"The City that Captured the Sun"

Also known as Mexicali....

Sorry for not posting in a while, but I had final exams and I am finally back in the San Francisco Bay Area

Before I moved out of Irvine and came back to SF, I took a pit stop in Mexicali, Baja California Mexico.So, we are very very lucky to be living in the United States. In a country in which we can trust our government. Although Mexico has a functioning government, the feeling of anarchy is ever lingering in the atmosphere. The feeling of hopelessness when a crime is committed is prominent, the police cannot be trusted. It is no wonder the family ties or values are very strong, they are the only ones they have. I also got a first hand experience on border patrol and the problems plaguing the border.

On the U.S. side, there were many border patrol officer. I believe racial profiling is a prominent unseen problems. They are not openly racist but I felt that crossing the border would have been a lot easier if my skin was white, my hair was blond and my eyes were blue.

Here are some photos I took of my home country. Click on photos for larger image. I will provide a short explanation of the photos:

Vicente Gurrero: A Mexican War Hero during the Independence Movement.

The PRI building in Mexicali. The PRI is the conservative party in Mexico that ruled authoritatively for over 60 years.

La Rumorosa. Miles of mountains covered by rock. Mexicali is below see level, yet the mountains next to Mexicali are sometimes snow capped. The heat however, was still unbearable. 115 degree heat in Mexicali. 105 in the mountains.


On the U.S. side the border patrol stopped me twice to check if I was a citizen. In Mexico, we were stopped once by the Mexican Military (photo above). They were checking for drugs and drug trafficking. I was told not to take photos but I took one anyway. I could have gone to jail (haha such a rebel)

I will write more later. And show more photos. I will get my girlfriend to post on my blog. She will write about how she was detained by the border patrol even though she is an American born citizen.

Why McCain won't win the Presidency in November?

Because he is McCain....

Well, in reality, Emory University, according to realclearpolitics.com, says that the Republican Party faces a "triple Whammy"

1.) an unpopular president (Bush's approval rating is lower than Nixon....LOWER THAN NIXON!)

2.)weak economy

3.)second-term election

all of these factors combined, according to Emory Univ., will guarantee a Democratic party win in November. A triple Whammy! 

McCain won't win and Republicans are delusional if they think that McCain has a strong fighting chance.

According to the article on realclearpolitics.com: 

"Abramowitz has tracked the effect of those variables [the triple whammy variables stated above] on the last 15 presidential elections and found that they accurately predicted the popular vote outcome in 14 and came close in the 15th.

The formula adds the incumbent president’s net approval rating (approval minus disapproval), the second-quarter election-year GDP growth rate multiplied by five (emphasizing the importance of the economy) and then (factoring in time-for-a-change sentiment) subtracts 25 points if the in-party is finishing a second term.

Bush’s net approval now stands at minus 40. The first-quarter growth rate was 0.6 percent and Bush is finishing eight years, meaning that this year’s electoral barometer currently stands at minus 62."

haha, -62. that's alot.

Does McCain have a chance?

Time to change the poll and thank you for those who voted

Now that Hillary lost, the poll I set up on my website is irrelevant. Here are the results for the people who voted on my site.

John McCain: 12%
Hillary Clinton: 22%
Barack Obama: 60%
Who Cares?: 5%

I'll put a new poll, thank you for those who votes

The e-mail that Hillary has sent to her supporters.....

read it and weep............

" Dear Alex,

Over the course of this campaign, I have seen the promise of America in your courage and character, your energy and ingenuity, and your compassion and faith.

Your spirit has inspired me every day in this race. While I traveled this country talking about how I wanted to help you -- time and again, you reached out to help me. To grab my hand or grip my arm, to look me in my eyes and tell me, don’t quit, keep fighting, stay in this race for us. There were days when I had strength enough for the both of us -- and on the days I didn't, I leaned on you.

This has always been your campaign, and tonight, there's no one I want to hear from more than you. I hope you're as proud as I am of what we've done and that you'll take a moment to share your thoughts with me now at my website.

I want to congratulate Senator Obama and his supporters on the extraordinary race that they have run. Senator Obama has inspired so many Americans to care about politics and empowered so many more to get involved, and our party and our democracy are stronger and more vibrant as a result.

Whatever path I travel next, I promise I will keep faith with you and everyone I have met across this good and great country. There is no possible way to thank you enough for everything you have done throughout this primary season, and you will always be in my heart.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton "

It's sad that Hilary isn't going to be president.....

I think it's over.....

Time to pack up my "Hillary 08" button and clothing. I'm a die hard supporter of Hillary but it just seems like its' over for her. The U.S. holds last few primaries tomorrow and Hillary needs to win by a huge margin. For Hillary to win tomorrow:

she needs 94% of the 193 super delegates to stand behind her.

If, by a miracle, she succeeds in winning 94% or more of the super delegates, she still won't reach the magic number of 2,118 delegates but she would have more than Obama. If she loses by anything less than 94% of the super delegates then Obama is the 2008 Democratic Presidential nominee.

How did I do this math? easily. Go to cnn.com and there is a section called, "Do the Math" it is a very simple site in which you control the percentage of super delegates that can pledge to either Obama or Hillary. The website then calculates how many delegates each candidate would get. (So in reality I didn't to the math, but cnn.com did, haha). Only at 94% did Hillary beat Obama on pledged delegates. Anything less and Barack wins.

I believe that in the next 72 hours (and that's a huge window)we will have our Democratic Presidential Nominee. I won't be happy, but I will still back up Obama.

I hope that Hillary supporters, like myself, don't react negatively to Obama's win which may cause McCain to win the presidency.

It's sad, you know, because Hillary won the popular vote (she won the huge states: CA, NY, FL) and if you think about how democratic is a country in which the people vote for a certain moniee but then another nominee wins? Than again, that also sounds like the 2000 election, in which Gore win the popular vote but Bush won the electoral vote.

All in all, I hate to say this, but: I support Obama.

How ridiculous......

A new article on politico.com has surfaced, titled: "Will smoking past effect Obama's health?"

and my answer to that: Not as much as McCain's past as a prisoner of war.

Jeff Stier, the author, writes:

"Just because he's young, looks great and exercises doesn't mean he's completely healthy. And given what an important figure he is, to ignore his smoking history is to miss an educational opportunity. "

Miss an educational opportunity? What the hell is this guy talking about?

But honestly, How can you compare smoking to torture? What's worse being tortured from being a POW or smoking cigarettes? Hmmmm

What type of political system have we evolved into? Why do we have to worry about presidents smoking? Many presidents before have smoked.

enough of my questions. 

What do you think?

Should it matter that Obama smoked or not? and Should presidents be allowed to smoke?

Clinton Wins HUGE in Puerto Rico!

Hillary Clinton won Puerto Rico by a landslide.

According to politico.com,

"The cable networks called the island territory for Clinton the instant polls closed at 3:00 p.m., indicating a landslide; exit polls showed her winning virtually every group, including young voters typically loyal to nomination rival Barack Obama."

So she won Puerto Rico, what does that mean in November? Absolutely nothing. Puerto Rico has zero electoral votes, which means that Hillary wont get an advantage if she wins the democratic presidential nominee (which is the first task she needs to accomplish.)

But her win in Puerto Rico does have some significance, 70% of people who took the exit poll state that they have family members in New York and Florida. Which is a factor that helps explains why Hillary won Florida, but not the main reason. (Hillary would have won New York anyway because it's her home state)

Anyway, Final Score:

Clinton: 68%

Obama: 32%

Clinton keeps on winning states, even though people tell her to drop out. I have respect for her because of that. Keep on Truckin' until the end.