President Obama is Wrong On the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

“I’ve spent the last six and half years yanking this economy out of the worst recession since the Great Depression."

That's the opening salvo from President Obama in an attack on Senator Elizabeth Warren. During a recent interview taped with Hardball host Chris Matthews on MSNBC, Obama went into great detail about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The TPP is a massive trade agreement between twelve nations: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. Combined, this trade agreement would account for over 40% of the world's gross domestic product (GDP). As the agreement currently stands, it would drastically alter copyright and intellectual property law on a global scale. Essentially, the other eleven countries in the trade agreement would adopt the copyright and trademark policies of the United States, but then take those same laws to the next level of enforcement. This would directly influence the production of pharmaceuticals, automobiles, consumer goods, films and other forms of media. The drastic changes that would result from the TPP include:

• Internet Service Providers would be required to police their own networks and users for potential copyright infringement. There wouldn't even need to be clear evidence that a user had committed such infringement; the TPP only requires that three allegations be made. At that point, users can and will be restricted from accessing the internet through that ISP and shall be placed on a black list, which would be accessible to other ISP's. Without any sort of trial, a private person can be banned from accessing the internet from the comfort of their own home.
• Digital locks, which range from special frequencies in remotes to phone's being restricted to one particular cellular network, would be heavily bolstered. This means that copyright holders could legally shut down any form of competition to their product, without so much as a civil trial or investigation. This is particularly frightening, considering the company with the deepest pockets would win every time.
• Journalists and their sources for information would be at great risk should the TPP be enacted. They would be required to disclose private data about any whistle-blowers within a corporate institution, should that company feel their intellectual properties are being impeded upon or put at risk. The TPP is the ultimate silencer when it comes to keeping dirty corporate dealings private.
• The ability for private citizens to discuss and share their personal experiences about products or services through the Fair Use clause of US Copyright Law would be a sitting duck. The TPP would make it near impossible for any of us to comment on anything without being at risk for litigation from the holder of a copyright. Let's say you review your local Subway on Yelp and didn't like their service. If Subway reads your review and feels that it infringes upon their trademark because you mentioned them, then they can order for it to be removed. You can see where I'm going with this... big business could silence anyone for any reason.
• The TPP conveniently extends to nations where generic drugs are produced and sold to other nations, including the United States. This would mean that big pharmaceutical companies could legally restrict any country involved with the TPP from allowing the production of generic drugs that would compete with their own products.
• In cases where private consumers share various forms of media without the intent for commercial gain (transcribing an old book for others to read for free, creating a free voice dub translation for a foreign film, using a video to create a parody of it, etc.), that person could face stiff fines and lengthy jail time -- even if the copyright holder in question does not make a claim against the consumer!

As you can see, the TPP is nothing but a big push by the President and other politicians to secure profits for major corporations. When lobbyists practically own all the politicians in our government, this should be no surprise. Not only would the above-mentioned changes alter the digital landscape, but they would further increase the flow of jobs outside the United States and into nations where employment laws are extremely lenient. As if the outsourcing of jobs in this nation wasn't already exacerbated, the TPP would compound the problem to a level we've never seen before.

Obama, a fair majority of Democrats and nearly all of the Republicans in Washington are pushing for this agreement to go through. Warren, whom staunchly opposes the TPP, was called out by name during Obama's interview. He said...

"I love Elizabeth. We're allies on a whole host of issues. But she's wrong on this."

Warren has stated her concerns about the secrecy of the TPP time and time again. She's in the right on this issue -- the TPP's terms are not even public knowledge and are only available to select few. The document language of the TPP agreement is kept in private and delegates are forced to sign non-disclosure agreements. Essentially -- even if Obama did want to reveal information about the TPP to the American public (which he doesn't), by law he would not be able to. This is certainly a cause for alarm. Some of the TPP agreement has been leaked to the public, thanks to Wikileaks. You can (and should) read it here.

"And when you hear folks make a lot of suggestions about how bad this trade deal is... when you dig into the facts, they are wrong.”

We have dug into the facts, Mr. President. You're no different than the majority of political leaders that have come before you. Whomever has the biggest wallet has the biggest voice in Washington. The President clearly believes he alone helped to fix the economic mess left by the Bush Administration. He's obviously baffled by those, like Elizabeth Warren, whom would oppose his efforts to continue "fixing" our economy.

That's how I know he's wrong.

Would the Real Rand Paul Please Stand Up?

In the pursuit of being our next President, Rand Paul has practically flipped on every issue he once held a position on. Considering his obvious ties to the Tea Party and Libertarians in the United States, this should come off as troubling. Mind you, I don't count myself in either one of those camps, but I find the mysterious case of Rand's willfulness to appease everyone in the Republican Party to be interesting to say the least. Whereas he once promoted a marginally isolationist agenda in the vein of his father Ron, Rand has seemingly adapted to the modern Republican party -- one that supports big business, money in politics, war and all-around global imperialism.

If anything, Rand is a wonderfully blatant example of bending to the ideals of a political party to keep yourself in power.

So what exactly has Rand flip-flopped on? Let's cover a few key points.

• As recently as 2011, Rand wanted to completely sever all foreign aid to other countries. This included Israel, which has become a beacon of preservation for modern Christian conservatism. By 2014, Rand had gotten on the pro-Israel bandwagon and touted his unwavering support for them. It's amazing what a few years in Congress will do to a man's opinions. He's even gone as far as to explicitly enter bills into consideration that would specifically deny any aid to the Palestinians.
• Only last summer, Rand was clear in his objections to the United States becoming involved in any combat scenarios with the Islamic State, or ISIS. He still held to his non-interventionist ideals, saying that destroying ISIS would be ultimately a moot point. What purpose would it serve the American people? Lo and behold, he suddenly became pro-interventionist as soon as he entered the 2016 Presidential race. Now Rand comes at the situation with fury, saying that ISIS must be completely obliterated. He's in full support of drone airstrikes to cripple and ultimately eradicate the Islamic extremists.
• Rand's signature was on the letter recently drafted by Tom Cotton that was sent to Iran, in an effort to muddy the diplomatic efforts of the Obama administration to reach a nuclear anti-proliferation pact. He must have amnesia. In January, Rand was in full support of a diplomatic plan with Iran and wanted an open, non-partisan dialogue. I guess that message wasn't resonating well enough with the Republican base.
• Two years ago, Rand wanted to see undocumented residents in the United States begin a massive push to obtain legal status. He wanted immigrants to start the documentation and naturalization process without fear of being deported. Now, Rand has come at the immigration debate completely from the other side of the pond -- he deems undocumented immigrants as a massive security threat, which in no way should be granted any form of "amnesty."
• In just a span of twenty four hours in early February of this year, Rand flip-flopped on the vaccine debate. Between two interviews, he stated that vaccines have played a role in causing various debilitating conditions like Autism, only to follow it up with the notion that vaccines do not cause any conditions or disorders. I've heard of forgetful politicians, but to change your position in only a day? That's astoundingly dreadful.
• Rand led a famous 13-hour filibuster in early 2013, of which one of the points he spoke about was the use of drones. He made it clear that drones should not be used on American citizens, stating "I will speak as long as it takes, until the alarm is sounded from coast to coast that our Constitution is important, that your rights to trial by jury are precious, that no American should be killed by a drone on American soil without first being charged with a crime, without first being found to be guilty by a court." A month later, Rand had changed his tune. He said the following on the Fox Business Network: "I've never argued against any technology being used when you have an imminent threat, an active crime going on. If someone comes out of a liquor store with a weapon and fifty dollars in cash, I don’t care if a drone kills him or a policeman kills him." It seems the importance of the Constitution and the right to due process was only temporary to Rand.

The peculiar case of Rand Paul is both disappointing and insightful. While I never agreed with his agenda, I at the very least initially appreciated Rand's ability to be an independent politician. Ultimately, like most other politicians, he ran up the white flag and surrendered to party politics. There's a clear difference between changing your mind as new information becomes available (which is important to making sound decisions) and blatantly pandering to the voting base. As far as I'm concerned, that makes Rand a poor candidate for any political position, much less one that involves leading the most powerful nation on the planet. On a much larger scale, it just goes to show that most politicians that participate in the Republican / Democrat charade are not to be trusted.

Some Guy, Puppets and Election Day.

Remember, remember, the fifth of November...

That's right kiddies! Today is Guy Fawkes Day. Admittedly, Mr. Fawkes was a hapless, short-sighted twat, but his legacy has far surpassed any actual achievements he made while still in the land of the living.

What is Guy Fawkes Day, you may be asking yourself?

CLASS IS IN SESSION!

Guy Fawkes Day is an annual celebration held in Great Britain. With the advent of the internet and modern technology, the holiday has become more global in scope. On November 5, 1605, Guy Fawkes was arrested at the House of Lords in London while stewarding a shipment of explosives. Fawkes and others wanted to assassinate King James I and replace him with a Catholic figurehead. This attempt is known as the Gunpowder Plot. Of course, the whole thing failed and King James survived. All across England, citizens were allowed to light bonfires in jubilance. Through the centuries, Guy Fawkes Day has slowly morphed into a celebration of revelry and respite. In modern times, Fawkes is heralded as a figure of contempt against a tyrannous government (even though Fawkes himself was guilty of such endeavors). As it stands now, Guy Fawkes Day almost has two different versions of itself -- one that celebrates the survival of the English Monarchy, and one that exalts rebellion and anarchy.

I find it appropriate that Guy Fawkes Day falls soon after Election Day in the United States. For me at least, this day serves as a reminder that the People have the power to stand against unjust rule. Accordingly, we have never NOT had the power to remove any and all despots, fools and wealth-mongers from positions of authority within our Union. Try as they might to deceive the populace, political parties and prosperous barons can not completely take over -- in so long as the American Constitution is protected. Only a willing and callous population serves such purveyors of insidiousness. Unfortunately, that is a fair representation of our current political climate.

Not much changed on Election Day 2014. The same two talking-puppet parties retained control of our Federal Government. There are no real differences between Democrats and Republicans, except the color of their camouflage. The People sleepwalked into the voting booths and checked off their ballots for the same hollow, bought-and-paid for cretins. Hell, most people didn't even bother to wake up and vote -- overall turnout was less than 50% [UPDATE: The turnout was even lower than initial estimates - 36.6%]. There's a simple logic to my disappointment. Currently, approval ratings for Congress hover around 11%. Democrats and Republicans account for all but two seats in Congress. The only two non-affiliated independent members are Senators - Bernie Sanders from Vermont and Angus King from Maine. That means that out of the five hundred and forty-one total members of Congress, a mere 0.369% aren't a Republican or a Democrat!

Let that sink in, folks -- 0.369%.

So instead of removing the Democrats and Republicans whom are failing to fulfill the office to which they were so honorably elected, the People have decided to let them continue to not do their job! The logic makes no sense!

If you were a boss with an employee who didn't perform their duties day in and day out, would you continue to let them work for you? Of course not! You're not an idiot. That person would be fired and a new person would be hired to replace them.

Yet, here we are. The same knuckleheads are headed back to Washington to represent us. No change has occurred.

"But Jared... I voted! Doesn't that count for something?"

No, it does not. If you voted for either of the same two political parties that have a death-grip on our government, from Washington to Main Street, then you've done N-O-T-H-I-N-G! You might as well have stayed at home and picked your nose. Choosing not to vote and voting for a Democrat or a Republican produces the same result. It's a Win-Win for the politicians no matter which option you choose. Don't let the Right-Wing and the Left-Wing fool you into thinking you're making a difference. Those two wings are attached to the same gluttonous, lackadaisical pig that's flying past the Capitol Rotunda right now.

All hail the absurd flying pig in it's glorious befuddlement!

The only effective choice is to vote for ANYONE that's not a member of the American Two-Party system.

With all of these puppets, you'd think this were a child's toy room. Nope, it's just the Capitol Building. 

And now, I leave you with some prophetic words from the dearly departed Bill Hicks.

Mixed bag.

I've had a lot of different topics swirling around my head this past month. I figured it best to just throw it all out there and see what would come of it. These are actually some fairly external, topical and mostly tame notes. Essentially... just silly little things I want to talk about.

Whether you know it or not, I really dig small die-cast cars like Hot Wheels and Matchbox. As I've become more acquainted with the online collector community, I've come to realize that I tend to appreciate the types of vehicles most collectors avoid. This type is generally referred to as the "fantasy" or "unlicensed" segment. These are castings that focus on imaginative and creative designs which don't rely upon real cars for inspiration. Here's a photo of my absolute favorite casting - Vampyra.

As you can see, it's a dragon / vampire bat creature on wheels. What's not to love? The first edition release was in purple, which is my favorite color. It's seen probably a dozen different releases since 1986. That being said, most "serious" collectors (as they like to call themselves) feel fantasy cars are for kids. Why? Because they're creative and took some imagination to craft? Or because they might have bright colors? Give me a break. When it comes to die-cast vehicles, I say the more creativity, the better!

What's the deal with people whom blast really loud music out of their rundown cars with poor-quality speakers? Do they realize that their sound quality is one notch below orchestrated leaf blowers? Or does the illusion of coolness alter their senses? I just don't get it. If you're going to play your car stereo really loud, make sure your speakers can provide superb audio clarity.

How come geeks and nerds usually fail to clip their fingernails on a regular basis?

Do they just not notice the layer of black grime that rests below their claws? In my line of work, I encounter man-children on the regular whom have longer fingernails than some women I know. Here's a tip - spend a buck, buy some clippers and cut down those dirt diggers. The first step to finding a girlfriend and escaping that basement you call a "man" cave is good hygiene. While you're at it, wash with some soap.

On a related note... can you hipster ladies quit with the pretentious nerd/geek love? You don't love nerds/geeks. You love the IDEA of loving nerds/geeks. In reality, you're just infatuated with the charming actor whom portrays your latest object of affection(s). Doctor Who... Supernatural... Sherlock... I could go on and on. Or you're just loving the attention from a highly susceptible group of men, whichever. Many of you ladies genuinely appreciate these various programs and I'm cool with that. Equal Opportunity is my middle name. Yet... droves of you (and you know who you are) are just in it for the glory and attention. Move on to some other segment of the population, would you? You're giving these pathetic social rejects known as nerds/geeks a false sense of security. They can't have you. They never will have you. Stop teasing them, would you?

Should have left the condoms at home, boys.

On an even further related note... nerds/geeks really annoy the piss out of me. You live in this impenetrable bubble of fantasy that makes you unbearable to be around. Believe it or not, you CAN enjoy a particular television show, film series or comic and not come off as a total social ignoramus. You're giving those of us fans with common sense, initiative and actual careers a bad name. Drop the fake Sonic Screwdriver, bathe your funky ass, put on a tie, get a job and grow up.

Ever notice how the same people that like modern country music also tend to like modern rap music? Is it because they both sound like flatulent gutter sludge? There seems to be a merging between the two modern music styles, with little difference between them (short of a different set of processed electronic sounds). Let's remember folks...

COUNTRY + RAP = CRAP

Congress currently has an approval rating of 9% (Gallup). Yet, the incumbency rate of Congress as of 2012 was at least 90% (Washington Post). We the People are solely to blame. We have the power to change our Congressmen with every new election. We keep sending the same empty suits to Congress, year after year. 

STOP IT!

Just stop. Vote for someone else. Here's an idea - actually research the person you want to vote for. Try reading past the [D] or the [R] behind a candidate's name on the ballot sheet. Want to fix the shameful inadequacy of our Congress? GET A NEW CONGRESS!

I'm done for now. I think. Later folks!