How can it exist? Belgium

Belgium, to put it simply, is one of those accidents of history. Coming into existence only in 1830 (which makes it young by European standards), Belgium was before that briefly ruled by the Netherlands; but for most of the previous 400 years before independence, rule of Belgium was passed between Spain and Austria (don't ask me how two nations that are not even close to Belgium ended up ruling it) with France often invading trying to take it over. Before that, what is today Belgium was in the Middle Ages a collection of free towns and feudal domains that was a part of that great anomaly of history, the Holy Roman Empire (and if you want to go really far back, what is today Belgium was part of the Roman Empire, as the province of Belgica, from which the name Belgium comes from).


When Belgium became an independent state in 1830, it did not have (and still does not have) a unifying language, ethnic group, or culture. In religion, it was a bit more unified with it being about 75% Catholic and 25% Protestant (the figures remain the same today, except the churches in present day Belgium are mostly empty on Sundays). The result of this is since independence, Belgium has been a strange political marriage between two ethnic groups, the Flemings and the Walloons. The Flemings live in the North and speak their own version of Dutch while the Walloons live in the South and speak their own version of French.

We'll get into more on the divide in a moment, but first, the founders of Belgium, realizing that they needed a focal point, decided to make it a monarchy and invited a prince of the Saxe Cobourg family, a small but well connected family of German princes, to be their head of state. While the Belgians have had a turbulent history with their monarchs (Leopold II colonized what is today the Democratic Republic of the Congo against the wishes of his government, and later milked the Belgian treasury to pay for it - Leopold's rule of the Congo saw some of the worst atrocities ever committed during Africa's colonial period; his grandson Leopold III was forced to abdicate after WWII due to suspected collaborations with the Nazis during their occupation of Belgium), Belgians today have a favorable view of its (currently) scandal free monarchy. Here is a picture of the current Belgian royal family, with King Albert II and Queen Paola and their relatives (FYI: the King is seated on the bench, the Queen is to his left holding her grandchild)

This family you see above is one of only three things that unites Belgium, the other two are its national soccer team (like the rest of Europe, Belgians are soccer mad) and its famous beer.

If there is one thing Belgians really take pride in, its their beer. Without a doubt the best beer on the planet, Belgian beer is the result of centuries of perfection. Many of the brands of Belgian beer sold today, Hoegaarden, Stella Artois, Leffe, Dubbel and others are based on recipes going back to the Middle Ages (the recipe for Leffe actually goes back to the late 1100's). These beers and other Belgian beers has a quality that has such a richness in taste that few other beers can even come close to. Yes, it does take a little getting used to, but if you open your palate to the symphony of flavor that is the pride of Belgium, you too will soon be wondering how did you ever drink that standard watery crap that the FDA somehow allows to be called beer.

Of course in the world of Belgian beer, nothing beats Trappist Beer. Today, the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, commonly referred to as the Trappists, allows only eight of their monasteries to market the beer they brew. Six of them are in Belgium and these six produce what is without a doubt the best beer brewed on Earth. In the United States Chimay is usually the easiest to get. Compared to the sewer water that you drank in high school and college, it is a bit expensive, but its worth every penny.

Now here is the best part. The Trappists (no way am I going to keep writing their formal name), follow the Rule of St Benedict (St Benedict was an Italian monk from the sixth century). In the Rule, St Benedict told generations of future monks that hard work is important as a service to God, and today the Trappists take it as the way to live. While most Belgian beer today is brewed in standard breweries, only using recipes that monks came up with 500-800 years ago, Trappist beer is still brewed in the monasteries by the monks themselves with little outside help. And all profits are used for the upkeep of the monasteries and the rest going to charities around the world. So next time you want to have a real beer and help out the unfortunate of the world, have a glass of Trappist beer.

So I'm sure you thinking, the nation that produces that most incredibly awesome beer brewed in the universe must be a happy nation. Well, unfortunately, no. Belgium is one of the most divided nations in Europe, divided into three different regions with two main ethnic groups. In the north is Flanders. Home to about 60% of the population, this Dutch speaking region is one of Europe's wealthiest regions, with its population having a better lifestyle than most Americans. In the south is Wallonia. Home to about 30% of Belgium's population. In this French speaking region, things aren't so great. In the 19th century, Wallonia was home of one of mainland Europe's most industrialized regions, but in the mid 20th century, the region became a rustbelt, very similar to the American Mid West, though lately it has been making a rebound. And then there is the last region of Belgium, home of the final 10% of the population, Brussels. Brussels, a French speaking (though officially bi-lingual) city in the Dutch speaking region, is one of the most modern and cosmopolitan cities in Europe today. Headquarters of the EU, home of many international corporations, and with a large multi ethnic population of professionals from around Europe as well as a vibrant community of African immigrants, Brussels is a city that many nations would love to have.

Since independence in 1830, the Flemings and the Walloons have been in a continual power play of give and take with power being balanced between the national government in Brussels and the two regional governments. In the 19th century, the Walloons, being more wealthy, dominated the national government, but allowed the Flemings to decide local policy in their region. In the 20th century (in which Belgium was overrun twice by Germany, in both WWI and WWII), the Flemings took over (and most of the prime ministers since have been Flemings), but in the process gave up more local power in order to please the Walloons. By 1990, Belgium had the distinction of being Europe's most divided nation - that's right even more divided than Northern Ireland and Bosnia.

The Flemings and the Walloons almost never interact. In Northern Ireland, Catholics and Protestants (who have been shooting at each other for the past 300 years) have more interaction. In Bosnia, Serbs and Muslims (remember, just a decade ago they were slaughtering each other) have more interaction. Even Belgian politics reflected this division. Unlike most nations which usually has two or three main political parties, Belgium has a large collection of regional parties. In Flanders there are eight major political parties and in Wallonia there are five major political parties as well as a bunch of other minor parties. Belgium is one of those nations where you can have members of three or four or even five parties running the show. The result of this is Belgian governments are always a bizarre coalition of several parties, each one always trying to get a larger piece of the pie. Even Belgian media is divided, the TV and radio networks in Belgium are all localized.


So now comes the fun part of our account, the Elections of 2007.

In June 2007, Belgians went to the polls for what should had been routine (by Belgian standards) elections. Since 1999, the prime minister of Belgium was this man: Guy Verhofstadt

By the way, this was most flattering picture I could find of Mr. Verhofstadt.

From what I've gathered, it appears Verhofstadt ran Belgium in a Clintonesque centrist way, but without the scandals. After eight years in power, Belgian voters in both regions were tired with his coalition and the two main partners of his coalition, the VLD (Dutch speaking) and the Socialists (French speaking) suffered a huge set back at the polls - the VLD (a center left party) actually came in forth behind the far right Flemish Interests Party. The winners of the election were the CDV (Dutch speaking) and the Reform Movement (French speaking). Verhofstadt resigned as prime minister, and under Belgian law, King Albert named Verhofstadt head of the caretaker government while a new government was to form.


The honor of forming the new government as well as the prime ministership would go to this man, the head of the CDV, Yves Leterme

Now under normal circumstances, after a few weeks, a coalition between the CDV and Reform Movement (and perhaps one or two smaller parties) would had been established and Leterme would take over. Unfortunately, this time around, it didn't happen. Leterme had ran on a "give more power to the local regions" platform and Flemish voters voted for it in huge numbers. In Wallonia, both the Socialists and the Reform Movement both had a "more power to the national government" platform, and the Walloons voted for this in large numbers. The result of this platform split was deadlock occurred in the collation talks between the CDV and Reform Movement and other parties over how much power would go to Brussels and how much would go to the regions.

The deadlock continued for weeks

Then months

And into 2008

As of this was going on, a collective sense of embarrassment began to emerge in all three regions of Belgium. Belgians began to look at their nation and how divided it was and as the months dragged on without a government, the talk of a possible divorce of Belgium in the style of Czechoslovakia began to get louder. Suddenly, what had previously been laughed at was now being seriously discussed as a possible solution to the problem. Also, Guy Verhofstadt was still running the caretaker government, which under Belgian law really couldn't do anything. Even King Albert got involved, personally having the leaders of the main parties over at his estate for private closed door talks.

As of this went on, the rest of Europe watched very nervously. As the EU continues to gain more power, slowly turing Europe into a single Federated State, many EU supporters realized that if Belgium couldn't last after 180 years in existence, what chances does the EU have of turing Europe into a single state?

Finally in March of 2008, Leterme finally broke through and a government was finally formed. The new government included a large number of parties including the CDV, the Socialists, as well as nationalists parties from both regions. Though the government included parties from every part of the political spectrum, Belgians all across the region breathed a sign of relief as a new government led by Leterme was sworn in another round of elections would occur until 2011.

Then on July 14, Yves Leterme offered his resignation to King Albert. When Leterme was sworn in back in March, he vowed to get all enact his platform by July 15, and when July came and no power had been transferred to the regions (due to the French speaking parties blocking constitutional reform), Leterme announced his resignation. Belgians across the nation screamed in horror as another election could be in the near future. King Albert refused the resignation and asked Leterme to form a committee to try to solve the transfer of power problem. The committee is to report to the King on July 31. Meanwhile, a plan to redraw the electoral districts in Brussels is angering the people of Brussels because they are convinced its designed to give more power to the Flemish speakers. Things aren't looking so good for Belgium.

So what's in store in Belgium's future? No one knows, Belgium is already becoming the new Italy, with governments not lasting long and long disputed elections. Will Belgium split up? Will Belgium become a nation that exist in name only with all power belong to the regions? Or perhaps the French speaking parties could get their way and more power will go back to Brussels. Stay tune for what happens next.

Meet your Congressman - Rep. Danny K Davis

Today the Swanson Blog introduces you to Congressman Danny K Davis, Democrat, Illinois




Davis has been representing the Illinois 7th district (which contains downtown Chicago, the West Side of Chicago and a few immediate suburbs directly west of Chicago) since 1997. Before that he was Commissioner of Cook County, Illinois (1990-1997) and before that he was a member of the Chicago City Council (1979-1990). Davis' district includes some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the nation (Chicago's super wealthy financial district is located in the 7th), most cultural neighborhoods (most of Chicago's world famous museums and colleges are in the 7th) as well as some of the most poorest, gang ridden neighborhoods in nation as well (many of Chicago's infamous projects are also found in the 7th). With its population mostly made up of African Americans (who make up 62% of the district) and White liberals, the 7th is one of the most Democratic districts in the nation. Like most urban congressional districts, Republicans are far and few between and Davis won re-election in 2006 with 86% of the vote.


As congressman, Davis has been one of the most progressive members of the House. Recently, Davis was successful in getting the Second Chance Act passed with bi-partisan support. Basically, Second Chance funds programs to help convicts reenter society after release from prison. Being from an urban district, Davis has spent much of his time in Congress lobbying hard for its success, and its final passage in both houses was a victory for urban activists.

However, in recent years, a very bizarre side of Davis has come to light. The best example of this bizarre side was the night he took part in the coronation of the Rev. Sun Myong Moon.

In case you don't know who Sun Myong Moon is, he is an eccentric billionaire from South Korea (though he now spends most of his time on his estates in suburbs of NYC). Moon is also the founder and head of the Unification Church, one of the most bizarre cults in history, famous for its members taking part in mass weddings, and also for its members going out into the streets begging for money as a way to raise funds for the Church. Moon - who claims to be the new messiah sent to finish Jesus' mission - also spent a year back in the 1980's in a US Federal prison on tax evasion charges. Since then Moon has become a huge donor to the Republican Party and social conservative causes. Lately Moon, now approaching 90, has been traveling around the world giving ranting speeches about people's "love organs"(that's the term Moon really uses, just google Moon's name with the term). In one speech Moon told male followers to always remember to pinch their "love organ" at least once a day with a pair of pliers. Moon also loves to talk about the shape of our "love organs". In a speech given at a dinner in Washington DC attended by a large number of conservative politicians and journalists, Moon actually stated: "The human sexual organs are shaped as concave and convex" (you can see the actual footage of this speech here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QuDK5mmOvA&feature=related ). If you want to know more about the eccentric Rev Moon, you can find plenty of websites exposing him and his very strange teachings.

Anyway, back on March 23, 2004, one of the most strange events in recent history took place as Rev Moon was crowned "King of Peace" in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. The event began very innocently as an award ceremony as peace awards were given out to many in attendance. Also in attendance was Rep. Davis and probably about 6-8 other Congressmen and Senators (the Moonies claim that 81 members of Congress were there but footage they themselves shot show no more than six or so recognizable members of Congress). About halfway in the evening things took a strange turn as Moon declared a reconciliation of the world's races and religions, and people representing all groups got up on stage and reconciled by hugging each other. As the evening continued (you can see footage of this event on youtube), Congressman Davis joined in as he went up on stage and read a poem Moon had written as a teenager. At another point in the evening, a rabbi got up on stage and basically declared Moon to be the Messiah. Finally it was declared that Moon and his wife were to receive the International Crown of Peace awards, and as such, would now be known as the "King and Queen of Peace". Then Moon and his wife were dressed in fancy robes and then crowned. Davis took part in the coronation as he brought out Mrs. Moon's crown (wearing white gloves and very much looking life a footman in a European royal court), and is seen in footage to be bowing before Rev. and Mrs. Moon. Moon then went on to give a long ranting speech in which he declared himself to be the true Messiah and it was time for the world's governments to recognise him as so. Moon - who has stated that if given the chance he will purge the world of homosexuals in the same way Stalin got rid of his enemies -has also declared that every dead president has become a follower of him in the Spirit World.

Here we see Congressman Davis arriving with Mrs. Moon's crown.



This is the official picture taken at the event. Congressman Davis can be seen third from the right of Mrs. Moon.

Anyway when the event was exposed some time later, Davis was naturally questioned about his role in the event. While the few other congressmen who were in attendance stated they had been duped into attending (and the footage the Moonies themselves shot seem to confirm this for at least several of them), Davis' very public role in the evening prevented him from taking a similar path. Davis under questioning admitted that the Moonies have contributed to his campaigns in the past and the reason why he attended the dinner was to honor the Moonies commitment to world peace (when asked to name a single initiative Rev Moon has started to end wars Davis could not name one). Davis - who is a Deacon in the Missionary Baptist Church, - said the Moonies simply asked him to take part in the ceremony and he agreed. Davis then went on to say that the coronation of Rev and Mrs Moon was not that important and was the same thing as high school students crowning a king and queen at the prom (since the coronation, Moon has been making more and more appearances wearing a crown). Sometime after the event, Davis actually praised Rev. Moon on the House floor and entering some of his statements praising Rev Moon into the Congressional Record.

After the fallout of this Davis' bizarre side was exposed again when he took a trip to Sri Lanka paid for by the Tamil Tigers, a group the US government has long considered to be a terrorist organization. Since the 1980's, the Tamil Tigers has waged a war of Independence in Sri Lanka, fighting to establish a Tamil state on the Northern side of the island. In their fight, the Tigers favorite means of fighting include using suicide bombers (until the 2000's they dominated in this field), child soldiers, and blowing up crowded buses (again, until the 2000's they also dominated in this field). The trip, which took place in April of 2005, took Davis and an aide into the parts of Sri Lanka under the control of the Tigers. Davis said he took the trip at the requests of ethnic Tamils living in the Chicago area to see how they were recovering from the Tsunami that had struck back in December. Davis said he thought the group who funded it were simply associated with the Tigers, and not an actual branch of them. Further investigation revealed that Davis has ties with several known shady people of Tamil origin, a couple of whom have been charged with trying to steal technology from the US military. Once again, Davis has claimed ignorance of all of this.

So what lies in the future for Congressman Davis? This spring he destroyed his competitor in the primary (which in a district with almost no Republicans, is the real election for who gets to sit in the House of Reps.), winning with almost 128,000 votes cast while his opponent, Robert Dallas, got a mere 12,000 votes - Note: remember the turnout for this primary had more to do with it being on Obama's home turf (he lives in a nearby district in Chicago's South Side) than with the popularity of Congressman Davis. Perhaps the new congressional term will reveal a new bizarre side of Congressman Danny K Davis.

Third World S***hole Number 1: Chad

A mostly desert nation of about 10.1 million people (about 80% of which are either subsistence farmers or herdsmen), Chad has remained in the top ten poorest nations in the world since becoming independent in 1960. Currently (according to the CIA) Chad has a life expectancy of 47 years and a literacy rate of 48% (which by the way is misleading because under Chadian law, you are literate if you can read either Arabic or French, and many who are literate cannot read both). For most of its history, the people of what is now Chad were clan based farmers and herders who back in the Middle Ages converted to Islam. In the late 19th century, France moved in and took over this desert region hoping that it would prove to be rich in minerals, but the region was soon neglected. During its rule, France founded the first real urban areas, and brought modernization to the area. French rule also introduced Christianity to the area that became Chad; currently, 53% of Chadians are Muslim, 20% are Catholic and 14% are Protestant - interestingly, while religion is factor of division in many other African nations, religion has never been a big player in Chad, and Christians and Muslims have peaceful relations.

When France left Chad in 1960, the nation quickly fell into violence and corruption as rebellions broke out in rural areas and the Office of the President became unstable as Presidents came and went due to coups and rebellions. Ethnic strife also became common as members of the nine major ethnic groups (as well as other smaller ethnic groups and clans) fought for power in a political system that was based on patronage, favoritism, and kickbacks.

Since 1990, Chad has been run by this man, General Idriss Deby

Deby (a native of the Sahara region in the north) got his start in the Chadian army in the 1970's when his intelligence was recognized and he was sent to France for training and study. After returning, he teamed up with Hissene Harbe, a former rebel leader who overthrew the government and became president in 1982. During the Harbe years (which saw over 40,000 political killings), Deby rose to the top of the military but in 1989 a rift between the two occurred and Deby fled to Sudan. A year later he returned with a rebel group of his own (financed by Sudan and - according to some human rights groups - France). Harbe, very unpopular, fled and in November Deby marched into the capital N'Djamena and declared himself president.

Since coming to power in 1990, Deby has become one of the most corrupt presidents on the planet. As president, Deby has openly favored his ethnic group, the Zagawa, a small group which is one of the smallest in Chad with less than 3% of the population (it doesn't even make the top 9). While Chadians have long been used to Presidents favoring their own, Deby has turned this into an art form, putting almost all his relatives - both close and distant - into all the top jobs. On a day to day basis, corruption has reached epic proportions, with bribe being needed to get about anything done, and if you're a subsistence farmer or herder (in case you forgot they make up 80% of the population), the government has done nothing for you except take men away for the army and take part of the harvest to feed the army.

As President, Deby has maintained good relations with Chad's former colonial overlord, France. Deby is a regular in Paris and has been close to both former President Chirac and current President Sarkozy. Here is a pic from one of Deby's recent trips to Paris to meet Sarkozy.

Deby has also welcomed Chinese investment to this cash strapped nation. Here he is visiting President Hu of China

In case you're wondering what does the fifth poorest nation on Earth has to offer to outside investment, Chad has deposits of limestone, uranium, gold, gravel, salt and oil (though there's alot of dispute on how much oil Chad has to offer and its industry only really got started in the past few years).

Though Deby has had decent relations with the West, he has been fighting a virtual war with his neighbor to the east, Sudan. Though Sudan's President Omar al Bashir and the Sudanese government was Deby's main backer in the 1990 coup, Deby has had a fallout with his former Sudanese backers and the since the late 1990's, the two have been fighting a proxy war by secretly backing rebel groups in each other's nation. Since the late 1990's, the east of Chad has been a nasty battleground as rebel groups backed by Sudan (Western intelligence groups have concluded that Sudan pays for all weapons, ammunition, and trucks the rebels use) fight the Chad army and create havoc on the countryside forcing people to flee. The CIA estimates that about 200,000 Chadians (most from the east) have become refugees in their own country.

In case you're wondering who are these rebels, many are actually army deserters who hated the way they were treated in the army, where nearly all the top officers were Zagawas (remember, this ethnic group makes up less than 3% of the total population), and everyone else was treated like garbage. One group is actually led by a couple of Deby's nephews, who had a fallout with their uncle a few years back.

Now if you take a look at the map of Chad above, you will see the entire east of Chad borders Sudan, and most of that part of Sudan is the province of Durfur. Yes, the Darfur, which is acknowledged by just about everyone to the be the shittiest place on Earth. And yes, Deby and the government of Chad is partly responsible for making Darfur what it is today. Since the late 1990's, Chad has supported rebel groups in Darfur, which prevents any form of peace breaking out. Deby has even allowed most Darfur rebel groups to take refuge in Chad. Meanwhile 300,000 Darfurians have fled into Chad and have found themselves trapped in refugee camps that are in the middle of another war zone

In 2006, Deby ran for reelection (though first he had to change the constitution in order to allow himself a third term). Having rigged the previous 2 elections, the opposition parties refused to take part and the Catholic Church called for a voter boycott. Eventually, a few Deby loyalists were talked into running to make the vote look valid. Here we see Deby and one of his wives voting in N'Djamena.

At first, state run media announced that Deby won with 77% of the vote, but was later lowered to 64%, no explanation was given to this change in results. In ether case, not bad for a man who most experts report to be despised by nearly all of the population.

Since the 2006 elections, Chad has slowly started to implode. In the east, rebel groups go about, for the most part unchallenged, with the army being used to protect the more populated west. In April of 2006, a rebel group marched unopposed to N'Djamena and was repulsed in street fighting. In February of 2008, another group stormed the capital, and after 2 days of vicious fighting, were repelled. Even though both Chad and France denied it, French troops stationed in N'Djamena were important elements in the victory of Deby's forces (it is believed that France uses its air supremacy to locate rebel locations). Here are a couple of scenes from the day after the battle in the capital ended.

During the 2 day battle, many of N'Djamena's 700,000 people fled the city across the Charri river into Camernoon. Since February, most have since returned to the capital city. Here is a pic I found showing one of the border crossings:



Meanwhile while all of this was going on, members of a French charity were arrested for being involved in a scam that stole children from their parents and send them to Europe and the US as orphans up for adoption. Needless to say, the case became huge not just in Chad, but in the rest of Africa and in Europe as well (of course the US media was too busy reporting on the latest celebrity gossip to notice this story).

So now you know a little about one of the most shittiest places on Earth (sorry for the blunt language, but s***hole is the only word that can describe what it really is).

The Vice Presidential Issue, Part 2

First of all, I have to congratulate Senator Obama for finally defeating Senator Clinton on Tuesday as he reached the golden number needed to win the nomination! And with Clinton "suspending" her campaign, Obama is the certain nominee. Regardless of what you think of Obama, you have to respect this man. Just a few years ago, he was unknown outside of Chicago and the Illinois State Senate. Now he has taken on the most powerful, dynamic, and organized powerhouse couple since Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and won. I will devote a future issue explain how this occurred, but first I have to finish what I started last week and introduce you to the possible Democratic VP candidates.

First though, with Hillary dropping out of the race (or as the term Mitt Romney and John Edwards used this Spring, "suspend"), our final Hillary joke of the blog:



Now on today's topic:

The Vice Presidential Issue, Part 2, Democrats

Last week I put the Republican candidates for VP into 2 categories, based on their chances of becoming McCain's running mate, but with the Democratic race just being settled, and with Obama and his people saying it may take a while before a choice is made, I'm going to put the candidates into one single category. The exception will be the first one, and it will be clear why because she is:

Hillary Clinton

Back in 2006, when everyone assumed Hillary was going to be the nominee, alot of people talked about having Obama, the rising star of the party, as her VP, uniting the various factions of the Democratic Party under a dream team which would win the White House in a landslide. Now, if it is going to happen, it will be the reverse and it will only be to keep the party from imploding. However, if Hillary really wants it, she will have it because of the leverage she has from coming in a close second, and with many of her followers screaming that they will never vote for Obama, it may be the only way to keep mass defections of older white women and Mid Western blue collar workers, both groups who are critical to winning the White House this fall. The question, however, should be does Hillary really want to be Vice President Hillary? Remember, the constitution gives the Vice President only two jobs: to break ties in the Senate, and to take over if something happens to the President. And after eight years of Satan (sorry, I mean Dick Cheney, I'm always confusing the two), the most powerful VP in US history, most Americans want a more traditional Vice President who goes on Jay Leno and make goodwill trips to nations most people never heard of. There are many more jobs that Hillary can get that have real power. If Hillary does not take the VP nomination, but goes out and campaigns hard for Obama, watch her get some other position should he be elected. Perhaps Justice Hillary on the Supreme Court, or Secretary (fill in the gap) Hillary in the Cabinet, or Governor Hillary of New York, or maybe Ambassador Hillary to the UN. However, don't forget the 800 pound gorilla in the closet, Bill Clinton.

Pros: She's Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Cons: She's Hillary Rodham Clinton.



Kathleen Sebelius

Governor of Kansas since 2003, Sebelius is a popular Democrat in one of the most Republican states in the nation (remember, Kansas is the state where they tried to take science out of the classroom). While she could never get elected in a liberal state like Vermont or Oregon, Sebelius, a practicing Catholic, is the type of Democrat who can win in the more conservative parts of the US. That does not mean she is a DINO (Democrat In Name Only). She is in favor of reproduction rights, is opposed to the death penalty, and has stood up to the gun lobby. Though she had originally won due to a split in the Kansas Republican Party, she has now become one of the most respected and popular governors in recent history.

Pros: Has five years experience in running Kansas, also is 13 years older than Obama, which would be a good age balance. Moderate views will definitely help with older and more conservative voters.

Cons: Even with her popularity, she cannot put Kansas and its 6 electoral votes into play, the state is way too conservative. Also is not the greatest speaker in the world, which only looks worst compared with Obama's orator skills.

Bill Richardson

Governor of New Mexico since 2003, Richardson has the perfect resume to balance the newcomer Obama. Richardson got his start in the 1980's when he was a congressman representing New Mexico's 3rd district. Later on during the Clinton years, he went to work for them first as Ambassador to the UN and later in the Cabinet as Secretary of Energy. As governor, Richardson has been a major supporter of decriminalization of marijuana and a die hard supporter for rights of homosexuals. However, he is also a supporter of rights of gun owners, and has supported business friendly tax laws that most Democrats would never support. And, despite his gringo name, 3 out of 4 of Richardson's grandparents were Mexican (his parental grandfather, who he was named after, was the only American in the family). Richardson's mother, Maria Luisa Lopez Collada Marquez, only moved to the US when she was pregnant with Bill. After a couple of years in the US she brought her family back to Mexico and Richardson spent his childhood in Mexico City before moving back to the US for good. As such, Richardson, who grew up speaking Spanish, considers himself to the a Latino and is well known and very popular in the Hispanic community.

Pros: Will deliver New Mexico and its 5 electoral votes. Popularity among Hispanics will put Texas and Arizona into play and there's a good chance he can clinch Nevada, which is already in play. Resume will balance Obama's perfectly.

Cons: Richarson is just a little too pro big business for most Democrats, also is well known as a loose cannon who shoots his mouth off. Finally, Richardson may not want the VP job. If he's not the nominee, he will definitely be a major player in an Obama administration.

Joe Biden

Senator from Delaware since 1973, Biden has a resume that also balances Obama's through his long term service on two of the most powerful committees in the Senate: The Judiciary Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee. Biden was a strong supporter of the Iraq War in the beginning, but has now been very vocal in calling for a change in policy that's neither total withdrawal nor stay the course. Also, Biden has been a vocal supporter on making higher education easier for poorer families.

Pros: Long term Senate service balances Obama's. Definitely will help win over some of those who want a tougher foreign policy.


Cons: Delaware has only 3 electoral votes. Also, Biden doesn't create excitement the way other VP candidates have cause.




Jim Webb



Senator from Virginia since 2007, and like Obama a fellow survivor of an epic election, Webb is one of the more conservative members of the Democratic Party. In fact, he was a Republican only until 2006. Back in the 1980's he was secretary of the Navy under Reagan. A graduate of the Naval Academy, Webb has been a major opponent of the Iraqi War (though he's opposed to immediate total withdrawal) and has been very vocal in opposing any military action with Iran. Webb's family has "redneck" roots and he's very proud of it, writing a book on the history of the Scotch Irish, the ethnic group whose culture he claims developed into the "hillbilly/redneck" culture of the upper South.


Pros: Will clinch the deal for Virgina and its 13 electoral votes and will put North Carolina and its 15 electoral votes into play, and could even get West Virgina and Kentucky back into play. Being a moderate will balance the more liberal Obama.


Con: Has been in elected office even less than Obama. Also service in the Reagan Administration may turn off more liberal Democrats.



Claire McCaskill



Senator from Missouri since 2007, McCaskill is a rising star in the Democratic Party and has been a major Obama supporter since the beginning. McCaskill herself went through an epic election battle, winning by a very slim margin in one of the most divided states in the nation (Missouri has about an equal number of anti war/socially progressive liberals and conservatives who are all for guns, God, and Bush). In the Senate, she's been very active, going after wasteful spending, exposing corruption in the government, working to get better medical treatment for wounded soldiers, and pushing to raise the minimum wage. Will definitely be a major figure in an Obama administration.



Pros: Will probably deliver Missouri and its 11 electoral votes. Will defiantly help with the older female voters who are very disappointed Hillary is not the nominee.


Cons: Has been in the Senate for only 2 years and her only other elected office was Auditor of the State of Missouri.


So there are the potential VP nominees for both parties. However, this election being what it is, don't be surprise if one of both candidates pick someone from outside this group.

The Vice President Issue

In this issue, with the Presidential race now being settled, we will be taking a look at the list of candidates for the second highest office in the land, the vice president.

But first, our Hillary joke of the blog:

And on the list of names from which our probable next VP will be from.

Since it looks like John McCain will be making his choice soon, ln this issue we will deal with the potential Republican VP's

Tier I

Mitt Romney

Former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney made flip flopping an art form when he realized being governor of the most liberal state in the union wasn't going to win many votes among the rank and file Republicans outside of the Northeast (just Google "Mitt Romney, flip flop"). Thanks to the Republican winner-take-all primary system, Romney was out of the primary after Super Tuesday, thus sparing the Republican Party the agony that has is known as Barack vs Hillary.

Pros: Super Rich, willing to dig deep into his pockets to help finance the campaign, very popular with business elites and tax minded suburbanites, known as a "hands on" kind of man, could appeal in native state of Michigan, where his father was a wildly popular governor.

Cons: Went from liberal pro reproduction rights, pro homosexual rights, pro gun control to anti on all 3 issues in just 2 years, leading many in both parties to see him as a sleazy opportunist. Mormon faith not well liked among the Christian Right (funny how no one in Massachusetts cared about Romney being a Mormon). Finally, McCain and Romney had a bitter primary fight and it is rumored that the 2 really don't like each other in person.

Charlie Crist

Current governor of Florida, Crist is currently a member of that threatened species, Republicanus populus, the popular Republican. Even Florida Democrats have a grudging respect for this man. Though Crist got his start as Attorney General of Florida back when it was being run by George's Bush's brother Jeb, he has never been close to the Bushes, which has only helped his popularity. And while as governor Crist has been very supportive to the gun lobby, as well as being tough on illegal immigration, Crist has also won praise from many for his pro environmental views (his record is actually better than some Democrats) as well as his aggressive drive to recruit legal immigrants to settle in Florida.

Pros: Will guarantee Florida and its 19 electoral votes, pro legal immigration support could help get some of Hispanic vote, environmental record defiantly will win some votes. The fact that Crist is not your standard Republican clone will also help McCain get back his Maverick appeal.

Cons: Crist is not the standard Republican clone that its main base likes to vote for. Plus Crist isn't married. Republicans want their politicians to be family people and it's rare to find outside of the northeast an unmarried Republican in high office. Add in the fact that the last unmarried Republican to come out of Florida was Mark Foley, you got one uneasy base.

Bobby Jindal

Currently Governor of Louisiana, this man is a member of that endangered species the Republicanus Noncauscasianus, the non white Republican. The son of immigrants from India, Jindal is another rising star in the Republican Party. Jindal is a standard modern Republican, all for God (Jindal is a devout Catholic who loves to talk about his faith), family, guns, and drilling for oil anywhere. With Obama about to clinch the Democratic nomination, and Republicans becoming whiter and whiter, Jindal could be the man the Republicans need to reverse the trend of becoming an all white party.

Pros: Will defiantly get the religious voters out in large numbers (many of whom are not comfortable with McCain being the nominee), also could even win back some of the conservative non white vote that had voted for Bush back in 2000, but has since stopped supporting any Republicans.

Cons: Jindal is 36, making him to be 10 years younger than Obama, and being in politics for a much shorter time than Obama, having Jindal on the ticket will prevent McCain from using the experience card as a major weapon. Also, Jindal's religious views could scare away a good number of independents who would otherwise vote for McCain.

Tier II

Mike Huckabee

Former Governor of Arkansas, Huckabee came out of no where to win the Iowa primary and ended up staying in the race longer than anyone else, before he had to concede defeat when McCain reached the number of delegates needed to win the nomination. Huckabee, who was born in Hope, the same home town as Bill Clinton, as Governor of Arkansas ran the state with a combination of old time religion (Huckabee is an ordained Southern Baptist minister and just loves to talk about Jesus) and economic populism (as governor he supported and signed a series of tax increases that were designed to help poorer people in the state).

Pros: Will bring out the full force of the Evangelical/Fundamentalist vote, which makes up between 25% and 30% of the total US population.

Cons: Will send the remaining 70% of the population running screaming into the Democratic camp.

Condoleezza Rice

Once it became clear that the nominee was going to be either Hillary or Obama, Condoleezza's name came up as a VP nom. In one stroke the Republicans could counter the first black or first female nominee with this black female in the number two spot. Also, she is a die hard neoconservative, which will guarantee their presence in a McCain White House.

Pros: Rice has an impressive resume (she is currently Secretary of State and before that NSA Advisor), and has unquestionable Republican credentials.

Cons: Rice has never held elected office, plus she is a close personal friend George W Bush, and a die follower of Neoconservatism.

Rudy Guilani

Back in 2006, this former mayor of NYC and hero of 9-11 was the one everyone assumed would win the nomination. But along the way, Guillani stopped in Florida and stayed there until he got run over by McCain's Straight Talk Express.

Pros: Hero of 9-11. Plus liberal social views definitely will help with independents.

Cons: Liberal social views will cause Evangelical/Fundamentalist voters to stay at home or vote for a third party candidate. Plus Rudy is a bit of a jerk in real life. While Chelsea Clinton, the Romney boys, and McCain's daughter Meghan have supported their parents on the campaign trail, Rudy's daughter has openly supported Obama and his son said if his father was ever elected President, he would boycott the inauguration.

Kay Bailey Hutchison

Senator from Texas since 1993, Hutchison is your classic country club pro business pro strong defense Republican, Hutchison could help with the more conservative independent voters.

Pros: Hutchison has never been close to the Bushes (an amazing feat considering she is a Republican from Texas). Also can also help win back female voters who helped put Bush in office but fell away as the Republicans became more and more corrupt and inept.

Cons: Is not a member of the Religious Right and is a moderate on most social issues, which will not help with bringing out the religious vote (which the Republican Party will be needing badly in many congressional races this fall).

Well that's the group of people McCain will probably pick his VP nominee from. Next week we'll meet the people Obama will be picking his VP nominee from.

Meet your first congressman (well in this issue, a Senator)

Today the Swanson Blog is going have its first issue of Meet Your Congressman (though in this issue, it will be involving a Senator), but first we have a couple of items to mention first:

Hillary joke of the Blog: Until Senator Hillary Clinton realizes there is no hope short of divine intervention of winning the Democratic primary, I will show an anti Hillary joke in each issue. And there are plenty going back almost 20 years so I have plenty to use. Here is today's Hillary joke:

China and Burma: In the past couple of weeks, a deadly cyclone has caused horrific damage in Burma killing (at the latest count) over 100,000 people and another 2 million in danger of dying due to either disease or starvation. The ruling junta of Burma has blocked most foreign aid, and has stolen most of what was donated for itself. Even though all foreigners have been banned from the hardiest hit areas, footage shot by locals have been smuggled out showing how bad the damage is and the horrific conditions that the survivors must live in. If that wasn't enough, a week later in Western China, a major earthquake struck killing (at the latest count) 35,000 dead and another 30,000 missing. Grief turned to anger among the survivors when many realized that most buildings collapsed because the buildings were not up to code and local officials were bribed to look the other way. While the Chinese government has been quick to act (as well to allow foreign media in to film the damage), don't be surprise to see some high level trials and a round of executions - remember this is the nation that executed a government official over bad dog food.

On to Today's Topic

Meet Your Congressman: Senator David Vitter, Republican, of Louisiana

Member of the Senate since 2005, before that serving in the House of Representatives representing Louisiana's First District beginning in 1999, and before that Vitter served in the Louisiana State Legislature. Vitter has made a name for himself as a hard core champion of "family values". A strict Catholic (at his home parish Vitter is a lector - that is he reads the Bible passages during mass), Vitter has built his whole political career on the "family values" theme, and he even used his family very publicly during his campaigns; you can see some of his political ads on Youtube. The problem is Vitter's children are still in elementary school. Now why I don't have any issue with adult and teenage children taking part in the parents political campaigns, I have never approved of using young children who probably don't know what they're doing in political ads.

Anyway, since entering the halls of congress, Vitter has become one of the most vocal members of the Christian Right, and since his election to the Senate, one of its more powerful members, speaking out against the evils of gay marriage, single motherhood, reproduction rights, as well as the rights of those who are not religious or simply hold religious beliefs that are not in line with the Far Right. No friend of science, Vitter even got $100,000 earmarked for a creationist museum in Louisiana. The Christian Collation has rated Vitter a 100 out of 100, meaning that this man is a full blown theocrat.

But Vitter's record does not stop at voting for abstinence only sex education, speaking out against reproduction rights and blocking legislation that would allow adoptions by homosexual couples. Vitter has been also a die hard follower of the Bush/Cheney administration, even by Republican standards. Vitter has without question voted to allow government spying, to expand the usage of the death penalty, to drastically cut spending on public education, and to deny health care for up to 4 million children (how very Christian). On immigration, he was one of the hard line Republicans who refused to vote on the compromise bill worked out by Senators John McCain and Ted Kennedy, thus causing it to be defeated. As for his environmental record, well let's just say he is no fan of setting aside land for public usage (though he is in favor of allowing hunting on publicly owned land).

However, Family Values remained Vitter's staple. You can check out footage of Vitter on the Senate floor giving speeches on the importance of family and the sanctity of marriage, and how important marriage was, and how dear a few liberal activist judges change the law to redefine marriage and family, because that undermined the sacredness of marriage and it is that sacredness that is the whole foundation of our values; and how dear they take God out of the public schools, because how else could our children be instilled with wholesome values and how dear Hollywood force all that sleaze and violence on us ect. And Vitter never ceased to show off how much he loved his family and how close he was to his wife Wendy and his four children.

Then, in July 2007, the scandal broke.

It turns out Vitter's phone number showed up on the records of a convicted Madam based in the DC area. While Vitter had successfully ducked several accusations earlier in his political career, this time the proof was there for all to see. Vitter quickly admitted to DC attorneys that he used the service occasionally back between 1999 and 2001, and the authorities left it at that and no charges were filed. Soon after another Madame in New Orleans went public stating that Vitter was a regular back in the 1990's. Some of prostitutes went public and revealed details of his private side. Apparently Mr. Family Values not only regularly used prostitutes, but also had a fetish for wearing diapers - though they did say he was a nice guy compared to most other customers. So what does Vitter do? Like any good politician caught with his pants down, he made a statement admitting that he had sinned in the past, all of this with his wife by his side. You can go on Youtube and see the entire brief statement. Here is a picture from it:

Now what makes this even funnier is back in 1999 when Vitter was running for congress for the first time (and don't forget when he was also a regular of the women in the employ of the Canal Street Madam), Wendy Vitter had publicly stated if she ever caught her husband cheating, she would simply castrate him. But what does Mrs Vitter do? She simply stated that it was a private matter that was settled a couple of years ago and then went after the media for making a big deal out it (after all, when your whole political carrier was built on defending Biblical values and "saving marriage" you have every right to privacy when you're found out to be a lying hypocrite). The Vitters then left without answering any questions. As of the writing of this issue, there is still no word on the status of Senator Vitter's penis.

Meanwhile up in Washington the Republican Party stood by Vitter and defended him - one of his more vocal defenders being the foot-tapping-in-the-mens' room Senator, Larry Craig. While a few die hard social conservatives did call for Vitter to resign, most have forgiven Vitter and welcomed him back in fold. However, the damage was done and since the scandal, Vitter no longer speaks out on the issues that he made his name with, and with the Democrats running the Senate, Vitter has lost most of his influence. Meanwhile back in Louisiana is it too soon to tell if Vitter will be running for another term in 2010. Only time (and the voters of Louisiana) will tell, if Vitter gets another six years in the Senate.

China - Part 2

In our last issue, we took a look a look at the men who are currently leading China and now we are going to turn our attention to the problems facing China today. While the Chinese government would like to say that everything is on the up and up, the reality is something very different. The fact that in 2005 there were over 87,000 riots and anti government demonstrations in China (mostly in rural areas) should give an idea how bad things really are in China.

While China had hopped that 2008 would be the year China would show off how wonderful things are, it so far hasn't turned out that way.

First came the snow storms that struck China during the New Years Holiday. If you're one of the 150 - 200 million Chinese migrant workers (you read that right, and if you don't believe me, go to cnn.com) then New Years is the only holiday you get off, and its the only time that you get to go back to your home province to visit your family. The snow storms that struck China this year were the worst in over 50 years and stranded millions of people at railway and bus stations waiting to go home to see their friends and family. Never before had so many people been prevented from traveling because of bad weather. Meanwhile, the rest of the nation saw the worst power outages and utility interruptions since the Communist Party took over back in 1949. The damage from the storms were totaled at being over 7 billion dollars.

So what do you do when almost 20 percent of your population is stranded in transit stations, angry at how they're spending their one time off of the year? Well President Hu and his crew knew that even the image of doing something was better than doing nothing. Primer Wen was quickly dispatched to the hardest hit areas and even Hu himself toured other areas and made sure to be seen on tv trying to fix the situation. Eventually, the crisis faded away as people started trickling home (in case you're wondering if these stranded workers got any extra time off - well I looked around on the Internet and - scary to say - could not find an answer).

Then in March came the uprising in Tibet - the largest since the major uprising in 1989. There were many different reasons why it occurred, but the end was the same as in 1989, with government troops and state police cracking down on the demonstrators. Just like in the demonstrations in Burma last year, the demonstrations in Tibet started with Buddhist monks protesting - this time to remember the events of 1959, which was the last time Tibet erupted in a full scale rebellion (it also caused the Dali Lama to flee to India during the crackdown). When the original monks were arrested, their fellow monks came out in larger numbers asking for their release, and soon large number or ordinary Tibetans joined in also. Soon, the demonstrations spread throughout Tibet and other areas of China with large Tibetan populations (when China took over Tibet in 1950, it annexed whole sections of Tibet and incorporated them into existing provinces of China). Besides marching protesting Chinese rule, the Tibetans also rioted, attacking government buildings and neighborhoods where Han Chinese lived. To no one's surprise, President Hu (who was one of the leaders in the 1989 crackdown) sent in the army to end the riots, with the dead being estimated at over 100. The Tibetans had many grievances, from being second class citizens to the recent influx of Han Chinese immigrants to the continual suppression of Tibetan culture. Basically, the Tibetans don't want Tibet to turn into Xinjiang.

What is Xinjiang?

Never heard of Xinjiang? Well don't be surprised, few have heard of the single largest region of China, Xinjiang, which makes up China's northwest. Xinjiang makes up one sixth of China's land mass, and historically was inhabited by the Urghurs, a people who are related to the Turkic peoples of Central Asia. Just like their cousins in the Central Asian republics, the Urghurs (by the way, I've found about four different spellings for Urghur) are Muslims and had their own colorful culture, even after centuries of Chinese rule. The Chinese emperors allowed to Urghurs to live their own lives as long as they paid their taxes and knew who was in charge. That all changed in 1949, with the coming to power of the Communist Party. Before long however, the Chinese government encouraged poorer Han Chinese to move to Xinjiang, and now over 40 percent of the permanent population is Han Chinese, and this does not include the migrant laborers who head there every year, as well as the normal group of bureaucrats, Communist Party officials, and military personnel. The Urghurs have watched their land and culture being destroyed, a process that has accelerated since the 1990's. Just like their Tibetan neighbors to the south, the Urghurs have protested to Chinese rule, but with part of Xinjiang bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Chinese government has repeatedly stated that these anti government groups are really fronts for Islamic terrorists. Whenever an Urghur is discovered in a terrorist camp (which isn't that often), the Chinese government gleefully declares it proof of a large scale Taliban/Al Quada conspiracy to end Chinese rule of Xinjiang. Since 2001, the Chinese government has used the US "War on Terror" to crackdown on all pro Urghur movements in Xinjiang, even those that are content with Chinese rule and only want the Urghurs to be treated better. Amnesty International reports that Xinjiang is the only part of China where political executions are still commonplace.

Oh, and China has little disregard for environmental laws in Xinjiang, so since the 1980's, the environment of Xinjiang has taken a nosedive as China continues to strip away land for minerals and more factories are built with no regards for the health of the workers and people who live around them.

Back to China

So since the crackdown on the Tibet protests in March, another major problem has struck China: inflation of food prices. Since January, food prices in China have rose by about 21 percent, and with 800 million Chinese living in poverty or near poverty, that is a major increase. The usually suspects have been accused in the rise in food prices: rise in costs of fuel, demand for bio fuels, a large middle class now eating just like their Western counterparts, ect... So far China is trying to deal with the problem, but its attempts so far have been not so great.

Add in a major disregard to the environment around the nation, major pollution, no regard for workers rights, and you have a nation with serious problems.

So now you have a better understanding of the most populous nation on Earth. You would think that our wonderful media might try to report more on it, but wait, a brand new dumb female celebrity has arrived on the scene, so as we all know, dumb celebrities are so much more important that the problems facing the nation where one fifth of all humanity lives.

Postscript

Congratulations to Senator Barack Obama in his victory over Senator Hillary Clinton! Only a miracle can save Billery now! Whether you're a liberal or a conservative, we can all take joy in the fact that the Clintons won't be moving back to the White House!