It's election time everyone! Time to color everything Red, White & Blue and hold contests to see how much more patriotic you can be than the person next to you. Get out your red (white & blue) boxing gloves and prepare to knock the stars (and stripes) out of your political opponents. I, for one, am ready to get in on all of the action.
I am tired of hearing people say how they wish that the candidates would stop attacking one another. For real? Are we really all that concerned about polite and phoney niceties between John McCain and Barack Obama, and between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden? First of all, half the fun of election season is getting everybody all riled up about their ideas and opinions. This is not a time to sit down together for a proper cup of tea. I am sure that I am already reddening the ears of a few family members who may not agree with me. And they are reddening mine. It's good for us. It's healthy. It's the American way.
For tonight's post I am putting together a collection of a few emails I've sent to friends and family members in a dialogue about the candidates and the election. In the near future I will use them to write a more cohesive report perceiving just what is going on, but for now I thought I'd share them here in case you weren't included in these email chains. I am hoping for some good and rowdy comments back about what you guys (whoever you are that read this- mostly Mom probably) are thinking and feeling.
Dear Friends,
I received the following email from my friend Meg in Los Angeles. I think that her point is very, very valid. Please take the time to consider her words and then decide what you can do to help out. We all need to galvanize if we want to be able to finally stop complaining about the direction of our beloved country. I don't know about you but I want to be able to be proud, even boastful, about being an American- not ashamed of the way we've squandered both our economic and environmental resources and traded the integrity of our individual freedoms for corrupt religious and social agendas.
Her point is crucial, but it is only one example, just ONE, of how a McCain/Palin victory could bring continued economic and social devastation to our states. PLEASE consider voting for Obama/Biden this November. At least do me the favor of reviewing his policies. For your convenience, I've attached Obama's Blueprint for Change which gives an outline and great detail about what he plans to achieve in office. (You might need to expand the size of the text.)
Be an educated voter. If you do nothing else- read both Obama and McCain's complete policy plans and decide for yourself. For some of you I know I might be preaching to the choir, but you could pass this on to a friend or relative of your own who may need some help in deciding in this very crucial election season.
Let me remind you again to please take the time to do this. I just might call you and ask you about it and it would be embarrassing for you if you were uninformed! We are all very busy but we must make time to educate ourselves and make informed decisions. Consider it an investment of time for your future and your children's future. It will pay off in the long run.
And please, put your cynicism aside this year and at least make a decision. It's easy for anyone to claim that both candidates are not good enough. The reality is that no one candidate will ever be good enough, but we can at least inch a little closer towards improvement if we voice our opinions. As Obama says, "change comes from the bottom up, not the top down." We are the bottom and although it's easy to want to blame George W. Bush for all of our problems, we each either voted him into office or did not do enough in the last two elections to stop him from being voted in.
We have to shout sometimes in order to be heard above all of the other chaotic noise.
Voter registration will close in a few weeks- make a choice and be sure you have a way to either get to the polls or vote early or absentee.
Thank you for reading. As always I am open and available for any questions or comments you might have.
Oh yeah and one more thing: YES WE CAN. : )
Bethany Betzler
Obama for America
www.barackobama.com
For the first time in this race, John McCain has pulled ahead of
Barack Obama in the polls.
I'm e mailing everyone I know, literally. Why? Because despite all of
our obvious shock and derision of McCain's wretched vice-presidential
pick, he has successfully galvanized the far right wing of his party.
And all of them vote. Seriously. They all go and vote when moved to do
so, and they have now been officially moved.
If you've been successfully keeping yourself out of the political
fray, believing that there's no way that this country can ask for more
of what we've had for the past eight years, or if you don't
particularly like anyone's platform and believe it's all the same
miserable mess, it's time to get in this thing. Why? This is why - and
these are facts, not rumor or propoganda:
1) Sarah Palin is opposed not only to all versions of abortion, even
in cases of rape or incest, but she is against all forms of birth
control, including condoms that prevent the spread of sexually
transmitted diseases like HIV, HPV and syphilis, which are rampant in
the american teen population. She believes this even in the face of
her own teenage daughter's pregnancy and possible exposure to these
diseases.
2) In the following link to an e mail (not a fake, verified as real,
and the woman who wrote it was interviewed on NPR in shock over its
incredible internet presence), it is reported that she regularly seeks
revenge on opponents, a la Dick Cheney's revenge on Joe Wilson and
Valerie Plame, and attempted to have books banned from the library in
her town in Alaska. When the librarian refused to pull the books from
the shelves, she attempted (unsuccessfully) to fire her:
http://www. mcclatchydc. com/homepage/story/52031. html
(If this link doesn't work, you can google Anne Kilkenny E mail and it
will come up.)
3) John McCain, if elected, will be the oldest president ever sworn
into office. His health is sketchy, and there are signs his memory is
failing. A McCain presidency is very likely a Palin presidency.
This is all with one shallow political purpose - the selection of
Palin, the ranting about unborn children at the Republican convention,
all of it. And that purpose is simple, and despite my hatred of
capital letters I will put this all in caps so it cannot be missed:
THREE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES WILL STEP DOWN OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
THREE. THE NEXT PRESIDENT WILL APPOINT THEM. IF THAT PRESIDENT IS JOHN
MCCAIN OR SARAH PALIN, THERE WILL BE NO MORE ROE V. WADE. PERIOD. THE
RIGHT WING OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WANTS THIS ABOVE ALL ELSE.
THERE WILL BE NO EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK FOR WOMEN. (THE COURT HAS
ALREADY SLAMMED THIS ONE THIS YEAR)
THERE WILL BE NO JUDICIAL REVIEW OF THE BREAKING OF THE LAW BY THE
EXECUTIVE BRANCH IN THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION, OR IN THE NEWLY
ELECTED ONE.
EQUAL RIGHTS FOR SAME-SEX PARTNERS WILL BE THROWN OUT IF BROUGHT
BEFORE THIS COURT.
ACCOUNTABILITY OF HMOs AND BIG OIL COMPANIES WILL BE THROWN OUT BEFORE
THIS COURT.
AND FINALLY - and perhaps this is the part I should have put all in
caps by itself - THIS WILL LAST FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS. Currently, the
Court is in tight balance, and leans to the right. Two of the three
Bush Sr. appointees - Thomas and Scalia - lean so far to the right
that they have already greatly affected a Presidential Election (2000)
and have written opinions that have literally spit in the face of the
rule of law. Thomas and the Bush Jr. appointees, Alito and Roberts,
are all young and in good health. The Justices that will be retiring -
Ginsberg, Stevens and Kennedy, if replaced by Justices like Alito,
Scalia, Thomas and Roberts, will create a complete shift to the right
in the Court that will last into the adulthood of children being born
today.
The far right wing of the Republican Party has made this an election
about the Supreme Court. They know what they're doing. And it's
working. In so doing, they're literally seeking to elect more of what
we are already suffering terribly from: a despotic, vengeful, greedy
and dictatorial executive branch with no interest in checks or
balances. Everything we've been ashamed of and horrified by since the
miserable (and Supreme Court-decided) election in 2000.
They're also using whatever racial queasiness people have to draw
voters to their ticket, or to keep voters at home. We can't ignore
that racism is keeping this election close.
So, aside from freaking out completely at you, what is the use of this
e mail? Here it is:
The only way for this not to happen is for people to vote. I know this
seems obvious, and I know that the majority of you live in states that
are practically a given for Obama/Biden - New York, California,
Washington, Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois.
But here's what you might not already know. There are states in play
right now on the electoral map that have not been in play
historically, at least in the last two to four elections, and there
are states that are always in play too:
Virginia is a dead tie between McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden. Do you
know people in Virginia? Can you ask them if they're registered?
Forward them this e mail? I'm going down there to register people to
vote myself. It's only two hours away and carries 13 electoral votes.
Colorado is a dead tie between McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden. Same
questions apply. Talk to people you know there. It has 9 electoral
votes.
Ohio is a dead tie between McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden. Can you
volunteer to phone bank from where you are to get people to register
to vote there? You can phone bank to anywhere from anywhere. Ohio has
20 electoral votes.
North Carolina is close, with McCain currently ahead. It carries 15
electoral votes. It's full of college students, the majority of whom
would vote for Obama/Biden if they vote. Maybe you have a family
member in college there, or you know someone who does. Can this get to
them?
New Mexico is close, with Obama currently ahead. It carries 5 central
electoral votes. Who do you know there?
Pennsylvania is uncomfortably tight, with Obama ahead. It carries 21
electoral votes. I might go there too, if I can afford the time away
from work.
Last week, before the Republican Convention, I considered the
possibility of a website for this purpose, but we really don't have
that kind of time. Most places have an October 1 deadline for voters
to register. The nasty, old-school, unborn baby-centered rhetoric is
working on the voting base of the Republican Party, who are so
petrified of the future that they desperately want to turn the clock
backwards. The Obama/Biden campaign is stymied over how to approach
Palin without being accused of sexism. Registering people to vote by
volunteering to phone bank or going to a contested state or contacting
people who will do the same is really the only way. It has stopped
mattering if you particularly like Obama or Biden as candidates. There
is not enough time and too much is at stake.
Thanks for listening. Please pass this on.
(and then my aunt Pam send this...)
Grabbing Palin was definitely a strategic move to add the "un-informed housewife" vote with all the pro-lifers, relgious right holy rollers and gun-heads.
Her good looks will also help McCain who I'm sure wears baseball hats to look younger, more hip and just better. Unfortunately I think we have a lot of voters who pick on appearance.... she was a beauty queen. She is definitely not the right choice for a VP - not even close to Hilary. I'm not knocking her per say but McCain is using her...
A lot of oddball emotions against abortion and gays - the scary kind with a lot of hatred and rage - driven by patriarchal fears. Unfortunately these people with these emotions are not at all independent thinkers and are so easily swayed by cult like thinking (and being a part of the crowd) - just try to ignore. Not worth our time.
Voting Obama/Biden is the obvious choice...and hopefully the thinking people will out number the reactionary ones.
(and I wrote this in response...)
"Hopefully the thinking people will out number the reactionary ones..." I think that this should become the new slogan for the Obama/Biden campaign! : )
Well said Pam. I agree fully, except, I AM knocking her. I think she is a terrible politician, from what I've seen and read so far. You don't outrightly insult community organizers on national TV and win any points in my book. No, she is no more like Hilary then John McCain himself is. Having reproductive organs doesn't all of the sudden make her a leader in women's movement towards greater professional success. I've supported Obama since day one, but I respect Hilary and her political career. I have no political respect for Sarah Palin. She is a pawn, a puppet, and nothing else- unfortunately, these types of players often seem to be the ones that get elected. However, I am choosing not to be cynical and I truly do believe that Barack Obama has the honest intention of winning to change our country for the better. He's devoted his career to doing the grunt work (aka, the community organizing that Palin arrogantly insulted during her RNC speech.)
I could go on and on. As far as the non-independent thinkers go, I hope that they've truly weighed the options and thought hard about who would be a better leader of the US. In fact, I believe that Obama is probably a much more devoted Christian than John McCain ever was. People seem to get it into their heads that you have to exclude a certain kind of person from the religious experience. I think that if you were to ask Jesus Christ himself, he'd be voting for Obama too- because JC gave to the hungry, the sick, and the weak, and never turned anyone away. Maybe some people need to be reminded that this might have included homosexuals too. And no, I don't think he would have tried to "cure" same-sex couples of their "condition", I think he would have accepted them as they are. As far as what the bible says, I think we have a real problem on our hands if we are actually considering those printed words as the Gospel of the Lord. Surely there has never been a more political document ever published then the Bible itself. Unfortunately, it seems like many many people do. Sometimes I wish JC would just come back down to earth and whip all of the religious fanatics into shape. Perhaps we need to start worshipping the philosophers in history who also taught and preached about the power of independent thought. Cult-like thinking is never a benefit to a society.
As far as abortion goes, that's a hard one, but let me give you my 2 cents on it- the Republican party does not really care about saving unborn babies. My hunch, my conspiracy theory, is that they use this issue as an excuse to not support stem cell research and other methods of advanced biotechnology because they know that such technologies just might stop people from needing to depend on the many many medical products they are currently dependent on. I don't know this for a fact, so give me your opinions people. Doesn't it seem like a good possibility that this is what is happening? Political Action Committees and lobbyists are running rampant through Washington trying to protect the profits of medical companies. I'm not knocking medical companies, everyone has an agenda, but we as voters need to realize that when politicians are talking about social issues they are most likely masking a fiscal issue- one that keeps their pockets deep in dinero. Fortunately, Obama has kept good on his word to not accept campaign money from PAC's or lobbyists, and has been very transparent about his campaign funding. I don't completely ethically love the idea of abortion, but I am more terrified of the idea of my government keeping life-saving technologies away from those who need them (and we could potentially be one of those people some day.) I think that this topic is much too controversial to be completely one way or the other and we need to keep an open dialogue about- not just ban it for the sake of satisfying the religious and medical lobbyists and PAC's who insist upon it for their own greedy or narrow-minded purposes.
Okay- this is it for now. Email me back if you want to discuss further.
And I guess for tonight that really is all that I have to say on the matter. Expect a lot more in the weeks to come...
Monday, September 8, 2008
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5 comments:
This is supposedly a quote from Palin's gubernatorial debate, with the moderator's question and then Palin's answer (disclaimer: I did not cross-check it):
Q: In a recent survey you said that you would support abstinence-until-marriage education but that you would not support explicit sex-ed programs. What are explicit sex-ed programs, and does that include talking about condoms in school?
A: No, I don't think that it includes something that is relatively benign. Explicit means explicit. No, I am pro-contraception, and I think kids who may not hear about it at home should hear about it in other avenues. So I'm not anti-contraception. But yeah, abstinence is another alternative that should be discussed with kids. I don't have a problem with that. That doesn't scare me, so it's something that I would support also.
I think that is at least one piece of evidence that she is not anti-contraception.
I agree with Capricorn...She seems very smart. And this blog seems pretty pathetic.
You all seem like tree huggers that are very quick to judge other people you do not have the slightest clue about.
Funny how liberals preach tolerance as their mantra, yet are so hateful to anybody that might disagree with them.
McCain/Palin is the obvious choice psycho hippies like these posts should be ignored. To quote Aunt Pam, "they are not worth our time."
I am kind of excited- my blog is beginning to reach out beyond my small circle of influence! At least, that is what I hope, considering I was just openly dogged by "anonymous", whoever they may be- and I would certainly not expect any of my close family or friends to call my blog "pretty pathetic."
Nonetheless, it's a step! I'd rather have more people reading my words and receive more insults to that effect than to only have my mom reading it all of the time and receive nothing but unconditional praise.
I only wish that "anonymous" would have at least left me with a compelling argument as to why McCain/Palin is the obvious choice. It is certainly not so obvious to me.
Funny how "Anonymous" dogged you for being "very quick to judge other people you do not have the slightest clue about", and one mere period later did the exact same thing. THAT is what bugs me about the 'other side'. And that doesn't even make sense! "People [we] do not have the slightest clue about" - are they not putting all the information about themselves out there to get elected? Isn't that the point of the race? Sometimes I'm really astounded by people.
To be fair, I get 99% of my political research second hand. What I always end up getting more involved in is hearing how people are so concerned to be unconcerned. It is the quintessential American that-will-never-happen-to-me syndrome. The amount of arguments that McCain "can't overturn Roe v Wade anyway" are shocking. Sure, the forefathers put checks and balances into place, but one short look at our government will tell ANYONE that that is exactly what has been disintegrating over the past decade or two! If that doesn't push you into action, I don't know what will. It sure would be nice to "live in the woods where no one bothers you with all this crap", as one of my friends says. But guess what? You don't live in the woods. We all live here: in this place in this time. You can ignore it, but then you have not one millimeter of room to speak later.
Oh I'm all fired up.
Then chew on this one...You sit there and you criticize whether Sarah Palin has the ability to step in as a vice president, and a common theme of all liberals is that she has no idea about foreign policy. Consider the following:
Sarah Palin has just as much foreign policy right now as Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush prior to get elected. And while we are the subject, I dont want to hear anything from liberals about how Alaska is a nothing state, when was the last time that Arkansas was a leader in anything? So that argument clearly does not carry the day. As an aside, I suppose that Barack Obama sits in the same position, but then again he got a two week field trip going to middle east and now I guess that makes him an expert on the subject.
Finally, let us not attack intelligence of either of the Republican candidates. It was your VP candidate, a Syracuse Law Graduate who says on national television that Article I of the Constitution outlines the role of the Executive Branch. Article I. But because you probably have no idea what Article I is all about, I will inform you accordingly. It deals with Congress. Article II outlines the powers of the Executive. But, why should I expect any liberal to have actually read the document. After all you believe it to be a living breathing document and you simply plug in whatever liberal socialist entitlement program you wish so it can be dubbed constitutional.
Finally, it was the Democrats who have gotten us in the financial crisis we are in today. At least John McCain mentioned regulating Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac in 2005. But your own Barney Frank was the one that said there is no problem there. And others in your party outline the phenomenal leadership of Frank Raines and Jim Johnson.
Your party has done NOTHING to improve this country's lot. Bill Clinton now admits that partisanship within his party was responsible for preventing such regulation. And I guess that would be easy to see given that you lead the house with political hacks such as Nancy Pelosi. That woman is a joke who does not know what the hell she is talking about. Liberals are always willing to run down this country and blame everyone but themselves as the problem.
I know that your likely comeback to all of this will be something immature and insulting, but I can expect nothing more from a liberal.
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