Salvete.
ISIS. ISIS ISIS ISIS. This is a fun one to talk about.
For one, ISIS is not a political entity that we have seen in the past century. Let me explain. Since 1900, I'd say a good ninety percent of countries have been formed out of peace. WWI is over; let's create Estonia. We need to establish peace in a region; let's create South Sudan. Many were created and then thrust headfirst into war, such as Israel and potentially like nations such as North Korea and South Sudan. All of these examples had clear support, and powerful nations like the United States or the Soviet Union were able to pave the way to a region's own sovereignty.
ISIS, however, had no direct help, nor did it request any. It was formed because a terrorist group wanted power for its fanatic beliefs, got a few weapons, and carved out their own territory. It was born directly through war, it was bred for war, and it will likely die from war. ISIS has a stable economy, controlled territory, a set of trade networks, and a compatible system of government, so it would seem like a country. The world hasn't seen this kind of aggression since the Korean or Vietnam Wars, perhaps since the dawn of WWII. Thus, no traditional nation on Earth today knows how to handle it. No one can recognize ISIS's sovereignty since ISIS and the rest of the world have no respect for each other, and they regard each other as evil incarnate.
Personally, a nation that is to war what America is to liberty should be dealt with in kind. If ISIS is allowed to live, the entire Middle East and former caliphate would be thrown into a diplomatic frenzy; Iraq, Syria, and Libya would no longer have control of their own nations and would have to put up with this "non-state." Some nations would want to (and currently do) make trade agreements with ISIS for the oil that they control. ISIS would be, for all practical purposes, a nation, just like Jordan or Turkey. The only difference is that ISIS would try to seize its neighbors like a power-hungry Germany before WWII. The economic and diplomatic flurries would never end. Destroy them now, if only to save the diplomatic hassle later.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Lent Post: Guys, I Think NBC Is Dying
Salvete.
Yes, it is the day before Lent starts, but I might as well get started.
When I watched the Superbowl, I was looking forward to all the new Superbowl commercials. In the most recent Superbowls, good commercials were few and far between, but perhaps this year would be different. While there were several good commercials, I found a surprising number of NBC commercials for NBC shows- on the NBC football channel. I had heard on The Blaze that NBC was running out of profitable enterprises and thus could potentially go out of business, but I didn't realize the gravity of that statement. When I saw the endless ads for The Blacklist, however, I came to grips with reality: NBC is desperate for views. Whether The Blaze made a self-fulfilling prophecy or whether NBC just didn't make as much profit this year, it didn't seem to matter.
Let me explain. If I were a media company (say, PNC, the Plaustrum News Company) in charge of filming the Superbowl, I would have a good chunk of time to use as needed. If my shows were doing successful, I would use the time and sell it to large companies, gain millions of dollars in revenue, and help fund the already-popular shows. Had I used the time to promote the shows to the masses, it would have meant lost opportunity and lost revenue. If my shows were doing poorly, however, and my company was thus going out of business, I would use the Superbowl to promote my own company. I would have to sacrifice an enormous short-term benefit to stay afloat in the long run. Given the context, it seems like NBC is in the latter position.
It could've been an overreaction. An anomaly, albeit the Superbowl, was possible. The SNL forty-year reunion, however, helped to confirm the theory. NBC poured its heart and soul into the anniversary, inviting all the big stars from the show and having a whole hour-long red carpet with about a three-hour-long episode. It... wasn't funny. Sure, the Jeopardy sketch was ok, but the Californians sketch went on for far too long, and shortly after my family and I turned off the television to go to bed and do other things. I think that the anniversary special was part of NBC's last stand; SNL was NBC's flagship program, and even it failed. Why else would NBC celebrate the 40th anniversary as the must-see event rather than save the grandeur for the 50th?
It's tragic to see such a large corporation plead for help, but it could be possible that NBC will take its last breaths in a few years. Or it could get bailed out like all the other corporations this day and age. What a time we live in.
Yes, it is the day before Lent starts, but I might as well get started.
When I watched the Superbowl, I was looking forward to all the new Superbowl commercials. In the most recent Superbowls, good commercials were few and far between, but perhaps this year would be different. While there were several good commercials, I found a surprising number of NBC commercials for NBC shows- on the NBC football channel. I had heard on The Blaze that NBC was running out of profitable enterprises and thus could potentially go out of business, but I didn't realize the gravity of that statement. When I saw the endless ads for The Blacklist, however, I came to grips with reality: NBC is desperate for views. Whether The Blaze made a self-fulfilling prophecy or whether NBC just didn't make as much profit this year, it didn't seem to matter.
Let me explain. If I were a media company (say, PNC, the Plaustrum News Company) in charge of filming the Superbowl, I would have a good chunk of time to use as needed. If my shows were doing successful, I would use the time and sell it to large companies, gain millions of dollars in revenue, and help fund the already-popular shows. Had I used the time to promote the shows to the masses, it would have meant lost opportunity and lost revenue. If my shows were doing poorly, however, and my company was thus going out of business, I would use the Superbowl to promote my own company. I would have to sacrifice an enormous short-term benefit to stay afloat in the long run. Given the context, it seems like NBC is in the latter position.
It could've been an overreaction. An anomaly, albeit the Superbowl, was possible. The SNL forty-year reunion, however, helped to confirm the theory. NBC poured its heart and soul into the anniversary, inviting all the big stars from the show and having a whole hour-long red carpet with about a three-hour-long episode. It... wasn't funny. Sure, the Jeopardy sketch was ok, but the Californians sketch went on for far too long, and shortly after my family and I turned off the television to go to bed and do other things. I think that the anniversary special was part of NBC's last stand; SNL was NBC's flagship program, and even it failed. Why else would NBC celebrate the 40th anniversary as the must-see event rather than save the grandeur for the 50th?
It's tragic to see such a large corporation plead for help, but it could be possible that NBC will take its last breaths in a few years. Or it could get bailed out like all the other corporations this day and age. What a time we live in.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
2015: Analogies and Hopes
Salvete. It is the dawn of 2015. The legislative branch is now fully in the hands of Republican leadership, yet California remains a Democratic hellhole for another two years. The country has just gone through a phase of anti-police sentiment. I've been growing a beard. After skipping most of November and all of December, I sit down to finish working on the promised 100th post.
Now, it's both a 2015 post and an important milestone, so a double feature is in order. First, what I've been planning for a while:
I came up with a few political analogies; I hope that they will be useful in explaining conservative positions and in arguments.
The Palestinian-Israeli crisis is like two brothers who shared a home, who for the sake of this analogy we will call Joseph and Levi. They both lived peacefully with one another, and they both owned half of the house. Levi is wrongly convicted of murder and is dragged away to prison, presumably to spend his life there. Joseph, seeing as his brother has not returned for years, raises a family and takes his brother's half of the house for his descendants. Meanwhile, Levi can't think of anything but home, and leaves the prison years later due to his good conduct. He comes home a changed man but finds that not only has his brother failed to keep his half of the house ready for his arrival but that his brother has taken over his half of the house. Joseph and Levi both erupt in a fury over who deserves the house; sharing is no longer an option. Joseph's neighbors almost unanimously side with him, while the mayor of the town and the legal offices side with Levi. In name, Levi owns the house, but Joseph defends his claim to the death.
Saying that guns or video games are the only contributing factor is like saying that cacao and sugar are the only contributing factors to a chocolate cake. Sure, there could be a lot of both ingredients, and it wouldn't be a chocolate cake without either of those two ingredients, but there are far more factors involved. Besides, each of those ingredients are useful for many other recipes; eliminating sugar and cacao altogether would have tremendous consequences outside of simply stopping chocolate cakes from being made.
The topic of illegal immigration is like watching people cut in line at the DMV. You don't hate the guy who cuts in line, but you'd wish that the DMV security would do something about it, especially considering all the people who have to wait to get in line.
To say that "education is a right, not a privilege" is like saying that a customer has the right to take an apple from a store. Yes, the customer (store manager willing) has the right to purchase the apple, but the store owner simply cannot hand the apple over to the customer. No matter how desperately the customer wants or needs the apple, it would be simply foolish to assume that the customer has a right to take the apple from the store without purchase. Education is an investment, a product; it is not a right. That said, people have the right to educate themselves, just like a customer can purchase seeds and grow his/her own apples.
Those are the analogies that I've put aside for about a year. Now, for my hopes and blessings for 2015:
To the Republican Party: May you accept change from the outside while still holding your core values. May you put the legislative to good use, and may you find strength to challenge the executive. May you find unity in a single, virtuous candidate and cease your division for the better.
To the Democrat Party: May you judge your presidential candidate neither by gender nor by race but by quality. May you learn to see the Republican perspective, and may you flourish on a more honorable platform.
To the Peace and Freedom Party: May you go away and never bother us again.
To America: May you have the courage to face Russia head-on in this upcoming debacle. May you set yourself as the immovable hegemony that you once seemed to be. May you never lose sight of your ultimate goal: to be a beacon of liberty, both within your borders and without.
To California: May you look beyond squabbles over water and focus on the true state of the system of California. May you see the sense in the Six Californias project. May your leaders have more wisdom than any previous California legislature (that's not saying much; you can do it).
To the American citizen: May you treat each other with decency and honor. May you learn more about politics and act accordingly. May you think deeply before protesting, and may you see more of the bigger picture.
And to myself: May I have the strength to do another 100 more of these posts over the course 2015 without taking month-long breaks. Happy New Year.
Now, it's both a 2015 post and an important milestone, so a double feature is in order. First, what I've been planning for a while:
I came up with a few political analogies; I hope that they will be useful in explaining conservative positions and in arguments.
The Palestinian-Israeli crisis is like two brothers who shared a home, who for the sake of this analogy we will call Joseph and Levi. They both lived peacefully with one another, and they both owned half of the house. Levi is wrongly convicted of murder and is dragged away to prison, presumably to spend his life there. Joseph, seeing as his brother has not returned for years, raises a family and takes his brother's half of the house for his descendants. Meanwhile, Levi can't think of anything but home, and leaves the prison years later due to his good conduct. He comes home a changed man but finds that not only has his brother failed to keep his half of the house ready for his arrival but that his brother has taken over his half of the house. Joseph and Levi both erupt in a fury over who deserves the house; sharing is no longer an option. Joseph's neighbors almost unanimously side with him, while the mayor of the town and the legal offices side with Levi. In name, Levi owns the house, but Joseph defends his claim to the death.
Saying that guns or video games are the only contributing factor is like saying that cacao and sugar are the only contributing factors to a chocolate cake. Sure, there could be a lot of both ingredients, and it wouldn't be a chocolate cake without either of those two ingredients, but there are far more factors involved. Besides, each of those ingredients are useful for many other recipes; eliminating sugar and cacao altogether would have tremendous consequences outside of simply stopping chocolate cakes from being made.
The topic of illegal immigration is like watching people cut in line at the DMV. You don't hate the guy who cuts in line, but you'd wish that the DMV security would do something about it, especially considering all the people who have to wait to get in line.
To say that "education is a right, not a privilege" is like saying that a customer has the right to take an apple from a store. Yes, the customer (store manager willing) has the right to purchase the apple, but the store owner simply cannot hand the apple over to the customer. No matter how desperately the customer wants or needs the apple, it would be simply foolish to assume that the customer has a right to take the apple from the store without purchase. Education is an investment, a product; it is not a right. That said, people have the right to educate themselves, just like a customer can purchase seeds and grow his/her own apples.
Those are the analogies that I've put aside for about a year. Now, for my hopes and blessings for 2015:
To the Republican Party: May you accept change from the outside while still holding your core values. May you put the legislative to good use, and may you find strength to challenge the executive. May you find unity in a single, virtuous candidate and cease your division for the better.
To the Democrat Party: May you judge your presidential candidate neither by gender nor by race but by quality. May you learn to see the Republican perspective, and may you flourish on a more honorable platform.
To the Peace and Freedom Party: May you go away and never bother us again.
To America: May you have the courage to face Russia head-on in this upcoming debacle. May you set yourself as the immovable hegemony that you once seemed to be. May you never lose sight of your ultimate goal: to be a beacon of liberty, both within your borders and without.
To California: May you look beyond squabbles over water and focus on the true state of the system of California. May you see the sense in the Six Californias project. May your leaders have more wisdom than any previous California legislature (that's not saying much; you can do it).
To the American citizen: May you treat each other with decency and honor. May you learn more about politics and act accordingly. May you think deeply before protesting, and may you see more of the bigger picture.
And to myself: May I have the strength to do another 100 more of these posts over the course 2015 without taking month-long breaks. Happy New Year.
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