My 401K started back up yesterday. It only seems appropriate that the stock market to the biggest one day hit (in terms of points) in history.
Politics.
Frustration. Determination. Admittance.
Have I mentioned anything about the upcoming U.S. Presidential elections lately? I think I might have. There are some things going on with this election that I find to be ridiculous. For example, I find John McCain to be ridiculous. He’s essentially hit the pause button his campaign so he can save us from the economy, when of course as late as last week he said, “The fundamentals of our economy are strong.”1 Naturally he said this as Wall Street was imploding. To keep things fair I have to admit that I’m not super enthusiastic about Obama but I truly believe he has a lot more to offer than McCain does. I certainly hope that he’ll get the chance to prove me right.
Meanwhile, Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin (she’s the one that can see Russia from her house!) made Katie Couric look angry during a recent interview, as Ms. Palin stammered and stuttered and let Katie know she’d get back to her on a few of the topics they were discussing. I love this recap of the the governor’s interview:
In a 40-minute session with Couric that aired Wednesday and Thursday nights, the Alaska governor defended her puzzling claim that geographic proximity makes her some sort of expert on Russia; went nearly blank when queried about McCain’s achievements as a big-business regulator; agreed America “may find itself” on the road to another Great Depression; and, promoting a troop surge in Afghanistan, casually suggested that it “will lead us to victory there, as it has proven to have done in Iraq.” 2
Katie looks like she wants to just rip the woman’s head off. And I don’t blame her, I mean, aside from giving idiotic answers and IOUs for responses to policy questions, who in their right mind goes hunting from a helicopter anyway? Isn’t that what Sarah does? I believe she flies around in a helicopter and shoots at moose or something. I’m not a fan of hunting in any way, shape or form but the people I know that enjoy the sport actually run around and chase the animals down, sort of in the way that SomeOne intended. Granted, the whole gun thing seems a little unfair to the animals but when you bring into the helicopters into the mix, well that’s just high-flying crazy.
You know what really frustrates me, though? All this talk about religion when it comes to the Presidential election. I don’t know if it’s because the way I was raised or what but who the hell cares what religion anyone is? Personally, I’m not a fan of religion. I think organised religion is dangerous and in most cases a society-accepted scam. Now don’t misinterpret these statements to mean that I’m knocking spirituality because I fully believe that humans are nowhere as significant as we claim to be. I fully believe in a greater cause, a greater good, a higher power and all encompassing love. People don’t pay for that all encompassing love thing so the religious zealots have to scare you to death with talks of hell and damnation.
When I was in the hospital in 2005 they asked me what my religion was. I was born, baptised and confirmed as Methodist. I didn’t really subscribe to the whole Methodist thing, even though the Methodists seem to be rather broadminded about many topics. I guess Methodist is a nice, middle of the road sort of religion where you can go once or twice a year, drop a hundred buckets into the collection plate and be good until the next religious holiday. I always felt it odd that the minister was up there saying wise things as if they were closer to God than I but I’ve always felt close to the Universe. I don’t need a middle man between me and whatever is out there, up there. Anyways, they wanted my religion in the hospital and I decided to take a stand. My beliefs are closer to Pagan than anything else so I told them that I was Pagan.
This made the admitting nurse take pause.
“Pagan”.
“Pagan. That’s P-A-G-A-N.”
“Yes. Where’s that church?”
“In my backyard.”
“Oh.”
“Naked.”
“I see.”
I don’t know why this made the nurse take pause (nevertheless I giggled) but truth be known I read a LOT of books on Paganism and Wicca and I celebrate all the Wiccan holidays. I even go sky clad in the middle of the night from time to time. Nevertheless, the admitting nurse shrunk a little bit like I was going to turn her into a toad or something.
Why do I discuss this now? Well, it seems that the minister of Sarah Palin’s church is some sort of witch hunter. Now, if he wants to hunt witches on his own free time that’s groovy. If it makes you feel better to chase witches down and brings you some sort of sense of higher consciousness then get out the garlic and shake whatever you shake and go witch hunting. But when all of this gets mixed up with the government of the United States? Uh, nope. Wrong answer. Keep it to yourself.
I mentioned last night that this feels like some weird reality show called “Who Wants To Be President?” I don’t believe that any run up to a recent election has ever been so, well, bizarre. Last night I gave the impression that I was nervous about the outcome of this election.
I’m frustrated. I’m determined to make a difference. And this witch says bring it on.
1 Reference: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/15/mccain-fundamentals-of-th_n_126445.html
2 Reference: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-onthemedia26-2008sep26,0,3542588.story
Let’s Get Political.
I just finished watching Hillary Clinton’s speech at the Democratic Convention last night. I’ve never sat through an entire political speech in my life. I watched and listened to every word that Senator Clinton had to say. I teared up.
Here’s the thing. I am a supporter of Hillary Clinton. It is my dream to be able to meet her in person, shake her hand, look her in the eye and simply say “thank you”. I firmly wanted Hillary Clinton as our next President of the United States. I still believe that Hillary Clinton will be the first female President of the United States. She clearly has what it takes.
But it’s not going to happen in 2008.
My support is now fully behind Senator Barack Obama. For the next three months I am going to learn, research and listen to everything I can to know about this man. I know that I won’t be disappointed. When I vote for Obama as President in November, I will be a well-educated voter who is being a responsible American. To do any less is to throw your vote away.
Anyone that votes for Mc Cain out of spite because Senator Clinton is not the Democratic nominee is a dumb shit, plain and simple. Voting for Mc Cain is your way of saying ‘I do not believe in what the Democratic party represents, I do not believe in what Senator Clinton is fighting for, and I am happy with the current direction of the United States.’
Earl and I had dinner at a local Greek restaurant today. Seated next to us was an obnoxious man with obnoxious teenagers and a wife that was oddly dressed like a pimento. They were discussing the Democratic Convention and how absurd it was. The pimento stated she couldn’t bring herself to watch it. I think she had the vapours or something. The ring leader of the bunch went on and on about how Obama doesn’t stand a chance in winning the Presidency. “No one will vote for him”.
I believe he was wrong.
Together, we can make sure he was.
Earl and I kept silent during this loud declaration at the next table as it wasn’t really our place to say anything. Let’s face it, we were eavesdropping. I deduced that they are the product of big government, big corporations and privileged upbringing. Granted it was an assumption, but I had the feeling that they didn’t need to worry about paying medical bills, paying their mortgage or putting food on the table. I envisioned them driving a Hummer, oblivious to the men and women that are dying in Hummers in Iraq in a senseless war.
A vote for Mc Cain is a vote for four more years of the “same same same”. A vote for Mc Cain is a vote for “no, I do not believe you and Earl should be entitled to equal rights.” A vote for Mc Cain is a vote for “only those that can afford exorbitant medical fees should have health care.”
Set the pouting aside, be a good American and make a responsible vote in November.
By the way, if you don’t vote at all in November not only are you a dumb shit, you are a very bad American.
Fear.
Yesterday on NPR one of the shows (I think it was “Day To Day”) featured a discussion with land-owners and an assortment of politicians arguing over the building of the fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. Many land owners and citizens in communities along the border are opposed to the construction of the fence; the Bush administration is apparently bypassing several laws and literally just “bulldozing” their way through to build this fence. A link to the story is here.
I was listening to arguments for the fence as shared by Republican congressman Duncan Hunter of San Diego and agreeing with some of his points, but then he said something that I found ridiculous and he completely lost me. To paraphrase his quote: “The fence will stop cocaine from crossing the board and poisoning our children.”
Uh, no.
Border fence aside, if children are doing cocaine then it’s the result of bad parenting and a faulty education system. Building a 1000-mile fence is not going to make bad parents better and it’s not going to make our educational system stronger. This same fence is not going to stop illegal immigrants and drugs from crossing into the U.S. either. It’s a waste of money. It’s a waste of time. And it tramples the rights of many. Remember when the U.S. was the “land of the free” and many aspired to come here?
You know, it must suck to live in a constant state of fear. The current administration has done it’s best to make sure that we are constantly scared. Remember the whole “plastic and duct tape” mess a few years ago? “We might be attacked, by plastic and duct tape to protect your home.” “We have to hear what the bad guys are saying so we have to compromise your freedom and listen into any private phone call anywhere at anytime.” “We need to see what money is going to the Middle East so we are going to monitor all bank transactions.” Land of the Free? Not anymore.
Be afraid, be very afraid. That’s what they want.
The Bible beating crowd is big on fear. “Believe what it is in this book or you’re going to burn, burn, burn in hell.” “Be afraid of Him”. Funny, I always thought that “He” (and I don’t subscribe to that concept of a male God) was an all loving God. To make God into a judgmental, cranky man that will send one of his creations into eternal damnation for eating a burger on Friday* is sort of ridiculous if you really think about the logic.
Here’s the thing. I’m not afraid of much. I’m not afraid of being bombed, I’m not afraid of being gay, I’m not afraid of being gassed by bad meanies from another part of the world, I’m not afraid of being killed. What’s the worst that could happen? That I’ll die? I look at it this way: when it’s my time to go, it’s my time to go. My belief system (which includes reincarnation) tells me that I’ve already sort of planned this go around at life and that in some innate way I’ll know when it’s time to go and I’ll go as I planned before I started all this. Those that remain after I go will learn the lessons that they need to learn from my passing and how I passed, because we sort of discussed it before we were born.
A lot has changed in the 39 3/4 years I’ve been around. Hell, a lot has changed in the past eight years. Do I still believe in the world? I do.
I’m just not afraid of it.
* I have never understood the “no meat on Friday” thing, I’m just using it as a random example and is not meant to offend anyone that believes in that.
No Choices.
I’ve been trying to be a good citizen by keeping tabs on the Presidential nominees and getting together as much information as possible so that I can make an educated, valuable choice at the polls in November. I’ve scanned blogs, read speeches and watched news reports on the candidates from both sides of the coin.
The truth is, I’m finding this all very depressing. A while back I mentioned that if I were to vote at that moment I would vote for Hillary as our next president. I still find her to be a very strong candidate but I’m not sure she has the backing necessary to win the presidency. There are too many irrational people in our country that don’t like Hillary and refuse to vote for her. When asked why they wouldn’t vote for her, they have no response. They just don’t like her. I think some of it has to do with Hillary tolerating Bill’s fling with Monica and to me that’s beyond ludicrous. First of all, it’s none of our business and secondly the American society has instilled such ridiculous societal norms upon ourselves it’s a wonder we can function at all (but my feelings about all that are being saved for an upcoming blog entry).
I keep hearing all these claims about how progressive United States is but in truth that’s all a bunch of hot air. If anything, Americans in general are gleefully running backwards and against the grain of the world as a whole. Healthcare for everyone? Of course not, it would hurt the insurance companies! Equal rights for same sex unions? How crazy, it will end civilisation! Live in fear of a handful of people? Absolutely. “Be afraid, be very afraid”, that’s the new American mantra.
Whoever is elected as our next President has a very challenging path ahead and that’s putting it mildly. I believe that ANYONE is better than what we currently have, but when you set the bar in the basement you only have to climb the stairs to get over it. (Bush Lite has done a bang up job of doing some mighty fine damage in eight years.) The problem is, when I go to make cast my vote in November, I don’t think I’ll find anyone listed that is going to do what is necessary to turn our country around. Hillary is a little too old school for my tastes these days. I think Obama talks a good talk but I’m not sure he can walk the walk. And don’t get me started on the other side of the fence. I’m trying to learn but I just find them entirely too creepy. We have a war out of control, an economy that is rapidly deteriorating, ridiculous “security” controls in place at our borders (which wastes BILLIONS of dollars) and a populous that pretty much comes up 50/50 on any poll on just about any topic. Were we this divided before the Civil War?
So I’ll continue to read, learn and digest the information available on all the candidates for the presidency. I hope to find a light in the tunnel.
As it stands right now, the power is still out.
Primary.
I’ve been keeping relatively quiet about the primary elections, caucuses and other activities that strain one’s high school lessons in social studies. Earl and I have had several discussions here at home, but for the most part I haven’t been doing much yapping on the blog.
If the truth were to be known, I already sick of the presidential election and it’s still 10.9 months away. However, I will say this: Over the past eight years I have equated “baby Bush” with the entire governmental process of the United States. As part of my extreme nature, “it’s all of them” that have been making life less than delightful for many Americans. I don’t believe that we are any safer today than we were on 9/12/01. I don’t even buy into that “be very afraid because they bad guys are going to get us” mentality. Hey, if it’s my time, it’s my time, whether it’s from a lightning strike, a bad piece of food, an anti-gay wing nut or at the hands of a terrorist. Quite frankly I think the country as a whole has it’s panties wound up entirely too tight and if people were to relax, think and ponder life a little bit instead of racing to hysterics at the smallest opportunity, the United States would be a much happier place.
A number of months ago I expressed a desire to move to Dublin, Ireland. It’s my favorite city, despite my very limited time of being there and someday I would like to live along the River Liffey. A number of months ago I also had dreams of becoming an Irish citizen and leaving Ol’ Glory behind.
I don’t feel that way anymore, and here’s why. Earlier this week Hillary Clinton’s now infamous “tearful speech” moved me.
But it was Clinton’s response to the last question from freelance photographer Marianne Pernold Young that provided the electric moment. How did Clinton keep going? “I couldn’t do it if I didn’t just passionately believe it was the right thing to do,” Clinton began telling Young, her voice cracking. “I have so many opportunities from this country and I just don’t want to see us fall backwards as a nation. This is very personal for me.”
When I heard Senator Clinton’s tearful response, it struck a chord in me. It wasn’t the tears that moved me, it was the message and the way that she conveyed her feelings on the subject. There *are* people in government that really do care about the United States. There are government officials that share my view that our great country is moving backwards on so many levels.
As children we are taught to respect the President. The President leads the entire country; it doesn’t matter if you’re rich, poor, black, white, straight, gay or whatever, the President is leading the whole crowd. Earl reminds me that we should always respect the office entitled President, but sometimes the person isn’t worthy of that respect. If I were to vote today, I would vote for Hillary Clinton. I believe that with her as our Commander In Chief, we would have a leader that I could respect once again.
Respect.
At work we have a television that silently shows a pictures from CNN. We’re suppose to use this TV to monitor the weather but we got bored watching the clouds roll by so a number of years ago we opted for the 24 hour news channel instead. This past week we’ve been silently following the fate of the miners in Utah but today Bush Lite was up there doing another press conference. Watching this man with the sound turned down is kind of interesting. It lets you look at his body language a little bit.
First of all, everything I say about the leader of the free world smacks completely contrary to what I was taught by my parents and my teachers as a child. It is ingrained deep into my morality that we should always respect the President of the United States and his office. I fully believe that. However, I can not bring myself to respect this current administration. I just can’t do it. I try. I look for good points but I find few. The current administration does not respect me, simply because I’m wired to be attracted to the same sex. (“If God made you that way, then God must have made a mistake.”) Furthermore, they don’t respect my relationship with Earl, even though we are completely in love, completely inseparable, the best of friends, and still crazy about each other after more than a decade of doing this whole “until death do us part” thing. And don’t even get me started on the war, civil liberties, failing infrastructure and the building economical nightmare.
So even though I respect the role of the president, I don’t respect the man or any member of this current administration. Heck, I respected Reagan and the first Bush more than I respect this guy. The man is a dumbass. As I was watching him on the screen, I can’t help but notice the “I can’t believe I’m president!” look on his face. I’d have more respect for the goons that sell “I can’t believe its not butter!”
I have to admit I’m already tiring of the 2008 presidential elections. The mud is slinging, the words are flying, the coverage is endless and it’s already exhausting and we’re still 15 months away from the decision. I’m not sure for whom I would vote, but I’m pretty confident that whoever takes the coveted prize next year will automatically earn my respect until proven otherwise.
Microsoft and NYS Election Law.
According to this blog entry (link), Microsoft is actively trying to get a relatively new New York State Election Law to be changed. This is pissing me off.
I was unaware but am quite happy to see that the Empire State has some of the strictest regulations in the country regarding electronic voting machines. One of the regulations is that the software must be “open source”, which means that anyone can take a look at the programming code that makes up the software and observe as to what makes the program tick. This removes any doubt about vote tampering through back-door and other unscrupulous means.
Microsoft doesn’t like open source software all that much; all versions of Windows and the vast majority of Microsoft programs are “closed source”, which means that only Microsoft knows what goes on inside their programs. This has made me nervous in the past, as I’ve worked for a computer company and I know what goes on inside corporate walls. The NYS election law requires that any software used on electronic voting machines must be “open source”, and that would include the Windows operating system that it’s running on. Microsoft doesn’t like that. Electronic voting machines would have to run Linux or FreeBSD (both open source, to the best of my knowledge) in order to comply with the election law.
Small wonder I stick to my aging Mac PowerBook G4 instead of using Windows Vista on my HP laptop.
My question is: why do we have to use electronic voting machines at all? The lever and flip the switch machines that we’ve used in New York have worked fine for a good number of years. Why this huge push to change to something else? They’re basically used just once a year, I’m sure someone somewhere could maintain and repair these machines for their annual duty.
