Why Today is Importatnt to Me

In 2004 I had just moved to California with my brother. The Iraq War was in full swing and starting to take a turn for the worst, it was constantly rainy in San Diego, and I had just started a job that I wasn't sure would go anywhere. That Nov 2nd I stood in in with my brother while it rained on us and my fellow citizens. For the rest of the day I followed the election online while at work, listened to Air America on the drive home and heard Jeananne Garafalo and her co-host strain for some optimism of the results while the rain kept falling. I watched the cable news networks call each state, and had some glimmer of hope when it came down to Ohio, but early in the morning of Nov 3rd it was considered over. All the while I was reading forums and boards online, feeling even more distraught by the things my fellow citizens were saying. Seeing them cheer and celebrate the re-election of who turned out to be the worst president in the history of our nation.

This year is different. There is no rain, my career is in full gear, I have a wonderful supportive girlfriend, and things overall are better. Unfortunately for our country things are getting worse, the result of 8 years of unabashed hubris on the part of our leadership and those who followed. Our economic situation is considered dire and with the way things are going there's not much to look forward too.

But that will change tonite.

After following the election cycle these past months I am confident that tonite will be historic, and Barack Obama will be our 44th president. Even with all the problems we as a nation face at this moment, his campaign has delivered on it's promise: Hope

I know that tomorrow will be a better and brighter day, and that we as a nation can come together and climb back up that hill to shine unto the world.

Update: It actually is raining, which for the most part is pretty nice and doesn't dampen my spirits at all.

Daily Election Websites

As the election is wrapping up this week I thought I'd share the sites that I follow daily on determining of how this election is going.

• DailyKos - I'm liberal, go figure
• Crooks and Liars - Lots of nice media bits
• Pollster - Daily poll updates, trends, and analysis
• FiveThirtyEight - Tons of statistics and "what if" situations
• Redstate - Sometimes I need to be brought back to reality... yeah...
• New York Times - Good ole gray lady
• MSNBC - The Place for Politics, free online streaming too
  

I have most of them in google reader which makes it nice and concise to go over in the morning and afternoon.

Positions

Earlier tonight I took a survey on how well my positions match with those of Barack Obama and found that I match him about 56% of the time. During the survey I noticed that some of the questions were awkwardly worded and I didn't have a clear answer to give. Reading them though made me start thinking about where I actually stand on most of the issues presented in this election cycle and inspired me to put them down in writing.

Separation of Church and State - Favor

Religion should have no place in government. There are too many creeds and opinions based off ideological faith and they have no business influencing laws that govern a diverse group of people. This is my main justification for my positions on Abortion and Gay Marriage. To me government should rule with a secular hand and if a politician has personal values that's fine, just as long as they focus on what's best for society. I also believe that the founding fathers when establishing American democracy had this in mind.

2nd Amendment - Favor

I strongly believe in the Constitution and therefore support the 2nd Amendment even though I'm not in favor of guns themselves. I understand the need for personal protection and the reason the founders made this amendment in the first place, to give the citizen the power of strength to overthrow a government turned to tyranny. I am however in favor of gun control and laws that restrict possession and use of certain weapons in private hands. Guns are dangerous, and having to pay a tax or undergo a background check is nothing that a private citizen who has no intention of committing harm should worry about. This, in my opinion, does not violate the 2nd Amendment.

Abortion - Favor

I firmly believe that abortion is a manufactured religious distraction of other issues that are more important, and therefore is something that shouldn't even be a factor in the political process. Unfortunately many people see this as a single issue vote and therefore it's a popular issue, especially among Christian voters. I do not favor the actual act, and would like to see more education and counseling requirements before the procedure is done. The only reason I am in favor is I know that without legal constrictions the consequences would be even worse.

Taxes - Raise 'em

I never really understood the anger people have when it comes to paying taxes. Contrary to popular belief Americans live in a society of other people. Regardless of how much an individual thinks they contribute back, society does even more. The benefits of taxes are almost impossible to measure and therefore many people think they are treated unfairly when they have to pay them. The downside is that government may misuse funds (cough cough Iraq war) but taxes still provide more good for citizens than most would like to believe. To me this is not an issue of freedom but of individual responsibility to the society that supports you.

Censorship - Unfavor

Swear words, sex, nudity, reality. Explicitly trying to stop someone from seeing someone because you deem it inappropriate is a threat to the individual. It is an individuals choice what they want to see and don't see, and if that individual is a minor then it is the parents responsibility. Government should have no interference with it thinks people should see and shouldn't see.

Healthcare - Give it to 'em

Preventative medicine is the best medicine. Instead of fixing the problem as it occurs it's better to treat it before it breaks. Vaccinations, yearly physicals, health evaluations are all cost effective and save money down the line by avoiding expensive procedures to fix bigger problems. This works for any type of mechanical maintenance and to claim it doesn't for health maintenance is naive.

Gay Marriage - Favor

In step with my above positions on Abortion and Separation of Church and State I also believe this is another manufactured distraction to take away from other issues. The Constitution protects rights and no amendment should take them away. Love is a universal and secular emotion, to deny a couple, regardless of sexual orientation, is a violation of natural laws.

Summary

I believe in a secular non-invasive government that provides essential services to both the individual and society. Most of my positions are considered to fall on the left side of the spectrum but I understand the value of balance and that not everyone thinks like I do. I believe that the American style of democracy is one of the greatest systems of government created and caters to this balance. Even with it's pitfalls I would not change any of the core ideas that our government was founded on.

McCain Seeing Stars

I don't know how many of you may have watched the final debate last night, but when McCain was trying to claim that Obama is earmark friendly, he brought up the clain that Obama wastes so much $ he's marked "3 million dollar overhead projector". He did the same thing in the second debate and I'd just like to clarify this as complete and utter nonsense. Think about it "Who honestly spends 3$ million dollars for an overhead projector?" It makes it seem as if Obama is dropping a metric ton of $ on something that every classroom in America has for less than 100$. Course you can argue that hey "NASA spent 1 million inventing a pen that writes upside down, when the Russins used a pencil", and therefore government just throws money away.

But, my friends, this is not the case. It's 3$ million for a replacement Zeiss Mark VI star projector for the Alder Planetarium, you're not going to do geometry straight on the glass with this guy. In addition to a highly specialized piece of scientific equipment, the piece of hardware they have now is over 40 years old, so this isn't just some new toy. I know this is just a small detail in the midst of the debate, but I think it's good to clarify some of these outrageous claims.

More info:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/10/16/repost-mccains-planetariophobia/
http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/pressroom/pr/2008_10_08_AdlerStatement_aboutdebate.pdf

Christmas in October

Or as I've said a few times today, today is like Christmas for Democrats:

West Virginia is now a "toss up" state

McCain has attended ACORN rallies

Paul Krugman is awarded Nobel Prize in Economics, after being blasted by the right a few years ago for spreading FUD about the housing market

Obama focuses economic plans and McCain abandons his

With the DOW almost going up 1000 pts today things are starting to look up.

Tax Plan Myths

In response to this site http://www.rightchange.com/issue_tax1.php

Mooseshit. If you make below 111k/yr you end up paying less taxes with Obama's plan. Course if you do or someday think you will make 600k+/yr, then McCain's plans works better for you:

Comparison between Obama and McCain tax proposals (Washington Post)
What Obama and McCain's tax proposals will do to your tax bill (CNN Money)
McCain and Obama Tax Plans Diverge on Wealth (LA Times)
Tax Deceptions (Newsweek)

If those sites aren't enough Greenspan has something to say about McCain's plan.

Even if I do start making 111k/yr my taxes still won't go up under Obama until I hit that magical 600k/yr mark, but even then I'm still not "rich" by McCain's definition...

Also, taxes? Who cares as long as "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" and we elect the guy who invented the blackberry but doesn't know how to use email, right?

My Plea to the DNC

After Anthony directed me to the DNC contact page I wrote them a little something on how the past few weeks in the democratic primary made me feel.

Please do something about Sen. Clinton's campaign. Obama has been more than fair in putting up with the constant stream of nonsense has been put out and as a democrat I'm fed up. We have one of the most important elections in American history to win this November, and all we are doing as a party is fighting amongst ourselves. We should be focused on the general and not this constant bickering between ourselves that Republicans so love to point out. Seating the delegates from Michigan and Florida won't change it, and waiting for Pennsylvania at the end of April won't either. Obama has clearly taken the lead in delegates and is the best chance for the Democratic party to win in 2008. The tactics of the Clinton campaign are embarrassing to me as a Democrat and if it continues to go on for much longer I will re-register as an Independent and no longer support the DNC.

I encourage you to do the same if you're tired of this petty nonsense and would like to see actual change in Washington this fall.

Obama is Still Ahead: 5 Reasons

If you watched the news the last few days and this morning after the election, it would seem that Sen. Clinton is now the shoe-in for the democratic nomination. Here's 5 reasons why that's a load of bull.

1. Delegate Count
1,307 - Obama
1,175 - Clinton

And this is after her massive wins last night...?

2. Three State Sweep!
Obama won 13 states in a row in February, mostly by 30%+ margins, and Clinton wins three by only a few points and it's a death knell for Obama? Give. me. a. break.

3. "Clinton hints at sharing ticket with Obama"
Yes, will you please make it seem like you're such the obvious nominee that you're going to choose your opponent as a running mate who's beating you both in numbers and substance.

4. "Going negative proved positive in Clinton's comeback"
Yes, once again why I'm pro-Obama. Could he be considered haughty because he's keeping his head above this type of nonsense? Sure. But then I'm one of those people who actually believe that holding politicians to a higher standard makes for better government.

5. "As Ohio Goes, so goes the nation..."
Yes, you are correct Sen. Clinton, but that only applies to the GENERAL election, not a DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY. Your 10% victory in Ohio on March 4th means nothing in terms of November.

I'd also like to make a comment on an earlier post about why Clinton needs to drop out of the race so Obama can focus on the general election. After McCain seized the republican nod yesterday, he does not have a clear opponent, rather he is now campaigning against two strong candidates instead.

Maybe duking this out for the next two months while McCain gets fat and happy while trying to throw anything that will stick to two different candidates is a working strategy? Of course they'll probably just spin it as "Look see! I told you so! Liberals are indecisive and fight all the time! They won't get anything done! Me! I get things done! Sorta. Well, not really, but look at them look look look!"

Night of the Clambake

Here are some random links from surfing tonite after the clambake primary results.

Transcript of Obama's speech in Madison - "Command of the English language is now 'in'"

Anatomy of a Smear - Op-ed by McCain's 2000 campaign advisor on Rove's smear that may have swung the republican nomination. Thanks Stephen.

Barack Obama Crossed the Line - Great writeup on Obama moving into running against the republicans come November after he wins the nomination.

Nice image that Kartik sent via email:


Image found in the comments of the above DailyKos link

Oh Mr. McCain

After the Feb 12th primaries Obama and McCain spoke back to back, and the differences were stunning. Let's do a little comparing and contrasting shall we?

First we'll start with the transcripts:

Obama's Potomac Primary Speech
McCain's Potomac Primary Speech

Both aren't bad on paper, but what happens when you add some visuals?

Whoa.

McCain's setup was a lot different from the surrounding crowds of Obama (and Clinton btw), whereas in stark contrast McCain camera was just filled with old while men. Where Obama spoke about America and even mentioned McCain and went on about him for a few minutes. McCain on the otherhand alluded to Obama multiple times but didn't actually mention his name. Where's the love? Obama did a great job, focusing on both Clinton for the present primary races, and at the same time linking McCain to Bush. McCain must have found a thesaurus just before his speech throwing out "platitude" while trying to knock down Obama's theme of hope. You could tell by his face the immense pride he must have felt for busting out a multi-syllable word like that. I think Olbermann puts it best when he said after both speeches, "The rule has to be, if you can, always speak before Barack Obama".

How can anyone actually think that McCain will make a good president? Because he's boring? Because he's afraid to say the name of his competition while not actually saying his name (O'Reilly anyone?)? Because he's anti-hope? This guy has nothing to go on except what republicans do best: do nothing and complain about everything.

UPDATE:

Here's the full video of the respective speeches:

How to Lose the 2008 Election

Vote for Hilary.

That's it, pretty simple eh? First let's begin with what the republicans are saying...

The narrative has followed Mrs. Clinton across the country. Strategists from both parties have often said Republicans would prefer Mrs. Clinton because she will motivate the party base. However, some now think a Clinton victory will unify Republicans behind candidate Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, despite concerns about his conservative credentials.

Do you see that? Right there, both parties, it's not just the republicans, it's the Democrats too. Great, swell job, let's do exactly what one is hoping for and another is afraid of.

Second, polls show that Obama would beat McCain and Clinton would tie.

Obama captured 48% of the vote in the theoretical match-up against McCain's 41%, the TIME poll reported, while Clinton and McCain would deadlock at 46% of the vote each. Put another way, McCain looks at the moment to have a narrowly better chance of beating the New York Senator than he does the relative newcomer from Illinois.

So there goes the argument that Hilary is more "electable" because of her loads of experience and less change. Yes, this is exactly what we want, a candidate who will rally the republicans purely to beat her and one who is shown to lose the election if it was held today. Not to mention her campaign is starved for cash and is resorting to dipping into her own pockets.

Yes, vote for Hilary, let's turn the predicted landslide for the Democrats into an easy win for the Republicans. Hilary needs to bow out, and the Democratic party needs to rally behind Obama. Let's focus on November instead of wasting money on the fight for the nomination. The republicans have done so and they've already begun to garner the headlines, it's time to take control of the party, the news cycle, and the country again.

Also, on another political note, check out opencongress.org.