The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do. —Sarah Ban Breathnach
Taking over the world may be as simple as taking one single action: voting
One of my favorite cartoons ever originated the same year my oldest son was born. Warner Brothers’ Animaniacs holds a place of nostalgic importance within our family for many reasons, but one of those is the concept that anyone with the right determination, effort, and a little luck, might take over the world. Where did we get that idea? Pinky and the Brain. In every episode, Pinky asks, “What are we going to do tonight, Brain?” and Brain answers, “The same thing we do every night, Pinky, try to take over the world.” They’re mice, and more than once they come quite close to succeeding.
Given the interconnectedness and interdependencies among nations, taking over the world is probably a more realistic goal now than it ever has been. The solution is rather simple and I’m not the only who has noticed, I’m sure. Affect the stock market in one major country and watch all the others respond in kind. This makes gaining economic control easy. World food supplies are largely controlled by a handful of companies. Control the food supply and you control people. The entire world, including governments and the global power grid, are connected by computers. Â One well-written virus and you control who has electricity and who doesn’t.
Perhaps most frightening is the realization that one intelligent individual could probably achieve that level of control without the aid or knowledge of their own government. Fortunately, controlling a stock market and the global food supply requires a substantial form of capital and not many people have access to that wealth. Still, it is a very real danger. Who has access to that kind of wealth and power?
The President of the United States.
Whether we like it or not, we cannot deny that the US is a global power and that the decisions made here affect events and people around the world. For example, the United States is the sole source for a number of life-saving drugs. Should we decide to shut down production of those drugs, especially those for fighting diseases like Ebola and Malaria, the results could be devastating on a global scale.  Were our government to enact a policy that makes it impossible for international companies to make a profit in the US, the global economy, including our own, would crash overnight. Where we decide to put troops affects the safety and well-being of millions of people. Pull the Marines from Okinawa and that region of the world would almost certainly collapse as North Korea’s insane leadership would see that as an opportunity to assert domination.
The President could affect all of those situations and more.
When we’re considering for whom we are going to vote, or whether we’re going to vote, our tendency is to look at domestic issues, specifically, “What’s best for me?” Â As such, our vision tends to be incredibly short-sighted. We too often want a President who will encourage and enact policies we think will make our lives better, even if it is to the detriment of someone else. We are as selfish in our voting as we are in our use of money.
What might have a greater effect on our longevity and quality of life, however, is how we relate to the world. Even our domestic policies such as health care and minimum wage affect things such as immigration and foreign investment. We like to think we’re all big and mighty and powerful on our own, but the fact is we hold a lot of debt and in many ways are just as dependent on other countries as they are dependent on us.
One of the first stories to slap me in the face this morning is evidence that Syria’s President al-Assad is coordinating efforts with Daesh. Â This is bad news for the entire world as Syria appears to be directly funding terrorism. Both the economic and military strength of the United States are principal aspects in stopping this atrocity.
Oh, and there’s more evidence that China’s economy lacks a solid foundation. China influences the US economy in three ways: investment, debt, and trade. Should their economy crash, they could easily take down ours and the European Union at the same time. US foreign policy is critical in helping keep the Chinese economy stable.
Then, there’s the increasingly worrisome matter of North Korea. Not only have they now limited movement in and out of Pyongyang, but they’ve banned weddings, funerals, and any other form of assembly ahead of their party congress next week. This increases speculation that the country may attempt a nuclear demonstration during the event. Even North Korea’s one reluctant ally, China, is depending upon US intelligence information in helping to form an international response should the rogue nation decide to do something stupid.
The United States is tied to events all over the world, which makes the US president a key component in how those events are resolved. While we don’t need a president who is going to be overly aggressive and intimidating toward foreign leaders, we also don’t need someone who fucks it all up with a religious-based ideology or a hesitant approach to taking action. We are dogged by the hindsight that had we taken a more forward and active role in foreign matters prior to WWII, we might have prevented at least some of the atrocities committed in both theaters of that war. We don’t have to like being a world power, but the world depends on us stepping up and taking that responsibility.
Okay, so maybe it’s a stretch to say that the US rules the world entirely. We have our vulnerabilities. Still, whoever we elect as President wields incredible power over the lives not only of Americans but the seven billion plus citizens of this planet. We should take extra care in deciding how we’re going to cast our ballots. After all, Pinky, we know taking over the world is possible. We need to be careful about which lab mouse we select to do so.
5 Things You Should Know: 12.30.2016
04:15:57Â 12/30/2016
https://youtu.be/b8VmVPNL2XI
So close and yet, no champagne just yet
Hey, look! You’ve made it this far through 2016! Only today and tomorrow left. All you have to do is stay safe for a few more hours. There are still snow flurries across central Indiana this morning so roads have some slick spots. If you live in the Northeast, you probably need a shovel.
Two more murders in Indy overnight, and if you travel from Indiana to Kentucky, it’s going to cost about $4 per trip to pay for those bridges. Don’t worry, they’ll bill you. More people are opting to stay home tomorrow night and parents are excited that school starts back in less than five days. Is life supposed to be this hectic? We have 5 things you should know to help sort out the important stuff.
Dear Russia: You Suck
After teasing it for the past week, President Obama finally released sanctions against Russia for its part in disrupting the US election by hacking political organizations1. 35 Russian diplomats have been given 72 hours to make their way back to their motherland. At the same time, he imposed sanctions on two Russian intelligence agencies allegedly involved in the hacking.
This marks the first time since the end of the Cold War that such actions have been taken against Russia. Naturally, Russia vows to retaliate in kind with CNN reporting that the Anglo-American School of Moscow has been ordered closed2. However, it seems unlikely that will be the only action Russia might take in the matter.
Over the past week, Congressmen such as Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain have called for a tough stance against the Russian hacking scheme. This seems to be about as stern a move as President Obama can make without directly involving Congress, which he’s not inclined to do at this point in his administration. The problem with the President acting unilaterally is that the sanctions may not stick. President-elect Trump seemed rather dismissive of the sanctions yesterday, saying that it was “time to move on.”
On The Count Of Three, Stop Shooting
Despite some early reports of independent skirmishes, the Syrian cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey appears to be holding3. If everyone can keep their fingers off the triggers, the next step would be peace talks next month in Kazakhstan. Allegedly, the cease-fire was signed by the heads of seven major rebel groups, though none of the groups themselves actually admit to having done so.
The cease-fire has to be considered extremely tentative and one misstep by any of the parties involved could cause the whole thing to crumble. Were there only two parties involved, the situation might be more tenable, but with so many splintered rebel groups it is difficult to know when or if everyone has gotten the message, and even more uncertain whether anyone agrees to abide by the terms. For now, every thirty minutes the cease-fire holds is a victory.
What stings is that the US has been completely excluded from these talks. Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, is seen as taking the lead in negotiating the cease-fire, a position President Obama would have certainly liked to have taken but could not. Â President Obama has admitted that his administration dropped the ball on Syria and as a result, we’ve been kicked out of the game. Exactly how this might play for future negotiations in the Middle East remains to be seen, but we’re no longer in the driver’s seat there.
A Tough Year For Law Enforcement
If you think you’re having a rough year, try being a cop. As of Wednesday, the Associated Press reports that 135 officers have lost their lives in the line of duty this year. That’s up 56% over 20154. Sure, some of the deaths were from traffic accidents, but the number of police shootings has increased dramatically for a number of different reasons.
One event factoring heavily in these statistics is the July 7 sniper attack in Dallas that killed five officers and wounded nine others. More individualized attacks across the country have brought police morale to an all-time low with several officers opting for retirement rather than continuing to take the risks associated with the job. This means more young, rookie cops on the street who don’t have the experience and patience of their older counterparts.
At the same time, police are finding their methods and actions more frequently criticized. Just a couple of days ago, a video tape was released that shows a Ft. Worth, Texas officer shooting a man in the back, contradicting earlier testimony5. Incidents such as this not only erodes public trust but increases the danger for police officers everywhere. The two new murders in Indianapolis last night are proof we need a strong police force, but we need to find a way to achieve that while keeping both the police and the public safe.
Moving Closer To A Living Wage
Making a living wage gets a lot closer to reality for workers in 19 states come Sunday morning6. Employees in Washington and Massachusetts get the biggest jump to $11 an hour. Raises also come to California, New York, Arizona, Maine, Colorado, Alaska, Florida, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio and South Dakota, Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Michigan and Vermont.
The push behind this raise in the minimum wage is a reflection of how our society has changed. Minimum wage jobs, typically implying unskilled labor, were originally reserved for teenagers who lived at home and had few, if any, financial obligations. It was a way to save money for college or buy a car. When the minimum wage was established in 1938, it was never intended to be enough to support a family.
Yet, as society has evolved, it isn’t teens taking those $7.50-an-hour jobs, but unemployed adults, victims of layoffs as far back as 2002, unable to find jobs that fit their skill set, trying desperately to piece together enough part-time work to keep a roof over their heads. While some argue that increasing the minimum wage is unfair and a strain to small business, there has never been an increase in the minimum wage that didn’t end up boosting the economy7. We can only hope that this trend continues to other states as well. Lord knows Congress isn’t going to do anything to help the poor.
And finally …
Just when you thought 2016 was almost over, someone goes and throws a wrench in the works. As it turns out, this year is longer than a normal year—by a whole second. The culprit is something known as a leap second8. The official keepers of time, an organization known as the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service, warned us of such this past summer, but no one was really listening at that point. Now, as the year ends, it comes time to add that extra second, throwing off everyone’s countdowns and making the year just a little bit longer.
Why do we need to add a leap second? Because the earth’s rotation isn’t quite as precise as the atomic clocks that govern how we measure time. The earth’s rotation fluctuates, the atomic clocks don’t. So, every couple of years or so, it is necessary to add a second in order to prevent a misalignment that, unchecked, would eventually have clocks reading 7:00 PM when the sun was directly overhead.
This little second thing can cause some problems. In previous years, it has thrown off airline reservation systems and GPS satellites. The midsummer announcement of this year’s addition was made early in hopes of avoiding such confusion. Yet, what might be most important is that we guard ourselves in that extra second so that no one else dies. We’ve already had enough of that with the time we are normally allotted. Let’s try and stay alive for just one second more.
Speaking of time, we’ve used up all of ours for today. Â Once again, thank you for reading and/or watching. Please, do stay safe as you travel to and fro. We will have news tomorrow in some form or fashion, but not Sunday. We both can use the break. Enjoy your day.
By the way, did you know that you can sponsor these articles? We’re not even expensive, I promise! Just ask us how!
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