Vote Today!

I voted this morning on my way into work. I arrived at 7:50 a.m. and lined up behind about 30 neighbors. Still, the process was smooth and I was back on my way in less than 40 minutes. The size of the ballot—with choices from President, to County Sheriff, to School Board member, including six ballot proposals—caused the voting to take more time than usual, but that doesn't matter...it's our Constitution-given right as American citizens and each of us needs to exercise that right. If you don't vote, don't even think of bitching about the results.

Hey, think of it (and cringe): the Presidential candidates have spent in excess of Two Billion Dollars to get to this point, you've endured God only knows how many political television and radio commercials and sorted through pounds of mailings. So, get out there and take a half-hour or so to express your choices on the myriad of important items up for a decision, a decision in the hands of the people.

Remember, if you don't vote I don't care to hear your whining about the results. Just Do It!

Where Were the Other Guys and Gals?

It has been nearly a month since my last post—gasp!—and for that I apologize to those few that check in here from time to time. I'll do better in the future...really I will.

Today, however, something is weighing on my mind:  where were the others last night?

Mitt and Barack went at it on national TV, radio, the web and everywhere imaginable, but where was, oh, say Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party (capital "L") candidate? Or Buddy Roehmer, an independent candidate and former Governor of Louisiana?

Why are "outsiders" forbidden from participating in these debates? Is that fair? Is that what we should want? "Well, these people don't stand a chance of winning" you say? No wonder; they can't get the publicity needed to become viable candidates.

It's just not right, my friends.  Who knows, with these other "non-mainstream" folks, these debates could really become interesting. They could even help to right some wrongs in how we do political business.

The Repubs and the Demos control the rules and those rules forbid others from getting into the game. That's not right and not what's best for the U.S. of A.

With the limited field we were presented with, however, Mitt kicked butt...big time. What in the world qualified Mr. Obama to be President of these United States anyway??? He looked like a whipped schoolboy who had just claimed he'd lost his homework. Just sayin'...

Does Dorothy Need Photo I.D.?

On this final day of August, just over two months prior to our Presidential Election, I give you yet another snippet from an episode of the HBO program, The News Room. I know, I know, the writers, producers and directors of this program are raving lunatic whacko commies...or at least appear so to some of us. Others feel they've hit the nail squarely on the head.

This is nothing new; hell, we Americans have been bickering back and forth about such topics for generations. The public bickering however, in my opinion, has reached an all-time low point. Both sides throwing lies out there while hoping no one will notice and call them on it, evidently. Pretty sad.

I'm no historian, so maybe politics has been so low down, dirty and full of lies all along...but as for me, I'm sick of all of it. November 6 cannot come and go soon enough, so we can begin hearing about the 2016 race, of course. Good grief.

The following is presented here to get those brain cells in gear. What do you think?

Enough Already

I can no longer tolerate the nasty tone, the accusations, the negative barbs, and the criticism of all things political—on one side or the other—heard on talk radio. For years, I've tuned in to Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, Savage, et al, but I simply can't stomach any of it any longer.

Now, anyone who knows a bit about me knows I'm a libertarian-leaning dude, which puts me a long, long way from being a fan of the current occupant of the Oval Office. But really, how different will the next four years turn out with someone else at the helm? Simply stated, the next President, no matter who will be as much on the take from big money as anyone else has been in recent memory.

C'mon, we all know that money runs the show. The candidates need multi-millions to run a winning campaign and there are those groups out there that will gladly ante up...with great expectations for a nice return of investment.

So, where does that leave little ol' you 'n' me? What difference do our likes, dislikes, and favorite causes make in the direction these candidates take? Until someone, maybe, someday, somehow has the guts to change the way of American politics, we will not see change for the better. Those that must make the changes are those most benefiting from the way things currently flow; who wants to rock that boat?

Therefore, I'm switching off talk radio in favor of podcasting, by and large. There are podcasts available, free, for just about any subject you could name. Astronomy, tech news and advice, cooking, survival prep, business, education, science...name your interest. For me, time is much better spent on things that I truly enjoy and may benefit from hearing.

I'm looking forward to a refreshing, positive change—a change in how I productively spend some of my spare time, not in how things work in politics or the negativity of talk radio.

America a Dictatorship?

From the film Borat, via The Big Picture by Barry Ritholtz:

"Why are you guys so anti-dictators? Imagine if America was a dictatorship. You could let 1 percent of the people have all the nation’s wealth. You could help your rich friends get richer by cutting their taxes and bailing them out when they gamble and lose. You could ignore the needs of the poor for health care and education. Your media would appear free, but would secretly be controlled by one person and his family. You could wiretap phones. You could torture foreign prisoners. You could have rigged elections. You could lie about why you go to war. You could fill your prisons with one particular racial group and no one would complain. You could use the media to scare the people into supporting policies that are against their interests.” 

Satire at its best...or is it??? Just saying', hopin' it will give rise to some thoughts about where we've come. Are we where we should be? Not that I necessarily agree with all the points above, but some are very close to hitting the mark.

We find ourselves on very shaky, very concern-filled ground in many areas. What can be done to turn things around?

Quid, Me Anxius Sum?*

SOCIALISM

1: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2   a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property
     b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state

As The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of Great Britain once said, "The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money."

As we well know, the European Union is in a financial shambles and is close to collapse. This past weekend France elected Francois Hollande, a Socialist, with—evidently—the hope he will find a way to lighten the austerity measures being pushed by Germany as the last-ditch effort to hold the EU together.

In Greece, anti-austerity parties won recent elections handily, showing the voters' anger over those same cutbacks to fiscal policies that are bankrupting nation after nation. They seem to be shouting, "damn the (economic) torpedoes...Full Speed Ahead!"

I'm reminded of Alfred E. Neuman's famous question/statement in Mad magazine:
                           What, Me Worry?* (the post title is the Latin translation)

I'm not intelligent enough to say what these developments may mean to our own November elections, but I have a nagging feeling the winner could well be the one promising the most for nothing, a chicken in every pot, and cradle-to-grave protection from any and all ills. Just think about the millions of our citizens benefiting from those federal programs; they do vote, after all. Here at home, well over 40% of our income earners in 2009 paid NO income taxes, according to the Tax Foundation (see: http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html). Turn that around and one might say that just over half of us paying income taxes are footing the entire expense of all those federal programs. Just sayin'...

Something's got to give, here and abroad. This craziness just cannot continue.

A Timely Thought For The Day

As registered Floridian voters head to the polls to vote for their favorite Republican today, I bring you this very wise observation from George Bernard Shaw:

He knows nothing, and he thinks he knows everything. 

That points clearly to a political career. 

Friends in Florida report they've had to run screaming from their TV sets over the past week or two, suffering from political ad overload. Unfortunately, Michigan's turn is coming at month-end—I can't wait!

Decisions Decisions

Have you picked your guy for President yet ("guy" now that Bachman dropped out)? I haven't, but maybe the coolest bumper sticker will help steer each of us in the right direction. I'm not sure that's a worse method than listening to and believing in campaign promises.

late addendum:  I'll have to close my eyes and hold my nose to vote for either of the Repub front-runners, but I just read the following on PJ Media and it gives me reason to keep thinking—it is a long time until November 6th after all and maybe it's the best path to follow, because:

Whatever Romney is, in his heart of hearts, 

here's what he isn't:  he isn't Barack Obama. 

Never Thought I'd See This

Imagine my surprise (and joy!) when I saw this story headline this morning:

Ron Paul Is Now the Republican Frontrunner

Of course, this only refers to the upcoming caucuses (cauci?)  in Iowa. See the full story here: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2011/12/ron-paul-is-now-the-republican-frontrunner/

Remember 2008? The most exciting thing about the Republican campaign for the presidency was John McCain announcing his running mate, Sarah Palin, and we all remember how well that turned out. My how things have changed...or have they? 

I'm fed up with the Romney/Gingrich/Perry non-choice, same old-same old, fat cat, nice-haired, smooth-talking Republican presidential front-runners. Our country needs change—real, difficult, hard to swallow, affecting all of us change—to avoid catastrophic economic times. What's being shoved down our collective throats are career politicians who bend to the wishes of the highest-paying lobbyist. 

Oh, I won't kid myself into thinking Ron Paul will be the party's nominee. He doesn't have "good hair", first of all. He doesn't look polished in a suit. And, can you believe it, he wants to limit or totally abolish the Federal Reserve! Oh...my...God! The man is way off the deep end!

Or is he? 

I won't be blindly pulling the "R" straight ticket lever this time. Can't do it and won't do it. Tell me I'm wasting my vote or whatever, but the Libertarian Party may receive a new member into the fold. I know, too many of us doing that may throw the results in favor of that other guy, but I can't in good conscience blindly keep on keepin' on in the same disastrous direction. We need much more than a change of tune; we need a change of the entire orchestra. 

Just Tell Me What To Do

Very unfortunately, a very, very large number of folks in this great nation usually sit back, tune in the evening news and beg to be told what they should do in any upcoming election. They make up the great body of "uninformed voters" if you will.

The very real danger therein is that the media can influence, cajole, suggest...oh let's just say it...they can control who these people vote for. Did you see the recent magazine cover depicting Michelle Bachman as a scary, perhaps even crazy woman? Or perhaps you've seen the many, many shots of President Obama with that glowing circle (read: halo) placed perfectly around his head? C'mon, who are they trying to kid; what are they trying to accomplish? Seems pretty clear to me.

I now give you an example from The Daily Show that points out how one candidate in the Iowa Straw Poll was invisible (on purpose) to the pundits reporting on the results. Seems pretty clear who they want to be forgotten, isn't it?

The Daily Show

Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Interesting Candidate

November 2012 is a long way off and I in no way have picked my favorite candidate, but I've gotta tell you...Herman Cain is sounding pretty interesting.

Check out this video; he nails the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue while speaking about what is very important as we make our next presidential choice.