If I were president...

It's an election year, and I believe this presidential election could very well be one of the most important in history. We've had a historic past eight years... Since the tech burst of '99 and America's climax, we've been slowly declining in all culturally aspects. We're currently on the verge of recession, with the recent collapse of Indymac, the bear stern bailout, and the inevitable government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac... Oil prices are at an all-time high, and I don't see any signs of this recession slowing. I believe we're in store for some rough times ahead.. Who can save us? Who can provide the American people with hope, and take immediate action to end this economic crisis? Why, that will rest in the hands of the president.

I do not believe John McCain nor Barrack Obama are fit to be president. Neither seem apt for the position, and I believe most Americans feel the same way. Many democrats still favor Hillary, and many Republicans are fed up with their liberal candidate. The following is what I would offer America if I were president:

WAR

First off, America cannot sustain this global war on terror. Recent CIA findings say we are no safer from terrorist attacks than we were pre-9/11. I propose a much more aggressive tactic. As the philosopher Von Clausewitz states, "All's fair in love and war." War is by its very nature unjust, and we must do whatever necessary to win. We need to stop fighting wars with outdated tactics- modern warfare is now more concerned with how big of an explosion you can make, not with how many soldiers you have. Thus, we need to spend more on weapon advancements, and work on a defense system that would protect mainland USA from potential nuclear attacks. We need to pull ground troops out of Iraq, eliminate ALL media (as they simply make matters worse for the military), and just pound the country with ammunition via the Air Force and Navy. We can win this war, we are simply going about the wrong way. Also, we must turn our attention back to Afghanistan- the main reason we went to war to begin with. All who will not cooperate in turning over al qaeda and Osama Bin Laden should be met with strong force.

THE CREDIT CRUNCH

As for the economy, we must let the FED do its job. I'm a monetarist, and such I do not believe Congress or any politician could do as good a job as Ben Bernanke. His predecessor is one of the most intellectual and influential man in the US economy. Banks have brought this crisis on themselves with their overzealous spending and risk taking. We must let these banks fail. This economy is run by the invisible hand, and allowing the government to interfere will only encourage more risk-taking. Sure, these failures will harm the economy, but the overall affect will be much less severe if we allow them to fail.

OIL

The main cause of our recession is, yep, you guessed it- oil. The only way out of this recession is for the US to either find more oil reserves within the United State or for the overseas price to drop. This is the exact same cause of the stagflation in the late 70s and early 80s. They fucked with us then to test how much Americans were willing to spend at the pumps, and they're doing it again. The consumer is no longer in control of this commodity. We are dependent on oil, and we have done nothing to curb this strong dependence. We import near 70% of all oil used in this country, and we lose billions of dollars because of it. George W. Bush has taken the first steps to help Americans suffering from this by removing the executive order banning offshore drilling- the very document his father signed. Now, it is up to congress to open up these reserves to American drilling companies. I believe, despite the democrat's strong disagreement, that this legislation will pass... simply because most Americans are strong advocates of it. As for OPEC, and those providing us oil- they are simply reducing supply, and thereby raising demand and the price of oil. This together with the weak US dollar is devastating our economy. I believe the United States needs to take a much more aggressive stance. We are simply allowing these countries- many of which are using our oil wealth to develop WMDs and aid terrorism- to fuck with us. We need to make it very clear that economic attacks on our country will NOT be tolerated. We should make threats, perhaps unrealistic threats, and see where that lands us. Hell, we're the greatest country in the world (for now) and we might as well use this to our advantage. Bullying? Perhaps, but it would quell growing economic problems. We should also keep in mind that there is plenty of oil out there, and many of it is in places where it cannot be easily transported. Africa and Kazakhstan come to mind.

INNOVATION

Even though this oil crisis is negatively affecting our economy, it is spurring innovation in the automotive industry. Such companies have recently spent more money than ever on research, testing, and the design of better fuel efficient vehicles. This is a positive long-term effect, but it will not benefit consumers who fill-up their gas tanks tomorrow. Thus, the government should help lower the price of oil as in the aforementioned paragraph, but announce a linear increase in oil tax to incite further advancements in alternative fuels and more efficient engines. We must also move to other power such as wind and solar.. and even nuclear. Hydroelectric and nuclear power are much more efficient and can provide extraordinary amounts of power. Neither will exhaust a rare resource, either.. and both are sufficiently clean. The move to more fuel-efficient and advanced power plants will benefit America in the long run.

Well, that's about it for the most important issues.. I'm tired, and I'll release a post tomorrow pertaining to social philosophical issues such as abortion, stem cell research, etc.