China is the new economy November 25, 2008
Posted by adjwynn in Entertainment, Politics, Pop culture, china, international relations.Tags: american idiots, axl rose, china, economy, guns 'n' roses, hollywood, kanye west, president-elect obama, superpowers
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In about a month and a half, President-elect Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States.
The mid-January tradition will erase the “-elect” portion of Obama’s title and wipe clean the presidential slate tarnished by eight years of shady policies enacted by the Bush administration.
Upon assuming his duties, Obama will be forced to address the most pressing issue in the minds of many voters: relations with China.
You thought I was going to say the economy, didn’t you?
I’ve heard enough about the economy, and I’ve said enough about it, too. The United States interaction with the Far East’s superpower will prove to be much more important in the long run.
The economy works in relatively short-term cycles. A few bad years are typically balanced by a decade of economic success not too far down the road.
China should be a larger concern because people, unlike abstract economic factors, can hold grudges. A grudge match between the States and the couple billion people of China would present some frightening potential scenarios.
The good part about Obama’s election is that many Chinese see his rise to prominence as a sign of improvement in the U.S. Some Chinese did not believe America was capable of electing and respecting a black president. While we still have to work to prove the latter half of the statement, the former portion has obviously been refuted.
Americans can only hope our ideals are not misinterpreted because of an obnoxious, irrelevant voice rising from the muddled, pretentious American entertainment industry.
We don’t need Kanye West, on national television, to proclaim China’s hatred of black people, as he did of President George W. Bush during 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. Verbally attacking your president is protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, but provoking an emerging superpower could impose a much more costly penalty than a horde of slanderous retorts.
I hope these famous buffoons — primarily the half-witted Hollywoodites who can’t keep a foot out of their mouths — can figure out when exactly is time to hush up.
We don’t need incendiary figures like Guns ‘N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose to reemerge onto the national scene pushing an anti-China agenda.
I don’t know how seriously China would react under a series of individual call-outs by overzealous American idiots, but given their less-than-stellar human rights record, I would rather not test the waters.
Going yard….and beyond November 20, 2008
Posted by adjwynn in Baseball, New Moves, Politics, Pop culture.Tags: American Public Diplomacy Envoy, Diplomat, Griff, Griffey, Jr., Junior, Ken Griffey, Nintendo 64
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I’ll allow President-elect Barack Obama, one of my favorite political leaders, take a step out of the limelight for this week, in favor of one of my all-time favorite athletes.
This week, Ken Griffey, Jr. was introduced as an American Public Diplomacy Envoy by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He will travel around the world to speak with kids about America and its culture.
Lucky kids. If I was 10 again, I might move to Panama just for the chance to meet with Griffey. I might even do it now.
This guy was the face of Nintendo 64 for me. The baseball video game touting Griff on its cover was and is the sole reason I ever began paying attention to our national pastime. Call me a communist or a video game-loving nerd, but it’s the truth. If it wasn’t for the second Ken Griffey, I wouldn’t give a hoot about the diamond.
I’m happy to see him rise to position where he can represent our nation — hopefully he can transfer his success on he field to the international diplomatic stage.
I’m sure he’ll knock this gig out of the park.
How quickly we forget…. November 18, 2008
Posted by adjwynn in Movies, Politics, Pop culture, Uncategorized.Tags: blades of glory, McBama, McCain, Obama, teamwork
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It has been two weeks since Election Day, and Sen. John McCain and President-elect Barack Obama have already flip-flopped at least one of their previous points of view.
After months and months of competitive campaigning spiked with smear ads and ugly accusations, the pair have not only reconciled their “differences,” McCain has even professed his support of Obama’s presidency.
Additionally, the former (perceived) rivals have issued a collaborative statement outlining their commitment to “change the bad habits of Washington.”
Depending on the person, this can be interpreted as either consoling or sickening. One day, McCain and Obama are seemingly mortal enemies, and the next they’re holding buddy-buddy press conferences. This story line is as bad the one in the movie “Blades of Glory,” where two rival male figure skaters go from bitter, hate-filled enemies to awkwardly close pals in a matter of minutes.
The McCain-Obama quasi-partnership could spell good things for the future of our government, though. As the respective figureheads of the Republicans and the Democrats, maybe they could bank on each other’s strengths and party influenec to tap into an efficient, compromising legislative-executive relationship that hasn’t been seen for years.
OK, they aren’t best friends and superheroes, so I won’t hold my breath for that one. My fingers are crossed that the two will spearhead a positive turnaround for the U.S. Government.
Then again, this is still politics — they may just end up squabbling again.
How long will the tag team champs hold their belts? November 6, 2008
Posted by adjwynn in Movies, Politics, Pop culture.add a comment
America finally has a new president and vice president after a drawn-out campaign. Hopefully, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, the respective president-elect and vice president-elect, can follow through on their promise of change.
And, for them, I hope their implied buddy-buddy camraderie will translate to their newfound leadership roles. I have a feeling the pair is going to need the chemistry in order to live up to the pre-election hype.
Since the results were announced Tuesday evening, Americans have already shown an improvement in disposition. Apparently, we think that Obama and Biden will help eradicate the remnants of racism in the United States.
If Obama and Biden have any chance of living up to the public’s superhuman expectations, they’re going to need to go together likes Starsky and Hutch, Wayne and Garth, and Floyd and Louis from the upcoming film “Soul Men.”
Floyd, played by the late Bernie Mac, and Louis, played by budding chameleon actor Samuel L. Jackson, apparently fit together like a foot in a shoe, which is what the new top dogs will need to succeed in their new house.
I’m in the new Prez’s corner for now, so I suppose I have his Veep’s back, too. I’m excited to see how they will respond to the challenges of their offices, and I hope the chemistry between them that was so apparent on Election Night won’t disappear when the stresses of the White House take hold.
Time to relax November 4, 2008
Posted by adjwynn in Politics.Tags: Politics
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Thank God it’s Election Day.
The once distant landmark is now underneath our feet. Hopefully, our nation can calmly and civily go about its duty and choose the next President of the United States.
I implore voters to simply cast their ballots, if they have not already done so, and then patiently wait for the election results later tonight or tomorrow. Naturally, the media will have nothing to do with this.
The New York Times, for one, has developed a detailed timeline of checkpoints to look out for as election results are passed for individual states.
The hell with that. I already did my part. I am content to read the results in tomorrow’s paper.
If you have already voted, I suggest you do the same. There isn’t much else to be done on your part. It’s time to relax.
Remember, remember the 29th of October October 30, 2008
Posted by adjwynn in Entertainment, Movies, Politics, Pop culture, Uncategorized.Tags: 44th President, Change, Hope, Obama, V for Vendetta
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Obama TV dominated the airwaves Wednesday night.
The Democrats’ presidential candidate listed his policies and ensured viewers “None of [his proposal] grows government. It grows the economy.”
The 30-minute infomercial was an unprecedented campaign tactic — at least I can’t remember anyone else ever doing such a thing. It reminded me of one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies – “V for Vendetta.”
In the movie, England has been quarantined after the world’s deadliest virus breaks out and kills hundreds of thousands. The outbreak scrambles the government’s course of action mid-election, allowing a long-shot party and candidate to take the country’s reigns. However, this party relies on Nazi-esque policies to control its constituency, rather than represent them democratically.
Fed up with the ruling party’s stranglehold on the liberties of its people, a masked man who goes only by the name “V” attempts to reveal the public’s silent unrest through a series of more-than-controversial acts. He works against the fascist grains of the ruling party, and, naturally, is called a terrorist, even though all he really wants is for the people of England to have their freedoms and their integrity.
In one scene, “V” hijacks a major British television network and broadcasts the message from his heart.
Sen. Barack Obama’s 30-minute extended advertisement reminded me of this.
I’m not calling Obama a terrorist. I am not calling the Bush administration Nazis or fascists. Both these presumptive conclusions are childish attempts to find fault with what I see as a positive comparison.
Listening to Obama, I can’t help but feel hopeful, even though I’m not sure why. I don’t know enough about economic policy, I don’t have the solution to the War in Iraq and I’m not a middle-class family man yet.
What I do know is that Obama looks forward and sees objectives, not obstructions. I can hear it in his voice. I know that he cannot solve our country’s problems on his own, but I am certain he will do everything in his power.
In the film, “V” speaks with confidence about battling his country’s problems. He asks the people of England only to show their support of his plan. He knows that they recognize their country’s problem, and that he is the perfect person to lead them toward an all-too-necessary mini-revolution.
There’s the parallel.
Whether you think Obama is significantly prepared to lead the United States is not the dire issue the media has pumped it up to be.
What matters is that he recognizes what needs to be done and is confident he can provide the leadership necessary to turn things around.
Presidents are not elected to be the cure, they are supposed to act as agents of change. Obama knows what his role will be if he is elected as our 44th president.
Regrettably, the show must go on. October 28, 2008
Posted by adjwynn in Politics, Uncategorized.add a comment
For the last few months I have struggled to figure out exactly why people feel the need to discuss politics so frequently during election season.
It seems that most people feel like a night of FoxNews somehow equates to a political science degree. Or maybe they are just enthusiastic. Or maybe they just do what the television tells them to do.
In any case, this faux knowledge is embarrassing and incredibly annoying.
I don’t need someone who is just as uninformed as I am to try and explain something to me, much less try to persuade me to see his or her point of view. In the heat of the election, the blind have been leading the blind, which has lead to the pervasiveness of dozens of idiotic buzz words and non-issues. One could easily find more substance in a Pauly Shore flick.
From “Joe Six-pack” to Joe the plumber; from Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s glasses to Bill Ayers’ (whose?) anti-Vietnam participation more than 30 years ago; the campaign trail has been cluttered with crap since late August.
I’m sick of hearing about “change” and “more of the same” and “Did McCain choose the right vice president?”.
Thankfully, the running joke that is this election will end in one short week. Then, we can all get back to talking about how empty our wallets are, rather than how fat Sen. John McCain’s is.
At least we won’t have to continue arguing with our friends about economic policy. I guess all I really want is a “return to normalcy” that Warren G. Harding could be proud of.
Dems should send Biden to Barney’s on their tab October 23, 2008
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What happened to Sen. Joe Biden? Is he still involved in the election circus?
If he is, I haven’t heard anything from or about him in some time. Considering BIden’s tendency for verbal blunders, this probably isn’t a bad thing for his running mate, presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, but a little Biden press — whether good or bad — couldn’t hurt the Democrats’ chances right now.
I suggest that Biden go on a campaign fund-sponsored shopping spree. Maybe if he spices up his manner of dress the press will shower him with attention like they do Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The media can’t get enough of Palin’s wardrobe, and who could blame them? It’s not like anything important is happening in the country right now.
Pictures of Palin wearing a scarf decorated with red, white and blue donkeys and the word “vote” on it have sparked the latest what-is-she-wearing-today craze.
Who gives a damn?
She made an airheaded purchase- it won’t affect the country. It may affect the votes of her supporters, but it shouldn’t because I’m sure she burned it after she realized what she had done.
Naturally, Republicans are all riled up about the Democrats eagerness to pounce on yet another opportunity to bash Palin. Get over it. If the media had photos of Biden and Obama sitting together watching “Dumbo” the GOP would construe the pictures to show the stupidity and naivety of its opponents.
When will this pettiness end?
I thought the election fueled media circus would die down a bit as the election neared. Instead, it has stayed its ignorant course and maybe has gotten worse.
In 12 days it’ll all be over, for one of these two campaigns, so we can all gather around to start bashing the newly elected president from the moment of his inauguration. At least we’ll finally find some thread of togetherness.
Isn’t Justice colorblind? October 21, 2008
Posted by adjwynn in Uncategorized.add a comment
The election has taken over the news, the media and the news media, and it has done so for an all-too-unfortunate reason.
It’s controlling our news because, whether or not we like it, this presidential election is inherently tied to race.
As a nation, we’d like to think race wouldn’t be such a big deal, but putting positive emphasis on Sen. Barack Obama’s heritage requires emphasis — and press — on his race.
Recently, it seemed that other issues were beginning to take precedent over the color of Obama’s skin, but, thanks to the happy-go-lucky voice of conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, race was yanked from the political backseat and shoved back to its usual spot in front of our faces.
I know Obama is black. It doesn’t matter to me, though — and it shouldn’t matter to anyone else. If he gets elected, time won’t stand still, the Earth will not open up and swallow the United States and frogs will not start to fall from the sky. The color of his skin is completely irrelevant.
If our nation (or at least a majority of it) decides that he is the man to lead us, then so be it. That’s why we vote.
People shouldn’t be so touchy and sensitive regarding Obama’s race because he isn’t. Considering how easy it would be for him to play the “race card” at any given opportunity, I’m impressed that it has been brought to our attention so few times. I’d say that he has not only declined that option often, but he chooses to downplay it.
Unfortunately, race and racism are still issues in the U.S., but they are not reasonable grounds for swinging a vote or an election. Mr. Limbaugh is trying to get a rise out of his listeners, whether they agree or disagree with him, because he is intimidated as Obama’s lead in the polls slowly grows.
