Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
If You Can't Say Something Good...
When I was young, my Mom impressed upon me the importance of telling the truth and to be wary of others who were not honest. She told me that if a person would lie to me about one thing, they might lie about anything. I've always found that to be factual.
I guess John McCain and Sarah Palin's mothers never gave them the same advice as my Mom gave me. Pity. From all I've learned, this speaks volumes about the character of the two people the Republican Party has chosen as their candidates for POTUS and VP. What a shame.
Looking at the news each day, I look to see what the candidates of each party has to say about their plans for our nation. All I've been reading from the McCain/Palin side is attacks and remarks about how their opponent is "wrong" for America...I don't hear them telling me what makes them "right" for our nation. I've heard John McCain talk about his honor, but the way he is running his campaign shows me that if he ever had any, he's lost it somewhere along the way.
I've become cynical over the years, and I don't automatically believe everything someone tells me, so I spend a lot of time throughout this election process looking at fact check sites and information from various sources. I sincerely hope other voters are doing the same thing.
Originally, I had people telling me that Barack Obama was a Muslim. (Actually, I still have a couple people at work who try to tell me this one.) I looked it up. Turns out, Obama is a Christian, just like me. I thought that was cool...something he and I have in common. When Reverend Wright became an issue, or rather was made an issue by the Rovian operatives of the RNC and McCain/Palin campaign, I listened to how Obama would react to the matter. I have to say, I was impressed by his Christian behavior of condemning what his pastor had said, while still standing up for his friend. When Reverend Wright persisted in running his mouth, Obama made the break from the church and Reverend Wright, which must have been a painful decision for him. Reverend Wright has his own agenda, and Senator Obama has showed by his words and actions that he does not support that agenda.
Lately, the McCain/Palin campaign has been saying a lot of stuff about Obama not being "like us" and possibly being "dangerous" as a choice for the presidency. To illustrate this, they have tried to connect Senator Obama to William Ayers.
I'm just a year older than Barack Obama, and I didn't know who Bill Ayers was or what he had done when he was younger. I supposed that because Obama was moving in different circles than I, perhaps he at some point learned about the Ayers history. I understand that by the time Barack actually met Mr. Ayers, the later was working as a college professor and was respected in the community. In other words, Mr. Ayers wasn't involved in domestic terrorist activities and had become a law-abiding citizen. He wasn't in trouble with the law or anything like that. As far as I can tell, this makes Obama guilty of hanging around with a teacher. My mother-in-law is a teacher. Should I be worried?
Another lesson from my childhood is that I should treat people in a manner based on how they treat me. I was taught that it's not my job to sit in judgment on another person...that, my Mother told me, was God's job. Makes sense to me that Barack Obama, being a Christian, probably chose to relate to Mr. Ayers in this way. One more thing I can respect about him.
Over the past eight years, I've lived through the RNC's and the Bush Administration's effective use of fear as a weapon against the American people. I watched throughout the last presidential election as some terror threat or another seemed to materialize every time John Kerry pulled ahead in the polls. I fell for the "smoking gun in the form of a mushroom cloud" crap the Bush laid on us all, and I believed Colin Powell when he presented the "evidence" before the UN of Iraq's WMDs. (In defense of Mr. Powell, I believe he was used by the Rove/Bush/Cheney machine, and I know he regrets that now.)
I can't help wondering if someone has ever given John and Sarah the URLs for the fact checker websites. I heard that Senator McCain isn't up on computer use and the internet, but obviously Mrs. Palin is since I heard about her getting her Yahoo email hacked and all that. Maybe she could look the information up and print it out so John can read it over.
Honestly, I don't believe for a second that John McCain and Sarah Palin aren't aware of the facts about Barack Obama. I know they've been informed. That tells me that either they have chosen to ignore the facts, which speaks to me of their judgment, or they are deliberately pushing lies about Obama, which tells me a lot about their character. Either way, they seem to me to be the ones who are "wrong" for America as leaders.
I don't know how YOU were raised, but if McCain and Palin would lie to the American people about one thing, they would lie to us about anything else. After being lied to by Bush & Co. for eight years, I surely do not want more of the same.
I guess John McCain and Sarah Palin's mothers never gave them the same advice as my Mom gave me. Pity. From all I've learned, this speaks volumes about the character of the two people the Republican Party has chosen as their candidates for POTUS and VP. What a shame.
Looking at the news each day, I look to see what the candidates of each party has to say about their plans for our nation. All I've been reading from the McCain/Palin side is attacks and remarks about how their opponent is "wrong" for America...I don't hear them telling me what makes them "right" for our nation. I've heard John McCain talk about his honor, but the way he is running his campaign shows me that if he ever had any, he's lost it somewhere along the way.
I've become cynical over the years, and I don't automatically believe everything someone tells me, so I spend a lot of time throughout this election process looking at fact check sites and information from various sources. I sincerely hope other voters are doing the same thing.
Originally, I had people telling me that Barack Obama was a Muslim. (Actually, I still have a couple people at work who try to tell me this one.) I looked it up. Turns out, Obama is a Christian, just like me. I thought that was cool...something he and I have in common. When Reverend Wright became an issue, or rather was made an issue by the Rovian operatives of the RNC and McCain/Palin campaign, I listened to how Obama would react to the matter. I have to say, I was impressed by his Christian behavior of condemning what his pastor had said, while still standing up for his friend. When Reverend Wright persisted in running his mouth, Obama made the break from the church and Reverend Wright, which must have been a painful decision for him. Reverend Wright has his own agenda, and Senator Obama has showed by his words and actions that he does not support that agenda.
Lately, the McCain/Palin campaign has been saying a lot of stuff about Obama not being "like us" and possibly being "dangerous" as a choice for the presidency. To illustrate this, they have tried to connect Senator Obama to William Ayers.
I'm just a year older than Barack Obama, and I didn't know who Bill Ayers was or what he had done when he was younger. I supposed that because Obama was moving in different circles than I, perhaps he at some point learned about the Ayers history. I understand that by the time Barack actually met Mr. Ayers, the later was working as a college professor and was respected in the community. In other words, Mr. Ayers wasn't involved in domestic terrorist activities and had become a law-abiding citizen. He wasn't in trouble with the law or anything like that. As far as I can tell, this makes Obama guilty of hanging around with a teacher. My mother-in-law is a teacher. Should I be worried?
Another lesson from my childhood is that I should treat people in a manner based on how they treat me. I was taught that it's not my job to sit in judgment on another person...that, my Mother told me, was God's job. Makes sense to me that Barack Obama, being a Christian, probably chose to relate to Mr. Ayers in this way. One more thing I can respect about him.
Over the past eight years, I've lived through the RNC's and the Bush Administration's effective use of fear as a weapon against the American people. I watched throughout the last presidential election as some terror threat or another seemed to materialize every time John Kerry pulled ahead in the polls. I fell for the "smoking gun in the form of a mushroom cloud" crap the Bush laid on us all, and I believed Colin Powell when he presented the "evidence" before the UN of Iraq's WMDs. (In defense of Mr. Powell, I believe he was used by the Rove/Bush/Cheney machine, and I know he regrets that now.)
I can't help wondering if someone has ever given John and Sarah the URLs for the fact checker websites. I heard that Senator McCain isn't up on computer use and the internet, but obviously Mrs. Palin is since I heard about her getting her Yahoo email hacked and all that. Maybe she could look the information up and print it out so John can read it over.
Honestly, I don't believe for a second that John McCain and Sarah Palin aren't aware of the facts about Barack Obama. I know they've been informed. That tells me that either they have chosen to ignore the facts, which speaks to me of their judgment, or they are deliberately pushing lies about Obama, which tells me a lot about their character. Either way, they seem to me to be the ones who are "wrong" for America as leaders.
I don't know how YOU were raised, but if McCain and Palin would lie to the American people about one thing, they would lie to us about anything else. After being lied to by Bush & Co. for eight years, I surely do not want more of the same.
Friday, October 3, 2008
The VP Debate
In preparing to watch the vice presidential debate last night, I read a lot of different articles about what people were looking for from Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin. The general consensus seemed to be that Senator Biden had to be careful not to seem "sexist" and guard against putting his foot in his mouth. On the other hand, Governor Palin just had to show up, keep breathing, and put at least one complete sentence together. I guess they both accomplished their goals and met those expectations.
Now, I have to admit that I went into the debate having already made up my mind to vote for Barack Obama, and at this point, there is very little that could change my mind. I didn't feel strongly one way or the other about Senator Obama's decision to choose Senator Biden as his running mate. I respect Senator Biden, but I am not totally familiar with him either. I've listened to him on the campaign trail, and I've grown to appreciate his experience and views, and I like the way he speaks from the heart. I have not known him to be fake or knowingly dishonest.
Joe Biden totally convinced me tonight that I'm backing the right ticket! Joe ROCKS!!!
The contrast between Senator Biden and Governor Palin was striking. Senator Biden had facts; Governor Palin had talking points. Senator Biden answered questions with facts and solid policy plans that he and Senator Obama have put forth. Governor Palin offered no solid plans from her side, but instead spoke in very general, vague terms.
When Governor Palin did try to inject facts into her responses, she got them wrong. She called Gen. David McKiernan, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, "McClellan." Governor Palin also got her facts wrong when she tried to correct Senator Biden about what General McKiernan had said about the use of the surge principle in Iraq not working in Afghanistan. Thursday's Washington Post reported, "The new top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said yesterday that more U.S. troops are urgently required to combat a worsening insurgency, but he stated emphatically that no Iraq-style “surge” of forces will end the conflict there. “The word I don't use for Afghanistan is 'surge,' ” McKiernan emphasized.""
Now, Governor Palin obviously studied very hard this past week, and she did much better than in her interview with Katie Couric, but some of her "lines" she must have worked TOO hard in preparing. I mean, who wasn't expecting the slam on the media? And the, "Say it ain't so, Joe." You could tell she was eager to get that line in somewhere. While I'm on the subject of "debate camp", does it bother anyone else that she's had to spend a week, sequestered with Bush speech writers, to study for this event? She's running for the second highest office in the nation, not "cramming" for the final college exams. (And, I repeat, BUSH speech writers. I thought she and Senator McCain were trying to distance themselves from Bush. ???)
Today, I've been listening and reading the spin after the debate. I heard that Governor Palin, feeling quite pleased with herself after her performance last night, had a problem with Katie Couric not asking enough "issue-based" questions. Translation: "Well, gee! Katie didn't ask me the questions I had studied! Darn right it's Katie's fault that I couldn't put a coherent sentence together! That elite media, god bless 'em, just don't treat me like the wonderfully qualified hockey mom that I am!" Poor Sarah. :(
Sorry, I got off subject a little there, but it's all getting more than a bit ridiculous to me. I'm tired of "folksy" presented as a replacement for substance, proximity to a foreign nation supposedly substituting for foreign policy experience, and winks and "shout outs" standing in for actually answering the questions that are asked of someone who wants to be a heartbeat away from the highest office in our nation.
Like I said at the start of this, I have already made up my mind, and I don't foresee anything, at this point, that could change my mind. It was a good night to be an Obama/Biden supporter, though, because Senator Joe Biden did us all proud. I feel absolutely confident that if for any reason Senator Barack Obama would not be able to complete his term(s) as our president, Senator Biden is quite capable and qualified to step up to the plate and lead our nation.
And, darn it, Mrs. Palin, god bless her, can just go right back up there to Alaska and keep an eye out for us all in case "Putin rears his head" at some point. Wink, wink.
Now, I have to admit that I went into the debate having already made up my mind to vote for Barack Obama, and at this point, there is very little that could change my mind. I didn't feel strongly one way or the other about Senator Obama's decision to choose Senator Biden as his running mate. I respect Senator Biden, but I am not totally familiar with him either. I've listened to him on the campaign trail, and I've grown to appreciate his experience and views, and I like the way he speaks from the heart. I have not known him to be fake or knowingly dishonest.
Joe Biden totally convinced me tonight that I'm backing the right ticket! Joe ROCKS!!!
The contrast between Senator Biden and Governor Palin was striking. Senator Biden had facts; Governor Palin had talking points. Senator Biden answered questions with facts and solid policy plans that he and Senator Obama have put forth. Governor Palin offered no solid plans from her side, but instead spoke in very general, vague terms.
When Governor Palin did try to inject facts into her responses, she got them wrong. She called Gen. David McKiernan, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, "McClellan." Governor Palin also got her facts wrong when she tried to correct Senator Biden about what General McKiernan had said about the use of the surge principle in Iraq not working in Afghanistan. Thursday's Washington Post reported, "The new top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said yesterday that more U.S. troops are urgently required to combat a worsening insurgency, but he stated emphatically that no Iraq-style “surge” of forces will end the conflict there. “The word I don't use for Afghanistan is 'surge,' ” McKiernan emphasized.""
Now, Governor Palin obviously studied very hard this past week, and she did much better than in her interview with Katie Couric, but some of her "lines" she must have worked TOO hard in preparing. I mean, who wasn't expecting the slam on the media? And the, "Say it ain't so, Joe." You could tell she was eager to get that line in somewhere. While I'm on the subject of "debate camp", does it bother anyone else that she's had to spend a week, sequestered with Bush speech writers, to study for this event? She's running for the second highest office in the nation, not "cramming" for the final college exams. (And, I repeat, BUSH speech writers. I thought she and Senator McCain were trying to distance themselves from Bush. ???)
Today, I've been listening and reading the spin after the debate. I heard that Governor Palin, feeling quite pleased with herself after her performance last night, had a problem with Katie Couric not asking enough "issue-based" questions. Translation: "Well, gee! Katie didn't ask me the questions I had studied! Darn right it's Katie's fault that I couldn't put a coherent sentence together! That elite media, god bless 'em, just don't treat me like the wonderfully qualified hockey mom that I am!" Poor Sarah. :(
Sorry, I got off subject a little there, but it's all getting more than a bit ridiculous to me. I'm tired of "folksy" presented as a replacement for substance, proximity to a foreign nation supposedly substituting for foreign policy experience, and winks and "shout outs" standing in for actually answering the questions that are asked of someone who wants to be a heartbeat away from the highest office in our nation.
Like I said at the start of this, I have already made up my mind, and I don't foresee anything, at this point, that could change my mind. It was a good night to be an Obama/Biden supporter, though, because Senator Joe Biden did us all proud. I feel absolutely confident that if for any reason Senator Barack Obama would not be able to complete his term(s) as our president, Senator Biden is quite capable and qualified to step up to the plate and lead our nation.
And, darn it, Mrs. Palin, god bless her, can just go right back up there to Alaska and keep an eye out for us all in case "Putin rears his head" at some point. Wink, wink.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Just the facts: Obama, McCain, and the FMs
"While Fannie and Freddie were working to keep Congress away from their house of cards, Senator Obama was taking their money. He got more, in fact, than any other member of Congress, except for the Democratic chairman of the committee that oversees them."
—Sen. John McCain, at a campaign stop Friday, September 19, in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
I'm sure that somewhere someone is keeping track of how many lies McCain/Palin are putting out. I was raised to always try to tell the truth, and was told that if someone will lie to you about one thing they will lie to you about anything.
So, what are the facts here?
According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Obama has received $126,349 in campaign contributions from EMPLOYEES of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. McCain has received a total of $21,550 from Fannie and Freddie employees.
Using figures from the Federal Election Commission, if we look at the contribution from the DIRECTOR, OFFICER, and LOBBYISTS for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, we find that McCain received $169,000, while Obama received only $16,000.
Using my trusty calculator, that makes $126,365 for Obama, and $190,550 for McCain. So, McCain actually received $64,185 more in contribution for the two agencies that Obama did.
Like I said, if he'll lie about one thing, what else is he going to lie to us about?
Sunday, September 21, 2008
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