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.
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.
