Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
Tuesday, October 14th, 2008
I am a registered Democrat. Love me if you are a Democrat, hate me if you are a Republican. I don’t care.
I am actually more of a socially liberal / fiscally conservative Independent. I guess that would make me one of those coveted swing voters. I’m probably not, because I have never voted Republican in my life, but just the same, I would like to be one of those coveted people.
I was just reading about our two presidential candidates for 2008, again. I am pretty psyched about this race. I think the Democrats have a good thing going and, if what I am reading is true, the Republicans need some help.
Let me just say this off the bat…I don’t dislike John McCain. Actually, I didn’t before the election. He is starting to get under my skin though. I think I never really disliked him because I never really saw much of him. I just saw what was on the news. I always thought his heart was in the right place. The more I see this guy, the more he is starting to annoy me. I think it’s because (in my opinion), he has zero charisma. If I hear “friends…” one more time. Also, for the life of me, I have no idea why in the world he is bringing up William Ayers. Hardly anyone knows who this person is and, right now, hardly anyone cares. Perhaps if this William fella was in the news for the past 3 years for doing something terrible and had some more name recognition, there would be some impact. But seriously, wasting valuable air time on a no-name dude like this is…well, wasting valuable air time. There are bigger issues at hand.
I have long thought that presidential politics was just a popularity contest. I mean, who in the world knows what these people are proposing? It seems to be all about style. If someone is a good speaker, they can pretty much say, “I will rob you blind” and still get voted in. I mean 95% of these people and a $5000 tax credit for these people…who knows what is going on? Seriously, about 5% of the public really cares.
Can you really vote for someone based on what they say they are going to do while in office? Remember what the current president said during all his debates with Al Gore? Small government, follow the rule of law, war as a last resort, fiscally conservative…oh man. I mean, the last 8 years was kind of like winning the lottery and getting your car repossessed in one fell swoop.
As much as I hate wedge issues, they seem to play a large part in who gets voted in to office. Abortion, religion, gay rights, immigration…all of them play a very weighted role in who gets to live in the White House for the next 4 years. It is a real shame, but the facts are the facts.
I can say to a McCain supporter who pays too much in taxes, “Yeah, but Obama says he is going to lower taxes on those who make less than $250,000 a year.” They might say back to me, “McCain is pro-life.” I guess they are voting for McCain. No one can really say whether or not these issues should be important to people, they just are. I keep thinking that when voting for the next president, you are voting for someone to fill a spot in the Executive Branch of government. I am not sure what gay rights has to do with the Executive Branch, but if you oppose gay rights, you oppose gay rights. Ain’t nobody going to change your mind. Well, the president does get to nominate justices for the Supreme Court…hmmm.
I would like to hear what is going through the minds of people out there. I am going to go out on a limb here and tell you what concerns me in this election and I hope you will do the same. I don’t care who you are voting for, I just want you to tell me your concerns. What issues make you vote for who you plan on voting for?
My concerns are (in order of importance): environment, economy, the war(s), taxes, health care, our standing in the world and having some honesty back in government.
There you have it. Anyone else?
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Tuesday, October 14th, 2008
I just like her. She is smart, witty and takes on the big boys. If you don’t know her, you really should check her out. Her name is Rachel Maddow.
I really only started hearing of Rachel a few years ago. She is the host of “The Rachel Maddow Show†that airs on Air America, online at airamerica.com and on XM Satellite Radio. Her TV show airs on MSNBC.
I think the thing I like most about her is the way she really knows what she is talking about. If you are like me, you might kind of sputter out half way through an argument because you run out of ammo. Not this lady, she just keeps on going. It’s point after point after point. I would put her in a debate against almost anyone.
Take a look for yourself. You can check her out all over YouTube. Watch a few videos and tell me I’m not right about this one. Hey look, she even has a blog…and writes in it!!! Maybe I should put this one in my favorites…
Who is your favorite journalist?
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Friday, September 26th, 2008
I just wanted to let my fine and honorable readers know that I will be unavailable tonight from 9PM to about 11PM. I will be downstairs watching the first presidential debate of 2008.
Due to my unavailability, I will not be taking phone calls, unless they are of emergency in nature. Oh please, like anyone calls me. Haha.
Does anyone else care about politics like I do? I mean, I don’t like politics, I get frustrated as much as the next guy from the whole circus. I like the drama. I like watching each campaign’s strategy and how they try to outwit the other. I don’t know, it gets me all wound up and ready to fight.
Ok, bye.
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Wednesday, September 10th, 2008
Even the sun is getting lower in the sky.
I just read an article about “Lipstickgate.” I am sure you know what I am talking about. Obama said, “You can put lipstick on a pig…” and McCain is allegedly crying about it. Well, this is what it’s come down to folks. While a friend of mine is waiting to see if his house will be foreclosed on, we are arguing about pigs wearing lipstick, 55 days away from the presidential election.
Now, let me first tell you that I have mixed feelings about the whole mortgage issue. I don’t feel like getting in to them here. My point is, the mortgage thing is a valid issue that we can and should be discussing instead of beautiful pigs. Catch my drift?
I remember waaaay back a few weeks ago, right after the Democratic National Convention, I told my mother that I was finally proud to be a Democrat. I wrote an email to an old colleague the same day and ended it saying, “It’s a great day to be a Democrat.” Man, it felt great to say that. After eight years of cowering in our unpatriotic caves, someone with some guts was standing up to all the nonsense in this country. Sure, I wasn’t flying one of those ridiculous little flags on my car, but I still felt proud and (finally) patriotic. We had a good ol’ fight on our hands.
Oh well, I should have known that sort of pride and confidence in politics wouldn’t last long. Now we have the tit-for-tat that will bring us all the way to another election day. Anything to stay away from the real issues, I suppose.
I have already been to the tennis club three times since I joined. I took one lesson and went to two clinics. There were about twelve people in the first clinic and four in the second. The clinics don’t give me as much individual attention as the private lessons, but they do keep me on top of my game. I also get the opportunity to meet and play against a wide variety of people, which is important. I like the clinics, but I think I prefer the private lessons more. My goal is to go to both the Wednesday and Saturday clinics and have one private lesson per week. I hope to also get some matches, or just hitting, in too. Without a doubt, I am having a good time, I just wish I was there more.
If you have been sneezing or have felt allergies more than normal lately, that may be because of our good friend, the Ragweed. Our other good friend, the Goldenrod usually gets blamed for the allergies, but it isn’t the most likely culprit, due to its heavy pollen. Both plants bloom at the same time, so it’s hard to tell which one is causing the issue.
Goldenrod
I took this photo in the side yard this afternoon.
I have been thinking lately that I need some more clothes. I probably have enough, but they are getting kind of old looking. I was actually on the Old Navy website yesterday with my shopping cart full, when I started having second thoughts. I remembered back to my disappointment every time I buy something other than jeans from that place. The clothes really aren’t quality.
I left that website and went over to L.L. Bean’s website. I found a few things I like and then changed my mind again. I looked at a few of their models and thought I would have to stamp a big “L” on my forehead to wear some of that stuff. Why do their models look like such herbs? They need some new ones (call me).
I decided that it might be best to go out and buy some clothes in person. Maybe tomorrow we can take a trip up to the Prime Outlets in Lee, MA. Those are usually pretty good and I find good stuff up there. It’s not too far from here either. With the crisper air now, it can make for a good day.
Other than that, I am not sure anything too interesting is happening. Any questions?
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Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
Oh, how exciting. I always forget how thrilling it is to vote.
Tonight, Laura and I rolled down to the fire house to exercise our civic duty. We walked in saw a few people in line and the usual women working the polling station. They are very nice people. Usually, I wake them all up with my humor. Yeah, I’m the tall redhead.
I went first…signed my name in the book and pulled the big red handle. Then, I made my vote and pulled the handle in the other direction. Laura was right behind me. She did her thing and walked out of the booth. We made a bit of small talk with the ladies and left. What a fun thing to do.
Unfortunately, for Laura or me, we canceled out each others vote.
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Saturday, February 2nd, 2008
33 Cent Plastic Bag Tax Causes 94% Drop in Use
Reusable cloth shopping bags, like this one at a Superquinn grocery checkout in Dublin, have replaced those stretchy, crinkly plastic shopping bags, which are subject to a 33-cent tax per bag. Ireland introduces 33 cent plastic bag tax. 94% drop within weeks.
Yahoo needs Microsoft’s help
Now we know it wasn’t just a rumor all these months. Microsoft (MSFT) has been seriously thinking about swallowing up Yahoo (YHOO) since way back in 2006. In what would be by far its largest acquisition ever.
Microsoft and Yahoo: Perfect partners?
Certainly, a Microsoft and Yahoo joint search engine would in theory give Google some competition in the search and online ad business. But even a combined Yahoo and Microsoft search proposition would still be a long way behind Google.
The Nation: MoveOn Endorses Obama
The Nation is reporting that MoveOn will endorse Barack Obama, who got 70% of the votes in their online balloting.
80% Efficient Solar Panel?! Works at Night?!
The most expensive, carefully designed, and complicated solar panels in the world operate at about 40% efficiency. That means that, for every bit of sunlight that hits the panel, only 40% of it is turned into electricity.
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Sunday, January 20th, 2008
You always know it’s political season when you start hearing words that you have never heard before. Today’s word is “Kingmaker.” I must’ve heard this word about ten times last night, during the Nevada and South Carolina primary battles. That’s fine, I understand the media. They like this kind of stuff.
In this case, John Edwards was being referred to as the Kingmaker. I think they were saying that he is going to inadvertently help Hillary Clinton get the Democratic nomination. Ummm, kind of like Ross Perot helped Bill Clinton get elected president…twice. Hmmmm, genious. Only this time, I think it is nothing more that John Edwards’ ego that is doing all the work. You have to admit, the guy likes to hear himself talk.
Kingmaker or no kingmaker, I love politics. I was telling Laura last night that the political season is like my football or baseball (or whatever you are into) season. The only thing is that the political season seems to be lasting for an awful long time this time ’round.
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Saturday, January 19th, 2008
I have to keep looking this up online, so I decided to make a quick post with some links as a reminder. Here is the 2008 Democratic and Republican Primary and Caucus schedule.
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Friday, January 18th, 2008
I have been hearing a LOT of news lately about a recession. I think they (the media) have been talking about this for some time, but yesterday, they really hit hard.
If you didn’t hear about it, the Dow dropped around 300 points yesterday. Actually, the market has been sucking all week. Since yesterday, this is all the news in the news. It is beginning to make me wonder if it is actually the media that is making things worse.
I kind of know the way things work over at Wall Street. After all, I did answer one out of the six questions on my finance final in grad school and managed to pull off a B- in the class. I am not saying I even answered it correctly. That’s not bad. Anyway, the way things are supposed to work is by using plenty of data to make buying and selling decisions. I am sure this actually is the way things work most of the time, but day to day trading is heavily influenced by the media. I mean, perhaps if they didn’t talk about the flames at the bottom of the endless pit of doom so much, there wouldn’t be so many drops in the market. It’s almost like the trading floor is blasting CNN over some loudspeakers. The reason I am saying this is because I happen to listen to CNN all day as I work. I must’ve heard the same story about the impending mess of the economy about fifteen times today. Then of course, our President, George W. Bush, had to come on the gool ol’ television to promote a economic stimulation plan. I ain’t sure what another whoppingly huge $300 rebate check is going to do.
I must confess, when I was listing to our President, George W. Bush, I did agree whole-heartedly that we should cut taxes. I would like a flat tax, just like Mike Huckabee is proposing. I don’t care if these brilliant politicians can’t figure out how it is going to work…they are the ones who got us in the tax mess in the first place. I believe that if we weren’t shelling out 33% of our earnings to pay for wars and $4000 toilet seats, perhaps there would be some sort of restraint. I apologize, I got off track there.
All I am trying to say is that I think television, radio, the internet and everything else out there gets everyone so damn paranoid that they hide like a pearl in a clam’s mouth. Well, that’s not good.
Ok, bye.
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Monday, January 14th, 2008
Everything You Know about Eco-Friendly Cars is Wrong
Setting the Record Straight on Hybrids, Electric Vehicles and the Smart
$1 per Gallon Cellulosic Ethanol from Waste!
General Motors and Vinod Kohsla have invested in a new company promising to produce ethanol from any organic substance (grass, newsaper, tires, agricultural wastes) for as little as one dollar per gallon.
Breaking News: Greenpeace win battle against Japanese fleet
Greenpeace activists are claiming that they have managed to chase the Japanese whaling fleet from its hunting grounds in the Southern Sea (for now)…
Even Republicans Agree Rush Limbaugh Is Obsolete
Particularly when it comes to his head-in-the-sand stance on global warming, Rush Limbaugh is part of an old, tired machine that even conservatives are growing tired of.
Newsflash: Time May Not Exist
Physicists are confounded about how time actually fits into the universe. One theory is that “time may be an approximate concept that emerges at large scales—a bit like the concept of ‘surface of the water,’ which makes sense macroscopically but which loses a precise sense at the level of the atoms.”
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