Showing posts with label election08. Show all posts
Showing posts with label election08. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
I voted absentee today.
If only there were a ballot initiative to get rid of the electoral college for good.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
I'm voting Republican because...
...cognitive dissonance is such a wonderful feeling, isn't it?
...my values are not the same as yours; in fact, they are superior.
...my responsibility is to my own interests only, and not my fellow Americans.
...the poor, sick, and disabled deserve neither my tax money nor my valuable attention.
...a guy whose middle name is "Hussein" has to be one of them evil Muslims who hate our freedom.
...waving flags, chanting "USA!", and singing patriotic songs demonstrates our superior patriotism.
...the war in Iraq must be won at any and all cost; to pull out now would be to surrender to the forces of evil!
...you're on your own, so shut up and quit expecting me to help you because it's not MY problem you are lazy and keep getting sick.
The Republican Party is a cult. Just like Scientology.
Obama/Biden '08/'12!
...my values are not the same as yours; in fact, they are superior.
...my responsibility is to my own interests only, and not my fellow Americans.
...the poor, sick, and disabled deserve neither my tax money nor my valuable attention.
...a guy whose middle name is "Hussein" has to be one of them evil Muslims who hate our freedom.
...waving flags, chanting "USA!", and singing patriotic songs demonstrates our superior patriotism.
...the war in Iraq must be won at any and all cost; to pull out now would be to surrender to the forces of evil!
...you're on your own, so shut up and quit expecting me to help you because it's not MY problem you are lazy and keep getting sick.
The Republican Party is a cult. Just like Scientology.
Obama/Biden '08/'12!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The moral depravity of the Republican Party is horrifying...how can so many Americans allow themselves to be fooled so many times that this country has become a laughingstock of the entire world? The string-pullers in the GOP are playing us for idiots, and it's worked because many of us REFUSE to think for ourselves or to think critically about our future.
We're better than this. McCain/Palin is Bush/Cheney III, plain and simple. They are different individuals, yes, and it's true that they may have bucked the Party line occasionally in the past. It doesn't make them, however, true "mavericks" like they claim. The evidence for the similarity between the two pairs is out there to be examined, and it's easy to find--if you're willing to look. The fact that Sarah Palin has more media exposure than Obama should have no bearing on whether she deserves your vote. The fact that she is a woman and that Obama did not choose Hillary Clinton as his running-mate should have no bearing on whether she deserves your vote. The election of the President of the United States is not American Idol--it's infinitely more than some superficial popularity contest, and it's exceedingly dangerous to treat what could be the most important election in our lifetimes as such.
For those who want to sit out: it's your choice, certainly, whether or not you want to vote. You may think that your one vote won't matter, but millions of people think this way. Millions of votes can make a world of difference in an election like the coming Presidential election, which is bound to be close (and shouldn't even be remotely close). The outcome of the election will affect you one way or another, and your vote is an investment into your future. Don't let the past discourage you.
Cynicism hurts everyone, though it's a natural fallout from 8 bleak years of Bush/Cheney. The U.S. can't afford any more cynicism from its voters--cynicism gets people elected who will perpetuate that cynicism through their heinous acts. It's a vicious cycle. It's defeatist. Our country and the world can no longer afford for anyone to be apathetic and self-defeating.
Why take the easy route and just refuse to vote? Why take the easy route and just believe everything you're told without a sliver of doubt? Why take the easy route and vote just for your own self-interest? Would you do something so willingly even if it would result in harm to yourself, your family, your friends, your neighbors, your community, and indeed everyone else on the planet?
Haven't people--shouldn't people come to your aid when you're down and can't get back up? Without each other, we can accomplish but little. Are we not our brothers' and sisters' keepers?
Heed Obama's message of hope and brother/sisterhood, and elect him the President. A strong nation is a nation unified.
We're better than this. McCain/Palin is Bush/Cheney III, plain and simple. They are different individuals, yes, and it's true that they may have bucked the Party line occasionally in the past. It doesn't make them, however, true "mavericks" like they claim. The evidence for the similarity between the two pairs is out there to be examined, and it's easy to find--if you're willing to look. The fact that Sarah Palin has more media exposure than Obama should have no bearing on whether she deserves your vote. The fact that she is a woman and that Obama did not choose Hillary Clinton as his running-mate should have no bearing on whether she deserves your vote. The election of the President of the United States is not American Idol--it's infinitely more than some superficial popularity contest, and it's exceedingly dangerous to treat what could be the most important election in our lifetimes as such.
For those who want to sit out: it's your choice, certainly, whether or not you want to vote. You may think that your one vote won't matter, but millions of people think this way. Millions of votes can make a world of difference in an election like the coming Presidential election, which is bound to be close (and shouldn't even be remotely close). The outcome of the election will affect you one way or another, and your vote is an investment into your future. Don't let the past discourage you.
Cynicism hurts everyone, though it's a natural fallout from 8 bleak years of Bush/Cheney. The U.S. can't afford any more cynicism from its voters--cynicism gets people elected who will perpetuate that cynicism through their heinous acts. It's a vicious cycle. It's defeatist. Our country and the world can no longer afford for anyone to be apathetic and self-defeating.
Why take the easy route and just refuse to vote? Why take the easy route and just believe everything you're told without a sliver of doubt? Why take the easy route and vote just for your own self-interest? Would you do something so willingly even if it would result in harm to yourself, your family, your friends, your neighbors, your community, and indeed everyone else on the planet?
Haven't people--shouldn't people come to your aid when you're down and can't get back up? Without each other, we can accomplish but little. Are we not our brothers' and sisters' keepers?
Heed Obama's message of hope and brother/sisterhood, and elect him the President. A strong nation is a nation unified.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Okay, so...
Obama/Biden '08 wasn't exactly the "dream ticket" I (and no doubt many others) were hoping for back in primary season. It was Clinton/Obama '08, and it would have been a landslide.
It would have been the most historic major party ticket by lightyears, with the first serious female presidential candidate and the first serious black vice presidential candidate on the same Democratic ticket. People were so inspired by Hillary that many switched parties to vote for her or ignored their party affiliations to vote for her. People were so inspired by Obama that his speeches sent chills down their spines and made many cry. Imagine the sheer magnitude of the effect that ticket would have had on the American voters in November.
The reality now is that Hillary is NOT on the ticket, and a fair number of Hillary supporters are disillusioned or even angry. Women feel as if she had been shafted, and Palin's nomination is drawing some away. It's not that Biden is a poor VP choice; that's far from the truth. He appeals to the working-class whites and has more years of foreign policy experience than Palin has been in politics (correct me if I'm wrong).
We can't keep dreaming about what could have been and forgetting about the urgent fight happening now. The fact is, Obama/Biden is the necessary choice. Former Hillary supporters who say they are switching tickets are making a fatal mistake by choosing McCain/Palin solely on the basis of there being a woman on the ticket; these two, if elected, will enact policies which will shaft all women and bring further ruin to the U.S. economy and reputation. Making a rash decision based on raw, bitter emotional wounds will bring much larger, more devastating wounds in the long term, so it's essential that we give up the hurt and disappointment like Hillary and Bill implore us to do and fight for our common future.
It would have been the most historic major party ticket by lightyears, with the first serious female presidential candidate and the first serious black vice presidential candidate on the same Democratic ticket. People were so inspired by Hillary that many switched parties to vote for her or ignored their party affiliations to vote for her. People were so inspired by Obama that his speeches sent chills down their spines and made many cry. Imagine the sheer magnitude of the effect that ticket would have had on the American voters in November.
The reality now is that Hillary is NOT on the ticket, and a fair number of Hillary supporters are disillusioned or even angry. Women feel as if she had been shafted, and Palin's nomination is drawing some away. It's not that Biden is a poor VP choice; that's far from the truth. He appeals to the working-class whites and has more years of foreign policy experience than Palin has been in politics (correct me if I'm wrong).
We can't keep dreaming about what could have been and forgetting about the urgent fight happening now. The fact is, Obama/Biden is the necessary choice. Former Hillary supporters who say they are switching tickets are making a fatal mistake by choosing McCain/Palin solely on the basis of there being a woman on the ticket; these two, if elected, will enact policies which will shaft all women and bring further ruin to the U.S. economy and reputation. Making a rash decision based on raw, bitter emotional wounds will bring much larger, more devastating wounds in the long term, so it's essential that we give up the hurt and disappointment like Hillary and Bill implore us to do and fight for our common future.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Historical significance
So Senator Barack Obama has officially become the Democratic Party's nominee for the 2008 presidential election. There is so much historical significance in the dates of the convention and in the candidates (Hillary and Obama) themselves.
Obama:
Aug. 26, 1929: With the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, women won the right to vote in the U.S. In 2008, Hillary was close to becoming the first female presidential candidate of a major political party, putting those 18 million cracks in that glass ceiling.
Aug. 27: LBJ's 100th birthday. He fought for and helped pass legislation on such issues as civil rights, healthcare for all Americans, improved education, restraint in foreign policy, and environmental conservation. All of these issues are still relevant today. He also increased American involvement in what was to become an unpopular war (Vietnam); there's the highly unpopular Iraq War II today which most Americans want the next president to end.
Aug. 28, 1963: MLK Jr. gave his historic "I Have a Dream" speech on the National Mall. Obama will give his acceptance speech today, 45 years later; his nomination is seen by some as the culmination of the efforts of so many leaders of the Civil Rights movement, including King. Obama himself had worked as a community organizer in south Chicago, where many poor African-American families reside.
Aug. 29: 3rd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall in New Orleans. Many attribute the dearth of federal aid by the Bush Administration to the fact that the most greatly affected were low-income blacks.
----
Also, Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday is in February of 2009, just a few weeks after the inauguration of the next president. If Obama wins, the significance of that will be incredible. Both are/were tall, lanky men from Illinois, hardened by difficult circumstances in childhood, and both are/were hardworking and intelligent. Lincoln helped free the slaves, and no doubt because of that, Obama is able to run for the nation's highest office today.
----
Bill's right. History is on Obama's side. What a year 2008 has been!
Obama:
- He will be the first black President in the history of the United States if he wins in November.
- His age and inexperience have been points of debate, but he will have a chance to reassure voters later today in his acceptance speech.
- The most recent polls have shown him and McCain in an incredibly tight race.
- He chose Biden no doubt to appeal to the voters who voted for Hillary, among whom many are blue-collar whites.
- He was the first Catholic president.
- Voters were wary of his age and inexperience, but he reassured them in his acceptance speech.
- The Kennedy/Johnson ticket won by a hair.
- The choice of LBJ as VP was intended to appeal to southern whites as well.
Aug. 26, 1929: With the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, women won the right to vote in the U.S. In 2008, Hillary was close to becoming the first female presidential candidate of a major political party, putting those 18 million cracks in that glass ceiling.
Aug. 27: LBJ's 100th birthday. He fought for and helped pass legislation on such issues as civil rights, healthcare for all Americans, improved education, restraint in foreign policy, and environmental conservation. All of these issues are still relevant today. He also increased American involvement in what was to become an unpopular war (Vietnam); there's the highly unpopular Iraq War II today which most Americans want the next president to end.
Aug. 28, 1963: MLK Jr. gave his historic "I Have a Dream" speech on the National Mall. Obama will give his acceptance speech today, 45 years later; his nomination is seen by some as the culmination of the efforts of so many leaders of the Civil Rights movement, including King. Obama himself had worked as a community organizer in south Chicago, where many poor African-American families reside.
Aug. 29: 3rd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall in New Orleans. Many attribute the dearth of federal aid by the Bush Administration to the fact that the most greatly affected were low-income blacks.
----
Also, Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday is in February of 2009, just a few weeks after the inauguration of the next president. If Obama wins, the significance of that will be incredible. Both are/were tall, lanky men from Illinois, hardened by difficult circumstances in childhood, and both are/were hardworking and intelligent. Lincoln helped free the slaves, and no doubt because of that, Obama is able to run for the nation's highest office today.
----
Bill's right. History is on Obama's side. What a year 2008 has been!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Some commenters on the Internet should leave their computers.
To the wonderful examples of humankind that are some of the People.com commenters:
- Get a life. You surely have better things to do with your time than to sneak around on entertainment websites just so you can post insulting comments about a public figure you happen to hate.
- Do you know Hillary/any random celebrity whom you dislike beyond what's presented in public? Didn't think so. Before you make any snap judgments about or heave personal insults at anyone, learn something about him/her. Before she went into politics, Hillary worked her ass off on behalf of women and children while working at all-male prestigious law firms. Bill was a Rhodes Scholar who had a less-than-ideal family situation, but still managed to stay on his feet and succeed. Did you bother to learn all that before you touched your keyboard?
- They are human beings, like you (though I have my doubts about you). Don't think for a second that they don't go through the same crap in their lives as we do. They worry about finances, pay taxes, raise children...just like you.
- Even the people we despise may say something or do something which would ultimately benefit us. Assuming that nothing good can come out of your enemies is doing yourself a disfavor.
- You try being constantly under national and international scrutiny. Chances are you won't like it, but if you're like Ann Coulter, you'd feel right at home basking in the glow of attention (even if it's almost 100% negative).
- Did you graduate from one of the top business/law schools in the country? Did you persevere at your work until you reached a position of prestige at your law firm/company? Did you publicly advocate unpopular positions or little-known issues? Did you run or help to run a country? Didn't think so. So don't assume you understand.
- You can't deny that Chelsea Clinton and Cate Edwards turned out to be fine, intelligent, well-adjusted, successful young women, no matter how evil you perceive their parents to be. Their parents must have done something right--how shocking!
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