Gone for a While

I will be gone for most of the next two weeks, so I will not be posting very much or at all until Monday the 16th. Thanks for reading, everyone!

-tsg

Some Changes!

CHANGES???, you say? Yes. CHANGES!

I will be changing the layout/template/color of my blog over the next week or so, so if my blog looks really ugly in a few days, or it looks like a "during" shot from a design show, you'll know why.

Also, in a few weeks, I will most likely be starting a second blog, That Smart Guy's Politics As Usual, to deal with domestic politics, i.e., the 2008 race, Bush's approval rating, the immigration debate, and the like. I will post the link and add it to the links section of this blog.

-That Smart Guy

Blair Out, Brown In

Almost everyone in the US has an opinion on the second-most powerful man in the free world. No, not Bill Gates - Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister. He has been both loved and hated by the people in his country and abroad. To the delight of many people, his 10 year reign as the UK's leader is coming to a (somewhat quiet) close this coming Wednesday. He will be succeeded by Chancellor of the Exchequer (similar to a Treasurer), Gordon Brown.

Gordon Brown is, without a doubt, an able Prime Minister. His economic programs lowered taxes and continued economic growth in the UK, which have hardly dropped since the nation's 1992 downturn in John Major's Conservative Government. These programs, intruduced during Blair's administration, have been hailed as some of his (Blair's) greatest accomplishments. Brown has also committed to his nation's allience with the US; however, he has stated that he will not be as close to the US as Blair was.

However, in a way, it seems as though Brown's term will be more of the same, a potential problem after 10 years of good-but-not-great Blairism. The UK has been accused of becoming the 51st state under Blair, which, oddly enough, may contribute to European (and American) anti-American sentiment. In fact, Tony Blair was labeled "George Bush's b*tch" by SNL, and others, no doubt. This could pose a problem for the new PM.

I have confidence in Gordon Brown and his ability to govern America's most important ally (NOT state) in the world today. I hope that he can fill Tony Blair's shoes. In my opinion, they are big ones to fill, so it's pretty likely that he'll fall short. But, that's okay. If it doesn't go as it should there, the Conservatives will take over. Talk about a win-win!

A Minor Error I Wanted To Correct

In my article "The iRevolution," I quoted a Cingular commercial, NOT a Verizon commercial. I apoligize for any confusion.

They Decide '08: The Frontrunners

(This article will be the first in an ongoing series of articles about the 2008 Presidential election, which, being only 15 years old, I won't be able to participate in.)

It's really crunch time now: there's only 506 days until the election! While all of the frontrunners find themselves nearing a point in time where they might have to actually say something, I figured I might as well do a rundown of the 7 people with any hope of winning. As a conservative, I mostly prefer the conservative candidates over the liberal ones (duh). I will list the candidates in order from my favorite to my least favorite, with a breif description of each.

#7 - Hillary Rodham Clinton - Democrat
Clinton is a Senator from New York. As the wife and possible love interest of Bill Clinton, the former president, we already have a good idea on where she stands. She supported the War for a while before switching to the current Democratic stance. She is pro-choice and supports socialized medicine.

#6 - John Edwards - Democrat
Edwards is a former Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004. Edwards has similar views to Hillary, but his stance on Health Care is a bit less radical.

#5 - Mitt Romney - Republican
Romney is a former Governer from Massachussets. Although formerly pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, and pro-gun control, he flip-flopped to the other side to run in the GOP's primary for President. Although he is likeable and I agree with a lot of his positions, I don't quite trust his newfound conservatism.

#4 - John McCain - Republican
McCain is a Senator from Arizona. He is famous for being a centrist and working with many members of both parties. McCain has made a lot of progress in removing excess spending, usually known as pork, from Washington, has continued to support the War, and is pro-life. However, he failed to vote on the Iraq Bill and opposed the Bush tax cuts, which hurt my perception of him.

#3 - Barack Obama - Democrat
Obama is a Senator from Illinois. He entered national politics in 2004, when he gave an address at the Democratic National Convention and won a Senate seat. Although I disagree with many of his positions (he is pro-choice, anti-Iraq, and will raise taxes), I like many aspects of his Health Care Plan, and he is famous for working out deals with members of both parties. He is also a great leader and a very intelligent man.

(The final two leaders, Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani, are by far the best choices. I think that Thompson may soon prove to be the better candidate, but for now, I support Giuliani.)

#2 - Fred Thompson - Republican
Thompson is a former Senator from Tennessee. After some time away from politics as an actor, Thompson is returning for a run at the Presidency. He is the only true conservative in the race, having always had the views that Romney just took on. Also, he has had little experience in Washington, meaning he will most likely be less corrupt than the others.

#1 - Rudy Giuliani - Republican
Giuliani is a fromer mayor from New York City. He cut taxes and crime in his three terms in office and will forever be remembered by many people for keeping his cool and doing what was right on 9/11. However, his pro-choice and pro-gun control stances are scaring off many conservatives. I beleive, however, that Giuliani is the right choice for President.

As of right now, the Primary polls are as follows:

GOP: Giuliani - 30%, Thompson - 22%, Romney - 18%, McCain - 11%
Dem: Clinton - 39%, Obama - 19%, Edwards - 13%

40 Nights With Paris?: Prison Might Stay "Hot"

Usually, I avoid topics involving pop culture, unless you count my crazed questioning about the previous night's episode of Lost. However, I simply can't avoid the (completely STUPID!) developing story of Paris Hilton's... erm... situation.

In case you haven't left your bed in the past few weeks, Paris Hilton was arrested for driving with a suspended license. Now, first off, don't you think that if you were a famous person with a suspended license, you wouldn't be driving? Don't you think that someone might notice that THE Paris Hilton was driving right next to them? Then again, when you are famous simply for breathing, the whole "thinking" thing must be above you.

Violating the unwritten rule of not sentencing celebrities, Paris was sentenced to 45 days in prison. Showing just how "hot" she was, Paris screamed for her mother (who, by the way, was right there in that room) and said, "This isn't right!" However, her sentence was shortened to 23 days later on.

After only 5 days (barely; this counts the last few hours of Thursday and the first few of Monday as their own seperate days), Paris was relaesed from prison for "medical reasons." However, only one day into her home stay, a judge ordered that Paris return to jail and continue to serve her sentence.

Now, I don't understand the public's obsession with Paris Hilton. Aside from a reality show with decent reviews and a flop album, Paris has done little to deserve her star status. Not only that, she's serving as a poor role model to millions of young girls. However, Paris has said that "God has given [her] this new chance" to stop "act[ing] dumb" and "make a difference." While the socialite should be commended for her newfound morals and good intentions, I don't think it's likely that she'll keep it up. We'll just have to wait and see, I suppose, which is a shame. I, for one, would like to see something good happen now for a change.

The iRevolution - Technology is Taking Over (Repeat)

(As I said in my first post here, I will occasionally post old articles I did for something other than this blog. This article, one of my favorites, was written on April 23, 2007, for the Monthly Growl, Vol. 1, Issue 3.)

I bet you’ve seen the new Verizon commercial with the girl who texts too much. If you haven’t, here’s a transcript:

Mom: Honey, come here!!
Daughter: W.A.u? (What’s up?)
Mom: Have you seen these phone bills?
Daughter: OMG, INBD! (Oh my gosh, it’s no big deal!)
Mom: It is a big deal!! Who are you calling to get a big phone bill like this!?!?!?!
Daughter: IDK, My BFF Jill? (I don't know, my best friend Jill?)
Mom: Well, tell your BFF Jill I'm taking your phone away.
*daughter hands the phone*
Daughter: TISNF!! (This is so not fair!!)
Mom: This phone bill! That’s what’s S… 10… F!

This commercial is, of course, a parody of a scene that I’m sure repeats itself in homes all across America. About half of teens own cell phones, and most of them text frequently. However, phones are just part of what’s changing the entire world. We are in the middle of a time with technology to help every part of our lives. Welcome to the iRevolution.

The iRevolution is the term I use to refer to all of the technology that has developed over the last 15 years, or, basically, since just before most of us were born. In 1992, the DVD was an idea in the mind of some technicians and inventors, MP3 players were brand new, CDs were finally more common than records and cassettes, cellular phones were those big brick-shaped things rich people carried around to look cool, the whole internet had 50 websites (all for Government use), and (gasp!) MySpace had not yet been invented. Now, just look around! We’re talking to people wherever we go (if we aren’t texting), there are more websites than people in the world (I myself have two or three), I haven’t seen a VHS tape since 2002, I never go a day without hearing someone say WTF, OMG, LOL, or ROFL, and I am the only person in America without at least three blogs, a Zanga (or whatever), and two MySpace pages.

I still know more than a lot of adults do about this new technology. Many adults, specifically parents of teens, are feeling increasingly left behind in a world of “S-10-F”. Being iNtelligent is still not absolutely vital to a lot of adults, but that’s changing quickly. Even the most trivial jobs will soon require knowledge of computers, except for the ones that computers will soon take over. Those will simply require new technicians. Despite all that, however, many parents are still left in the dark about this new world of the iRevolution. I’m sure your parents have asked you to fix the computer several times in the past month.

The old world of snail mail is dying out. The iRevolution is taking over the world. I think that Lev Grossman said it best in TIME Magazine’s April 30, 2007 issue: “Just about everybody in both the entertainment and the technology worlds believes that it is the fate of all media to shed their analog past and transubstantiate into pure data. Newspapers are becoming websites, photos are becoming JPEGs, and songs are becoming MP3s.” By this he means what I’ve been trying to say: the iRevolution is here, and you’re going to love it.

The Chavez Controversy, And How It Helps The US

I'll admit one thing about Hugo Chavez: he knows how to keep people on his side. He was elected President of Venezuela in 1998 as a Socialist who advocated change, which appealed to the population of the dirt-poor nation. Since then, he has proceded to take control of the Congress and Supreme Court of his nation, rewrite its Constitution, and institute various programs to try and help the poor in Venezuela. One of the most controversial figures in Latin America, Hugo Chavez is keeping the world watching - well, most of it, anyway. Just not his own people.

Late last month, Chavez seized the broadcast equipment of Radio Caracas TV, one of Venezuela's most popular TV stations. He claimed that this action was necessary because he believed that the station was "a threat to the country" because it was broadcasting views that were against his own. To put that in perspective, that would be like George Bush shutting down CNN or MSNBC because they disagree with the War in Iraq. However, Chavez still says that Venezuela is a democracy.

Needless to say, there has been a great deal of controversy surrounding the shutdown. There have been several rallies by people on both sides. However, the polls turn out fairly one-sided. According to a poll by Datanálisis, a Venezuelan polling group, more than 80% of Venezuelans disagree with Chavez's decision, and almost three-quarters of Venezuelans believe that democracy is at stake due to Chavez's actions. Of course, this is what always happens when Socialists are elected and then "re-elected in a free election." Socialists believe in national control of almost everything, whic, as Americans know, NEVER works.

This event, although bad for Venezuelans, should help the US on the world stage. It will show the world that Socialism solves nothing and simply creates unpopular problems. It also creates monopolies; Chavez replaced RCTV with a government-run TV station called TVes. This means that the Government runs almost all TV. Could you imagine if your choices when you turned the TV on were PBS, PBS2, or PBS3? Not too exciting. This should be shown clearly in the upcoming weeks by the marches against Chavez. One step forward for Chavez, two steps back for Socialism.

Hello, Everyone!

Needless to say, this is the first post of what I hope to be many over time. I will soon begin posting my regular articles. Usually, there will be one a week, but sometimes there might be two if I have spare time or none if I'm busy. I'll also begin reposting old articles I wrote before this blog came to be.

If you enjoy this little view into my mind, be sure to tell the other people you know. If more people know about my blog, I'll (obviously) have more people reading it, which is a good thing.