What a wacky news day from the political world. Here's a summary of some of the top events today.
There's a possibility that Hillary Clinton's campaign may have charged over $3,000 on a staffer's credit card without her knowing. The victim, Kathy Callahan, left the Hillary Finance Committee after she discovered the charges. If this is true, I am appalled. Not surprised, but simply appalled. Have we come so far into this mud-slinging fight that they have to try and secretly steal money? Is this how a possible future president's Committee should be run? Stealing from their own supporters? I think that there should be a law on how much money these campaigns can receive, and they have to use that money to get elected president. Top them off at 5 million for the whole deal and let's see if the presidential race doesn't become more civilized.
Barack Obama says he will not run on the ticket as a Vice President, so those who want a Hillary/Barack ticket are in for a disappointment. I know you want to be president, but do you have to be a diva and be like this? "If I can't be president, I won't be vice president." It's like a 2 year-old throwing a tantrum. If we want a better world, politicians need to figure out how to work together with people they dislike! Abraham Lincoln, widely considered one of the greatest presidents of all time, filled his cabinet with people that absolutely hated him, and look how successful his terms turned out to be!
The Senate intelligence committee is preparing to release the 4 year in the making critique of the Bush administration's claims in the buildup to war with Iraq. I can't imagine what took them so long. Hey Senate Intelligence Committee, have you been under a rock for four years? We didn't find anything close to weapons of mass destruction, and it wasn't Al-Qadea in Iraq, it's a was a war between Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds on differences in their religions. Which brings me to my second point on that subject. If Saddam Hussein was really that dangerous, why didn't you just send in some Special Forces troops to take him out? Enough people hated him that no one would have been able to trace who actually killed him! What a novel idea... now why didn't we think of that before we went and started a Civil War?
Oh, and the Iraq War will cost us $12 Billion each month in 2008. There goes your tax money. We have bridges falling down and no money to fix them, but we can somehow find $12 Billion each month to pay for a war that we're not sure will ever end? Does anyone besides me think this is absolutely ridiculous? Surely I can't be the only one that's being driven crazy by this. Let me know if you are too.
~Mer
Questions? It's purplepineappletown@hotmail.com
Monday, March 10, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Remaning Presidental Canidates and the Issues
Alright, this is a little late, I had a mountain of chores to do today that I had forgotten about.
First the Republican candidates on some issues I haven't covered yet.
John McCain
Energy- Proposes a strategy that will rely on America's technology and industry. Believes that barriers to nuclear energy are political, and not technological.
Same-Sex Marriage- Supports definition of marriage as something between a man and a woman, but opposes a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage. He says the question should be up to the states.
Taxes- Proposes a plan his supporters call the "Fair Tax," which would repeal income and other taxes and abolish the Internal Revenue.
Mike Huckabee
Energy-Says the first thing he will do as president is send Congress a comprehensive plan for energy independence and would achieve energy independence by the end of second term.
Same-Sex Marriage- Strongly opposes same sex marriage.
Taxes- Also supports the "Fair Tax," singed a pledge to never raise taxes.
The Democrats
Barack Obama
Energy- Proposes reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 by using a market based cap-and-trade, supports next generation biofuels.
Same-Sex Marriage- Opposes same-sex marriage, but also opposes a constitutional ban. Supports civil unions.
Taxes- Opposed extending bush tax cuts through 2010. Supports eliminating marriage penalty, and extending child tax credits. Supports scaling back capital gains and dividends tax cuts and re-examining tax benefits for the top one percent of earners.
Hillary Clinton
Energy-Proposes a cap-and-trade program that auctions 100 percent of permits alongside investments. Would reduce electricity consumption by 20 percent from projected levels by 2020 by changing the way utilities do business.
Same-Sex Marriage- Opposes same-sex marriage, but supports civil unions. Says states should ultimately decide the issue, opposes a constitutional amendment.
Taxes-Opposed 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts. Opposed extending tax cuts through 2010.
So, we'll see what happens. The races are close, so I'm not going to make any predictions.
First the Republican candidates on some issues I haven't covered yet.
John McCain
Energy- Proposes a strategy that will rely on America's technology and industry. Believes that barriers to nuclear energy are political, and not technological.
Same-Sex Marriage- Supports definition of marriage as something between a man and a woman, but opposes a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage. He says the question should be up to the states.
Taxes- Proposes a plan his supporters call the "Fair Tax," which would repeal income and other taxes and abolish the Internal Revenue.
Mike Huckabee
Energy-Says the first thing he will do as president is send Congress a comprehensive plan for energy independence and would achieve energy independence by the end of second term.
Same-Sex Marriage- Strongly opposes same sex marriage.
Taxes- Also supports the "Fair Tax," singed a pledge to never raise taxes.
The Democrats
Barack Obama
Energy- Proposes reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 by using a market based cap-and-trade, supports next generation biofuels.
Same-Sex Marriage- Opposes same-sex marriage, but also opposes a constitutional ban. Supports civil unions.
Taxes- Opposed extending bush tax cuts through 2010. Supports eliminating marriage penalty, and extending child tax credits. Supports scaling back capital gains and dividends tax cuts and re-examining tax benefits for the top one percent of earners.
Hillary Clinton
Energy-Proposes a cap-and-trade program that auctions 100 percent of permits alongside investments. Would reduce electricity consumption by 20 percent from projected levels by 2020 by changing the way utilities do business.
Same-Sex Marriage- Opposes same-sex marriage, but supports civil unions. Says states should ultimately decide the issue, opposes a constitutional amendment.
Taxes-Opposed 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts. Opposed extending tax cuts through 2010.
So, we'll see what happens. The races are close, so I'm not going to make any predictions.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Mini-Tuesday!
Well, I'm back, and feeling better than I have in over a year. But, it's time to focus on what's really important- The primaries on March 4th, or "Mini-Tuesday", that could decide the Democratic nomination! (Take that, Super delegates!)
The 4 states up for grabs are Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
The current front runners according to Real Clear Politics-
Texas Democrats:
Clinton 46.8%, Obama 46.5%
Texas Republicans:
McCain 53.2%, Huckabee 34.4%, and Paul 6%
Ohio Democrats
Clinton 49.3%, Obama 42.9%
Ohio Republicans:
McCain 55.8%, Huckabee 27.8%, Paul 6.2%
Rhode Island Democrats
Clinton 48%, Obama 38.3%
Rhode Island Republicans
A broken link, so no info.
Vermont Democrats
55% Obama, 36% Clinton
Vermont Republicans
68% McCain, 17% Huckabee, 5% Paul
It's anyone's game in the Democratic Primary. Tomorrow I'll do another issue comparison for the frontrunner's of both parties, as well as my predictions of who will win.
~Mer
The 4 states up for grabs are Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
The current front runners according to Real Clear Politics-
Texas Democrats:
Clinton 46.8%, Obama 46.5%
Texas Republicans:
McCain 53.2%, Huckabee 34.4%, and Paul 6%
Ohio Democrats
Clinton 49.3%, Obama 42.9%
Ohio Republicans:
McCain 55.8%, Huckabee 27.8%, Paul 6.2%
Rhode Island Democrats
Clinton 48%, Obama 38.3%
Rhode Island Republicans
A broken link, so no info.
Vermont Democrats
55% Obama, 36% Clinton
Vermont Republicans
68% McCain, 17% Huckabee, 5% Paul
It's anyone's game in the Democratic Primary. Tomorrow I'll do another issue comparison for the frontrunner's of both parties, as well as my predictions of who will win.
~Mer
Friday, February 22, 2008
Update
Hey everyone...
Sorry about the lack of promised updates. Things have gotten crazy with my health again and I need to take a short break to wait for the latest test results, which could either be good, not so good, or very bad. I'm going to be taking a break from blogging until Monday, March 3. Then, depending on what I decide, I'll either continue with the What We Should Have Learned: Wars Edition, or I'll go back to current political coverage. If you have the time, let me know which you want to see, either with a comment on this post, or send me an e-mail @ purplepineappletown@hotmail.com
Thanks for understanding!
~Mer
Sorry about the lack of promised updates. Things have gotten crazy with my health again and I need to take a short break to wait for the latest test results, which could either be good, not so good, or very bad. I'm going to be taking a break from blogging until Monday, March 3. Then, depending on what I decide, I'll either continue with the What We Should Have Learned: Wars Edition, or I'll go back to current political coverage. If you have the time, let me know which you want to see, either with a comment on this post, or send me an e-mail @ purplepineappletown@hotmail.com
Thanks for understanding!
~Mer
Friday, February 15, 2008
World War I: What We Should Have Learned
World War I (also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars) was fought between the Entente Powers (initially consisting of France, the UK, and Russia) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and their associated empires. By the conclusion of the war, only the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, and the Scandinavian nations remained officially neutral among the European countries.
The chain of events that set off the war was a case of “one thing led to another,” due to the treaty alliance system. The match to the fuse was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Ferdinand’s death was at the hands of the Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist secret society, which set into motion a mindlessly mechanical series of events that culminated the world’s first global war.
Austria-Hungary’s reaction to the death of their heir was three weeks in coming. They opted to take the opportunity to stamp its authority upon the Serbians by issuing an ultimatum to Serbia, which, in the extent of its demand that the assassins be brought to justice effectively nullified Serbia’s sovereignty. Austria-Hungary sought the help of their ally, Germany, that she would come to her aid should the unthinkable happen and Russia declared war on Austria Hungary.
A summary of the main countries and the part they played in the sequence of events that led to World War I.
Austria-Hungary- unsatisfied with Serbia’s response to her ultimatum, declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914.
Russia- bound by a treaty to Serbia, announced mobilization of its vast army in her defense, a slow process that took about six weeks to complete.
Germany- allied to Austria-Hungary by treaty, viewed the Russian mobilization as an act of war against Austria-Hungary, and after scant warning declared war on Russia on August 1.
France- bound by treaty to Russia, found itself at war against Germany, and by extension on Austria-Hungary, following a German declaration on August 3. Germany was swift in invading neutral country Belgium, so as to reach Paris by the shortest possible route.
Britain- allied to France by a more loosely worded treaty which placed a “moral obligation” upon her to defend France, declared war against Germany on August 4. However, Britain was obligated to defend neutral Belgium by the terms of a 75-year old treaty. Britain committed herself to Belgium’s defense later that day. Like France, she was by extension also at war with Austria-Hungary.
United States- Woodrow Wilson declared a U.S. policy of absolute neutrality, which would last until 1917 when Germany’s policy of unrestricted submarine warfare- which threatened America’s commercial shipping- forced the U.S. to enter the war on April 6, 1917.
Japan- Honoring a military agreement with Britain, declared war on Germany August 23, 1914. Two days later Austria-Hungary responded by declaring war on Japan.
Italy- Was allied to both Germany and Austria-Hungary, was able to avoid entering the fray by citing a clause enabling it to evade its obligations to both countries.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, this war, which should have been a disagreement between two countries, was turned into a World War by old treaties and obligations. What did it get us? They estimate that over 40 million people died because of this War.
So what’s the lesson to be learned here? When two countries have a disagreement, sometimes it’s better to leave it to them to figure it out.
~Mer
The chain of events that set off the war was a case of “one thing led to another,” due to the treaty alliance system. The match to the fuse was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Ferdinand’s death was at the hands of the Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist secret society, which set into motion a mindlessly mechanical series of events that culminated the world’s first global war.
Austria-Hungary’s reaction to the death of their heir was three weeks in coming. They opted to take the opportunity to stamp its authority upon the Serbians by issuing an ultimatum to Serbia, which, in the extent of its demand that the assassins be brought to justice effectively nullified Serbia’s sovereignty. Austria-Hungary sought the help of their ally, Germany, that she would come to her aid should the unthinkable happen and Russia declared war on Austria Hungary.
A summary of the main countries and the part they played in the sequence of events that led to World War I.
Austria-Hungary- unsatisfied with Serbia’s response to her ultimatum, declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914.
Russia- bound by a treaty to Serbia, announced mobilization of its vast army in her defense, a slow process that took about six weeks to complete.
Germany- allied to Austria-Hungary by treaty, viewed the Russian mobilization as an act of war against Austria-Hungary, and after scant warning declared war on Russia on August 1.
France- bound by treaty to Russia, found itself at war against Germany, and by extension on Austria-Hungary, following a German declaration on August 3. Germany was swift in invading neutral country Belgium, so as to reach Paris by the shortest possible route.
Britain- allied to France by a more loosely worded treaty which placed a “moral obligation” upon her to defend France, declared war against Germany on August 4. However, Britain was obligated to defend neutral Belgium by the terms of a 75-year old treaty. Britain committed herself to Belgium’s defense later that day. Like France, she was by extension also at war with Austria-Hungary.
United States- Woodrow Wilson declared a U.S. policy of absolute neutrality, which would last until 1917 when Germany’s policy of unrestricted submarine warfare- which threatened America’s commercial shipping- forced the U.S. to enter the war on April 6, 1917.
Japan- Honoring a military agreement with Britain, declared war on Germany August 23, 1914. Two days later Austria-Hungary responded by declaring war on Japan.
Italy- Was allied to both Germany and Austria-Hungary, was able to avoid entering the fray by citing a clause enabling it to evade its obligations to both countries.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, this war, which should have been a disagreement between two countries, was turned into a World War by old treaties and obligations. What did it get us? They estimate that over 40 million people died because of this War.
So what’s the lesson to be learned here? When two countries have a disagreement, sometimes it’s better to leave it to them to figure it out.
~Mer
The American Civil War: What we should remember
Well, the American Civil war kicks off the weeklong series on Wars: What We Need To Know So We Don't Keep Making the Same Friggin Mistakes. I'm fairly sure that most of you know the saying, "History repeats itself." Well, unfortunately for us, most politicians seem to be absent when you should have learned that. (Actually, most seem to have missed history all together, and simply live in their little fantasy worlds where the world revolves around them. So, I decided to put together this series so that hopefully, if any one that reads this blog ever becomes a politician, they won't screw up the world so badly.
The American Civil War- while most people think the war started on the issue of freeing the slaves, it actually started as a dispute about the expansion of slavery into the newly acquired territories.
I have to admit, that this war is the hardest for me to wrap my head around. This war put a straight-line split between pro-slavery Americans, and anti-slavery Americans. This war was fought over a difference of opinion. A difference of opinion was strong enough to rip the country apart down to the family level. Brothers, fathers, and neighbors fought against each other, and even killed each other.
The sad thing is, there are fault lines almost as deep as those during the Civil War which divide this country today. Between the political party lines, the controversial wars, as well as the issues of race and gender that still divide this country; we must remember something in order to prevent the lines from going deeper. We are all Americans.
This country was founded on the belief that all men are created equal. If we focus on the things that we have in common, rather than the differences, we can overcome the final boundaries, to become the country that our founding fathers intended.
We will be truly, the land of the free.
~Mer
The American Civil War- while most people think the war started on the issue of freeing the slaves, it actually started as a dispute about the expansion of slavery into the newly acquired territories.
I have to admit, that this war is the hardest for me to wrap my head around. This war put a straight-line split between pro-slavery Americans, and anti-slavery Americans. This war was fought over a difference of opinion. A difference of opinion was strong enough to rip the country apart down to the family level. Brothers, fathers, and neighbors fought against each other, and even killed each other.
The sad thing is, there are fault lines almost as deep as those during the Civil War which divide this country today. Between the political party lines, the controversial wars, as well as the issues of race and gender that still divide this country; we must remember something in order to prevent the lines from going deeper. We are all Americans.
This country was founded on the belief that all men are created equal. If we focus on the things that we have in common, rather than the differences, we can overcome the final boundaries, to become the country that our founding fathers intended.
We will be truly, the land of the free.
~Mer
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Contest Update and Writer's Block+ Anti-Valentines Day *UPDATED*
Well, you know how the DVD contest was supposed to end today? Well, I have two problems- the DVD hasn't arrived yet, and I didn't get any entries. Therefore, I'm turing the contest into a raffle. All you have to do is drop me an e-mail @ purplepineappletown@hotmail.com with your name (or nickname or whatever). When I recieve the DVD, I'll stick pieces of paper with the names on them into a bowl, and randomly choose one. If you win, I'll contact you for your address, and ship the DVD as soon as I recieve it. So please, enter. It'll take 1 minute of your time, and you can win a DVD.
And you know that "big thing" i'm working on? Well, I have writer's block on it. It's about Major Wars in America's history and what we should have learned from them. So hopefully the writer's block will go away soon.
GAH!!! You know those days that never seem to go right? I'm having one of those days. First the laptop conks out on me, my older sister is pissed off at me for something that happened three years ago that I didn't cause, and the world map I added that tracks hits all around the world isn't working AND I was only two continents away from having readers from every continent!!! (I needed South America and Antartica.)
Plus, my least favorite holiday is tomorrow, Valentines Day. It's the one holiday that really makes me angry. It gives those oh-so precious couples a day to make us singles feel bad, and rub our noses in it. You go from getting lots of (albit required) Valentines in elementary school to getting little to NONE as the couples develop in junior high and beyond.
Well, my little rant is done now. Hopefully starting next Monday will be the 7-part series on wars and what you should remember. It'll include: the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Veitnam War, Cold War, and the current War on Terror. If you want to see one covered drop me a line through the e-mail.
~Mer
Questions, Comments, or Angry Rants? E-mail Mer at purplepineappletown@hotmail.com
And you know that "big thing" i'm working on? Well, I have writer's block on it. It's about Major Wars in America's history and what we should have learned from them. So hopefully the writer's block will go away soon.
GAH!!! You know those days that never seem to go right? I'm having one of those days. First the laptop conks out on me, my older sister is pissed off at me for something that happened three years ago that I didn't cause, and the world map I added that tracks hits all around the world isn't working AND I was only two continents away from having readers from every continent!!! (I needed South America and Antartica.)
Plus, my least favorite holiday is tomorrow, Valentines Day. It's the one holiday that really makes me angry. It gives those oh-so precious couples a day to make us singles feel bad, and rub our noses in it. You go from getting lots of (albit required) Valentines in elementary school to getting little to NONE as the couples develop in junior high and beyond.
Well, my little rant is done now. Hopefully starting next Monday will be the 7-part series on wars and what you should remember. It'll include: the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Veitnam War, Cold War, and the current War on Terror. If you want to see one covered drop me a line through the e-mail.
~Mer
Questions, Comments, or Angry Rants? E-mail Mer at purplepineappletown@hotmail.com
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