26 October 2008

E Minus 9 days "The Palin Factor"


If you love something, you want to see it thrive. You want to see it flourish. You want to see it being the very best that it can be. This applies to everything, your friends, your spouse, your kids, and even your country.

I love America.

I do.

I think America is the greatest nation in the world, and I wouldn't want to wake up anywhere else in the world except for AMERICA. Now, while I say this - I want it clear that I respect any citizen of any other country in the world to feel the exact same way about their country. It can be just as true to them as it is to me.

But is that statement as true to John McCain, as it is to me?

Case in point: Let's suppose that John McCain believed that he was going to be the next president of the United States, this is reasonable and quite true I assume. So, if he thought that he was going to be president and the Commander-In-Chief of our armed forces and the leader of our great nation, that I assume he truly loves, why would he not intrust our nation to a qualified partner in his vice-president?

We're all human, none of us are immortal. We are all sharing this moral plane on even footing. Within reason we all need to make plans, contingencies if you will, to assure that the things that we love are able to thrive and flourish in the unexpected event that we are no longer present or able to care for and support them the way we believe they should be cared for and provided for. That's why many of us that are fortunate enough to afford life insurance, purchase it - we want to help provide for our loved ones financial security if we can't do it any longer; that's why some people leave large endowments to schools, churches, colleges and organizations - so that that can thrive and continue for years and generations anew.

But John McCain has told America and told the world that if, 'I am elected the next president of the United States, a counrty with the most powerful military in the world, a country that is a central hub of global finance, a country with one of the largest nuclear arsenals in the world, a country that is a 232 year old democracy, and if I am unable to complete my four year term in that office, I shall willingly turn over control of that nation to Sarah Palin."

God, I wish I could insert the silence that should follow that last sentence.

He is telling not just America, but the whole world that he really doesn't give a damn about our country. Now I have no idea how bad a president John McCain will be. Maybe not as bad as Bush, but close I'm sure. But I certain of one thing - SARAH PALIN would be worse than George W. Bush. In fact, I'd rather have 4 more years of Bush than two years of Palin. Now think about that. Four more of Bush v. Two of Palin.

Now, I don't dislike Sarah Palin, the woman, the mother, the Governor, the big game hunter - I don't know the woman. But what I have seen from her scares me. She's worse than Bush in an interview - My God, did anyone see her with Couric? Sure, she was thrust upon the national stage - but she has shown day-by-day that she is not smart enough or politically saavy enough to play on the main stage. As I've heard older folks say, "She plays well in the 'sticks'." The Sticks being the small venue of Alaska. I've got no beef with Alaska, but being the mayor of a small town where she wanted to ban books she didn't like, and where she wanted to allow guns in schools, and where she let meth overrun the streets and then the Governor of a state for a year or two where she voted for a 9-figure bridge to-nowhere, and tried like hell to get her ex-brother-in-law fired from his job in law enforcement, it doesn't qualify you to have a shot at possibly being the next president of the United States. When you hear her trying desperately to explain how living across the Bering Strait from Russia gives her National security experience I feel terrified knowing that she might end up as our President.

I find it strange that no one in the big media talks about the fact that her and her husband are staunch supporters of the "Alaskan Independence Party" a group that has publically called the Government of the United States their sworn enemy, and pushed for legislation that would allow them the ability to secede from America. How is it that no one is crying foul on this one? If someone caught a picture of Barack Obama lighting up a Newport, the three major networks would interrupt broadcasting with a "Special News Report."

John McCain is telling all of us that he really doesn't have our nation and its best inteests in his heart and in his mind. He picked Sarah Palin because the shock value she brought the the table - she was a woman, and moreso, a woman that almost nobody had heard of. She is probably one of the most unqualified individuals in this country to be the next vice-president of the United States and the Republicans know it - unfortuantely for the rest of us - the die-hard Republicans care more about their party than they do about about our nation and its future.

I think what turns my stomach most of all was something that Sarah Palin herself said. When asked what she said when McCain offered her the VP spot, she replied, "He asked me if I wanted to be his vice-presidential running mate and I didn't blink an eye. I immediately told him yes!" To me, this is the most troubling thing of all. It's either an arrogant lie, or it shows that she has no regard for our country. I think that a decent, humble and intelligent person would have acknowledged the scope of the request and would have needed a little bit of time to think about the question, to look at their personal capabilities, to maybe even pray about it - but they would have taken a pause to make sure they were the best for the job or at least mostly READY for the job. Not her, not Sarah Palin - she jumped in head first without hesitation and without giving our nation any real thought. She saw her name in lights and she saw hubby Todd making snow angels in the rose garden. Sadly, she is a vice presidential joke.

This is a serious time for serious people, and Sarah Palin is just not ready for the job.

TTBM

25 October 2008

E MINUS 10 days: "A Time to be Smart..."


"This is the most important election in our lifetime."

I think this is the second time that I've heard this phrase, and its the second time I have believed it.

The first time was in 2004 when Bush stole yet another election from our country by using dirty, underhanded politics and singing the same old song to the same old people.

Now we find ourselves as a nation, under the gun again. Another narrow-focused, conservative-minded, protect-the-rich and piss-on-the-poor Republican threatening to further our doomed effort in Iraq, to keep his foot on the neck of the non-wealthy in America and to insure the continued prosperity of his mega-rich base.

I find myself very very scared lately. Our country has put George W. Bush in the White House TWO times. George W. Bush is probably the last American that should find himself in charge of our great nation. And now we find ourselves being told the same old distorted lies and twisted pipe-dreams again - by the same old party - on a somewhat different day.

I'm worried.

Sure, the polls show that Barrack Obama is ahead in almost every way possible, but the Republicans are scared and they are backed into a corner. We should expect them to come out fighting... fighting AND cheating. It's funny how you ONLY hear about cheating and questionable ballots, and harassment of voters where Democrats are threatening to take Republican seats and so called "Red" states. Republicans... excuse me... some Republicans are the most devious and underhanded people in the world and their party means SO MUCH more to them, than OUR country does. Some of these Republicans are so scared of change and so fearful that they may have to pay an extra bit of tax on their "upper class" incomes that they are willing to bend. break and sometimes burn the Constitution to get their way.
These are dangerous times for Americans. Not because George Bush has allowed bin Laden to stay alive and be the multi-billion dollar face of fear to us, and not because George Bush has allowed big banks and corporations to run rough-shod with no regulation and bring the world to the edge of complete financial collapse... NO - These times are dangerous for us because John McCain and his inept number two, Sarah Palin, are supported by fear mongering cheaters and criminals that will stop at nothing to put them in The White House. We cannot allow this election to be stolen, we cannot allow 4 more years of Bushesque politics to run and ruin our once great nation. We can't allow the lies and hype to take center stage.
It is time for us all to be smart, to vote, to not be deterred, to watch these people closely on November 4th, and to encourage everyone we know to get out to the polls and vote. We honestly may never have another chance at the pace we're going now. And heaven help us if Sarah Palin ends up as president... but I'll talk about that at E Minus 9 days.
TTBM.

14 October 2008

Thanks


Thanks to everyone that has stopped by my blog in the last few months to try and catch some random thoughts from this Brother.

I wish I had some glamorous, Earth-moving reason for not blogging, but sadly I don't. I think life just stepped in, along with some changes in the computer use policy at my job, and I figured I wasn't quite ready to give up my salary to blog during my lunch hour.

Anway, I'm going to see if I can find my voice again and I'm going to get busy checking out my old friends in the blogosphere - I can't wait to see what you all have been up to.

-TTBM!!!