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Name: NAlcoba
Location: Lake Forest Park, WA
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Podium of the President Elect

Posted by NAlcoba on Tuesday, December 02, 2008 2:13:25 PM
So, when Obama takes office in January 2009, what will happen to all those nifty knick knacks that say "Office of the President-Elect"?  Will they go on eBay?  Will there be lapel pins that say "Lapel Pin of the President Elect"?  Maybe a "coffee mug of the president-elect"?  How about a zippo lighter of the president elect?
 
I think that the Obama loyalists obsession with this temporary title 'President-elect' (which they trip over themselves to utter at least three times in every sentence) presents all entrepeneurs with an opportunity to cash in.  Just make sure the receipts are authentic, with that "receipt from the president-elect" seal on them.
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What's MOVEON.ORG gonna do now?

Posted by NAlcoba on Monday, November 24, 2008 3:59:59 PM
All the early indications point to Obama moving to the center when it comes to the war on terror.  Contrary to his campaign promises concerning Iraq, it doesn't look like he will be withdrawing troops there.  If he does take troops out, it will only be to move them to Afghanistan.  His choice of the more hawkish Hillary Clinton as he Secretary of State underscores this.
 
He'll be treating the Iraq war as if it were Bush's third term!
 
Well, if that happens--will we still see anti-war protests?  Will they call Obama Hitler for CONTINUING such a unilateral and unjust war?  Will we get the ominous news coverage of the next body count milestone, or that this (whatever current month) is the bloodiest month since (arbitrary month or year)?  Will we hear militant bloggers decry the BILLIONS of dollars we're spending ont this illegal war?
 
I won't hold my breath.  Wars are only EVIL if a republican is in the white house.
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Trickle Up Economics

Posted by NAlcoba on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 1:56:10 PM
Throughout the Obama campaign, we kept hearing how the economy needs to be grown "from the bottom up".  As with most of his bumper sticker talking points, it's something that sounds good, but in reality is illogical.  What do you expect from a ticket comprised of two lawyers with zero business sense between them?
 
Reagan's 'trickle down economics' is, to the left, political blasphemy.  History proved trickle down economics worked, and works--but the left will say the opposite ("Trickle down economics didn't work under Reagan did it?").  They then bring up the deficit of the 80's as proof (without mentioning it was the out of control spending by Tip O'Neill's democrat led house!).  With this kind of economically illiterate mindset, of course they fully embrace Obama's 'trickle up economic theory'...well, that and their religious devotion to him, making anything he says canon law.
 
In an obliquely related story, Zogby polled Obama voters to discover that a big majority of them weren't sufficiently informed about their candidate--and were quick to believe falsehoods about Palin.  No one should be surprised by this display of intellectual swiss cheese on the part of Obama's mindless faithful.
 
Of course they'd believe an economically stupid theory.  As much as they believe the lie about Palin saying she could see Russia from her house (which was never uttered by Palin, but by her less attractive impostor Tina Fey), they believe that charisma and electrifying oratory are all the financial expertise one needs to helm the world's LARGEST economy.
 
Maybe we should put trickle up economics to the test.  Go to a homeless guy and ask him for a job...or at least ask him if he can spare a dollar.  It would be science's shortest experiment.
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Lessons from a Dictator

Posted by NAlcoba on Monday, November 17, 2008 3:31:38 PM
The meteoric rise and populist wave that brought Obama to power reminds me of another similar figure in my political past.
 
First off, for those of you who don't know me, I'm a diplomat brat from the Philippines that now calls Seattle Washington home.  Back in the 70's and 80's in the Philippines, we had our own political turmoil in the form of a self-appointed-president for life.  His name might not ring a bell right away, but his wife's 3000 pairs of shoes probably will.  I'm talking about President Ferdinand Marcos (and whenever mentioning Marcos, you get his wife Imelda in the mix too).
 
He didn't become the iron-fisted dictator overnight.  He started out, innocently enough, as a young and charismatic politician with oratory skills to rival Cicero.  He was a talented lawyer and a brilliant debater.  In a time of economic upheaval in the 60's, he was the natural choice to head the country's Liberal Party.  He exuded youth, dynamism, and offered a message of hope and change.  His nickname was "Boy Wonder".
 
He was elected in 1965 to the Presidency amidst a financial downturn, replacing an incumbent that represented the political status quo.  His inauguration speech was emotionally moving.  "The Filipino, it seems, has lost his soul...We have come upon a phase of our history when ideals are only a veneer for greed and power...We are in crisis. You know that the government treasury is empty. Only by severe self-denial will there be hope for recovery within the next year..."
 
Sound familiar?
 
He won re-election easily.  How could he not have?  He used his first term to take over the TV stations, radio, and news media, effectively turning them into his ministry of information.  It was all Marcos news all the time.  By this time too his cult of personality was in full swing (he was behind Obama by one term in this regard!).  There were religious groups devoted to him in the more obscure pockets of the archipelago.  He was not just the president; he was a father figure, a healer, the benevolent uncle.  His wife, the infamous Imelda eagerly took on the role of Mother.  His popularity among the faithful did not wane despite his administrations overspending and corruption that lead to inflation and a dramatic devaluation of the Philippine Peso.
 
To add insult to injury, the oil producing nations of the Middle East decided to cut production as a rebuke to the West taking Israel's side.  Philippine industry, dependent on oil, continued to decline as a direct result.  And if THAT weren't enough, the country was continuously battered by natural calamity in the form of typhoons and floods.  Marcos' cult of personality was not enough to stave off the dissatisfaction of his faithful citizens, and neither could it stop the growing anti-Marcos movement (mostly college radicals with their own ideas for 'change').
 
This led to Martial Law in 1972.  Marcos suspended the freedom of assembly, instilled a curfew, and prohibited citizens from carrying and owning firearms.  By 1976 he transformed the house and senate into a Parliament, and declared himself Prime Minister.  Oh, he was still president...but now he had legislative powers as well as executive. 
 
Of course, he was a benevolent Godfather.  So in the spirit of a new era, and coming together, he created a new party that joined the two major parties in sweet harmony, (the Liberal Party and the Nacionalista Party) into the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (or "New Society Movement) better known as KBL.  Bi-partisanship is ALWAYS a good thing isn't it?  It means, if two parties don't agree, the way to bring them together is to make one party abandon its ways and serve the other party.  Everyone's happy.
 
Being the skilled politician that he was, he used the economic crisis as an excuse for MAJOR and very EXPENSIVE government reform, by taking over companies and utilities.  It wasn't a socialist country in name, but for all intents and purposes, the government owned the major corporations and ran all the utilities.  It wasn't socialist, but Marcos ran it as such, without spreading the wealth.
 
My advice, my fellow Americans: beware of charismatic politicians, that use economic uncertainty as a reason to bring on Bigger Government.  And watch those that enthusiastically praise said charismatic politicians as they take on the form of religious zealotry.
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