In Our Lifetime...

Earlier this week, our class discussed examples of advancements that have been made in our lifetime which our parent's generation did not get to enjoy. When Mr. Lawler originally posed the question, I began to think of all the new technology that has been developed in the past 16 years. However, as I thought more about the question, I realized that the greatest advancements that have been made transcend technology. This is how I ended up with my decision that our society's increasing environmental awareness is definitely one of the most important advancements that has been made in my lifetime. 

Environmental Awareness in the U.S.A. began in the 1970s with the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The organization was formed by President Richard Nixon to help the government learn more about our impact on the environment, and in turn how the environment affects us. 

Throughout the 90s and 00s, the EPA has passed many acts and guidelines that are working to help protect our environment. In 1990, 2 major pieces of legislation were put forth by the EPA: The Clean Air Act Amendments, and the Pollution Prevention Act. In 1996, the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments were passed. The EPA implemented the Food Quality Act in 1997. (More information on the EPA's history is available here)

All of these acts have been extremely important in making our nation more environmentally aware, and therefore more environmentally friendly. It has been proven time and time again that the benefits of EPA efforts far out weigh the costs. The new effort to "go green" is something that my parent's generation never had, and therefore will never benefit from. That is why I feel very fortunate to experience America's effort to protect the environment in my lifetime. 

Progress in Politics

"However, the campaign is over. That chapter is closed. Now is the time to move on and make sure all of us are doing all that we can to progress this nation." -Sarah Palin, in a recent interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer

This quote from Sarah Palin, along with the election of Barack Obama and other recent quotes are signs that progress is coming to politics. 

This article, published today on CNN.com speaks of Governor Palin's interview with Wolf Blitzer. During the McCain/Palin campaign, the Governor of Alaska was a tough critic of Obama. She was always very skeptical of his relationship with William Ayers, who she refers to as an "unrepentant domestic terrorist.", However, Palin has now declared that: "It would be my honor to assist and support our new president and the new administration." The Governor claims she is also speaking for her fellow republican governors, saying that, "They would be willing also to seize this opportunity that we have to progress this nation together, in a united front." 

It seems that even Gov. Sarah Palin is ready for national progress. Despite her and John McCain's tragic loss in the battle for the presidency, she has a strong desire for our nation to grow and accomplish great things. I believe that Palin is showing the public more of her true self now that the campaign is over. She was playing hard ball in the final weeks leading up to the election, but now that everything is all said and done she is beginning to speak out about her actual thoughts on our nation. Or maybe she is just trying to gain back some respect, who knows? 

Either way it is a sign of the start of political progress as a result of Obama's election. 

"I regret saying some things I shouldn't have said, Like 'dead or alive' and 'bring 'em on.' My wife reminded me that, hey, as president of the United States, be careful what you say." -President George W. Bush in a recent CNN interview

Here we have even President Bush showing signs of progress at the end of his campaign. The President, like Governor Palin, is reflecting back on what they have done for politics. Now that W's final term is coming to an end, he is starting to point out some of the things he regrets from his 8 years in office. In the article, the President talks about moments like his speech in front of a 'Mission Accomplished' banner on May 1, 2003. From what he is saying in the interview it seems as though he knew all along that was not a good idea, but at least he has progressed to a point where he can admit it. 

President Bush and Governor Palin are both examples of the progress that is occurring in American politics. Since the election, the world of politics has become a more reconciled one. Now we have major political figures sharing their personal feelings on what they have accomplished and what they regret about their political efforts. This kind of climate on Capitol Hill is great for welcoming the new President-Elect, who is a major proponent of progress himself. Hopefully, the progression of American politics will continue on January 20th when Obama takes office. I'm pretty sure it will.

Grandma's Boy

This Monday the Obama campaign announced that Barack would be leaving the trail on Thursday to visit his grandmother in Hawaii. Lately her health has become increasingly worse, and now she is in a serious situation. So, after an event in Indianapolis Thursday morning, Obama will fly to Hawaii. He is scheduled to return to the campaign trail on Saturday. While he is gone Michelle Obama will be speaking in his place at previously scheduled events in Akron and Columbus, Ohio. 

So what will the public's opinion be on this?

I personally do not see how any good natured person could condemn such a decision. Sure, he is leaving the campaign trail in the final 15 days, but seriously, its his grandma. Obama has made it very clear in his speeches how important this woman is to him. She raised him. He has pointed out time and time again that without her, he would not be where he is today. 

But what of John McCain's decision to leave the campaign trail to focus on the economy several weeks ago?

It seemed to me as though almost everyone saw what it really was: a publicity stunt to win voters who had doubts about Obama's economic policies. Contemplating the reason for these candidates leaving the campaign trail is a contemplation of the character of the men themselves. McCain decided to try and win over votes by "leaving the campaign" to "focus on the economy". Obama is leaving for 2 days to visit his grandmother, the woman who raised him, because she is incredibly ill. He may be a grandma's boy, but at least we know he's not trying to win a sympathy vote or something. 

Oh, and here's an article if you're interested

Joe the Plumber says: "Obama is a socialist!"

"You see, [Obama] believes in redistributing wealth, not in policies that help us all make more of it. Joe, in his plainspoken way, said this sounded a lot like socialism."-John McCain, in a recent radio address

"Joe suggested that that sounded a little bit like socialism. Whatever you call it, I call it bad medicine for an ailing economy..."-Sarah Palin, at a recent rally in West Chester, Ohio

The McCain/Palin campaign's new favorite word is 'socialism'. Since the last presidential debate, both McCain and Palin have been routinely describing Obama's tax policies as 'socialist'. It is reminiscent of Senator McCarthy's communist witch-hunts during the Red Scare, which served to call out suspected Communists and bring them to justice. Throughout history, political policies have been criticized as 'socialist' or 'communist'. McCain's recent employment of this strategy is just another example of this. 

What is interesting is how McCain will call Obama's policies socialist, but not the candidate himself. When McCain was asked why he used the word 'socialist' in his radio interview, he responded: "That's what it is. 'Spreading the wealth' around is socialism." However, when McCain was asked whether he considered Barack Obama a socialist, he said "I don't know." Thankfully McCain is not taking things as far as McCarthy once did, but it is not a favorable practice either way. 

I would not say that I am surprised by McCain's new strategy. These types of practices are to be expected in a last ditch effort to win over voters. This is just a reminder of how powerful the criticism of 'socialism' remains to this day. America is known as a democratic nation, and it has forever been an opponent of any signs of communism. Tying Obama's policies to socialism makes it appear as though Obama is not a patriot, and therefore not deserving of the presidency. I just hope this sad attempt at derailing Obama's campaign in the final hours remains unsuccessful. 

To read more on the topic, check this out.

UFOs make a comeback, but why?

For my response to the question posed on page 135 of "Everything's An Argument", I decided to turn to the opinion section of the Wilmette Life. I was immediately drawn to an article titled "Don't look now, but UFOs make a comeback" by Paul Sassone. The article begins by pointing out how interest in UFOs has risen in the past few years. Apparently, NBC and ABC both aired prime time specials in the recent weeks. Also, according to a 2002 poll, 56% of Americans believe in UFOs, and 70% believe that the truth is being covered up by the government. The height of the UFO craze was in the 1950s, when Americans were terrified of communist takeover. Sassone argues that the revived interest in UFOs has come from our new fear of terrorism, or a failing economy. I mean it makes sense, many scholars say that the original UFO sightings were a symbol of our fear of communism, and now that we have a new fear we have more UFO interest. However, Sassone slightly under cuts his argument with his statistics on American opinion of UFOs. He references how more than half of Americans believe in UFOs, and how many sighting organizations have expanded. But, this takes away from his argument that we turn to UFOs to symbolize our fears as a nation. These opinions have been built up over 50 years, and so have the organizations. In the end, the reader is left confused. Are we merely personifying our fears as extraterrestrial visitors, or do we actually have a legitimate belief in these flying saucers? I think Sassone was trying to lead his readers to this question, rather than heavily argue a certain side. That way, the reader can walk away pondering the collective sub-conscious of America and what the real reason is behind the UFO comeback. 

Yes She Can!

Don't worry, I'm not really a supporter of Sarah Palin, or John McCain for that matter, I am merely quoting the new line of campaign signs I have seen around Winnetka this past week. I've seen about 10 of them on the fronts of houses, or attached to the trees in front yards, and they are priceless. I tried for like 15 minutes to find a picture of one, but to no avail, so I will try to describe it. Basically you've got a white poster board. On the top it reads "Yes, She Can!" in some lame Microsoft Word font. Below that is a nice, big, proud American flag. Then, on the bottom, is written "You Go Sarah!" in an even lamer Word font. Overall, not that great to look at. On Saturday I walked up to one to get a better look. I've determined that they are probably being made and distributed by someone locally, for they have no '.com' or anything that would associated to the McCain campaign. I just realized that rhymes. Anyways, they are homemade. These signs are merely proof that Palin is not being considered a political candidate. She is definitley not being thought of as the woman that will become president if/when McCain bites the dust. The homemade, Word font signs seem more appropriate for a sports team. "You Go Sarah!"...c'mon. This is a presidential race, not a high stakes sporting event. Despite their humorous qualities, these signs are really interesting when analyzing the tactics being employed by each campaign. Although these signs are not being created by the McCain campaign (rhyme) itself, they are being made by its loving supporters. And they are, after all, the voters that could win these two the office. All I can say is that I hope the people proudly displaying these Palin signs are putting more thought into their vote than they would for a decision on who to root for in a Cubs/Sox World Series. 

It Blew My Mind

My friend showed me this movie yesterday. We were just sitting around and he suddenly rushes to my computer, demanding to show me something he described to be "pretty cool". I thought it was merely a short YouTube video or something, but I was wrong. He puts on "Zeitgeist: The Movie" on Google Video. The 5 minute introduction was hard to get through. It was just alot of quotes and speeches and nothing. But after the intro came the first part of the movie, which discusses how Christianity and many other early religions all follow the same general pattern that is based off the zodiac. The second part of the movie explains a conspiracy theory that the terrorist attacks on 9/11/01 were planned and executed by the leaders of our nation in order to gain the support they needed to go to war in the Middle East. I have always been against such conspiracy theories, but I found myself questioning everything after I saw the evidence the film had gathered. The third and final portion of the movie is about the Federal Reserve. It explains how the Federal Reserve was founded by a group of elite bankers in the early years of our nation, and that it is not actually a part of the government. It goes into great detail on how all the money that is created by the Federal Reserve is loaned out to the government with a tax associated to it. Therefore, the movie says, the nation will forever be in debt because they will need to get more money from the reserve to pay off the tax they had from their previous money. Overall, the ideas discussed in the movie are incredibly interesting. While watching the film, I constantly found myself thinking back to American Studies. All three parts share strong relationships with what it means to be an American. Millions of Americans are followers of Christianity. One is very hard-pressed to find a person who fully believes in 9/11 conspiracy theories. And of course, every single dollar you have ever spent started in the Federal Reserve. The movie attempts to show Americans that what they believe is sometimes very far from the truth. In American Studies, we are trying to get closer to 'What it means to be an American' and similar ideas. This film is great in helping to research these ideas because it presents a completely new perspective on many ideas that are considered unquestionable facts. 

First post right here. Just added some cool stuff like the last.fm feature along with the Cubs news thing. There losing right now unfortunately. I need some pictures and music.