holding steady.™

i’m a liberal:

because i believe that fair (not free) trade is necessary, as “little people” deserve to make some money, too

because i don’t mind paying more money in taxes if it means someone won’t go hungry tonight

because the tendency of some to abuse a welfare state and the opportunities it affords isn’t a good enough reason to not take care of people who genuinely need the help of their government

because a democratic government belongs to everyone

because the march of history has made frequent casualties of the members of minority groups and extending equitable opportunity is one way of correcting this (and it is something that needs to be corrected)

because humanity is not more adept at judging itself than God, and we mustn’t seek to limit the personal choices people can make for themselves^[1]

because the goals of a free society should not include provisions to criminalize action in the absence of very compelling evidence of its harm to any of the members of its people (e.g. murder and theft, being things that NO ONE wants to have happen to them), but instead should act to preserve what freedoms do exist; in other words, “you don’t need a reason to make something legal, you need a reason to make some illegal”)

because i believe in pluralism and the existence of more than one opinion

and

because i really don’t think that my personal religious faith is applicable (legally, politically or even morally) to anyone else except me.

also, i happen to find much modern conservatism ^[2] in practice to be akin to dark-age-fascism (since apparently, i’m a big communist…news to me). i still haven’t decided if it’s worse to be a conservative and not know why, or to be a conservative and know exactly why. the jury is still out in my mind, but either way, we probably won’t be friends .

(this was kind of the answer i gave when recently asked whether or not i could ever date a conservative. the answer is “unlikely,” if it wasn’t clear.)

[1] though religion should stay the hell out of politics, if everyone is going to treat the discourse on what government should and shouldn’t do as though that section of the first amendment on “free exercise” isn’t there, and that our Judeo-Christian foundations are to be heavily relied upon, then let’s do that in the context of the way it was written. if God can allow for free will, who the hell are we to limit that? (also, see the next point)

[2] conservatism, in my interpretation, requires an acknowledgment of a superior opinion or perspective and tends to ignore dissent; is often so focused on establishing “freedom of opportunity” that it tramples the non-majoritarian actors in a society and in practice is neither equal nor fair; and ascribes a questionable type of morality to the application of and political decision related to domestic and (if possible, more frighteningly) foreign policy. this is a minimal delve into all that conservatism is, but we really don’t have that kind of time.
also, these are often the people who deify ayn rand…which…no.

his ability to work across party lines was a major part of his legacy.
when we elected him, barack obama brought with him his relationship with kennedy, that of student and mentor. part of that included a desire to “bring everyone under one tent.”
you can appreciate obama’s willingness to cooperate (read: bend over) for republican votes, but at what cost? the republicans that ted kennedy worked with to get legislation passed were willing to compromise, even if at some cost. all compromise in this current fight comes given an opposition’s remarkably detached intentions to vote against the watered down bill no matter what concessions democrats make.
do we not owe this man? of course we do. it’s time to stop screwing around on health care.

here’s a link to the post in full, but i’ve reproduced my favorite part of what could otherwise be interpreted as a dismal and disappointed outlook on what’s happening with health care right now.

The part I don’t get is why a watered-down healthcare bill would supposedly make Obama a one-term President. I see a bigger political threat in delaying the healthcare bill. Here’s the timeline I would predict.

October 2009 – Something called healthcare reform is signed into law.

November-December 2009 – Fox News talks about the uncontrolled spending.

January 2009 – The implementation hits some inevitable snags. Fox calls this a collapse of the entire system and pronounces the bill a failure. The other news agencies start callng the system “troubled.”

February 2009 – The media forgets about the snag. Things go back to normal.

2010 – People start getting health insurance who weren’t eligible before. Good stories start emerging.

Mid-2011, the bill will be in full effect. Most of the little kinks will be ironed out. The economy will be improving. Everybody will be happy.

2012 – Obama will have wrapped up the war in Iraq, done something about Afghanistan (I hope), turned the economy around, and fixed healthcare for millions of people. None of the horror stories will have come to pass. Obama is reelected.

I did it. Today, I cast not only my first presidential ballot, but a vote for an American candidate who has inspired the world. The Fine Gentleman from Illinois has made me a part of something huge and forever changed what we expect of our elected officials in this country.

I used to have a less enthused perspective on voting and the importance it should have to people. I got up early this morning so I could get a decent spot in line at my polling place, so my mood was less than stellar. But as I walked out of there, I had a grin on my face and a smile in my heart. Each step felt lighter than the last. Surely, voting gives you a renewed sense of empowerment. Though I tend to think that it’s so incredibly exhilarating to take advantage of this particular right. Personally, I think of the men and women who gave their lives over to ensuring that I, their descendant, would be able to go up and cast my vote without an ounce of fear.

Assuming (and praying!) that Senator Obama wins this election, the expectations will surge through the roof. The standards will be raised, not only for him, but for his successors and the Democratic Party. We’ve finally moved away from the unflattering portrait that conservatives have been trying paint of us, as opponents to the middle class, to values, to the strength of our nation’s defenses, to democracy, to families, and to success. They’ve been trying to pitch this same ball for too long, and it’s time to hit it out of the park.

A new morning is beginning, and it’s already complete.

i had completely forgotten about this website, annotatedrant.com.

i had also forgotten how funny it is. i have some favorite lines from some of these rants. ready? great.

“Which state do you think has the lowest divorce rate you marriage-hyping dickwads? Well? Can you guess? It’s fucking Massachusetts, the fucking center of the gay marriage universe. Yes, that’s right, the state you love to tie around the neck of anyone to the left of Strom Thurmond has the lowest divorce rate in the fucking nation.”
fuckthesouth.com

“And maybe he [John Gibson] was kidding when he wished, on air, that the French had gotten the 2012 Olympics instead of the Brits so the terrorists would “blow up Paris,” but it might have been just a touch over the top to call for it again on the day of the London train bombings. Classy move, asshole.”
fuckchristmas.com

“‘It is said that prior to the attacks of September 11th, our government failed to connect the dots of the conspiracy”? No, motherfucker, it is said of you that you failed to read the goddamn reports that said, “Here’s a terrifying dot, and here’s another terrifying dot, and there’s this big red line between them, so we might want to do something about that.’”
fuckthestateoftheunion.com

“But you’d be winning right now if Obama would have just done eighty seven town hall debates with you? Yeah, cause you really connected during the one you got. You know what you should do? You should get your wife’s company to sponsor some more debates! They could put up the cash, and give out free beer and auction off prizes and stuff, and maybe you could get other rich people to pitch in if you, like, promise to make their dad King of the Economy and mention his name over and over during the debate.
Damn! You already did that, didn’t you? How’d that work out for ya?”
fuckjohnmccain.com

campaign 2008 – c-span2

first thought (while watching lee huebner, clark judge and terry edmonds talk about the intricacies and politics of writing the state of the union): i wish i could do that job. writing for a candidate/president/leader that i believed in. these guys have written for nixon, reagan and clinton (in that order) and you can tell that they still stand behind every word they penned for their bosses. i wish i had that sort of indelible faith in a person.

second thought (while watching hubert humphrey’s acceptance speech): not only am i very proud to be a democrat, but i think i really like this speech. particularly the bit about there being three realities, that need be faced and confronted by the nation. and also the bit about the promise of America. i’ve been getting into reading more and more speeches, addresses and the like, so i’m not 100% sure how prevalent such discourse is…but i would invoke the promise of America every time i sat down to write.

third thought: i’m going to the next convention. if i have to kick someone in the face.

first, the fun:

john mayer,”why georgia“

–

second, as indicated by the title, i have some issues with the death penalty, or state executions, or capital punishment…or whatever you would like to call our tendency to do away with the lives of our citizenry. i love that we live in a free society, and i love that living under such circumstances affords us rights and luxuries that many other nations cannot.

it’s possible that i can’t see the other side to this issue because i’ve never had a serious crime (by the state of Florida’s measure, worthy of punishment by death) committed against me; i’ve had occasion and blessing to live what many would call a privileged and sheltered life. but what people seem to forget is that “vengeance is mine” was said by God. we can’t even the score by killing someone who has killed another, no matter if it was a three-year-old boy or an auditorium of housewives.

human life is sacrosanct, in any and all forms. to kill someone as punishment is to paint the whole of that society with their blood, for we condone it when we have nothing to say.

here’s what i don’t get.

i don’t understand why all of the politicos with microphones seem to think that the “single-issue voter” model is still usable. i don’t know anyone who votes for a candidate purely on the basis of personal identification, or because they reflect their stance on one issue (rather than on a plurality of issues).

i really don’t understand when individuals in power DO back a candidate because of one particular policy approach. case in point: carol juneau, recently picked to be part of the “dean 25,” the group of people chosen to be a part of the credentials committee for the democratic national convention. a state senator from Montana, she declares her preference for hilary clinton based on her “strong native american platform.”

to that, i say, wtf?! do you have any other reason for supporting this candidate? and please, don’t say “it’s her turn,” because i’m still pretty unclear on that.

i’ve always been a fan of the united democratic approach to politics, and have been excited for this election ever since i voted (for the first time) in the midterms of ‘06. the parade of allegiances and the shameful self-aggrandizement i have seen since the start of this ordeal, more than a year ago, has just created an aura of despair for me. i kind of can’t wait for primary season to be over. it’s the democrats’ turn.

as seen on cnn’s this week in politics: “hillary clinton still doing well in one state: the state of denial.” -jay leno

they’re asking about the five best political films of all time. my picks (forgive their youth, due to the fact that i was born in 1987):

1: the contender (2000) – joan allen, gary oldman, jeff bridges, sam elliott, christian slater

a female senator (and former Republican) is nominated for the vice presidency by the Democratic president in his final term. true trench fighting and mudslinging.

2: the west wing (i’d like to consider the series, with particular emphasis on the last season, of 2005-2006) – martin sheen, allison janney, bradley whitford, rob lowe, richard schiff

the last season is a highlight on the presdential campaign, primary and general. an erudite wit encapsulates the writing of all seven seasons of this, my favorite show. i get a lot of my more clever one-liners from this.

3: good night and good luck (2005) – george clooney, david straithairn, robert downey jr., jeff daniels, patricia clarkson

a black-and-white montage of mccarthy’s speeches, interpolated between fabulous acting portraying the workings of the news station of edward r. murrow, the noted journalist.

4: charlie wilson’s war (2007) – tom hanks, julia roberts, philip seymour hoffman

a texas congressman, a sultry socialite and a quirky but resilient cia officer take on afghanistan. done by some of the same filmmakers responsible for the west wing, it’s no surprise that this movie is enjoyable, well-made and at times utterly humorous.

5: primary colors (1998) – john travolta, emma thompson, billy bob thorton, kathy bates

the thinly-veiled impressions of bill clinton’s 1992 presidential bid, as seen through the eyes of journalist joe klein, were penned into an anonymous novel, and made into this film. if one is to take the film at it’s face value, it’s well acted and entertaining. if one imbues the notion that the characters are based on actual persons….a lot of things make sense about the hillary clinton campaign.

p.s. i really like this website.

so, this morning i opened up my news reader, vienna (GET A MAC) to see what the what is. one of my bookmarked sites is politicalwire.com. guess what the big news is this morning…?

oh, that’s the right. the clinton campaign’s thought premise of the race for the democratic nomination as a foregone conclusion is suddenly looking less conclusive. obama has pulled ahead from what could be described as “chomping at her heels” (about ten points behind in every poll) to “head of the horse race (sort of)” (about three to five points ahead in every poll). within the margin of error, this race is now finally a race.

i’m sorry, mrs. clinton. obama’s for real…