Ben’s Blog

Well, now the initial euphoria of actually having made a solid decision about my future is wearing off and the reality is setting in.  Too bad I am not all that great at dealing with reality.  I guess it is now time to buckle down and actually look at the things I have to do to get into school.  I have realized that getting into the U could be a problem.  I am almost overwhelmed with all the things I have to do.  I just need to break it into small chunks and take it a bite at a time.  Easier said than done, but if I really want to do this and not just flake off then it has to be done.  I can get it done if I set my mind to it.  I just am hoping it really is the right decision.

It was a mistake to invade Iraq.  Plain and simple.  I have held this opinion since the beginning.  As I say that I don’t want anyone thinking that I am somehow anti-American or anything.  I am not, in fact, I think that I am a better American for saying it.

I love the fact that the US is the worlds biggest superpower, and I would not rather any other nation have that status, nor would I choose to have been born into any other nation than our great America.  It is precicely because I love America that I have chosen to oppose the war in Iraq.  See, in my opinion, patriotism is doing what is best for ones country, to act in the best interest of the nation.  That has nothing to do with just supporting whoever happens to be at the head of that nation when a terrible tradegy has occured.  (Sidenote to all those “patriots” out there who were ready to impeach president Clinton, where was you faith in your leaders then?)  anyway, as I was saying a nation is more than its leader and I support what is best for the nation, not the president.  My justification for the statement that the war in Iraq has been bad for the nation comes from the recent shift in world opinion, which, like it or not, is crutial to the continued dominance of the US.

The US has lost significant influence on the world stage since the beginning of this Iraq fiasco.  Our closest allies have abandoned us.  We can’t even get a UN resolution on a REAL threat, in Iran, and the resolution we got on the biggest single threat to America in the world (North Korea) is not all that meaningful.  We have never been universally loved, but I bet that a graph of places hostile to Americans would show a pretty steep increase after 2003.  We are losing power.  I hate to see it.  Other nations and groups of nations, like the EU, are more than willing to pick up the slack.  China is becoming such a powerhouse that we are having to practically beg them on hands and knees to do anything about North Korea.  I don’t want the US to slide down the totem pole.  That slide is what is happening though, all around us.  9/11 showed the world that we are mortal, and we had a lot of international support just after the attacks, but our response showed them that we are no longer worthy of leading the world (not something I believe, just what the world sees).

To those that claim that a history of invasion (in kuwait) and defiance of a UN resolution is justification for ousting Saddam, the United States has invaded nations and we have been in defiance of UN resolutions dondemning our Cuba imbargo for many years.  How would you feel if the E.U. decided that that was justification for invading the US?

Anyway, my father went to Iraq and is a staunch supporter of the war.  I have never been there, and I don’t know what kind of good our presence is doing, but I say, however calously, that no benefit to the few Iraqis that recieve one is worth the price we have paid in soldiers lives, in debt financed by China (they really have us by the balls), and in lost international support.  Like I said, I am a patriot, and I feel that US needs should come first.  If we really want to help our country, we should invest those dollars in US superiority, especially in education, because more than anything US dominance has been a result of our technological superiority, and that is now slipping too.

Yesterday I saw the movie Catch a Fire.  It was very good and gave me alot to think about concerning the nature of the word terrorism.  Terrorist is such an inadequate word to describe the enemy we are fighting.  Terrorism is not an ideology, it is a tactic, used by people with no other recourse usually, who I feel should be judged on the merit of their ideology.  The “freedom fighters” of South Africa during apartheid used terrorist tactics, but in the end were vindicated by history.  I just think it is something that can’t be easily painted black or white like people would like.

Today, on the front page of the Salt Lake Tribune there is an article following up on a story wherein a BYU professor discovered an enzyme that he knew would have substantial potential in pain relief medication.  He set up a meeting with a drug company now owned by Pfizer, which told him not to patent the discovery because they rarely hold up, but that they would work with the professor on the development of a drug and he would get a cut.  Soon enough they cut him out and claimed the discovery themselves, marketed the new drug, and have made serious money on it.  Now the Scientist is suing the Pfizer for their actions.  Todays article, however states that “Regardless of the merits of his claims, Simmons likely would be outlawyered”.  I know this is not the first, nor will it be the last instance of essentially buying a verdict, but it clearly illustrates the problem with the legal system.  There is no effective way for an individual to take and win a case against any client with deep pockets.  It infuriates me to no end.  I wish I had an answer.  This very problem is what, at one point in my life, led me to consider a career in law.  Those days are over, but I still favor significant legal reform.

Well, let’s hand it to our state legislators today for screwing us over yet again. I am a bit premature, as the vote hasn’t happened yet, but all signs point to it just sailing through. Now Utahns have a great tax break to look forward, if you make more than 6 figures that is. And what is the price we are paying for this tax break to the ultra-rich? Nothing more important than our kid’s futures. According to the latest poll 58% of the people in Utah support spending the $70 million surplus on schools rather than on this stupid tax break, but since when has democracy a la USA been about doing what the majority want? It is all about who has the money, and who has the power, which more often than not coincide. That is my rant for today, thanks

Well, here goes world, it seems that I have actually made some kind of decision.  I have decided to go to pharmacy school.  This decision came as a bit of a surprise to me, since I have some issues with pharmacutical companies and generally think that we are an overprescribed nation, that all changed, however the other day when I talked with my brother Jordan’s friend’s dad, who is a pharmacist.  He described to me the beauties of some aspects of pharmacy.  I think that I would like to end up working at a hospital reviewing drug prescriptions for cancer patients.  Anyway, I am excited and looking forward to a new direction for my life.

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