Shout Out to George F. Will

In recent weeks we have seen large rallies by immigrants(many of them illegal themselves) protesting the possibility of more stringent controls on the border. This amazes me for one main reason what on earth can make the people who are here illegaly feel they should or do have any say in terms of our nations sovreignity. George F. Will offers a great insight into this immigration issue for the Washington Post. This is not an issue that we should let continue, it is a serious problem that threatens many facets of our country. If your inclined take a look at the article and see what George F. Will has to say, its some good stuff.

Random thoughts

Here are some random thoughts for fans looking for the lighter side.

They say Rome wasnt built in a day...but I dont buy it.

If two wrongs make a right then 4 mortal sins get you into heaven.

If your aunt had a dick shed be your uncle.

If im bigger stronger and better looking than you I can take whatever I want and no one will mind.

I dont care what people think, people are stupid.

The greatest days of my life may have already been spent in one of the worst(best) apartments ever.

If drug use is a crime than we are all going to jail.

Going to the hospital to get stitches in your tounge with a pule of 119 is never a good idea.

If I was a dog I would bark all the time because hey, your in my house and im a dog, theres nothing you can do about it.

Preventitive war

Intersting article in the washington post(link) regarding president Bush restating preventitive war doctrine.

This seems to me to be priming the pump for an armed conflict with Iran. While we may receive support from our "allies" on this one I dont think it is very well advised or necessary. Lets look first at the problem with the United States Army. It is arguably the most sophisticated fighting force on earth, it has no equal. But this technology and firepower has some steep limits when fighting an insurgency as we are seeing in Iraq. If we think taht we are having problems controlling Iraq, just foot in Iran and see the real problem. The insurgency that would follow would be exponentially worse than that in Iraq, the military there is better trained and is actually accused of training and aiding the insurgency in Iraq. If we are struggling to stop the students how can we take on the teachers. Also, Iran is in the process of a Nuclear program. This could be for armaments or for energy. The real question is who are we to say who can and cannot posses nuclear weaposn or energy. We are merely a country and as much as some think we do not control the earth, far from it. We try to disarm Iran who has not yet established nuclear weapons but we embrace and enrich the Indian nuclear program. This is a country that despite being democratic is constantly about 5 seconds away from pushing the button against its pakistani neighbors. It makes much sense to cut off the aims of one country which short of "supporting terror" which has come to encompass alot of things these days, poses no real threat to us. Even if they develop nuclear arms, they posses no means to deliver them. Let them sit.

What I am rambling to here is the fact that the U.S. cannot afford another drawn out occupation. We do not have the numbers in the military to sustain such a high number of troops over such a period of time. We are already struggling with the Iraq situation and if we open another front right next door we spread ourselves dangerously thin across the globe which is not how you fight the war on terror. There is no real patriotic fervor left after 9/11 as there was, this is not a world war it will not inspire the youth to sign up to fight and die for what appears to be a non threat. Mistakes are fine to make, but at the cost of thousands of lives and the potential lack of U.S. security for its interests across the globe it does not make sense.

Peesident Bush ordering a pre emptive strike against Iran would be the equivalent of cutting off his nose to spite his face. Not serving a purpose but with disatorus side effects that may haunt him and the country for years.

Israel as Terrorists.

Israel, many think of it as a land under attack from terrorism but no one really wants to look beneath the surface. This is a surface supported by zionist intention, notice I do not say Jewish as they are two entirely different things and share two very different aims. Being Jewish entails practicing the jewish faith, being a zionist entails practicing the jewish faith and using it as a means to create ones country and exapnd its borders.

Israel in recent times has come under attack by terrorists and its people have suffered because of it. However the flip side of the equation gives some reason behind the terror and shows a whole other side to the equation. The terrorists that attack israel are descendents of Palestinians, people who lived on the land now known as Israel before anyone had the idea of making it the Jewish holy land. After World War I but before World War II there began a Zionist movement to create a Jewish home land. This idea gained speed the closer we get to World War II and really made itself viable after World War II when a UN mandate took self goverance away from the people of the area. The Zionist groups used this power vacum as a time to establish themselves. Make no mistake the country of Israel was not founded through any legal process but by land grabbing and by force. The people who lived on the land were then evicted from their own homeland with nothing but what they could carry. These are the terrorists now the ones who in their eyes are fighting for their homes. Terrorism is the only option since the nation of Israel only seeks compromise that benefits itself, not two sided. It is the true defenition of apartheid and the world turns a blind eye. Palestinians cannot travel freely, are subject to illegal search and seizure and are forced to drive cars with differnet license plates for easy identification. Nowhere in the "civilized" world is this acceptable. It is a fact that over three times as many palestinians have died in Israeli reprisal attacks than Israelis who have died in terrorist attacks, whos the real terrorits? But hey, this is the same Israel that uses the common tactic of bombing a building then bombing it again 7 minutes later so that they can take out support personel, really a quite friendly nation. Not to mention there use of phosphorus as weapon during their occupation of Lebanon in the early 80's. Its amazing how theyve managed to build so many enemies so quickly.

My main complaint of the day deals with the storming of a Palestinian prison to gain control of 6 prisoners. Mighty Israel rolls in with all sorts of armor and man power to take over a cinderblock prison. And while they do this the observers turn a blind eye and let it occur. No where else on earth would this be acceptable. There is something known as diplomacy, somethign the Israelis have not heard of apparently. There is generally a process that must be followed regarding the transfer of prisoners and in the civilized world it does not include destroying buildings and forcing prison guards to surrender. Nor does it require having prisoners strip to their underwear in a display of power and humiliation. These are not humane tactics and while they are performed under the guise of self preservation one must ask if they are doing anything to make themselves safer when they act this way. To me it appears that they do not.

Until Israel understands that an open dialouge and compromise must be present for peace there will be no end to the violence. If Hamas is to recognize Israels right to exist and not to use violent means to protest and oppose them, at what point must Israel and the rest of the western world acknowledge the ELECTED palestinian government even if it has memebers that we regard as terrorists. They have held off attacks and bombings and are working for a peace, they will not regard Israel just as Israel will not accept them. It is a two way street and simply because you have the bigger toys and one of the most influential lobbying groups ever known does not make it right. Open a dialouge, agree to disagree on exsistence but keep violence out of it, make steps toward each other, unless they do this the gap will continue to widen and more and more innocent people on both sides will suffer.

Immigration

More on the immigration front, great op-ed piece on Washington post regarding same subject.

Here are some excerpts from the article:

"In 2005 the Border Patrol stopped 1.19 million people trying to enter the United States illegally; 98.5 percent of them were caught along the southern border. Of those who got through and stayed (crude estimate: some 500,000 annually), about two-thirds lack a high school education. Even a country as accepting of newcomers as the United States cannot effortlessly absorb infinite numbers of poor and unskilled workers. Legal immigration totals 750,000 to 1 million people annually, many of them also unskilled."


"Fewer jobs and genuine border control ought to curb illegal immigration. Good. Naturally, there's another point of view. It is that the United States needs more unskilled workers to fill jobs native-born Americans won't take. One solution is to admit more unskilled workers legally. By this view, Hispanics are assimilating economically and culturally as fast as some groups in the past."

"But common sense and available evidence suggest skepticism. If there are "shortages" of unskilled American workers, the obvious remedy is to raise their wages."

"Since 1990 about 90 percent of the increase in people living below the government's poverty lines has come among Hispanics. That has to be mainly immigrants and their U.S.-born children. In a report, the Pew Hispanic Center notes:

· Residential segregation is increasing. In 2000, 43 percent of Hispanics lived in neighborhoods with Hispanic majorities, up from 39 percent in 1990.

· The median net worth of Hispanic households is about 9 percent of that of non-Hispanic whites (net worth is what people own minus what they owe).

· Only about a quarter of Hispanic college students graduate compared with about half for non-Hispanic whites."

These are all very telling stats and show the type of labor force we are employing. Unskilled labor is good to a point, but when it is non skilled we begin to run into problems. The other more important question in looking at the above numbers is, "Are these immigrants taking advantage of the oppurtunity that they seek?" The short answer appears to be know as there is little evidence to support the idea that they are improving their situation upon arrival. If all they seek to do is maintain a low level of living than the oppurtunity is wasted.

America and Immigration

In looking at the Washington Post(link) this morning as I often do I could not help but notice an article on the recent attempts to block illegal immigration from our southern border. Now first off I will say that I believe that America is and always will be the ladn of oppurtunity and freedom. However, this is a right which applies to citizens of the state. Simply because we are a prosperous nation with the ability to employ a large number of illegal immgrants does not mean that we are obligated to let them into the country. The fact of the matter is that illegal immigrants do compose much of the low level work force, but there is a reason for that. They come illegaly(thats the key) into this country and undercut and underprice the market for labor. The case has been made that Americans will not do the work at that illegals do for the price they do it and that is correct. In the majority of cases these immigrants are working for below minimum wage and not being reported as taxed or any other form of documnetation and rightly so because they are ILLEGAL immigrants. That is the key word to wrap around here, the fact that they cross our border everyday absorb and dissapear into the communities of current immigrants does not make it right. Should we allow immigration yes, should we close the borders, I dont know. Something however needs to be done to stem the tide coming across overy year and this begins with U.S. employers not hiring illegal labor. It is as much a homegrown problem as it is an import and despite the rise in border patrol we have seen a rise because other than border patrol not much is done as far as investigating the workforce and finding illegals. America will always be the land of the free and a great place for oppurtunity but it is designed as one for those who go through the proper channels and reach the country on legal terms, not those who come through the backdoor and dont wipe their feet.

Womens Olympic Hockey

Random rant here and I knwo the olympics are over already.

One morning I turned on the TV to some Olympic coverage and what to my eyes did appear? Womens Hockey. Next to two man luge this is the most pointless sport on earth. Its like cars in europe, lets take a good idea and ruin it by making very different from the original. To highlight why I dislike womens olympic hockey A. No checking B. There are 3 good teams on earth C. Teams get beat badly to the tune of 7-0 in a period. Taking contact out of hockey is ridiculous and I know they are women but it makes it like a pee wee game...people want to watch that? Second outside of Canada, the U.S. and one of those scandanavian countries who is any good, not russia, nobody. And last they arent even competitve games, I mean canada was beating Russia 8-0 after a period when I watched the game. Also, when I think of olympic caliber female athletes, I dont think of them being beat by highschool boys which is exactly what happened to the U.S. womens team. Woo Hoo Olympic womens hockey, catch the fever. Two man luge, is another ridiculous, lets have one gay lay his ass right on another guys dick on a tiny sled and then the bottom guy thinks about baseball the whole way down while the top guy is uncomfortable. They dont even move faster, its ridiculous.

Congress and the Minimum Wage

In doing som reading while Im supposed to be working I always come across some intersting news items. While this one doestn effect me as I am salaried but making well below minimum wage hourly, it still piqued my interest. The men of congress, who are supposed to be working for the people have recently decided to reject a bill that will raise minimum wage from 5.15 to 6.25. This is interesting especially when you consider since the last minimum wage raise, congress has voted to raise their own slary by 28,000.00 over that period. How can the liveable wage go up for one group of people to one extreme and the minimum wage of another be stepped upon with the boots of Bueracracy. The republicans who laregly voted this bill down argue that the majority of minimum wage workers are teenagers breaking into the job market and since they are not primary breadwinners than they do not need the raise. Lets say however that 75% of the minimum wage employees in this country are teenagers, a favorable percentage for republicans to say the least. Even if this is the case, what happens to teh 25% of the minimum wage workforce who are over the age of 20. I am not urging for some sort of communist system where we can all be paid the same, we know that doesnt work. But the main question here is why the raise for the rich and the status quo for the entry level worker? I might have sympathy for the congress if their image wasnt one of fat cats accepting kick backs and bribes, it would interest me greatly to see what their actual income is after their wage and any "extra" income the may receive.

The Process of Democarazation

Here is a great article I found on the Washington Post website relating to the process of exporting democracy. Well worth a read to understand part of the problems and difficulty we are having. The article can be found here.

Of Oil and Religion

Oil and Religion


This is the first in what will become a series of postings regarding many topics. The main theme behind will be trying to give a fair and honest look at the issues of the day from at home to abroad. To begin with I am a graduate student with a strong background in Middle Eastern history and a penchant for reading anything to do with history and many things to do with economics. The two subjects I have chosen to cover in this posting are "Religion" and "Oil". Mainlly because these two topics have become so closely related in the middle eastern region and play such a large role in the world at large.

The oil issue is an interesting one and I have read several columns regarding prices, exhausting supply etc. Many of these articles cover some good points but many again are shat. The fact of the matter is that the people of earth will never exhaust the supply of oil. Why you say? The reason that the supply of oil will never be tapped completely is simple, at some point drilling for the oil will be come unprofitable regardless of the cost per barrell. Is thsi time imminet? No, is it more likely than oil prices climbing so hight that only an elite sect of people will ever be albe to afford it? Yes. Will this change happen in our lifetime? Not Likely. The fact is that long before the oil runs out it will have become much more profitable for energy compaines to switch to alternative fuel sources a process which is already begining. There has also been the idea thrown around before of installing a gas price which is a permanent cap to prevent "price gouging". This is a fool hardy idea to say the least as if you institute in times of shortage i.e. hurrican katrina this would have created a panic. With a gas cap being put in place everyone would have rushed to the stations and bought all the gas creating a distributional nightmare for the companies that were already operating on a shortage. Everyone predicted that with the prices steadily climbing for a week after hurricane katrian that there would be a rush on gas. This proved not to be the case, many logical americans myself included waited. Gas prices operate very much like the stock market especially seing as Oil is a tradeable commodity on the world market, it may go up but it always comes back down. IF people would not scare and whip themselves into a frenzy over the oil/gas issue no one would be talking about it. I read an article off of Cafe Hayek which was sensationalizing the possibility of Oil running out to say the least. Cafe Hayek goes on to point out in their coulmn "Peek-a-Boo" that the ideas proposed are ludicrous. It is well worth a look. As for the proice gouging the real money makers off of the gas tax situation are the federal government having made more money every year off gas takes than the oil companies have made in profit, a graph representing this can be found here. It is copmpletely within the rights of the oil companies and also the gas station operators to charge whatever price the public will pay for their product as it is for anyone else. This is called capitalism, it is the system that we live in sure its not perfect but its been doing pretty good lately.

Religion is another topic finding its way into the news these days and my focus has been on the dealings mainly in Iraq. With the destruction of the Al-Askariya Mosque in Iraq we have seen an overwhelming rise in sectarian violence while the government of Iraq and its police force stands by unable to stop it without imposing day long curfews which only stemmed it. The reasoning behind this is a simple one if you delve into the past of the tumultuous region. There has never been and will never be any truly non-religious governments in the middle east. It is a region that was born of reilgion, religion is politics, it is buisness, it is family...it is everything. There can be no seperation of church and state in this region and until the United States and all the Western powers acknowledge this fact there can be no progress. It is impossible to impose your own vision of who someone should be unless you evict the parts of the population that you do not want(i.e. Israel). What needs to be seen and accomadated is a working form of government that can bring all reglions of the area into a peaceful dialouge. This may include embracing certain factions which the U.S. has been hesitant to do in the past. The same trend can be seen from the U.S. involvment in Beirut in the early 80's. The largest problem with both conflicts is that more often than not the group which the United States sides with is the minority and or the less popular of the choices in the area. You cannot go into these countries to establish "democracy" which by the way doesnt exsist without a solid plan of what to do. This same recurring problem can be seen in the recent Palestinian elections. A process which was supported by the U.S. until they didnt get what they wanted. In the elections the people voting freely and democratically elected a cabinet which was majority controlled by Hamas. As I'm sure you know, Hamas is on the U.S. and EU terrorist lists for its actions against Israel, while I may not condone their methods, I do sympathize with their plight. The reason that Hamas was elected and Fatah was not is for the exact reason that Hamas and Fatah are complete opposites. Now the U.S. and EU seek to force Hamas into adopting the same policies as Fatah by witholding much needed aid. Hamas won in a vote of the people that the U.S. sponsored but due to the fact that they are not a secular government we seek to force them to become what they are not???? You cannot install democracy, enocurage it and then abandon it when it doesnt suit you. If we as a country really want to foster change we have to be willing to analyze the strong religious base that is the middle east and be willing to make some concessions and accomadate that change.


But hey, these are just thoughts that I think.