Last Saturday, there was a shooting in front of a Safeway in Tucson, Arizona. While the victim that got the most attention was a Congresswoman named Gabrielle Giffords (who survived), there others who got shot! One of them was federal judge John Roll , and a 9-year old girl named Christina Taylor-Greene!
Of course, there already so many other controversial topics discussed in reaction to that shooting.
1) Political Motives
Being that the Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was a Democrat, I first assumed that the shooter might be a right-wing extremist. After all, if a Republican was attacked, I would assume the attacker would be a left-wing extremist!
So yeah, some left-wing liberal pundits (ie. Paul Krugman of the NY Times) blamed the shooting on right-wing propaganda promoted by Fox News and talk radio.
But it turns out that the killer (Jared Loughner) was a schizophrenic, whose previous rantings are a bunch of lefty-anarchist conspiracy theories. Loughner claimed to be influenced by books written by Adolf Hitler and Karl Marx. No evidence Loughner was influenced by Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck!
So when that fact was revealed, some right-wing conservatives were like "how dare those left-wing liberals pimp this tragedy to promote their anti-conservative agenda".
But many right-wingers pimp tragedies all the time. Especially those committed by Mexican and Muslim immigrants. Not only that, they pin the blame for the tragedies on politicians who favor a more lenient immigration policy.
One of those hypocrites is Michelle Maglalang Malkin! She seemed so offended when left-wing pundits blamed the Tucson shooting on Republicans. But yet, she blames EVERY crime committed by immigrants on politicians who favor a more lenient immigration policy. Michelle Maglalang Malkins LOVES TO PIMP the victims of immigrant criminals.
You think I'm exagarating? Michelle Maglalang Malkin accused comedian Stephen Colbert of lacking compassion towards victims of Mexican criminals.
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/michelle/malkin100410.php3
But Colbert NEVER mocked victims of immigrant criminals. Colbert was mocking those who claim "immigrants steal our jobs" but don't even apply to work in the farms where many immigrants work.
Because Colbert mocked those who said "immigrants steal our jobs", TRAGEDY PIMP Michelle Maglalang Malkin accused Colbert of lacking sympathy towards Jamiel Shaw and Cheryl Greene.
And Michelle Maglalang Malkin pimp the deaths of Shaw and Greene (both African-Americans killed by Mexican gang members) in a lame attempt to get more African-Americans to share her hatred of Mexicans!
What Michelle Maglalang Malkin CHOSE NOT TO MENTION that despite the deaths of Shaw and Greene at the hands of Mexicans, most African-American murder victims were killed by other African-Americans. And Latino criminals tend to target other Latinos more than other ethnic groups.
http://www.streetgangs.com/topics/2007/092307blacklatino.html
And Jamiel Shaw's murder had less to do with the color of his skin, and more to do with the color of his clothing!
http://www.streetgangs.com/street-gangs/jamiel-shaw-gang-race
That doesn't excuse the murder, but it shows that Shaw's murder, like the Tucson shooting, has been pimped by those with political agendas.
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Another hypocritical tragedy pimp is Pat Buchanan. Buchanan was also offended when left-wing liberals pinned the blame for the Tucson shooting on conservatives. Yet, Buchanan blamed pro-immigration advocates for the Virginia Tech shooting, committed by a LEGAL immigrant from South Korea, who came to the US as a child.
http://townhall.com/columnists/PatBuchanan/2007/05/01/the_dark_side_of_diversity
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Sarah Palin got the backlash over the Tucson shooting, due to the fact that on her website, she put a map in which sniper targets were placed on Congressional districts of her opponents, one of them being Gabrielle Giffords. While there is no evidence that Sarah Palin had any influence on Jared Loughner, her use of sniper targets on a map is still a stupid idea.
After her critics pinned the blame of the Tucson shooting on that sniper target map, Palin accused her critics of pinning a "blood libel" on her. Then the tragedy pimps on the Left pretended to be offended by her use of the words "blood libel", saying that those words were associated with the rampant anti-Jewish backlash in Europe centuries ago. But we all know that's not what Palin meant, she used the word "blood libel" to accuse her critics of falsely tying to the Tucson shooting.
2) on the Mentally Ill
After every tragedy, there's always a scream of "we need to do something" even though many times, doing something is worse than doing nothing.
Because Loughner was already known to be mentally ill, people are using this tragedy to demand that the mentally ill be held in an institution against their will, even if they haven't committed a crime.
People say crazy and stupid stuff all the time. But a truly free society doesn't imprison people without due process! You need to have evidence of harm in order to institutionalize someone. You can't just institutionalize someone just because they said idiotic things. Because once that happens, people running the government will decide what crazy thoughts deserve institutionalization. In countries like Iran, China, Cuba, Venezuela and Belarus, the government considers any protester of being "mentally ill" and institutionalizes those who have legit grievances against the government.
3) Gun Control
Because this incident involved a gun, many left-wing liberals are now advocating for more restrictions on guns.
The irony is many of those same left-wing liberals complain about conservative politicians violating our civil liberties and being over-zealous in imprisoning people. Yet, gun control policies will ...... lead to more civil liberty violations and lead to more over-zealousness in imprisoning people!
2 of those hypocrites are New York Times writers Bob Herbert and Nicholas Kristof. Herbert has written many articles protesting the police using intimidation tactics against non-violent African-American and Latino youth in a lame attempt to "stop drugs" or "stop illegal guns". Herbert especially complains about that happening in New York, which has mega-strict laws on guns. So, yeah, Herbert's gun control fanaticism is leading to the very civil liberty violations he is complaining about.
And Nicholas Kristof, who was recently complaining about the federal and state government resorting to imprisonment too easily, yet when gun control laws exist, you are asking the government to ...... resort to imprisonment too easily. DUH!
And his latest article is filled with anti-gun BS!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/13/opinion/13kristof.html
Likewise, suicide rates are higher in states with more guns, simply because there are more gun suicides. Other kinds of suicide rates are no higher
Yeah, but Japan ban guns, but still has a higher suicide rate. You don't need a gun to commit suicide. You could easily jump off a bridge or drink poisons.
The chances that a gun will be used to deter a home invasion are unbelievably remote, and dialing 911 is more effective in reducing injury than brandishing a weapon, the journal article says.
That is mega-stupid. It's impossible to say something more stupid than that! You think the intruder will let you call 911? Off course not, he could just cut your throat before you could even describe anything to the 911 operator! Criminals know that, that's why they prefer to burglarize when the residents aren't home or if they know their victims don't have a gun!
I even remember back in 2006, when working at Central Middle School, when a student went beserk at me, when I called for security, that kid slammed that phone on the ground before I could even say anything! Luckily, that kid wasn't that big, so he couldn't do much physical damage to me even if he tried! But if your ex is big, he's not going to just knock the phone out of your hand, he will choke you to death! Best to be armed before he barges in the door!
And because most homicides in the home are by family members or acquaintances — not by an intruder — the presence of a gun in the home increases the risk of a gun murder in that home
Another stupid statement. If you're not living with a dysfunctional family, you could have tons of guns in your house, your relatives aren't going to kill you! But if your ex-boyfriend is 3x your size, he could use his strength to break in your house and choke the living crap out of you before you can even complete your sentence to the 911 operator!
Improve background checks and follow Canada in requiring a 28-day waiting period to buy a handgun.
A-28 day waiting period? Your ex, your angry co-worker, your employee you just fired, is not going to wait 28 days to slash you with a knife or knock the living crap out of you!
Yet, so-called "humanitarians" like Kristoff advocate that you be totally defenseless against those who can slash your face, stab your kidneys, choke you to death or break your jaw?
Kristoff then goes on with stats about "firearm suicide rates" and firearm homicide rates", but really, those stats are NOT AS IMPORTANT as "overall suicide rates" and "overall homicide rates". "Suicide through gunshot" is NOT more tragic than "suicide by hanging."
And don't give me this crap that "innocent person beaten to death in a hate crime" is better than "burglar got shot because his potential victims". In fact, I believe burglars, carjackers, store robbers, rapists, spouse abusers and other punks DESERVE TO BE SHOT AT! You think I'm being mean? What about the mean-spiritedness of burglars, carjackers, store robbers, rapists and spouse abusers who use knives, baseball bats and superior physical strength over their victims. Compassion for those punks is compassion wasted!
Kristof also dismissed John Lott's research proving that allowing for concealed weapons do deter criminals. John Lott answers back at Krisof at http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/01/14/arizona-shootings-gun-violence-research-facts-vs-new-york-times/#ixzz1B4POI9HT
John Lott answers to more anti-gun BS at http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/493636.html
And don't give me this "you don't need a gun, the police will protect you", because I wrote why that's bull-stuff at
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2008/12/police-cant-protect-you-everytime.html
Friday, January 14, 2011
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
First Blog Post of 2011
Happy New Year's to Everyone
1) My New Year's night
For my New Year's celebration, I was still undecided where to go until the evening of New Year's Eve!
I decided on going to Aloha Tower Marketplace, where they had multiple stages playing different styles of music, and where you can see the fireworks show!
There was also a foam pit, where you can party in all the foam spewing out of a machine. I was in there at 11:30, watching the midnight fireworks from there, and stayed there a little while more. A bunch of drunken guys were play wrestling each other in there! At that point, it's just time for me to move on!
I saw some more stages, then went to a new nightclub in the 2nd floor. I was there for a while, but the atmosphere was just too mediocre.
At 2am, I just decided to go to Oceans808 at nearby Restaurant Row! The music was faster pace, so that made it a lot more exciting atmosphere than that other mediocre club I was at earlier that night! And the people were dancing and laughing and having a great time, without acting like those drunks at the foam pit I mentioned earlier!
It was a great way to celebrate the New Year's! Too bad I have to go back to the real world now!
2) Firework Ban
Starting from this year, people can't popping fireworks by their house anymore.
I never cared for popping fireworks anyways. Causing fire hazards, and making my community look like a mess the next morning is just not my thing!
Now people are wondering "what am I going to do now?"
You can still throw a big house party, play some music and talk some story. Sure, it's noisy, but at least your neighbors don't have to worry about you accidentally burning their house down, nor do they have to worry about all that smoke!
I know my opinion isn't the most popular one out there, but I said it anyways!
3) Pop Singers
In my previous blog post (2010:Year in Review) I did mention a few music trends of 2010.
One I forgot to mention was Justin Beiber. He was very popular among young girls! I even remember working at a middle school in May 2010, where the 6th graders had their dance party! You should've seen the excitement when played Beibers "Baby" song he did with Ludacris!
There is even girls out there who get into jealous rages at any of Beiber's girlfriends. Already, there some girls sending death threats to Selena Gomes over this.
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/01/04/justin_bieber_selena_gomez_rage
Obviously, those girls need to chill! Sure, some might outgrow their Bieber's obsession, but their jealous rages are the real problem they really need to outgrow!
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/01/04/justin_bieber_selena_gomez_rage
Before long, that girl posting her wishes for "a hit on" Selena will outgrow her childish attachment to Justin and Jaden and all the rest. But she'll still have desires and envy and anger. Only it'll be toward the kid in English class. It'll be for his girlfriend. And unchecked and unguided, those over-the-top little Gomez haters of today are the mean girls of tomorrow. But by then, they won't be gunning for a Disney star. They'll be aiming their rage squarely at your own kid.
Of course, there's also the Bieber haters out there! There's people who think they sound tough when they say "Bieber is a homo" and all this other junk! These haters seriously need to get a life. If you don't like Beiber's music, just say "I'm not into it" and move on! Plus, Bieber hasn't done anything negative.
If anyone deserve to be hated on, it's Chris Brown. While his abuse of Rihanna has been well documented, Brown is still causing trouble. Chris Brown has been taunting another pop singer, Raz B (former member of B2K) about being molested by his manager back in his younger days.
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2010/12/30/chris_brown_homophobia/index.html
Brown's snide "dick in da booty" remarks would be disgusting directed at anyone, gay or straight, regardless of the motivation. But what makes them particularly reprehensible is that Brown was referring to Raz B's very public allegations that his former manager Chris Stokes and label mate Marques Houston had molested him when he was a preteen.
The sad thing about all this was that it was only a few years ago that people talked about Chris Brown being the "Next King of Pop".
If Brown thinks his actions will give him "street cred", he is sadly mistaken! He is considered a joke by real ghetto gang members out there, some of whom might do some nasty things to him if Brown served some real time!
---
4) College Football
It was just last month that the Big 10 conference talked about being "leaders and legends" of college football.
Yes, many Big 10 teams have a legendary past. But with so many of their teams losing bowl games on New Year's Day (Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Penn State, Northwestern), they want to reconsider this talk about being "leaders and legends".
Many Big 10 teams are from states in the Midwest, ranging from Pennsylvania to Iowa. One can say many of those states were "leaders and legends" when it came to industry and agriculture during the previous 2 centuries!
But if you look at the recent census, those states have lost their glory! For many of them, their population growths is so tiny. Michigan even lost population within the last decades! Meanwhile, states with college teams in the Big 12, SEC, ACC and Pac (10, about to be 12) have much larger population growths. It doesn't take a genius to figure out from this data that Big 10 will have a much harder time with gaining top college football recruits.---
One of the Big 10 losses mentioned was the Rose Bowl, where Wisconsin lost to Texas Christian University (TCU). TCU get all this crap from the critics about the "easy schedule".
Well, big schools like Alabama, Texas, Nebraska, Ohio State, avoid scheduling games with TCU and Boise State ON PURPOSE! They're scared of losing to them, so they just schedule non-conference games with mega-junk teams like San Jose State or New Mexico State!
Now TCU wants to join the Big East conference. The Big East? TCU isn't anywhere near the East Coast! But then again, the Dallas Cowboys are in the NFC East! Whoever decides on these conferences might need to re-learn some geography!
1) My New Year's night
For my New Year's celebration, I was still undecided where to go until the evening of New Year's Eve!
I decided on going to Aloha Tower Marketplace, where they had multiple stages playing different styles of music, and where you can see the fireworks show!
There was also a foam pit, where you can party in all the foam spewing out of a machine. I was in there at 11:30, watching the midnight fireworks from there, and stayed there a little while more. A bunch of drunken guys were play wrestling each other in there! At that point, it's just time for me to move on!
I saw some more stages, then went to a new nightclub in the 2nd floor. I was there for a while, but the atmosphere was just too mediocre.
At 2am, I just decided to go to Oceans808 at nearby Restaurant Row! The music was faster pace, so that made it a lot more exciting atmosphere than that other mediocre club I was at earlier that night! And the people were dancing and laughing and having a great time, without acting like those drunks at the foam pit I mentioned earlier!
It was a great way to celebrate the New Year's! Too bad I have to go back to the real world now!
2) Firework Ban
Starting from this year, people can't popping fireworks by their house anymore.
I never cared for popping fireworks anyways. Causing fire hazards, and making my community look like a mess the next morning is just not my thing!
Now people are wondering "what am I going to do now?"
You can still throw a big house party, play some music and talk some story. Sure, it's noisy, but at least your neighbors don't have to worry about you accidentally burning their house down, nor do they have to worry about all that smoke!
I know my opinion isn't the most popular one out there, but I said it anyways!
3) Pop Singers
In my previous blog post (2010:Year in Review) I did mention a few music trends of 2010.
One I forgot to mention was Justin Beiber. He was very popular among young girls! I even remember working at a middle school in May 2010, where the 6th graders had their dance party! You should've seen the excitement when played Beibers "Baby" song he did with Ludacris!
There is even girls out there who get into jealous rages at any of Beiber's girlfriends. Already, there some girls sending death threats to Selena Gomes over this.
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/01/04/justin_bieber_selena_gomez_rage
Obviously, those girls need to chill! Sure, some might outgrow their Bieber's obsession, but their jealous rages are the real problem they really need to outgrow!
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/01/04/justin_bieber_selena_gomez_rage
Before long, that girl posting her wishes for "a hit on" Selena will outgrow her childish attachment to Justin and Jaden and all the rest. But she'll still have desires and envy and anger. Only it'll be toward the kid in English class. It'll be for his girlfriend. And unchecked and unguided, those over-the-top little Gomez haters of today are the mean girls of tomorrow. But by then, they won't be gunning for a Disney star. They'll be aiming their rage squarely at your own kid.
Of course, there's also the Bieber haters out there! There's people who think they sound tough when they say "Bieber is a homo" and all this other junk! These haters seriously need to get a life. If you don't like Beiber's music, just say "I'm not into it" and move on! Plus, Bieber hasn't done anything negative.
If anyone deserve to be hated on, it's Chris Brown. While his abuse of Rihanna has been well documented, Brown is still causing trouble. Chris Brown has been taunting another pop singer, Raz B (former member of B2K) about being molested by his manager back in his younger days.
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2010/12/30/chris_brown_homophobia/index.html
Brown's snide "dick in da booty" remarks would be disgusting directed at anyone, gay or straight, regardless of the motivation. But what makes them particularly reprehensible is that Brown was referring to Raz B's very public allegations that his former manager Chris Stokes and label mate Marques Houston had molested him when he was a preteen.
The sad thing about all this was that it was only a few years ago that people talked about Chris Brown being the "Next King of Pop".
If Brown thinks his actions will give him "street cred", he is sadly mistaken! He is considered a joke by real ghetto gang members out there, some of whom might do some nasty things to him if Brown served some real time!
---
4) College Football
It was just last month that the Big 10 conference talked about being "leaders and legends" of college football.
Yes, many Big 10 teams have a legendary past. But with so many of their teams losing bowl games on New Year's Day (Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Penn State, Northwestern), they want to reconsider this talk about being "leaders and legends".
Many Big 10 teams are from states in the Midwest, ranging from Pennsylvania to Iowa. One can say many of those states were "leaders and legends" when it came to industry and agriculture during the previous 2 centuries!
But if you look at the recent census, those states have lost their glory! For many of them, their population growths is so tiny. Michigan even lost population within the last decades! Meanwhile, states with college teams in the Big 12, SEC, ACC and Pac (10, about to be 12) have much larger population growths. It doesn't take a genius to figure out from this data that Big 10 will have a much harder time with gaining top college football recruits.---
One of the Big 10 losses mentioned was the Rose Bowl, where Wisconsin lost to Texas Christian University (TCU). TCU get all this crap from the critics about the "easy schedule".
Well, big schools like Alabama, Texas, Nebraska, Ohio State, avoid scheduling games with TCU and Boise State ON PURPOSE! They're scared of losing to them, so they just schedule non-conference games with mega-junk teams like San Jose State or New Mexico State!
Now TCU wants to join the Big East conference. The Big East? TCU isn't anywhere near the East Coast! But then again, the Dallas Cowboys are in the NFC East! Whoever decides on these conferences might need to re-learn some geography!
Friday, December 31, 2010
2010 Year in Review
It's a few more hours before 2010 ends, and 2011 begins.
This year has been an adventure. This year had some personal struggles, but I was also able to experience some new things as well as experience some things I haven't done in years.
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The biggest event for me this year was my 3-decade birthday! Yep, I turned 30 years old this year, and I wanted to celebrate in the biggest way possible, while staying on budget.
You can read about it at
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-3-decade-celebration.html
As well as my life story of my 1st 3-decades at
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-first-3-decades-of-life.html
In other news ...
Economic/Jobs
2010 started off on a crappy note for me economically. But it's ending on a good note now!
I have been working as a substitute teacher since 2005, with both the public schools and the private schools.
A sub only gets paid on the days you get called to work. If you get called very often, the money is good. If you're not getting called often, then you're going to struggle.
In 2008, I was on a roll. It was the best year economically as a sub. Getting plenty work for both public and private schools, even working in the summer.
The first half of 2009 was great too, but the slowing economy really start to put the cramps on the education industry by Fall 2009! The public schools had Furlough Fridays. The teachers were really to trying maximize their time in the classroom with whatever days they got left. And even the private schools had struggled, since less people were enrolling.
So yeah, early 2010, I was really feeling the sting! My industry was in the decline! I seriously couldn't afford some things I used to!
I was already starting to check the job ads on Craig's List for additional work. I sure as hell didn't want to quit working in the schools, but I wouldn't mind an extra job.
On early February, I applied to work a temporary job at Punahou Carnival. It was my first time working at a carnival, but it sounded like fun! And I haven't been to the carnival since 2002 and I missed going! I was originally scheduled to work with the rides, but was moved to work with the games. I liked working the games involving tossing beanbags and shooting basketballs.
Then later that month, I saw an ad on Craig's List about working part-time as a para-professional tutor (PPT) with students in the Special Education programs within the DOE! I had applied in previous years for Educational Assistant (EA) positions, but didn't get hired for them. But I sure wasn't going to give up! So I applied for the PPT position and took a training session. And I got hired by the 1st school to interview me.
Summer was slow, but I was back to work when Fall 2010 semester rolled around!
Being pro-active and remembering the income-free winter breaks of years past, I decided to apply for a temporary position at Macy's for the holiday season. This was my 1st retail job ever. Stereotypically, retail jobs are what people do in their early 20's. But a later start in life doesn't hurt here!
I worked in what is called "recovery" which basically folding clothes and making sure things look nice. I never worked the cash register and didn't have any sales pressure since I wasn't a sales associate. I saw some shoppers that I knew from before, but not as many as I expected! It was an eye-opening experience working there, and I'm glad that I did!
So yeah, I'm ending 2010 in an economically high note. I can afford to party New Year's Eve without worrying about that breaking my budget.
Fun Events -
Another theme of mine in 2010 was rediscovering fun events I haven't done in a long time.
One example is the carnivals. Before 2010, the last time I went to the carnival was in 2002! An 8-year hiatus.
I did work the Punahou Carnival in February, which I mentioned already. I was considering working the 50th State Fair, but it never happened. But I did go there as a customer.
If you're not from Oahu, then let me tell you what the 50th State Fair is. The 50th State Fair is held on the parking lot of Aloha Stadium for about 4 weekends every May and June! It is what many people live for. Rides, games, food, petting zoos, exhibitions, etc.
For 8 years, I missed out on all that due to other distractions in my life! But I was back this year. I noticed there were smaller crowds, and there wasn't the big roller coaster anymore. And higher prices. But I still enjoyed the rides, the games, the loud music, the food, and watched some pigs racing! I felt alive again!
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Another thing I had an 8-year hiatus on was the Waikiki Ho'olaulea. This is the huge block party on Kalakaua Avenue with multiple stages of people playing music, and people walking around having fun! This usually takes place in September!
The Ho'olaulea organizers don't put out much advertising on this event, so some years I found out" too last minute" for me to make time for it! This year, I was able to find out in advance! I went with my friend Aaron G., walked Kalakaua Avenue, saw local reggae band Ten Feet playing and re-lived what I missed out the last 8 years.
Like the 50th State Fair, it was done on a smaller scale, due to the slowing economy. But I still enjoyed it!
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I also ended my hiatus from karaoke events on my 30th birthday. This year's birthday was on a Friday, so it was convenient time to party! Though it wasn't convenient for a few people I tried to invite because they finished work late in the evenings and weren't able to make it to my events in time. Hopefully, they can make it to my next birthday which falls on a Saturday.
--
In all club adventures of the past, I still didn't go to one when I was wearing a Santa hat! Again, other distractions the previous years. I was going to go party on Christmas Eve, but I had other distractions, so I went on Christmas night. It was a last minute decision to walk into Senor Frogs. Senor Frogs has a stage to dance on, and their drinks are more reasonably priced than other places. They also had a great atmosphere that night!
Music
My favorite song of the year was "Billionaire" featuring Travie McCoy doing the rapping, and Hawaii's own Bruno Mars singing the chorus! There is also a great remix version of that song with Hawaii's reggae/hip-hop group BET!
I loved the Billionaire song so much , it was the 1st song I sang on my birthday's karaoke! Too bad 2 of the guests came after I was done with the song.
While I congratulate Bruno Mars on his success this year, and his 7 Grammy nominations, he needs to stay out of trouble. He's already busted for cocaine! He needs to stay away from that, and stop trying to fit in with those in the industry who encourages him to do harmful substances.
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I remember mentioning in my earlier blog post about the West Coast hip-hop making a min-comeback with a more party flavor, especially with the jerk dance! There was a song by Audio Push earlier this year called "Teach Me How to Jerk".
Well, "the jerk" got overshadowed by "the dougie" this year. Cali Swag District had their southern-sounding hit "Teach Me How to Dougie" which had very catchy phrases that I loved to repeat!
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My other favorite song this year was "California Gurls" with Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg! I also remember this being the last song I sang at my birthday karaoke event!
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BOB had some hits with Bruno Mars, Eminem and other stars, but my favorite is "Magic" featuring Weezer's Rivers Cuomo! A great rock/rap combo inspired a 1960's "Do You Believe in Magic?" by The Lovin Spoonful
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My favorite Rihanna hit this year is "The Only Girl in the World". I was singing along with that song when I was dancing on the stage at Senor Frogs on Christmas. I wonder if someone You-Tubed it! You might find it hilarious!
--
There's obviously more great music, but this is my list for now! While people may complain about how "there's no good music anymore", there's always something good every year. and I'm looking forward to what great stuff comes out in 2011!
Sports
The world's biggest sports event was the World Cup in South Africa. My commentary on the World Cup at http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010/07/world-cup-2010.html
---
For UH football, they weren't expected to have a winning season. But they were able to go 10-3 in the regular season. But they lost the Hawaii Bowl to Tulsa. Yet, some people are calling for Coach Mack to get fired over losing a bowl game? HELLO - WE HAD A WINNING SEASON! Too many people demand instant gratification these days!
Besides, Tulsa was one of the greatest offensive teams this year, and one of the most under-rated teams of the year!
----
Another sign of people demanding instant gratification at UH- 2 men's basketball players quit the team in the early part of the season, because of a "lack of playing time".
Seriously, I'm not exaggerating.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/20101208_Rainbow_Warriors_lose_Salter_Coleman.html
HELLO - basketball is a TEAM sport, not an individual sport! Instead of whining over playing time EARLY IN THE SEASON, just keep practicing! You never know when the team needs you on the floor! Maybe if things don't work out at the end of the season, then they could chose other options.
But if they're going to quit EARLY in the season over playing time, then how are they supposed to handle minor inconveniences the first month in their future jobs? Are they just going keep quitting jobs as soon as something minor goes wrong? That's not going to pay the rent!
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Another side of excessive demand of instant gratification! Maryland's football coach got fired, even though he had an 8-4 season and won a bowl game. But the mentality nowadays is "winning seasons aren't enough, you need to win a championship every year!" Instant gratification run amok!
Learn more at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/18/AR2010121802878.html
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UConn women's basketball team finally lost a game yesterday (to Stanford) after win streak of 90 games in a row! That's the longest win streak for any college basketball team!
Yet, there are some haters out there disrespecting that team, saying stuff like "it's just a woman's team"
Oh yeah, where's the video evidence that you can beat those women in basketball? Is the answer "nowhere "? Then shut the beeping hell up! Actions speak louder than words!
---
Brett Favre already is a sports legend, with a Super Bowl ring, and on the way to the Hall of Fame! But he needs to move on to the next phase of life already! He's past his prime!
Check out http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1110/hess_farve.php3
---
I mentioned on facebook when Terrell Owens (TO) joined the Cincinnati Bengals, that TO and Chad Ochocinco could make the Bengals an exciting team. I had visions of the team having the most touchdown dances in NFL history. But they're past their prime, and the team wasn't successful! But the Bengals still got the coolest helmets that McKinley High School should imitate!
News Stories
You might've noticed that I didn't mention major news events on this blog posts. That's because I already wrote about them on the blog already.
I already wrote a blog post on the oil spill, the elections (both Hawaii and national), the controversy over a mosque near Ground Zero, airport security controversies, Arizona immigration controversy, Hawaii tsunami scare, and other stuff
And for sports, I already wrote about the Winter Olympics, World Cup, Ben Roethlisberger's rape case, and coaching and conference changes at UH!
Just go to the right side of this blog, click on a month, and explore my great insights, :)
And have a happy and safe new year's celebration
This year has been an adventure. This year had some personal struggles, but I was also able to experience some new things as well as experience some things I haven't done in years.
-----
The biggest event for me this year was my 3-decade birthday! Yep, I turned 30 years old this year, and I wanted to celebrate in the biggest way possible, while staying on budget.
You can read about it at
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-3-decade-celebration.html
As well as my life story of my 1st 3-decades at
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-first-3-decades-of-life.html
In other news ...
Economic/Jobs
2010 started off on a crappy note for me economically. But it's ending on a good note now!
I have been working as a substitute teacher since 2005, with both the public schools and the private schools.
A sub only gets paid on the days you get called to work. If you get called very often, the money is good. If you're not getting called often, then you're going to struggle.
In 2008, I was on a roll. It was the best year economically as a sub. Getting plenty work for both public and private schools, even working in the summer.
The first half of 2009 was great too, but the slowing economy really start to put the cramps on the education industry by Fall 2009! The public schools had Furlough Fridays. The teachers were really to trying maximize their time in the classroom with whatever days they got left. And even the private schools had struggled, since less people were enrolling.
So yeah, early 2010, I was really feeling the sting! My industry was in the decline! I seriously couldn't afford some things I used to!
I was already starting to check the job ads on Craig's List for additional work. I sure as hell didn't want to quit working in the schools, but I wouldn't mind an extra job.
On early February, I applied to work a temporary job at Punahou Carnival. It was my first time working at a carnival, but it sounded like fun! And I haven't been to the carnival since 2002 and I missed going! I was originally scheduled to work with the rides, but was moved to work with the games. I liked working the games involving tossing beanbags and shooting basketballs.
Then later that month, I saw an ad on Craig's List about working part-time as a para-professional tutor (PPT) with students in the Special Education programs within the DOE! I had applied in previous years for Educational Assistant (EA) positions, but didn't get hired for them. But I sure wasn't going to give up! So I applied for the PPT position and took a training session. And I got hired by the 1st school to interview me.
Summer was slow, but I was back to work when Fall 2010 semester rolled around!
Being pro-active and remembering the income-free winter breaks of years past, I decided to apply for a temporary position at Macy's for the holiday season. This was my 1st retail job ever. Stereotypically, retail jobs are what people do in their early 20's. But a later start in life doesn't hurt here!
I worked in what is called "recovery" which basically folding clothes and making sure things look nice. I never worked the cash register and didn't have any sales pressure since I wasn't a sales associate. I saw some shoppers that I knew from before, but not as many as I expected! It was an eye-opening experience working there, and I'm glad that I did!
So yeah, I'm ending 2010 in an economically high note. I can afford to party New Year's Eve without worrying about that breaking my budget.
Fun Events -
Another theme of mine in 2010 was rediscovering fun events I haven't done in a long time.
One example is the carnivals. Before 2010, the last time I went to the carnival was in 2002! An 8-year hiatus.
I did work the Punahou Carnival in February, which I mentioned already. I was considering working the 50th State Fair, but it never happened. But I did go there as a customer.
If you're not from Oahu, then let me tell you what the 50th State Fair is. The 50th State Fair is held on the parking lot of Aloha Stadium for about 4 weekends every May and June! It is what many people live for. Rides, games, food, petting zoos, exhibitions, etc.
For 8 years, I missed out on all that due to other distractions in my life! But I was back this year. I noticed there were smaller crowds, and there wasn't the big roller coaster anymore. And higher prices. But I still enjoyed the rides, the games, the loud music, the food, and watched some pigs racing! I felt alive again!
----
Another thing I had an 8-year hiatus on was the Waikiki Ho'olaulea. This is the huge block party on Kalakaua Avenue with multiple stages of people playing music, and people walking around having fun! This usually takes place in September!
The Ho'olaulea organizers don't put out much advertising on this event, so some years I found out" too last minute" for me to make time for it! This year, I was able to find out in advance! I went with my friend Aaron G., walked Kalakaua Avenue, saw local reggae band Ten Feet playing and re-lived what I missed out the last 8 years.
Like the 50th State Fair, it was done on a smaller scale, due to the slowing economy. But I still enjoyed it!
---
I also ended my hiatus from karaoke events on my 30th birthday. This year's birthday was on a Friday, so it was convenient time to party! Though it wasn't convenient for a few people I tried to invite because they finished work late in the evenings and weren't able to make it to my events in time. Hopefully, they can make it to my next birthday which falls on a Saturday.
--
In all club adventures of the past, I still didn't go to one when I was wearing a Santa hat! Again, other distractions the previous years. I was going to go party on Christmas Eve, but I had other distractions, so I went on Christmas night. It was a last minute decision to walk into Senor Frogs. Senor Frogs has a stage to dance on, and their drinks are more reasonably priced than other places. They also had a great atmosphere that night!
Music
My favorite song of the year was "Billionaire" featuring Travie McCoy doing the rapping, and Hawaii's own Bruno Mars singing the chorus! There is also a great remix version of that song with Hawaii's reggae/hip-hop group BET!
I loved the Billionaire song so much , it was the 1st song I sang on my birthday's karaoke! Too bad 2 of the guests came after I was done with the song.
While I congratulate Bruno Mars on his success this year, and his 7 Grammy nominations, he needs to stay out of trouble. He's already busted for cocaine! He needs to stay away from that, and stop trying to fit in with those in the industry who encourages him to do harmful substances.
---
I remember mentioning in my earlier blog post about the West Coast hip-hop making a min-comeback with a more party flavor, especially with the jerk dance! There was a song by Audio Push earlier this year called "Teach Me How to Jerk".
Well, "the jerk" got overshadowed by "the dougie" this year. Cali Swag District had their southern-sounding hit "Teach Me How to Dougie" which had very catchy phrases that I loved to repeat!
---
My other favorite song this year was "California Gurls" with Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg! I also remember this being the last song I sang at my birthday karaoke event!
----
BOB had some hits with Bruno Mars, Eminem and other stars, but my favorite is "Magic" featuring Weezer's Rivers Cuomo! A great rock/rap combo inspired a 1960's "Do You Believe in Magic?" by The Lovin Spoonful
--
My favorite Rihanna hit this year is "The Only Girl in the World". I was singing along with that song when I was dancing on the stage at Senor Frogs on Christmas. I wonder if someone You-Tubed it! You might find it hilarious!
--
There's obviously more great music, but this is my list for now! While people may complain about how "there's no good music anymore", there's always something good every year. and I'm looking forward to what great stuff comes out in 2011!
Sports
The world's biggest sports event was the World Cup in South Africa. My commentary on the World Cup at http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010/07/world-cup-2010.html
---
For UH football, they weren't expected to have a winning season. But they were able to go 10-3 in the regular season. But they lost the Hawaii Bowl to Tulsa. Yet, some people are calling for Coach Mack to get fired over losing a bowl game? HELLO - WE HAD A WINNING SEASON! Too many people demand instant gratification these days!
Besides, Tulsa was one of the greatest offensive teams this year, and one of the most under-rated teams of the year!
----
Another sign of people demanding instant gratification at UH- 2 men's basketball players quit the team in the early part of the season, because of a "lack of playing time".
Seriously, I'm not exaggerating.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/20101208_Rainbow_Warriors_lose_Salter_Coleman.html
HELLO - basketball is a TEAM sport, not an individual sport! Instead of whining over playing time EARLY IN THE SEASON, just keep practicing! You never know when the team needs you on the floor! Maybe if things don't work out at the end of the season, then they could chose other options.
But if they're going to quit EARLY in the season over playing time, then how are they supposed to handle minor inconveniences the first month in their future jobs? Are they just going keep quitting jobs as soon as something minor goes wrong? That's not going to pay the rent!
----
Another side of excessive demand of instant gratification! Maryland's football coach got fired, even though he had an 8-4 season and won a bowl game. But the mentality nowadays is "winning seasons aren't enough, you need to win a championship every year!" Instant gratification run amok!
Learn more at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/18/AR2010121802878.html
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UConn women's basketball team finally lost a game yesterday (to Stanford) after win streak of 90 games in a row! That's the longest win streak for any college basketball team!
Yet, there are some haters out there disrespecting that team, saying stuff like "it's just a woman's team"
Oh yeah, where's the video evidence that you can beat those women in basketball? Is the answer "nowhere "? Then shut the beeping hell up! Actions speak louder than words!
---
Brett Favre already is a sports legend, with a Super Bowl ring, and on the way to the Hall of Fame! But he needs to move on to the next phase of life already! He's past his prime!
Check out http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1110/hess_farve.php3
---
I mentioned on facebook when Terrell Owens (TO) joined the Cincinnati Bengals, that TO and Chad Ochocinco could make the Bengals an exciting team. I had visions of the team having the most touchdown dances in NFL history. But they're past their prime, and the team wasn't successful! But the Bengals still got the coolest helmets that McKinley High School should imitate!
News Stories
You might've noticed that I didn't mention major news events on this blog posts. That's because I already wrote about them on the blog already.
I already wrote a blog post on the oil spill, the elections (both Hawaii and national), the controversy over a mosque near Ground Zero, airport security controversies, Arizona immigration controversy, Hawaii tsunami scare, and other stuff
And for sports, I already wrote about the Winter Olympics, World Cup, Ben Roethlisberger's rape case, and coaching and conference changes at UH!
Just go to the right side of this blog, click on a month, and explore my great insights, :)
And have a happy and safe new year's celebration
Sunday, December 26, 2010
UH sports changing conferences
After months of speculation, it was announced earlier this month that UH will leave the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) on July 1, 2012. After that, the football team will play in the Mountain West Conference (MWC), the other sports teams will play in the Big West.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Athletic_Conference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_West_Conference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_West_Conference
Boise State was already planning to leave the WAC for the Mountain West after this school year.
Fresno State and Nevada wanted to join the Mountain West at the same time as Boise State. But they missed the deadline, so they'll have to wait until 2012.
After it was announced that Fresno State and Nevada was going to leave the WAC, there was panic among WAC and UH officials.
The WAC went to find some new members from smaller colleges. They wanted Montana, which had some success in the 1-AA level. But Montana declined. So the WAC then added Texas State, Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) and Denver.
Some say that the WAC should fire its commissioner Jim Benson over the fact that teams always leave the WAC as soon as they had some success. But I'm already thinking that Benson actually enjoys being in charge of a conference that changes members all the time! I really believe that adding and losing teams makes his life exciting
But the UH fans sure aren't excited about the future WAC!
The better teams in the WAC are leaving. We're stuck with opponents that don't really attract crowds at Aloha Stadium. Hawaii fans tend to just go to games with big name opponents! They're not excited about watching UH playing smaller time WAC programs like San Jose State or New Mexico State. And they're sell as hell not going to fill the stadium to watch UH play Texas State or UT-San Antonio.
Some demanded that UH play football as an independent, meaning not being a member of a conference. That would mean UH would have to schedule all of its games. That's not as easy as it sounds.
Back in 2007, then-UH Athletic Director Herman Frazier got a lot of heat over his struggles in scheduling opponents for the football season.
But some things were out of his control!
UH was scheduled to play Michigan State that year. But Michigan State cancelled that game, and bribed UH with $250,000 into accepting that game's cancellation!
Frazier attempted to schedule the season's opening game at the other big university in the state of Michigan. That's right, Frazier attempted to schedule UH to play the University of Michigan at it's huge stadium at Anne Arbor. Michigan refused to play UH, and decided to play an even lesser-known school Appalachian State. Ironically, Appalachian State pulled a historic upset at that game!
Because of those scheduling difficulties, Frazier had to schedule small-time teams from Northern Colorado and Charleston Southern!
Frazier already had 8 games guaranteed, due to WAC affiliation. He just had to fill in 4-5 more games! Even that was difficult!
If Frazier had difficulty getting 4 more teams to play UH, what makes you think UH would have an easy time scheduling all 12 or 13 games by itself as an independent school?
Many college teams don't want to travel all the way to Hawaii! Too far, too expensive, too time-consuming!
----
And that brings up another concern for Hawaii as well! To play their opponents on the road requires plane ride that goes 2,500+miles and takes at least 5 hours. And that's just to play a team in California!
But remember, the WAC as it is now, has teams in hard to get to places like Louisiana Tech (Ruston), New Mexico State (Las Cruces), Utah State (Logan) and Idaho (Moscow). Those schools are located in small towns far from major urban areas. There is NO direct flights from Hawaii to those places. So, it's either take 2 plane rides, or just take 1 plane to a major urban area (ie Las Vegas, Dallas, etc) and take a bus ride to your opponents' hometown.
And add possible flight delays, bad weather, etc.
And remember, these athletes also have to find time to keep up with their academic work in the midst of all this! That means finishing up research papers, reading books filled with words an average person doesn't use in conversations, and taking exams. And doing it all in the most craziest traveling situation in all of college sports.
That makes finding a good conference for UH sports more complicated than other colleges.
--------
The Big West conference as it is now, only has teams in California. That makes it easier on UH travel schedule, since they only need 1 flight to either Los Angeles, San Francisco or San Diego. No more long trips to isolated rural colleges located in landlocked states.
But the only problem with the Big West is that most of their schools don't have a football team. They all got basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball and soccer! But most don't have football!
The WAC will still have football teams, but Hawaii fans aren't interested in games against San Jose State, New Mexico State, or (future members) Texas State or UTSA.
So the compromise solution was for the football team to play in the Mountain West, and the other sports play in the Big West.
For football, the fans can continue to enjoy rivalries with Fresno State, Nevada and Boise State. Plus, they can take direct flights to road games against UNLV and San Diego State. The main drawback though, is long road to trips to games at rural colleges like Wyoming (Laramie) or Colorado State (Fort Collins).
For the other UH sports, they don't' have to worry about such road trips in the Big West. They can easily build or renew rivalries with Long Beach State, UC-Irvine, Pacific and Cal State Fullerton. Those schools may not have football teams, but they do have quality level volleyball, baseball and softball teams.
However, sports announcer Jeff Portnoy is upset that the Big West isn't a great basketball conference.
http://hoopstalk.honadvblogs.com/2010/12/10/uh-the-big-west-and-basketball/
He feels that UH basketball will take a step backward by being in that conference. But UH basketball hasn't done well in the last 3 years, so they haven't earned the privilege to complain. Just be lucky they won't be distracted by long road trips to isolated rural colleges.
----
It's not just the distance that made it hard for UH! It's also the cost of travel. In this economic times, when schools are cutting budgets, college athletics aren't immune. Travel costs are a concern for the college teams traveling to Hawaii. So Hawaii had to agree to travel subsidies in order to join Mountain West and the Big West.
The words "travel subsidies" sent fear to the heart of many UH fans. You mean we gotta pay for our opponents plane ticket, hotel rooms, meals and other stuff? Actually no, we're just paying for their plane ride to and from the continent. Our opponents will continue to pay for hotel rooms and other accommodations, just like they do in their other road trips.
----
Even though the UH Warriors lost to Tulsa in the Hawaii Bowl, they still had a great season! Hopefully, they'll continue to have success in all their sports as they move on to their new conferences
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Athletic_Conference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_West_Conference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_West_Conference
Boise State was already planning to leave the WAC for the Mountain West after this school year.
Fresno State and Nevada wanted to join the Mountain West at the same time as Boise State. But they missed the deadline, so they'll have to wait until 2012.
After it was announced that Fresno State and Nevada was going to leave the WAC, there was panic among WAC and UH officials.
The WAC went to find some new members from smaller colleges. They wanted Montana, which had some success in the 1-AA level. But Montana declined. So the WAC then added Texas State, Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) and Denver.
Some say that the WAC should fire its commissioner Jim Benson over the fact that teams always leave the WAC as soon as they had some success. But I'm already thinking that Benson actually enjoys being in charge of a conference that changes members all the time! I really believe that adding and losing teams makes his life exciting
But the UH fans sure aren't excited about the future WAC!
The better teams in the WAC are leaving. We're stuck with opponents that don't really attract crowds at Aloha Stadium. Hawaii fans tend to just go to games with big name opponents! They're not excited about watching UH playing smaller time WAC programs like San Jose State or New Mexico State. And they're sell as hell not going to fill the stadium to watch UH play Texas State or UT-San Antonio.
Some demanded that UH play football as an independent, meaning not being a member of a conference. That would mean UH would have to schedule all of its games. That's not as easy as it sounds.
Back in 2007, then-UH Athletic Director Herman Frazier got a lot of heat over his struggles in scheduling opponents for the football season.
But some things were out of his control!
UH was scheduled to play Michigan State that year. But Michigan State cancelled that game, and bribed UH with $250,000 into accepting that game's cancellation!
Frazier attempted to schedule the season's opening game at the other big university in the state of Michigan. That's right, Frazier attempted to schedule UH to play the University of Michigan at it's huge stadium at Anne Arbor. Michigan refused to play UH, and decided to play an even lesser-known school Appalachian State. Ironically, Appalachian State pulled a historic upset at that game!
Because of those scheduling difficulties, Frazier had to schedule small-time teams from Northern Colorado and Charleston Southern!
Frazier already had 8 games guaranteed, due to WAC affiliation. He just had to fill in 4-5 more games! Even that was difficult!
If Frazier had difficulty getting 4 more teams to play UH, what makes you think UH would have an easy time scheduling all 12 or 13 games by itself as an independent school?
Many college teams don't want to travel all the way to Hawaii! Too far, too expensive, too time-consuming!
----
And that brings up another concern for Hawaii as well! To play their opponents on the road requires plane ride that goes 2,500+miles and takes at least 5 hours. And that's just to play a team in California!
But remember, the WAC as it is now, has teams in hard to get to places like Louisiana Tech (Ruston), New Mexico State (Las Cruces), Utah State (Logan) and Idaho (Moscow). Those schools are located in small towns far from major urban areas. There is NO direct flights from Hawaii to those places. So, it's either take 2 plane rides, or just take 1 plane to a major urban area (ie Las Vegas, Dallas, etc) and take a bus ride to your opponents' hometown.
And add possible flight delays, bad weather, etc.
And remember, these athletes also have to find time to keep up with their academic work in the midst of all this! That means finishing up research papers, reading books filled with words an average person doesn't use in conversations, and taking exams. And doing it all in the most craziest traveling situation in all of college sports.
That makes finding a good conference for UH sports more complicated than other colleges.
--------
The Big West conference as it is now, only has teams in California. That makes it easier on UH travel schedule, since they only need 1 flight to either Los Angeles, San Francisco or San Diego. No more long trips to isolated rural colleges located in landlocked states.
But the only problem with the Big West is that most of their schools don't have a football team. They all got basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball and soccer! But most don't have football!
The WAC will still have football teams, but Hawaii fans aren't interested in games against San Jose State, New Mexico State, or (future members) Texas State or UTSA.
So the compromise solution was for the football team to play in the Mountain West, and the other sports play in the Big West.
For football, the fans can continue to enjoy rivalries with Fresno State, Nevada and Boise State. Plus, they can take direct flights to road games against UNLV and San Diego State. The main drawback though, is long road to trips to games at rural colleges like Wyoming (Laramie) or Colorado State (Fort Collins).
For the other UH sports, they don't' have to worry about such road trips in the Big West. They can easily build or renew rivalries with Long Beach State, UC-Irvine, Pacific and Cal State Fullerton. Those schools may not have football teams, but they do have quality level volleyball, baseball and softball teams.
However, sports announcer Jeff Portnoy is upset that the Big West isn't a great basketball conference.
http://hoopstalk.honadvblogs.com/2010/12/10/uh-the-big-west-and-basketball/
He feels that UH basketball will take a step backward by being in that conference. But UH basketball hasn't done well in the last 3 years, so they haven't earned the privilege to complain. Just be lucky they won't be distracted by long road trips to isolated rural colleges.
----
It's not just the distance that made it hard for UH! It's also the cost of travel. In this economic times, when schools are cutting budgets, college athletics aren't immune. Travel costs are a concern for the college teams traveling to Hawaii. So Hawaii had to agree to travel subsidies in order to join Mountain West and the Big West.
The words "travel subsidies" sent fear to the heart of many UH fans. You mean we gotta pay for our opponents plane ticket, hotel rooms, meals and other stuff? Actually no, we're just paying for their plane ride to and from the continent. Our opponents will continue to pay for hotel rooms and other accommodations, just like they do in their other road trips.
----
Even though the UH Warriors lost to Tulsa in the Hawaii Bowl, they still had a great season! Hopefully, they'll continue to have success in all their sports as they move on to their new conferences
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Airport Security & Juan Williams controversy
1) Airport Security
In the old days, if you want to get on an airplane, you just buy a ticket and get in the plane!
Now, you have to go through all sorts of inspections. You get inspected to make sure you got no sharp objects because the 9/11 hijackers threatened passengers and airline staff with box cutters. Your shoe get inspected because Richard Reid tried to blow up an explosive under his shoe! You can't bring certain liquids because someone tried to blow up a plane using liquid explosives.
But now that someone tried to blow up a plane by lighting liquid explosives that he hid in his underwear, guess what? We got to go through a scanner that see what's under our clothes.
You can still opt-out of that, but that means you have to allow a TSA worker to pat you down! Ewwwww! I'd rather just go through the scanner rather than have some authority person touching all over me!
Some far-right conservatives are outraged at President Obama over this! Yet, when Bush was president, those same far-right conservatives were mocking anyone who didn't like airport security policies! Very hypocritical!
Well not all conservative pundits showed such hypocrisy. For example, Jonah Goldberg is a well-known right-wing pundit, but he refuse to play the "blame it all on the Democrat" game
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/jonah112510.php3
(skipped paragraphs)
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2) Profiling and Privacy Invasions
Arnold Ahlert on the other hand, is typical of what I consider "Conservative Correctness". Meaning, he says a bunch of far-right cliches and gets bent of shape if you don't automatically fall for such cliches. Pay close attention to what I highlighted and notice a pattern!
Notice a pattern. Look at the colors I highlighted the statements with! He wants government to respect HIS rights, but not of those who "look Muslims"
Many with the Conservative Correctness like yell slogans like "Live Free or Die", "Get Big Government Off Our Backs", and complain about an intrusive government that invades our privacy. But, yet many of those same people demand that government single out certain people for special scrutiny and privacy invasions if those people "look Middle Eastern". The mentality of many in the Conservative Correctness Crowd is "No Government Intrusions for the White Person, Tons of Government Intrusions for the Brown Person"
This "profile anyone if they look Muslim" is so lame, because Muslims aren't a race, they're a religious group. Yes, Islam started in the Middle East, but it spread to other areas in the world, to people who don't even look Arab. And some Arabs aren't even Muslims, some are Christians or atheists!
That aside, some still scream for more racial profiling of those who look Middle Eastern. They scream "look what they did to us on 9/11!" But racially profiling Arabs would NOT have stop the underpants bomber, because he did NOT look Middle Eastern! He was a very dark-skinned man from Nigeria!
More examples of terrorist actions involving people who would NEVER got caught if our security policy is "profile the Arabs" or "profile those from Muslim lands"
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/charen112610.php3
The whole point is, even though the 9/11 hijackers were of Arab ancestry, other people who are mad at the world, could blow stuff up, for whatever reason they can claim. It doesn't have to be related to Islam! The Oklahoma City bomber and the Columbine killers were definitely NOT Arabs, and definitely NOT Muslims, but they still caused mass murder and a national trauma. They might not have blown up an airplane, but don't be surprised if someone of their cultural background and who share similar grievances might want to blow up an airplane.
Either way, it wouldn't matter if I was killed by a Middle Eastern, European or whatever! Either way, I still would be dead!
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3) Juan Williams controversy
Juan Williams, who used to be a reporter with National Public Radio (NPR), was fired from NPR earlier this year, for mentioning that he gets nervous when he sees someone "in Muslim garb" while riding an airplane!
Williams later emphasized that it is still no excuse to be discriminating against people who are Muslims or who are of Middle Eastern ancestry.
But the damage was done!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/21/AR2010102101474_pf.html
-----
Some right-wing conservatives were saying stuff like "how dare NPR fire him for saying what many people think".
Their mentality is that whole "Arabs attacked us on 9/11, so I'm nervous when I see them on an airplane" nonsense
But an Arab/Mexican/African/etc could EASILY say something like this: "I grew up in a white neighborhood, got bullied by big white kids, and I still get nervous when I see a group of young white males".
Would the far-right conservatives defend that person the same way they defended Juan Williams for admitting being nervous while "seeing Muslims on a plane"?
OFF COURSE NOT!
The Conservative Correctness Crowd would be ridiculing any non-white who expresses nervousness about seeing a group of young white males. Glenn Beck would be whining about that non-white person's "deep-seated hatred of white people". Michelle Maglalang Malkin would write a sarcastic editorial about person and mocking his grievances as a "sob story". And Ann Coulter would demand that non-white person to be racially profiled some more!
So yeah, the Conservative Correctness Crowd likes other ethnic groups to be mocked, racially profiled, and face privacy invasions, as long as it's not their ethnic group facing all that! Hypocrites!
---
After the whole Juan Williams controversy, some right-wing conservatives were demanding the government stop funding NPR and PBS!
NPR and PBS are already mostly privately funded, though it still accepts government subsidises!
I do believe NPR and PBS should be totally privatized, but for a totally different reason from those Conservative Correctness Crowd!
Government shouldn't be owning any TV or radio stations. Government shouldn't be in charge of any journalism organization!
Jeff Jacoby made some following great points on the issue of government funding of NPR!
http://jewishworldreview.com/jeff/jacoby112410.php3
AMEN to all that!
In the old days, if you want to get on an airplane, you just buy a ticket and get in the plane!
Now, you have to go through all sorts of inspections. You get inspected to make sure you got no sharp objects because the 9/11 hijackers threatened passengers and airline staff with box cutters. Your shoe get inspected because Richard Reid tried to blow up an explosive under his shoe! You can't bring certain liquids because someone tried to blow up a plane using liquid explosives.
But now that someone tried to blow up a plane by lighting liquid explosives that he hid in his underwear, guess what? We got to go through a scanner that see what's under our clothes.
You can still opt-out of that, but that means you have to allow a TSA worker to pat you down! Ewwwww! I'd rather just go through the scanner rather than have some authority person touching all over me!
Some far-right conservatives are outraged at President Obama over this! Yet, when Bush was president, those same far-right conservatives were mocking anyone who didn't like airport security policies! Very hypocritical!
Well not all conservative pundits showed such hypocrisy. For example, Jonah Goldberg is a well-known right-wing pundit, but he refuse to play the "blame it all on the Democrat" game
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/jonah112510.php3
Obviously, the first people to blame for this mess are the murderers. Without them, flying wouldn't be the soul-killing experience it is.
(skipped paragraphs)
But Obama is not to blame. Osama bin Laden is.
-----------
2) Profiling and Privacy Invasions
Arnold Ahlert on the other hand, is typical of what I consider "Conservative Correctness". Meaning, he says a bunch of far-right cliches and gets bent of shape if you don't automatically fall for such cliches. Pay close attention to what I highlighted and notice a pattern!
Americans, quite rightly, are outraged by such an unseemly invasion of one's personal space. Not merely because such an invasion itself is uncomfortable and best and demeaning at worst, but because government-enforced gropes and peeps are the triumph of political correctness over common sense and common decency. Even more importantly, the ultimate destination of political correctness itself is also revealed: American airports are well on their way to becoming de facto totalitarian states.
Such an assessment is no longer arguable. When the state commands the power to subject citizens to a full-body search without the slightest concern for reasonable suspicion or probable cause, they are effectively obliterating one of the bedrock principals of our Constitution, aka the presumption of innocence. They do this because political correctness demands a subjugation of reality to a preconceived — and utterly misguided — notion of "fairness."
[Pablo's note: so that guy sounds like he hates government bullying airplane passengers, but pay attention to his statements that I'll highlight in this color]
In other words, despite over three decades of terrorist attacks perpetrated almost exclusively by Muslims, and of those Muslims, a subset of males between the ages of 17 and 45, government is determined to remain "equally suspicious" of everybody. Thus, grandmothers and four year olds are compelled to submit in equal proportions, lest charges of "Islamophobia" or "bigotry" and the inevitable litigation those charges would engender arise.
Notice a pattern. Look at the colors I highlighted the statements with! He wants government to respect HIS rights, but not of those who "look Muslims"
Many with the Conservative Correctness like yell slogans like "Live Free or Die", "Get Big Government Off Our Backs", and complain about an intrusive government that invades our privacy. But, yet many of those same people demand that government single out certain people for special scrutiny and privacy invasions if those people "look Middle Eastern". The mentality of many in the Conservative Correctness Crowd is "No Government Intrusions for the White Person, Tons of Government Intrusions for the Brown Person"
This "profile anyone if they look Muslim" is so lame, because Muslims aren't a race, they're a religious group. Yes, Islam started in the Middle East, but it spread to other areas in the world, to people who don't even look Arab. And some Arabs aren't even Muslims, some are Christians or atheists!
That aside, some still scream for more racial profiling of those who look Middle Eastern. They scream "look what they did to us on 9/11!" But racially profiling Arabs would NOT have stop the underpants bomber, because he did NOT look Middle Eastern! He was a very dark-skinned man from Nigeria!
More examples of terrorist actions involving people who would NEVER got caught if our security policy is "profile the Arabs" or "profile those from Muslim lands"
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/charen112610.php3
Colleen Renee LaRose, aka Jihad Jane, and Jamie Paulin-Ramirez were both blond, blue-eyed American converts to Islam who were arrested in October 2009 in Ireland and charged with plotting to kill a Swedish cartoonist who had drawn Mohammad's head on the body of a dog.
In 1972, members of the Japanese Red Army opened fire in Tel Aviv's airport, killing 24 people. In 1986, a pregnant Irish woman was attempting to fly from Heathrow to Tel Aviv. A check of her luggage revealed that her fiance, a Palestinian, had planted Semtex explosive in her carry-on bag. If not discovered, it would have brought down the plane. In the early 1980s, a German national recently released from prison was befriended by Palestinians. His new friends bought him an airline ticket to Tel Aviv. He thought he was smuggling drugs. But in fact, his bags contained 10 pounds of explosives.
Yes, most aspiring airline suicide bombers are young Muslim men. But not all of them are from the 14 countries listed by the Obama administration. Richard Reid was British. Zacarias Moussaoui was French. One of the terrorists who hijacked an Air France jet in the 1970s on behalf of the Palestinians was a German woman. The suicide bombers who struck the Moscow subway in March were women. And women suicide bombers have struck at checkpoints in the West Bank.
The whole point is, even though the 9/11 hijackers were of Arab ancestry, other people who are mad at the world, could blow stuff up, for whatever reason they can claim. It doesn't have to be related to Islam! The Oklahoma City bomber and the Columbine killers were definitely NOT Arabs, and definitely NOT Muslims, but they still caused mass murder and a national trauma. They might not have blown up an airplane, but don't be surprised if someone of their cultural background and who share similar grievances might want to blow up an airplane.
Either way, it wouldn't matter if I was killed by a Middle Eastern, European or whatever! Either way, I still would be dead!
----------
3) Juan Williams controversy
Juan Williams, who used to be a reporter with National Public Radio (NPR), was fired from NPR earlier this year, for mentioning that he gets nervous when he sees someone "in Muslim garb" while riding an airplane!
Williams later emphasized that it is still no excuse to be discriminating against people who are Muslims or who are of Middle Eastern ancestry.
But the damage was done!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/21/AR2010102101474_pf.html
-----
Some right-wing conservatives were saying stuff like "how dare NPR fire him for saying what many people think".
Their mentality is that whole "Arabs attacked us on 9/11, so I'm nervous when I see them on an airplane" nonsense
But an Arab/Mexican/African/etc could EASILY say something like this: "I grew up in a white neighborhood, got bullied by big white kids, and I still get nervous when I see a group of young white males".
Would the far-right conservatives defend that person the same way they defended Juan Williams for admitting being nervous while "seeing Muslims on a plane"?
OFF COURSE NOT!
The Conservative Correctness Crowd would be ridiculing any non-white who expresses nervousness about seeing a group of young white males. Glenn Beck would be whining about that non-white person's "deep-seated hatred of white people". Michelle Maglalang Malkin would write a sarcastic editorial about person and mocking his grievances as a "sob story". And Ann Coulter would demand that non-white person to be racially profiled some more!
So yeah, the Conservative Correctness Crowd likes other ethnic groups to be mocked, racially profiled, and face privacy invasions, as long as it's not their ethnic group facing all that! Hypocrites!
---
After the whole Juan Williams controversy, some right-wing conservatives were demanding the government stop funding NPR and PBS!
NPR and PBS are already mostly privately funded, though it still accepts government subsidises!
I do believe NPR and PBS should be totally privatized, but for a totally different reason from those Conservative Correctness Crowd!
Government shouldn't be owning any TV or radio stations. Government shouldn't be in charge of any journalism organization!
Jeff Jacoby made some following great points on the issue of government funding of NPR!
http://jewishworldreview.com/jeff/jacoby112410.php3
1. They aren't fair. Other radio stations and networks, from Air America to Clear Channel to Univision to Westwood One, must sink or swim in a competitive market. They survive only if listeners and advertisers value what they do. Uncle Sam doesn't keep them afloat with tens of millions of dollars annually in direct and indirect subsidies. If they can operate without corporate welfare, NPR can too.
2. They aren't appropriate. In a free society, especially one with a robust tradition of press freedom, the very idea of government-underwritten media should be anathema. When news organizations depend on largesse from the treasury, there is inevitably a price paid in objectivity, fairness, and journalistic independence.
3. They aren't necessary. NPR's partisans claim that public broadcasting provides valuable news and educational content that listeners can't get anywhere else. That may have been a plausible argument in 1970. It is utterly implausible today, when audio programming of every description can be found amid a vast and dizzying array of outlets: terrestrial and satellite radio, internet broadcasting, podcasts and audio downloads.
4. They aren't affordable. At a time of trillion-dollar federal deficits and a national debt of nearly $14 trillion, NPR's government subsidies cannot possibly be justified. All the more so when public broadcasting attracts a fortune in private funding, from the gifts of innumerable "listeners like you" to the $200 million bequeathed to NPR by the late Joan Kroc in 2003.
AMEN to all that!
Friday, December 03, 2010
black friday, naked gun, world cup and facebook guilt trips
1) Black Friday
Of all the people who camped outside of stores for days for Black Friday just to buy stuff, I wonder how many of them are the same ones who say "I don't have time to vote", even though the voting lines are a lot shorter!
2) Actor Leslie Nielsen has passed away recently.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Nielsen
Don't let the first name fool you, Leslie is a man! A very funny one, famous for being in the "Naked Gun" movies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naked_Gun
Those Naked Gun movies were comedies involving police detectives. Nielsen was the main star, though the movie also had Priscilla Presley (Elvis' wife) and OJ Simpson (this was before the infamous murder case)
These were true classic comedies, in which I couldn't even stop laughing at all the silly antics going on! Check them out if you got the time
3)Future World Cup hosts
It has just been announced where the 2018 and 2022 World Cups will be held!
2018 will be held in Russia! While Russia has hosted several Olympic games, this will be its first World Cup!
2022 World Cup will be held in Qatar! It will the 1st World Cup in the Middle East! Just like how 2010 World Cup in South Africa showed there's more to Africa than starvation and warfare, the 2022 World Cup will show the world there's more to the Middle East than terrorism!
Even before the announcement, I did hear plans for a Middle Eastern World Cup, though I honestly didn't expect Qatar to be the only host! I was thinking it would've shared hosting duties United Arab Emirates (with it's famous Dubai and Abu Dhabi) and Bahrain! While Qatar is one of the wealthier Arab countries, I thought it was too small a country to host the World Cup by itself! I was thinking, since Japan & South Korea shared hosting duties back in 2002, the same arrangement would've been done for a Middle Eastern World Cup!
Either way, I wish the future World Cup hosts good luck!
4) Facebook Status Updates
I keep seeing people making status updates making guilt trips like "(hunger/breast cancer/diabetes/poverty/etc affects millions, 93% of you won't re-post this"
I'm all for spreading awareness of the problems of the world, but I can't stand that lame guilt-trips like "93% of you won't re-post this". As if we're supposed to feel un-earned guilt by not re-posting such statements! No one is going to die if we don't feel like re-posting such statements!
Now, people are posting cartoon pictures as their profile, supposedly as a protest against child abuse! I'm all for ending child abuse, but those cartoons won't even come close to convincing parents to stop over-reacting to their kids antics! Plus, any child abuser can post cartoon pictures as their profile picture! Post those cartoon pictures if you like, but don't think everyone posting it is sincere about ending child abuse!
It reminds me of the time when facebook users were posting their bra-colors, supposedly to spread awareness of breast cancer. The only awareness spread was the awareness from the males about what their former high-school crushes are wearing under their shirts!
As for me, I prefer to spread awareness by spreading information about stuff, without the guilt trips of "93% of you won't re-post this". I do post links on facebook to my blog posts, but I'm not going to put lame guilt trips on those who aren't interested in reading it! As far as I'm concerned, my blog posts are available to whoever is ready to read them, without worrying about guilt trips!
Of all the people who camped outside of stores for days for Black Friday just to buy stuff, I wonder how many of them are the same ones who say "I don't have time to vote", even though the voting lines are a lot shorter!
2) Actor Leslie Nielsen has passed away recently.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Nielsen
Don't let the first name fool you, Leslie is a man! A very funny one, famous for being in the "Naked Gun" movies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naked_Gun
Those Naked Gun movies were comedies involving police detectives. Nielsen was the main star, though the movie also had Priscilla Presley (Elvis' wife) and OJ Simpson (this was before the infamous murder case)
These were true classic comedies, in which I couldn't even stop laughing at all the silly antics going on! Check them out if you got the time
3)Future World Cup hosts
It has just been announced where the 2018 and 2022 World Cups will be held!
2018 will be held in Russia! While Russia has hosted several Olympic games, this will be its first World Cup!
2022 World Cup will be held in Qatar! It will the 1st World Cup in the Middle East! Just like how 2010 World Cup in South Africa showed there's more to Africa than starvation and warfare, the 2022 World Cup will show the world there's more to the Middle East than terrorism!
Even before the announcement, I did hear plans for a Middle Eastern World Cup, though I honestly didn't expect Qatar to be the only host! I was thinking it would've shared hosting duties United Arab Emirates (with it's famous Dubai and Abu Dhabi) and Bahrain! While Qatar is one of the wealthier Arab countries, I thought it was too small a country to host the World Cup by itself! I was thinking, since Japan & South Korea shared hosting duties back in 2002, the same arrangement would've been done for a Middle Eastern World Cup!
Either way, I wish the future World Cup hosts good luck!
4) Facebook Status Updates
I keep seeing people making status updates making guilt trips like "(hunger/breast cancer/diabetes/poverty/etc affects millions, 93% of you won't re-post this"
I'm all for spreading awareness of the problems of the world, but I can't stand that lame guilt-trips like "93% of you won't re-post this". As if we're supposed to feel un-earned guilt by not re-posting such statements! No one is going to die if we don't feel like re-posting such statements!
Now, people are posting cartoon pictures as their profile, supposedly as a protest against child abuse! I'm all for ending child abuse, but those cartoons won't even come close to convincing parents to stop over-reacting to their kids antics! Plus, any child abuser can post cartoon pictures as their profile picture! Post those cartoon pictures if you like, but don't think everyone posting it is sincere about ending child abuse!
It reminds me of the time when facebook users were posting their bra-colors, supposedly to spread awareness of breast cancer. The only awareness spread was the awareness from the males about what their former high-school crushes are wearing under their shirts!
As for me, I prefer to spread awareness by spreading information about stuff, without the guilt trips of "93% of you won't re-post this". I do post links on facebook to my blog posts, but I'm not going to put lame guilt trips on those who aren't interested in reading it! As far as I'm concerned, my blog posts are available to whoever is ready to read them, without worrying about guilt trips!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Commentary on the 2010 Elections, part 2: the national scene
In a previous blog post, I discussed the election results for Hawaii.
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html#1592160011337005645
Now, I'll analyze the election results for the rest of the nation
1) Back when Obama was inaugurated in Jan 2009, people were talking about a "permanent Democrat majority". They were talking about the rise of the non-white vote, and the large support the younger generation gave to Barack Obama's election. Meanwhile, John McCain had the support of the older voters, and a rural European-American Christian vote that has been gradually loosing their influence. So it was understandable that a "permanent Democrat majority" was the "wave of the future"
Well, not so fast!
As it usually happens, once a president is in office, that person will be making decisions that will alienate former supporters! Governing is different from campaigning. Campaigns are all about marketing. Governing takes action.
The decisions a president make will eventually overshadow the magic of an exciting campaign.
So, yes Obama's popularity has been declining.
While some say race is a factor! But Obama was already racially part-African, part-European when he won the election. That hasn't changed since!
So what happened?
Well, the recession is still on-going! Sure, some economists say the worst is over! But many are still unemployed! Many are finding that job opportunities that match their talents and skills are harder to come by! Come election time, people will take it out on the party in power.
In 1982, Ronald Reagan was half-way his 1st term in office. But the recession that started in Jimmy Carter's presidency still hadn't ended! So many people who voted Reagan in 1980, out of recession anger at Carter, were in 1982, taking it out on Reagan's Republican allies in Congress.
Not much different these days. In 2008, the markets crashed, Republicans were in power, so the people voted Democrat! In 2010, they felt Democrats haven't solved the problem, so they voted Republican.
But of course, there's more! There's a cap & trade bill that Obama supported but didn't get through Congress. It was for more taxes on fossil fuels. Obviously, no one wants to pay more taxes in a recession.
There's health reform and immigration reform as well. Those will discussed in more detail.
2) Health Reform.
I remember a few years back when John Stossell, who was still at ABC News, had an editorial documentary called "Sick in America" that discussed the dangers of government-run health care! Usually, most news reports imply that government take more control of our health care system. It was a rarity for non-Fox TV when Stossel discussed some of the negative things that happen when government interfere too much!
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=3580676&page=1 ( an written outline of that special)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf3MtjMBWx4
(the 1st of 6 YouTube clips from Stossel's documentary, just click on the other clips from that special when you're done with this one)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw3KM9ZzFEE (part 2 of 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPwkwc9aE-M (part 3 of 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOk7lwBmvSw (part 4 of 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvCqXomvWd8 (part 5 of 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvCqXomvWd8 (part 6 of 6)
Stossell mentioned how socialized medical care systems don't live up to they hype in nations like Canada and the United Kingdom. It mentions how a government monopoly on health care in those countries has disastrous results, stuff that many left-wing liberals ignore in their quest for a more socialist system.
Sure, watching that special made me think "hey, now more people will realize what happens when government interferes too much with health care". But then pessimism took over, with me thinking "not enough people saw that documentary, people will still demand more government control, without even considering what negative consequences come with too much government interference".
But looking back, that Stossell special had some real impact.
When Obama started proposing his health care reform, people actually had townhall meeting protesting excessive government interference in our health care system. That is something I never thought I would see happen so soon in my life-time. Usually, people protest for more government control of our health care system. There is now a mass movement of people who realize that sometimes, government interferences does more harm than good. It was finally, there's a pro-capitalist protest movement, rather than just pro-union solidarity movements.
Many left-wing liberals were in denial when they first saw townhall meeting with protesters who didn't buy the hype of left-wing slogans like "universal health care", "single-payer health care", etc.
They claimed these protesters were just mad that their new president is African-American. But there are some African-American editorial writers like Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Larry Elder and Star Parker had some legit criticisms of Obama's health care reforms. They were ignored by left-wing pundits and Democrat politicians.
The left-wing liberals made a HUGE mistake in ridiculing the legit concerns about the Obama's health care proposals. They made a HUGE mistake in not understanding that there's now many people who no longer buy the hype of "universal health care", "single-payer health care", etc.
They also made a HUGE mistake in under-estimated the people's understanding that Obama's health care proposals would require higher taxes to pay for it, and that raising taxes would be the worst thing to do in a recession!
What the public really wanted was the economy to grow again, for the private sector to grow again. That way, they'll be employed and less likely to need help from the government to pay for their health care! People want to be independent and be able to pay for their own health care. Most of them view government assistance as something as a last resort, whereas far-left liberals tend to see government assistance and government take-overs of the private sector as something to be done as the first resort!
The Far-Left liberals paid a price for ignoring such concerns. Republicans viewed it as an opportunity to move on from the Bush-era, and capitalized on it!
3) Immigration
The gang wars over drug turf in Mexico, and a few crimes on the border got some people scared about immigration. A murder of a farmer by Mexican illegal aliens in Arizona inspired Arizona governor Jan Brewer to make a controversial anti-immigration law.
It didn't matter to some that border cities like San Diego and El Paso were among the safest cities in the US! It didn't matter to some that crime was already going down in Arizona over the last few years. It didn't matter to some that the border areas are nowhere as dangerous as cities far from the border like Detroit, Newark, Camden or New Orleans. Learn more at
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html#5969634862924242439
http://reason.com/archives/2010/04/22/how-immigration-crackdowns-bac
All that mattered to some was some brown-skinned guys with strange accents were crossing the border and they seemed scary!
Whereas George W Bush attempted to make the Republican Party more immigration-friendly (this has been ignored by many far-left liberals), other Republicans wanted to cling to their older, whiter conservative base and felt scaring them with exaggarated stories of illegal alien crime was the way to go!
Well, this had some mixed results. Anti-immigration candidates won some and lost some.
Jan Brewer had managed to win, even though her stories about illegal aliens beheading people were exaggaratted! After her Democrat opponent mentioned during the debate that her stories were phony, Brewer refused to get into any more debates and was evasive when asked by reporters about her exaggarations.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2010/09/04/this_week_crazy_jan_brewer
But more than enough people were scared of illegal alien criminals to vote Brewer back into office.
But the anti-immigration fanaticism didn't work everywhere. In fact, it backfired in other states.
California was the center of immigration controversy back in 1994, when then governor Pete Wilson made fear-mongering ads showing Latino immigrants in a negative light! Yeah, Wilson might've won the battle that year, but in the long run, his GOP ended up losing the war! Wilson's ads and fear-mongering indirectly told many Latinos who were too lazy to vote, or too reluctant to finally take their citizenship exams, that they better get political. Ever since then, the Republicans had been loosing power in California. Their only major victory was when Austrian immigrant and political centrist Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger won a few elections for governor.
This year, GOP candidate for governor, Meg Whitman tried to play the fear-mongering game on immigration, but it turned out her housekeeper was an illegal alien.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20018062-503544.html
Meanwhile, the Democratic candidate for governor, Jerry Brown, did something very rare in politics. He openly defended the contributions that many illegal immigrants have made to California's society. He openly demanded that these people be treated like human beings. Usually, politicians avoid saying things like that, because they are afraid of vicious sarcastic mockery from anti-immigration fanatics like Michelle Maglalang Malkin! But Brown didn't back down, and he was rewarded with victory!
---------
In Nevada, there was the US Senate race between Harry Reid and Sharon Angle. Harry Reid was the Democrat incumbent who was seen as a stereotypical politician who been in DC for too long. His support of Obama's health care policies were seen as too socialist, too tax-friendly in a semi-libertarian state. His seniority in Congrees sure didn't help Nevada's economy, which was in one of the worst shapes among all states. It should've been easy to get rid of him this year.
But Sharon Angle tried Jan Brewer's strategy with fear-mongering ads claiming that illegal aliens were joining criminal gangs and ready to ruin America.
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/10/26/spin_season_joy_behar_sharron_angle/index.html
The visual imagery of that ad showed European-Americans in a positive light, whereas Latinos were only shown in a negative light. It gave off the vibe that Mexicans were only about joining gangs, scamming the welfare system and only up to no good.
To make her situation worse, Angle was shown telling Mexican-American teens that they "looked Asian", a lame attempt at humor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PHC3SxDmCU
Well, Sharon Angle lost to what was supposed to be a very vulnerable Harry Reid. Now, this wasn't a major repudiation of Republicans in general, since Nevada elected a Latino Republican Sandoval as governor.
---
In Colorado, anti-immigration fanatic Tom Tancredo attempted to run for governor. Again, just like in California, this has gotten Latinos who were previously too lazy to vote, to actually go out and vote. The Democrats saw opportunity, and ride the Latino anger to victory
--
Back to Arizona, Jan Brewer might've won her battle this year. But as the results from California, Nevada and Colorado showed, her allies will eventually loose the war!
It's just like the civil rights era! Guys like George Wallace and Strom Thurmond acted all "big and bad" claiming to speak for the majority. But history has showed that despite winning some battles, in the long run, the segregationists lost the war! Expect the same to happen for immigration!
---
One more thing, on this immigration issue, some anti-immigration fanatics say stuff like "too many Latinos depend on government services, they'll never vote Republican even if Republicans are pro-immigration" Those people are missing the point! Yes, there are Latinos who depend on welfare, who rely on government services to the poor, or are just economic liberals. And yes, that will put many in the Democrat camp.
But the Republicans don't need 51% of the Latino vote to win statewide elections. But they're not going to win many elections with just 1% of the Latino vote either! Bush won in 2004, with 45% of the Latino vote. In 2008, McCain (who was up against the "we'll finally have a 1st minority president" mentality), got 35% of the Latino vote. Notice that while Bush didn't need a majority of Latino voters to win re-election, but he would NOT have won had he got less than 1/3 of the Latino vote!
While Bush isn't the most popular guy right now, the GOP could learn from Bush's success with getting more Latino voters than the average Republican. Or as the new Senator from Florida Marc Rubio said Republicans “should be the pro-legal immigration party, not the anti-illegal immigration party.”
4) Mama Grizzlies
There was also talk about the rise of the "mama grizzlies", which is what Sarah Palin called her female conservative allies!
In the past 30 years, the Republicans had more male support, Democrats had more female support! Now, the talk was that more women were supporting the Republican party.
Well, the "mama grizzlies" won some and lost some.
Nikki Haley, who was of Indian ancestry, won the governor's seat in South Carolina. Her and Louisiana's Bobby Jindal's victories have helped the South move beyond its white supremacist past!
Michelle Bachmann continued to be the US Representative from Minnesota, and a powerful voice of the conservative tea-party movement.
However, some of the others failed. Some of it was because they took the anti-immigration fanaticism too far (ie. the already mentioned Meg Whitman, Sharon Angle).
Others failed for different reasons.
Linda McMahon, the wife of WWE's owner Jim McMahon, was running for US Senator from Connecticut! However, serious allegations of abuse and exploitation of WWE employees had made voters nervous of McMahon. It was so bad, that people rather vote for Dick Blumenthal, who wasn't an appealing candidate due to his lies about his service in the Vietnam War.
http://www.thenation.com/blog/155099/linda-mcmahons-body-count
Then there was Christine O'Donnell, who was running for US Senator from Delaware. She was an easy target for comedians, due to her past experimentations with witchcraft, and her statements against masturbation. But more importantly, she defaulted on her mortgages! In a year when people were concerned about politicians who can't balance the government's budget, they didn't want one who couldn't balance her own personal budget.
5) Marijuana legalization attempt in Cali
While Federal law bans all use of marijuana, 16 states plus D.C. defied federal law and legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
Some activists in California wanted to take it a step further, and legalize marijuana the same way alcohol is legalized, meaning, anyone over 21 be allowed to use!
Their proposals became Proposition 19, in which California voters could vote whether to legalize marijuana for all those over 21 years old!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_19_(2010)
But the fear-mongering over the "consequences" of legal marijuana have led to the defeat of Prop 19! Actually, Prop 19 got the majority of support from the young adult voters! It is the older voters that voted against that law!
The federal agents said they'll still enforce anti-marijuana laws. Barack Obama, who admitted to smoking weed while in high school, is in a tough political territory. His most passionate supporters in 2008 were the young adults (most likely to support Prop 19) and I'm thinking a part of him agrees with them on this issue! However, I think he sincerely fears losing many older voters if he moves too fast in legalizing marijuana!
AS the medical use of marijuana become more mainstream, and more people realize that marijuana isn't as dangerous as cocaine, heroin, crystal meth, or (already legal) alcohol. A time will come when marijuana will eventually be legalized for all adults.
And yes I do think alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana. Hear it from a doctor who work with patients on drug rehab at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703414504575001192775584982.html
But the penalties for being "driving while high", or "high while on the job" will have to increase in order for people to be comfortable with legalized marijuana!
6) Conclusion
Now that the Republicans gain strength in Congress, the big question is will they actually reduce government spending, the deficit and the national debt.
But cutting the government's budget will be a hard thing to attempt! People talk about "cutting abuse, waste and fraud" government.
But the federal government's budget is largely Military, Social Security and Medicare!
Most politicians don't really want to reduce military spending, because most politicans don't want to be accussed of "putting national security at risk"! We could withdraw from bases in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, but most politicians don't want to be accussed of "abandoning our allies".
Most politicians don't really want to reduce spening on Social Security and Medicare, because most politicians don't want to be accussed of "starving and neglecting senior citizens or the disabled"
The politicians who talk about reducing the government's deficit will have to make some hard decisions. Talk is no longer enough!
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html#1592160011337005645
Now, I'll analyze the election results for the rest of the nation
1) Back when Obama was inaugurated in Jan 2009, people were talking about a "permanent Democrat majority". They were talking about the rise of the non-white vote, and the large support the younger generation gave to Barack Obama's election. Meanwhile, John McCain had the support of the older voters, and a rural European-American Christian vote that has been gradually loosing their influence. So it was understandable that a "permanent Democrat majority" was the "wave of the future"
Well, not so fast!
As it usually happens, once a president is in office, that person will be making decisions that will alienate former supporters! Governing is different from campaigning. Campaigns are all about marketing. Governing takes action.
The decisions a president make will eventually overshadow the magic of an exciting campaign.
So, yes Obama's popularity has been declining.
While some say race is a factor! But Obama was already racially part-African, part-European when he won the election. That hasn't changed since!
So what happened?
Well, the recession is still on-going! Sure, some economists say the worst is over! But many are still unemployed! Many are finding that job opportunities that match their talents and skills are harder to come by! Come election time, people will take it out on the party in power.
In 1982, Ronald Reagan was half-way his 1st term in office. But the recession that started in Jimmy Carter's presidency still hadn't ended! So many people who voted Reagan in 1980, out of recession anger at Carter, were in 1982, taking it out on Reagan's Republican allies in Congress.
Not much different these days. In 2008, the markets crashed, Republicans were in power, so the people voted Democrat! In 2010, they felt Democrats haven't solved the problem, so they voted Republican.
But of course, there's more! There's a cap & trade bill that Obama supported but didn't get through Congress. It was for more taxes on fossil fuels. Obviously, no one wants to pay more taxes in a recession.
There's health reform and immigration reform as well. Those will discussed in more detail.
2) Health Reform.
I remember a few years back when John Stossell, who was still at ABC News, had an editorial documentary called "Sick in America" that discussed the dangers of government-run health care! Usually, most news reports imply that government take more control of our health care system. It was a rarity for non-Fox TV when Stossel discussed some of the negative things that happen when government interfere too much!
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Stossel/story?id=3580676&page=1 ( an written outline of that special)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf3MtjMBWx4
(the 1st of 6 YouTube clips from Stossel's documentary, just click on the other clips from that special when you're done with this one)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw3KM9ZzFEE (part 2 of 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPwkwc9aE-M (part 3 of 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOk7lwBmvSw (part 4 of 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvCqXomvWd8 (part 5 of 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvCqXomvWd8 (part 6 of 6)
Stossell mentioned how socialized medical care systems don't live up to they hype in nations like Canada and the United Kingdom. It mentions how a government monopoly on health care in those countries has disastrous results, stuff that many left-wing liberals ignore in their quest for a more socialist system.
Sure, watching that special made me think "hey, now more people will realize what happens when government interferes too much with health care". But then pessimism took over, with me thinking "not enough people saw that documentary, people will still demand more government control, without even considering what negative consequences come with too much government interference".
But looking back, that Stossell special had some real impact.
When Obama started proposing his health care reform, people actually had townhall meeting protesting excessive government interference in our health care system. That is something I never thought I would see happen so soon in my life-time. Usually, people protest for more government control of our health care system. There is now a mass movement of people who realize that sometimes, government interferences does more harm than good. It was finally, there's a pro-capitalist protest movement, rather than just pro-union solidarity movements.
Many left-wing liberals were in denial when they first saw townhall meeting with protesters who didn't buy the hype of left-wing slogans like "universal health care", "single-payer health care", etc.
They claimed these protesters were just mad that their new president is African-American. But there are some African-American editorial writers like Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Larry Elder and Star Parker had some legit criticisms of Obama's health care reforms. They were ignored by left-wing pundits and Democrat politicians.
The left-wing liberals made a HUGE mistake in ridiculing the legit concerns about the Obama's health care proposals. They made a HUGE mistake in not understanding that there's now many people who no longer buy the hype of "universal health care", "single-payer health care", etc.
They also made a HUGE mistake in under-estimated the people's understanding that Obama's health care proposals would require higher taxes to pay for it, and that raising taxes would be the worst thing to do in a recession!
What the public really wanted was the economy to grow again, for the private sector to grow again. That way, they'll be employed and less likely to need help from the government to pay for their health care! People want to be independent and be able to pay for their own health care. Most of them view government assistance as something as a last resort, whereas far-left liberals tend to see government assistance and government take-overs of the private sector as something to be done as the first resort!
The Far-Left liberals paid a price for ignoring such concerns. Republicans viewed it as an opportunity to move on from the Bush-era, and capitalized on it!
3) Immigration
The gang wars over drug turf in Mexico, and a few crimes on the border got some people scared about immigration. A murder of a farmer by Mexican illegal aliens in Arizona inspired Arizona governor Jan Brewer to make a controversial anti-immigration law.
It didn't matter to some that border cities like San Diego and El Paso were among the safest cities in the US! It didn't matter to some that crime was already going down in Arizona over the last few years. It didn't matter to some that the border areas are nowhere as dangerous as cities far from the border like Detroit, Newark, Camden or New Orleans. Learn more at
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2009_10_01_archive.html#5969634862924242439
http://reason.com/archives/2010/04/22/how-immigration-crackdowns-bac
All that mattered to some was some brown-skinned guys with strange accents were crossing the border and they seemed scary!
Whereas George W Bush attempted to make the Republican Party more immigration-friendly (this has been ignored by many far-left liberals), other Republicans wanted to cling to their older, whiter conservative base and felt scaring them with exaggarated stories of illegal alien crime was the way to go!
Well, this had some mixed results. Anti-immigration candidates won some and lost some.
Jan Brewer had managed to win, even though her stories about illegal aliens beheading people were exaggaratted! After her Democrat opponent mentioned during the debate that her stories were phony, Brewer refused to get into any more debates and was evasive when asked by reporters about her exaggarations.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2010/09/04/this_week_crazy_jan_brewer
But more than enough people were scared of illegal alien criminals to vote Brewer back into office.
But the anti-immigration fanaticism didn't work everywhere. In fact, it backfired in other states.
California was the center of immigration controversy back in 1994, when then governor Pete Wilson made fear-mongering ads showing Latino immigrants in a negative light! Yeah, Wilson might've won the battle that year, but in the long run, his GOP ended up losing the war! Wilson's ads and fear-mongering indirectly told many Latinos who were too lazy to vote, or too reluctant to finally take their citizenship exams, that they better get political. Ever since then, the Republicans had been loosing power in California. Their only major victory was when Austrian immigrant and political centrist Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger won a few elections for governor.
This year, GOP candidate for governor, Meg Whitman tried to play the fear-mongering game on immigration, but it turned out her housekeeper was an illegal alien.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20018062-503544.html
Meanwhile, the Democratic candidate for governor, Jerry Brown, did something very rare in politics. He openly defended the contributions that many illegal immigrants have made to California's society. He openly demanded that these people be treated like human beings. Usually, politicians avoid saying things like that, because they are afraid of vicious sarcastic mockery from anti-immigration fanatics like Michelle Maglalang Malkin! But Brown didn't back down, and he was rewarded with victory!
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In Nevada, there was the US Senate race between Harry Reid and Sharon Angle. Harry Reid was the Democrat incumbent who was seen as a stereotypical politician who been in DC for too long. His support of Obama's health care policies were seen as too socialist, too tax-friendly in a semi-libertarian state. His seniority in Congrees sure didn't help Nevada's economy, which was in one of the worst shapes among all states. It should've been easy to get rid of him this year.
But Sharon Angle tried Jan Brewer's strategy with fear-mongering ads claiming that illegal aliens were joining criminal gangs and ready to ruin America.
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/10/26/spin_season_joy_behar_sharron_angle/index.html
The visual imagery of that ad showed European-Americans in a positive light, whereas Latinos were only shown in a negative light. It gave off the vibe that Mexicans were only about joining gangs, scamming the welfare system and only up to no good.
To make her situation worse, Angle was shown telling Mexican-American teens that they "looked Asian", a lame attempt at humor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PHC3SxDmCU
Well, Sharon Angle lost to what was supposed to be a very vulnerable Harry Reid. Now, this wasn't a major repudiation of Republicans in general, since Nevada elected a Latino Republican Sandoval as governor.
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In Colorado, anti-immigration fanatic Tom Tancredo attempted to run for governor. Again, just like in California, this has gotten Latinos who were previously too lazy to vote, to actually go out and vote. The Democrats saw opportunity, and ride the Latino anger to victory
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Back to Arizona, Jan Brewer might've won her battle this year. But as the results from California, Nevada and Colorado showed, her allies will eventually loose the war!
It's just like the civil rights era! Guys like George Wallace and Strom Thurmond acted all "big and bad" claiming to speak for the majority. But history has showed that despite winning some battles, in the long run, the segregationists lost the war! Expect the same to happen for immigration!
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One more thing, on this immigration issue, some anti-immigration fanatics say stuff like "too many Latinos depend on government services, they'll never vote Republican even if Republicans are pro-immigration" Those people are missing the point! Yes, there are Latinos who depend on welfare, who rely on government services to the poor, or are just economic liberals. And yes, that will put many in the Democrat camp.
But the Republicans don't need 51% of the Latino vote to win statewide elections. But they're not going to win many elections with just 1% of the Latino vote either! Bush won in 2004, with 45% of the Latino vote. In 2008, McCain (who was up against the "we'll finally have a 1st minority president" mentality), got 35% of the Latino vote. Notice that while Bush didn't need a majority of Latino voters to win re-election, but he would NOT have won had he got less than 1/3 of the Latino vote!
While Bush isn't the most popular guy right now, the GOP could learn from Bush's success with getting more Latino voters than the average Republican. Or as the new Senator from Florida Marc Rubio said Republicans “should be the pro-legal immigration party, not the anti-illegal immigration party.”
4) Mama Grizzlies
There was also talk about the rise of the "mama grizzlies", which is what Sarah Palin called her female conservative allies!
In the past 30 years, the Republicans had more male support, Democrats had more female support! Now, the talk was that more women were supporting the Republican party.
Well, the "mama grizzlies" won some and lost some.
Nikki Haley, who was of Indian ancestry, won the governor's seat in South Carolina. Her and Louisiana's Bobby Jindal's victories have helped the South move beyond its white supremacist past!
Michelle Bachmann continued to be the US Representative from Minnesota, and a powerful voice of the conservative tea-party movement.
However, some of the others failed. Some of it was because they took the anti-immigration fanaticism too far (ie. the already mentioned Meg Whitman, Sharon Angle).
Others failed for different reasons.
Linda McMahon, the wife of WWE's owner Jim McMahon, was running for US Senator from Connecticut! However, serious allegations of abuse and exploitation of WWE employees had made voters nervous of McMahon. It was so bad, that people rather vote for Dick Blumenthal, who wasn't an appealing candidate due to his lies about his service in the Vietnam War.
http://www.thenation.com/blog/155099/linda-mcmahons-body-count
Then there was Christine O'Donnell, who was running for US Senator from Delaware. She was an easy target for comedians, due to her past experimentations with witchcraft, and her statements against masturbation. But more importantly, she defaulted on her mortgages! In a year when people were concerned about politicians who can't balance the government's budget, they didn't want one who couldn't balance her own personal budget.
5) Marijuana legalization attempt in Cali
While Federal law bans all use of marijuana, 16 states plus D.C. defied federal law and legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
Some activists in California wanted to take it a step further, and legalize marijuana the same way alcohol is legalized, meaning, anyone over 21 be allowed to use!
Their proposals became Proposition 19, in which California voters could vote whether to legalize marijuana for all those over 21 years old!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_19_(2010)
But the fear-mongering over the "consequences" of legal marijuana have led to the defeat of Prop 19! Actually, Prop 19 got the majority of support from the young adult voters! It is the older voters that voted against that law!
The federal agents said they'll still enforce anti-marijuana laws. Barack Obama, who admitted to smoking weed while in high school, is in a tough political territory. His most passionate supporters in 2008 were the young adults (most likely to support Prop 19) and I'm thinking a part of him agrees with them on this issue! However, I think he sincerely fears losing many older voters if he moves too fast in legalizing marijuana!
AS the medical use of marijuana become more mainstream, and more people realize that marijuana isn't as dangerous as cocaine, heroin, crystal meth, or (already legal) alcohol. A time will come when marijuana will eventually be legalized for all adults.
And yes I do think alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana. Hear it from a doctor who work with patients on drug rehab at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703414504575001192775584982.html
But the penalties for being "driving while high", or "high while on the job" will have to increase in order for people to be comfortable with legalized marijuana!
6) Conclusion
Now that the Republicans gain strength in Congress, the big question is will they actually reduce government spending, the deficit and the national debt.
But cutting the government's budget will be a hard thing to attempt! People talk about "cutting abuse, waste and fraud" government.
But the federal government's budget is largely Military, Social Security and Medicare!
Most politicians don't really want to reduce military spending, because most politicans don't want to be accussed of "putting national security at risk"! We could withdraw from bases in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, but most politicians don't want to be accussed of "abandoning our allies".
Most politicians don't really want to reduce spening on Social Security and Medicare, because most politicians don't want to be accussed of "starving and neglecting senior citizens or the disabled"
The politicians who talk about reducing the government's deficit will have to make some hard decisions. Talk is no longer enough!
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