Expectations for this Summer

Now originally I'm from Atlanta but I spend my Summers down in Florida (I have Friends and Family there. And its where I work)

While most people prefer to frequent Fort Lauterdale, Tampa or Daytona,
I usually spend my Summers in Jacksonville, going downtown on weekends. Hey it has just about every thing those city have without the overcrowding and insane prices. The Landing (like downtown Atlanta cept its on a pier) has some of the coolest shops and bars.


Newly added to the city is one of my favorite unheralded sports Arena football. If you've never been its a blast. The field is only 50 yards long but if you like high scoring and close up action (your never seated more than 200 feet away.) you have to give this a try.


The Jacksonville Sharks

But of course the main attraction as with anything in Florida is the beach. Now to me personally its just as pretty as any thing they have in Panama City or Miami (ok maybe not as blue, but still) without having to work around 10,000 other people looking for a spot.

World War I and How Gavrilo Princip changed the History of Europe (and the world)

Alright most of us know how how the first World War started. Archduke of Austria Franz Ferdinand is assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip as the Archduke's car was touring Sarajevo. This kick starts a domino effect (Austria declares war on Serbia, Russia declares war on Austria, etc.) sending most of the worlds major nations headlong into war.
























I'm gonna make the case that Gavrilo's actions on that day for better or for worse quite possibly changed the course of not just of 1914 Europe, but of the entire world for the next 100 years and maybe even our lives today.

First we have the previously mentioned consequence. World War One. Now it is not necessarily true that Princip alone is responsible for the first World War. Long before the Archduke's death, Europe sweltered under Nationalist politics and some sort of war (be it economic or actual conflict) was possibly inevitable. But most history books would agree that Princip provided the catalyst.

Nearly every major power on at the time contributed in some way to WWI. By the end of it several million lay dead, tens of millions more wounded and far more than that were homeless. It was by far the deadliest war in the history of the world.


to that point....


After the Central Powers surrender in 1918, Germany incured huge amounts of war debt, leading the German Mark to be almost completely worthless, again Millions without a home or a job. The tremendous political unrest that followed would allow this man to be elected chancellor....


























You can kind of see where this is going. World War II, Holocaust, Post World War II Europe.

Again millions lay dead, entire nations lay in tatters, the United States and the Soviet Union (who's very existence is tied closely to WWI) emerge as the worlds leading superpowers and warfare would never be the same again.



From here we move to the Cold War, the space race, East and West Germany, the Iron Curtain, along with the Berlin Wall, and the Korean and Vietnam War's.



If you really wanted to, you could go much deeper. Such as the technologies that came out of both World Wars (faster airplanes, New Medical Techniques, Television), post economic America, the hippie counter revolution of the 60's (in large part a reaction to Vietnam) and how British in 1916 and the United States and Russia in 1980 set the stage for the Mujahideen which would become the Taliban.

All can be traced back to a seemingly small conflict between Serbia and Austria and an Assassin named Gavrilo Princep. Its amazing the repercussions small events can have on History. And if you really really want to dig into it, through a set of very loosly connected events its entirely conceivable that we could live in very different world had just a few of these things gone different. Think about that next time you watch the World News.

5 Editorial Cartoons (explained)

Editorial Cartoons are often a simplified and hilarious ways to look at what current issues are headlining the news. Since the days of woodcuts, newspapers have featured these political satires. But they can sometimes be confusing to the reader if they don't know the backgrounds behind the joke.


(note many of the panels were cut off by the edge of the blog. Sorry their is nothing I can do about it but if you wish to view the entire toon simply click on the picture and you'll be given a separate tab.)




By Walt Handlesman

NewsDay

The cartoon is a reference to allegations that Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele used or someone in his staff used political funds visiting a bondage club.



By Steve Kelly

The Times-Picayune

This cartoon refers to many Americans concern with Health care yet total disregard for their own personal health.




Chris Britt

The State Journal-Register, Springfield

This one pokes fun at Vice President Joe Biden's comments that Health Care was a big "f***ing deal".



Clay Bennett

Chattanooga Times Free Press

I've got two theories on this one.

In this one, a brick with a Tea Party press release denouncing acts of intimidation and violence. The irony is that in the weeks leading up to hostility against the Tea Party protesters, many pro health care, liberal supporters and congressman were threatened, harassed and reportedly one political HQ had a brick thrown through its window.


or

Perhaps it is a shot at Tea Party leaders denouncing violence yet doing nothing overtly public to stop it.



Michael Ramirez


Investor's Business Daily


And finally we have this dig at President Obama, over his unwillingness to "reach out to Israel" despite having attempted rhetoric out to Iran, North Korea, and Russia.

Obscure political Parties in the U.S

The The U.S. Marijuana Party/ The Pot Party






Both the Marijuana Party and the Pot Party, support pot legalization. The Marijuana party differs in that it makes a more concerted effort to endorse candidates/change laws/ get marijuana legalized and taxed whereas the the Pot party just wants to get high and legalize pot.

https://www.usmjparty.org/

http://usmjparty.blogspot.com/ (right here on blogspot oddly enough)


Prohibition Party


At the other end of the spectrum we have the Ultra-Conservative Prohibition Party. This party was anything but obscure in the 20's and 30's controlling much of the U.S political climate and even successfully campaging forward its own Constitutional Amendment (Eighteenth). The Prohibition party is still around today and even received 208 votes in the 2000 presidential election. They still run on a platform of banning or at least limiting the sell of alchol but have also extended they're campaign to fight drugs as well.

http://www.prohibition.org/

The American Nazi/Knights Party(KKK).
The shady and violent histories of both these parties is well documented. Both run on a platform of a whites only government and are generally rooted in racist ideals. The biggest difference between the two parties are their religious ideals. While the Nazi party sees a religious movement in of itself, the Knight party supports an aggressive government reform based on christian values. The Knight party also supports attaining power through violence while the Nazi party (they claim) directly opposes this.


The Pansexual Peace Party




This extremely liberal political group, as the name implies, supports a platform of open sexuality (straight, gay, lesbian) for all Americans. They also take a strong stance on environmental issues, sexual education in schools, and the legalization of hemp farms. Where it gets really weird however is PPP's roots in Wicanism

http://www.freewebs.com/pansexualppp/


The Family Values Party

As you may have already guessed, this party is super conservative and religious in every way. The party's main views include its opposition to the public funding of abortions and opposition to gay marriage and homosexuality. Founded by Tom Wells who claimed that in Christmas 1994 God spoke to him and told Tim to create a political party.


The Socialist Workers Party.



This Marxist based political party believes heavily in more rights for the labor force and reformation into a socialist government. Like the Prohibition Party, The Socialist Workers Party saw its hey-day in the political arena of the 20's and 30's but lost most of its influence to post World War Two McCarthyism. Still the socialists have pushed fourth a candidate in almost every presidential elections since its foundation even gaining nearly 10,000 votes in 2004 (Rodger Calero) and 8,000 in 2008 (split between to candidates)

and Finally we get to the semi serious American Beer Drinkers Party.





The ABDP's official statement:

We are a rag tag group of loyal American's that have become disillusioned with politics as normal. ( as in RepublicDemocrat Party Inc. ) What we propose and stand for, is a change to a new political system of government, based on the needs of the citizen, as dictated in the Constitution's Preamble. If you don't remember what that says, don't worry, no one in Washington does.

They believe that many of the worlds problems could be solved by just sitting and having a beer.

Review of Mirror Mask

You ever dated a girl who looked really really pretty but when you finally got her into that deep conversation stage you realize there isn't a whole lot extra going on "up stairs".

Thats about how I feel about Mirror Mask. From gorgeous golden backdrops to a colorful cast of characters, visually Mirror Mask is beautiful. I thought the acting was good but I don't really know that much about acting so I'll leave that phase alone. While reminiscent of many other fantasy genre's it also feels original. Maybe too original . 45 minutes in I was lost.

The Story begins with a young girl Helena and her desire to be "normal. You see , Helena's family are traveling circus entertainers (which actually sounds pretty cool) and she just wants to live in "the real world". Soon Helena and her mother fight, somehow leading mom to collapse.


From here Mirror Mask desends into an almost Narnia like story where guilt ridden Helena ecounters some unusual chracters and through a series of events is transported to a sort of Wonderland (complete with evil queen).

The plot gets really confusing after this something involving a war between light and shadows and a Helena clone princess.

Overall its wasn't a bad movie. Once again the special effects were stunning. But I never picked up any underlying messages of the movie (if there was one) other than guilt for a parent can sometimes make you forget your own self intrests. (After spending the first part of the movie complaing about it, she ends up in her Family's circus anyway, but she's seems much happier, so maybe an acceptance of what you have?)

Still I highly reccomend this for young girls. Its still deeper than Twilight and far less depressing than Pans' Labyrinth (wierdest movie ever).

March Madness (Sweet 16 Picks)

Game of the Week


(12) Cornell vs (1)Kentucky

Cornell is probally the best of the "Cinderella" teams and this looks to be a really good game. But Kentucky has far too much talent and in the end the Wildcats will get the win. Still though, can't wait for this one. It looks like a good one.

Kentucky 86 Cornell 82

(5) Butler vs (1) Syracuse

Butler is a solid team that plays solid Basketball and thier getting a Syracuse team thats dealing with a few injuries. But still, no upset here. The Orangemen play excellent defense and have one of the best outside games left in the tourny. Talent wins out again

Syracuse 76 Butler 64

(11) Washington vs (2) West Virginia

Vest Virgina just lost its starting point guard, while the Huskies have looked impressive. While the rest of the country is mooning over Northern Iowa and Cornell, washington has quietly knocked off some quality oppennnts and I think they contiune tommorow night.

Washington 69 West Virginia 67



(6) Xavier vs (2) Kansas State

Kansas St ended the Regular season as one of the hottest teams in the country which seems to have carried over in the postseason. I think Xavier, while a great team might be a little overmached here (and K st has already beat Xavier by 15)

Kansas St 89 Xavier 67


(4) Purdue vs. (1) Duke

Before the injury to Robbie Hummell Purdue looked like a good matchup to upset some number 1s and go deep. Now facing a depleted roster and a balaenced Duke team Purdue run could be over.

Purdue 57 Duke 67
(6) Tennessee vs. (2) Ohio State

I like Ohio State's offensive balance on offensive. They can kills you with the 3 or they can bang it inside. But I gotta feeling Bruce Pearl who's been pretty good againt big time opponetts and I think the Vols find a way to pull it off.

Tenessess 73 Ohio St 72


(9) Northern Iowa vs. (5) Michigan State


Northern Iowa threw a whole wrench in the system beating number one overall seed Kansas last week, destroying millions of brackets in the proccess. Meanwhile Michigan St, played a down to the wire thriller with Maryland winning on a last seond jumper. Should be an intresting matchup but I don't see Northern Iowa pulling off a huge upset yet again.

Northern Iowa 57 Michigan St. 69


(10) Saint Mary's vs. (3) Baylor

While Saint Mary's should be congratulated on making to the sweet 16 they did so against relativly weak competition, beating Richmond and cold Villanova. Baylor is easily the toughest opponent the Gaels will have faced. If St. Marys can't come out with a slew a threes, expect Baylor's defense to wear them down.

Baylor 77 Saint Mary's 65

Capitalism vs Socialism

Capitalism is the economic system in which production and distribution are owned and operated by individuals. (As oppossed to Socialism that advocates ownership by the community.)
In keeping with the idea of political thought, here are some of the motivations for each.

Motivation
Capitlism: A person acts in thier own self intrest of making profits, catering to the needs of the consumer, often building a cheaper and higher quality product.

Socialism: A person works for the benifit of all, where wealth is shared throughout the community

Profit
In captialism some people are paid huge sums, because other people believe they have unique talents which are worth paying for. If they fail to perform, then they will stop being rewarded so highly. This is all part of a dynamic capitalist system which values individuality and rewards ability and risk-taking.

Scocialists claim that captialism rewards people in preverse ways. (Is it fair that the firefighter or the soldier who risks his life makes far less than the movie star, baseball player).

Goverment Involvment
Capitalists believe the guiding hand of government is too strong in a socialist system; it means that change is slow – which means that innovation is missed. This isn’t just pro-business, it has real effects on the lives of citizens - people are poorer because of it. In a capitalist system, economies are diverse enough that when problems happen in one sector, others are often insulated by their differences.

In the socialist view the economic priciples of the capitalist systems are essentially unplanned, so they often crash, producing depressions that damage the lives of millions. Socialist economies are planned, which means that problems can be foreseen and prevented. Ultimately, socialism guides with the aim of human happiness in mind, rather than the glorification or gratification of a particular individual or class.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76frHHpoNFs