So the blog a day thing obviously did not work out, I think we all saw that coming. I'm still going to keep at it, but you should quell the need to sit on the page refreshing day after day.
Inauguration Day has come and gone and we finally have a new president. President Baraka from Mortal Kombat II is now our fearless leader, and I've never felt safer. I do, however, have various scattered comments about this that I wanted to try and deliver in some sort of organized fashion. If you were looking for something clever and humorous, well, sorry, but I don't know what you were doing here in the first place.
There's no denying the fact that my views lately have clearly scuttled in a Libertarian/classic conservative direction, and through the election I firmly supported your friend and mine, Congressman Ron Paul. This has not changed. I still think both the Republican and Democratic party have become bloated, self-serving, overspending train wrecks. But I think there'll be plenty of time to moan about that later.
I'm sort of a mixed bag on our new president though. Based on my support for Paul, whose views are essentially opposite Obama's, I should hate him, but I don't. I'm just not Rah-Rah-Bama like everyone else seems to be. I really do think he's an intelligent and good man, but this system is far too broken right now and we need more than just a new president to fix everything. Bush was a dummy and a silly goose and that makes him a perfect scapegoat for where we are now, but he was just one tiny piece of the puzzle. Our democratic congress should've essentially nulled him out, but they failed hard on all counts. This leads me to believe either our supposed "checks and balances" are completely broken or Democrats and Republicans aren't really as polar opposite as we all try to make them out to be.
Obama's speeches and promises sound great because he's a charismatic guy, but he's already pulled back on some of them, and I can't figure out how he plans to afford the rest. Not to mention his very disappointing cabinet picks so far (cough, cough)
This economic downturn is unavoidable and we're going to suffer in the short term, whether anyone likes it or not. Bad decisions were made, money and credit were created out of thin air and businesses and people lived outside of their means for too long. I think bailouts like those Obama voted for will only prop us up for so long in the short term, but will absolutely devastate us in the long term when it comes crashing down... and it hurts inside. You've got to take a stand, it don't help to hide... sorry.
That being said, Barack Obama went to Columbia and Harvard, and I did not. I do think though that it is our job as Americans not to blindly support the man with our Yes We Can t-shirts, artsy renditions of his portrait and Obama logo tattoos (yes, I saw one). Everyone's celebrating and that's well and good, but it's our duty to be skeptical and pay attention, lest our freedoms be raped for another 8 years. So if anyone asks me what I think of our new Commander-in-Chief, I respond by saying I am cautiously optimistic.
And just so you know I'm not making up the optimistic part, Obama thus far has already impressed me with some of his first decisions in the White House. Many of them are really just words at this point... I'll hold my applause for action to be taken, but still, great steps in a new, much more hopeful direction:
EDIT:
Just read a new story that actually greatly excites me about Obama, at least from a technology standpoint.
And, to balance that, one that worries me.
This pleases me most of all
This could be more for show than anything, but it sparked my interest
Important step in the right direction
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
I've decided to return to the world of "web logging." This is primarily due to the fact that I have no backbone and if other people do something, I absolutely have to follow like an ugly little sheep.
That being said, it's difficult returning to this and trying to determine exactly what to write about. I'm about to try some Goji Berry Green Tea, so that's one option. The fact that people don't take a gentleman drinking from a sippy cup seriously is another (a man shouldn't be bothered to regulate the transfer of fluid between cup and mouth). My peers though have all taken the political route, so I feel I must touch upon that first. This certainly won't be comprehensive; consider it more a summary of my thoughts since I last complained about a lawmaker.
The DNC is in progress as I write, and much like the Olympics, the majority of what I caught live has been read via captions on bar TVs. I have been keeping up the day after reading transcripts and watching some of the more prominent speakers. Some thoughts:
Problem is, he's the only man that logically can beat him at this point, so if you're not fully on the Obama-boat, there's sort of a sour aftertaste to this whole thing. I want to like and support Obama, and to a degree, I do. As far as inspiration, hope, motivation and all-around good feelings go, we haven't seen anyone like him in quite some time; some might argue that when running a country, those are useless traits, but I disagree. We need that now more than ever, especially with our turd of an economy, currently dork of a president, and constant meddling in nearly every conflict across the world. And at the very least, I think Obama is respected enough worldwide to maybe get us some real allies again.
However, as far as real change goes, I'm more pessimistic. Some policies of his have already undergone "refinements" since eliminating Clinton from the race and I don't think we've seen the end of it. I'll cite more of these and discuss them at a later date, but I'm referring to FISA and his foreign policy regarding our current and potential conflicts. I don't think he's been trying to deceive us or anything, but in order to make it to where he is today, corners have to be cut and a lot of people have to be pleased. We could be positive and believe it's only happening to get into the White House and from there, it's a surfboard down the Allegheny river of change (that was a blatant Derek White and the Monophobics plug), but there'll always be more people to please and more BS to shovel, so I guess only time will tell. Nothing would please me more than to be proven wrong and have egg spread about my face.
Ultimately, those who know me where my allegiance falls and despite a wall of futility, I am an unwavering Ron Paul fan. The problem is that all the reasons I am a fan of him are exactly why he couldn't win in the system we have in place today. A guy who calls all his pig coworkers out on their faults and wants to transfer power away from him and those around him would never stand a chance in this race, because I think the system has, over the years, crafted itself to keep guys like him out. Maybe that's why I'm so skeptical of Obama, because I question what he did to make it so far in this rigged game.
Say what you will though, RP does not waiver in his convictions or beliefs and if it means polling at 5% or lower, he refuses to particiate in politics as usual. Whether that's intelligent or fool-hardy, I don't know, but he had this to say about the election and DNC so far.
And if you want to talk about consistency, here's another video from 2002. Listen closely to the last 15 seconds or so.
That being said, it's difficult returning to this and trying to determine exactly what to write about. I'm about to try some Goji Berry Green Tea, so that's one option. The fact that people don't take a gentleman drinking from a sippy cup seriously is another (a man shouldn't be bothered to regulate the transfer of fluid between cup and mouth). My peers though have all taken the political route, so I feel I must touch upon that first. This certainly won't be comprehensive; consider it more a summary of my thoughts since I last complained about a lawmaker.
The DNC is in progress as I write, and much like the Olympics, the majority of what I caught live has been read via captions on bar TVs. I have been keeping up the day after reading transcripts and watching some of the more prominent speakers. Some thoughts:
- Hillary spoke intelligently and well. She knows how to play the politics game far better than Obama and if that was a game I felt was worth winning, I would certainly vote for her. Her speech was far from a selfless sacrifice for the greater good though... she pissed off a lot of people with her refusal to quit some months ago and if she didn't throw herself fully behind Barry O., it could've split the hell out of the party and the election would've gone to McSame (lol! Cuz he's like Bush!!!!!1!), thus ruining any future she has with the Democrats. If Obama screws up in the future and she can gain from it, she will certainly capitalize.
- Bill Clinton is very handsome.
- I still don't like Biden. I never have from the beginning of this race, and it's not just me trying to hate what's popular, as I have a fondness for doing. I plan on having a blog just for the shifty bastard at a later date, but to me, he has a big Romney-factor of being very good at saying what people want to hear but not really doing anything. His voting record, especially regarding technology and privacy (two big issues of mine), isn't preferred. He often sides with government organziations in matters of privacy (see voting record involving the Patriot Act, as well as a predecessor of it, the Omnibus Counterterrorism Act of 1995). Granted, this was all more in the past and he has been coming around lately, but as I said, don't totally trust the guy.
Problem is, he's the only man that logically can beat him at this point, so if you're not fully on the Obama-boat, there's sort of a sour aftertaste to this whole thing. I want to like and support Obama, and to a degree, I do. As far as inspiration, hope, motivation and all-around good feelings go, we haven't seen anyone like him in quite some time; some might argue that when running a country, those are useless traits, but I disagree. We need that now more than ever, especially with our turd of an economy, currently dork of a president, and constant meddling in nearly every conflict across the world. And at the very least, I think Obama is respected enough worldwide to maybe get us some real allies again.
However, as far as real change goes, I'm more pessimistic. Some policies of his have already undergone "refinements" since eliminating Clinton from the race and I don't think we've seen the end of it. I'll cite more of these and discuss them at a later date, but I'm referring to FISA and his foreign policy regarding our current and potential conflicts. I don't think he's been trying to deceive us or anything, but in order to make it to where he is today, corners have to be cut and a lot of people have to be pleased. We could be positive and believe it's only happening to get into the White House and from there, it's a surfboard down the Allegheny river of change (that was a blatant Derek White and the Monophobics plug), but there'll always be more people to please and more BS to shovel, so I guess only time will tell. Nothing would please me more than to be proven wrong and have egg spread about my face.
Ultimately, those who know me where my allegiance falls and despite a wall of futility, I am an unwavering Ron Paul fan. The problem is that all the reasons I am a fan of him are exactly why he couldn't win in the system we have in place today. A guy who calls all his pig coworkers out on their faults and wants to transfer power away from him and those around him would never stand a chance in this race, because I think the system has, over the years, crafted itself to keep guys like him out. Maybe that's why I'm so skeptical of Obama, because I question what he did to make it so far in this rigged game.
Say what you will though, RP does not waiver in his convictions or beliefs and if it means polling at 5% or lower, he refuses to particiate in politics as usual. Whether that's intelligent or fool-hardy, I don't know, but he had this to say about the election and DNC so far.
And if you want to talk about consistency, here's another video from 2002. Listen closely to the last 15 seconds or so.
28 August 2008
Here's how that wonderful game, "Politics," works over here.
Louisiana Republican Caucus
In the end, this doesn't really amount to anything, except providing an example of how ridiculous our system is (both on the left and right, mind you).
Louisiana Republican Caucus
In the end, this doesn't really amount to anything, except providing an example of how ridiculous our system is (both on the left and right, mind you).
24 January 2008
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