Newsbreak: International Terrorists are not U.S. Citizens

So why do people demand that they be treated as such?

My whole problem with this Guantanamo Bay fiasco is the treating of international terror suspects as United States citizens. The above-linked terrorist is a non-American accused of bombing a non-American location.

A few questions spring to mind...

A) Why are we (United States of America) the country still holding him? Rephrased: why hasn't he been subjected to a military tribunal yet?
B) Why is he getting a public trial in Manhattan (and seems to be receiving Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights) when he is not a U.S. citizen?
C) If the whole problem is that we are holding this prisoner "indefinitely", then why don't we just send him back to his home country? Oh wait, because they don't want him either.

I disagree with the likes of Senators McConnell and Reid, who are on different ends of the spectrum but both seem to make idiotic comments on a daily basis regarding the Gitmo detainees, but I also disagree slightly with Ron Paul, who is a strong pacifist. Someone has to keep the peace these days, with practically every fascist, communist, extremist, or psychopath capable of getting their hands on heavy weaponry, including but not limited to nuclear. The U.S. has been and continues to be the strongest military power in the world. We have not always used that power wisely (the Iraq debacle comes to mind), but it is because of our power and, in the past, our principles and dedication to liberty, that most nations and even terrorists respected our authority and have avoided pushing that button.

Why are our politicians trying harder and harder to cater to the wishes of other countries? Why do we have to be the leaders of environmentalism, when China is polluting ten times as much as we ever have? Barack Obama needs to stop trying to bow to every leader of the world (meant metaphorically, unless it's the King of Saudi Arabia I suppose). He needs to step up to the plate and do what he was elected to do: LEAD the greatest nation in the world.

"I am not a citizen of the world! Now, you can get all flowery if you want, but I'm not a citizen of the world. I'm a citizen of the United States of America, and I'm proud of that. That doesn't mean that I denigrate other countries. That doesn't mean I hate other countries or anything else. I'm proud of what we have here. There is a difference in America! America has made a difference! Our system has made a difference. I'm not a citizen of the world."
-Newt Gingrich

Americans Are Too Apathetic to Be Nationalists

The unfortunate thing about American nationalism is that it is short-lived. Americans tend to display a brand of patriotism, which is sort of the younger brother of nationalism. After September 11, 2001 and the travesties that befell our country on that day, patriotism was seen in wide display through the sudden increase in flags being flown outside of citizens’ homes, and a new invigoration to stand up and state the Pledge of Allegiance. Now, less than 8 years later, the genuine love felt on September 12 for every other red-blooded American has vanished and that “me-first” attitude has resurfaced.

Recently Anheuser-Busch was bought out by the Belgian company In-Bev. Many Americans, including my friends and me, were outraged that an American staple such as Budweiser beer could give up its heritage and sell the rights to a foreign company. But according to Matt Simpson of Emory University most Americans will forget about the selling of the company as long as the price and taste of Budweiser remain the same (CNN, 7/14/08). So Americans are not too concerned with maintaining national symbols as long as they are not affected personally in the long run.

President Obama can be thought of as a very nationalistic president, because he has the ability to speak broadly to people of many walks of life and rally people to his cause (HNN, 1/21/09). Whether he uses the huge support he gathered from his campaign to move the people towards a better America remains to be seen. He has thus far managed to establish a power base among the Democratic Party, while somewhat distancing himself from the Republicans. The strong support of the Democrat-controlled Congress does give him an advantage in moving forward with nationalist policies.

Nationalist movements like the Ku Klux Klan are finding a renewed invigoration after the election of Barack Obama as president. There is a growing fear that due to the economic depression and Obama’s presidency hate groups will see a resurgence (Chicago Tribune, 1/22/09). This may not come to pass though, as many Americans do not possess the hardcore fanaticism required to start a violent uprising. Passion is one quality that Americans seem to have lost since we fought to declare independence from the British.



CNN.com “Foreign-owned Bud a wound to Americana” by Brad Lennon and Mallory Simon. July 14, 2008. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/14/busch.reax/index.html?iref=newssearch

HNN.us “President Obama the Liberal Nationalist” by Gil Troy. January 21, 2009. http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/60253.html

Chicago Tribune “Obama inauguration a recruiting tool for hate groups” by Rex Huppke. January 22, 2009. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-obama-hate-groups,0,5420040.story

The Future of America With President Obama

My family is made up of strong Christian elements, and therefore we believe that the Lord will provide for us even in times of need. So it is not for ourselves that we are concerned most of the time, but for the nation we live within. Our concern is that America will lose sight of the morals and standards it was founded on, especially with the growing tide of globalization.

As it has already been mentioned in this discussion, President Barack Obama was inaugurated today. He has not even been in office for a whole day, so it is difficult to say what sort of policies he will focus on, especially in the foreign realm. During his inaugural speech, he said it is time for America to become the leader it was (NY Times, 1/20/09). What exactly this means is still unclear, but it is obvious at least from his cabinet appointments that he wishes to break away from some of the foreign policies of President Bush and present a more unified front to the world. I fear that Obama might become more of an appeaser to foreign powers in an attempt to stray far from the cowboy diplomacy of George Bush.

Many of Obama’s foreign policy platforms during his campaign were related to restarting American diplomacy, being willing to talk with political leaders from any nation (barackobama.com). This is a very noble goal, as long as the other party is as willing to negotiate as America. As long as Obama doesn’t stray from the ideals on which this country was founded--liberty, justice, The American Way--I believe our country will be able to survive.


Hulse, Carl. “Obama is Sworn in as the 44th President” NY Times 1/20/2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/us/politics/20web-inaug2.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp

“Foreign Policy” BarackObama.com. http://origin.barackobama.com/issues/foreign_policy/#diplomacy

Winning the Vote; Losing the Game

This was awesome:

I'm really proud of the presidential hopeful taking sides here. I was a little pissed off when he says Cubs fans are fairweather fans, and White Sox fans are legit. Especially when we sell out every game, and the White Sox suck.

Anyways, the game atmosphere was awesome. It was the War of the I-4 Corridor. An in-state rivalry game. And hopefully the geographically challenged University of South Florida (located in Tampa?!) Mancows would go home losers.

I can't believe I almost forgot this: On the shuttle ride to the game, a USF fan got on the bus. This would not have been a huge problem; sure we would jeer and give them a hard time, but it would all be in good fun. But this girl gets on decked out in full body paint, with a really gay viking helmet on and a hula skirt as well. That's just disrespectful. If you are gonna come in full outfit, you do not try ride our UCF shuttles. So of course I let her know that. Before I was fully aware that it was a girl, I told my friend to punch him in the stomach. Fortunately someone took the initiative and yanked off her hat and stomped on it, to which I applauded. And then the so-called UCF fan sitting next to me says something like "Is anyone else embarrassed to go to UCF right now? I want to transfer schools so bad." I told her to shut the hell up.

Anyways, on the long walk to the stadium, I was really letting the Mancows fans hear it.

In the stadium I was really happy with the amount of enthusiasm; it seemed like my voice wasn't even needed. Of course my friends said I was always needed with my off-the-wall commentary. Trash talking the USF band at halftime was great too. Unfortunately, the fairweather fans left in their ridiculous fashion. We were only down 24-10 at the beginning of the 4th quarter. I let them hear it too.

With five minutes left in the game we made a spectacular comeback; putting up two touchdowns and blocking their field goal attempt to send it into overtime, where we ultimately got gypped. The refs were so confused they didn't even know which way they were pointing half the time. They were really acting like idiots. So of course I let them hear it.

What upsets me more than this disappointing loss are the people who claim to be fans of their school, and then say they are embarrassed by the actions of their fellow students. How about some freakin' school pride? These people wouldn't no pride if it came up and shanked them in the side prison-style. And of course I let them know that.

Disney Becomes New Campaign Sponsor for Obama

I tried to avoid watching the Democratic National Convention. There were better things on, for one thing, like an astounding Cubs come-from-behind victory, a Law and Order episode I hadn't seen, and really just about anything else. I am also fed up with all of the hype surrounding the elections.

If the Olympics gave us one thing, it wasn't unifying humanity at the world games. It wasn't a new wave of patriotism and nationalism. It was a glorious 3-week break from campaign coverage.

Maybe you've seen this commercial by John McCain's campaign referring to Obama as "the biggest celebrity in the world" and comparing him to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. That commercial is wrong though. Obama is nothing like Hilton and Spears.

He's really more like Hannah Montana. Disney built up this alterego of Miley Cyrus which has taken off, despite the fact that she cannot sing or act, and has a really weird looking face.

Barack Obama has been built up as the next great leader, bringing forth a new era of "change" and "insert synonym for change". Most of his ideas sound rather socialist, but that's my opinion. The problem I have with Obama is that everyone has become brainwashed by this Disney-esque propaganda.

When a great leader speaks, people listen. When Barack Obama speaks, people scream like raving lunatics. Gee, I wonder where McCain got the "crazy" idea of comparing him to a rock star.

It could be worse; we could all be actual zombies. At least then I wouldn't have to hear election coverage because I'd be too busy eating brains.