaceful resolution to this situation as well as the safety of all people in Iran at this time. It is had to decide what is going on in Iran right now historically speaking. We have seen protests and demonstrations that have only been seen since the Iranian Revolution, but we are also seeing suppression and a grandiose scale. For Iran's future, may we hope for the benefit of the people, a true and honest government who supports dissent and opposing views, and welcomes the people's views with open arms. As the photo below shows, the people of Iran want democracy, and the rest of the world supports your cause.

Welcome!

To anyone who decides for whatever reason to read this:

First let me say thank you if you decide to listen to my rantings. I will in no way try to act like an expert on the issues I will discuss. However, I will show my own view and how these issues are important to me, and hopefully you. Blogs are found all over the place online and although my voice will more than likely get lost in the fray, no one can hear you unless you speak.

I have decided to title this blog the Global Mirror as I feel it is important that we are forced to look at ourselves, but in the context of global issues. I will discuss politics, the environment, economics, and various social issues which are so prevalent in today's society.

So, please enjoy. If you agree with what I say great; if you disagree, even better. A dialogue on the important issues is vital to progress in the world. So keep it civil, but honest.