Violence in Libya

The Crisis in Egypt is starting to have a domino effect on the Middle East. There have been protests and demonstrations in nations like Bahrain, Iran and Libya. Only problem-these nations are not close to pseudo democracies that Egypt is. In Iran they are calling for the deaths of protesters and Libya is actually doing air raids on the protests. I don't have a good feeling that these are going to go as well but to see this spectacle of change and people having a voice in this nation is impressive, the more they crack the "iron fist" eventually it will break.

Egypt getting very dangerous

The level of violence in Egypt has escalated beyond normal but it is not a war. I cannot define what it is. All I know is that it will continue until Mubarak steps down from power. Also, it is very difficult to categorize this as a Democratic society with this level of violence and defacto revolution. I feel bad for Americans who are studying abroad in Egypt as it is a very exotic and interesting place as it has storied history.

Snow

Half of the nation was paralyzed under a winter storm this past week that stretched from the Midwest to New England. The DC/Arlington area was left out other than a light freezing rain. While a snow day is nice every now and then, this magnitude of a storm would have paralyzed the city for almost a week. Unfortunately I have a feeling that we will get one really big storm before the winter ends.

End of the month

Okay, so much for that resolution to post more in 2011. However, I have decided that this will get me back on track. So here is a summary of my thoughts on the events of the past two weeks.

Super Bowl XLV will be Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay. I am thrilled that the Jets went down and it pits two of the NFL's most storied franchises at their premier stadium. It should get the most fan interest of Super Bowls in recent years.

The State of the Union speech was last week and he delivered what the voters wanted, a good middle of the road speech although there was a lot of stuff he said that won't even come up for a vote. However, it struck the right tone given it was post Tuscon and post "shellacking" midterm election.

The Egypt situation is very difficult as they are a close ally of the United States. I think that Mubarak should resign and let a new government come in. I think a leader stepping down is better for American and other Middle East interests than increased volatility.

Tuscon one week later

America is moving on from its most recent tragedy. Congresswoman Giffords is recovering at a pace that is exceed the expectations of her doctors and is inspiring the nation in this way. President Obama spoke at the memorial service this past week and called for the nation to come together and see democracy in a way that children, particularly the young nine year old victim saw it, as a place of civilized discussion and leadership. In another touching story, the organs of the nine year old victim were donated to a girl in Boston. One can only hope that this event will change the course that the nation is going in as it wasn't going in the best direction prior to the unfortunate events of January 8.

Tragedy in Arizona

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat from Arizona, was shot in the head today along with six other people. Giffords is still fighting for her life but the other six individuals, including a federal judge and a nine year old girl, were killed.

This is difficult to comprehend for our generation as we are seeing our elected officials become victims of hate and divisiveness for the first time just as our parents saw in the 1960s. There is not doubt today's events will change the current American climate in some way whether the people start to view the Tea Party differently, security of Congressman, or if this is the beginning of violent activity to resolve our political differences-which would be unthinkable.

WikiLeaks

It is plan and simple, releasing this information is a matter of national and worldwide security and those doing it should be punished to the fulllest extent of the law. I rest my case.

Election 2010 Recap

This was a very bad night for the Democrats as the Republicans gained 60 seats. I still went 3-1 in the campaigns that I worked on. The only setback was Tom Periello in Virginia and he was an especially talented public servant so that was a difficult loss. Despite the wave and the "Scott Brown" effect Massachusetts held serve with all seats staying in Democratic hands, particularly my home district where Niki Tsongas won decisively. Despite a rocky term, Deval Patrick will also be governor in Massachusetts for another four years.

Now it is up to President Obama and the administration to work hard on compromises with the House leadership. I still feel that he was right in pushing through health insurance reform as he had the political capital and legislative backing to do this. It will be difficult to repeal with the checks and balances system getting in the way. Going forward, he will have no choice but to work with the other side in passing legislation as the "shove it down your throat" option won't work anymore. We will also get to welcome Tea Party members to DC, fortunately Chris Coons and Harry Read staved off a total influx of tea partiers. As Ted Kennedy said, the work begins anew starting now.

Miners rescued in Chile

All 33 miners trapped in the Chilean mine were rescued today. As much as they tried to keep the media away from it, it seems they find a way to provide extensive coverage of it no matter what. I found the miner rescue count on CNN.com quite amusing.

I have returned

Sorry for the hiatus. I have had a busy couple of weeks. I may have missed stuff but here is a quick recap of recent events that might be of interest:

Europe wins Ryder Cup-They won 14.5-13.5 over the United States this past weekend at Celtic Manor in Wales. It came down to the final match and Hunter Mahan could not get the half point needed against Graeme McDowell to win. Frustrating loss for the United States but it was a great competition overall and it isn't appopriate to express to much nationalism for this event.

Patriots improve to 3-1-The Patriots beat Miami on Monday night to improve to 3-1 on the season. It was good that in their first shot in the division they only dropped one divisional game and the New York Jets and Miami have to come to Foxboro near the end of the season-advantage Patriots although there are several tough games even before you get to December.

Campaign season in high gear-Every seat is up for grabs, I am making sure I do some door knocking in Arlington for Jim Moran who is in a closer than usual election. Be sure to vote on November 2!

Update on stuff

Gee, I didn't think I have been that busy but apologies for the lack of postings. Here is a quick update on things:

9/11-We will never forget and the Koran burning was called off. We essentially avoided an international crisis with that.

Ohio State beats Miami, Alabama beats Penn State, Michigan beats Notre Dame-There is still a long way to go but Denard Robinson could be the real deal. Ohio State survived an early test as well. However, they need to cover on special teams better. When the games get bigger, it is usually difficult to overcome big special teams plays.

Patriots win-Always good to get the season off to a positive start. You never want to be in a position where you have to win in week 2 to avoid starting 0-2. This weekend-the Jets, a traditional hate fest but this would also give them a huge leg up in the division.

Primaries-More on that in a later post. It has set the stage for November.

Burning the Koran?

A minister in Florida is organizing a Koran burning on the Saturday's 9-11 anniversary. This is wrong on so many levels. It is also during the end of Muslim Ramadan and during the Jewish High Holy Days. It will only fuel the fire and anti-American sentiment that lead to the attacks in the first place. When you have Obama administration, Department of State, Department of Defense and General Petreus condemning the actions out of concern for national security and American interests abroad you know that you are barking up the wrong tree. Religious leaders from all faiths are coming out against the actions. Authorities really need to step in and stop this from taking place in the name of what America stands for.

Standoff at Discovery Channel

On Wednesday there was a standoff and hostage situation at the Discovery Channel building in Silver Spring, Maryland. It was resolved by the end of the afternoon. Unfortunately the gunman died. He had a long history of protesting the cable station since it did not carry enough program discussing global warming. As far as I am concerned-give me a break! They carry shows that make people think a lot about the world around them and will inspire them to protect the environment. If you are looking for a place to protest, go to E! Entertainment Television or CNBC. At least the fatalities were minimal.

Katrina five years later

Today marks the five year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. It was very surreal to see all of the events unfold at the time. One could only wonder where our world was headed with 9-11, natural disasters, and other unprecedented events that were going on.

A lot of people blamed George W. Bush and his incompetence for the failures of Katrina. However, it was such a complex and unprecedented disaster that required coordination at unprecedented levels, one can wonder if President Obama would have been able to do a significantly better job with handling the disaster. Obama had an advantage with a national network such as Organizing for America that would have been a first step in some level of organizing at the local level which could have communicated with emergency personnel about he situation, although their job is not to respond to emergencies.

Out of Iraq

This past week the United States ended combat missions in Iraq. I supported the war at the beginning, but then I realized that it wasn't the right mission as it turned into a quagmire wasting a lot of money and leaving many soldiers dead. At least it did depose a dictator but it did become a harbor for Al Qaeda so I do not feel that the war did anything to eliminate the threat of terrorism and tyranny. We should have been out of there a long time ago but I cannot complain now that we are no longer there. Hopefully the nation building phase will help to make it a more stable democracy.

On The Mosque

The big story of the past few weeks has been the report of the building of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City.

First of all it is not even supposed to be a mosque but rather, an Islamic center. Secondly, I think it is shallow to associate the Islamic religion directly with the 9-11 tragedy. The majority of Muslims are peaceful people and Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations are mainly extremists.

If the leaders of the new center are moving there as a business decision (rent, proximity to target audience) they have every reason to move there. However, if they are doing it to make a statement then there is a problem. It is not like they are putting it right next to Ground Zero where they are planning on building the memorial and museum.

Also, the Obama administration needs to work on messaging. President Obama should not come out with an unclear statement and then have to go back and clarify it. This isn't the first time his communication did not come off the right way (see Henry Louis Gates).

The oil well has been capped

Yes they have capped the oil well today. However no time to wave flags and start chanting "Yes We Can!" with the way BP has handled it. Hopefully this will be the answer and the environmental (and political) nightmare will be over at least for now. Stay tuned!

Wall Street Reform passed

The Senate passed Wall Street reform today. It is incredible that the Obama administration has made sweeping changes but my concern is how can you really enforce all of these-especially the day that the political climate and administration changes. There will also be legislators that will want to overturn some of these regulations. However, if any of the changes don't allow for a free market (but still play by the rules) economy I would support repealing any of the reforms.

Heat Wave in DC

The last few days it has been over 100 degrees for a high in the DC/Arlington area and up and down the East Coast. Even the evenings have been in the 80s and low 90s at times. A lot of places are having power issues as everyone wants to run their air conditioning. I am fortunate that my apartment has air conditioning and pool. At least I am not getting ready to move at this time. Stay cool and drink lots of water.

Russian spies

Russian spies were arrested in Boston, New York and the DC area last week. The ones living in the DC area were actually living in an apartment complex in Arlington in the next neighborhood over from where I live. Ironically, my last roommate left to do an internship in Moscow, Russia. I will certainly give him the benefit of the doubt and hopefully I won't get any calls from any curious FBI or CIA agents.