Monday 24 September 2012

Recap of all (my) things political

Election 2012: November 6, 2012. Obama or Romney. Democrat or Republican. Vote for Romney because Obama has failed to get us out of this mess. Vote Obama because the Republicans under Bush got us all in this mess. Left or right. As the Democratic Platform paper points out, "This election is not simply a choice between two candidates or two political parties, but between two fundamentally different paths for our country and our families." (page 1)

Before you read any further, what's my take? Democrats = warm and fuzzy. Republicans = cold and prickly. I believe the Republican party, as per their platform paper, has been hijacked by the far right as in Tea Party. If you are a woman you can kiss your vagina good-bye. If you are a woman with children you should be scared of your future and the future of your children under the GOP. If you are a man or a woman you should realise that Republican policies have been questionable over the past few decades starting with Reagan and the policies promoted by the current GOP are more of the same, designed to benefit the rich few like Romney instead of the middle class. Trickle down doesn't work, but don't take my word for it, read the experts.

The following is a smattering of my latest posts concerning the up-coming election. For any and all posts, consult the Site Map listed at the top of the page. Good luck on November 6. You'll need it.

my blog: The 2012 Republican Platform: Are ya scared yet?
Scribd.Com has The 2012 Republican Platform and it's downloadable as an Adobe PDF. I have printed it out and read the entire document. The New York Times commented on a draft of this document in an editorial by saying, "The Republican Party has moved so far to the right that the extreme is now the mainstream." Has the GOP lost its way or has it lost its mind?

my blog: The 2012 Democratic Platform: yes you still can
The official web site of the Democrats (Democrats.Org) offers The 2012 Democratic Platform as a downloadable PDF. I have printed and read the entire document. My first impression? Nothing is perfect and I'm sure pundits, armchair generals, and of course the Republicans will be jumping all over this looking for any and all flaws but I'm walking away with a warm and fuzzy. That would contrast sharply, no that would be diametrically opposed to the cold and prickly I felt after reading the GOP's policy paper.

my blog: I've been on food stamps and welfare, did anyone help me out? No.
On Wednesday, September 19, 2012, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart was dissecting Mitt Romney's 47% gaffe pointing out how Mr. Romney was misrepresenting the number and insulting a lot of hard working, albeit not well-off people, including veterans and the elderly. He ended the segment by showing the following clip of the actor Craig T. Nelson being interviewed on the Glenn Beck Show on May 28, 2009. Craig T. Nelson on Government Aid: "I've been on food stamps and welfare, did anyone help me out? No."

my blog: Mitt Romney, Lung Cancer, and Common Knowledge
In the 1950s, or the 1960s if you prefer to think of the television series Mad Men, we collectively thought smoking was okay. Today we do not. What we refer to as "common knowledge" has changed. Oh I think if we dug hard enough, we'd realise that today's common knowledge has always around. After all, why have insurance companies always made smokers pay higher premiums? But it has taken a major shift in society and what we call common knowledge to change our collective thinking so that now the norm is to not smoke.

my blog: Romney caught on video: 47% of Americans are Losers
Just how much out of touch are the Republicans? Watching this video of a rich guy, a multimillionaire rich guy estimated to be worth $230 million (The Atlantic) giving his take on the state of the union is jaw-droppingly unbelievable. This man's view of the world is so warped, it is hard to know where to begin. How this gaffe will affect the Republican campaign remains to be seen but it is incredibly difficult to imagine how anyone would vote Republican now. The Republicans in their platform paper, in their speeches and now in these videos have demonstrated over and over again not just a total lack of understanding about what's going on, but a callous disregard for anyone who is not of their camp or who is not as financially well-off as them.

my blog: Dear Republicans: You ought to be ashamed of yourselves
You believe homosexuality is an abomination based on your interpretation of the Bible, the supposed official word of God. Homosexuals are vilified, ostracized, and in some cases murdered. Yes, murdered. Any chance you might be wrong? Any chance you or your minister might have made a mistake in deciphering just what God may have meant? After all, the results of your righteous condemnation seem to be a long way from the Jesus Christ I know, that is from the caring, accepting, and very much loving symbol of Holy Grace we should all strive for. In fact, if the results of your condemnation are murder, yes the slaying of an innocent human being, I would say that you are not carrying out the work of the Lord, I would say you have become a tool of the Devil. Yes, the Devil. For who else would take pleasure in hate, in anger, and in the murder of innocent human beings?

my blog: America Is Number One... Not!
Aaron Sorkin recently came back to television in a series called The Newsroom. ... A rant by the central character, Will McAvoy, caught my interest since this idea has been ofttimes bandied about: America is the greatest country in the world. In the show McAvoy states that America is not the greatest country in the world and rattles off a list of statistics which show America to be in anything but first place: seventh in literacy, twenty-seventh in math, twenty-second in science, forty-ninth in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, third in median household income, number four in labor force, and number four in exports. But he adds that America is number one in three categories: number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real, and defense spending, where we spend more than the next twenty-six countries combined, twenty-five of whom are allies. I'm not sure those last three first place positions are things one wants to be proud of.

my blog: Mitt Romney tweets: America is not number one
While Mr. Romney's tweet seems to be accurate in regards to the ranking of the United States in this Global Competitiveness Report, his tweet also "implicitly" suggests this is the fault of the current president Barack Obama. Is this true too?

my blog: The Right isn't wrong, they're nuts
Is the Earth flat yes or no? Did God create the world six thousand years ago yes or no? Was the collapse of the twin towers of World Trade Center caused by a controlled demolition yes or no? The debates rage on with little possibility at arriving at a mutually acceptable explanation. For the most part, many of these controversial issues seemingly remain innocuous. If my neighbour believes the Earth is flat, it doesn't directly impinge on my freedoms. Unfortunately, a belief usually doesn't stop with the person believing something; that belief leads the person to want other people to believe the same thing and to set up rules to control how other people live their lives. If that person's favourite colour is blue, it doesn't matter if my favourite colour is red. But if that person then wants to paint the entire town blue, the buildings, the streets, even the park benches, well, hold on a sec, I think you're going too far. You may want the entire town to be blue but I don't and it's my town too.

my blog: Republicans want crackdown on pornography? But they buy the most!
The Republicans come to town to officially anoint Mitt Romney as their Great White Hope or the Great White Hype depending on your political inclination. The Party decides to finalize its official platform and announces a crackdown on pornography. When I go down my list of priorities in life, the bleak economic outlook, the unemployment rate, low tax revenue, globalization, war, famine, a lack of health care, or curing any one of a number of diseases like cancer or AIDS, worrying about what people do in the privacy of their own minds isn't at the forefront of my daily To Do. In fact, it's not even on the list.

my blog: Politics: It's not about doing the right thing, it's about winning.
I recently watched the six-episode mini-series called Political Animals about Washington politics. Sigourney Weaver stars as Elaine Barrish the current Secretary of State who is also a divorced former First Lady. ... At one point, in a scene between Elaine Barrish and Paul Garcetti, the current president who appointed her to her position, Garcetti says that he is going to do something not because it politically advantageous but because it's the right thing to do. In light of recent events in the real world as the run-up to the November election in the United States, I have to ask myself if anyone can do something, anything at all because it's the "right thing" to do. Political expediency seems to be more the thing to consider than what's right or wrong.

my blog: Obama is a big time spender... Not!!!
Obama is leading the United States to financial ruin. Obama is bankrupting the nation. Obama is a spendthrift. I have read this. I have heard this. Republicans repeat it as a mantra and apparently some Democrats believe this too. Look in any newspaper or watch any news show and you'll find journalists and pundits dissecting and analysing statistics in an effort to conclusively prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that America, heck the entire world would be better off without one Barack Hussein Obama. Isn't that enough to make you want to sign up for Romney? Isn't that enough to turn any true believer into a Doubting Thomas?

my blog: Obamacare: Congratulations on doing the right thing, America!
Obamacare is not perfect. But it is a step is the right direction. Socialism? Is helping your neighbour socialism? Is helping your country socialism? Is spending more on uncompensated charity care than on insuring people not very astute? Is spending more than any other country on health care but only ranking 72nd in the WHO's health assessment ranking something anybody would not want to turn around? Would you let 18,000 people die unnecessarily each year because they have no health insurance? You have a right to be free. You have the right to work, succeed, and travel. Shouldn't you have the right to be healthy?

my blog: Obama is destroying America: We're doomed!
The other week I was talking with an American acquaintance. Normally I don't discuss religion and politics as I like to keep the peace and why start something you can never finish? However with the 2012 election looming on the horizon, it was inevitable that the elephant in the room could not be ignored and some comment would be made in passing. This person said, "Obama is destroying America."

2012-09-24

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