Rising from the Ashes of the Burning Bush

I was nine years old when George W. Bush was elected president of the United States in 2000. I now realize that half of my life has been spent under the rule of King George II. I decided that the best way to commemorate his presidency was to look back on the ups and downs of a tumultuous eight years that changed American culture and society forever.

In September 2001 George W. Bush had been president for only eight months. He became president after one of the most controversial elections in American history. He lost the popular vote to Al Gore, but still found himself sitting at the desk in the oval office at the White House thanks to the Electoral College.

That September America was attacked on the eleventh day of that month. The President was visiting the Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida. One of his aides whispered in his ear that America had been attacked. What followed was one of Bush’s most critiqued presidential moments. He didn’t freak out, jump up, and run out of the building. Instead he sat and thought. Should the President have gotten up, acted more swiftly and confidently? Should he have sat there like he did as to not panic the children in the room? He did the latter, and days later, on September 14th, in New York City at ground zero he showed a confidence in his ability to track down the people who had crashed a plane into the ground in Pennsylvania, attacked the Pentagon, and demolished the Twin Towers. “I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked down these buildings will hear all of us soon,” he said.

A year and half later, on March 13, 2003, Bush felt it was time to get back at those who attacked us, but we suddenly found ourselves in Iraq. We had been in Afghanistan since October 7, 2001, the location commonly believed to be near where Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind behind 9/11 lives. But instead, we chose to focus our resources elsewhere, and we invaded Iraq under pretenses that Iraq had developed weapons of mass destruction.

“Mission Accomplished,” read on a banner a little over a month later on the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003. Bush said that we had been victorious with our major combat operations. “In the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed,” Bush declared. But, we would find ourselves in Iraq to this very day, and the terrorist who had planned 9/11, Bin Laden, still not yet captured.

The President’s re-election bid in 2004 blindsided many Americans who felt he was sure to lose that one at least. He didn’t, and America had just signed up for four more years of “Dubya.”

At the end of August, 2005 brought us the year of Hurricane Katrina, one of the worst natural disasters in American history. President Bush was criticized for his slow reaction to rescuing and providing aid to the victims of the hurricane. He had appointed one of his friends to be the head of the Federal Emergency Management Association, Michael Brown. Brown resigned shortly after President Bush told him, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.” It was also reported that Bush had been vacationing in Arizona at the time of the disaster, and when it came time to visit New Orleans for his first time since the disaster, he flew over in an airplane instead of walking among the people.

The war in Iraq had reached its most difficult year in 2006. Americans wanted out, but Bush stuck to his guns and stayed. Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense, also resigned that year after revelations of mismanagement in war strategy and that nine billion dollars had gone missing. Photos of tortured prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, Iraq also fueled the fire of American unrest. In January 2007, Bush even committed to sending more troops to Iraq as part of his “surge” plan.

This year, in 2008, we witnessed the devastating fall of the American economy. Private banks were bought by the government to save them from going under. American automakers find themselves on their own brink of collapse. And, now we can officially say that we are in a recession.

As George W. Bush enters his final days in office we can look back and say that he has at least done one thing right. That is his graciousness at a time of the transition of power in America. Barack Obama won the presidency this year, and I’m sure when Obama spoke to Bush over the telephone on election night that he thanked him for doing all that he did over the last eight years, right and wrong (mostly wrong) to help him get elected.

A Young, Progressive New Yorker AGAINST Caroline Kennedy for Senate.

All the buzz in the choice for the replacement of Hillary Clinton has taken a sharp turn from a discussion of strong, qualified Upstate and Downstate politicians to one woman: Caroline Kennedy.  The media is jumping at the possibility of another Kennedy rising to political prominence.  However, this should not be a choice as to whether or not to carry on a political dynasty for Governor David Paterson.  As a citizen of the State in question, New York, I believe that Paterson’s choice should instead be what is best for the very troubled state of New York.  Don’t get me wrong, I am Progressive person, who agrees with Kennedy on a multitude of issues.  Putting that aside, the question remains as to whether or not she is the right person for the job.

Usually, when I say that I am from New York, the question that is posed to me is “Oh really, what borough?”.  The sad part is that the whole state of New York gets overshadowed by the City of New York.  In talking to my fellow Upstaters, animosity can be heard in their voices as they describe the lack of attention that Upstate New York receives.  David Paterson’s selection of Caroline Kennedy would just be another slap in the face for Upstate New York, who has not had a Senator from their own back yard since 1909 (Good Ole, Elihu Root of Clinton, New York.)  The face that Upstate has not had one of their own represent them in the United States Senate for so long is just shameful, and now Governor Paterson has a chance to change that with his power of appointment.

Caroline Kennedy is someone who I agree with, alot, she is a very charismatic individual who quite possible has a bright future in the political scene.  However, the fact remains that her first political job should not be an appointment to the Senate. She is not qualified for this position. She has not served the people of New York in extensive enough of a manner to receive the appointment from Governor Paterson.  Whether deservedly or not, Governor Paterson’s popularity has plummeted in the Upstate region, and he would only be making the problem worse for himself if he does the wrong thing, and appoints Caroline Kennedy to the Senate.

The Young American

And so it begins. As part of a new year, we reinvent ourselves once more. This will be the last time, although I can’t promise.

So, why the blog name change from “Think Youth” to “The Young American“?

To be honest, I’ve wanted to change the blog name since August 25, 2008. We were in Denver for a convention, and just the mention of our blog’s name was a hassle. For some reason, to get the words “Think Youth” out of my mouth was a difficult part, but what was even harder was having the person who had to hear the blog name actually understand what I was saying.

“What is your blog’s name?” she said.

“Think Youth,” I said.

“Thank You? Thank Youth?” she questioned back.

“No ma’am. Think Youth,” I repeated. What followed was the actual spelling of the blog name.

“T-H-I-N-K Y-O-U-T-H!” it ended.

So, I hope that our new blog name not only sounds nicer, but is easier to say. “THE YOUNG AMERICAN.”

Most urls/links will automatically update and redirect to the new domain name, but just to be sure, please update your bookmarks, and thank you, not think youth:

http://www.theyoungamerican.org/

RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheYoungAmerican
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Update: Just a small update, I just realized that the contact and blogger application forms have been broken and were not actually sending anything. If you have attempted to contact us, or apply to become a blogger, please submit again because the forms now work. Thanks.

LaHood Is The Wrong Choice

What was Obama thinking when he picked Ray LaHood as transportation secretary? This man is one of the least qualified to head a department with such an integral role in reducing global warming. Barack Obama has already been under criticism for his roads heavy stimulus package, but the appointment of this man shows the government agency for transportation will be looking towards 1950s solutions to fix the transportation crisis.

Obama recognizes that transportation planning is directly related to global warming and other pollution, so why would he put a man in office that seems to lack such understanding? LaHood has received over 100,000 dollars in donations from energy and automobile interests, such as the Petroleum Marketers Association. A search on Wikipedia has no political experience on any subcommittees related to transit. It is as if Obama has said “Nobody cares about the DOT so lets give the GOP a bone.”

However LaHood has sponsored some legislation that at least shows a minimal effort to look at alternative forms of transit. He cosponsored a bill to recognize the importance of bicycling for health and recreation but it fails to acknowledge a link to cleaner air, plus that’s about the only positive transportation bill he’s sponsored in the past two congresses. However those are outweighed as he also cosponsored a bill supporting using forests for bio fuel, investing in liquid coal (which has been found to be the biggest global warming contributor), and lastly he voted for June 30th to be “National Corvette Day.”

One of the main reasons I was so excited about an Obama administration was that I felt he would change America from an auto-dependent country to one that rivaled Europe in terms of alternatives. While certaintly better than what Bush adminstration has done for alternative transit, this vision is hardly visionary.

Conservative Christianity: Political Strategy or Ideology

Christian Conservatism is not and ideology not a concept but an ingenius political straegey built by the GOP in the to late 1970’s. In knowing that majority of the the new elderly or golden years American White citizens were apart of the civil rights resistance in the 1950’s and 60’s the GOP played on the distaste for the rising image of Liberalism in American mainly in part to the Hippie Anti War Veitnam  college educated Americans. GOP Leaders and front runners prayed on the political tactic of placing fear in elderly whites that the landscape of America was being intrenched in Liberal Left wing Hippism and even in some cases of late 1970’s Racsim in political campaigns to achieve victory in southern states. Yet Christian Conservative political tactic also worked extremely well in Bull collar mid west and Northern rual areas where Republicans could snatch Electoral votes by eating up counties in key states For Example:

Wisconsin
Missouri
Ohio
Indiana
Pennslyvania
Ohio
Illinois
Tennessee
Texas
North Carolina
Virginia
Florida
Minnesota

All These states at that time period were blue collared states which usually meant that the citizens were more likely to be White and Christian. One More Thing Is that All these states have Double Digit Electoral Points. For a Political Canididate to carry these states would always put a canididate over the edge in a close political race. For If a Republican could win over Moderate Republicans who were more likely to be well establish upper class whites in New York annd California and to carry Southern and Mid-Western States would ensure victory. For Democrats in this time caught complete hell in presidential races, Mainly for there siding with Anti War views and Civil Rights which was also a political strategy but we will discuss that in another post. A great Example to why Conservative Christianity is a great political Strategy look at the Democratic Presidents after Nixion Carter won his first presidental race mainly because he was a farm boy a picture of blue collar hard working Southerner and then There was Clinton he was a southern White Male from Hope Arkansas a state in the heart of Conservative America who played his roots t his advanytage along with his liberak views to gain the presidency twice. W. Bush used Moderate-Christian Conservatism to gain his presidency(with help from Jeb.) He became the face of College educated conservatist by using his evangelical faith to push him a head in rural blue collar states. Florida Is a great example of a Moderate Conservative State much like Georgia.Conservative Christian Political Tactic is a great tactic in politics but it is a dirty one because it thrives of negativity and the exploitation of ones faith in achieving political success. John McCain failed with Consevative Christians because unlike his running mate McCain was more on the moderate end of the Right Wing spectrum. Which inevitably lead to the 3-4 point split in the Republican Vote especially when you factor in the economic and Bush factors the GOP is faced with trying to re-define their political ideologies, strategies and tatics to stay in the race with Democrats.

From Political Rival to Top Cabinet Position.

It is all but official that New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will become the next Secretary of State under the incoming Obama-Biden Administration. Clinton, who is seen by many as the leading rival of Obama within the Democratic Party, now is taking a huge step over political stubbornness and is accepting a position. Although highly coveted, this position will take her away from the political stage which she has grown to love. Many have argued that the Democratic Party is currently split in two. One group being the strong supporters of Obama who are among all age groups within the party, but with a large majority being those under the age of 45.  While group two are strong supporters of Clinton. The demographic makeup for Clinton supporters are those more mature in age and more women tend to support Clinton.  Supporters of both Obama and Clinton have been mixed in their reviews of this next phase in the Clinton/Obama saga. It seems that the majority of not only Democrats, but Americans as a whole, view Clinton’s rise to the head of the State Department as a good choice.

However, there are some who are very skeptical of this rumored pick. There are some Obama supporters who were very angered by the campaign run by Clinton during the primary season and did not wish to see her attaining a top level position in the Obama Administration. While they understand the reasoning that Obama is picking a “Team of Rivals,” they feel with Clinton at the helm of the State Department she will slowly but surely begin to create her own foreign policies and will push back against the orders from the Oval Office as much as she will follow those orders. With Clinton being married to former President Bill Clinton, his foundation donor lists being in question during the primary season, there are some who would question Hillary’s motivation while working with those international officials who have been major financial backers of her husband.  Then you have those supporters of Clinton who are excited to see their preferred presidential candidate rising to a high level position and they wonder if this choice was all but political. With Clinton being the top rival of Obama’s supporters, many have been quietly murmuring that this choice removes her from the political scene, and that all Obama is doing with the creation of his “Team of Rivals” is to ensure that he is the only leader within his party. They feel this move is to ensure that Clinton remains a strong supporter of Obama’s and is unable to create any new whirlwind that she may decide to run again during the 2012 election (this is of course contingent on the fact that Clinton remains Secretary of State for Obama’s entire first term).

One must also consider what will be the role of a Vice President Biden, who was during the general election, a strength for Obama in terms of foreign policy. Now with Clinton at the head of the State Department, what will this mean to Biden who has vowed to be an integral part of the foreign policy strategies as the issues may arise. This however seems to be far from reality with Clinton in control of the State Department. One thing is clear about Clinton, and that is simple, she is a leader and if she is taking the post at the State Dept. it will have been made clear that she will run the department without much input from Biden unless the orders come from the Oval Office.

Who really knows what this decision will actually mean to President-Elect Obama or Senator Clinton. It is certain that from the outset this seems to be a positive joint venture and will bring the celebrity cabinet that Obama desires.

Today is a good day

I’m sure that I’m not the only one who was upset with the preliminary Senate results this year. Sure, the Democrats did great, but Ted Stevens was winning in Alaska. Convicted felon/Senator Ted “The Internet Is A Series of Tubes” Stevens was getting re-elected.

Today though, the final results have come out, and Ted Stevens has lost the Alaska Senate race. By just a few votes, Democrat Mark Begich has won a seat in the Senate. This makes Stevens the longest serving senator to lose re-election. Save for an end to corruption, and Joe Lieberman admitting he isn’t a Democrat, this is the best thing that could possibly happen to the Senate this election season.

Goodbye Senator Stevens. You will not be missed.

Hello From Ben

Hello Everyone my name is Ben and I am a youth blogger.

I am 22 years of age and I currently reside in Michigan. I am a recent graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy ascertaining my Bachelor’s in Political Science. I have been working in the field of politics since 2005 when I had the opportunity to be the personal intern for Hansen Clarke when he ran for Mayor of the City of Detroit. From that campaign and through the guidance of Michigan Senator Hansen Clarke I was able to find my passion and what made me love politics so much.
I love the campaigning and the entire election process. With this years historic election I knew early on during the primary season that I wanted to be involved. I had the amazing opportunity to work in Dayton, Ohio at the headquarter office interning for the Obama for America campaign. Once I finished my undergraduate education I spent the summer interning in London, England for the Liberal Democratic Party. I worked at the headquarter office of the national party and had the chance to go out into the British countryside to work on a by-election for an empty seat in Parliament.
When I returned from London I was at a place of uncertainty because I was not sure if going to graduate school quickly was the best decision. I ultimately decided to take time off from schooling to get more real world job experience. Since making that decision I, along with one of my good friends Dave decided to start a youth political blog called The Youth Movement where we along with friends and fellow bloggers bring a voice to young people who are politically active and passionate, but because of the lack of representation in the national media and the more famous and popular blogs we feel that our voice as young people is not being heard. Instead of allow our voice not to be heard we have sought to create a platform of our own to ensure that we have a voice. I am glad to have the opportunity to blog on Think Youth and look forward to the discussions and debates that will transpire here.

Ben

Unsubstantiated Reports: Obama offered Hillary Clinton Secretary of State

via Huffington Post:

President-elect Barack Obama offered Sen. Hillary Clinton the position of Secretary of State during their meeting Thursday in Chicago, according to two senior Democratic officials. She requested time to consider the offer, the officials said.

Way back in the days of the Democratic Primary, Barack Obama brought up the idea of Abraham Lincoln’s “Team of Rivals.” Lincoln kept this rule in mind when choosing people to serve on his cabinet who at first challenged him for the Republican nomination in 1860: keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Hillary, SOS! Save Our Souls! No actually,  I’m talking about Secretary of State.

On Thursday November 13th it was reported that Barack Obama met with Clinton to discuss her role in his administration. What everyone thinks was discussed was Obama’s offer to Clinton of the Secretary of State position. The Secretary of State’s duties are mainly concerned with foreign affairs and policy. The current Secretary of State is Condoleeza Rice who assumed the title after Colin Powell resigned/got fired shortly after the 2004 election.

On CNN today Democratic strategist Paul Begala talked about how good the Obama campaign has been about tamping down unwarranted rumors. Their message control has not yet reigned this rumor in.

My own personal opinion is that Hillary should either stay in the Senate to focus on domestic issues such as healthcare and then one day become Senate Majority Leader, or hope to be appointed to the Supreme Court as a nice way to end her public service career.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? I’ll believe it when I see it.

Equality for All

On the issue of gay marriage, equality must come before faith, and gay marriage should be legal. Proposition 8, which recently passed in the state of California, is a violation of the freedoms that all Americans should wish to enjoy.

Think Youth welcomes all point of views from all types of Democrats and Progressives. We realize that the Democratic Party is a big tent, but the views expressed in the post ‘California Says No Again: Are Blacks to Blame?’ are strictly the views of the writer.

Thank You

Koko Chassid

Dan Solis

Change.gov: Follow our Commander-in-Chief’s Path to change

CLICK HERE

For the first time in a long time, progressives have complete control. We can now put into place all the things that we have been talking about year after year after year.  There can be no excuses now, only solutions.  Follow Obama’s path to change above at his new website: www.change.gov

Florida, Arizona, and uh California!? ban same sex marriage

What a shocking disappointment. The numbers look too far gone. California has decided to actually change the state constitution to ban gay marriage. Shouldn’t we be focusing on more important things?

Florida and Arizona also voted to ban same sex marriage, and the state of Arkansas voted to stop homosexuals from adopting children.

Update, 11/5/08: The same sex marriages that have already been established in the state of California will most likely still be valid and legal because they took place during a time in which they were legal.

But, a San Francisco Attorney plans to take the case to the state Supreme Court in hopes of overturning the decision as unconsitutional.

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