Dubya has done something that...oh God, I can't even say it....he has done something that I am actually....in favor of! Wow...that is a hard thing to throw out...
Yes, all of my progressive patriot friends! Dubya has done something good! Yesterday, he asked Congress for three times the amount of money they have put into his international AIDs initiative. Along with the $30 billion dollars he is requesting, he is also asking for the initiative to be extended another five years, increasing it to a ten year program. This is a phenomenal request.
Think about this. Tripling the amount of money they have put into this initiative can boost its success greatly. We may be able to greatly decrease the rate of people gaining HIV, and hopefully reduce the amount getting AIDs as a result. This would be an awesome thing to do, if the desired result actually happens.
What makes me a bit skeptical is this: what has the initiative done since it was announced and put into effect, in 2003? Has it decreased the rate of the spread of AIDs? Not at all. The number of people with both HIV and AIDs increases each and every year, and, by 2030, it will move from the fourth largest killing disease to the third. Has it made more countries aware of AIDs? Possible, but even if we have made countries in Africa, and other third world countries, more aware of AIDs, the statistics are showing that they either: 1, don't care, or 2, don't understand. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were 39.5 million people living with AIDs last year, and a whopping 25 million lived in the sub-Sahara region of Africa. Thats the majority of people with AIDs, in one, contained area.
So, that is the question. Whether I believe adding money to this program is an awesome idea or not, the question remains the same. What will it do? What has the program done in recent history, since 2003? Because, from what I see, it has done nothing to reduce the number of cases of AIDs. So, what does it do? What has it done? Give me something- a statistic, an outline of expectations, something! If you can't tell me, why should the American People back such a program?
Personally, I believe they must revise the initiative somehow to make it more beneficial. I hope that the bulk of this funding goes to AIDs research, so that we can somehow make a groundbreaking finding and get a cure to this murdering machine. It doesn't even have to be a cure! Maybe something that helps increase the amount of T-Cells in an HIV patient, so that they aren't brought into the hold of AIDs. Something! If we are going to invest over $30 billion, we better have some type of outline that shows us how this money will be spent, and what it is expected to do.
HIV/AIDs is a terrible killer. Personally, I believe that when we talk about health care, we can not just talk about the uninsured, though they must be the top priority. But I believe we must also keep in mind diseases such as AIDs. When we speak of universal health care, we must also think of finding a cure, or finding a way to reduce the amount of cases we have. AIDs must be a top priority. If not, it will keep gaining ground until one day we look around and see that there is nothing we can do about it.
So, for the first time, and probably only time, I will say it- a half pat on the back goes to you, Dubya. You, for once, made some type of sense. You asked for more money to go to something actually BENEFICIAL to humanity, rather than destructive. Now, all you need to do, is change the initiative to make it more successful.
Dubya, doesn't it feel good to ask for money that will actually help rather than hurt? Do you think you could do that more often? Yeah... I guess I am pushing my luck on that one...
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
US Imposes Sanctions on Sudan
Before we get into anything else, let's take a stroll down history...
In 2003, Darfur, Sudan, was the home of millions of people, predominately either Black or Muslim Africans. The ruling powers of Sudan were Muslims, and an inequality was felt, with the blacks of Darfur feeling that they were thought as inferior to the Muslims. The blacks wanted more equality and asked for a place in the conversations for power sharing agreements in Sudan. Unfortunately, these calls went unheard. In early 2003, rebels calling themselves the Darfur Liberation Front, along with two other rebel groups (the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement) , began to attack different targets in the country, including military convoys and governmental buildings. Much like our ancestors did during the American Revolution, these rebels tried to take the power that they were asking for. Unfortunately, the Sudanese government had some other plans.
The government sent out an Arab militia, called the Janjaweed, to terrorize the Black Darfurians, and blacks outside of Darfur also. Since then, anywhere between 200 and 400 thousand black men and women have been killed by this militia, with over 2 million becoming refugees. Women are being raped as their mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, husbands and children, are forced to watch. The majority of children are not being fed or treated properly because of the lack of aide, and many men, women and children are undergoing a famine. The fighting has been going on for four long years now, and the possibilities of it continuing seem to be very good.
The UN, and specifically our nation, must have some type of hand in ending this violence. People, it is no longer war. It is a genocide! They are targeting one group of people, the blacks, and trying to dispose of them. We call it a conflict, but ever since the Janjaweed has been unleashed it was no longer a conflict. Did we call Hitler's Holocaust a conflict? No. That's because Hitler targeted a group of people, the Jews, and tried to rid the world of them. That is what is happening in Darfur, except you can take out the word "Jews" and subsitute it with "blacks".
We forget about history far too often in society. Let's look at the early '90's, in a small nation called "Rwanda", in which a genocide, much like this, occured. We turned our back on Rwanda, took all of our citizens out, along with our troops and many UN peacekeepers, and tried to close our eyes. The conflict ended, with the rebels winning. Sadly, horribly, when it was all said and done, over 1 million people were killed. One million! Americans have no clue what that is like. We all banded together around 2973 people dying in the World Trade Center attacks. This is 1 million people! I am sorry, but I really don't think any of us can put our heads around the amount of people that is. Let's put it into perspective like this, too. Saddam Hussein is said to have killed around 100 to 300 thousand Iraqis in his reign of power, which was over 20 years. It is possible that the genocide in Darfur has surpassed that number by miles, in less than five years. So, my friends, what area needs the real help?
Today, our fearless leader, President "Dubya", said that he was putting new sactions on Sudan, including restrictions on thirty-one companies that can no longer do business in America, along with two government leaders and one rebel leader. Wow.
I am sorry, but I really do not believe this is going to change anything. This Darfur Genocide can only be stopped through the force and power of an actual "Grand Coalition".
I know what you are thinking, I know. You are a liberal! How can you say this about Darfur when you think we should have never invaded Iraq. Good question. At first, I'll admit, it does seem a bit..."flip-floppy". But it truly isn't. There are huge differences between Iraq and Darfur.
First off, Darfur is a GENOCIDE. The UN has labeled it the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. Its possible that 400 thousand people are dead. Two million have been sent away from their homes. Iraq was not a genocide, it was an authoritarian dictatorship. I am sorry, but you can go around the world, and you will see that there are many other cases of this type of a government. We should limit our interventions to the genocide, the humanitarian crises. There is no parallel between Iraq and Darfur.
Now, if you don't see the difference between the two, you can look at what we have done to both. So far, in Darfur, we have tried sanctions- they have been imposed for years. We tried discussions- Presidential hopeful Gov. Bill Richardson went to the country and spoke to the leader, President Umar al-Bashir. In Iraq...well, I don't really remember us speaking with Saddam Hussein before entering his country and killing 655,000 Iraqi civilians...but that is another story.
The fact is that we no longer have the niceties of time. If we don't stop this genocide, we will no longer have any black Darfurians left, and the areas around Darfur will be left without any of this race of people. The world will no longer contain them.
We need to do much more than just sanction them now. We must learn from history. We must act now. The US must go to the UN and ask for nations to accompany us into Darfur, Sudan, and end this terrible crisis. If we don't, well...if we don't, Darfur is doomed.
In 2003, Darfur, Sudan, was the home of millions of people, predominately either Black or Muslim Africans. The ruling powers of Sudan were Muslims, and an inequality was felt, with the blacks of Darfur feeling that they were thought as inferior to the Muslims. The blacks wanted more equality and asked for a place in the conversations for power sharing agreements in Sudan. Unfortunately, these calls went unheard. In early 2003, rebels calling themselves the Darfur Liberation Front, along with two other rebel groups (the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement) , began to attack different targets in the country, including military convoys and governmental buildings. Much like our ancestors did during the American Revolution, these rebels tried to take the power that they were asking for. Unfortunately, the Sudanese government had some other plans.
The government sent out an Arab militia, called the Janjaweed, to terrorize the Black Darfurians, and blacks outside of Darfur also. Since then, anywhere between 200 and 400 thousand black men and women have been killed by this militia, with over 2 million becoming refugees. Women are being raped as their mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, husbands and children, are forced to watch. The majority of children are not being fed or treated properly because of the lack of aide, and many men, women and children are undergoing a famine. The fighting has been going on for four long years now, and the possibilities of it continuing seem to be very good.
The UN, and specifically our nation, must have some type of hand in ending this violence. People, it is no longer war. It is a genocide! They are targeting one group of people, the blacks, and trying to dispose of them. We call it a conflict, but ever since the Janjaweed has been unleashed it was no longer a conflict. Did we call Hitler's Holocaust a conflict? No. That's because Hitler targeted a group of people, the Jews, and tried to rid the world of them. That is what is happening in Darfur, except you can take out the word "Jews" and subsitute it with "blacks".
We forget about history far too often in society. Let's look at the early '90's, in a small nation called "Rwanda", in which a genocide, much like this, occured. We turned our back on Rwanda, took all of our citizens out, along with our troops and many UN peacekeepers, and tried to close our eyes. The conflict ended, with the rebels winning. Sadly, horribly, when it was all said and done, over 1 million people were killed. One million! Americans have no clue what that is like. We all banded together around 2973 people dying in the World Trade Center attacks. This is 1 million people! I am sorry, but I really don't think any of us can put our heads around the amount of people that is. Let's put it into perspective like this, too. Saddam Hussein is said to have killed around 100 to 300 thousand Iraqis in his reign of power, which was over 20 years. It is possible that the genocide in Darfur has surpassed that number by miles, in less than five years. So, my friends, what area needs the real help?
Today, our fearless leader, President "Dubya", said that he was putting new sactions on Sudan, including restrictions on thirty-one companies that can no longer do business in America, along with two government leaders and one rebel leader. Wow.
I am sorry, but I really do not believe this is going to change anything. This Darfur Genocide can only be stopped through the force and power of an actual "Grand Coalition".
I know what you are thinking, I know. You are a liberal! How can you say this about Darfur when you think we should have never invaded Iraq. Good question. At first, I'll admit, it does seem a bit..."flip-floppy". But it truly isn't. There are huge differences between Iraq and Darfur.
First off, Darfur is a GENOCIDE. The UN has labeled it the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. Its possible that 400 thousand people are dead. Two million have been sent away from their homes. Iraq was not a genocide, it was an authoritarian dictatorship. I am sorry, but you can go around the world, and you will see that there are many other cases of this type of a government. We should limit our interventions to the genocide, the humanitarian crises. There is no parallel between Iraq and Darfur.
Now, if you don't see the difference between the two, you can look at what we have done to both. So far, in Darfur, we have tried sanctions- they have been imposed for years. We tried discussions- Presidential hopeful Gov. Bill Richardson went to the country and spoke to the leader, President Umar al-Bashir. In Iraq...well, I don't really remember us speaking with Saddam Hussein before entering his country and killing 655,000 Iraqi civilians...but that is another story.
The fact is that we no longer have the niceties of time. If we don't stop this genocide, we will no longer have any black Darfurians left, and the areas around Darfur will be left without any of this race of people. The world will no longer contain them.
We need to do much more than just sanction them now. We must learn from history. We must act now. The US must go to the UN and ask for nations to accompany us into Darfur, Sudan, and end this terrible crisis. If we don't, well...if we don't, Darfur is doomed.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
The Beginning
America has been labeled a Democracy. Unfortunately, we all know this is not true.
Hello all. And welcome to Operation: Democracy.
Operation: Democracy is a movement. It is a movement to take back our government, the American government. It will be a movement like no other, one that changes the politics of America forever. One that breaks the green bonds our leaders have with businesses and PACs, connecting them to their backers and disconnecting them from their employers, the People.
It will be a movement of all People. Operation: Democracy will not only encompass one group of America, but the People as a whole. We will not only be made up of African Americans, or women, or Latin-Americans, or Asian Americans. It will not only be made up of Buddhists, or Christians, or Hindus, or Jews, or Muslims. This movement will not only be made up of liberals, or conservatives, or Democrats, or Republicans, or Independents. This movement is limited no groups. If you are an American, you are welcome to join.
Our goal is simple. We wish to achieve a true democratic Republic, one that is ran by and for the People. We wish to kick businesses and lobbyists out of our government, in order to allow our elected officials a clear mind to keep the will of the People inside it. We wish to change the government's structure, so that the House of Representatives is not made up of 435 politicians, but 435 average Americans, brought together at random to truly be "representatives" of the People.
So a question is raised. What is America's government if not a Democracy, or a Republic? Good question. We are a Plutocratic Republic, a system where the people elect representatives (a Republic) after these representatives go through a funding process by PACs, and businesses, and lobbyists, and the wealthy class (Plutocracy). Once they are put into office, the four horsemen- PACs, businesses, lobbyists, and the wealthy- pay these officials off, with money and gifts and vacations, so that the officials keep THEIR will in mind, and not ours. That is why I have coined the name, "Plutorepublic", to describe America.
I will be posting in this blog very often, probably atleast once a day, maybe a little more, maybe a little less. Please, come back and enjoy it.
Operation: Democracy must have your help to achieve its goal. This goal must be reached- if it isn't, then America's last chance has run out.
Hello all. And welcome to Operation: Democracy.
Operation: Democracy is a movement. It is a movement to take back our government, the American government. It will be a movement like no other, one that changes the politics of America forever. One that breaks the green bonds our leaders have with businesses and PACs, connecting them to their backers and disconnecting them from their employers, the People.
It will be a movement of all People. Operation: Democracy will not only encompass one group of America, but the People as a whole. We will not only be made up of African Americans, or women, or Latin-Americans, or Asian Americans. It will not only be made up of Buddhists, or Christians, or Hindus, or Jews, or Muslims. This movement will not only be made up of liberals, or conservatives, or Democrats, or Republicans, or Independents. This movement is limited no groups. If you are an American, you are welcome to join.
Our goal is simple. We wish to achieve a true democratic Republic, one that is ran by and for the People. We wish to kick businesses and lobbyists out of our government, in order to allow our elected officials a clear mind to keep the will of the People inside it. We wish to change the government's structure, so that the House of Representatives is not made up of 435 politicians, but 435 average Americans, brought together at random to truly be "representatives" of the People.
So a question is raised. What is America's government if not a Democracy, or a Republic? Good question. We are a Plutocratic Republic, a system where the people elect representatives (a Republic) after these representatives go through a funding process by PACs, and businesses, and lobbyists, and the wealthy class (Plutocracy). Once they are put into office, the four horsemen- PACs, businesses, lobbyists, and the wealthy- pay these officials off, with money and gifts and vacations, so that the officials keep THEIR will in mind, and not ours. That is why I have coined the name, "Plutorepublic", to describe America.
I will be posting in this blog very often, probably atleast once a day, maybe a little more, maybe a little less. Please, come back and enjoy it.
Operation: Democracy must have your help to achieve its goal. This goal must be reached- if it isn't, then America's last chance has run out.
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