President Obama

Kinda' odd-sounding, but whatever:) The American people have spoken, and voted in Barack Obama for the next US President.

Not unexpected, and not a tragedy.

Americans proved last night that they were willing to gamble in the hope that change would be for the better. The GOP had been in power for too long; it was time for a change. It is essential that the government be swept clean every so often: stagnation leads to waste and corruption.

But by the same token, great care must now be taken by the incoming administration. With control of the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives, we have removed one of our government's precious checks and balances. This means that policy will probably be made more swiftly--a good thing in a time of economic crisis--but also that it will be made more easily. So a note to the incoming President Elect and his newly-strengthened legislature:

DO NOT let your reach exceed your grasp. Start out slow. Our economy is struggling at the moment; don't immediately try to "fix" everything. Comprehensive health-care reform can wait a year or so. Even Energy Policy and Education Reform (see below) can wait. Get things back onto an even keel before you start rocking the boat again. The voters have basically written you a blank check. Spend it WISELY.

Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States. With our support, some informed advice, and a dash of good luck he could do some good things for this country...IF he keeps his head about him.

Election Day Coverage

Today is, of course, Election Day. And that means that tonight iBear will be posting vote results just as soon as I get them. Stay tuned for breaking coverage with our imaginary-award-winning political analysis team:)

Results:

National Presidential Race:
McCain: 173/270 Electoral Votes
Obama: 365/270 Electoral Votes - PROJECTED WINNER!

Alabama: 9 Electoral Votes - McCain
Alaska: 3 Electoral Votes - McCain
Arizona: 10 Electoral Votes - McCain
Arkansas: 6 Electoral Votes - McCain
California: 55 Electoral Votes - Obama
Colorado: 9 Electoral Votes - Obama
Connecticut: 7 Electoral Votes - Obama
Delaware: 3 Electoral Votes - Obama
District of Columbia: 3 Electoral Votes - Obama
Florida: 27 Electoral Votes - Obama
Georgia: 15 Electoral Votes - McCain
Hawaii: 4 Electoral Votes - Obama
Idaho: 4 Electoral Votes - McCain
Illinois: 21 Electoral Votes - Obama
Indiana: 11 Electoral Votes - Obama
Iowa: 7 Electoral Votes - Obama
Kansas: 6 Electoral Votes - McCain
Kentucky: 8 Electoral Votes - McCain
Louisiana: 9 Electoral Votes - McCain
Maine: 4 Electoral Votes - Obama
Maryland: 10 Electoral Votes - Obama
Massachusetts: 12 Electoral Votes - Obama
Michigan: 17 Electoral Votes - Obama
Minnesota: 10 Electoral Votes - Obama
Mississippi: 6 Electoral Votes - McCain
Missouri: 11 Electoral Votes - McCain
Montana: 3 Electoral Votes - McCain
Nebraska: 4 Electoral Votes - McCain 1 Electoral Vote - Obama
Nevada: 5 Electoral Votes - Obama
New Hampshire: 4 Electoral Votes - Obama
New Jersey: 15 Electoral Votes - Obama
New Mexico: 5 Electoral Votes - Obama
New York: 31 Electoral Votes - Obama
North Carolina: 15 Electoral Votes - Obama
North Dakota: 3 Electoral Votes - McCain
Pennsylvania: 21 Electoral Votes - Obama
Ohio: 20 Electoral Votes - Obama
Oklahoma: 7 Electoral Votes - McCain
Oregon: 7 Electoral Votes - Obama
Rhode Island: 4 Electoral Votes - Obama
South Carolina: 8 Electoral Votes - McCain
South Dakota: 3 Electoral Votes - McCain
Texas: 34 Electoral Votes - McCain
Tennessee: 11 Electoral Votes - McCain
Utah: 5 Electoral Votes - McCain
Vermont: 3 Electoral Votes - Obama
Virginia: 13 Electoral Votes - Obama
Washington: 11 Electoral Votes - Obama
West Virginia: 5 Electoral Votes - McCain
Wisconsin: 10 Electoral Votes - Obama
Wyoming: 3 Electoral Votes - McCain

"Redistribution of Wealth"?

That's what Barack Obama said in a radio address in 2001: he praised the work of the Supreme Court in the civil rights movement, but lamented that "the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth".

Is this really the "Change We Can Believe In" that has been (loudly) touted for nearly a year? That we rob from the rich and give to the poor? Is this kind of governmental "Robin Hood-ism" a good thing? Isn't this an attempt to institute a society with no poor and no rich? No Lower Class and no Upper Class?

Hasn't that been tried already? I'm almost sure I read about that once or twice. Vladimir Lenin, Josef Stalin, Mao Tse-tung...yeah, I thought so. The central tenant of Socialism (and therefore Communism) is the elimination of the classes.

From the Wikipedia entry on Socialism:

"All socialists advocate the creation of an egalitarian society, in which wealth and power are distributed more evenly".

From Obama's (very) widely-publicized conversation with "Joe the Plumber" a few weeks ago:

"When you spread the wealth around it's a good thing for everybody."

A lot has been made of McCain's ads calling Obama a Socialist. But in reality, these ads are completely accurate. If voters want socialist reform, then Obama is obviously their man...but let's call things as they are, okay? The heart of Obama's "redistribution of wealth" statements are the tenants of socialism. And I'm done for now...my game's on:)

Early Voting

I have cast my ballot for the upcoming election. There's nothing like standing in line and listening to activists standing around you spew venom about anyone who disagrees with them:) Then we got to take our ballots and color in little ovals with felt-tip markers. It was inspiring:P

Latest polls show Obama leading McCain by up to 14 points. That is both completely expected and moderately disappointing. The American people typically rally behind the more charismatic candidate: Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Bush Jr. Obama is clearly the more charismatic, but can popularity be the only qulification for president? iBear says no.

Obama preaches Change. Fine, I agree that something must be changed. But how? He wants universal health care. How's he going to pay for it? Fundraisers?

On the other hand, BOTH candidates are clamoring that they will lower taxes. I'd like to get that in writing. With current financial circumstances, spending concerns, and other related quandaries we will NOT be likely to see any tax cuts in the near future. I'm getting so sick and tired of the pandering. McCain's "Straight Talk Express" turned into the "Rambling Diatribe Bypass." And as for Obama...are we really willing to vote for whoever can use the word "change" the most times in one sentence?

In the end, it comes down to this: right now is possibly the worst time in history for us to make an "impulse buy" about our presidency. Obama may be a reasonable candidate in the future, when he has a little more experience under his belt. But right now he is an idealistic newcomer who doesn't yet know enough about how government works. And we can only hope that America notices that.

It's beginning to look a lot like Election Day.

I'm currently in FL, and since it is a well-known fact that most Floridians don't know how to vote, we've been sent sample ballots for the upcoming election. The item on everyone's minds is, of course, the Presidential election. (You wouldn't BELIEVE how many 3rd-Party Candidates are on the ballot down here!) But the item no one mentions is Amendment 2 to the State Constitution:

"In as much as a marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."

So here's my question: why are we changing the State Constitution? If it allows for the possibility of same-sex marriage, then isn't that what the original framers intended? Should we really be trying to change that? And if it doesn't allow for that possibility, then why on earth do we need to change it?

Welcome to America.

I watched the Presidential Debate last night, and it nearly put me to sleep. It was like a really boring group therapy session: "Your negative ads are very hurtful." "Well yours are MORE hurtful!" Sounds like a couple of whiny little girls.

Welcome to America.

What happened to the America of my youth? (And to all you elders out there gleefully exclaiming that 25 is still youthful...bite me:P) What happened to the country that led the world in wealth, education, and innovation? Now the only thing we're leading the world in is obesity...

Two things leapt out at me during the debate last night: Energy, and Education.

We all want to be energy-independent. Everyone's agreed on that. No one likes spending $4 for a gallon of gas, and no one enjoys the thought of depending on Iran or Venezuela for oil. So why don't we have electric cars on the roads instead of in the showrooms? We can send a man to the moon, find the Titanic, put an iPod in every home in America, and build tiny gears out of carbon atoms...but we can't make an electric car that's reliable and affordable? Bullsh*t.

And then we have to find a way to power those electric cars. We have wind, solar, and hydroelectric power. And they work. But we don't have enough. And how about waves? The oceans have been going up and down for thousands of years. There are wave-farms off the Pacific Northwest right now...but nobody knows about them, and they are tiny. Here's an idea: attach generators to all the stationary bicycles in all the gyms in America. Beat obesity AND become energy-independent! Electricity could be dirt-cheap in this country. And then that could fuel our cars. Think about it: instead of 25 mpg our cars could get 100 miles for a dime of electricity. 100 miles for 10 cents. You know what kind of mileage you'd need to equal that?

Second, education in America sucks. Our teachers are the most ridiculously-underpaid workers in the country, and it shows in our test scores. The current public school system doesn't work. The idea of "vouchers" will use money that could be put into the system, and then the kids without vouchers will be even WORSE OFF. The education system needs a ground-up revamping.

1: Pay teachers competitive wages. Many people who would make excellent teachers won't do it, simply because they won't get paid enough. So they pass that by and become doctors or CEOs or lawyers. If we were paying our teachers a decent salary, we would have more of the decent teachers.

2: The current system doesn't work. High School graduates can't find Canada on a map. When I moved from Alaska to Florida, I was amazed how many of my classmates believed my former state was a frozen wasteland just off the coast of Mexico. This has to be fixed...but I don't know how that needs to be done. My aunt is a teacher, though. I'll bet she has a long list of changes that could be made. I'll have to ask her about that. Maybe that's the answer: let educators give input on the reforms, instead of letting legislators make changes to a program they don't understand. But something has to be done, and it has to be done soon.

That concludes today's political rant. Tune in later for more...I'll be back to update this as soon as I think someone's listening. And please feel free to contribute...this isn't a discussion if I'm the only one talking. ; )