Issue 464 Political Campaigns: Need a President? November 18, 2014

What does it say about a candidate running for office when they need a presidents help to succeed?  Well, let's discuss.

Needing a presidents help:  It actually can say several things.  

1) For one, it can say that the other candidate is better at drawing a crowd or has more charisma.  So the candidate would need help communication wise (as such they are probably losing).

2) It can also say the candidate getting help is really not that good.  Basically, the candidate is not worth the public's time and thus despite a President's efforts will more than likely not be elected.

3) On a different note, it could just be a real close race and the president going out to help a candidate could mean the difference between victory and defeat.  

Between these three which do you think is the most common?  Trick question as any of these scenarios can occur during a single person’s campaign.  The whole point of getting a President involved is designed to prop up the candidate that is either losing or is tied neck and neck with the opponent.  But should this be necessary if the candidates were worthy of being in the role of representative or as a leader?  Well the answer is yes, for sometimes the less than likely person (the underdog if you will) is actually the better leader/representative of the people.  A President called in is not going to just show up to some losers campaign unless they themselves are desperate for some reason.  So despite some misgivings on a president going on the campaign trail to focus on things other than their job, it seems logical for a president to help out someone he wants to work with, with respect to Congressional votes and leadership.

Conclusion:  Politics is kind of like a game.  You get the best looking and best speaking candidate possible with views that match their constituents to win power and authority.  But, that is simplifying it.  Getting people into office is a tough business and requires lots of money and sometimes a president to draw people in to just get the people to listen to what the person running has to say.  Presidents on the campaign trail are there to draw a crowd and endorse the person he wants to win (usually from the president's own political party).  So in this case it is about getting some sort of advantage over the other candidate to try and ensure a win.

Issue 463 Jihadists: the death worshipers November 17, 2014

Today I talk about why I do not see Jihadists as Muslims.  The true Muslims I have met are in no way bent on killing me, and are in fact ultra-nice.  A real Muslim is willing to be friends with me, but a Jihadist will try and kill me as soon as they look at me.  Jihadists to me are not Muslims, but savages who want nothing but death.  Allow me to explain.

My thoughts:  Jihadists believe that if they die they will be rewarded by God (Allah) in heaven with a kind of paradise.  That is how strong their faith is, because they actually believe this to be true.  That they can be rewarded for killing others and dying in the process.  But, God does not reward murderers like those in ISIS/ISIL, or suicide bombers of any kind.  This is because they are breaking God's command of not killing others save when you are defending yourself, others or are at war.  And there are even rules to go along with those three exceptions.  But a Jihadist does not care.  They feel that the murdering of innocents is justified for they see all others that are not of like minds as not human.  And you know what?  This is frightening.  These people have killed men, women and children without warrant and have in some cases turned their own family members into suicide bombers as well.  These people are no longer human when you murder a child, and become monsters when they commit acts of genocide like they are doing now as part of ISIS/ISIL and as components of Al Qaeda.  

Conclusion:  To kill a monster, you must become one, and then slay the monster you created within yourself or be slayed by another monster.  We live in a world where genocide did not disappear, it merely changed faces with a newer monster.  I may be a libertarian who wishes to avoid war and be friendly with others, but there is no negotiation with monsters who rape women, murder children and torture living human beings.  I hate to say it as my nation is war weary, but the time to fight these Jihadists (not Muslims) seems to have come again, for this may be a battle we cannot avoid.

Issue 462 Political Memoirs November 13, 2014

Why do politicians write memoirs?  Does it actually do anything for them?  How does it help them and their own situation?  Well I have gotten a clue, so let us discuss.

Money:  The most obvious reason to write a memoir is to get money.  If you are a famous politician in some way, shape or form people will buy your book to know more about you and why you did the things you did.  As such they will buy your book and thus line your pockets with cash.

Ego:  Let's face it, many of these politicians have big egos thinking that they are the best thing since sliced bread.  So they want to stroke that ego by writing a book to see how much people will spend to read what they have to say.  

Their Say:  The final reason is because they want to have their own say as to what went on and when.  Say there is a scandal, a crisis, or some other big event that occurs while they are holding office.  They want to say how they were involved (on not involved) so as to boost themselves up or save themselves from looking like fools.  It is their chance to give their biased opinion on their bosses and how they themselves feel they would have handled a situation differently.  These politicians do not want just anyone saying anything they want about them.  They want people to think in the context that they want on whatever issue or world event that has occurred.  And a memoir is a way to do just that.

Conclusion:  So we have money, ego, and their own take on what happened.  Basically you can view a memoir by any politician as something selfishly written for their own benefit.  But that is not to say that they are not a useful tool for political scientists, historians or reporters.  It gives us insight into the goings on inside our government and depending on how much a politician is trying to cover their own ass due to a crisis or a scandal, we can infer answers to questions on the leadership of even a president.  As such, stroke the politician’s ego, line their pockets and see what they are rambling like idiots about, for we somehow get something in return.  That return is a look into the psychology of the writer and insight on what we are too far away to see in our government.

Issue 461 Political campaigns: Outside money November 13, 2014

Political campaigns are always annoying.  Candidates try to convince you that they are the best choice when we all know the truly intelligent people avoid political office in the first place.  But what many seem to not find fair is the money coming from outside the Candidates jurisdiction.  The money from other towns, corporations, and political parties that would not represent the constituents. Many see this as corruption, but as a political scientist (I have that silly Bachelor’s degree in this shell game called politics) it is in fact an equalizer.  I'll tell you what I mean.

Views on outside money:  As I said, money coming from say California to support a Congressional race in New York seems strange, out of place, and to many it is just plain wrong.  Likewise if the money comes from a corporation, a political party or an interest group, it is viewed with disgust and seen as corrupting the election.  However, this may not be 100% true.  In fact it may be giving the candidate running a more equal chance of talking to you the voter to plead their case as to why they should be elected over the other candidate.  You see, most elections are about money.  The candidate with more money or spends the most almost always wins save in certain circumstances.  This is because they can buy more exposure to the public.  In short, that candidate now has face recognition and thus you feel you know them.  The other candidate with less money will now typically lose due to being overshadowed.  However, with outside support the candidate who would have solely relied on money from local support now has an equal chance of success.  You see the money advantage can be eliminated with more money to buy a certain amount of face time to see the public, and have them hear the candidate speak.  So at some point, it will not matter how much the guy with more money spends as they will both have been in front of the public long enough to where they will both be recognized.  Sure, outside influences can potentially throw the election depending on the integrity of the candidate (something we ourselves evaluate at the voting booth), but it equalizes the chances of success so that someone new can be chosen.

Conclusion:  So there you have it.  Money coming in from all across the country is not a bad thing.  It instead becomes an equalizer in a political race so that people can choose the best candidate instead of being restricted to knowing only one candidate and knowing nothing about the other.  Yes, there may be corruption, and that no matter how many laws you put in place will never end save by electing candidates with integrity, but at least with outside money it increases your chance of finding a candidate with that integrity in the first place.

Issue 460 Death of Columbus November 12, 2014

Now we are not talking about the actual death of Christopher Columbus, the man who discovered America which spurred its colonization.  We are instead talking about the holiday, which was once a time of celebration, but is now seen as a backwards worship of a monster.  Allow me to explain.

Differing views:  Christopher Columbus was once one of the most celebrated historical figures in history.  Without him and his voyage there may not have been a colonization of the American continents.  As such, Columbus was a hero and thus we have things like the Columbus Day parade.  These parades were not solely in big cities like New York, but was celebrated across the country.  But as time went on and American values changed, people began to see him in a differing light.  The most extreme view of him today is that of a genocidal maniac.  You see, Columbus did kill many of the natives here in the America's and brought with him diseases and the concept of slavery.  So, people of my generation and later view him less and less as a hero, but as a villain.  Thus, many in my generation just look at this federal holiday as a day to get off work early or get extra pay.  It has come to such a point that some places in America either do not even celebrate Columbus Day, or as in the case of some California towns, have changed it to original people’s day to celebrate the natives who lived here first.  Thus this is why he is viewed as a monster.

Impact:  With this change in our values it means that Christopher Columbus will not be celebrated as a hero in any foreseeable future.  So it is my belief that Columbus day my one day no longer be Columbus Day.  It will either be replaced with another holiday like they did in the case California towns, or just vanish.  Hence why I say it is the death of Columbus, a man who is slowly becoming a footnote in history.

Conclusion:  This can happen to any holiday. If the values in America change, then even Christmas may lose its meaning and thus vanish as well.  But it again depends on our values, and even our outlook.  People fail to see the historical context with Columbus and what actions were acceptable during the time period.  So I personally believe Columbus should be celebrated for his good deeds and held to task for the deeds we despise as a teaching moment to each generation.  These are just my thoughts and I feel that I am regretfully in the minority as many do not wish to think deeply about such issues and answer such questions.  People just do not want to think, but to simply react.  In this case we are losing a valuable moment to teach history, for we chose to erode it.

Issue 459 Digital modeling November 11, 2014

Ok, so this is not about crafting 3d designs for buildings or products. Instead it is all about you and seeing what you look like in cloths before you buy them.  Confused?  Well allow me to solve that by getting started.

The idea:  We have all these cameras and equipment that can help us create 3D figures on a computer, and yet why have we not done so with ourselves.  We can literally scan our bodies into the computer to make a 3d image for use in whatever capacity we wish.  We can use them to create avatars for interacting in the digital world or doing tasks.  But here I want to talk about the clothing industry and why they should embrace this technology.  Basically once you’re scanned in, you can place any clothing design you want onto your body digitally.  So you will see yourself in that tuxedo, dress or bathing suit to see how good you look.  And basically it works the same as a regular website, seeing the different colors and such.  But an advantage this method has over others could be you mixing and matching outfits to see what looks good on yourself.  See yourself in a complete clothing set like, shoes, shirt and pants with jewelry/accessories.  To make it even better, it could accurately tell what size you are so that whatever you buy will fit.  With the 3d modeling it could even tell you where you would need to alter it via a tailor to make it fit all that much better.  On top of this, this would reduce the need to have models model cloths for a company as they can just use your image whenever you yourself visit their website, or digital changing room.  Financially speaking, it can be advantageous, as clothing companies could even rent your image from you to use as models (and no this is not limited to just clothing companies either).  So maybe we can ditch those high priced ultra-thin models for our own more natural looks.

Conclusion:  3d scanners and modeling has numerous applications, and benefits.  But with the clothing industry this can change the way we view modeling and how we view ourselves.  Let us face it, even plus size models look ultra-skinny.  So this can eliminate any psychological issues that have occurred by children and young women viewing models in magazines for the model will be replaced by they themselves.  I know, this is only an idea, but the technology only has so far to go until it is ready and able to be used in this capacity.  So, how good do you look as a 3d model?  We may not have long to find out.

Issue 458 Unisex and gender neutral November 10, 2014

There has been a growing movement to make the United States more gender neutral.  From what I can tell, this push partly comes from the feminist movement, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) community and its liberal ideological cohorts.  But what is the purpose and is it a good idea?  Let us discuss.

Gender neutral:  As far as I can tell, the goal of making things more gender neutral is inspired in part to avoid hurting someone's feelings.  What I mean by this is that the gay, lesbian and transgendered community typically do not have their own bathrooms, locker rooms, and other similar private changing areas.  So heterosexual people typically become uncomfortable around these groups of people because they do not know how to react to them and makes the LGBT group feel ostracized.  So the idea, I believe, is to get everyone from a young age used to interacting with people of different sexes, gender roles and sexual orientations.  Basically, have people of opposite sexes be used to each other in such a manner that they do not get that awkward feeling anymore in more private/intimate settings.  As such, I believe the supporters of this idea hope to change society’s outlook on gender and sexual orientation in a similar manner to how it was done with race/skin color in the civil rights movement.  The reason the feminist movement seems to support it is due to the age old separations between men and women being seen as antiquated and thus anti-feminist.

Problems:  Some have taken issue with this gender neutral approach.  However, the goal is not necessarily disagreed with, but the methods of achieving that goal.  For one, unisex bathrooms have become controversial because some schools have allowed them for children in high school leading to complaints about peeping toms, and privacy concerns.  Others have taken umbrage with reading materials which feature gay penguins, or books with explicit sexual content being read by young readers (without informing the parents or opt out clauses I may add).  So the issues generally are not with having the lesbian, gay, transgendered (or any sexual orientation in between) becoming more integrated, or the de-masculinization of society but the methods.  

Conclusion:  Parents are the main group that should and do show concern for what is going on with this growing trend.  Many traditionalists look upon supporters of this idea as backwards as they are supposed to focus on preventing hatreds and discrimination (which they have largely achieved), not changing the entire cultural landscape from the ground up.  As someone who is not a parent, I personally do not have a problem with unisex bathrooms or other unisex like facilities so long as people can have the privacy they want when they want it.  To me it is a privacy issue with respect to most of this gender neutrality debate.  I don't want to show my "junk" to some random person regardless of sex, sexual orientation or anybody for that matter.  As to the education front, I just hope schools stop with the crap of forcing this stuff on kids.  It should be up to the parents to decide what material is pertinent to their kids’ education with respect to these kinds of education materials, not anyone else.  These are my thoughts on the issue, give me my privacy and stop forcing things like gay penguins into kids’ faces.  And that is as they say is that.