Time has recently published an exceptional excerpt from Al Gore’s latest book, Assult On Reason. In this excerpt, Mr. Gore provides commentary on the current state of democracy in the US, focusing in on the systematic failures that are occurring in every branch of the government, and the disillusionment of the US public as a whole.

He argues (rightfully in my opinion) that the American democracy is now in danger as a result of the consolidation of media corporations, the various communications/manipulation tactics used by politicians through the various media channels, and the prohibitive cost of using these channels.

I highly recommend you take a moment and read it. It puts into perspective a number of things that I’ve been thinking about, albeit in a far more concise and educated way. And while it doesn’t directly affect me any longer, I really wish Gore would run for President again. The more I’m exposed to him, the more I’m convinced he could actually bring about the necessary change in the United States.

An interesting article I came across this morning:

Let me begin by asking a question: If you were President of the United States on September 11th, would you initiate an investigation to determine what security lapses had occurred to allow such a tragedy to unfold? Of course you would … How could anyone not wish to investigate what had allowed the 9-11 attacks to transpire? … This is exactly what George W Bush did. The Bush administration tried to prevent the formation of the 9-11 committee.

It’s not a particularly long article, but it is well worth reading.

Update - buried in the Newsvine article comments there was a documentary mentioned that I hadn’t seen before. In 9/11: Press For Truth, the filmmakers stitch together rare overlooked news clips, buried stories, and government press conferences, revealing a pattern of official lies, deception and spin. As a result, a very different picture of 9/11 emerges, one that raises new and more pressing questions. Checkout the trailer below:

Tim Ryan who? Good question, and quite frankly I hadn’t heard of Congressman Ryan until I came across the following video on YouTube about 5 min ago.

I wish more people had the conviction to stand up and speak out about what the Bush administration has done the United States, and the rest of the world. It’s the only way to make a difference.

Movie reviews aren’t something that I would typically blog about… I enjoy watching movies, but I’m definitely not a film critic. However, I felt compelled to say something after I got home from seeing An Inconvenient Truth last night. This is, quite honestly, one of the most compelling documentaries I’ve seen in a while, and I highly encourage everyone to see it.

An Inconvenient Truth is a call to action about global warming. The film is both informative, and startling. I’m pretty sure everyone is aware of global warming, and a lot of the information contained in this film shouldn’t come as a surprise, however I don’t believe the general public realizes where we - and by we, I mean mankind - are headed if this continues. It’s eye opening.

Now, I understand you shouldn’t form an opinion on a single source of information, and yes - there’s been a lot of debate regarding the validity of some statistics presented in the film, but ultimately I have to agree with Gore; Environmental reform is a moral issue. Morally, I think we must make an effort to repair the damage we’ve caused to this planet.

Congruent to the ecological perspective, I would also add that this is very much a political film. Al Gore clearly states the scientific evidence that proves the ongoing trend of global warming, and the impact it’s having (and will continue to have) on the planet. However, he also highlights the political hurdles that stand in the way of making these environmental issues a governmental top priority. What I found even more startling (if not predicable), was how various lobby-groups and corporations manipulate political leaders and the mass-media to maintain their interests against improving environmental legislation. For instance, Senator James Infole recently went on the record saying Gore Is Full of Crap, but upon further investigation, you’ll notice Mr. Infole’s top campaign contributors have an interest in keeping things the way they are.

But is that really surprising?

It’s insights like this that put “reality” into perspective for me. I really do believe the general public thinks that the government is looking out for our best interests, but it’s becoming increasing clear that this is exceptionally far from the truth. Greed is very much a part of human nature, and as quoted by Upton Sinclair “It’s difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on him not understanding it.”

When I look back at what this current US administration has accomplished, it’s hard for me to think of how different the world would be had Al Gore actually become president. Think what could have been accomplished with the $315 Billion that is being spent on this pointless war… not to mention the $1 Trillion that is estimated to be spent in total. Perhaps we could be focusing our attention on helping the environment (and bettering the world as whole), instead of pissing of the world at large, destabilizing the entire Middle East, possibly causing World War III, and chasing after these terrorist boogeymen.

In any event, I thought I would do my part and at least spread the word. See this film. See it, and tell your friends about it. I think it’s important that more people become aware of these issues, and the potential impact they will have on our future.

Even though he says he’s not, I really hope Al Gore is taking at least some of the proceeds from this film, runs for office again. On screen, he comes across as honest and sincere, intelligent and well-spoken. And after seeing this film, and judging by the current polls, and how close the 2000 election was, I have a feeling he might actually win. Besides, I think he’d do a far better job running the most influential, powerful, and environmentally damaging country in existence today.

With all the recent coverage of Iran’s desire for nuclear technology, I found it all too haunting when I came across this photo gallery this morning.

Nuclear Nightmare Twenty Years Since Chernobyl

It’s a shocking reminder how powerful nuclear technology is, and more importantly, how destructive it can be… even after the initial blast.

I guess I should wrap up this “look back” series… and maybe I’ll attempt to write a shorter post this time? Yeah, I think so.

Part 3 - Goodbye

It’s been an interesting year to say the least.

Jess and I got married, moved to foreign country, started new jobs, got a few new vehicles, traveled to the other side of the world twice, visited Sin City twice, and enjoyed almost every minute of it. Oh, and Jess got a taste for In-N-Out too (See Exhibit A to the left)!

And after all that, we’re moving home. Yep, the rumors are true - Jess and I are moving back to Canada. When people hear that we’re moving back, it seems the common response is “what?” in that, you know, “you’re joking, right?” tone. Nope, we’re not joking. We’re trading in the warm winters for snow and ice, HBO for TMN, and Bush for Harper.

There were a number of reasons for the move back, but the primary reason was that we simply weren’t happy down here. There are a number of things I like about living here, and a number of things I don’t, but in the end we decided that Toronto was the place we wanted to be. So, off we go… back from which came.

I’ve accepted a job at Blast Radius in Toronto, and will be starting April 10th… so we’ll be back in a few short weeks. But in the meantime, let the crazy whirlwind of packing & moving begin!

Politics. It’s something I’ve never really had an interest in, nor is it something I ever intended to talk about on this blog. But here I am, about to discuss my political views.

For starters, I honestly don’t consider myself all that politically aware. The whole US political system is still very foreign to me (as was the Canadian system for that matter). I’m not quite sure why my interest in the subject has grown over the years… Perhaps it’s because I’m getting older and I now see the affect it has on my life. Or maybe it’s my increased consumption of The Daily Show, or the number of documentaries I’ve been getting from NetFlix (oh NetFlix… how I love you). Or, it could be the apparent act of god that allowed someone so inept to be voted into power TWICE. Whatever it is, I seem to be following US politics far more closely than I ever have.

I’m not a Democrat, Republican, Liberal or Conservative. I’m not fully left, nor am I fully right. I’m somewhere right in the middle… admittedly with a slight left lean. But describing my political orientation isn’t what interests me - It’s the sociological aspects of politics that keep me coming back for more. Quite frankly, I’m enamored with the administration’s ability to control the public, and appalled with the publics seeming inability to stop and question what it’s being fed.

How can massive groups of people have such blind faith in someone who clearly has no clue what he’s doing?

Why do so many people focus so intensely on “Support Our Troops!” instead of “Why Are We Fighting”?

How can people support a war that was clearly waged on lies, and why aren’t The Powers That Be being held responsible (I think the death of 30,000 Iraq people and 2,000 US Soldiers is a bit worse than, say, penetration with a cigar).

How can people so blindly believe what they see on TV, especially what it’s clearly not “Fair and Balanced®”

How can people not see the multiple conflicts of interest?

And so on… there are so many factors of human nature that fascinate me, and politics seems to be the vehicle at the moment. Remarkably, the closer I look at politics, the more similarities I see between it and organized religion. I’ve opened one can already, so there’s no need to open another… this topic will have to wait for another day. But don’t think it’s a coincidence that politics and religion are the two things you’re not supposed to talk about at the dinner table.

Anyway, getting back on track. This is by far the best news I’ve seen in a while:

Renewal of Patriot Act blocked in Senate
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of U.S. senators, demanding increased protection of civil liberties, defied President George W. Bush on Friday and blocked legislation to renew the USA Patriot Act, a centerpiece of his war on terrorism.

What? How can this be? I thought this was for our own good? No?

Wait for it… I’m sure Fox News will be running this in the six o’clock news “US Senate Anti-American”.

Here’s to hoping we can actually stop the insanity, and get this country back on it’s feet.

John Winston Lennon: October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980