My vote

Aaron made a suggestion that we should post about our voting choices this upcoming election. I have put this off mainly because I don't know what to do when it comes time to elect someone. I hate all the choices.

I would not go as far as to say I hate all the candidates. All three front runners are doing what they are supposed to be doing. They are pandering to the American public in a way they believe will win the hearts and votes of the people. The problem is, what I want from a President and what the candidates offer me as a Presidential hopeful are miles apart.

Once again, this is not the candidate's fault. It is the American public's fault. How is this? I could trace this all teh way back to the civil war our country experienced but that would be boring for all but the most interested political Historians. The example I would like to give you is something very dear to me: Public Education and the Tenth Amendment.

If not intimately familiar with our Constitution, perhaps the greatest document of democracy, allow me to remind you of the 10th.

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

It started in Reconstruction and endured throughout the turn of the century. It gained steam in the 50's and it choked our Republic finally with the Reagan Administration. What I am alluding towards if the trampling of the Tenth amendment. The Federal Government passing laws and creating agencies to handle what should be an issue of state's rights.

When Ronald Reagan ignored the Constitution and created the Department of Education it was proof we have allowed the government to lie to us and We The People have forgotten what we are allowed to govern ourselves.

The Department of Education is exists in spite of the Constitution saying it cannot, because the Constitution does not address education, public or private. The word does not even appear in the document, and trust it is not because the founding fathers had forgotten about education, or gun control, or taxation, or anything else not addressed in the Constitution. They simply wished for a weak but binding Central Government while allowing states and people to decide things for themselves.

I am a little lost even in my own thoughts so let me get to the crux of the situation. Our government is far too large, its powers far too reaching, and we have forgotten that the country was founded in defiance of such tyranny. Somehow the Feds have made the American public believe the government should answer questions, solve problems, and give them a handout. Rather than forging through life with the intense ambition of the people that founded this country, we allow Politicians not only to solve our needs, but let them feel empowered by relying on them.

I do not need a President that calls for 'change' when our definition of change are vastly different. My idea would include eliminating 50% of government and giving states more power, his would be implementing even more policy requiring states to abide by. I do not need someone telling me if I may own a gun, get an abortion, or regulate what my children may and may not learn in a classroom. I also do not need a President that will go to war over commodities.

Basiclly, fuck all of them. None of them have my best interests at heart, none of them appreciate why this country was founded, none of them once in office would be willing to give up federal control to the states, an not one single candidate cares about my plight through this life. Not one of them has earned my vote, but they have all earned my spite.

But what can you do?


-CC:BJ

1 Vote for Obama

This is my second attempt at writing this post. My first attempt was incredibly long and probably boring. It also talked more about the problems with the other candidates than it did about why I am supporting Barack Obama. I'll try to keep it short(er) and sweet this time.

Most of my friends know that I'm pretty political and tend to lean to the left. By lean to the left, I mean they think that I believe in mandatory universal health care for pets and that aborted fetuses should be burned as a source of green energy. I'm totally against both, just in case anybody is keeping score.

However, the truth is that I am actually in favor of a lot of core Republican principles. The problem is that in my lifetime no Republican president has ever put any of these principles into action. For instance, smaller, cheaper, more efficient government. I'm all for it. There are few things more "American" than using ingenuity to figure out the cheapest, most efficient way to do or produce something. Although it is sometimes immoral & to our detriment (slavery, lead-tainted Chinese products), this type of ingenuity has driven our economy throughout it's history. However, no Republican president in my lifetime has ever made the government smaller. In fact, they have all made it larger. The worst offender being Reagan.

That being said, I have always voted Democrat and will continue that this year in November, no matter who the final candidate is. However, in my opinion, one of the candidates, Barack Obama, is a much stronger candidate.

First of all, he doesn't accept money from any corporations, lobbyists, or Political Action Committees. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but to me it is huge. I believe the biggest problem with our government right now is the influence that corporations and lobbyists have on our senators.

Obama is also a civil libertarian. If he wins the presidency, he will be the first true civil libertarian in our history to do so. This is incredibly important this year considering all of the basic constitutional rights that have been violated by the current administration.

Finally, I think Obama's campaign has transcended him. It's bigger than him. More people have donated money to Obama than any other candidate in US history, and he isn't even the nominee yet. His campaign has been funded by regular people making small donations, not corporations and rich people donating the legal limit.

I could go on for much, much longer, but that is who I am supporting. Now a funny picture.

Right, Left, Who Cares?

As I've stated time and time again we are not a political website. That being said, it's time to start voting people. In the coming posts you will notice that we are going to once and for all end the political ambiguity and settle the debate for who's going to run this country come February. I am taking the helm and leading off with my own political views. Now many of you that know me understand that I am of sound mind and zero emotion. That makes decision making difficult for me.

In 2004 P Diddy tried to get me to Vote or Die. I didn't, and I'm still alive. I figure if death threats can't win me over, what can? And Diddy has actually killed someone (according to the LA Times). Therefore, I choose apathy over party affiliation. And this election is no different for me. Obama and Clinton have been debating for over a year now. I'm so confused by both of them that I'm not sure what to do. Listening to them talk makes me feel like I'm six years old spinning on one of those playground merry-go-rounds (you know they ones they banned because kids kept getting decapitated). I mean what else can they really say that's going to make me pick one over the other. This thing could go all the way to Puerto Rico before we know who is the nominee. Now I understand the PR is an American colony, but should THEY really be the ones deciding who is going to run the USofA? On the other hand is McCain, who I can imagine just wreaks of after shave and formaldehyde. So I can't vote for him for hygienic principles alone. Now I feel like Vizzini in the Princess Bride trying to figure out which drink is poisoned. With that being said, I will quote the great John Adams, "The happiness of society is the end of government." Please comment...