Wednesday, November 24, 2010

2012

One of the most anticipated and contentious presidential elections of this new century is coming up in 2012. President Obama is facing a highly belligerent and ambitious conservative wing of the Republican party which has seemingly become the voice of the new right. With this new right comes the prospect of the highly unpredictable variable of who will represent the Republican party in the 2012 election; namely, Sarah Palin. While many are afraid of her candidacy, members of the Democratic party should pray for her to declare her intentions of running for president.
Why? Harking back to the 2008 president election where she was the Republican nominee for vice president, she was revealed to be less than knowledgeable in all fields pertaining to political discourse, including Constitutional law, international relations, domestic policy, social issues, et al. She demonstrated many of these qualities in her public appearances, such as in the vice presidential debate where she continually did what only could be described as a "folksy method of flirtation" with the cameraman in which she continually winked at the camera.


She also demonstrated her lack of political knowledge in her much revered interview with Katie Couric, where she stated that her foreign policy experience was based on living in a state with a land border with Canada and being in close proximity to Russia.


She has alienated moderate Republicans by continually denigrating them during the 2010 midterms, where she advocated for the election of all far-right Tea Party conservatives. She has continually demonstrated her affection for anti-intellectual dogma, often criticizing President Obama for not being "enough of a man" and actually attacking him for being a constitutional law professor.



Though many believe that Republicans are simply deadbeat rednecks who pray to guns and the rich, there is a good contingent of rational Republicans who realize that Sarah Palin is the bane of all reasonable politics. Democrats should hope that she becomes the presidential nominee, because several things will happen: 1. She will continually demonstrate her ineptitude in foreign affairs during her public appearances; 2. She will alienate moderate Republicans and independents with her extreme conservative views; 3. She will alienate her most loyal demographic of middle-aged women with her oscillating views on social issues.

Even if she runs independently from the Republican party, she will divide the Republican vote, ensuring a victory for the Democratic party. On the extremely rare chance that she does win, however, I'm moving to England.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Friday, November 19, 2010

Beginning of an End

This week, the first installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released in theaters to quite possibly the most anticipation ever felt in this generation. The anxiety and excitement in theaters was palpable as thousands of my fellow college students went to see the first of the final two acts of what could only be described as a story befitting our age. This is not a review of the movie, but rather what it means to us.
Harry Potter, as a character, represents what every person wishes to be: someone spectacular. After believing himself to be nothing more than a mundane, average child he learns that there is a completely fantastic and wonderful world to which he truly belongs, one in which he is accepted for being different. The story was released precisely when my generation was finding its identity, and what better way to find its identity through pure, enthralling imagination? We all immediately became best friends with Harry, as if every single reader amalgamated into Harry's third best friend that we all dreamed about becoming. We created stories on our own, delving into our personal imaginations, inserting ourselves into Harry's epic journey as his cousin, as Ron's friend, or as Hermione's boyfriend, as I'm sure many a teenage boy did. Some placed themselves in Harry's world simply to escape the real world, and sometimes found the answers to problems that would otherwise go unsolved. Some even invented their own mythologies in the Harry Potter universe, creating stories completely tangential to the Harry Potter mythos yet still set in Hogwarts, or Durmstrang, or Diagon Alley. Harry and his world gave our generation inspiration; his world became our imagination.
The movies brought the books into a tangible reality, one in which we began to relate and grow with the actors themselves. With every movie came a bit more maturity from us and them, almost as if we were all friends, neighbors, or just sat next to each other in high school. With every movie we gained a bit more insight into our dream world, and with every movie we loved it all a bit more.
Now, as the movie installments come to a close, along with our and Harry's childhoods, I am proud to see so many people my age dressing up as witches and wizards, Dumbledore, Mad-eye Moody, and Hagrid as we begin to say goodbye to a dear companion, brother, guide, and friend. Though saying goodbye is always the hardest part of life, we can do so with the solace of remembering all of the lessons, adventures, and stories given to us through J.K. Rowling's writings. Regardless of the quality of the final two parts, we as a generation can proudly state, with no shame in our hearts, that our imaginations are forever.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Educashun

This week, the English Parliament introduced a measure to raise the standard tuition for all English universities from approximately 3,500 pounds to approximately 6,500 or 9,000 pounds, which equates to approximately 9,000 or 14,000 dollars due to recent economic pressures. University students responded by protesting and eventually rioting in the streets of England, breaking windows, being raucous, and basically doing everything that many expect college students to do on Friday nights. First, I think that I should explain England's education system:
1. All schools in England are heavily subsidized, including private universities such as Oxford and Cambridge. This allows for them to keep tuition relatively low in comparison to many universities around the world.
2. The highest tuition any university can charge is about 3500 pounds. Universities in England used to be free until the state began to face financial hardship.
3. The educational system in England's private universities is recognized as one of the most erudite in the world. Those studying law as undergraduates, for example, have the opportunity of achieving fellowships, internships, and jobs at law firms during their undergraduate studies.

Let's compare this to all United States public universities: every year, each state-funded university raises tuition by 10-15%. At my own university, during my freshman year my tuition was approximately 22,000 dollars; now, in my junior year, it is approximately 24,000 dollars. Private universities routinely raise tuition as it pertains to their yearly revenue. Public education has been cut in many states, including my own New Jersey. Do we riot? (The answer: No.)

Across just about every university in the United States, tuition increases yearly. There is hardly an uproar over it since there is no universal funding of education like there is in England. In fact, there is no constitutional guarantee for education at all; that issue is completely left to the state side of federalism. Should there be a constitutional amendment? Probably. Will there ever be? Probably not.

So, what do we do to get better funding for education? Pester your local representatives, congressional representatives, senators, neighbors, family members, professors, Jon Stewart, the Chinese deliveryman, etc. It's the way Democracy works, take advantage of it.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Thesis ideas

I have to start seriously considering a topic for my senior thesis soon, and so far I have narrowed it down to not doing research. Seriously, I want to do a thesis without doing research.

I suppose I'll just write a fictional story outlining some greater concept in politics/psychology/bs in general. Who knows, maybe it'll be good.

D F

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Victory for Democracy

This past Election Day, Americans sent a clear message to their representatives and senators: we will exercise our support of democratic principles by voting for the other guy rather than the incumbent. After all, the best way to ensure a stable, functioning government is to vote for someone whose positions are unknown to you. I mean, all that has been done by the previously Democratic senate and house has been health care reform, children’s health care, credit reforms, veteran’s relief, a tax cut for 90% of Americans, opened up avenues for stem cell research, appropriated an unprecedented amount of money for non-military scientific research, halted the CIA torture program, gave tax cuts to small businesses, student loan reforms, and they were attempting to end the Bush-era tax cuts, which gave tax cuts to the upper echelons of wage-earners. But, who really cares about that anyway?
The newest representatives, many of whom are conservative Republicans, want to cut the deficit and cut government spending. Great! Finally, a relief from the burgeoning debt and all those social services that poor people use, like social security, welfare, Medicare, Medicaid, public education, police departments, fire departments, libraries, and prisons. And who needs research on stem cells anyway?
I assume that in two years when the next election cycle comes around, each and every eligible voter will look at the accomplishments of the now-Republican house and their individual representatives and make a vote, not based on actual action, but rather on personal chagrin. Who needs to make an informed vote when we can just vote for the other guy?

That’s all for now,
Das Flüg

Monday, November 1, 2010

National Security from College Students

This past Halloween weekend, the Rutgers Association of International Relations traveled to Bethesda, Maryland in order to participate in the National Collegiate Security Conference, and let me tell you, it was awesome.
Firstly, I was in the Eighth Iranian Majlis (Parliament), a very fractured and uncertain governing body. We had to discuss the burgeoning youth movement in Iran, whose goals were to become a more democratic countries. There were two polarized sides, the Reformists and the Principlists; their names essentially state their position. Before we even got around to passing resolutions on the issue, the Supreme Leader Khamenei was assassinated. A report first issued by the Revolutionary Guard implicated noted reformist Ayatollah Rafsanjani of being complicit in the Supreme Leader's assassination. After calling for several investigations, I received intelligence from a rogue Revolutionary Guard soldier stating that President Ahmedinejad and the leaders of the IRGC (Revolutionary Guard) met to plan the death of the Supreme Leader. From then on, we moved to impeach President Ahmedinejad, who promptly decided, along with the IRGC, to dissolve the Majlis and attempt to kill all of us.
In the end, we went to war with China and stole their flag.

Aside from the serious stuff, it was one hell of a time. If you're not doing Model UN, then you're not experiencing absolute euphoria. Get there.

That's all for now,
Das Flüg