Historical

Last night.......

was....

HISTORIC!!


But that was last night.

Now, as a NATION, we have to come together and support our new President.

Even if you voted for McCain you should support the President. I have defended Bush on numerous occasions even though I didn't vote for him either time.

It isn't about who the President is or who you wanted the President to be.

It is about the United States of America.

And to the the world...the President IS the United States of America.

And as a country we must support the President.

GO VOTE TODAY!

I hope you all did your research ON ALL THE CANDIDATES. Not just the Presidential ones.

Today is the day to vote! And if you did your research and know who you are voting for...go vote.

If not than you shouldn't go. If you don't know who is running or what they stand for or anything about them.....DON'T VOTE!

I would rather have all the people that don't know what they are talking about just stay home and let the people that took the time to learn something elect our public officials.

I was with my family last night and found out that neither of my sisters or my sister's husband are intending to vote today.

That's a shame. Especially since my one sister really knows what she is talking about. The other one doesn't want to be bothered by going and voicing her opinion.

I just don't understand.....

Get Informed

Don't forget that on Tuesday you are not only voting for the President but for many other candidates in many other races.

You should know who they are and what they stand for.

The people you elect for your local and state government have just as much if not more influence over your daily life and you should be electing people you want in office.

Here is a website that will give you some basics on candidates as well as what your ballot will look like.

www.smartvoter.org

Go to the site and look at the information there. And then search the Internet for the candidates home pages and read more about them.

Get informed so that you can make the right choices.

Tired

Is anyone else tired of the election crap?

I love the topic and think that it is very important but come on.

I watched part of the debate last night and I didn't hear anything new.

And that is the problem.

The candidates are saying the same thing in each debate. Or they are just repeating things that they say in tv commercials. Obama started a comment yesterday about McCain's insurance plan the EXACT same way as the commercial does. WORD FOR WORD!

What's the point?

I am all for debates on the topic and would love to debate just about anyone on the topic but these candidates have pretty much said what they intend to say.

They aren't coming up with anything new and probably won't before the election.


I also watched CNNs recap of the debate.

And they pretty much feel that if the election were tomorrow Obama would destroy McCain.

And there isn't much in this world that makes me happier than that.

I really am afraid of what this country will become under McCain/Palin.

Am I 100% confident with Obama/Biden?

No but why would I be. There are surely things about their policies and opinions that I don't like.

But I definitely like them better than the McCain camp.

Looking for Perfection

4 years ago the only thing I ever heard leading up to the election was that they didn't like either candidate so they were going to vote for Bush since he was safer than Kerry.

Basically people were choosing the lesser of two evils they said.

I hate that!

And now I am hearing it again this year.

Why?

Are people really expecting to find a candidate that has the same opinions and stances as them?

Because that person isn't out there!

Everyone lives their life the way they want to. Which means that everyone has different life experiences that shape who they are.

So unless you were attached to someone your views are probably going to be different than then person next to you right now.

I personally like BOTH of these candidates more than the Bush/Kerry election from 4 years ago.

Do McCain or Obama agree with everything I think?

Hell No!

Does that mean I can't like one of them to be in office?

I don't think so.

I understand if you would rather of seen a different candidate in the running. I wanted to see Mike Huckabee. I think he would have been perfect for the position would be great for the country but unfortunately he didn't have enough money.

So my #1 choice isn't involved. Big Deal!

So I look at the 2 that are left and I listen to them talk and I research them both and I find one that I can and will support.

What is so hard about that?

Why do people have to continuously say things like I don't like either candidate so I will take him because he is safer. Or I will take the lesser of two evils.

What? Why?

Vote for the candidate that YOU feel will be the BEST President of this great country!

The End of the World?

yes this is a long post....but you really should read it....please


I didn't watch the entire debate Friday night, just the last 30 minutes or so.

In that 30 minutes they mainly talked about foreign policy and how they would proceed with other countries like Iran, Russia, and North Korea.

Which to me is the most important part of a President's policy.

Why?

Because the President only has full control of one thing.....the military.

Think about it.....

Everything else like tax cuts, insurance, education, and policy making has to be at the very least approved by the Congress.

And most of the time Congress handles everything that is associated with any of those things.

Which is why people say that politicians lie all the time. Because they don't follow through on campaign promises.

Well they can't follow through because they DON'T have final say.

Every one gets a vote and things are amended and eliminated and added to bills and policies in order to get important things passed.

But the military.....well only ONE person controls them......

The President.

So when you look at everything else the candidates are talking about realize that none of it is going to happen the way they say it will.

Obama promises tax cuts and says he will get health insurance for every American......he intends to do those things but more than likely he won't be able to. Maybe he achieves them to a certain degree but not the way he is telling you now.

But look at what they are saying about our troops and how they will handle talks with other countries.

That is the one area where they are telling the truth and they will do what they want.


Here is a slight breakdown of what I got out of their foreign policy debate:

McCain is not going to relax his strong opinions and plans of force. He WILL keep our troops in Iraq for as long as it takes. He is willing to ignore some other areas of concern to finish the job in Iraq. Because he says that Iraq is key to the situation.

And honestly I kind of agree with him. If we pull out of Iraq it is likely that Iran or some other country that we don't agree with (pretty much all of them there) will come in and take over and turn into a huge power.

The area I don't agree with McCain on is his stance with talks and negotiations. He refuses to sit with a country like North Korea or Iran until that country does something for us like disband their nuclear programs.

Why? I don't understand.

This to me sounds like something from the Cold War. We aren't going to negotiate with you unless you do something for us.

But they don't want to negotiate or talk with us.....so why would they do something for us.

I agree with Obama that you have to some sort of preparation and initial talks with these countries but you don't need to make a hard stance and say we won't work with you until you work with us first.

But it is a tough call on which candidate presents more of a danger in my eyes....

Obama will (more than likely) pull out of Iraq as soon as possible. Not right away but there will be a schedule. But he will talk more with other countries.

McCain will NOT pull out of Iraq until the job is done. But he won't talk to other countries.


Typically, and in the past, McCain's stance could work. Because we were, and still kind of are, the strongest nation in the world. And we could pretty much bully people around.

But that was when we had everyone on our side....like France, Spain, and any other country there with any power.

But now that we have ignored the diplomatic route these countries aren't backing us.

They have no problem supporting us if we have REASON to be aggressive but we typically can't show a good reason lately.

If McCain gets elected this will continue to be a problem.



I said this to my mom the other day after arguing with her about why McCain is going to ruin this country (yes I have made up my mind on who to vote for)....

It is said that the world is possibly going to come to the end on December 21, 2012 and I said that if McCain is elected.....

.....I may start to believe it!

Another One

The following is an excerpt from a post by Carl Newman of Warrior Poet. To read his entire post click here.

"John McCain is a fine man. And a good manager. Sometimes I feel like he’s running to be America’s grandfather, and I’m embarrassed to think about his policy reversals. But like I said, he’s a good manager. He’s fundamentally running a campaign of reaction, he displays no clear vision of the future. Of course, the future is terrifying, and so people are drawn to him because they think he can handle whatever comes his way, even if he presents no real understanding of what’s coming.

George Bush, by the way, is also a manager. He’s a profoundly bad one, but fundamentally, his leadership style is one of reacting to the environment (just incorrectly).

Barack Obama is not a manager. He is clearly capable of management, his primary candidacy demonstrated that. But he is not a reactionary. He is a leader. He presents a vision of the future (commonly mocked by Republican pundits), and his campaign is one of looking forward to create change (commonly parodied by everyone: Hopechange cocktail, anyone?).

A manager keeps you stable when things are changing. A leader accepts that things are changing and moves you towards stability. It’s a fundamental difference in the assumptions that each candidate has on the role of a president."

I really couldn't agree with his post more.

Obama will make a great President because of his leadership skills.

You don't have to have a ton of experience to be great at something. All you have to have is the backing of supportive people and the confidence to do it.

If he is elected he will bring this country together like never before!

Please check out Carl's post. This is just a bit but it says what I think so I wanted to include it.

Just a Figurehead!

I tried to be as unbiased as possible in the post and (believe it or not) have not decided who I am going to vote for yet. Although I am leaning one way. After writing the post I am even more confident in my (potential) choice than before. I truly feel that this is true:


In my personal opinion the office of President of the USA is little more than a figurehead position.

Meaning they don't make decisions based on their own history, experience, or thoughts. But they take advice from a panel of advisers and then make a decision. Basically they get all the credit for great decisions and all the blame if something goes wrong.

I personally feel that the key to the office is the people they put around themselves. And then it comes down to how well they take advice and how stuck in their ways they are.

All of the candidates promise multiple things like tax cuts, health care, or education.

But what everyone has to remember is that they can't do any of those things without Congress.

Everything they are proposing has to be agreed upon by so many people that it will never happen.

What will end up happening is that no matter what is promised it will be watered down and will barely make an impact when it is finally accepted and made official.


On top of that, all Presidents have a bunch of advisers for everything they need to know. There are speech writers/advisers, combat advisers, scheduling advisers, and everything else.

So the real key to a successful President is one that is open-minded (as much as politician's can be) and one that chooses the right people around them.

And I am not referring to the VP position because that is even more useless than the President position and is really only there in case something happens to the President.

The best Presidents take the information that they are given from their advisers and take the interest of the American people and decide on the best course of action.

This is the reason why I don't blame Bush for the war in Iraq. I am pretty sure that everyone in his circle wanted to go into Iraq and get Saddam out of there. So he took every one's opinion and decided that they all couldn't be wrong. But they were!

And I think any President would have done the same thing unless they refuse to fight in which case they shouldn't be in office.

Even most of the American people wanted Bush to respond with military action. And yes maybe a lot of us didn't think Iraq was the right way to go but we didn't have access to the reports and information that was being given to Bush and his staff.

But Bush isn't a very open-minded President in my opinion. I think he has a plan in his head and he is following it completely. He is not straying from it and won't.

I think the first George Bush and Bill Clinton were much more open-minded and weren't set in their ways or ideas.


But this year I think we have a candidate that is perfect for doing what he needs to do. And that is Obama.

I think he will always listen to his advisers BECAUSE of his lack of experience. Where as McCain is very stubborn and stuck in his way. Just look at how he is handling the Iraq war issue! He will not waver in his theory and decision.

And a person like that can NOT run this country right now.


But it really all depends on who is appointed to adviser positions.

Does the new President put in people along party lines or do they branch out and create a diverse staff.

I think a diverse staff that crosses party lines is KEY to the Presidency.

And I have more faith in Obama to appoint the advisers necessary than McCain.


I read somewhere that people are confused by the "Change and Hope" campaign by Obama. They don't understand what that means.

I think it means exactly what I am saying.

Instead of the same thing from the same people like the last 8 years we are going to get a different perspective on things from here on.

He is going to be more open to listening to other opinions and take everything into account prior to making a decision.

And that is what we need right now. Someone that we can trust!

The first political post

Okay, I have read numerous political posts in the past couple of weeks with regards to the candidates for this year.

I am going to tell you right now that I intend to and will be posting my thoughts and views on what is going on.

I am not going to tell you who to vote for. And I am not going to exaggerate or make stuff up about someone to sway your opinion.

All I want to do is argue some things that are coming out and argue people's reasoning in their arguments.

Everyone needs to take a step back and look at the candidates and their interests before making a decision.

This will not turn into a political blog or anything close to it.

The only reason I am saying all of this is because most of the other political posts I have read have begun with someone saying that this is only a one time thing or something like it.

And I don't agree with it. This is the one most influential and important elections ever. Think about it......a black man for President and now a woman for Vice President!!!

I never thought I would see it in my lifetime and I am very excited about it.



The reason I bring this up today is that there have been serious debates in my office lately about the candidates.

And today's really bothered me.

A guy I work with said he likes Palin and that he thinks McCain is going to win in the elections. And that Obama is going to get crushed in any debate they have.

Okay, so I asked him, "did you watch any of the debates prior to the primaries?"

His response....."no, but Obama is only good reading from a teleprompter, he can't come up with things off the top of his head."

Oh really. Interesting opinion considering YOU DIDN'T WATCH THE DEBATES!

I did watch them. I actually recorded one cause I wasn't going to be able to watch it live.

I am not going to say that Obama is better than McCain at debates cause the two haven't faced off against each other yet.

But I remember listening to McCain and watching him back himself into a corner time and time again because he speaks to freely about his ideas and interests. Is that bad? No, I like that he is willing to put himself out there. But by putting yourself out there you are setting yourself up for IMMEDIATE ridicule if your opponent is competent.

The best politicians do one thing better than anything else.....they say a lot while saying NOTHING!!

And Obama is much better at that than McCain. McCain is a lot of times saying something meaningful. He is telling you what his intentions are and how he would do it.

The problem with that is that people instantly form opinions based on what you said and if someone doesn't understand what you meant than you may lose a supporter.

But Obama says very little but he talks all the time. And that is a huge advantage in debates in my opinion. He offers his ideas and interests without getting too deep into the planning of them.

Now like I said before I think McCain should be respected and admired for stating his intentions whenever he is asked.

But if you think McCain is going to destroy Obama in a debate than you obviously haven't watched them debate.



If anyone wishes to comment or debate, please do!!

Let's Drill It, That Will Help

Here are two articles that I found on PennLive, a site that features stories and news from around the Harrisburg area and in Pennsylvania in general.

This one is about how the government (local or national) is getting too involved in the lives of its citizens.

If you don't want to read it, here is a brief overview.

The borough of Stroudsburg (near the Poconos) has decided that people cannot have furniture on their front porch if it was intended for indoor use.

Meaning that they cannot have a couch or upholstered chairs on their front porch.

Why can't they you ask...

Because they say it could start a fire. Back in 1994 (14 years ago and none since) there was a fire at Bloomsburg University that started in a porch sofa.

So the borough is arguing that for people's safety no one can have a porch sofa any more.

Now lets consider the real reason....

It looks terrible. And to a point it does.

I have seen front porches that have a TON of trash and junk on their front porch. It is dirty looking and definitely influences the opinions of people that are driving through.

But once you buy a home aren't you allowed to do with it what you please (obviously within reason).

I hate looking at homes with junk all over the front porch but a couch? Please...don't these governments have ANYTHING better to do?


The second article is about drilling in Alaska because of how gas prices have shot up.

I was never against this and still am not but the reason to do it now is RIDICULOUS.

The article says that in 2000 70% of Americans were against it but now only %49 percent are against it.

And the reason people are starting to like the idea is because they all think it will help gas prices!

Maybe I am wrong about this but even if the government allowed companies to drill there, wouldn't it take a few years before drilling actually started??

And wouldn't we STILL run out of oil eventually??

And it WOULDN'T lower gas prices anyways!! It would just make us a little (and by little I mean not much at all) less dependent on foreign oil.

So here is an idea....(and I realize how completely ridiculous and absurd this is, but I have to say it)

Lets try some alternative energy!

The sun or wind seem to produce energy, so let's power our homes and world with them.

You want to heat your home, get a geo-thermal unit. I have one, they work WONDERFULLY!

And for cars....electric, hydrogen, bicycles, or I don't know maybe MASS TRANSIT!?!?!?!

(And I don't want to hear about ethanol because that WILL NOT help the prices. Ethanol is just as or even more expensive than gas.)

I ride the bus daily and it saves me a ton (it costs $45 for a whole month or you can get 25 rides for $32). But of the probably close to 50,000 people that work in Harrisburg, I would bet there are only 1,000 (maybe 2,000) that regularly take the bus.

And yes I know some people can't take mass transit due to where they live but there are ALOT that could if they wanted to. And for those who think they can't take it....I don't live on a bus route, I drive about 10 minutes to get to one then I park and ride the bus. There are even lots around the midstate for this EXACT PURPOSE!


I don't know maybe I am just being stupid to think that we could use things other than oil and gas to get by.

But something tells me that it has been done before?!?!

What is the Point?

I am finding that I have more things that I dislike than I thought. I can definitely find things to complain about considering the country we live in has new problems on a daily basis.

Every morning when I get to work I check my email and I get my radio turned on. And then I check a site for news and local information called PennLive. This morning I saw this headline

“Senate panel will vote on gay marriage ban”

So I read the article.

HUH??

Why is it that so many people think marriage should only be between a man and a woman?

Is it really that sacred anymore? I am sure half on the senators that are on this panel are either divorced or have had an affair or two. They work too much to have a satisfying and successful marriage. Wait; let me rephrase that last sentence so that it is more accurate. They ARE AWAY HAVING FUN AT OUR EXPENSE too much to have a satisfying and successful marriage. That makes more sense, doesn’t it?

I mean really, the divorce rate is above 50% for the country!! How can you say that gay marriage is threatening the “institution” of marriage? That doesn’t even make sense. What the hell is the “institution of marriage”? Any one who says such a thing should be placed in a true INSTITUTION!!

In the article it says that PA already has a ban on gay marriage. So why are we doing this again? Oh yeah, this is for a CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT to ban gay marriage. This would make it that much harder for lawyers who have common sense to get around the STUPID law.

One idiot, Peg Luksik of the Pro-Life Coalition said marriage is an institution that “needs and deserves additional protections because of the attacks that have been made by judges across the country that have sought to redefine the institute of marriage.”

ATTACKS?? Why because they are getting people equal rights?

And another idiot, Mike Brubaker (Republican-Lancaster) said “marriage has helped to provide stability in our society for thousands of years. It is worth the effort to define it within our constitution.”

STABILITY?? Why don’t you ask some of the 50% of children in this country who come from divorced parents about stability!

Is gay marriage going to affect your home life? NO! Not any more than the couple next door that is getting divorced next month because they can’t get along. I would rather live next to a gay couple that loves each other than next to a couple that is constantly at each other’s throats.

Obviously if you have read this far you know where I stand on this issue. I don’t see what the problem is. If two people are in love (or not) and want to get married than let them. It is not going to matter to me one way or another.