Economic Declaration of War

By: Lee Henry Head
March 8th, 2022, 2:33 PM.

President Putin and President Biden

Considering recent military attacks and civilian deaths in Ukraine by illegitimate President Vladimir Putin, the West, rallied by President Biden, has begun an economic war with Russia.

The U.S. President and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) leaders hope to derail the Russian dictator’s advance through these economic sanctions and fervent Ukrainian support.  

Protesters of “Putin’s War”

Ukrainian Support

The West initially authorized a freeze of Russian Central Bank assets. This effectively limits its ability to access and make use of almost $650 billion dollars in reserves. Some Russian banks have been removed from the Swift messaging system, a ban that will have extreme effects on payments relating to exports from Russian entities.  

The West have also begun a campaign targeting financially abundant and corrupt Russian oligarchs that are close to Putin. The Russian President and Sergei Lavrov, his foreign minister, have also been personally sanctioned by Western leaders.

The U.S. continues to add to the list of billionaires and oligarchs who will be targeted as attacks in Ukraine continue.  

Former Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Macron, President Putin (left to right)

NATO and The EU

Western Leaders have reduced the number of exports and products to Russia itself. The EU has banned the sale of aircraft and air equipment to Russian entities and commercial airlines.

The U.S. has joined other western countries in banning all Russian flights from its airspace. The UK has assured that all Russian banks will have their assets frozen.  

Picture of U.S. gas station pump.

Russian oil ban

Today, President Biden took another step towards condemning Putin’s attacks on Ukraine, effectively banning all imports of Russian oil, gas, and energy from the country.

Biden is quoted saying, “That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at U.S. ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to Putin’s war machine.”

He also warned Americans may face potential consequences at the pumps, which he believes is a small price to pay for maintaining what he has coined, “Putin’s War.” Russia makes up for about eight percent of U.S. oil imports.  

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Bardstown Restaurants

By: Lee Henry Head
March 1, 2022, 2:30 PM.

Bardstown and Highlands Area

Spots to Eat

Louisville is filled with restaurants and bars. Being in the city it is hard to settle down on a simple choice of where to go and what to see. This is a guide to Bardstown Road, and what spots are a must if you find yourself in the Derby City looking for a bite to eat.

The Eagle

Located on Bardstown Road in Louisville, Ky. The Eagle is a small chain restaurant that recently opened a new spot on the busy Bardstown Road.

The Eagle has an amazingly welcoming environment as soon as you step in. The ambiance and aesthetic the place gives off are the same, which only helps further the experience of the restaurant.

The food is focused on fried chicken and southern-style foods, offering a ton of ramped-up southern-style dishes, including mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, and an array of chicken sandwiches.  

Jacks Fry’s

Another nice restaurant located on Bardstown Road, Jacks Fry’s, has something on the menu for everyone, and it is all good.

The atmosphere in this place does not match what you would expect, and still, you are not let down. The staff was incredibly welcoming and patient with requests, as it was incredibly busy when I went. The place is loud though, so keep that in mind when deciding what event you want to have there.  

Havana Rumba

High quality and extremely delicious are the simplest and easiest ways to describe this place and its wide array of dishes. The art that is strung throughout the place is beautiful and helps to add to the overall fun and welcoming atmosphere.

Havana Rumba often has people performing, which can lead to it being loud, but it is crucial to the aesthetic of the place. The service is exquisite and I never once had to ask for a thing upon my visit.  

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Louisville Boba Tea

By: Lee Henry Head
February 25, 2022.

Louisville is known for its cute shops and destinations throughout the city, most prominently its coffee, but more recently its tea too!  

Boba Tea is a popular tea that took root in America in recent years when it became a big trend on TikTok and other apps. Quickly stores began to spring up throughout the States, and Louisville surely enough set up a few shops of its own. 

 There are more than a handful of boba tea places in Louisville, yet I will be going over which ones are the best. Which offers delicious and soothing tea, as well as a welcoming and interesting environment.  

Boba Fete

The first place I will be discussing is Boba Fete, a smaller boba shop located inside Logan Street Market near Germantown. The immediate takeaway from this place is their cute and inviting location inside Logan Street Market.

Their tea tastes high quality and every patron I was greeted with was nice and insightful of the menu. The biggest takeaway for me though is the cat printed on the Boba Fete cups, makes me want to come back and get more just for the cool logo.  

Share Tea

The second place I will be discussing is Share Tea. Share Tea is located on Bardstown Road in Louisville and offers just as welcoming an environment as the former.

The workers are incredibly helpful, and the aesthetic of the store matches the taste of the Tea. The store has a wide selection of different drinks, with each tasting as good as the last. The freshness of the drinks here is one thing I wanted to be sure to note.  

Paris Bahn Mi

The last store I will be discussing, and arguably the best is Paris Bahn Mi, also located on Bardstown Road. Paris Bahn Mi is a much larger store than the previous two listed.

The store opens into a large lounge area, filled with different seats and comfortable decorations. The white light and gentle music help create a warm and welcoming atmosphere, the workers are incredibly welcoming and even remember who I am.

The store also features a large pastry selection as well as mochi ice cream and sandwiches. The tea sold at the store is incredibly sweet and subtle, my personal favorite of the three places mentioned. Take your time to go out and give them all a try!  

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Undemocratic America

By: Lee Henry Head
January 23rd, 2022, 2:44PM.

Waning Representation

The framers of the Constitution created the Electoral College to solve a great array of issues they believed important to preserving democracy. The early writers believed that states like New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts would dominate the presidency and broader decisions alone, so smaller states received more representation in that smaller states and larger states both only had two Senators regardless of their population. House delegates were prescribed based upon population, though as time has passed, the representation of people to delegates has only become more gross and inequal.

The electoral College while originally serving as a compromise has only added to the intensity of issues with compromise in our current times. Two of the last five elections in America have been won by candidates who didn’t receive the nationwide popular vote. This has created intense distrust in our voting systems but also discontent with the Electoral College as a whole.

Party and Elector

Unbound electors are one of the most angering issues that stem from the electoral college system. In 21 states, and this is beyond me, electors are NOT obligated to vote for the candidate that the ones they represent selected. So in nearly half of the states in America, the home of democracy, the wills and ideals of the people can simply be snubbed out because of the actions of the elites appointed or elected. In the other 29 states where the electors are obligated by law to stick with their voters, they can still vote against their party’s interest and not be seriously fined or even dejected. To summarize, the popular vote or will of the people can simply be ignored in many states in the interest of preserving the power of the elite. The Electoral College originally served as a means to also assure that some “uneducated masses” wouldn’t be able to dictate the future of the country, but I argue the actions of some biased elite may not be a more informed decision, yet instead one to maintain power at the top.

The Electoral college also creates an issue in intense focus on and advancement of the also corrupted two-party system. This system has often left voters in a situation of voting for the “lesser of two evils” something I was faced with in both 2016 and in 2020, and I expect to be the situation in 2024. The Electoral College assures this trap for voters, designating that any other candidate that enters the race is dooming the opposing party when in reality they are simply promoting true democracy and diversity of thought. Most elections in American states are won on a “winner take all” basis, so smaller parties don’t often meet the threshold to receive any electoral votes, effectively barring them from participating in the process. Adding to the proliferation of corruption existing in both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Swing States

The electoral college while assuring that all states participate in presidential elections, leaves too much power to the swing states, allowing these states to effectively decide the outcome of the elections. Political parties in America can count on particular states to vote for their party, without putting too much money into the actual states themselves. California would be a good example of this for Democrats, and Kentucky would be a good example for Republicans. This electoral college assuring a winner take all method means that politicians can focus on a handful of states instead of paying attention to them all. In 2016 for example, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton spent a large majority of their time campaigning in swing states, specifically those that held the highest percentage of electoral votes, like Florida or Pennsylvania.

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Ghouls of Government

By: Lee Henry Head
January 18th, 2022, 3:22 PM.

Senators Sinema and Manchin

Democrats after narrowly winning two Senate seats in Georgia and the Unites States Presidency finally have control of all three bodies of government. After a grueling campaign against Trump, with many promises made to voters, many people are awaiting Biden’s first legislative steps but also hoping that his often made campaign promises will be kept.

Considering the majority in the House, much of the problem with passing Biden’s agenda begins with the Senate. Representing swing votes in the Senate, Senators Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema have much control over what legislative agenda Joe Biden will be able to pass. The question in recent months though is whether or not these senators truly have the American people’s best interests in mind, or their pockets best interest in mind.

Senator Joe Manchin presents himself as a pragmatic person with good manners. He believes in bipartisanship, and maintains a close relationship with President Joe Biden. He is a centrist at heart, who has spent most of his political career enriching himself at the cost of West Virginians. Now with Joe Biden’s agenda in hand, the maserati driving millionaire believes there are more important things to address, and that Biden’s agenda is too progressive to pass.

Now as much as Senator Joe Manchin wants to gaslight the American people, its pretty obvious after a few google searches what really is going on here. The senator has made nearly all of his twelve million dollars through…wait for it…COAL, and not only that, but the Senator has recieved egeregious amounts of cash from non-renewable energy sectors. The Senator recieves large amounts of money from Pro-Trump groups and other GOP organizations.

Senator Joe Manchin is for himself. He doesn’t care that Joe Biden’s plan would help the poorest people in his state. He doesn’t care for the oncoming climate disaster and the effects it will have on his people. He doesn’t care that the entire nation is begging him to look past his own selfish arrogance to help not only his party succeed, but our people succeed.

It’s time for President Joe Biden to step in. He constantly praised himself about his ability to work across the aisle and create some bipartisan environment. Instead the President is allowing the continued stalling of his entire legilsative agenda, and his entire presidency, because one man from West Virginia doesn’t have a heart. We must ask ourselves if this democratic party is truly one we wish to be a part of. With the Senate, the House, and the Presidency under control by Democrats you would think they would be able to get something done, yet again they are too beholden to their donors to take the action necessary to truly help working class regular people out. Shame on Joe Manchin, and shame on the Democrats for not pushing him harder on the issues that matter.

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