more i love money, pirates, president obama and the new gop

First and foremost, there was a brand new I Love Money 2 last night, and it was a good one.  For the first time in weeks it looks like Taylor Made is not in charge anymore.  Prancer, Myamee and Ice made an agreement to work together until the end, leaving Taylor Made and It high and dry.  Although they should be safe until Frenchy and Saphari are gone, unless they start winning some challenges and become paymaster, it may be

over soon for the two guys left on the show.  After 20 Pack got bounced last night (Myamee decided not to honor his deal with Taylor Made) there are no dominant male competitors left, so it really is anyone's game.  I'm excited to see what happens.

In other TV news, MTV has started up the Duel 2, and its season premier was awesome.  CT punched out a dude and the challenege was a rugby hybrid.  Not to mention there are no teams, so no one will be throwing challeneges.  I really like I Love Money, but the Duel 2 has more athletic competitors, hotter girls, more intense challenges and a better house, so it may be my new favorite reality TV program.  I'll be sure to comment on Wednesday's new episode.

Also in the news, Somali pirates recently attempted to highjack a U.S. merchant ship in the Indian Ocean near the Gulf of Aden.  Although unsuccessful, they did manage to take the ship's captain hostage for a few days.  However, the U.S. Navy was quickly on the scene, sending the U.S.S. Bainbridge, a destroyer which leads the U.S.'s antipiracy battle group, to deal with the situation.  As I'm sure you heard, during the negotiations the pirates became "hostile" and so orders were given to do what was neccessary to protect the captain.  Navy snipers shot and killed three pirates and another was captured.  The captain was unharmed.  

First, I want to praise Obama's handling of the situation.  Reportedly he gave the order to "do whatever was necessary" to maintain the safety of the captain if the situation grew more intense.  He trusted the military officials to make a good judgment and do their job, and that's exactly what they did.  The SEALs that attacked the pirates along with the Navy commanders on the Bainbridge are the best trained warfighters in the world, and Obama was right to allow them to handle the situation and not to take any options off the table.  He sent a message that the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists/pirates and projected American strength thousands of miles away from our border.

The next question is what will the pirates in Somalia do next, and how will the U.S. react.  In the aftermath of the rescue mission, officials from several European countries condemned the U.S. action, stating that it will only prompt an escalation in the piracy.  Fuck that.  These are the same officials who think it is great that shipping companies are paying tens of millions of dollars in ransom to have their ships and crews returned unharmed.  Let's see.  If you were a pirate and you could attack one of two ships, the first bears the flag of country with a powerful navy that has already killed three of your colleagues and taken a fourth captive, while the other bears the flag of a country that will assuredly pay a hefty ransom for the ship without any type of military conflict, which would you choose?  International law regarding piracy is clear.  It is perfectly legal to use force to defend against pirates attacking a ship, and a sovereign nation is in the right to defend its nationals on the high seas, whether that means destroying the pirate presence or capturing them bring back to the home country for trial.  As far as I am concerned, shoot them all.  Its the only way to send the message that unlike Somalia, the U.S. is a nation of laws and that piracy is an abrogation of those laws which we take very seriously.  That message will be much more resounding than paying a ransom.  

Now although I think Obama handled this foreign crisis well, his lack of a plan for his domestic agenda has been disturbing.  For some reason, the Obama "change" mantra was a pop culture phenomenon, and even after his election it seems as though people still think he is this great savior, without really asking any tough questions.  Obama is cut more slack in both the media and by the mainstream public (by mainstream public I mean people who have no idea what politicians in Washington are doing, or what they do ever) than any major political figure since FDR.  Doesn't it scare you that the president of the United States has not articulated his philosophical direction for the country as whole besides the fact that we need change?  

Obama has never stated what his ultimate goals for the country are.  If I could ask him one question it would be, what do you want the United States too look like in 50 years, and how do your policies put us on the path to getting there?   I have a feeling that many Americans would not like his answer to that question.  He will take us down a path of less freedom to run our own lives, massive debt, and government controls over almost all aspects of our lives.  The problem is the Republicans are not forcing his hand.  They are not articulating an opposing view point on the issues Obama has decided to push.  

The GOP needs to return to its classical liberal roots.  Republicans need to put their foot down, say government is not the answer to all life's problems, and start providing free market solutions to the problems that face us today.  We are going down the unsustainable path of a entitlement society that will bankrupt the country.  The Government Accountability Office estimated last year that the federal government's unpaid obligations for social security and medicare is over $43 trillion.  That's over three times the countries GDP.  That is unsustainable.  And we are only moving down an exponential curve.  As the baby boomers retire and try to start cashing in on social security, the federal deficit is going to go to unheard of levels: upwards of 10-20% of GDP.  And that's not federal spending, just the deficit.  At that point government spending will be well over 50% of GDP.  

Republicans need to stand up now and say that the American people won't stand for it.  We are turning into a society where 50% of the population pays no income tax and the top 10% pay over 75% of the tax burden.  And its going to get worse.  We need to go back to where Americans relied on themselves, and not the government to run their lives.  The american dream has always been that if you work hard you can move up in the world.  That's what relying on a market economy does.  It rewards hard work, which is what our society is all about.

This is the sickest picture ever: