Two weeks of class are now done. 14 weeks to go. I am sitting here trying to formulate what I want to do my research papers on (I have one each from two different Political Science classes). I also have a "Question" I have to research out for my Research Methods in Political Science/Critical Analysis of Research class. I was wondering why I have hit writers (or thinkers) block for the last week and a half when it comes to brainstorming a topic to cover. The news from the last couple days have made that a lot easier.
"To What Extent does American Foreign Policy promote or deter the threat of future beheadings by radical islamic jihadists when contrasted with the recent hardline position taken by the muslim country of Jordan?"
Yes, it is a mouth-full. But it seems that the question needs to be asked in light of prisoner swaps, negotiating with terrorists, and other forms of possible appeasement.
(I will allow my own bias to shine through for a moment). I felt ashamed today when I heard that Jordan had taken the position that "If you kill one of our citizens, we will kill every terrorist we have imprisoned that you demand be set free." Ashamed not at Jordan. But rather that we have not taken that stance ourselves!
I felt even MORE disgusted when tomorrow's SuperBowl has captured more of our attention than these asshole nutjob camel-jockies who think that it is right and good to behead someone based on hate.
I felt even MORE disturbed when I remembered that we set five of the most radical, hate-filled, terrorists free in order to secure the release of an U.S. Army deserter (Bergdahl).
Do we REALLY think that appeasement will settle this dispute? When has appeasement EVER worked inbetween countries? Jordan however is not so easily fooled by political correctness. No, I am not advocating for Jordan in all regards here. What I AM suggesting is that when it comes to this matter of taking a Jordanian captive, it probably won't happen again.
Stay tuned. More substance on this issue to come.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Friday, January 23, 2015
A New Beginning
It's January 2015. A New Year. I am now in my 3rd semester at Eastern New Mexico University studying dual majors in Political Science and U S History. I have not written in a blog for many years now. My previous blog (thediscipledway.blogspot.com) was mainly an outlet to express what was going on regarding my walk with Christ. A lot has happened since those days. As I begin the upper division classes at ENMU I felt the need to keep track of my continued journey towards a more libertarian perspective. I have classified myself as a Constitutional Conservative with strong libertarian leanings. In high school (1992-1996) I registered to vote as a democrat. It was what all the kids were doing at the time, Clinton was a president that at least had some soul, even if you knew next to nothing about his policies (which I did not).
As I aged, I began to change the way I saw things. I still was not interested in politics, but I started seeing that things in the nation were not as I thought they were. It was towards the end of Clinton's 2nd term that I started looking at what the Republicans were saying. I had supported Elizabeth Dole in the primary against George W Bush. But he was nominated, and the last thing I wanted was to see Al Gore elected, so I threw my support (such as it was) behind Bush.
During Bush's terms in office, I was squarely in the GOP's corner. If for no other reason than how the media portrayed him to be during those eight years. I was a republican. Red as the state of Texas at the time. I had no idea what the "establishment" was, and would vehemently defend a republican nine times out of ten. While I do consider Bush to have been a very decent President, I only clearly saw that he was weak on the economy, and foolish in his creation of the dept of homeland security, once he was out of office. Actually, it was his own book "Decision Points" that caused me to see how wrong he was in certain areas (areas that he himself was also torn in.)
I dove head first into politics in 2010 while being a truck driver. Driving for ten hours a day listening to talk radio (thanks SiriusXM) gave me a lot of time to ponder and think about what it meant to be a conservative. My first exposure to the libertarian movement was through Ron Paul. It gave me the creeps when Paul said of a nuclear Iran "well they haven't bombed us yet...." (a notion and a shudder I still to this day feel.)
Over the last few years, I have developed some libertarian leanings, am ashamed of the job the establishment (of BOTH parties) have done, and find myself agreeing more and more with Ronald Reagan's most frightening nine words you will ever hear, "I'm from the Government and I'm here to help."
So this blog will act as a launching pad for the ideas, notions, thoughts, reflections, and musings I learn and experience while pursuing my degree in Political Science. Stay tuned, I'm sure I will type up solid gold at SOME point in the next few years!
As I aged, I began to change the way I saw things. I still was not interested in politics, but I started seeing that things in the nation were not as I thought they were. It was towards the end of Clinton's 2nd term that I started looking at what the Republicans were saying. I had supported Elizabeth Dole in the primary against George W Bush. But he was nominated, and the last thing I wanted was to see Al Gore elected, so I threw my support (such as it was) behind Bush.
During Bush's terms in office, I was squarely in the GOP's corner. If for no other reason than how the media portrayed him to be during those eight years. I was a republican. Red as the state of Texas at the time. I had no idea what the "establishment" was, and would vehemently defend a republican nine times out of ten. While I do consider Bush to have been a very decent President, I only clearly saw that he was weak on the economy, and foolish in his creation of the dept of homeland security, once he was out of office. Actually, it was his own book "Decision Points" that caused me to see how wrong he was in certain areas (areas that he himself was also torn in.)
I dove head first into politics in 2010 while being a truck driver. Driving for ten hours a day listening to talk radio (thanks SiriusXM) gave me a lot of time to ponder and think about what it meant to be a conservative. My first exposure to the libertarian movement was through Ron Paul. It gave me the creeps when Paul said of a nuclear Iran "well they haven't bombed us yet...." (a notion and a shudder I still to this day feel.)
Over the last few years, I have developed some libertarian leanings, am ashamed of the job the establishment (of BOTH parties) have done, and find myself agreeing more and more with Ronald Reagan's most frightening nine words you will ever hear, "I'm from the Government and I'm here to help."
So this blog will act as a launching pad for the ideas, notions, thoughts, reflections, and musings I learn and experience while pursuing my degree in Political Science. Stay tuned, I'm sure I will type up solid gold at SOME point in the next few years!
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