Longtime Aspen Post rivals Mitch Mulhall and Sue Gray square off on the role and efficacy of the United Nations. “I type here, mouth agape, like a mental patient transfixed by a light bulb, at the thought that anyone would give a UN proposal more credence than its weight in used toilet paper,” Mitch writes in comment #45. Sue replies, “You're not listening as usual. I know as well as anyone that the U.N. is an ineffectual body...My point is, unconditional support of Israel by the U.S. as was demonstrated by the UN veto of a ceasefire that would stop the carnage of Arab people, will be used as a recruiting tool by Islamic jihadists for another 9/11 type event,” but upon further thought she advises, “Never mind. Go back to staring at that light bulb. And don't forget to take your meds.”
Post blogger Cathleen Krahe provides an article by Israeli historian Ilan Pappe on why Zionism needs to be addressed before there can be peace in the Middle East.
In
Moral Idiocy, Post blogger Mitch Mulhall puts forth his view on the Middle East conflicts, "As tensions on the Irsrael/Gaza border ramp-up this weekend," Mulhall writes, "I find Hamas’ actions incredulous. In the face of certain military defeat, Hamas terrorists pepper Israeli towns with missiles that match up with Israeli ordinance the way a broad-head arrow compares to a 50-caliber machine gun. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting the missiles Hamas lobs into Israel aren’t capable of lethal damage. They are significantly more effective at killing and maiming than, say, a broad-head arrow. Everybody knows this. It is a fool’s errand to accept any construct that suggests otherwise."
Posts filed under 'Politics'
Since I got here I have noticed that there has been a lot of discussion on immigration. Is immigration good for America or is it bad for America? In a post 9/11 world it is not and easy topic to opine on, but I will give it a shot nonetheless.
For me, I think immigration is good for America and is what made this country so great in the first place. People coming from different countries to share in the American dream is fabulous. I still think we should allow the poor of the world come to this country and find salvation. We need to be more careful especially with the threat of terrorism, but we should not stop being a beacon of hope for everyone around the world.
Continue Reading November 14th, 2008
With Barack Obama's victory America once again showed why it is the greatest nation in the world. Obama doesn't come from money or power. He didn't have a silver spoon in his mouth and he didn't have many of the advantages that others in this country have. Yet he was able to ascend to the most powerful position in the world.
How did he do it? He did it by working hard and believing in himself. He did it by persevering and never giving up even when critics said he could not stop or beat Hillary Clinton. He did it the America way. He wasn't judged by who his parents were or where he grew up; he was judged on his talent and ability. No other country in the world offers this opportunity the way America does.
Continue Reading November 6th, 2008
I once had a professor tell that every right we have has blood on it. When I really thought about it and looked throughout history it really made sense. People have fought for freedom throughout time and today we are the beneficiaries. Tomorrow we get to exercise one of those rights and have the privilege to vote. This is something that many people died for and something that people are still fighting for today.
What a better way to celebrate this than by giving everyone the day off on Election Day. We should celebrate this right and take the day off to really appreciate how lucky we are. Besides celebrating the day, having the day off will make it easier for people to vote and would probably increase the number of people that vote. This would be excellent for democracy and excellent for the country as more people would likely get involved in the democratic process.
Continue Reading November 3rd, 2008
With so much fear about the economy, terrorists and other scary issues no one is talking about education right now. However, if we don’t provide good education for the majority of the children in this country everything else will be unimportant.
Did you know that we can tell how many prison cells we need to build from the test scores of third graders? How would our kids feel if they knew that we are building those cells rather than teaching them what they need to know to be a contributing member of society?
Teachers in inner city schools are already seeing an improvement in students’ self-esteem, attitude and interest in education since Obama became a candidate in the primaries last spring. He has talked widely about the role of family and schools.
The Bush administration’s NCLB only encouraged teachers to figure out ways to increase test scores. No teacher I have spoken to feels that learning and knowledge have increased.
If you are undecided please think about our future and probably the biggest factor in making us a strong nation. As we look at failing schools, poor results compared to other nations, an extremely high rate on incarceration of failing students, please vote for Barak Obama, the one who can make the difference. I am a teacher. I work in New York City schools. I see what is happening.
Cari Shurman
Aspen
November 3rd, 2008
Today I took my children to Target on a quest for birthday gifts—two kids, two birthday invitations, a host of presents, wrapping, cards, the whole nine yards. Mind you, I’m probably not the best leader for this kind of expedition, but I got stuck with the responsibility and did the best I could.
I’ve got this baseball cap my best friend’s nephew sent me. I don’t wear it often, but I threw it on today because my hair is badly in need of sheering. The bill says, “USS Abraham Lincoln. CVN-72” and features a silver silhouette of the daunting Nimitz class aircraft carrier. That’s right, the same deck President Bush landed on, the same tower that held the much-maligned Mission Accomplished banner. Ordinarily I wear a 12X felt cowboy hat, but when I do wear this cap, I notice the visceral scowls and double-takes. I’d say I give a crap, but I do not...
Continue Reading November 2nd, 2008
In this wacky-tobaccy world of 21st Century politics, if you can’t parboil an idea down to a sound byte then you might as well chug it raw. We the people like our politics plain and simple, like meat and potatoes: Democrats and Republicans, Liberals and Conservatives, good guys and bad girls—with nothing much in between.
The problem for pols, pundits, and poobahs is that the world doesn’t work that way here on Lifeboat America. A black-and-white world nowadays is vacuous and often insulting, with all nuance lost in the rigidity of pre-sharpened saws and crackpot sound bytes presented like precious family gew-gaws.
And guess what? Voters have noticed: in state after state they’re simply not buying. We’re not talking about Ralph Nader or John Anderson or Ross Perot or even Bob Barr—third-party candidates who now and again arrive on the Presidential stage with a megaphone for disenfranchised citizens and license to scream bloody murder because they just can’t win.
Continue Reading October 22nd, 2008
The fate of the unrepentant synergist is to see the seeds of all things in all other things and that goes double for your friendly neighborhood Con Man. In the spirit of everything telling us something about something else, I give you my trenchant analysis from the trenches—or, how football as we now know it is no different now than our national politics on the cusp of a major realignment.
Let’s go into the huddle and I’ll draw ’er up for you.
Continue Reading October 20th, 2008
First off, before I start this blog I want to let the readers know that I am a former teacher and got my Masters in Education from Columbia University. With that said here is my blog.
During last night's Presidential debate between Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain the topic of education came up. Both Obama and McCain pledged to spend more on education and to make sure that every American child received a good education to compete in this global economy. They both debated about school vouchers, recruiting new teachers, the no child left behind policy and all the usual topics that come with the education debate.
Continue Reading October 16th, 2008
As a Libertarian I am opposed to government entitlement programs in principle. However, I don’t go out of my way to knock Social Security or Medicare. Too many people that I care about depend wholly on these programs for me to actively despise the Socialist implications. But Affordable Housing is another matter entirely... There are several problems with the idea of Affordable Housing that never seem to enter the discussion...
Continue Reading October 13th, 2008
Everyone’s heard of the 1929 stock market crash, right? Ticker tape machines spewing prices. Guys in suits opening skyscraper windows and jumping. From the high price of 386 on September 3, 1929 to the low (which followed the infamous Black Thursday, Monday, and Tuesday on November 13, 1929), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) lost 49.16% of its value. The Great Depression ensued... When the closing bell rang at the New York Stock Exchange last Thursday, the DJI had lost 39.43% from its high of 14,165.69 in October, 2007. That’s a full year. That’s recession. Last week alone accounted for whopping 21.04% of that loss. But what’s more interesting to me is what happened on Friday.
Continue Reading October 11th, 2008
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