That is literally a sentence that a friend of mine said to me while I was walking to work today. Why would she say this to me, because North Korea has been threatening to blow up, fire, shoot nuclear weapons at Japan, South Korea, Guam, Austin TX today. Well it’s the 15th of April, almost midnight here, and nope, not dead yet.
Why would North Korea pick what seems to be a random monday? Is it because of tax day? Nope, it’s because it would have been the 101st birthday of North Korea’s first leader. It would be a birthday present for Grandpa? TO START A NUCLEAR WAR. I am sorry, I am just finding this insane. Well, we all are.
Basically this new leader in North Korea is trying to show his might. He is trying to show that he is as brave and as strong as his predecessors, by showing his guns, literally. And the US and the rest of the world, in political spheres aren’t buying it, especially since China isn’t backing them up. Isn’t it funny how a country that is trying to show how powerful it is, only has power when one of its neighbors decides to help it?
Mozilla Korea, Firefox 3.0 launch 9804 (Photo credit: Gen Kanai)
I know, as a political commentator I should have commented on this a long time ago, but I haven’t. Why you may ask me. One, I find this story interesting, but I have found other things more interesting. What is going on in North Korea, to me, seems like a kid having a tantrum in public, waiting for someone in the international community to give him what he wants. Although I don’t see a unified Korea anytime soon. Each time there is a new leader in North Korea something like this happens, or whenever there seems to be any sort of political uneasiness. What we all have to remember is this isn’t new. This isn’t the first time that North Korea has threatened to start a major war with South Korea. And in recent times North Korea looks to China for back-up, and China has said no, and North Korea has backed down because they know that if they attack South Korea that the United States will attack them back with more firepower than they could dream of. North Korea has nuclear weapons but the confirmed ones couldn’t reach the US mainland, but that doesn’t matter because if North Korea used nuclear weapons, we would, and I do think that China would get involved at that point. Of corse this is pure speculation, but this is taking history and political ties and treaties into consideration. I can’t tell you what will happen next. All I know is we have a nuclear power acting like Dennis the Mennis with his hand itching over the red button.
I don’t know if you have read about this or not, but there is this amazing new technology called 3D printing. To be honest, I don’t understand how it works, and I was introduced to it via a cracked.com article a couple of weeks ago The 4 Worst Things People are Making with 3D Printers. So I didn’t really think about it too hard. But in this article the number two item is, weapons. That idea scares the crap out of me. After what has been going on in the US over the last few years the idea that you can copy and print a weapon scares me. It is completely legal to create your own weapon with a 3D printer, just not distribute them. So any criminal organization doesn’t need to steal a gun, they just can print out a new one, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a good gun or bad, just as long as it does the job, because eh, you can just print out another one. And from what I am reading many people are planning to make the software freeware. Am I the only one nervous about this idea?
At the beginning of January I wrote this article, “Two Supreme Court Cases that are BIG for Gay Marriage Rights” and earlier this month I wrote this article, “Popular Sovereignty, Still Applicable?” So I think you know my opinion on the big Supreme Court cases going on. But in case you don’t know. I believe that a government should treat all of its citizens equally and fairly and not discriminate based on age, religion, sexual orientation, size, disability, or anything else I couldn’t have thought of in that string. To me the easiest way to do that is not to make a law about it, but to not have a law against it. But because we as Americans are stupid at times, we will probably have to make a law protecting those rights. It’s a bit sad.
Now about my news feed. I just find it a bit strange that everyone is changing their profile picture to an “=” sign to show support for those who believe in equal rights. I know that I might receive flack for it but I feel as though it’s a pointless gesture. It is easier to change your Facebook profile picture than write your congressman. Hopefully when the decisions are stated the country is a stronger one.
Wow, is all I have to say. Paul’s Filibuster has been an amazing piece of politics. Now there are two questions that we should ask ourselves and that we should be asking our government officials. The first being, does the US government have the right to attack non-combatant on US soil with unmanned drones? The Attorney General has already states this, no. Clear, concise, and to the point. Now a better question to ask would be this, “why did Paul have to filibuster to get a straight answer?” I think this filibuster says something about the nature of government, with all its want for transparency, there is none. Hopefully this filibuster will be a public display of stupidity and things will change. One can only hope.
I enjoy my YouTube subscriptions here in China and I watched this video today that made me ask these questions,
So in short a Sequester is a mandatory cut in federal spending to help with the long-term budget problem. This took effect because Congress isn’t willing to compromise with each other and they didn’t create a budget that cut 1.5 trillion dollars over ten years. This is a very important thing to remember, that news agencies try to not remind people of, the president, it doesn’t matter if it’s Bush, Obama, Reagan or whoever don’t set the tax rate and don’t set the budget. They can ask Congress nicely and they can put in their suggestions, but when all is said and done it is up to Congress, and when Congress can’t work together we get a bill like the Budget Control Act of 2011, that has a ticking time bomb in it. And that is what this Sequester is, the explosion of a time bomb that wasn’t averted by our congressmen and women. Oh how I love that congress allowed this to happen, in a recession allowing for something to take effect that would allow for greater job loss. I am curious what will happen next. The national news seems to be focusing on the fact that the White House has shut down tours, while they aren’t focusing on the human impact of the choices they make. I can’t wait to see what happens at election time.
And why is Sequester fun to say, because it has a “Q” in it. New word for Words With Friends I guess.
I know that I may receive a lot of criticism for this article, but I really don’t care. When I read all of these article from law makers saying that people will be upset because laws that were enacted by a popular vote can be deemed unconstitutional I think of the cry of popular sovereignty. Now for those of you without History Degrees, or who don’t remember from your history classes in High School or University, the cry of popular sovereignty was given in the battle of slavery, allowing the people in each state to choose whether or not they wanted slavery in their state. Sound familiar? I understand not wanting judges to overturn our rights to make laws left and right, but what about bad, or immoral laws? Should there still be laws banning interracial marriage, Jim Crow laws, or any other judicial decision made in such a way? It is crazy to think about it but it was only 2003 when sodomy was finally decriminalized all across America. The will of the people, I’m sorry to say, isn’t always fair. Large groups of people can discriminate against other people, and who’s out there to protect the rights of those people when the majority is against them? In America it’s the courts.
White House issues answer after Senator’s 13-hour speech
Mar 7, 2013
Today, following a historic 13-hour filibuster on the Senate floor that ended early this morning, Sen. Rand Paul received correspondence from the White House regarding the legality and constitutionality of the U.S. government using lethal force, including drone strikes, on Americans and in U.S. territory. Sen. Paul’s repeated correspondence to President Obama’s nominee to be CIA director, John Brennan, was finally answered today, in part, with the following response from Attorney GeneralEric Holder: “‘Does the President have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on American soil?’ The answer to that question is no.”
“This is a major victory for American civil liberties and ensures the protection of our basic Constitutional rights. We have Separation of Powers to protect our rights. That’s what government was organized to do and that’s what the Constitution was put in place to do,” Sen. Paul said. “I would like to congratulate my fellow colleagues in both the House and Senate and thank them for joining me in protecting the rights of due process.”
Readers tell me what you think about Paul’s filibuster. Do you think it was necessary? Do you think it changed anything? Or do you think, as I believe was his intention, it was about publicity.
Rand Paul, Republican Senator from Kentucky and son of Ron Paul, has been filibustering, yes I will say that’s the verb, the confirmation vote for John Brennan, who would head the CIA. What is prompting this filibuster is the letter from Attorney GeneralEric Holder which states that the US has the authority to use unmanned droned strikes on American soil but has no intention of doing so. The letter was prompted by Mr. Brennan’s written answer last month to questions from the Senate Intelligence Committee, in which he had written: “This Administration has not carried out drone strikes inside the United States and has no intention of doing so.” It seems as though Paul’s filibuster won’t stop Brennan’s confirmation, but what it is doing, which the Paul family is good at, is raising awareness for an issue and garnering press attention. And I am glad that there are some politicians who have the guts to do that sort of thing.
We over here at Petdal have finished up the long awaited delivery of The Sexy Politco website. We gave the site it’s own scheme of purple and orange and made it 100% interactive with the users. It’s not just a blog, it’s a place for real knowledge developed by great political commentators. We would like [...]
