As I sit here today and share my thoughts with you, I must say that I am proud of this country. I have witnessed America unite together and vote for an African-American president, transcending walls and barriers erected years ago, turning a new chapter in our history. I can honestly say that voting for Barack Obama was a vote against my norms, but I feel it was a right vote. I am optimistic about our path as a nation, and I am proud of the steps our nation has taken. Politics will always have it’s differences, and though people today may disagree with this choice, I refuse to believe that it can be any worse than what we have faced in the past eight years. The thing I love the most about this nation is that it is a free nation. A nation where our voices can be heard, and our votes count. I hope that no matter what, politics aside, America supports Barack Obama. Whether you voted for him or not he isn’t your president, he isn’t his president, he is OUR president.
Hey guys, just a quick post. I stumbled upon this site on Kanye West’s blog, thingsarefine.org.These are the guys who are pioneering that “Don’t Vote” campaign which I think is great. Their site is Pro-Obama, but even if you are not it’s definitely worth a click. It’s really creative and their posters are really cool. I have inserted one above to give you an idea. Anyway, check it out!
Just finished watching the 30 Minute Barack Obama ad. This one was indeed a doozey, a little too much Obama in one sitting I think. Sure the message was very nice, the production value was superb, and it seems as though that the McCain campaign is getting fired up about it, which should lead to some hilarious sound bytes and impromptu “Joe The Plumber” appreances. BTW you know they offered that moron a book deal? I am surprised he can put pen to paper. Anyway, let me save my anti-Joe comments for another blog (coming soon).
So in closing, let me make a bulleted list, cause, well I like bulleted lists and it’s my blog.
Was the 30-minute ad space worth it? Umm maybe? I mean he is doing very well, I personally would have gone with something brief. However the time did fly by and I always appreciate a nice field of wheat?
Was the 30-minute ad a bit larger than life? Absolutely. Barack Obama has raised way too much money and it’s obvious. Enough of that “broken promises” malarky. The man did what he had to do to make the cash he needs to be President. McCain didn’t take the “high road” and use public funds because he wanted to. He didn’t take it cause he likes being the underdog compared to Obama’s millions.
Will the 30-minute ad hurt Obama? Probably not. I don’t see this as more than another ad. It will fire up the Republicans thats for sure. I can imagine the asinine comments Sarah Palin has cooking in her wacko brain for tomorrow.
So in the end, all we can take from this ad is basically the same things Obama has been saying for the passed couple of months. Except with a nice, calm, field of wheat. Mmmmmm wheat.
This post is for my friend Jen, who thinks that I am some what biased when it comes to the scope of my blog.
According to MSNBC, The Obama Campaign bumped the national anthem to make room for more speakers at the rally. Here is the excerpt from the post.
Not present, or at least not singing the National Anthem at the rally was Londonderry senior Zach Bencal.
Bencal, who sings the anthem for a number of school events and is actively involved in local community theatre, had been contacted by the Obama campaign to sing the anthem. He agreed to do so, then was told later in the evening the anthem had been scratched from the program. Bencal said he was told by the campaign the decision was a simple programming change to make room for another speaker.
“We regret the miscommunication with Zach about today’s event but we are pleased that several other New Hampshire residents were able to speak at today’s event, where thousands of voters in both parties gathered to hear Sen. Obama discuss his plan to bring the change we need to Washington.”
Sandra Abrevaya, communications director for the Obama campaign’s Manchester office, confirmed the choice had simply been a last-minute scratch from the rally’s program, which included the Pledge of Allegiance.
“I guess it just wasn’t meant to be,” Bencal said.
This isn’t very uncool I must say, I mean it IS the pledge of alliegance and the national anthem. It does show that the media in general seems to pick and choose what they report. And I am also including FOX News in this, because this definitely seems like something Bill O’Reilly would be foaming at the mouth over. The McCain campaign gets a lot of heat, sometimes it’s deserved, sometimes it’s not. The public scrutiny should go both ways. Lets make sure we as voters keep our political scopes relatively unfocused, so as to see the bigger picture, and keep focus on both candidates equally. Peace Out.
Ok, before I delve in, I want to state a couple of things outright.
First, I want to repudiate the fact that my friends think I am a dirty, partisan liberal. I am not, I am a Republican, who saw what his party was becoming, and what it started to stand for, and decided to jump ship before it sucked me in to the abyss. I am an independent. Been one for quite a while now.
Lastly, I want to clearly communicate my beliefs, and show you that I am neither brain washed nor misinformed. I am an educated individual, capable of making my own decisions. It’s kind of insulting that some would think that.
I am willing to admit that in modern U.S. Politics we will never have a “perfect candidate”. That one candidate that will make everyone happy, and will make everything perfect. I think that the political state of this nation is choosing ”the lesser of two evils”, and this election is by no means different. Both candidates have their obvious flaws, they have had their ups and downs. But without a doubt, this campaign became an ugly one, a long time ago, and John McCain’s true colors bled out.
I think the McCain/Palin campaign has been launching accusations and attacks far more than they have been discussing issues. Look, I understand attacking Obama, it’s all part of the game. But these attacks are just baseless and borderline lunatic. I understand the Jeremiah Wright incident. However, I will give Obama the benefit of the doubt on this. I think a man should be judged by his actions and by his words. Barack Obama condemned Wright’s obviously insane comments. I have sat in front of many pastors that I have disagreed with in my life, I don’t think it’s fair to hold that against me. I have discussed ad-nauseam the Bill Ayers link so I’ll spare you, as I will also spare you the ignorant supporters that shout death threats. You all know what I have to say about that.
John McCain tends to hover over yet another misconception, this idea of “Barack the Socialist”. I’ll keep this brief. The GOP tends to blur the lines between Socialism and Communism, and people tend to forget what socialism is. Google Socialism, do some research, find out what Socialism TRULY is, and then if you still think Barack Obama is a Socialist, come back and talk to me.
On the subject of taxes, I do agree that raising the corporate gains tax does tend to affect what businesses do best…business. But at the same time, I think we are at a point in our economy where we can justify making any of the Bush tax cuts permanent. It just doesn’t make sense to me how cutting the government’s income is going to be a benefit to our current situation or the actions we intend to take about it. Here’s Sarah Palin on Biden’s stance on taxes:
“You said recently that higher taxes or asking for higher taxes or paying higher taxes is patriotic. In the middle class of America, which is where Todd and I have been all of our lives, that’s not patriotic.”
That is such a terrible, stupid thing to say. First of all, Obama has stressed that his tax cuts are for the middle class. But lets forget I said that. Governor Palin loves to make taxes seem like a major drag. I want to quote Thomas Friedman’s great article on this issue. Here is an excerpt, but read it all, it really is good.
I only wish she had been asked: “Gov. Palin, if paying taxes is not considered patriotic in your neighborhood, who is going to pay for the body armor that will protect your son in Iraq? Who is going to pay for the bailout you endorsed? If it isn’t from tax revenues, there are only two ways to pay for those big projects — printing more money or borrowing more money. Do you think borrowing money from China is more patriotic than raising it in taxes from Americans?” That is not putting America first. That is selling America first.
Is paying taxes patriotic? You are God damned right it is. Much like Friedman I was raised in a middle class family, where my single mother supported a family of four and always paid her share of taxes. Taxes are the life blood of this nation. Friedman went on to quote Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. “I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization.” Great quote.
While on the subject of Sarah Palin, I don’t think she can run this nation. Anybody got a nicer word than “inept”? I won’t even go to her links to secessionists (all lies right?) and the whack job Joe Vogler, because well, you already know that. I guess won’t bring up the entire Katie Couric interview, cause well, you know that too. But I want to bring up yet another “epic” quote.
“We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation.”
Wow. Let that soak in a bit and then please tell me why you want this woman as the back-up to a 72 year old man with a not-so-hot track record for health. Sure, I have given her credit where it was due, but come on. The notion that some areas of the country are “better” or “real Americans” as opposed to others is the most narrow-minded dribble I have heard in a long time. Way to persuade voters guys!
Look in closing. I want to say that this isn’t some sort of radical overnight shift in my behavior. This is me, seeing the facts, looking at both sides of the issue, and making the choice I think is right. In the end, for these reasons, and many others, I cannot give my vote to John McCain. Barack Obama isn’t the greatest choice either, but in the end, John McCain is worse. If you can’t take my word for it, ask Colin Powell, or any of the other prominent Republicans who has given him their support. Peace out, thanks for listening.
P.S.
Notice, I didn’t once mention Joe The Plumber. Thats because he is insignificant.
Last night on Meet the Press (R.I.P Tim Russert) Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama. If you sit quietly, you can still hear McCain cursing. Colin Powell is without a doubt one of my favorite, if not my most favorite Republicans. The man is one of the most effective and intelligent generals that has ever served this nation, he is a statesman, and in my opinion a true patriot, and someday even a great president. I even did my first book report in the sixth grade on his biography. However, what struck me the most is why he endorsed Barack Obama.
Powell sees Obama as a “transformational figure” and a “new generation coming onto the world stage…”. I couldn’t agree more. But most importantly of all, he addressed my major concern (and one of my major reasons) for not voting for John McCain. Here is a quick excerpt from the CNN article I found.
Powell said he was concerned about what he characterized as a recent negative turn of Republican candidate Sen. John McCain’s campaign, such as the campaign’s attempts to tie Obama to former 1960s radical Bill Ayers.
“I think that’s inappropriate. I understand what politics is about — I know how you can go after one another, and that’s good. But I think this goes too far, and I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It’s not what the American people are looking for,” he said.
100% spot on.
Could this be the final nail in the coffin for the McCain/Palin campaign? Who knows? There is still plenty of time left, and frankly anything can happen. All I know is that the amount of respect I have for Colin Powell, and the fact that he has endorsed Barack Obama for the correct reasons will serve to reinforce the decision some have made to support him, and will cause others to re-think their decisions to support John McCain.
During the final presidential debate, John McCain said this about Bill Ayers
Yes, real quick. Mr. Ayers, I don’t care about an old washed-up terrorist.
So the focus of your entire campaign, more so than health care, more so than the economy is no longer a concern to you? Then why are auto dialing machines calling people with this message?
“You need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge’s home, and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country.”
Frankly, the McCain campaign is clinging to straws at this point. The campaign continues to allow these baseless accusations to go unchecked, letting them grow like wildfire. All this while John McCain demands of Obama to repudiate statements made against him. I am sorry Senator, this is very much a two way street. For every minute you attack Barack Obama for this nonsense is a minute you aren’t talking about the issues.
With the third presidential debate drawing near, I have been noticing the media has been hinting that John McCain is going to be addressing Barack Obama’s link with domestic terrorism Bill Ayers during the debate itself. Frankly, if John McCain wants to go down this road, he needs to do one of two things. Either prepare to bring evidence showing an 8 year old Barack Obama lighting the fuses along side Bill Ayers, or prepare to be torn apart by Barack Obama for trying to assign him guilt by association and taking the focus off the issues like our current economic crisis during a debate. This debate is all or nothing for John McCain. He needs to leave these ignorant, baseless attacks to the stump speeches and start addressing issues. All this “Who is Barack Obama, and where did he come from?” nonsense needs to end. Are the two autobiographies, senate experience, and the two and a half years of media scrutiny not enough? Oh that’s right, Sarah Palin doesn’t read…my bad. Either way, John McCain better bring his A game tonight if he wants a hope of closing the gap in the polls a bit. I’ll definitely be back to give me post debate summary so stay tuned. Peace Out.
I am notorious for not liking Sarah Palin. But being non-partisan, like I have said before, gives me the luxury of listening to both sides before making a judgement, something I wish more people would do. A lot of my freinds practice this and that is why no matter what stance they take I respect them for it. So here is my “pro Sarah Palin” post so to speak.
Being a Christian, I do lean socially to the right, especially when it comes to Abortion. I think Sarah Palin totally out did herself at a Pennsylvania rally this week when she discussed a bit of her own personal life with regards to her son Trig. I thought it was spot on, and definitely represents what Pro-Lifers are all about.
“In this same spirit, as defenders of the culture of life, John McCain and I believe in the goodness and potential of every innocent life. I believe the truest measure of any society is how it treats those who are least able to defend and speak for themselves. And who is more vulnerable, or more innocent, than a child?
When I learned that my son Trig would have special needs, I had to prepare my heart for the challenges to come. At first I was scared, and Todd and I had to ask for strength and understanding. But I can tell you a few things I’ve learned already.
Yes, every innocent life matters. Everyone belongs in the circle of protection. Every child has something to contribute to the world, if we give them that chance. There are the world’s standards of perfection … and then there are God’s, and these are the final measure. Every child is beautiful before God, and dear to Him for their own sake.
As for our beautiful baby boy, for Todd and me, he is only more precious because he is vulnerable. In some ways, I think we stand to learn more from him than he does from us. When we hold Trig and care for him, we don’t feel scared anymore. We feel blessed.
Knowing people, some in my own family, who have special needs children, this rings very true. I thought it was a nice thought to post up. A nice change of pace as well.
P.S.
I have a great post coming up I have been working on for a couple of weeks about religion and politics so stay tuned for that. I wanted to talk about how religion plays a role in politics, both personally and over all. I also wanted to jump in to the question of whether should it play a role or not. Also I will be posting a post-game blog for the Apple Event on the 14th. Peace Out!
I have been saying this until I was blue in the face, and it has finally come true. I caught this story on CNN this morning before I left for Jiu Jitsu. Here is a video though I urge you to read the article:
There is nothing like getting booed by your own supporters. After this entire week, the McCain/Palin campaign has been jumping through hoops to try to connect Barack Obama to a “domestic terrorist” (while Obama was 8 years old) and who is currently reformed English professor and community activist. I responded to that link, I won’t go in to it again. But what I want people to notice is that now, these attacks have completely exploded in McCain’s face. His supporters are blathering the ignorant dribble that Sarah Palin has been pushing all week (like if she has known it her whole life) and simply taking it to the next level. ”I don’t trust Obama. I have read about him and he’s an Arab.” said one lady at that rally in Minnesota. Now John McCain has to back pedal because this level of ignorance, that was fueled like a furnace on Monday, stands to drag John McCain down today, much farther down that he already is at.
Welcome to The Jorge Zone! This is my blog, my mental exhaust pipe, slowly filling the atmosphere with my opinions, favorite links, news and the like. This blog is all about the political and social issues we face today. Current events, political & economical happenings, religion & faith, global warming, stuff like ... Continue reading »
Last night on Meet the Press (R.I.P Tim Russert) Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama. If you sit quietly, you can still hear McCain cursing. Colin Powell is without a doubt one of my favorite, if not my most favorite Republicans. The man is one of the most effective and intelligent generals that has ever served this nation, he is a statesman, and in my opinion a true patriot, and someday even a great president. I even did my first book report in the sixth grade on his biography. However, what struck me the most is why he endorsed Barack Obama. 
With the third presidential debate drawing near, I have been noticing the media has been hinting that John McCain is going to be addressing Barack Obama’s link with 
I have been saying this until I was blue in the face, and it has finally come true. I caught 
