Political Pudding

A death sentence

2008-12-04T20:44:00.002-06:00

In regards to the Big Three Senator Dodd puts it "Nothing concentrates the mind like a death sentence. And we are facing a death sentence here."

This pulls my mind back to something the previous Congress was involved in, the Terri Schiavo case. Somehow they were able to drop everything, convene a session to work over an already worked over issue of a woman and a feeding tube.

Politics is an interesting thing. When given the chance to save a single life or hundreds of unborn ones, politicians can move mountains. When trying to help out fellows with money, they can jump through hoops. When faced with saving millions of blue-collar jobs... well, that takes a committee.

And then another, and another....

It's a nice change

2008-12-02T09:54:00.002-06:00

It's nice to hear commentary on the news by both Republicans and Democrats praising Obama's decisions even before he takes office.

Perhaps it's the ideas from the middle that are simply about making things work. Partisanship needs to take the backseat to actually fixing this country. Bush sat on his hands for almost a decade. It's nice seeing someone that's going to try.

The Final GOTV

2008-11-04T12:30:00.002-06:00

Today is the day. Last chance to rally people to your cause and get your candidate elected.

The enthusiasm at the polls is high. People seem to be smiling a lot this year. There's an air of finality here that will chose a brand of change. ANY change at this point is welcome and people know that. (sucks to be an incumbent for Congress this year)

There weren't any October surprises as predicted by many. The only thing sneaky going on right now is George Bush putting in 11th hour changes to environmental issues.

But where was Osama bin Laden? No fear tape this year? Nothing to scare people into electing a different candidate. But maybe he realizes that we've finally run the course on fear here in America. I think we're finally finished with listening to the whole 'do this or the terrorists will win' garbage. If poked, we'll fight. If left alone, we'll simply nurse our 401k's.

Good luck today. Standing in line is an honor to this country as a whole. The world is watching.

May the best man win.

Target: Demographic

2008-10-31T09:27:00.003-05:00

I found this story rather amazing. Police removing people from a rally beforehand simply because they looked like they might cause trouble.

It would seem as we close down this campaign certain candidates are aiming their message only at the demographics they deem can still deliver votes. If I was a young voter, I'd be more than offended that the McCain camp looks at you as nothing more than troublemakers. The media keeps reporting the millions of new registered voters as unreliable, and can't be counted on to actually get to the polls. However, those steadfast seniors are always getting to the polls.

“I saw a couple that had been escorted out and they were confused as well, and
the girl was crying, so I said ‘Why are you crying? and she said ‘I already
voted for McCain, I’m a Republican, and they said we had to leave because we
didn’t look right,’” Lara Elborno (senior student at University of Iowa) said. “They were handpicking these people and they had nothing to go off of, besides the way the people looked.”

So thank you for your vote, but please exit the building. Wow. Looks like the shrinking GOP just got a little smaller.

Stuck in the Middle with You

2008-10-28T14:35:00.002-05:00

McCain really put on the wrong set of shoes to start with. I can just see a guy that was happy to finally get his chance to get out there and run for the White House. Had he been given that chance in 2000 or 2004, he might have been an agent for change in the Republican party.

The Maverick might have been able to use his middle of the road strategy and gained a ton of moderates and independents. Had he targetted both sides of the aisle, he might have gained many practical minded voters to his team.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

He needed the existing support organization, he needed the money. He had to saddle himself with the zealotry of the religious right and he had to accept the Neo-con nuts. They steered the campaign. He had to accept the wizard Rove and his initiates... take on their attack points.

This isn't John McCain.

John would have chosen a different running mate and charged into battle. But again, he was stuck this cycle because his middle was already slipping away.

This election is stuck directly inside a new recession. The economy is tanking. People and their money are touchy business. When people lose it, they lose confidence. McCain could have kept his wars going AND tried for some reform in his vision had the economy been strong. Success and Republican would have been in the same sentence. But this all didn't happen. John needed a new tack.

Obama was sitting in the 'agent of change' chair already. His subtitle was already 'we can't accept another 8 years of this'. This left McCain in the copycat role. They couldn't argue economy, the war, anything that was continuous from the past.

Perhaps, had John done it his way from the start, he would have had the Change sign on his bus. But now is just too late.

The Red State Whine

2008-10-21T09:45:00.000-05:00

I've always wondered why some areas of our country are so against taxes. Typically they labels have been applied to Democrats linking them with taxation. 'Tax and Spend' or 'Giving it all away'. Now somehow 'spreading the wealth around' is also a common term. Oddly though, the catcalls and jeers seem to keep coming from the traditional Red States that lean Republican.

Now, I can understand the fear of people taking away your hard earned dollar and giving it to 'someone' who doesn't work or is a sponge. Sure, that's reasonable. But you have to admit, if you're complaining about it 9 times out of 10 you're not someone making a ton of money. If you look at our nation as a whole, only less than 5% are what you would call wealthy. So if you're not wealthy, and you're average or less than that on the income scale, you get defensive about your money, right? Got it.

If the government comes along and takes a dollar for you, they use it someplace and usually somewhere else. At least in your opinion, right? My money goes to help those 'neer-do-wells' in L.A. or NYC or something. They spend it on social programs for other places... we don't see any of that money come back around here. Am I getting close?

Well, I hate to break it to you. Those in a majority of Red States get MOST of the money. Try 150% of every dollar you put in. New Mexico? $2 for every dollar of taxes comes back to you. Mississippi? Same. Alaska, where they get those pretty deals from oil companies? $1.84.

You might want to check this list: http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/266.html

The data is from 2005 but you get the idea. Your money comes home almost twofold in some places. The break-even point is Rhode Island at number 33. Scan down that list. Which states are at the bottom? Mostly Blue. Okay, Texas is out a couple of cents but that's about it.
So when you're sitting in your Red State, nodding your head with McCain and the Republicans about how Obama is going to 'raise your taxes'... don't despair. Just think of us Blue State folks giving you back double down on your money. Then grin. You've already won!

Grumpy Old Men

2008-10-09T08:26:00.002-05:00

A history of short angry men. Sounds like a book doesn't it? History is filled with lists of short men that eventually lost their temper and couldn't fufill whatever their dreams were.

Napoleon was one such man. Coming in at 5 foot 2 inches, he made short work of Europe of his time. Genghis Khan was said to be 5 foot 1 inch. Stalin and Hitler were both under 5'6".

I, myself, am 5'6" and there are times when I can see the difference among groups and crowds. How men react to each other when confronted by size differences. Some guys talk right over the heads of smaller men in a crowd.
Some guys talk down to you like you're their younger brother. It really depends on individuals and their past experiences.

In the movies, we suspend reality. We put smaller actors Dustin Hoffman or Tom Cruise up on boxes or ditch trenches for leading ladies like they did in the old westerns. Gotta have that right level for the 'big kiss'.

Reality is a little different. In business settings, most of the time it's overlooked. Short men at the board room table look the same as the tall ones. But it's the outside of work story that really plays into it. My father was a short man but commanded himself well at work. At one job, he had two guys that were like 7 ft giants working with him. They may have only been mid-high six footers but they really looked huge next to him. They worked fine together but I don't think my father really got the invite much to play many sports beyond bowling.

This whole stereotype of the anger short guy has been around for a long time. Men that are frustrated with being shorter are typically angry. I've often wondered if they were angry because they were told they were. I myself would have loved another 4 inches but didn't let that get me down that much. It's only when I find strangers making assumptions that it bothers me too.

So when I watch a Presidential debate on TV, and I see angry looking John McCain up there trying so hard to crack a joke and look approachable I wonder... is he worrying about his height and if people look down on him or he just fighting his own demons from years ago. I can't imagine what being a POW would be like but that's got to be belittling as well.

He's actually 5'7" but would you know it from looking at him?

Addition,

I wrote this yesterday and it seems I'm not the only one thinking this way. George Will from the Washington Post alludes to a Napoleon complex from the sheer gall that Obama could be winning in his first attempt versus McCain's ten year trek to get a new job.

Bailing the Bailout

2008-10-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here we are, just the weekend after the monumental bailout passage, and the Dow and Wall Street are still reeling. Yet, to try and save face, and their jobs, we have the politicians on both sides of the aisle that voted for this farce stating, "Just wait, it will take some time...", yet just last week, we had them screaming in unison with Wall Street greed mongers "We need to do this NOW! We don't have time for anything else!".

Wow, if it was going to take time, no matter what we decided...then why didn't we just wait, formulate a true plan of action and put it forth. No, now John Q Taxpayer is shouldering a debt that we'll never get out from underneath.

Please, be sure to follow up with who your Representatives and Senators are and how they voted on this financial travesty and get them out of office. We need Washington to understand, they work for us, not us for them. To quote Obama, but put to true use, "It's time for change!"

Goverment Intelligence....

2008-10-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

It is the ultimate oxymoron. Yet, we had some Democrats and the majority of the Republicans in the House of Representatives vote down the Bailout.

Way to go. I am glad to hear that there are some politicians on the Hill that actually have a conscience and voted it correctly. John Q. Public should NOT be helping all those greedy bastards on Wall Street with all their back door deals. They put themselves in this predicament. And, especially during this Administration, there is NO faith in ANY promise that there would be oversight that the money would not go to CEO's and executives. You and I both know that they would get their bloated severance package, when in truth they should sink with the company/bank they are running like the Titanic.

One huge point of reference to both candidates...stop being partisan. You want to prove you are worthy of running this rambling wreck we call America...reach across the aisle and be a real leader!

The Fall of the Empire

2008-09-29T12:12:00.002-05:00

The fall of the Roman Empire has been reviewed by many historians over a period of hundreds of years. It's a classic review of civilization in whole and what can happen to a thriving system over so long of a time. People have looked to Rome as government, culture, and other systems that ran so well for so long... they must have done something right shouldn't they? A civilization that large in an era before instant communications, quick travel, etc. is just astonding in itself.
There is no one thing that caused it's collapse. Every theory has one or two pieces of an overall picture that you can pick and chose how you think things happened. Economy changed over the years. Migration of population would strain some areas and deplete others. Such a large empire was too hard to hold, etc.

I'm not a historian myself but looking them over there are some things that all civilizations have that hasten their decline. Corruption is a large one. When well made laws and courts are ignored by powerful people, this causes decline. When people with great amounts of money become too powerful, they start changing the rules, affecting corruption as well. You could look at the military. Rule by the sword, die by the sword. As the Roman legions slowly became integrated with the people they'd conquered, they ceased to be 100% loyal to Rome. Religion. The switch to Christianity took a bit of steam out of the otherwise forward driven conquering machine.

There are many pieces to the puzzle. But still you come back to: no system is perfect. At some point it will run out of steam and fail. And this is the state of affairs of the American nation. We're at a turning point. Will we go silently into the background like the British Empire? Will we go out with a bang? (an option I hope we just ignore because we could cause an awful lot of destruction.)

Our current financial crisis may seem like the sudden end to our dominance but it doesn't have to be. We have to be fluid. We have to change with the times and abandon the things that don't make sense. We can't be engaged in two wars at the same time we're hurting at home. We can't run our country on the biggest debt in the history of.. everything. And we can't keep gutting the middle class for their savings every time someone makes a bad deal on Wall Street.

Let's shore up some problems, save what we can and just let the rest go. Then begin thinking about REAL change on how we think here. We can lead the world again but we just have to pick a different path and not do it all at once.

Golden Parachute

2008-09-22T14:55:00.002-05:00

Seems we, the average Americans, get to foot the bill for Wall Streets bad investing. Oh get on board, they were told. Get on board with quick and easy loans. Everyone is doing it. You want to give the money way because hey, there's no bottom from this economy. IT'S FUNDAMENTALLY STRONG.

We were told that for years. No matter that we spend a billion dollars a month in Iraq. No matter that there's no accounting for all the money we spend on the military. It's still... strong.

So now, when Wall Street has to call it quits to expensive cars, women and parties, we get to be the ones to clean up their mess and foot their tab.

Ever been out to the bar with your buddies and be the last guy at the table. Everyone else parties it up like it's the end of days and you're still there at the end when the waitress comes by with the tab. Hmmm, all your friends only put down a twenty? Well this sucks...

Yeah, it's a little like that. Wall Street made their profits. They raped us over the coals on gas and oil prices. Consumer goods too. And now, when the party is over, we get to cover some guy at Lehman or AIG's golden parachute. It's a binding contract... we gotta pay this guy $22 million. Sorry.

Yeah, sorry American. Sorry your kids will have to scrap like beggars to pay for someone's party. Maybe deregulation wasn't such a great idea after all.

It's the Economy, Stupid!

2008-09-16T07:49:00.002-05:00

Guess the year...

The top 5% of the rich made 22% of the wealth. Workers wages only increased 10% in a decade. The slump in automobile sales was paralleled by the decline in the construction of new housing, causing unemployment in the building trades. Fewer suburban houses meant fewer markets for appliances, wall coverings, and other activities related to home building.
The economy was in trouble but people, dazzled by a surging stock market, ignored it. Agriculture was in a depression as farmers sold in a competitive market. Improvements in farm technology, which allowed farmers to produce more, only made the situation worse for demand was inelastic.

Without the appropriate income distribution, warehouses burst at their seams and production lines clogged. Ethnic discrimination usually meant lower pay for the affected groups.
Many of the wealthy, as well as others, joined the speculative stock market sending stock prices to greater and greater without regard to company performance. The crash that follows meant the loss of capital in the amount of billions.

Business and industry met the crisis as they had always done—they cut production, lowered wages, reduced working hours, and fired workers. Many people lost their homes. The President was accused of not knowing what to do or how to help. He believed that the depression was part of the normal business cycle and had been caused by international factors and not US ones. to him, "prosperity was just around the corner." The best thing for the country to do would be to wait the crisis out.

Sound familiar? I've trimmed the actual numbers out of the above because when you do you could easily slip George Bush's name in there. It was actually 1929 and Hoover's timeframe.

It's the economy, stupid! This is what this election really is about. The free market reign of capitalism just doesn't work without people at the top managing the economy as a whole and making sure that workers and citizens also grow with it. Take back those tax breaks from the oil companies and give them to the middle class to jump-start the country's economy. We need to pump trillions into alternative energy sources and then sell that technology to other countries. American know-how can at the same time reduce our dependence on oil and it can help fix our economy.

McCain was quoted with this "I'm going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated..." He trusted Former Senator Phil Gramm to fill in those blanks for him. Gramm was tied directly to Enron. The research is yours to make.

It's the Economy, stupid!

Someone please!!!

2008-09-15T07:00:00.002-05:00

Ike has passed, the cost of crude has dropped below 100 bucks, so can someone PLEASE explain to me why I see gas over 4 bucks a gallon? Big Oil can't claim a viable excuse for the gouging of my wallet, fattening of theirs now. Which ever president is elected really, REALLY needs to regulate this market. I mean regulate with just restraint that the CEO busts a vein just trying to piss.

We truly need to remove ourselves off the dependence of a finite resource. We need to find energy independence. Yesterday.

Same Schtick, Different Day

2008-09-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

The Republican National Convention happened last week. You might have missed it due to your weather channel running all the updates on the hurricanes roaring into the Southeast and Caribbean. It really was an uneventful. The DNC at least jazzed it up. And it have become ever apparent that the Democrats have been grooming and working on their oratory abilities. Other than Palin, I can't think of one memorable speech. I'm not talking about the substance of the speeches, but the manner in which they were delivered. And Palin could have been because of the 'new' appearance of her on the national stage and her 'curiosity' factor. Bush endorsed McCain. Whoop de do. McCain said fight with me. Palin put forth her extremely conservative views.

This isn't the Republicans of Reagan and Lincoln. They have embraced big government, wasteful spending, extreme conservative policy and failing diplomacy on the world stage. Bush has failed us on epic proportions. Though I loath what will happen to the size of the government under Obama/Biden...their eventual win in the election is almost a guarantee. We've had eight years of Republican control on the hill. They've had both sides of the coin, with Congress and the White House. Now, we're going to see the Democrats with the coin and see what they accomplish.

I hope you do some good Obama, because you'll only get one shot.

Now, on a different topic, people need to drop the experience factor when looking at Sarah Palin. Has she served on the national level? No. But neither Obama nor Biden has served as a president, so they have just as much experience. And yes, she's in her first term as a governor, but Obama is a first term senator. At least she has responsibility. He gets to put his name on a couple of minor bills, and do nothing and claim national exposure. Whoop de do. And while we're at it...can we leave family out of it as well?

Be an informed voter this year. Pick the best candidate by the issues:

Where do they stand on illegal immigration? What is their economic policy? Foreign policy? How will they address Iraq? Iran? North Korea? Terrorism? Will taxes be raised? But unless they've already served a term, which neither side has, experience is a non issue. Family should be a non issue.

The Palin Show

2008-09-04T12:41:00.002-05:00

Well I gave it some time, let her have her big speech. I wanted to see if perhaps I was wrong with my first impression and honestly, I'm not. The Palin nomination is nothing more than a political stunt to grab disinfranchised Clinton voters to the GOP ticket.

When I first saw the name on the day of the pick I thought, oh no, not that one. I'd read about her briefly before. I thought she was going to be investigated in a scandal about a state trooper. Wow, did they bury that one fast.

From what some of the word on the street says, McCain wanted Lieberman to be his BBF and join the ticket. Rove wanted Romney. McCain jumped the shark and chose Palin after what, a couple interviews?

Palin was completely the wrong choice. You take the oldest man to run for President and add to the ticket a woman with little to no experience and you have a recipe for disaster. You thought Bush's gaffs were bad, just wait.

Palin has no experience to speak of. She's only once has been out of the country. She's been governor for less than two years. Before that she was major of a 6,000 population town. I grew up in a 22,000 town and trust me, it's not rocket science. Got snow removal? Is that one stop light working? Gotcha, we're all set.

Comparisons from her to Biden are staggering. She's had a handful of years experience compared to the decades Biden has in government. He's worked on the foreign relations committee and the Senate committee of the judiciary. I think he knows a little about other nations. Palin has... been near Russia?

And comparing her to Obama is a joke. He got millions of votes in the primary compared to the pittance she got getting to governor. Obama worked at the state AND federal level. He's got a law degree. She's got what, a journalism degree? from the University of Idaho?

There is just so much more wrong with her too. I don't need to touch much on her family much but what kind of mother wants to take a special needs child to Washington? That's just scary. Her daughter proves once again that abstenance education doesn't work. And being 'a hockey mom' doesn't qualify you to talk to North Korea or Iran, I'm just sorry.

Her speech at the RNC was a lot of fluff. Many of her statements were completely incorrect. Saying she stopped the bridge to nowhere is silly as they agreed to get rid of it only after it was going to cost twice the estimate. She was totally for it two years ago. She's a pro at earmarks alright. Back when she was mayor, her pocket lobbist got Wasilla in 1999 $1.2 million in storm water treatment money and $605,000 for pedestrian walkways. This is a town of 6,000 remember? My hometown couldn't have gotten that if it tried.

And now, the McCain camp is rushing around putting the lid on 'we won't discuss it' on her background trying to make it seem like there's nothing left to question. In a way they're right. There isn't anything left to question. She was chosen from the few candidates who would appeal to the religious right and people trying to find family values left in their party.

So while I was underwhelmed by McCain's shift to 'whatever the GOP wants me to say' I'm even farther under when it comes to their V.P. choice. Romney would have made this a much more interesting battle. Even Ben Stein was 'floored' by this choice.

Ogre might not like Biden as a choice, but he's gotta agree this gal can't hold a torch to him.

Fear... yeah, let's go with that

2008-09-01T15:00:00.002-05:00

I've gotten a wry smile from the Republican response to the issues this season. The party of Lincoln and Reagan used to have a large portfolio of themes to run on every year.

Fiscal responsibility: Every good Republican knows the drill on painting liberals as 'tax and spend'. They claim that every dollar spent on our country is a waste and comes from their own wallets. Unfortunately, the 109th Congress that had a majority didn't understand that at all. They spent like Paris Hilton on Rodeo Drive. The 110th Congress is backwards in that they want to keep spending but it's also fun to filibuster and block the Dems from doing that. Oh, and there's that problem with President Clinton and how he brought down the deficit. So this one is a little tarnished. Next...

Family values: This one is murky in that they don't really understand family values at all. Most of the rich elite rarely see their children and are more often than not caught with hookers. That and the pedophiles and closet gays... the party is fairing badly vs. their Democratic counterparts. Next...

Defense: Painting the Left as 'unpatriotic' helped them win other elections. Smashing up bad guys in foreign lands also gains a vote with the masculine types in the South and West... but didn't really have a direction so therefore only became a drag on the economy. Add to this the poor track record of folks like McCain on voting for veterans benefits and you have a sad story for everyone except the defense contractors who are happily cashing checks in our name.

So what is left? Religion? I hesitate to touch that one. You'll find the numbers split anyway between folks in both camps. One party doesn't hold a majority to that one.

Perhaps Fear then? Fear is definitely something they've used well over the years. Our local papers are split between the Detroit Free Press, a left leaning paper, and the Detroit News, conservatively based. One of their columnists, Nolan Finley, is a usual for blowing his horn and blaming someone else for problems. But on Sunday he really showed his true colors. 'GOP's hopes rest on scaring voters'. Here he showed that the way for the GOP to win this cycle is to make people afraid of Democratic choice for President. Really? This one again?

'They've got to scare voters to death about what will happen to the nation if Obama is elected. They must paint him as a threat to everything they cherish, from free trade to family values. They must tap into fears that Obama doesn't have the will or the knowhow to keep the nation safe and secure from threats from within and without.'

So somehow we take Obama and paint him as the scariest thing out there?

'But if they have any hope of closing the emotion gap, Republicans have to scare voters enough to keep them awake on election eve and send them running to the polls in terror the next morning.'
Ahh, okay. So this is the thing that should keep me up at night. Well Mr. Nolan, fear can keep me up at night but for different reasons:

Fear... that my family will be without jobs and not have money in an economy that doesn't offer much for rehires.

Fear... that same loss of job will lose my health insurance that protects my daughter from CF and her thousands of dollars of prescriptions.

Fear... that we'll elect McCain and go bounding into Iran for a '3 strikes we're out' scenario and break our military.

Fear... that McCain will make the Supreme Court into something like a monkey trial that will approve every police state measure they see and also force us into a theocracy.

Fear... that we'll continue with politics as usual which works only on division, naysayers, and no hope for change.

Yes, Mr. Nolan. Go with the fear card. It seems we have plenty of that to go around.

Soggy Republicans and Labor

2008-09-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

The start of the RNC is today. Due to Hurricane Gustav though, it looks to scale back things for the opening act. That's ok, we'll still have plenty of time to see what's behind the pick in Sarah Palin.

On Hurricane Gustav, Nagin actually was wise and ordered an evacuation of New Orleans. Way to go mayor, but if there isn't a city to return to, don't go back. It's Mother Nature's way of telling you that she doesn't like the city. And my tax dollars should rebuild it once again.

Today is our national holiday of Labor Day. It was first celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City. On a tuesday no less. It didn't settle on its monday home until 2 years later. The Central Labor Union are the main champions of the holiday. Have a great one today.

The Week's End Dessert

2008-08-29T12:00:00.000-05:00

Let's start with the Democratic National Convention has wrapped up. The Miss America Pageant, Rose Bowl, Oscars and Macy's Parade rolled into one and spread over four days for the Democrats are over. What did you get out of it? Is there a lot of pomp? Check. Do we have a lot of fluff? Check. Were there some poignant topics covered? Sometimes.

Make no mistake, the DNP went all out in Denver to make it look glamorous. Temple of Obama some have called it. Others Barackoplis, or maybe you prefer Egobama. I'm not going to go there, because the RNP will do the exact same thing. It's a lot of flair. It's got to look good. Otherwise, why make such a big brouhaha about it. But was it just a lot of gloss? Made to look so good that it distracts goers from the real issues? Or from hearing HOW the DNP wants to address the issues? Let's look at some of them...

Al Gore was a speaker and brought up, what else, but environmental issues. We're talking about someone who has a very eco-unfriendly house. Oh, I'm sorry; he installed the eco-friendly light bulbs, and they gave him a share of the Noble Prize, sheesh. Come on Al, can't you let 2000 go? Most of his speech is a comparison of what would have happened if he had been elected instead of Bush. Yeah, it's easy to make THAT talk when you don't have to back it up. The comparison of Abraham Lincoln to Obama was a good choice in how their two paths led to the White House, although, I hope it doesn't prove prophetic. Lincoln was assassinated Al.

Of course, we can't have a Democrat Party without Slick Willy! He, of course, starts the speech with the praise for his wife. That's expected. But then he spends the rest of of his speech talking about how Barack is ready to be president. Wait, didn't he spend several months during primaries stating how he's NOT ready to be president? Hold on, he also drags out the military and they're multiple deployments and hardships on the military families. Willy, you really can't say anything on this, as it's your fault the military is in the state it is in now.

I really looked forward to hearing from Biden. I was hoping he would prove me wrong that he was a poor choice for a running mate. He didn't. He started off well enough, but like a good politician, he stated his contradictions in plain sight, just with good spin. Sorry Biden, but how can one be raised with the appreciation of hard work, and the value of getting back up when you've been knocked down AND think the government should be the one to pick you up?

And last and definitely not least, we have Obama. He gave an eloquent speech, and laid out his plans and policies if he is elected president. And you'll notice he stated he'd cut taxes. CUT! But spend out the nose for all these wonderful and great social programs. There aren't enough loopholes Obama to cover the cost. We have baby boomers getting ready to retire in droves, what about Social Security? And please, look at all of Europe that has universal health care. Wait, you don't have to even look across the pond, just look up at Canada, and see just how big a failure it is. So, you'll either have to raise taxes, see George H. W. Bush and reading his lips, or you'll put us deeper in dept, see George W. Bush who you're trying to replace. You cannot merge both sides of the economy Barack. You need to pick one. Do we do it on our own, or will the government bail us out? I'm fairly sure which way you, and a Democrat majority Congress, would decide to go.

One last thing to ponder for the weekend before the RNC starts next week. Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, has been selected as McCain's running mate. Is it a bold or risky move? We'll have to wait and see...

Democratic Convention to kick off

2008-08-25T08:00:00.002-05:00

The news is a buzz with three things relating to the election race: Obama's choice of Joe Biden for VP, the Democratic Convention in Denver, and the fact John McCain has no idea how many homes he owns.

At the convention, it will be hard to hear any other noise beyond the din of Democrats praising themselves, their future and Barack Obama. The first convention was held in Baltimore in 1832. The purpose was to choose a running mate for President Andrew Jackson. It followed the Republican party convention at the end of the year. It also followed the Anti-Masonic Party convention. Yeah, can you believe that one? Democrats opposed elites and aristocrats, and modernizing programs that would build up industry at the expense of the taxpayer. These policies fell under the umbrella term Jacksonian Democracy.

Back then it was very much a debate of rich vs poor, states vs federalist. Today I'm not sure if things are any clearer. Modern democrats are still labeled with equal rights for lowest ranks but they've had quite a bit of change in their overall mission. They've moved to the right in economics and social policies. At the same time they raise minimum wage, they can also balance a national budget. (See the Clinton years hehe)

In this vein of sliding to the right, is saying and doing what they need to take an election. Case in point is Obama's slide to the middle as well as picking Joe Biden. Any election is really only a grab for a middle and the independents. You have to appeal to them to get in. Many of Obama's detractors complain they don't know enough about him or fear he'll take the country down some Progressive nightmare of high taxes and handouts.

Where I think Obama will pull through via the conventions it to finally get the message through of middle-class tax cuts and a stable approach to global issues. The man has a level head and is darn intelligent. He just needs to lay things out in a simple fashion that the middle can understand and agree to.

So sit back, try to catch a few speeches. You don't need to see the whole thing but do read some of the summaries. This is the easiest way to make up your mind (if you're still on the fence).

Should have been forbidden...

2008-08-25T07:00:00.002-05:00

Senator Joseph Biden has been selected at Obama's VP on the eve of the Democratic Convention. Was it a wise choice, or is Barack starting to show his true political colors?

If you didn't know, Joseph Biden has been a U.S. Senator from Delaware since 1973. He is the senior senator from that state, and is the current chairman on the Foreign Relations Committee. The length of time he has been in office is 6th among current senators, 4th among just Democrats.

Now, Barack Obama has had the presidential campaign slogan of change. And one of his initial arguments about her during the primaries was that she was part of the establishment. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't Biden be? One of his biggest points against his competition is that McCain is part of the establishment, that he is just a continuation of Bush policy. Isn't Biden just a continuation of the liberal policies of Michael Moore and Clinton? I mean, come on, even Hillary gave a rousing announcement for her support of the selection!

I understand his selection. Biden brings validation to his foreign policy credentials because of him sitting on the FRC. But, is that validation worth the complete abandonment of his campaign slogan? How can he keep it using that slogan? I believe it has started becoming more prevalent among the non committed voters as well. McCain has caught up to Obama in the polls. Even the Clinton supporters are starting to come over.

The selection of Obama's running mate is what I always believed would be the turning point of this campaign. And I believe he's made a monumental blunder in picking Biden as his running mate. The Obama campaign should have told him that is was forbidden, not for Biden.

GOP enters long hibernation

2008-08-18T08:00:00.002-05:00

Hi! I'm J.Roo. I figured a small introduction is in order. I'm not a political expert, by any means. I'm not even a professional political junkie. I'm just your average father of two that lives in suburbia. I grew up Republican and later stopped caring.

During the 90's I was a lot like other young people out there. Life was good, the White House was hip and the country was going great. We were in the black financially and actually starting to bring down the deficit that we 'happily endured' since Reagan to stop those Soviets from winning. Sure nobody was going to win WWIII but that’s another story.

It was at the end of the Clinton presidency that I started to see the trouble brewing. See, until this point I figured Congress as nothing more than troublemakers that wouldn’t agree with the plain sense the President was speaking. Little did I realize the GOP was setting themselves up for a trifecta of all government. If you would go back in time and talk to myself ten years ago, I would have laughed if you said this group in Congress was going to spread to hold an uber majority.

Along comes George Bush. Simple, good-old-buddy George. Seemed harmless enough. I didn’t vote for him because he seemed like a backwater Governor with no real agenda. The other half of the country disagreed.

For the next eight years this ‘good old boy’ would show the world that we really had no direction other than to make land grabs for oil. We couldn’t hunt down the people responsible for 9/11. We couldn’t help our own people after Hurricane Katrina. We couldn’t stop jobs from going overseas. We couldn’t do anything but give tax cuts to the rich and sit helplessly as we all lost our money and jobs. It was at this point I became a Democrat.

It’s been a long road from the days when I saw Ronald Reagan speak. I liked his charm in making other nations like us. His rhetoric about a smaller government made sense. Work smarter not harder. Not larger. But his vision wasn’t the same as his supporters. They carried on and to a new agenda.

The Republican party has suffered greatly this decade. It’s taken it in the ear on public relations. They have become the trademark for giving more breaks to the rich and to oil companies. They are also the leaders in hypocrisy by claiming to be the party ‘of moral value’ when they are the majority of the ones indicted for corruption or perverted sex crimes.

It’s a little like they expended all their talent at the same time to fill the ranks of politicians and judges and thereby opened the door to a ton of folks that have no right holding office. Instead of creating a system that could hold onto power it’s like the current folks in charge were only interested in burning their bridges to get the most money out of us they could. Military contractors, oil companies, etc, they all got their hands into the piggybank and just started taking. It’s all slash and burn. If you want to see the fruits of the last decade of GOP labors look to Dubai. Seems to be the most likely place they’ll stash the money.

So where does this leave the GOP? Right now, nowhere. It’s my belief that it’s going to take at least two Presidencies before they can get the bad taste out of our mouths from GWB. The Bush family is done. Whatever shot Jeb had at higher office is gone. But why bother with his brother’s benefactors sending him Xmas cards.

Bush leaves no VP worth considering nor Secretary of State or anyone. He never groomed a successor of value. All the talent was in the ‘back office’ so to speak with Cheney and Rove. He doesn’t really have someone to hand the mantle to but John McCain… the guy they wouldn’t even consider in 2000 or 2004. I foresee him giving this race a solid try but still coming up short in the end. All due to lack of support at the polls. The Democrats are gaining in new voter turnout and registration. Surveys are showing more people switching from Republican to Independent. It doesn’t look pretty.

A winning Dem party this fall will give the GOP a chance to regroup. They can go back to be the watchdogs about overspending and entitlement. They were good at that. Show all the excesses of the Dems and keep a long list. Then, if those guys fall flat on their faces be ready to jump back in. If for some reason the Democrats really pull a coup and create a new stage with new values for this country, then the GOP can take the time to reinvent themselves. Either way, they need a new slogan, a new purpose, because I think the old ways have gone the way of the Whigs.

Burning Debut

2008-08-18T07:00:00.002-05:00

Greetings. I will be one of your commentators in this foray of a lion's den known as U.S. Politics. I live in the South Eastern part of the U.S., and on most days I consider it the best part to live in. Yes, I know, we contributed some idiot public figures, but we've also produced some great ones. I am a registered Independent. I am also a conservative leaning moderate. At some point, we will address all my political views, so I will not bore you any further yet.

My first view point that I will discuss in my debut is a fluff issue in the grand scheme of politics, and used by them to distract the populace from more important topics. It does bring about a heated conversation if brought up at a large gathering of people, because it touches on other liberties we have as Americans. I am talking about burning the U.S. Flag.

Now, I understand the first argument going to be used is that it is covered under the First Amendment. But is it really? This is a two part fallacy.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

First, no where in there is it directly expressed that we have the right to burn the flag. So we come to the second part of that argument, and it comes to Freedom of Speech, which due to the Supreme Court, also covers Freedom of Expression and more specifically to this argument, flag burning. So, yes, one does of the legal right to burn the flag. But, burning the flag expresses what? Objection to the government and its policies? To the President? Congress? A war?

All those aren't the flag. The flag represents the sacrifices made by men and women throughout our history to give and protect the rights we hold so dear. Burning the flag is an affront to their sacrifice and the memory of that sacrifice. Seen the picture of marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima? Or maybe is was the sight of the flag for Francis Scott Key to write his poem, which spawned our national anthem. Or maybe the 1980 hockey team with it raised after beating the U.S.S.R. in the olympics? None of those represent what one might perceive as a justification to protest and burn the flag. The flag is the embodiment of the U.S. and its history, and to defile it in such a way reeks of the most absolute way to be un-American as one can be. The flag is not the government, or the President, or Congress. It is America and her people and priviledges and freedoms and all the intangible things you can't see or touch or put into proper word.

I believe it should be outlawed. I also believe that one should be tried for treason and revoked of their citizenship for burning the flag. I disagree on many things our government and elected leaders do, but I respect, honor and appreciate the sacrifices of so few for so many. And if one calls themselves an American, then they should consider that before they strike that match.