There is much talk recently about the TSA and airport security. Finally deciding to put my two cents onto the Internet, I give you my thoughts.
National security is of vital importance. Since September 11, 2001 airport security has been amped up. However, since then there have been several attempts of terrorist activity on planes. May I recall your memory to the Christmas day underwear bomber, and just last month with suspicious packages aboard flights from Yemen. We should all be wondering how these attempts were not stopped before they got on the plane. For instance, the underwear bomber was already on the “DO NOT ENTER LIST.” Why wasn’t he stopped before getting on the plane!? Kudos to those passengers who stopped this guy.
Just recently, the Department of Homeland Security has decided to adopt a policy of full body scanners. The body scanners are supposed to detect any possible threat while looking at an x-ray of you naked. From what I have heard and read, it cannot detect instruments of destruction inside of a person. Hopefully, the metal detectors can do that.
If one feels insecure about the full body scanners there is another option, the more “traditional” option: pat-downs. TSA and airport security used to have to use the back of their hands to pat passengers down, now they can use their palms to get a “better feel.” You read that right, TSA officials can get a quick feel and grab if they so choose. Better yet, you might get asked to go through the body scanner too! You better not be shy if you are planning on flying anytime soon!
Now you might be wondering what the big deal is. Why are people getting all fired up about this issue? Well there are few explanations: 1) people feel that their personal privacy is being violated and 2) people are thinking the government is being too intrusive. Remember back to the Patriot Act and my last post on the Patriot Act, people thought that this is going too far; the government is getting too involved in our personal lives. Well, this issue, I feel, falls into the same category.
From what I have read and gather, the images from the full body scanner depict us completely naked. This might not be that big of deal if it prevents attacks on the plane. However, these images are stored somewhere; we don’t know exactly where but the government now has naked pictures of us. Hopefully they have a warning on there that says, “You must be 18 years or older to view these pictures.”
The government can claim that there have been no successful attacks on our country, via planes, since the full body scanners have been implemented. This is a true statement. However, the government seems to be going against their ideals on personal privacy. For instance, in the Supreme Court case Rowe V. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that the women have the right to privacy. Wouldn’t one think that, if this issue of full body scanners reaches the Supreme Court that the Court will have to strike it down since it is an attack against personal privacy? Obviously you can refuse to go through the body scanner and you can refuse to get the pat-down but that means you might get fined and you definitely will not be getting on your flight.
One would think that it is hard to argue against the government, and this is also a true statement. However, on this issue, it seems that the people are winning. Many people feel that the TSA is going too far. I tend to agree with those that are outraged. This has gone so far that one passenger has chose to strip down instead of getting touched by a TSA agent. Even worse, one passenger got so embarrassed that he peed his pants. I am quite surprised that the Department of Homeland Security has decided to keep going with the full body scanners after all of this outrage.
The TSA has said that they will have the scans on a minimal during this holiday season. Hopefully the TSA comes up with a better way of screening passengers because this is not acceptable. Does this mean going back to racial profiling? Probably not. Just to clarify, I am not too worried about going through the scanner because I have nothing to hide and if it is for safety measures. However, I feel like this might be going a bit too far and I am not too sure how comfortable I would be with some TSA agent grabbing my junk. But I strongly believe there has to be a better way for those who would prefer not to go through the scanners…
Monday, November 22, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Who likes Earmarks?
We just witnessed one of the biggest swings of political power in our nation’s history. In 2008, many people thought the Republican Party was done. Then again, they also thought the Republican Party was done in the 1976 too. Needless to say, in 1980 and 2010 the Republican Party has bounced back; and this time, we’re here to stay.
My previous post was about the elections and how the Tea Party and those who were supported by the Tea Party got there. The Tea Party movement should not be taken lightly. They are not a political party by any means. However, they can and have made an impact on the previous election(s), remember January 2010 and November 2010. Let me take this time to remind everyone that the Tea Party, the Republican Party, and Conservatives want to be fiscally responsible. The Republican Party wants to be fiscally responsible as of late because they have seen what the Tea Party movement can do during the election. Maybe the Democrats have noticed too? We shall see.
How does a country that is approximately $14 trillion in debt and in a recession become fiscally responsible? Good question. Obviously this cannot and will not happen over night or in the next two years. However, the incoming freshman class and now some top Republicans have joined together to try and solve this problem.
Newly elected Republicans, (that includes the newly elected Tea Partiers) won based on anti-Obamanomics. The majority of the country did not like the way the country was headed and they have bought into the notion of being fiscally responsible. For those of you that do not know who Congressman Paul Ryan is, I suggest you look into him. Congressman Ryan has a 5 point roadmap to recovery seen here. Due to the objective of this post, I will not go into detail of his plan, but I will say that I approve of it and wish high ranking Republicans in both the House and Senate would jump on this.
What newly elected Republicans would like to see is a stop in wasteful government spending. Now, wasteful spending has been going on for years. Will it ever stop? Probably not. One issue that gets the Tea Party and now Republicans upset is earmarks. Once again, earmarks will probably never cease to exist. Just recently, top Republicans have vowed to put a moratorium on earmarks. This is exactly what the American public wanted to hear. Hopefully, they will keep their promise.
I am totally for stopping earmarks. Unfortunately, I do not think this will stop them from being placed in legislation. Some people that get into a position of power realize they now can benefit from their position and will include pet projects in legislation. These pet projects could range from literally anything! Is this wasteful spending? You bet! Don’t get me wrong, Republicans, just like Democrats have had earmarks put in legislation. I for one, think this is totally unacceptable. Why should someone in New York pay for some bridge in Florida that they will never use? I thought states were supposed to regulate and appropriate funds for projects inside their own state? This is the reason why the federal government should not bail out California or New York! But that is another issue for another time.
To the more serious point to this post: I strongly believe there is someone in the Republican Party who is a closet Liberal. He is a closet Liberal because of his stance on earmarks. There are other issues that make him a closet Liberal too, but for the sake of this post, I am focusing on earmarks.
The award for closet Liberal goes to: Senator Mitch McConnell! Now I know some of you might be confused why I am making this claim. I will explain. Senator McConnell reminds me a lot of Senator John Kerry, Mr. Flip-Flop himself. Right after the elections two weeks ago, McConnell said that he does not think they should ban earmarks. Now, Mr. McConnell has done a 180 and decided that we should ban, or at least temporarily stop earmarks from happening. There is two possible answers to his change-of-mind: 1) He strongly believes that earmarks are wasteful, or 2) he realizes that he will get ousted if he continues to not work to be fiscally responsible and listen to the people. I’m going to go out on a limb and say answer number 2 is the right choice.
Still, this allegation of mine, that McConnell is a closet Liberal, may come to a surprise to most. For instance, McConnell has an American Conservative Union Lifetime rating of 89.66%. The reason why McConnell did not want to ban earmarks is because in the fiscal year 2008-2009 he has asked for 158 total earmarks. For instance, in 2009 he asked for $21,400,000 to build an elementary school and the University of Louisville Research Foundation got $5,709,000 from the tax payers. Check this out. Closet Liberal? I think so.
But why did McConnell change his mind so quickly? Probably because he did not want to be found out. Most of the earmarks he asked for were put under “military spending/funding” but had nothing to do with the military. Mr. McConnell most likely did not want to be challenged in the next election and/or challenged for the Senate Republican leadership position. So the easy way out is to follow party lines and this new wave of being fiscally responsible. I have no problem if someone has a strong conviction and truly believes that earmarks are completely acceptable. However, earmarks for the most part is wasteful spending. I do not think there is an argument there. If earmarks are not wasteful, please prove it to me. I stand on the position that I should not have to pay for some other states bridge, school, roads, etc. etc. just because some politician wants the federal government to pay for it.
Senator McConnell, you may have fooled the rest of the Republican Party, Conservatives, and Tea Partiers, but you have not fooled me. You, sir, are a flip-flopping closet liberal.
My previous post was about the elections and how the Tea Party and those who were supported by the Tea Party got there. The Tea Party movement should not be taken lightly. They are not a political party by any means. However, they can and have made an impact on the previous election(s), remember January 2010 and November 2010. Let me take this time to remind everyone that the Tea Party, the Republican Party, and Conservatives want to be fiscally responsible. The Republican Party wants to be fiscally responsible as of late because they have seen what the Tea Party movement can do during the election. Maybe the Democrats have noticed too? We shall see.
How does a country that is approximately $14 trillion in debt and in a recession become fiscally responsible? Good question. Obviously this cannot and will not happen over night or in the next two years. However, the incoming freshman class and now some top Republicans have joined together to try and solve this problem.
Newly elected Republicans, (that includes the newly elected Tea Partiers) won based on anti-Obamanomics. The majority of the country did not like the way the country was headed and they have bought into the notion of being fiscally responsible. For those of you that do not know who Congressman Paul Ryan is, I suggest you look into him. Congressman Ryan has a 5 point roadmap to recovery seen here. Due to the objective of this post, I will not go into detail of his plan, but I will say that I approve of it and wish high ranking Republicans in both the House and Senate would jump on this.
What newly elected Republicans would like to see is a stop in wasteful government spending. Now, wasteful spending has been going on for years. Will it ever stop? Probably not. One issue that gets the Tea Party and now Republicans upset is earmarks. Once again, earmarks will probably never cease to exist. Just recently, top Republicans have vowed to put a moratorium on earmarks. This is exactly what the American public wanted to hear. Hopefully, they will keep their promise.
I am totally for stopping earmarks. Unfortunately, I do not think this will stop them from being placed in legislation. Some people that get into a position of power realize they now can benefit from their position and will include pet projects in legislation. These pet projects could range from literally anything! Is this wasteful spending? You bet! Don’t get me wrong, Republicans, just like Democrats have had earmarks put in legislation. I for one, think this is totally unacceptable. Why should someone in New York pay for some bridge in Florida that they will never use? I thought states were supposed to regulate and appropriate funds for projects inside their own state? This is the reason why the federal government should not bail out California or New York! But that is another issue for another time.
To the more serious point to this post: I strongly believe there is someone in the Republican Party who is a closet Liberal. He is a closet Liberal because of his stance on earmarks. There are other issues that make him a closet Liberal too, but for the sake of this post, I am focusing on earmarks.
The award for closet Liberal goes to: Senator Mitch McConnell! Now I know some of you might be confused why I am making this claim. I will explain. Senator McConnell reminds me a lot of Senator John Kerry, Mr. Flip-Flop himself. Right after the elections two weeks ago, McConnell said that he does not think they should ban earmarks. Now, Mr. McConnell has done a 180 and decided that we should ban, or at least temporarily stop earmarks from happening. There is two possible answers to his change-of-mind: 1) He strongly believes that earmarks are wasteful, or 2) he realizes that he will get ousted if he continues to not work to be fiscally responsible and listen to the people. I’m going to go out on a limb and say answer number 2 is the right choice.
Still, this allegation of mine, that McConnell is a closet Liberal, may come to a surprise to most. For instance, McConnell has an American Conservative Union Lifetime rating of 89.66%. The reason why McConnell did not want to ban earmarks is because in the fiscal year 2008-2009 he has asked for 158 total earmarks. For instance, in 2009 he asked for $21,400,000 to build an elementary school and the University of Louisville Research Foundation got $5,709,000 from the tax payers. Check this out. Closet Liberal? I think so.
But why did McConnell change his mind so quickly? Probably because he did not want to be found out. Most of the earmarks he asked for were put under “military spending/funding” but had nothing to do with the military. Mr. McConnell most likely did not want to be challenged in the next election and/or challenged for the Senate Republican leadership position. So the easy way out is to follow party lines and this new wave of being fiscally responsible. I have no problem if someone has a strong conviction and truly believes that earmarks are completely acceptable. However, earmarks for the most part is wasteful spending. I do not think there is an argument there. If earmarks are not wasteful, please prove it to me. I stand on the position that I should not have to pay for some other states bridge, school, roads, etc. etc. just because some politician wants the federal government to pay for it.
Senator McConnell, you may have fooled the rest of the Republican Party, Conservatives, and Tea Partiers, but you have not fooled me. You, sir, are a flip-flopping closet liberal.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Pelosi was FIRED!
November 2008 was a gloomy month. Then, Senator Obama was just elected to become the next president and the Democrats increased their lead in both of the houses. Being a Republican was not fun. Most people then wrote the Republican Party off and thought they would get passed by a third party. Plenty of pundits strongly believed there would be no more Republican Party in the near future.
Some of us, however, kept the faith. Some Republicans, like myself, realized that this might be an opportunity for us to reorganize. The reorganization of the Republican Party started with Senator Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts, Chris Christie’s victory in New Jersey, and Bob McDonnell’s victory in Virginia. First off, nobody thought a Republican would ever win a Kennedy’s former seat, especially in Massachusetts. All of the pundits that wrote off the Republican Party back in November 2008 were shocked to see a resurgence of the Republican Party.
This was not your grandparents Republican Party anymore. This resurgence was helped along with a group that calls them self the Tea Party or Tea Partiers. This group simply wants less government, stricter interpretation of the Constitution, and less taxes. Oddly enough, this group was formed by libertarians who usually align themselves with conservatives or Republicans.
Some in the Republican Party, like Michael Steele, refused to acknowledge the Tea Party group. Some, even most of the media pundits and liberals called the Tea Partiers “extreme racists.” However, the Tea Party persevered and the Republican Party was reluctant to start taking the Tea Party seriously. There is some areas that still need improvement between the two, but things seem to be on the upside for them.
These past two years were tough for the entire country. These past two years were also tough for Tea Party supporters and Republicans. However, yesterday that all changed. If anyone would have asked leaders of the Republican Party or the Democrat Party if the Republicans would gain control of the House in 2010 they would have laughed at you. Look who is laughing now, the Republican Party.
Yesterday, Republicans regained control of the House. Republicans gained a net total of 60 seats, as of right now. They have a total of 239 seats while the Democrats have 185. Most people were not expecting gains this big. Most expected Republicans to gain control of the House but not by this much. Before the 2nd of November, some people thought there was an outside chance of the Republicans gaining control of the Senate too. Well, the Republicans only gained a total of 6 seats.
As the lame duck session is about to begin, Republicans need to remember how and why the won this past election. Some people think that this election shows that the country is more divided than ever. However, that is a complete lie. If anything, this election shows that the country it more untied than ever. This election shows that people are sick and tired of the way the Obama administration and the Democrats have been handling issues such as the economy. The American people spoke. The American people are upset with the Obama administration. The people are also upset with Republicans too. This is not the time for Republicans to sit back and relax but it is a time for the Republicans to do what the American people want and listen to them! I am more than confidant that the Republican Party realizes they will be out of a job just as quickly as they got their job if they do not listen to the American people.
This was truly an exciting election. For you Democrats/liberals, you now know how I felt in 2008. I can assure you that you will eventually get over it. But if you are a Republican/conservative, be wary. This is just the beginning; we have 2012 to look forward to too. This might have been one of the most, if not the most significant election of our lives so far. Only time will tell what will happen in the ensuing months. Hopefully the economy will get better and we will be prosperous once again!
Some of us, however, kept the faith. Some Republicans, like myself, realized that this might be an opportunity for us to reorganize. The reorganization of the Republican Party started with Senator Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts, Chris Christie’s victory in New Jersey, and Bob McDonnell’s victory in Virginia. First off, nobody thought a Republican would ever win a Kennedy’s former seat, especially in Massachusetts. All of the pundits that wrote off the Republican Party back in November 2008 were shocked to see a resurgence of the Republican Party.
This was not your grandparents Republican Party anymore. This resurgence was helped along with a group that calls them self the Tea Party or Tea Partiers. This group simply wants less government, stricter interpretation of the Constitution, and less taxes. Oddly enough, this group was formed by libertarians who usually align themselves with conservatives or Republicans.
Some in the Republican Party, like Michael Steele, refused to acknowledge the Tea Party group. Some, even most of the media pundits and liberals called the Tea Partiers “extreme racists.” However, the Tea Party persevered and the Republican Party was reluctant to start taking the Tea Party seriously. There is some areas that still need improvement between the two, but things seem to be on the upside for them.
These past two years were tough for the entire country. These past two years were also tough for Tea Party supporters and Republicans. However, yesterday that all changed. If anyone would have asked leaders of the Republican Party or the Democrat Party if the Republicans would gain control of the House in 2010 they would have laughed at you. Look who is laughing now, the Republican Party.
Yesterday, Republicans regained control of the House. Republicans gained a net total of 60 seats, as of right now. They have a total of 239 seats while the Democrats have 185. Most people were not expecting gains this big. Most expected Republicans to gain control of the House but not by this much. Before the 2nd of November, some people thought there was an outside chance of the Republicans gaining control of the Senate too. Well, the Republicans only gained a total of 6 seats.
As the lame duck session is about to begin, Republicans need to remember how and why the won this past election. Some people think that this election shows that the country is more divided than ever. However, that is a complete lie. If anything, this election shows that the country it more untied than ever. This election shows that people are sick and tired of the way the Obama administration and the Democrats have been handling issues such as the economy. The American people spoke. The American people are upset with the Obama administration. The people are also upset with Republicans too. This is not the time for Republicans to sit back and relax but it is a time for the Republicans to do what the American people want and listen to them! I am more than confidant that the Republican Party realizes they will be out of a job just as quickly as they got their job if they do not listen to the American people.
This was truly an exciting election. For you Democrats/liberals, you now know how I felt in 2008. I can assure you that you will eventually get over it. But if you are a Republican/conservative, be wary. This is just the beginning; we have 2012 to look forward to too. This might have been one of the most, if not the most significant election of our lives so far. Only time will tell what will happen in the ensuing months. Hopefully the economy will get better and we will be prosperous once again!
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