georgetown so far

Well, although im stil trying to drink in the tremendous amount of intellectuals im surrounded by, which may i add hasnt happened in a very long time. Its assumed that im here becuase a) i had the financial means to get here, and b) i had the interest in politics that fit this program. but rather then jump to the conclusion that this is simply a get a way from my trampled and dirty reputation still living me down in saginaw, im actually finding myself challenged in more ways then one. yesterday i was at the state department, and heard maura harty, johnathan farrar, james kieth, and of coure, karen hughes. and i of course took it apon myself to question her on bushs new international education incentives that flourish for all 1000 students they are available to. congratulations president bush your new education plan following the complete flop of no child left behind is to teach 1000 students a year of chinese. today i was on capitol hill and hear jim kolbe and mike honda speak. jim kolbe, (r-arizona) on immigration and mike honda (d-california) on energy and transportation. so its going well, leave me a comment.

CW debate topic.

Indeed it seems the United States war on competitive oil comes to halt as we are binded by a long-term agreement of outdated economic sanctions and ruthless trade embargos. Cuba has now officially started selling out 59 possible oil-drilling locations off of its coast to the highest bidder, those coincidentally being the very overseas governments far exceeding our economic growth. Both India and China have already promised and invested in Cuba’s quickly growing economy, yet American businesses are unable to do so because of Kennedy’s 1962 embargo. So what will it take to convince the Republican majority and Bush White House? Simply saying the American need for oil is grounds for an exception towards oil companies is surely not enough. President Bush feels that no exception to the Cuban embargo will come until Castro’s government shows signs of reform. The attitude shown is far to optimistic, and it would seem history would prove that Fidel Castro is in no way ready to reform his extreme socialistic government. Again, history proves that extreme economic growth in numerous communist countries has led to a swing in economic reform and boost of small business. When the west realized potential for manufacturing in Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam foreign investment began to boom. In doing so, natives of these countries saw the benefits of a capitalist economy and begin to conduct business in a global and private matter. So why wont this same framework take hold in present day Cuba. Isn’t it fair to say that the more Hiltons foreigners build on the Cuban beach the faster convinced the people of Cuba are on new and democratic ideals? Perhaps our congress needs a history lesson, or maybe a graph would better explain the situation. If you invest in it, it will grow. If we show the light to the Cubans, they will reform. This continued seclusion is a decision that will only lead to the continued decline of the Cuban government. If we allow this embargo to stay through Castro’s inevitable death in the upcoming years then we shall have an equally communist leader following Castro. Most likely his brother, a man who now is head of Cuba’s military and is, if I may be so bold to suggest, a little crazier then Castro himself. If this is not proof enough for the United States government then I would be happy to refer the statistics. Cuba’s foreign purchases were at 139 million for the fiscal year of 2002 and grew to 257 million by the 2003 fiscal year. Cuba is spending more money in the international market, and their showing the world they are serious. Whether or not Castro is even competent to lead his country and compete globally, the people of Cuba are surely competent, and we need to give them the opportunity to become a growing world economy.

Frowning.

Coincidence seems to prove that decisions made by influenced figments of my imagination turn into either something ironically beautiful or exceedingly remorseful. A subtle realization that life is not controlled by the strings that are attached to our limbs, but rather the wires piercing our innocent minds. Let not the opinions of others cloud your ultimate vision. Its hard to believe that anything im saying isnt a load of shit from someone trying to make something out of a jumble of intelligent words and confucian sayings, but for the few people that might read this blog, take it seriously. Perhaps what im saying is the same thing i push everytime im forced to give advice to another adolescent, but for once its fairly genuine. Time for all of us to get the fuck off of our pedastals and get a grip. this is our world, and im pretty sure its a wreck. before anyone ever brings mellowdrama to me ever again they had better have saved at least one dying life in one dark corner of this earth. and i wish i was joking, but im not.

I made a blog!

So, I made a blog. I guess after everyone else seemed to be finding internet friendly ways to express themselves I'd join the twentieth century. Im never diligent about writing things down, but maybe this will force me to record a few things for prosperity. Unfortunatly, I make a blog, and have nothing to write about. Im leaving for Georgetown in a few weeks, and thats one of the reasons I made this. Hopefully someone will periodically check in to see how im faring as an east coast yuppie. I dont think it will be to hard, chances are I'll fit in just fine. Until then im spending most of my time working, and tanning. Kind of queer, i know, but I look so much better with a little color. Rather I dont look as white, unfortunatly I still act like a blue collar white american, but little changes. Apperntly, by the egging of my superiors, I should use this blog as an opprotunity to express my utmost chagrin for a few political issues. But then again the common reader of this blog will probably be kierstin, who is already bothering me for the link. I highly doubt she is overly enthused about my ramblings, but nonetheless, I will save the rest of my pompous conversation and cut to the chase.

Im reaserching the successes of southeast asian countries in the global market, and ive come to the conclusion that unless our state and federal government stimulates the education and buisness community, we'll be left in the dust within 10 years. Unfortunatly, the common misconception of fellow michiganders is that we lose all our wonderful union automotive jobs to china, on the contrary we lose these jobs to other states. Instead of playing the finger pointing game across the ocean, people need to step out of thier trailors for a minute and realize that if there is any chance for them to get a slice of thier promised retirement plan they need to start voting for things like the education bond, which recently failed with a 2 to 1 ratio. Furhter proving my distinct disgust with the uneducated opinions of people in this community. For starters, we need to elect Dick Devos as our next governer. DeVos is a republican, much to the chagrin of many youth in this area, but his party affilaition means little to ultimate goal of his economic platform. DeVos is a highly succesful buisnessman, and if anyone cares to question that we can refer to facts. It was Dick DeVos that grew Amway corp. from 2 billion to a remarkable 6 billion dollars. Isnt it common sense for the citizens of Michigan to elect a man who is succesful in producing profit, making jobs, and leading a massive company.

Next to be adressed, Saginaw and Flint will probably be in the top ten worst and most densly crime ridden areas in the nation for 2006. I had the pleasure of speaking with a councilmen tonight who promises that things are on the up and up since the success of the public safety millage. Well, it will help, but what rich white people with thier sons and daughters attending school with myself dont understand is that what is occuring is not a hundred miles away like depicted in our evening paper. it is literally 10 miles from thier homes. It is a shame that there hasnt been a combined effort against this crime. I still see township police officers handing out drivers violations while just 5 miles from where they are parked there is a muder occuring, but its over the city limit. "thats in the city, so its not my worry". quite frankly, it is, becuase its going to start happening in your front yard before long. Once people start to understand the severity of the situation and begin to make a concerned effort for change we will see results.

Finally, I have the pleasure of adressing the controversial education issue that seems to be on everyones mind, even during summer holiday. Is a million dollars in additional spending worth the benefit of 10 students? Is the international baccalaureate program suited for heritage? Well, first off, we wouldnt be asking ourselves this question if the bond would have passed. Second, the answer to that question is yes. The benefit this will have for students is tremendous. Perhaps it sounds harsh to adress students that are not intrested in stiving for higher education while still in high school, but they were all given the opprutunity to participate in the program. They are still bieng given opprutunities to participate. No one is depriving any student the right to pursue a more driven high school career. The choice lies with the student alone, and therefore it should not be a debatle topic.

In closing, this is Nick's blog, and do expect ramblings like these to occur on numerous occaisons.