The Cause of the Crisis

Apparently, this is all Clinton and the Democrats' fault.

This YouTube video details a person's version of events that led to the economic woes facing us today.

I dunno, there is some truth in there, but after a bit, it becomes quite a hatefest against the Democrats, which I am not necessarily against. I hate Bill Clinton politically with a passion. If the secret service reads this crap, I stress the term politically.

Haar.

Enjoy.

Suspension of disbelief

Dear Readers,

I appreciate you being there and reading my musings. But, the events of the past few days, weeks, and months have made me realize that I must suspend all postings for the time being, so that I may focus on solving the economic crisis.

Sincerely,

Thakman Jones

Ugh

I am pretty ill today, but I need to post, so that I could tell everyone this incredible news.

There are indeed bones from Martian colonists on Earth. This article below details the amazing discovery by British scientists this past week. Fascinating.

Here it is: Ugh.

Feminism and Stem Cells

The recent developments in the election process have stirred some thought within me. The tipping point for me to write this entry was reading an article by Camille Paglia. The truth is, Sarah Palin's nomination as the potential VP on the Republican ticket is a very significant event in the feminist movement.

In recent history, so much of the feminist movement centers on a woman's right to choose: pro-life or pro-choice. To be honest, this question does not interest me. I don't think this should be involved in politics, yet, it is and essentially defines what a feminist is.

The truth is, Sarah Palin has the potential to become the new standard of what a feminist is. She represents the ability to have access to opportunity and have no gender barriers. I do not know what her actual intelligence level is, but she is fairly well-spoken so far on the national stage. I still think there is time for her to screw up. I think she is incredibly naive in terms of foreign affairs. Though she maybe able to see Russia from her porch in Alaska, she is no diplomat. My limited understanding of the problems women face leads me to think that too much effort is spent fight the pro-life or pro-choice debate. I understand why each side feels the way they do, and to be honest, I am not interested.

There are greater issues at stake, I believe. Also, quite frankly, I think Palin's stance of not permitting abortion in the case of rape, incest, or potential harm to the mother is ridiculous. I do not believe abortions should be administered like pills, but there are cases where it may be the most optimal solution.

I highly urge you to read this Ms. Paglia's article. She does an amazing job of concisely defining the problems with Obama's campaign, the Democrats problem with dealing with the Evangelical Christians, and attempting the redefine what feminism is.

With that being said, I abhor Sarah Palin and what she represents, POLITICALLY. I do not agree with her stances. I think her views on creationism and science in general are incredibly flawed with no room for rectification on her end; her views are too stubborn and rooted in ignorance.

Her view of stem cells is even more strict than George W. Bush's. While many people are upset at the way Bush defined stem cell use with federal funds, I was not. It was what was needed at the time to slowly phase this incredible concept into our lives. Unfortunately, further research led to finding contaminations resulting from cell culture protocols within many of the lines. So better lines need to be developed. With potential breakthroughs on the cusp of realization, is it really time to take steps backwards or forge ahead to fight the malicious diseases that exist?

And of course, there will always be people who support her.

Sigh. Her views represent everything that impedes true progress in this country.

Disappointing Week

I am glad today is Friday; it has been an excruciatingly long, troubling week for two reasons:

1) My uncle passed away suddenly.

2) The Republican National Convention.

Let me address both topics.

My uncle's death this week has been hard on me, because I look at it selfishly. What does it mean for me? How much time do I have with the ones I care for, I love? Most of all it is this burning feeling, almost a guilt.

This stupid guilt I feel is ridiculous, and yet, I still have it, and it is eating me up inside.

The guilt stems from the last conversation in person I had with my grandfather, my father's father, a Yalie, go Bulldogs! He made a set of predictions of how my life would go and he stressed to me how he wanted me to keep his grandchildren, my cousins together, close-knit. In that duty, I could have done much better. I have time to remedy this, and I intend to. But right now, more than any other point in my life, I see how I have failed up to this point in executing my grandfather's wish.

My uncle had 10 children. And hence, I have 10 cousins. This is what I think about now. How do I maintain and continually develop these relationships?

I am the oldest; I should have realized this earlier, much earlier than I did.

My uncle was important to me because he gave me strength during a time I needed it the most. It was nothing he said, but more his life story. My uncle came to the U.S. when he was 16yrs old. He managed to survive, to become educated, and to raise a family.

When I came to California, I felt alone. The first friend I made was Arun, followed by Shelly. I had a family that was only in another state and accessible via an easy flight. My uncle did not have these advantages. That first year of graduate school was so difficult and so hard, I would go to bed questioning my toughness, my mental makeup. I wondered if it would just be easier to quit.

My father is not a quitter. My uncle most certainly was not, either. I got tougher and just lived, and I bloomed into the person I am suppose to be. I am happy; I just want to see my family more and be the man they need me to be.

Kiran uncle, I will always treasure your memory and value what I have learned from your example.

I cannot write anymore on this topic, I am choking up.

2) The RNC. Simply put - BRAVO. They solidified their base, and despite McCain's horrible oratory, what he said will appeal to a large segment of the population. The spin from the republicans is definitely true: Obama is no different than any other politician at this point. I still think Obama is a very decent man, and he will be a very good leader.

When was it is pre-requisite to have "experience" to become the president. Pardon my sarcasm, but then Guantanamo Bay is not a prison site, but rather a leadership training ground.

[Pardon my comment - I respect McCain and his experiences as I do all our country's illustrious vetrans, but I believe Wesley Clark's comments were right]

Personally, I am torn in terms of who to vote for. In the end, I will vote for Obama, because I simply cannot deal with certain elements of the Republican party. I have no love for the excessive liberal side of the democratic party, but I do feel it is time for certain liberal concepts to be inputted into our government.

This is not a political blog, so I am not going to go into detail, but rather, I would be glad to speak offline about them. I mentioned the RNC because I was impressed by what they were able to pull off and well, it scares me to an extent. Republicans have their stuff together and will not give up the White House easily. They view this election and the ideological differences an intellectual or ideological war. Democrats and liberals do not use those terms.

It is the difference in attitudes that explains the success of Republicans since 1980. That attitude plus solidifying a power base in middle America are the two salient reasons for the shift of power, the shift between red to blue and blue to red.

One thing is for sure, I do love our country, and I will continue doing so whether a Republican or Democrat is elected. There is simply no other place I would rather live.