"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.

Disasters Around the World

I found a funny photo on digg.com, so sad but true. Click on the Image for a larger view.

What's worse racism or sexism?

............................Fill in the blank.......................

The most interesting article popped up in the OCregister.com. First, not only was the article poorly written but it also made false accusations. It did, however, bring up a point which I have argued before. But before I get to that let me first explain the article.

Mark Steyn, the author, is a conservative writer from Canada. He wrote an article today titled, "Sexism, not Obama, beat Hillary." I clicked on the link to read the article but then I quickly regretted my decision. By the title you would think that the article would be based on sexism in U.S. politics and more specifically the 2008 election. At first it was, but then his writing had nothing to do with his title. He completely went off topic. At one point he wrote,

"As a general rule, large numbers of excitable lads who can't get any action are not a recipe for societal stability. Unless the Japanese have invented amazingly lifelike sex robots by then (think Austin Powers' "fembots"), we're likely to be in a planetwide rape epidemic and a world of globalized, industrial-scale sex slavery."

When did the topic become "Asian Sexuality." Go ahead, click on the article, I didn't take it out of context.

The title also states that Hillary lost the election. I checked 5 minutes ago, Hillary is still in the race.

Anyway, aside from the article being poorly written it did make me think. What's worse Sexism or Racism?

I once believed that sexism was worse than racism, but then I believed that racism was worse than sexism. I've always known one thing. Sexism and Racism are both damn horrible and have no place in society.

If Hillary loses than I can guarantee that someone in the U.S. will say, "She lost because sexism still exists in the U.S.?" AND

If Obama loses than I can also guarantee that someone will say, "He lost because racism still exists in the U.S.?"

What I'm trying to get at is this: Which of the two presidential candidates have had more challenges? Obama because he is black or Hillary because she is a woman?

African-Americans have faced the problem of racism for decades and to have Obama run for president is amazing. But Woman have also faced their share of problems, let's remember that woman received suffrage after black men did, but they weren't, however, slaves.

For Steyn to say, "Sexism, not Obama, beat Hillary" is to completely ignore the fact that Obama is black. If Obama was white then he may have a point, but Obama is black. I could easily write an article titled, "Racism, not Hillary, beat Obama."

so what do you think. Honestly.

Which of the two presidential candidates faces more campaign challenges due to the history of race/sex in America? Obama because he is black or Hillary because she is a woman?

"Young Hillary Clinton"

I must say that I'm still a Hillary Supporter but a new video has surfaced on youtube.com that is pretty funny even for Hillary supporters. Watch the video tell me what you think.

Thumbs up or thumbs down?

More Problems for Obama?

I find it really interesting that the Obama campaign keeps on getting plagued with "pastor problems." It's kind of funny. Here is what happened. Obama's church--Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois-- had a guest reverend, Rev. Michael Pfleger who said some things (which I think are hilarious, it's almost like comedy show) that are very embarrasing for Obama. He was mocking Hillary Clinton, well, just see for yourself: 

"I'm Bill's wife, I'm white, and this is mine. I just got to get up and step into the plate. And then out of nowhere came, hey, I'm Barack Obama. And she said oh, damn, where did you come from? I'm white. I'm entitled. There's a black man stealing my show."

haha, I just find it so funny. Anyway, Obama now has to distance himself not only from Reverend Wright but also from Reverend Pfleger.

Note: Obama was not present at Church when the guest reverend made his appearance.

At this point Obama should distance himself as much as he can from his church. I, honestly, don't mind Obama's reverends because it's not a reflection of him, but if it's going to cause him some campaign trouble than he needs to just back away from his church.

Should Obama leave his church?

Where do I get my stories?

So some people have asked me where I get my stories. I go to many websites, but I mainly go to sites that combine political news from many sources across the U.S. and the world. Sometimes I get my news from the U.K. Times Online and Sometimes its more locals like LA Times or SF Chronicle.

Below is a list of my favorite political websites:

realclearpolitics.com

politico.com

huffingtonpost.com

technorati.com

sfgate.com

digg.com

The First two are really the main ones I use. Realclearpolitics.com is websites that searchs the internet for political news and then they present them to the visitor in one easy to use website. It links me to political news written by other sources.


You can't really read it, but if you look closely I highlighted the different news sources that realclearpolitics.com brings together.

Anyway, enjoy.

High School Drama will NEVER die

Bob Dole is a nice, conservative old man. He is the former Senator of Kansas and even ran for the U.S. Presidency in 1996. He wrote an email to Scott McClellan, our beloved truth-teller. Here are a few excerpts from his email:

" In my nearly 36 years of public service I've known of a few like you. No doubt you will 'clean up' as the liberal anti-Bush press will promote your belated concerns with wild enthusiasm. When the money starts rolling in you should donate it to a worthy cause, something like, 'Biting The Hand That Fed Me.' Another thought is to weasel your way back into the White House if a Democrat is elected. That would provide a good set up for a second book deal in a few years
… if all these awful things were happening[in the White House], and perhaps some may have been, you should have spoken up publicly like a man, or quit your cushy, high profile job …

That would have taken integrity and courage but then you would have had credibility and your complaints could have been aired objectively … You’re a hot ticket now but don’t you, deep down, feel like a total ingrate? "

Wow, this is an old gentleman? A former U.S. Presidential hopeful?

Here is the killer, Politico.com writes:

"Bob Dole yesterday sent a scalding email to Scott McClellan, excoriating the former White House spokesman as a "miserable creature" who greedily betrayed his former patron for a fast buck."

miserable creature?

Dole's feelings were hurt and he had to send a nasty email because it would make him feel better. That sounds like something a high school sophomore would do. This is such high school drama, Dole just needs to accept what happened and admit that the republican ship is sinking.

haha, "miserable creature"

What do you guys think? Did McClellan do the right thing to speak out about the problems plaguing the White House when he was the Press Secretary or should he have just stayed quiet?

White Woman don't like Obama?

No they don't.

According to Politico.com, "Barack Obama’s favorability ratings among white women have significantly depreciated in recent months, particularly among Democrats and independents, posing an immediate obstacle for the likely Democratic nominee as he moves to shore up his party’s base."

This isn't good for Obama.

February:

• 36% White Woman viewed Obama unfavorably
  
• 56% White Woman has a favorable view of Obama

May:

• 49% White Woman view Obama unfavorably
• 43% White Woman had a favorable view of Obama

Whats happening Barack? Where did you drop the ball?

What's even more nerve-racking is this, "White women as a whole now prefer John McCain over Obama, by 49 to 41 percent. Last month Obama was ahead of McCain among white women, 49 to 46 percent." Politico is good at getting you to the edge of your seat.

Is Obama loosing his touch? I don't have any explanation for this, except for maybe the Bradley Effect, which I wrote about in a previous post.

Why do you think white woman are leaving the Obama boat?

Redrawing the Political Map of the U.S.

................Click on Image for larger view..........................

My favorite newspaper, The San Francisco Chronicle, has stated that Obama is riding the "Swing Election" wave. This year, compared the the last presidential election is very different. 12 states that were republicans may switch and become democratic. Some of those states are very surprising. Florida (Which I wrote about in a previous blog) and Ohio were won by Bush in 2004 yet it seems like those states may possibly vote Democrat.

The reason, which I stated in a previous blog, that many states are switching is due to record breaking number of people voting Democrat. Many people have switched from being Republican to becoming Democrat and many more apathetic Democrats are voting. They learned that apathy sucks. Thank you George Bush.

But here may be other reason that America may be turning to the Democratic Party:

• Increase in younger voters
• Increase in the Latino Vote (Which votes mostly Democratic)
• Afr.-Americans (who already vote overwhelmingly Democratic) may come out to vote in larger numbers

Whatever the reason may be, I'm glad its happening.

Click here to go to the article in the San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/26/MNEU10S9PG.DTL&type=politics

What will Obama do in the first 100 days if he becomes president?

Obama has some major plans for the first 100 days in the White House. One caught my attention in particular. According to Reuters.com:

1. Work out a plan for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq
2. Make progress on alternative energy plans
3. Launch legislation to reform the health care system
4. Call an attorney general to review the constitutionality of every executive order Bush has passed.

I honestly have nothing against any of these things, honestly I support every single one of these issues, but the last one in particular caught my attention. What if the attorney general finds something that incriminates Bush or finds that Bush abused his powers? Obviously the executive order will be overturned but what will happen to Bush? Will he be fined? Will he be tried in court? Or it will it just be ignored?

I believe that Bush will just be ignored there is no way that he will be tried or fined. At this point everyone knows Bush is a liar so we just want him out of office.

What do you think they should to to Bush if they find that he abused his presidential power?

It's not to late to jump onto the Democratic Ship, the Republican Boat hasn't completely sank yet!

And that is exactly what Scott McClellan did. For those of you who don't know who Scott McClellan is and what he is doing. Consider this blog post a small overview of him and what he is doing.

Scott McClellan was a former White House Press Secretary from 2003-2006. He was a good old friend of George W. Bush and as the New York Times called him part of Bush's "Inner Circle."

So what did he do?

McClellan wrote a book about his life and his views on the White House. The book titled, What Happened, tells the truth about what happened in the White House when McClellan worked there.

A New York Times Article, states "In excerpts from the book, set to be published next week, Mr. McClellan writes that President Bush “convinces himself to believe what suits his needs at the moment,” and has engaged in “self-deception” to justify his political ends. He calls the decision to invade Iraq a “serious strategic blunder,” and says that the biggest mistake the Bush White House made was “a decision to turn away from candor and honesty when those qualities were most needed.” "

Many of the people that worked with McClellan are shocked that he would write this.

Dana Perino, the current White House Press Secretary said this about McClellan, "[The] Scott, we now know, is disgruntled about his experience at the White House.For those of us who fully supported him, before, during and after he was press secretary, we are puzzled. It is sad. This is not the Scott we knew."


Karl Rove said, "First of all, this doesn’t sound like Scott. It really doesn’t.Not the Scott McClellan I’ve known for a long time. Second of all, it sounds like somebody else. It sounds like a left-wing blogger." (I guess he is talking about me)

Anyway, it is just very interesting to see that many people in this election are jumping ship and becoming Democrats abandoning the Republican Ship.

George McCain? John Bush?

How can McCain try to distance himself from George Bush when they are exactly the same. According to CQ Presidential Studies John McCain has voted with George Bush 100% of the time in 2008 and 95% of the time in 2007. This means their views are almost completely identical. No wonder The Progressive Media, has called the republican presidential hopeful "John McSame."

I understand that using such biased sources--such as The Progressive Media-- may discredit my analysis, but the facts they bring up cannot be ignored. They researched how McCain voted and how that matched with George W. Bush's voting style and views. The CQ Presidential results are not biased and they bring up a clear understanding of how similar both McCain and Bush are.

It is going to be very difficult for McCain to win the Presidency running as Republican. As much as McCain tries to distance himself from the current president and he says he will be different. It can't be denied and the CQ Presidential Studies research results show that McCain and Bush are not different from one another on policies and political views.

So we all know the truth, McCain can say whatever he wants and criticize Bush as much as he wants but he will still be an extension of G.W.B if he is elected into office.

Mexico Refuses U.S. Aid?

Has the U.S., once again, destroyed relations with another country? It sure seems like it. Mexico is in a Drug War, doing the best they can to try and stop the drug smuggling into the United States. It's in a war that will benefit both countries:

Mexico: will get control,Drug Lords won't rule cities or states and the citizens of those cities/states, will be safer.

U.S.: Drug Importation/trafficking from Mexico will at least be reduced if not completely stopped and U.S. border towns will see less drug cartel violence.

The benefits are great for the Unites States.Mexico is the no. 1 importer of illegal drugs into the United States, now imagine if all those drugs coming into the U.S. were reduced or completely halted. The U.S. would certainly benefit from Mexico winning a successful drug war.

What the U.S. media doesn't portray or show on T.V., is the insane amount of weapons that are smuggled into Mexico. Weapons are easier to buy in the U.S. and many of the weapons the Drug Cartels use are actually American. So Mexico needs U.S. help to stop the smuggling of weapons from U.S. to Mexico

So, anyway, Mexico has asked the U.S. for monetary help to aid in the fight against drugs and drug cartels. Mexico asked for $500 Million USD and President George Bush agreed. That money would be used for buying military equipment and resources needed to continue a war.

But how has the U.S. destroyed another opportunity to work together with Mexico?

When the proposed bill went to congress it was changed and amended in such a way that Mexico no longer wants the U.S. help. Not only was the total amount--that Mexico will receive--drastically reduced but "strings" were also attached. The total amount Mexico would recieve went from $500 Million to $50 Million USD. On top of that the U.S. has to "certify" Mexico before it gives them money:

• The U.S. wants proof that Mexico is not violating human rights
• The U.S. wants Mexico to go through a Judicial Reform
  

according to an Article in the Dallas Morning News, "Mexico considered certification a violation of its sovereignty. " Mexico just wants unconditional aid in the Drug War.

Political Commentator, Ricardo Aleman said, "First you reduce the amount, and then you put on conditions, so why don't you just keep your money"

Mexico would rather not have the U.S. help in fighting the Drug War if it means that the U.S. will "stick their noses" in other non-related Mexican affairs?

SHOULD MEXICO TAKE THE MUCH NEEDED AID TO HELP FIGHT THE WAR AGAINST DRUGS?

Why are so many Democrats voting?

So many more Democrats, than Republicans have hit the polling booths and voted. Record numbers to be exact. But why suddenly so many people voting? Especially Democrats?

Democrats learned something with the current president. Probably President Bush's biggest accomplishment without even trying. Democrats learned that if they don't vote the consequences can and will be dire. G.W.B has become such a big failure as a president that it has actually encouraged Democrats to vote. According to another blog, "Apathy, Not Ignorance elected George Bush." Democrats and America don't want another George Bush.

Here are some example of voter turnout by states and by parties:

California:
5,066,993 (Democrats)
2,932,811 (Republicans

New York:
1,891,143 (Democrats)
670,078 (Republicans)

even Florida, which has voted Republicans for the last few years, almost had more Democrats that Republicans vote.

Florida:
1,734,456 (Democrats)
1,924,346 (Republicans)

(To see Voter Turnout for the Primaries/Caucuses that have passed and are going to pass click here http://elections.gmu.edu/Voter_Turnout_2008_Primaries.htm)

Here is a great video detailing how Florida Democrats made an impact: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAUo_zVcC2A

You may be wondering why I'm writing about the Florida Primary now, but I just found it interesting all of the sudden and I also came to some realizations, which I stated above. Plus, its relevant to my topic, even though it was a while back when they voted.