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:)
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
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?
"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?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
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. ; )
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. ; )
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)