The Daily Gist: With Ben Istiphan

Republican Senator Arlen Specter has defected to the Democratic Party. The move isn’t a real surprise, coming from a moderate Republican who was growing very weary of the direction that his party was taking. Not only does this solidify the strength of the Democrats, but it will also mark the milestone known as “60″. 60 seats for the Dems in the Senate simply equates to their stranglehold over the Republicans. If they had the willingness, the Democrats can pass far-left legislation if they wanted to, because the opposition would not be able to filibuster or delay a bill.

On the other hand, Specter’s decision to join the Democrats may have little influence in the creation of progressive reforms. For example, Specter has already stated his opposition towards the Employee Free Choice Act. Maybe he simply feels the need to associate himself with a winner, because these days, being branded a Republican won’t get you anywhere.  

It has now been 100 days since Barack Obama was sworn in as the President of the United States. I would say that there has been modest progress, but definitely nothing to brag about.  So far policy and law has been limited. The stimulus plan may create millions of new jobs, yet hard working Americans are losing their current jobs at a high frequency, while the bankers and Wall Street continue to see their undeserved bonuses grow. Obama has vowed to shut down Guantanamo, yet extraordinary rendition and torture continue to be cited.

Maybe substance hasn’t changed much since the Bush Administration, but at least a new image has been painted. The international community has found some hope in America again. Finally the rest of the world can deal with a government that is somewhat courteous and mature, unlike Bush and his fifth grade mentality. America is talking and listening to others, and it only took 100 days.

Ever since 9/11, the city of New York has developed a phobia for commercial airplanes. On Monday morning, a Jumbo jet was spotted above the Manhattan skyline which promoted many to evacuate high rise buildings in fear of another terrorist attack. Turns out it was only Air Force One performing a photo op as it flew alongside the Statue of Liberty. Although there is a legitimate cause for concern, the people of New York should not be overwhelmed with a sense of paranoia. Another terrorist attack on American soil is quite possibly imminent, but it is difficult to fathom an exact plot taking place once again in New York.

Let us take the perspective of the terrorist. If terrorism was an art, then you would get what I mean. Artists are original, they yearn to experiment and diversify with their work. Their objective is to mesmerize their audience when they least suspect it. They are unpredictable and they always have everyone guessing. The success of an artist is measured by the unique contrast between their previous and recent works. They might be crazy cowards, but let’s not underestimate their creativity.

The country of Iceland made international headlines after the leftist coalition captured power in the general election. Now even I will acknowledge that Iceland is a petty entity in the abroad international community, with a population of just over 300,000 and a global appreciation that stems from a hockey movie staring Emilio Estevez. However, historically, this is a drastic turn of events in Iceland, considering that the right-wing party had previously controlled parliament for 70 years. Maybe this tiny Island is a microcosm of what is to come internationally in the near future; the rejection of unregulated free-markets for more socially responsible governments.        

I was dumbfounded when I discovered that George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are coming to Toronto on May 29th. They have been invited to speak at a high-class gathering on the events of the past 16 years. Now clearly this isn’t one of those opportunities provided by Ticketmaster, but just because we can’t afford to get in, doesn’t mean we can’t partake in the festivities. I can just imagine the pandemonium outside the event location, chants of “war criminal” and signs reading “war monger”, while Bush and Clinton impersonators display their homosexual tendencies with each other.  This is one event that I can’t afford to miss.

So today marks the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing. It’s quite interesting that there is a growing concern towards right wing home bred terrorism in America today. It is important to note that Timothy McVeigh isn’t your typical psychopath, like the serial killers and school shooters of the past. I’m sure he had some psychological problems, but McVeigh also had a cause, one that was political and antagonistic towards his government. He was an American version of Osama Bin Laden, minus the religious extremism. Nonetheless, his image and actions seem to no longer linger in the media, as if he has no influence. However, there are numerous gun loving, government hating Americans who view today’s economic downturn as an opportunity to continue along McVeigh’s path. There is an immenient threat at home, yet the onus is still on a Suadi living in a romote cave.

 Now was that so hard?

So they greeted each other warmly, then they proceeded to chuckle and smile for a bit. This is just a brief description of what took place when Barack Obama and Hugo Chavez confronted each other during this year’s Summit of the Americas. Many on the right claim that Obama acted “irresponsibly” by partaking in a light-hearted conversation with the enemy. However, as malevolent as they claim Chavez to be, clearly he has a benevolent side, as he demonstrated at the summit when he presented President Obama with a gift.

A book on U.S. imperialism and colonialism in Latin America, what better way to rekindle relations? Now something tells me that Obama won’t make it past the cover, let alone the first page. The right-wing will pounce all over this and will ridicule Obama for simply reading a book, a crime in which the former President successfully avoided on numerous occasions.

It looks like the Liberals are well ahead of the Conservatives in the latest polls. So what does this all equate to? More Canadians are losing faith in Stephen Harper and the Conservatives party, yet many don’t want another election. I understand that we voted just last October, but regardless of the frequency of elections, there is always someone complaining. Sometimes I think that many individuals are simply apathetic towards the democratic process. Nonetheless, this looks like the beginning of the end for Mr. Harper. Face it, to be labeled a conservative during these perilous times when deregulation has come under scrutiny and when government intervention has been advocated, it will only lead to one’s demise.

Al Qaeda is no longer enemy number one. It turns out that the biggest threat to the international community is piracy. Previously, a pirate was simply a figment of a child’s imagination on Halloween night, but now we must accept that piracy is just as prevalent now as it was during the time when Long John Silver was at sea. Although this time around, most of them happen to be from Somalia.

Another threat to American security, but once again, the threat is seen as inherent, as if once again the enemy’s actions are purely fueled by their hatred towards “the land of the free”.  So when anyone states that piracy is a retaliation to the fact that western ships are dumping toxic waste, thus depleting the fish population, which is key to the livelihood of the Somali people and the economy, don’t listen to them because they are irrational freedom-haters

I promised myself that I would never dedicate an entire blog to this woman, but I’m making an exception. The woman I’m referring to is Britney Spears, who performed in Vancouver last week in front of a sold out and very stoned audience. In fact, the arena was so congested in smoke that a few members of Brintney’s dance team were too nauseous to perform. As a result, the concert was put to a halt, while an announcement was made in which the audience was asked to stop smoking. Thirty minutes later, the concert commenced once again.

I realize that we are talking about B.C., but nonetheless, it’s hard to fathom that Britney has such a large stoner following. As Brintey parted and waved farewell to her beloved fans, she gave the Vancouver crowd some advice. “Stop smoking weed,” she said,  which is quite ironic coming from from a pill-popping, hit and run single mother. However, maybe we should take her advice seriously, because come on now, a few years ago her words of wisdom dramatically gave hope to the entire world when she said, ” I think we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes and we should just support that.”