Ideals

Do I have a plan for the day? Not yet. But I’ve only had one cup of coffee so far, so the status of plans can change at any time. It’s not that I don’t have plenty of tasks to choose from; I have more than enough, thank you very much!

I found it to be an interesting news day. And one of the first things that caught my eye was an article about the new citizenship test that will soon be administered to those aspiring to become “Good Americans”. The test will focus on American ideals and no longer on historical facts. Abandoning history makes sense; Americans hate history! But ideals? Aren’t ideals those things that we can only aspire to? Aren’t they, by definition, unattainable? But I suppose any test is better than none at all. As for me, I would rather see them have to pass a spelling test.

And this one; Nuclear Deal With India Wins Senate Backing
“The vote expressed that a goal of nurturing India as an ally outweighed concerns over the risks of spreading nuclear know-how and bomb-making materials… By a vote of 85 to 12, senators agreed to a program that would allow the United States to send nuclear fuel and technology to India, which has refused to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. ”

Let’s see…today India is an ally. Tomorrow? For a good example of how fast things can change. Bush arrives in Vietnam for trade talks
“President Bush flew to Hanoi this morning after a one-day stop in Singapore, where he warned North Korea not to spread its nuclear technology to nations or terrorist groups, and said the United States' partners in the region needed to recognize the threat that Pyongyang posed.”

Would you have believed that headline 20 years ago? 40 years? It’s all about the power of the dollar.

And something I heard on the radio; eligible voter turnout in California for the past election was right around 40%. So 4 out of 10 of us get to decide everything. Cool!

And one more… Rice: U.S. Concerned About Rising China
“The United States has some concerns about a rising China, including a military expansion that may be excessive, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday.”

Would this have anything to do with the fact that China owns most of the American debt? But no, that hasn’t been a concern of this administration.