Turn it off

I truly believe that government officials should forfeit their private social media accounts when in office.  Not only does this new method of communication give government lawyers headaches, but in many cases we are entering a phase where government organizations are now risking their legal and ethical obligations with their participation on social media platforms.  Undoubtedly, President Trump is a prime example.  According to the PRA, the president's tweets are now official presidential records.  Which in consideration to outsider’s perspectives, is both laughable and damaging to the image that the United States represents and the overall integrity of our country.  We also get into a fair share of legal matters when entering the world of social media.  For example, the inactivation of Donald Trump’s twitter last November brought forth the question whether twitter should face repercussions for an attack against the government?  Another example would be in the state of Arizona, where a constituent sued her representative after being blocked on facebook.  Was such an act a violation to the right to free speech?

Maybe the government should reconsider the use of private social media accounts by higher ranked government officials.  Not only do people of such authority compel individuals by spreading their own agenda, but they also destroy our image of professionalism in the U.S. government.  This easy engagement of social media brings disproportions to the values of words, thoughts, and agendas of our nations elected officials.  Elected officials should feel ethically obliged in avoiding social media platforms during the duration of their terms.

Andrew McCabe

In light of KyungMin Ko original post,

Andrew McCabe was charged with three violations of the bureaus ethics code.  Which include "the lack of candor when under oath, the lack of candor when not under oath, and the improper disclosure of non-public information to the media of about the Clinton investigation"  As Kyung Min Ko mentions, termination is in fact appropriate for these allegations, however the way the entire ideal played out was completely unethical.  The firing Andrew McCabe one day before his retirement was done out of pure spitefulness for his position in the Clinton investigations, and Donald Trump's public remarks on the matter posted via twitter show signs of an angry and bitter man.  Through the eyes of the American people, McCabe was a guilty man, but action for this should of come MUCH sooner, not the day before his retirement.  This is a prime example of how cruel politics can be.

Our government should provide more incentives for future innovations

I believe that Intelligence has the potential to be the most rewarding investment in today’s society. With computers, humans have reached a point where both hardware and software development have converged into two categories.  Technology that is produced for extracurricular activities and technology designed more for the needs of businesses.  The recreational side is a trophy to human intelligence.  It connects our world by bringing family and friends together.  However, future development looks to solve a problem that no longer exists.  As a side effect, our current generation grows underdeveloped, unmotivated, and unable to produce innovations that benefit the world around them.  This has grown to be accepted in education and is compounded by companies who capitalize on human inefficiency.  With discipline, human intelligence can fulfill their ethical obligations, making a smarter and more efficient world.  

Our government would seem to have the biggest role to play on this issue.  With the further simplification of technology, our educational system needs to be further simplified and rewarded as such.  We should provide more incentives for those aiming to offer constructive innovations to our society by lowering tuition costs and provide funding for instituting well thought out  and more practical degree programs more centralized around  certain fields.  Along with education, our government needs to do a better job of recognizing and financially supporting current underfunded research.  Some prime examples would be The Leviating Dipole Experiment at MIT, The Homer Machine at the University of Wisconsin, and the Thomas Jarbe CT Fusion group at The University of Washington.  All of which lay way for the future benefits of Nuclear Fusion, whom without future government funding will cease to exist.

Journalism in South Africa could be dangerous for the US

Nina Mast posted an article titled Far-right activists are teaming up with white supremacists to exploit South African politics for the blog Media Matters for America.  Where she criticizes the active journalism taken place in South Africa, which currently is trying to gain sympathy for the white minority.  Nina goes on to expose the two Far-right activists, making clear that their ideologies on the matter are much deeper and more cynical than just "equality."  Both Katie Hopkins and Lauren Southern represent an unethical side of journalism that replaces theatrical drama with actual facts.

Even though Katie Hopkins' and Lauren Sothern's take on journalism does not deserve recognition from any forms of media, it is important to have an idea of how South Africa has been struggling with much more than just racial tensions for the last few decades.  For example, Nina fails to mention that the economical collapse of  Zimbabwe was caused by much more than black and white entitlement or racial issues.  It was a repercussion of the Congo War, the HIV / AID epidemic, and inexperienced farmers inability to capitalize on newly distributed land.

I believe this type of journalism, due to its content and unprofessionalism, can be extremely dangerous here in the US.  Some of these "far-right trolls" stand to be the greatest hidden threat in society.  They have been waiting patiently to come out, and articles like this give them an incentive to make their presence known.   With the left continuing to push on certain issues, and the far right encouraging their behavior with journalism like this.  We find ourselves getting closer and closer to see how real neo-nazis actually think & reason things, which to me at least, is very very frightening.

Socialism isn't for everyone

Alex Berezow is a PhD microbiologist and member of USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors.  He made a post this week talking about CNN's remarks about MLK, who suggested he was a 'socialist before it was cool'.


The guy really took this to heart.  He talks about how his grandparents grew up in the USSR during the times of Stalin, and the misinterpretation of how socialism and communism are two different ideas.  Suggesting that ' It is impossible to separate socialism from communism because the former (an economic system) inevitably leads to the latter (a sociopolitical system) '

What I found most interesting was the part where he talked about how people are well informed on Hitler's Fascist Nazi movement, but unaware of the atrocities caused by Stalin of Russia, and Mao of China.  Who combined killed hundreds of millions of people after falling off the path of ethical socialism, turning into an overall dictatorship.   None of which is taught in our school systems.  He emphasizes that human nature is the main reason why socialism will never work.  One example would be what is currently going on in Venezuala, which was once a 'socialist utopia' and is now facing implemented tyranny, causing many civilians to flee to other countries.  In Alex' words the reason for this is 'That is how socialism works.  Thats how it always works.'

It's easy to see that Alex is targeting right-wing conservatives who are uncomfortable with change, and afraid of current socialist ideas. Suggesting to them that the repercussion of them will be mass genocide.  However, this isn't entirely true.  Alex fails to mention the prosperous countries that have benefited of socialism like Finland, the Netherlands, and Sweden.  But it should be noted that these countries are far different than the United States, and a road to socialism here would most likely go astray even on good intentions.  Due to the contribution of the United States to the rest of the world, there is much more room for greed, corruption, and power.

 Here's the link to the Article.  I should also mention that to comment section for this article is extremely toxic.
cnn thinks socialism cool my grandparents ussr would disagree

Cutting deals

Today reuters released an article about the most recent government shutdown.  Congress passed a new temporary spending deal that is expected to push the US budget deficits $1 trillion annually.  Not only were Republicans and Democrats at one another throats during the voting this morning, but Trump has already taken to social media to emphasize that the reason for it was because of the lack of "more Republicans in Congress..."  Although Republicans seems happy with the $165 billion in military boost the deal allows over the next two years, many others are upset with the $131 billion going to non-military related spending. 

Overall, I found this article both humorous and informative.  It makes clear the lee way that political parties must make to operate a functioning government, and it also makes evident that both Democrats and Republicans are getting torn further and further against one another.  I found the quote that one Republican said towards the Democrats that were still waiting to vote honestly funny. 

Hi.