"Change has not come fast enough"

by Radu Triculescu 
All blog entries represent the views and opinions of the blog author, not of Youth Politix.

       Expectation ran high; no one expected a dull and uneventful speech, and the President did not disappoint. Most people anticipating this address knew exactly what they were waiting for: issues about money spending, from loans and medical care, to the fiscal policy of the entire country. On top of this of course, everyone expected President Obama to also provide some sort of flickering hope for liberals and democrats that he will not abandon his strive for reforming the United States’ health care system. Piling on top of these issues, viewers also expected Obama to somehow try to bring over supporters that he lost during his unexpectedly tough first year in office. 

This State of the Union, it seemed, was going to be a huge juggling act - and given the circus nature of Washington, the State of the Union was, in fact, nothing but a marvelous act of juggling. 

As expected, Obama touched on all the previously mentioned points, and many more. He spoke about the spending freeze that is to become effective next year, he spoke of repealing the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military, he emphasized the need for clean energy, and he spoke of his plans to bring home the troops from Iraq, as well as his persistence to not accept any health insurance bill that does not provide the appropriate reform. 

But despite these promising solutions to all the problems that Americans are facing, Obama also talked about the gridlock state of American politics today. He mentioned how Americans cannot afford bickering in Capitol. He mentioned how for some Americans, change did not come fast enough to save their drowning businesses. Finally, he admitted what most people already knew, that the change he promised in his campaign, was not delivered as fast as expected. 

Senate reacted to everything without hesitation. What is usually a chamber filled with debate, partisanship, and legislative matter, seemed to have turned for 70 minutes  into a giant political game of musical chairs, with more than half of the time democrats being the only ones clapping at the President’s proposals. This kind of behavior shows just how hard everything is going to be in the next year in certain aspects of politics, just as health care, energy, and fiscal policy. The political arena of the United States for the next year is set, and unfortunately, the tensions in Washington will not disperse. 

So I’m glad that up there, on that podium, you can afford to crack a couple of jokes Mr. President; it’s harder for some regular people to find good humor in times like these. Now lets try to get everything done. 

Hope in a Time of Destruction

By Kris Garriott
All blog entries represent the views and opinions of the blog author, not of Youth Politix.

Streets lined with sheet-covered bodies, buildings reduced to rubble, and countless people with nowhere to go. Such are the images that are coming out of Haiti in the aftermath of one of the biggest natural disasters in recent history. And so the troubled Caribbean island nation of 9 million people finds itself once again in the spotlight of the world stage. I am truly overwhelmed by the thought of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere having to overcome this challenge but feel incredibly moved and encouraged by the fact that the world is showing up at Haiti’s doorstep to lend a hand to this bleeding nation.

By many accounts the economic situation in Haiti was beginning to look up. Just the day before the earthquake hit, my family watched a PBS special about various enterprising businessmen who, despite facing challenges, seemed hopeful about what the near future would bring. Unfortunately, any progress that was made in the last ten years has now been erased and just to get Haiti back to its pre-earthquake status promises to be a massive undertaking.

As horrible as the crisis is, we shouldn’t overlook the world’s capacity to come together in this moment of despair. The US looks like it has taken the lead in relief efforts, installing a temporary air control center to manage the onslaught of planes trying to land on (and leave from) Port-au-Prince’s sole runway. Countries of all walks of life, from Canada to China and Venezuela to the European Union are eagerly stepping up to provide search-and-rescue teams, medical supplies, and money. Even Cuba is allowing American planes to use its airspace to evacuate quake victims directly to the US.

So don’t let people like Rush (“[The Obama Administration] will use this to burnish their, shall we say, ‘credibility’ with the black community—in the both light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country.  It's made-to-order for them.”) and Robertson (“And [the Haitians] got together and swore a pact to the Devil. They said we will serve you if you'll get us free from the French. True Story. And so the Devil said ‘OK, it's a deal.’”) get you down—the world is converging on Haiti, and even if it will only be a for a short time, it is proof that this diverse world will come together when most needed.

Obama's One Year Anniversary

By, Radu Triculescu 
All blog entries represent the views and opinions of the blog author, not of Youth Politix.

One year later, after the heat of one of the most brutal campaigns in history died off, seems to be the perfect time to analyze just how many of Obama’s ear-pleasing promises actually were followed up on, and how many he has broken. PolitiFact.com’s Obamameter is probably the best indicator of these promises. According to them, out of over 500 promises made, 91 have been kept, 12 have been broken, and 256 are in the works. 

            When it comes to promises made, some big ones jump out across the list, such as opening up access to more capital (easier access to loans) for businesses owned by minorities, establishing a credit card bill of rights, planning an end to the war in Iraq, and the providing of affordable child care, among many other ones. Promises broken, on the other hand, while less, are still resounding. Among these we can see his promise to publicly debate the Health Care Reform was broken, as well as his tax cut for seniors making less than $50,000, and increasing the funds for after-school programs around the country. 

            The upcoming years of his presidency however do not show any indication of slowing down. At this rate, we can probably expect that Obama, with the support of Congress, can most likely achieve close to two thirds of the promises he vehemently pushed during his campaign. No, it might not be a perfect game, but hey, when is a politician ever perfect? Plans to include environmental standards in trade agreements, requirements for justifications for tax changes, extend Bush’s tax cuts for lower incomes, and the funding of the Violence Against Women Act, are just some of the many plans that are already in the process. 

            Obama’s presidency, while widely criticized by many, is not as bad as some think. Although he may not be the ideal person that everyone made him to be during the elections, he is not failing his country as a president either. With the same determination that he has pushed so far, I hope he will push for the remaining 3 years, hopefully keeping his remaining promises, and breaking as few as possible. The promises got you elected Mr. President, don’t stop fulfilling them. 

Fighting for freedom in the midst of oppression

by, Radu Triculescu

All blog entries represent the views and opinions of the blog author, not of Youth Politix.

In June of 2009 incumbent Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defeated three opponents—most notably Mir-Hossein Mousavi—in Iran’s presidential elections, elections that the whole world was watching. When the polling closed however, and Ahmadinejad was declared the winner, riots erupted as accusations of election fraud grew louder and louder. Some reports stated that the total number of people protesting in Iran against Ahmadinejad could have been as high as 3 million, with thousands more protesting in front of embassies worldwide in London, Paris, The Hague, Berlin, Rome and many more.

The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, has repeatedly stated that the elections were fair and regular, and that any protesters would be punished; regardless, protests are still taking place today, and all the while the government is declaring that everything is calm, regular, and completely under control, even though it does not take a rocket scientist to know it’s not. BBC websites have been shut off within the country, NBC offices in Tehran have been raided, and an ABC News reporter was arrested (and released)—all in efforts to censor and block the foreign flow of information. Eventually all foreign media was ejected from Iran, and suddenly for those of us in Europe, US, Latin America, or even Asia, all news about the Iranian protestors disappeared. Today those protests have not ceased, yet all we get in the news is maybe one minute of coverage a day.

Some news is finding its way out of Iran however, and we can get a glimpse of what is going on within the country: people are being arrested for no reason, some are tried for their protests, and even more are sentenced to jail time. Despite all this, demonstrations persist, and people take the risks of showing the world what they are going through.
My message to the government of Iran is: Stop it. We're not blind, and we're not stupid.
The world is aware of the oppressions and censorships that the Iranian government is doing, and everyone expects now for the day when the current government will fall to come; this not out of spite, or hatred, but simply because of history and facts. When an oppressed people rises up against the oppressor, they usually win. Eastern Europe proved this to us in fighting against communism in the autumn of 1989, France showed it during the Nazi occupation, and even Iran proved to the world in 1979 how an oppressive government can be overthrown. It is imminent.

Therefore, Ahmadinejad, Khamenei and all others in charge: stop it. You are only hurting yourselves and your country. The voices and actions of millions of people fighting for freedom is much louder than that of a government who takes away the very freedom these people fight for.

Updated: December 28th, 2009.

Mousavi's nephew, Seyed Ali Mousavi, was reported killed during the protests that took place in Tehran during the religious celebration of Ashura. Fortunately, media agencies are now focusing more time on the Iranian struggle, as clandestine information keeps pouring out of Iran.

Over 300 people are reported injured and as many as nine killed during clashes between opposition protestors and government forces.

Time to earn some change

By Kris Garriott

I think the first sentence of a CNN.com article posted yesterday adequately summed up the irony in President Obama’s trip to Oslo this week: “President Obama—fighting wars in two countries—will arrive in Norway Thursday to accept the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.”

Arriving on the heels of the long awaited announcement that the US will be sending an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, this awards ceremony gives the impression that had George Bush been president one year longer, he would in fact be the one receiving coveted medal. It certainly is an odd day in the world when someone who continues two wars from a previous administration and escalates one of them can be given an award for peace.

It’s understandable that the Nobel Prize Committee would want to bestow the honor upon Obama. When he was nominated to receive it he had just been inaugurated as the 44th president after heading a campaign marked by throngs of fervent supporters at home and in unprecedented amounts abroad. It was his calls for diplomacy in dealing with tense situations like nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea that piqued the international community’s interest in him. It also probably didn’t hurt to be the son of a Kenyan.

The point is that Obama possessed the power to unify and bring hope to citizens the world over and this point wasn’t lost on the Nobel Prize Committee. What was lost on them, however, was that after Obama laid out his plans for diplomacy, he also laid out his plans for Iraq and Afghanistan, in which he clearly stated that Afghanistan was the “war of necessity” and that his administration would focus its efforts there.

And he didn’t disappoint. We now find ourselves heading into the ninth year of occupying a country that by some estimates has only 100 al Qaeda operatives left in it, perpetuating the same mistake that Alexander the Great, the British, and the Soviets made before us with no end in sight save for a tentative July 2011 date to begin to withdraw. I love the guy but I don’t see how this passes for Peace Prize material.

That isn’t to say that I don’t think Obama has peace as his primary goal. On the contrary, I am quite confident that he has the best of intentions at heart, but the immense pressure he faces at home from the left and right seems to push him into taking a stance that places him somewhere in the middle of it all.

Hopefully this won’t prove to be his Iraq (or dare I say it, his Vietnam) but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. His words at the ceremony are a bit encouraging; Obama seems to readily accept the criticism of his winning, yet still thinks the Afghanistan war is justified but at the same time recognizes that his list of accomplishments is just beginning and by no means has he finished.

So now that he's accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, I’d like to echo the sentiments voiced by the protesters outside the awards venue: “Obama: You won it. Now earn it!”

20 Years Later: Any Progress?

by Radu Triculescu

It’s that time again, when a five year presidential cycle is nearing it’s end and a president needs to be elected. As always, the usual dirty politics and ruthless campaigning was not absent, but given the political environment that Romania has been facing, these elections promise to be of historic importance.
In the past year, Romanians have had a tough time. The economic downfall hit hard on every front of the economy, the Romanian national soccer team, a source of pride for Romanians, missed the World Cup once more, internal political scandals ravaged the country, and Romanians had to go to the polls for a referendum that has never before seen. So I would find it surprising if many of my compatriots would not sit at their desks, watching the news, or reading the news paper, and wonder: twenty years after the Romanian revolution; twenty years after many gave their lives for a communist free Romania, have we made any progress?

Morale and enthusiasm are at an all time low among the people. Just in May the referendum for impeachment of the current president, Traian Basescu, proved to us just how enthusiastic Romanians are about their politicians: only 44% of registered voters showed up to vote, and just this past November 22nd during the first round of presidential elections, voter turnout was just under 50%.
The second round of elections is scheduled to take place Sunday, December 6th, between incumbent president Traian Basescu and opposition leader Mircea Geoana. Even though these two candidates received the most votes out of the 12 candidates, that is not due to the fact that they are the best people for the job. The mentality of the elector is not to vote for the best politician, simply because it has been long (if ever) since Romania has seen a good honest politician take charge. To Romanians the choice of voting is a choice of the lesser of two evils.
The people of Romania must understand that the government was made to work for them. Voting has more power than one might think, and if the citizens organize together to demand change, the government will have no choice but to submit. No you cannot change everything over night, but slowly and surely, one can get rid of the incompetent politicians, and put in power those who will live up to their job description.