Cold War 2: Second Run to the Moon

We might be in for a second Cold War and another race to the moon. At least this time around Fox won't be airing ludicrous fake-moon-landing-specials. What the hell am I talking about? Well Vladimir Putin is pretty annoying with increasing U.S. military presence in Europe, near Russia. According to Russia's "defense experts," U.S. presence could potentially harm the country. Putin promises that if the situation continues to escalate, Russia will use more advance weapons and missile to defend its borders.

Oh come on, seriously? There's no reason to be getting all defensive and girly like. Just because America has overwhelming troops in the area doesn't mean that they will invade your country. When was the last time the United States illegitimately invaded a foreign nation? Second of all, we don't want Russia. It doesn't have oil. No oil, no go. This is just another one of those outcry for attention. This is just a ridiculous as the announcement Putin recently made that he is the most democratic leader. Anyone hear rumors about the disappearing journalists whom allegedly published stories that "incorrectly" portrayed Putin?

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Thompson: A Presidential Hopeful?

It seems that actor Fred Thompson, Law & Order, is edging toward a announcing his commitment to the Presidential Race. In an interview, Thompson remarked to the Associated Press that

"I think that everybody was kind of sitting back, taking it easy and thinking that, you know, peace and prosperity were going to kind of last forever. I think we know better than that now."

On Friday, the Law & Order actor and former U.S. Senator took the initial step by establishing a "discovery committee" to explore his chances as a Presidential Candidate. Back during the 2000 election, Thompson declined calls to run in the Presidential election.

It's funny that people will elect just about anyone. I guess it wouldn't be such a bad idea, at least we know that Thompson isn't a bad actor at all. That's a lot more talent that most candidates that no one knows about. Nowadays, our society has become so superficial that something as important as an election for the position as leader of the free world boils down to nothing more than an image campaign. Facade is now the key to winning an election. What a tragedy.

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Government to Increase Citizenship and Green Card Fees

From controversy residing over citizens arming themselves to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border, to failed mandates aimed at ridding U.S. cities of undocumented aliens, immigration has recently been a hot debated topic in this country. To add to this heated topic, the U.S. government announced today that it would increase immigration fees--doubling, and in some cases, tripling the cost to apply for legal immigration status. Here are a few examples: to bring a foreign fiancee/fiance into the states will cost $455 (currently $170); a green card or permanent resident applications will set you back $930 (currently $325); finally, citizenship papers will cost $675 (currently $330).

It's funny that most statistics will show that many immigrants know more U.S. facts and history more than the native born citizens. With this new change in immigration fees, naturalized citizens will probably be better off than most native born Americans. People may legitimize that this fee increase is due to the new security features the government are putting into legal documents, such as digital finger printing and rfid tags to easily access your personal data. However, they should realize that these technology have been around for almost a decade now and its cost should not be that tremendous. What I see is that this is the government's way to collect the necessary money to fund the inflated government spending (i.e. Iraq). This move will certainly hinder many immigrants from naturalizing, and above all, this policy is reflective of the renewed movement to deter immigration from the United States.

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Mitt Romney Will Donate His Salary if Elected

As many candidates look to the situation in Iraq as a platform for their candidacy, Mitt Romney tries to steer clear of the bandwagon trails and declares his own. It was reported earlier today that Mitt Romney, a multi-million dollar venture capitalist and former governor of Massachusetts, declared that if he wins the '08 presidential election he would donate his annual salary of $400,000. As many may not know, Romney did exactly this when he was governor.

I have no idea what issues Romney is running for. Undoubtedly, this charitable announcement will allow him to gain more ground with voters. But then again, It's hard to run for a position as leader of the free world and be a Mormon at the same time. It would suit him well if he uses the millions of dollars he has to familiarize Mormonism and down play the social stigmas associated with the religion.

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U.S.-Iran Diplomacy: No Real Progress

The U.S. and Iran ended a nearly 3 decade long diplomatic silence earlier today. The two sides met up to discuss the security strategy in Iraq. Their aim is to achieve a mutual understanding and resolution to the current security crisis in Iraq. Unfortunately, the talk yielded no real solution for the problem at hand.

It's good to see that Americans are leaning toward diplomacy instead of war. The only reason why this government would do such a thing is that they simply drained all government spending on Iraq. With troops stretched thin, they can't afford to start war with another nation. I'm sure if we had the resource, diplomacy would be the last thing anyone would hear.

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Thousands Turned out for Fallwel's Funeral

It turns out that the late Jerry Falwell had numerous fans. Over 10,000 people packed into service to pay respect. Falwell, 73, died a week ago in his office of a heart rhythm abnormality. He was best remembered for creating the Moral Majority, a conservative group responsible for sending Regan into office.


I don't have much to add, except, watch this video.

The Middle East Hates Us!

According to surveys conducted in Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco, and Pakistan, 8 out of 10 people believe that the United States is on a mission to "weaken and divide the Islamic world." In other parts of the Middle East, feelings of resentment and growing opinions that the United States is in a war against Islam itself. Moreover, U.S. News adds that this is a good explanation as to why Al Qeada are still able to find new recruits.

I guess going to war under false pretences and the continuous blunders in Iraq resulting in heavy Iraqi civilian casualties wasn't an enough indicator. Why do you need a study to confirm what was already known by many? Many critics of the war has said before that this is a political battle rather than a military one. We lack the experience and skill to physically fight terrorism. Rather than trying to find political allies, our government keeps insisting that we shoot first and use diplomacy later. I think it would be much better for everyone, especially the men and women serving in Iraq to defend democracy, that the government starts listening to the public and experts. Perhaps in doing so, we can keep the few political allies we have left.

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