Post-Bush...or Not?

Going in to this long awaited post-Bush era, I, like many others, were most of all relieved to realize that, beginning January 2009, America would have an intelligent, competent, and invigorating figure in the White House and NOT George W. Bush (or one of his acolytes). Imagine how surprised I was to learn from Jules Crittenden of the Weekly Standard that Obama, in fact, would be much obliged to continue Bush's policies with regards to - of all policy areas - the Middle East. According to Jules, Obama should not only count the fruits of Bush's labours among his blessings, he should adopt many of what Crittenden considers to be his best works: among these are the cheerful affair in Iraq, the deplorable tolerance of torture, the blind trust of Gen. Petraeus, etc, ad nauseum.

As the transition progresses and Barack Obama's inauguration draws closer, it's a good moment to mull the gifts George W. Bush has left for the incoming president. Bush has made the world a better place, and if Obama wants to do the same, he will take the good things Bush has done and move forward with them.
-Jules Crittenden, Weekly Standard

A Time for Thanksgiving In my humble opinion, this is an act of self-conscious desperation on the part of a dispirited neoconservative. The optimism and clarity that laces the article's tone is rendered meaningless by the mere degree of impossibility. Sure, Obama is going to have to toe a more moderate road than he, perhaps, would like. But his administration will enter with an (almost) overwhelming majority in the Congress and a public that is willing to accept less than 100% success, as long as there is perceived progress and improvement from Bush's golden years. Clearly, the last thing the President-elect will want to do, from a political standpoint, is emulate the most consistently unpopular president, whether domestically or internationally, in the history of the States. And, from a pragmatic point of view, it's a good thing because, quite frankly, it would be a horrible path for this country's leadership to follow. Not only have the Bush policies directly aided and abetted the current market crisis, they have destabilized the Middle East and played a part in legitimizing the allure of fundamentalism (from a cultural standpoint) to the hearts in minds of countless Muslims (from a psychological standpoint)in a vital strategic pressure point (from a geopolitical standpoint). A short tally will conclude that economically, culturally, psychologically, and geopolitically, George W. Bush has diminished the American state in hard power, soft economic clout, diplomatic influence, not to mention basic respect. Would anyone like to claim that the world, or any part of it, views as a more positive influence than we were eight years ago (besides the terrorist organizations that have made it clear that Bush-style policies benefit them driectly)? And further, would anyone like to stand up, in front of these facts, these proven and accepted observations, and boldly claim that no, clearly not: Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Rove, and co. have left Obama with a good hand, "the world a better place"? Whosoever would take that challenge on is either a master of manipulation or dangerously ill-informed, in my humble opinion, if not both.

*Note: I do apologise for the lack of "LOL" in recent posts, but there have been so many important opinions we've needed to comment on that time for "LMAO" has been tight. I assure you, either Louis or I will address this dreadful drought of "ROFL" in the coming days. Thanks for reading!

If You're Reading This...You're Awesome!!!

If you're reading this.... you're awesome! And every single person you know could be awesome too! If you've visited here and you've enjoyed what you've read, tell your friends! Tell your parents! Call your cousins! Write a letter to your ex and tell them about how cool poLOLitics is. Put it in your facebook status, write letters to your local government official letting them know how cool this site is. The possibilities are endless. The only thing cooler than letting other people know about poLOLitics, is reading poLOLitics yourself and sharing your thoughts with us. Got something to say? Post it in a comment. Or email me. Or write a sort of passive aggressive facebook note about it, that is clearly referencing me, but don't tag me in it. Any of these options work. poLOLitics is looking to grow, and we can only grow by building a discourse with each other and sharing ideas.

If you have any suggestions, comments, critiques, hilarious stories about the time you went out and got drunk with an elected official, or questions, feel free to comment here or write me an email at lmelendez89@gmail.com

More Than Change

More than change, more than new blood in Washington, what this country needs is a realignment. A political paradigm shift has been impending for decades; presently, a debate is brewing over whether Barack Obama's electoral victory constitutes its timely arrival. Here's an insightful view on the situation:

The Realignment Opportunity

As renowned liberal political scholar Paul Starr argues in this article, I think that Obama and the congressional Democrats that will surely march to his drum come the new session must (I emphasize, not should, but must) aggressively pursue their reform programs. Needless to say, not all of you are as happy about this conclusion as I; the Obamacrats in power and we, the American people, will hear a lot of cynical criticism and panicked outrage from the conservative pockets in the media. We will have to face the spectre of a temporarily reinvigorated Republican contingent; they will seize the opportunity of "vast", "big government", and "redistributionist" policy programmes in a bid for viability merely months after the American people stripped them of any they had left. Still, the American people must be vigilant. While the Republican arguments are scripted, political ploys of any opposition, we must take the new Democratic policies for what they are and, just as we must insist on accountable improvement, we have the responsibility to give credit where credit is due. I ask all of my more conservative friends and fellow Americans: even if you don't agree with some of the fundamentals that govern this new liberalism, observe and think about the effects it will have/is having on our economy, on our infrastructure, on our society. Allow the programmes to achieve some change before trashing them as bureaucratic failures. Let's be open-minded with the next four years, at least. Let's see if the Obamacrats and, more so, we as a nation, can't come out this sluggish post-Bush morass better than we went into it. We owe ourselves that much, this American thinks.

In The Spirit of Thanksgiving...

Its that time of year again. Everyone grab your carving knives, turkey basters and warm up the apple pie - its Thanksgiving! (Well, not for Kevin and me; we're in England, where apparently they don't care about pilgrims or Native Americans.) And what better time to criticize liberals, global warming, environmentalists, animal rights activists and the 'Anti-Thanksgiving' among us? (Yes, there are apparently, according to Mr. Robbins, people out there who are ardently against Thanksgiving.) Mr. James S. Robbins, a contributing editor to the lovely National Review, believes that Thanksgiving "is to do that which is unsustainable."

Here's the full article. Its absolutely stuffed with idiocy! (Oh, I crack myself up.)

Mr. Robbins goes on to say:

"The hard-core anti-Thanksgiving movement has traditionally been centered around the Native American cause, whence came the term “Thanks-taking.” Animal-rights and vegan groups have traditionally criticized the annual “Turkey genocide.” Now the themes of the ecology movement is creeping into the festivities. They don’t want to see the holiday abolished, just layered with new meaning. Thanksgiving, they assert, is a time for both gratitude and responsibility. “The more you eat,” the Post cautions, “the larger your carbon footprint.” And the larger your waistline, but that cogent argument hasn't proved a deterrent either."

A few important questions:

1) There's a hard-core anti-thanksgiving movement?

2) Since when is considering Thanksgiving a time for 'both gratitude and responsibility' a bad thing? Is Thanksgiving not THE time of the year to realize and give thanks for our privilege? I cannot think of a better time of year for gratitude or responsibility. According to Mr. Robbins though, "Thanksgiving is not about reducing your carbon footprint, it’s about making your real footprint deeper." I mean...really? I understand that an important element to Thanksgiving is the large feast that ensues, but isn't the entire holiday supposed to be in the idea that we realize that many people aren't as well off? Its not about making your carbon footprint deeper, its about recognizing the fact that you even have a carbon footprint to begin with, and the privilege that comes with it. I would love to give this guy one of our lol-scale awards, but I think he's too much of an idiot even for that. Please feel free to share your thoughts and tell me if I've gotten this all wrong. Anyway, happy thanksgiving!!! I think Kevin and I will order some take out.