Cool Obama

Could any other president have a rapper perform a song about Alexander Hamilton at the White House?

On the Near Future

Countdown to New Mexico - 4 days

Something about scraping by on library assistant wages makes home seem even more welcome than before. Walking through the yard after work made me realize how much I still need to grow up, so I spent 2 hours in the Science Center "researching" jobs. Moral of the story: I'm afraid I'm fucked. And I'm afraid I don't really comprehend just how much I'm fucked. It is an unknown unknown!

New time-biding plan : Find a secret Harvard fund to pay for a White House internship in the spring. So as I try for the Foreign Service a second time, I will either have a job or work for Obama; win-win?

Two down...

...One to go. Finals, that is.

But, first, prayers for a speedy recovery to the victim of a shooting at Harvard this afternoon. As a friend was saying at dinner, with our budget being slashed, and now this, it makes us realize we aren't fully sheltered in Harvard bubble separated from the world.

Now, back to part of what I regurgitated for my American Foreign Policy final this morning. The New York Times reported that after meeting with the prime minister of Israel, President Obama (still can't get over that), has set something of a deadline for Iran to comply with his diplomatic overture.

After a delicate Oval Office session with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, President Obama said Monday that he wants a positive response from Iran to his diplomatic opening by the end of the year and is keeping open “range of steps, including much stronger international sanctions” if it fails to respond.

As I learned in AmFoPo, the steps in "coercive diplomacy" are diplomacy -> threat of sanctions -> implementation of sanctions -> threat of force -> demonstrative use of force -> war, and for such diplomacy to be successful requires 4 things. 1) Absolute clarity of acceptable terms, 2) Sufficient domestic support, 3) Sense of urgency, and 4) The target state must be more fearful of escalation than you are. A state must also be willing and ready to carry out all threats made and diplomatic negotiations don't cease during escalation.

Obviously, with regards to Iran, we've jumbled up the process, which perhaps is why we haven't made much progress with them. Soon after our embassy was hijacked in 1979, we cut diplomatic relations (now conducted through the Swiss), skipping negotiations and the threat of sanctions and went straight to sanctions. Fortunately, for us, Iraq under Saddam didn't like the Iranians much either, so during their decade-long war in the 80s, we didn't have to do much to Iran. But with Saddam now out of the picture, Iran's relative power in the region has only grown, and now they feel they can safely pursue nuclear technology, which is their right as a sovereign country under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if used for peaceful purposes (really only to generate electricity) of course, the U.S. and especially Israel fear they mean to develop a nuclear weapon, which is not their right. Of course, to resolve the situation (allowing IAEA inspectors to verify there are no nukes, or getting Iran to abandon uranium enrichment completely) without war, we need to know what they want, but without negotiations (thanks to Bush's stubborness), we don't know. And again, the graf makes it seem Obama is putting the cart before the horse, creating a sense of urgency and threatening escalation before knowing what our acceptable terms are and according to polls, without public support for what could be a military encounter with Iran.

Of course, further down

As for Iran, Mr. Obama said that he was keeping open “a range of steps, including much stronger international sanctions” for dealing with Iran if it proceeds with its nuclear program.

He said he hoped for progress on his diplomatic opening to Tehran by year’s end but added that he saw no reason to set any artificial deadline.

But maybe the Israel Lobby had them bury that down there.

As the Procrastination Continues...

...I'm becoming more informed on current events. For example, my governor, Bill Richardson (D-NM), withdrew his nomination for Secretary of Commerce last week, after it was revealed he was facing a grand jury investigation into a pay-for-play scheme (a nicer way of saying corruption). Of course, no charges, indictments, let alone convictions have happened, but word on the political street is that Obama's team pushed hard for Richardson to step down to avoid expending political capital on the Senate approval process. Personally, I wish they would have gone through with the nomination. Richardson is quite good at any political job he takes. New Mexico has definitely improved under his watch. And as far as New Mexico politics goes, what some people think Richardson might have done is not at all outrageous, as the New York Times is discovering. It's a little ironic, however, that this story would come out a day after the Times praised Santa Fe to the high desert sky. I entirely support capping campaign contributions and creating an independent ethics commission for both the executive and legislative branches. But then, I am I near-socialist Democrat.

Speaking of socialism, how's that economic stimulus going Barack? Apparently, not too well when a Nobel Prize-winning economist and high-ranking senators from your own party call your plan inadequate. Oddly, I think this a brilliant political move on Obama's part, as Nate Silver observes. The president-elect is practically begging people to tell him what to spend money on. Starting on the low end of what most economists think is needed gives Congress, especially Democrats, political cover to add building projects in their districts. In the midst of a pretty bad recession, and with fears of a depression looming, this isn't wasteful "pork," but economy-saving, job-creating stimulus projects. Unfortunately, Obama, being the post-partisan savior that he thinks he needs to be, is putting a lot of tax cuts into the stimulus plan. Not that tax cuts for the poor and lower-middle class aren't good, it's just that those $300 billion go a lot further when paying for infrastructure projects rather than tax credits. Also, tax cuts to business aren't so good, as Matt Yglesias shows. Overall, $1.3 trillion is an unimaginable amount of money, and will double the already record-breaking $1.2 trillion budget deficit. But I'll take a shit-load of debt if it means our economy will have the possibility of paying it off, rather than sacrificing economic recovery just so fiscal conservatives can sleep better.

So New Mexico political upheaval: check. Economic crisis: check. What's left? Ah yes, Israel-Palestine. And I'm not going to touch it, but to say that everyone involves knows what they need to do. Israel needs to remove its settlements from the West Bank and allow the Palestinians to fully govern themselves. They also need to understand that there is such a thing as over-reaction, and bombing the shit out of Gaza does not equal self-defense. The Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world need to realize that Israel is here to stay and deal with it. Its destruction is not an option, at all. They need to stop blaming Israel and the West for their endemic under-development and poverty, which only create breeding grounds for extremism and terrorists.

All that's lacking is the political will on both sides and around the world to do what needs to be done, a la Jimmy Carter. The U.S. is in the best position to give Israel a good shaking. And of recent presidents, Obama is in the best position to help the rather ignorant American population that peace is in the best interest of Israel, and that peace can only be achieved through Israel withdrawing its settlements. I support Israel, and I support the peace process because I support Israel.

Life Goes On

The election is over and the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States cannot arrive soon enough. But still, life goes on. Personally, I'm trying to re-focus on schoolwork. It's a little difficult after the rush of excitement that was election day. Instead, I still find myself constantly refreshing political sites. Hence, I came across this NY Times article on how the South is becoming rather irrelevant to national politics. In so many words, it actually calls southern whites racists. And through both empirical and anecdotal evidence, I wouldn't disagree with it. Really, maybe we should have just let them leave when they wanted to.

Which brings me to my next point: the passage of Proposition 8 in California, which constitutionally banned the newly-won right to same-sex marriage. I haven't blogged about this mostly because my thoughts are confused. Obviously, I'm horrified that such a liberal state like California (come on, marijuana is practially legal there!) would actually write discrimination into its state constitution. Still, I can't help but feel optimistic that change will come. If you look at the breakdown of the electorate, 18-29 year-olds voted overwhelmingly against Prop 8. The older you go, the more bigoted you get. Time is on our side.

Oh Fair New Mexico

Yes, I love my state. Especially during election years. Even more so when Barack Obama has a damn good chance at winning our 5 electoral votes. Icing on the cake would be the Dems sweeping all our congressional races. If my district (the 2nd), southern, large, rural and heavily conservative elects a Democrat, I could die happy. So show some love to Harry Teague, we're gonna turn New Mexico true blue!

ps. I did not know New Mexico had such a high rate of same-sex couples, 9th in the nation!

Obama-Nation!

Because I don't quite feel like doing my reading, I'm going to overwhelm you all with my love for one Mr. Barack Obama. What can we say about Obama that hasn't been said before? Pretty much nothing, but I am more excited than ever to vote for him. (If only my motherf***ing absentee ballot would get here!) My dear roommate has to keep reminding me not to get my hopes too high, after all, we all know what happened 4 years ago, when we thought the country was smarter than to reelect Bush. But then I constantly refresh this site, and I get flooded with ecstasy. Yes we can! Also, how amazing is Britney's new single? Loves it. Peace out bitches.

On Organizers and Economics (and the Self)

Hello friends. I'm taking a brief break from reading 200 pages for my government seminar on US-Latin American Relations to update you (loved ones at home and friends I somehow don't get to talk to here) on my life. In three words, I'm doing well. I've been able to wake up on time for class every day, which is a super-huge improvement from last year. True, 10:30am is not early in the real world, but for me, it's a step forward, and hopefully proof that taking last semester off was a) a good idea, and b) successful in de-stressing and getting re-energized. I've been taking advantage of all the opportunities Harvard has to offer, a lot more than I was able to when I was so overwhelmed. A definite plus is that I actually enjoy my classes this semester. Introductory French is so much fun! Gen Ed science ("Invisible Worlds" on microscopic objects and their behavior) is interesting. My two gov classes (Politics of the European Union and Latin American Relations) cover areas that hold the greatest interest for me. Academically, this year has so much potential.

On a more personal level, I've found reconnecting with friends to be relatively easy. I was a little scared that I might have trouble getting back into the social-ness of college life, but having great friends (and a handy email list) solved that. True, being seniors, our lives are super busy, trying to get jobs, take tests, get into grad/law/med school, but I've enjoyed the year so far and I'm looking forward to many more good times.

As part of the "taking advantage of Harvard" thing, I went to Manchester, NH (affectionately termed Manch-Vegas by the Harvard Dems) to canvass for Obama. For the campaign newbies among us, canvassing is basically knocking on doors, asking people some questions, and taking down their answers to provide campaigns with all sorts of information that helps them win. Of course, I canvassed for Barack Obama, as well as for Jeanne Shaheen for Senate. It was a really fun time with friends, and I made new ones too. The best part was that with almost 150 Harvard students, we were able to cover the entire city, knocking on almost 3400 doors, well worth giving up a few (ok, 8) hours on a Sunday where I probably wouldn't be doing anything anyway. With only six more weeks until the election, every day, every volunteer, every door knocked on and every voter contacted is crucial.

As the past week on Wall Street demonstrated, this is election is crucial. While all Democrats can't be excused from creating the financial crisis we're in, this was mostly of result of the natural greed of major Wall Street players being allowed to run unchecked and unregulated by a Bush Administration and 12 years of Republican control of Congress that held deregulation as a fundamental principle of their rule. And 4 more years of Republicans in the White House would be even worse because the appearance of financial institions that are "too big to fail" can be attributed to former Texas Senator Phil Gramm, whose Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 removed the New-Deal-era ban on combining investment banks with regular deposit banks. Now who is Phil Gramm top economic adviser to? John McCain. Now because regualr banks of every stripe were allowed to give mortgages to anyone with a heartbeat and package and resell them in way too complicated finanical instruments to investment banks, we find our government contemplating the $700 billion Mother of All Bailouts to save our entire financial system from collapsing, which currently written, will most likely allow Wall Street fatcats to turn a profit at taxpayer expense. For an excellent critique of the plan, check out the New York Times' Paul Krugman, my favorite pop economist.

So please, friends, do your part, and help take our country back from the obscenely wealthy and the Republicans who service, I mean serve, them. Elect Barack Obama president! Ciao.

Vacay Is Fun

And sadly, it's coming to an end. This is my last weekend at home and next Tuesday, I'll be back at school. Hmm, what am I gonna call the blog then?! But until then, I know you've all missed my witty, intelligent political commentary, so let's pick up where we left off.

The Democratic National Convention was delightful. Hillary Clinton's speech kicked PUMA ass. But John McSame was not to be denied. Pretty much equating every politician with a vagina to Hillary, John McAncient chose first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (pronounced PAY-lin) as his VP running mate. Really. The Republicans must think Clinton supporters, especially women, are retarded (But that's unsurprising). You can't just pick a political unknown, have her drop Hillary references like they're going out of style, and expect Democratic women to flock to you, especially when you stand for the complete opposite values and issues that Hillary stood for. The McCain-Palin ticket smacks of desperation and their treatment of Sen. Obama and us, his supporters, embodies the divisiveness, hatred, and fear-mongering that is Karl Rove-style politics.

There is no better example than the Republican National Convention. It seemed that every speaker was trying to out-do the previous one in attacking Obama and the Democrats. The bitter cherry on the hate-filled sundae was Palin's acceptance speech. Now I am a fan of sarcasm and snarkiness, but to praise "service" one night and then ridicule the years Obama spent as a community organizer the next reeked of self-righteous hypocrisy. Yes, Palin can deliver a good speech, but it was as substance-less as you would expect from someone so unqualified to be a 72-year-old heartbeat away from the presidency.

Fortunately, the Daily Show and Colbert Report coverage of the RNC so made up for it. I especially love this clip. Apparently the only small-town value is homophobia.

Ciao!

Obama-Biden!

So Obama picked Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) as his running mate. I'll take Obama at his word that he's the best guy for the job, though I'll admit my disappointment that it wasn't Gen. Wesley Clark. Still, Biden is not a shrinking violet, so McCane better be ready for some harsh words.

But if Obama ever sends me another text message at 3:30 AM!! (on a Saturday, no less), we will have to seriously reconsider our relationship. That is all.

How Many Houses Do You Own?

I'm gonna have to change the name of the blog again since I'm back in the States :(

And of course, from the moment I got back here, I've been voraciously following the political news. Obama's expected to announce his veep pick tomorrow, and the Democratic National Convention starts on Monday! But the real gem is this:

When asked how many houses he owns, John McCain DIDN'T KNOW!! His exact words were "I'll have my staff get to you."Really? You actually have people to keep track of how many houses you have? Oh God, please let this be the "Kerry-gone-windsurfing" moment of this campaign. All over this country, people are losing their homes to a financial system gone haywire, but for the extremely wealthy, like the McCains, who have profited enormously from the Bush presidency, there is no worry about putting a roof over their head. The actual count is somewhere between 7 and 12 (depending on the definition of "home") 7 houses?! And yet, Obama is the elitist, dincha know? Only in the senile delusions of a sad, old man would that make any sense.

Please people, this country cannot afford a 3rd Bush term, please vote American, vote Democrat.

So we like Obama, get over it

So here goes a political post on, again, why Obama should be president. This is my first attempt at "analyzing" the presidential race, so don't be too hard on me.

Apparently, John McCain and his campaign team aren't exactly thrilled that Obama is so popular in the U.S. or here in Europe. McFailure posted a new YouTube video that pokes fun at the media's (mostly MSNBC and no Fox "News") coverage of Obama, basically saying they're "in the tank" for him. His newest attack ad, blaming Obama for $4+ gas, features audio of chants of 'O-ba-ma, O-ba-ma.' One of McAncient's top aides also attempted to make fun of how the news anchors of NBC, ABC, and CBS are traveling with Obama on his overseas trip this week. He said '''The One' went to Europe and homage must be paid."

Let's get the easy one out of the way first. For a long-ass time, McBush and the press have had a pretty cozy relationship. This only strengthened during his upset victory in the 2000 New Hampshire Republican primary and definitely continued to this campaign. He even called the press his "base." I, for one, have definitely given up on any hope of having a journalistic class that is committed to reporting the truth fairly, because if that were the case, they would have questioned everything the Bush "Administration" has done to ruin our nation over the last 7 1/2 years. I think they've just become so lazy that they find the easiest narrative possible and stick with it, come hell, high water, or facts. So, McSame is a "maverick," and his military service automatically qualifies him to become president, and anyone who disagrees with that is unfairly attacking a "war hero." Suddenly, this new, young, inspirational guy shows up and starts drawing huge crowds, the media starts reporting this, and this means we're all naive, stupid rubes who go ga-ga over pretty words? Come on McCain, if you're jealous, just say it.

For me, yes, Obama represents change, but I know he's not a perfect "messiah." I understand he's a politician, and will make compromises I'm not comfortable with. But despite that, I support him because he supports issues I care about: further equality for LGBTs, universal health care, a more progressive tax code, a more realistic and compassionate foreign policy. Not to mention he's is way smarter than the absolute moron that is our current president. The fact that he's a good orator and can communicate his ideas well is just icing on the cake.

As for Obama's popularity in Europe, since when is it bad thing that the rest of the world actually likes someone who could be our next president? Really. Can someone tell me just how having the rest of the world despise George Bush makes us better off? Like Arianna Huffington says,

Of course, at no point does the McCain campaign or anyone in the media point out what, exactly, is the danger to America if our closest allies actually, you know, don't hate us.

They also fail to mention that along with being our allies, the European countries Obama is visiting are also democracies -- so it's a lot easier for their leaders to make nice with us if their constituents don't view our president as an object of disdain and ridicule.

Being in Spain, one of the inevitable questions is something on the presidential race. In fact, my first day of work my boss said how happy she was that Obama won the primary.

Basically, McCane should stop worrying about Obama's popularity, and maybe, focus on boosting his own. After all, if he does win, wouldn't he want the rest of the world to like him?

A Rant against the Rich

I'm writing this mostly because I'm bored, but I really want to know what you all think. The Nation's issue this week is focusing on America's astounding income inequality, and reading a couple of the articles got me thinking. Now as most of you know, I come from a very humble, low-income background, and some of you do too. And many of you are very active in that fount of good works that is PBHA. So I'm sure it pisses you off too that today, the top 0.01% "earn" 976 times more income than the bottom 90%.
In reality, as the Nation points out, we've merely recreated the same financial scenario that preceded the Great Depression. Hopefully we won't get to the depression phase because we still have some of the safeguards the New Deal put in place, but the fact is it could happen. Now, I'm no economist, but imagine what we could do to better the world if we increased taxes on the super-rich. In 2005, people making more than $1 million paid 23% of that in tax; in 1944, they paid 65% in taxes. Income for the bottom 90% has fallen since 1980, while the income of the top 1/100th of 1 percent ballooned from $5.4 million to more than $29 million. Is this fair? I don't think so.
It is painfully obvious we need real tax reform, and not John McCain and the Republican's usual nonsense about "lower taxes for the rich actually help poor." Because something is wrong when $4-a-gallon gas and rising food prices means my family and other poorer families spend more of the shrinking incomes just to survive, let alone have the occasional luxury. Something is wrong when hedge-fund managers or CEOs totally screw up, lose millions, if not billions of dollars, and get paid millions more to leave. How seriously f***ed up is this country when ordinary people have to slave away competently and professionally, yet still don't have enough time with their kids, don't have enough money to save, and are only one unexpected diagnosis or car crash or minor natural disaster away from complete ruin, yet some yuppie scum can be the most incompetent ass and make millions.
I, of course, place most of the blame on the Republicans. But they were and still are very complicit Democrats, who all work to gouge regulations, leading to things like sub-prime mortgage crises where people are losing their homes.
But we should also blame ourselves. After all, the farmer in Kansas, or the coal miner in Pennsylvania will not vote for Obama, even though his tax plans are so much more progressive than McCain's. But they'll fall for the Republican's shading of truths and outright lies that assuage their own biases and prejudices, and most of all, fears. They may not cling to God and guns because they're bitter, but there must be some reason they're willing to vote against their own economic interests and reward the greed of Cheney et. al.
Anyway, that's my rant for the day. I hoped you enjoyed. And more importantly, if you want to make a difference, make this nation a more fair and just society, I sincerely hope you'll look at both Obama and McCain and make the judgment for yourself as to who is more on your side, economically.

You go Norway!

Norway becomes the latest country to guarantee marriage equality! Here's to the USA getting on the train soon, especially since finally letting all the divas have their day will mean big bucks! After all, gay men are the pickiest species. Or we could all listen to the radical right, and continue denying equal rights to citizens, since gay marriage did kill the dinosaurs.



In work news, I got my first real assignment yesterday! I'm writing a report on recent elections for a leftist political party. One of the many reasons why I love Europe so much, the left here is way crazier than anything the Democrats could come up with. Even the conservative parties over here are sometimes to the left of the Dems. But, progess will come in time, especially if we get Obama elected. Anyway, I realize the assignment isn't all that exciting/groundbreaking, but it's a start.

Remember to fill me in and all the wonderful happenings in your corners of the world!

From my Corner Office

Yes, that's right. I have a corner office, all to myself. Of course, it's only because the Consulate is kind of understaffed in a pretty big building. Which leads me to the subject of my job. Being left to my own devices all day mostly means that I have time to, well, blog, check email, Facebook, etc. True, it's only my 3rd day here, so I guess I can't expect to become diplomat extraordinaire anytime soon. Instead, my first assignment is to read the local newspapers. So, for now, a pretty sweet gig.

In other news, truckers are striking to protest high gas prices. I'm a little worried because I need to go grocery shopping and all the supermarkets are saying they're going to start running out of food by tomorrow. On the plus side, I'm really glad I don't drive, since as part of the strike, trucks are blocking traffic, creating huge jams in all the big cities.

And of course, an update on my hero, Barack Obama. Or rather, an update on what out-of-touch, white, conservative TV pundits think of Obama. Namely, that he's a terrorist. Who makes "terrorist fist jabs" with his wife. Really Fox News? Really? I wonder how many athletes and young people are now classified as terrorists according to Fox News.

Obama is Freakin' Amazing!

Barack Obama's "Race in America" Speech

So apparently Barack Obama's pastor said some not-very-nice things about the U.S. and Obama's taking the flak for it. So after spending most of the last week trying to denounce the remarks, Obama courageously gave a well-thought-out, reconciling speech about "the race issue."

As many of my friends know, I'm an avid Obama supporter, and this speech was brilliant. What impresses me the most is that, unlike our current mistake of a president, he thinks, and unlike Hillary, he thinks for himself. After listening to that speech, I don't know how anyone (especially certain members of my family) could think Barack is anything but a Christian. It wasn't just the direct biblical references that provide it, but the very spirit of this speech, and his entire campaign really, is built on the supremely Christian principles of love for your neighbor, faith, and hope.

While I, unlike the vast majority of Americans, do not have an intense like or dislike for Hillary, and would vote for her if she were the nominee, I think not electing Barack Obama would be the stupidest thing this country has done since November 2004. Obama is a candidate who has the most important quality we need in our leaders in our super complicated, increasingly interconnected world, he thinks for himself! It's not just about mere intelligence, it's about deeply considering every least nuance of an issue, the conviction to believe you arrived at the right decision, and the courage to admit that human imperfection means you might be wrong. I'm so sick of Bush's irrational arrogance in his ability to be the "decider." I truly believe this country needs Obama.