Im going to say some things here that I think alot of people would like to say and are afraid to. Im going to say alot of things here that many people will probably get bent out of shape over. Im going to say some things here that might possibly ban this letter from appearing on "Get My Vote." Im going to tell the truth from a white mans point of view. At least, one white mans point of view; about race. Ive been thinking about writing this since I heard the advert on NPR. I hope I come across the way I want to, but ive no doubt some people will take what I say the wrong way. Such is life. Anyhow, enough small talk, on to the post...
A little background first....
Im 35. Im a graphic designer. I have a 10 year old son. My wife and I are seperated but we have become closer friends than ever. I grew up in the suburbs mostly, although throughout college I lived in the inner city of Pittsburgh. My son currently lives in the city with his mother. I speak from some experience here. And im only telling things from personal experience. So lets begin, shall we?
My wife takes my son to a local park near her house, so he can learn how to ride his bike. Theyre enjoying an early spring day, several other kids are out and about. Suddenly a bottle smashes at her feet. She turns and is confronted by a group of black kids, between 8-12 years old. An older black girl stands there grinning. My wife, somewhat irked, asks who threw the bottle. They all deny it, laughing and giggling to themselves. Then take offense, saying that the only reason shes accusing them of throwing the bottle is because theyre black. Not because theyre all standing there laughing. Not because theyre the only ones there...but because they are black. It ends with the kids telling my wife to perform obscene sexual acts on them. 12 year old kids saying this to a 36 year old woman and her 10 year old son.
Another situation at a nearby park ends with my son being punched in the face by an older black kid. My wife and I have our dogs with us, we run to where my son is laying on the ground holding his face. This is a public park. In the city. It was beautful once, but its now covered in graffitti and trash litters the ground. Still, there arent alot of places to take a 10 year old to play so we go. As soon as we get to my kid, the crowd of black kids start telling us to get the *F----* out of THEIR park. We dont belong there. If it wasnt for the fact that Im a big man and I had my dogs, I have no doubt there would have been more violence. We left to the black kids singing "(We) is takin ovah....(We) is takin ovah...." and jeers and catcalls.
Why are there several colleges that are blacks only, but a college that billed itself as whites only would be considered racist? Why is it that a black man can be proud of being a black man, but if im proud of being white im a racist? Why are black people called African Americans? Why arent white people European Americans then? Why can a black person wear a tshirt that says "The blacker the college the sweeter the knowledge" but If i wore a shirt saying "The whiter the college the sweeter the knowledge" I would at BEST be asked to remove the shirt, and be labeled a racist? Why is it that whenever a black kid gets beat up by a white kid the race card is pulled, but when black kids jump a white kid, its considered justice? Why do I feel like im paying for something that I never had anything to do with? Why do i feel guitly of being white? Why is the inner city a dangerous place to be when the sun goes down? (and dont tell me police presence is greater in the suburbs).
I dont have any answers to these questions. I dont even have any guesses. Ive tried to teach my kid that all people are created equal. Ive tried to teach my kid that race doesnt matter. What do i tell him when he asks me why black people are so mean to him then? That theyre angry over something that happened to them a hundred years ago? Something that they dont even fully understand? THats not a reason, its a lame excuse. How do I teach my kid to treat everyone equally when hes treated like a pariah in his own school and neighborhood? Because hes white? How do i keep myself from being racist, when I see these things happening in my own backyard? This is a difficult time in America, for everyone. Black people no longer have a leg to stand on as far as equality...the next president of the United States will most likely be a black man. The equality thing just doesnt hold water anymore. "Whitey" isnt holding anyone down. Is this just something that I have to deal with? Do i have to teach my son to stay away from other races because hes going to be treated like a criminal by them?
These are only a few examples. I could write a bloody book on this. But im sure ive said enough already, and Im interested to see what kind of replies this post gets, if any. In a perfect world, we would all love one another and treat each other as brothers. But its not a perfect world...and races are polarizing themselves even more. I dont think Obama being elected will do anything but push the racial divide even further apart. There is no desire to get along, to understand one another. Not with the generation that seems to be coming up. There seems to be only anger, and hatred, and division, for no other reason than...I dont even know what to write there. The media? Music? Parents? The Gov't? Ourselves? Im at a loss...ill just end this here. Thanks for your time if you read this through. Luck.
We organized. We marched. I was a public television producer and did shows with black activists. It was wasn't particularly dangerous or strenuous, but we were optimistic.
Not any more.
The Dysons, Jacksons, and Wrights despise "middle-classness" and I guess this means one can build a life on a couple of dashikis, a nice Kwanzaa celebration, and an early exit from the educational system
And still they come -- the Koreans, the Vietnamese, the Hmong, the East Indians and now the Eastern Europeans. They run a store, a gas station, a motel, and begin the climb to their dream--the American Middle-Class. A home, food and clothing, church, school, nice car and a better future for their kids than they had.
What do many black kids get? A chip on their shoulders and nothing but a long list of grievances.
Black politicians insist on their MLK and Rosa Parks Boulevards but ignore those black kids or defend them when they mess up.
I am unabashedly liberal. People complain about paying taxes? Frankly I don't even think I pay enough. A little wage garnering in exchange for health care, education, and safer streets seems like a fair deal to me.
So something has irked me for awhile: there's no candidate out there (that I know of anyway) who will stand up and say:
"You know what? Gas prices are high... and I'm gonna let 'em stay that way. Because you all need to stop driving so damn much so we can ween ourselves off oil, Middle Eastern or otherwise."
Honestly no candidate could get away with that stance, especially not on the democratic side, where both Obama and Clinton are trying to assuage the fears of low-income voters in a faltering economy. Can you blame them?
The thing is... the environment is a key issue for the left. And just about everyone agrees that if we were less dependent on foreign oil, we'd be in a lot better shape economically and in terms of international security and relations. But the key reason we ARE so dependent in the first place is that oil was so cheap for so long, and for decades we allowed our lifestyles and infrastructure to develop with cheap gas as a given.
Would people be driving 50 miles to work each day from exurban mcmansion developments if gasoline prices in the US had mirrored those of Europe's for the last 20 years? Some would, but certainly not as many.
Everyone likes the idea of changing their lifestyles for the better -- whether it's saving the environment or quitting smoking, it all sounds great on paper or on New Year's Eve -- but the one thing people truly respond to is economics. Many people finally quit smoking when it simply becomes too much of a financial burden to buy a pack every day. And the only thing that's really going to get a lot of people in this country to change their behavior, to use less gasoline, to make better decisions in terms of the cars they buy and the places they live, is to keep gas prices high and force them to break the habit.
One other (probably more politically viable) idea would be to foster telecommuting as technology advances. It's not exactly a solution, but it would still help somewhat, without requiring a radical overhaul of infrastructure. Though I do worry it would lead to more vacant cities and the general detachment that sprawl generates, when tight-knit urban centers of commerce and community are in fact better for society.
Until I decided I wanted to buy an electric car, my idea of politics was to vote for whatever meant less taxes for me. I became interested in EVs after reading online about the upcoming Tesla Roadster, a $100k electric sports car. I then watched Who Killed the Electric Car? and was reminded of the EVs that graced California's roads during the heyday of the ZEV mandate.
A little bit of research made it painfully clear that switching America's commuter fleet to electric cars is the single most effective and practical step we could take to free ourselves from the menace of oil. So I decided to buy an EV and couple it with a rooftop photovoltaic system, which I figured I'd pay for with the money I'd save on gas. It's amazing what a perfect solution this is, both environmentally and economically, but for one small problem: It's impossible to buy an electric car.
How could it be that 1000s of EVs, highly reliable and highly demanded, were on the road 10 years ago; but today, even in the face of $4/gallon gas and the ominous future of global warming and bloody oil wars, not one is for sale? This called for more research, still ongoing, and the results so far speak volumes about what's wrong with our country. One highlight: Chevron, yes Chevron , owns and is effectively squatting on the patent rights for the Nickel Metal Hydride battery, a battery which has been proven to power cars like the Toyota RAV4-EV over 100 miles per charge even after 100k miles of driving. As soon as Chevron acquired these rights from GM they sued Toyota and Panasonic to cease production of these batteries and effectively killed the electric car.
More citizens need to learn about the story of the EV and get angry about it. The plight of this technology and the lack of awareness among the general public is emblematic of the ills of our nation as a whole. If we don't take back control of our government and make it serve the needs of the people we're in for an ominous future indeed.
A few years ago I unexpectedly developed a political opinion in favor of national health care. I was halfway through my enlistment in the United States Air Force and having free health care in the military felt natural, like easy access to quality health care is a right everyone should have.
My opinion was a surprise to me because it was very different from my parent’s and that of the community I grew up in. I was brought up in a mostly upper middle-class suburban community, so I was a Republican by cultural osmosis. My family was in the lower economic quadrant of our community and we never had health care, but my parents were opposed to, and suspicious of any legislation that gave the federal government more power.
When Bill Clinton was president there was no end to my father’s first slamming tirades condemning national health care. I was in my late teens at the time and had no political opinions of my own. I was too busy with my new access to credit and a manic freedom from high school to spend any thought on the issues.
So, when I did finally form a political opinion based on my own experiences as an Airman, mom, wife, woman and a long overdue college education, I was surprised that it was in strong opposition to my upbringing. It turns out I am a Democrat, and I cast my first vote ever in Oklahoma’s presidential primary in Feb.’08.
I'm not sure what to make of the global warming talk that goes on and on and on. Of course, it's something I can do so little about - I recycle, I drive a small car, I don't make unnecessary trips anywhere, I walk to places when possible. That, however, is not my problem with global warming or rather man-made global warming.
I'm qualifying ahead of time that none of what I'm about to say is necessarily scientific, though I continue to see this as a logical conclusion. I just see that there is no reason to be alarmed about the global warming concept.
All things that make life so modern for us - cars, computers, clothes, toiletries (in other words, "things") - are man-made, of course. Let's take the item with which we have so much obsession, in the US anyway, and that is the automobile. It's a wonderful invention and one which provides us with so much freedom. It's made of steel, plastic, rubber and needs fuel to burn. All of these materials came to us from - you guessed it - mother Earth, though most have been refined through any number of processes and other materials.
So, the fuel that we burn in these automobiles comes from materials found on Earth. Through some process of adding energy and other chemicals - also from planet Earth - we get this gasoline that we burn and send out into the atmosphere where who knows what happens. The whole point of this is that we are not thowing things onto the earth that didn't first start here.
The only doubt I have with my logic is maybe that in one of these processes we may have the ability to put out materials that are not meant to be mixed up or that cause a toxic mixture for the planet. It would be like crossing a shark with a racoon to create a alien being. I don't know if that's a good analogy but I hope you get the picture.
So, this planet that has been around for billions of years (or is it millions?) has all this material on it. We humans use and abuse it so much but we aren't really adding anything to it that wasn't already there, or here, in the first place. Can we really change the planet's weather or cycle by hurling back at earth stuff it already has, like carbon? To this question I generally answer "No." While it's entirely possible we could cause a toxic mixture, I don't think that, given Earth's existence, we are going to create anything more toxic than what has happened in the past.
I welcome you to challenge my conclusion as I probably could use an education in this topic. Please comment and tell me where I'm wrong or if you think I might be right to some degree. Thanks for reading.
For all the intricacies regarding the economy and the bailout of Wall Street and, all the frightening scenarios now facing middle-class Americans, the net result of the last eight years under a Republican White House and a President holding veto power throughout, is not so hard to comprehend.
George W. Bush in particular and Republicans in general have placed the priorities and agenda of Organized Wealth over those of the American people. Be it the war in Iraq which in retrospect appears primarily about blood money for no-bid contractor war-profiteers, the legislative de-regulation of the banking industry, the windfall profits of big oil and now, a plan to save Lehman Brothers and other scammer financial institutions, with nothing for the taxpayer but the bill, all roads are money trails to the rich!
And the tragic cost of this Republican-engineered assault, is not only in dollars, but also in the lives and limbs and futures of our military personnel and their families.
If for eight years, someone used a tool to repair a broken engine, and the tool failed continuously, would he reject out-of-hand a new tool, one that might perhaps be less-than-perfect but a possible improvement over the old tool, and reject it for no other reason than he felt less comfortable with its COLOR? As ridiculous as it sounds, many Americans will base their vote for President on such "reasoning" even if it means a vote against their own economic interests.
Okay, controversial title out of the way. Now, let me explain....
I was born, raised, and continue to live in the state of Maine, which is one of the "whitest" states in the U . According to the latest census figures, Maine is 96.9% white. I suspect that when I was younger, the fraction of non-whites was even lower. Even today, it is very unusual to meet an African-American on the street. I am far more likely to meet someone who speaks French as a first language.
So I wonder, how do I tell if race will be a factor for me in the next election? This will be the first time I have ever had a chance to vote for an African-American in my life, at any level of government (and I have voted for or against nine presidents). Without an experience of meeting, getting to know, or even generally being around black people, on what basis am I to decide if race is a factor in my decision?
In Maine, we have had to fall back on our "fellow" white people as targets of our prejudice. There was always someone at school to poke fun at, because they were "different" somehow. I am reminded of a story I was told by someone who had friends up from the South to visit. The Southerners were amazed to see that all the menial jobs up here were filled with white people. Maybe we white Mainers have had to substitute white people for blacks as the targets of our prejudices, even as we have substituted white for black as our janitors, bus drivers, etc.
Does that mean that we (and I) are racist? Or just prejudiced?
Race has already affected part of my choice in the '08 election. I will admit, no matter how embarrassed I am to say that there is a warm glow that generates inside of the center of my being when I think about Barack Obama holding that office. I don't dislike McCain or even distrust him because he is white, and I don't particularly trust Obama because he is half black. It is the vindication of generations of opression, ignorance, and fear that every person who is, or who has shared the black experience has felt, that inspires me to vote for Obama.
I don't really see much of a difference between the two candidates, they are both moderate, they both have good ideas and bad ideas. But when I look at my son whose father is white, and think of myself, a black women in America, I have to entertain that dream that Martin Luther King spoke of. Voting for Obama, in my mind, will secure a place for my son in the future of this country. It is the support of his place in this country that will guide me in the election.
If Obama wins, then just maybe black people, latino people, native americans, asians, gays, women, and the poor won't have to work so hard to get what wealthy white men seem to inherit at birth. His placement in that office will settle this impossible discussion once and for all. That we are all capable of greatness, and that it is okay to dream.
This election cycle has afforded our nation an opportunity to check our progress on a number of things, but for me and my kids, it's more about how far we have yet to go. The subject of race is a good example.
I raised my two kids without any mention of race until they heard it somewhere else first.
I didn't do this on purpose, more because I didn't know what to say. My background with the subject was so convoluted. I was born in the late 60's, a ward of the state in a city experiencing some of the worst of the civil rights unrest. My biological father was "black" and my biological mother was "white." My foster and later adoptive family was "white," and I was raised in mostly white communities. I had a run-in with affirmative action in the 80's that left me declaring my race as human ever since. The writings of Dr. King also influenced and continued to strengthen the conviction of this decision.
I have experienced racism from whites and from blacks and understand from where it comes, but more importantly I have experienced the best of humanity with people of many races and lifestyles, shapes and sizes. So I was at a loss for preschool words on the subject. The end result was my kids (who have "white" fathers--in darker days one would say they can "pass") thought it was perfectly normal to have come from the belly of a mother with much darker skin who had a mother with much lighter skin named Grammy, but she didn't grow in Grammy's belly. It was normal to share features with a mother and a father who looked so different from each other. There was something incredibly natural about the normalcy of it all in their young eyes.
For both the rude awakening came around the age of 5. For the eldest it was someone referring to me as "black;" for the youngest it was a discussion about the black history in kindergarten to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Both came home in shellshock, and the processing on the subject of race with each has been ongoing ever since. My main theme in our discussions has pretty much been that it is important to honor the history of race relations, however, that history and other people's neverending issues with it should never define who they are. It is possible to honor history without being a victim to it.
It turns out that, at the time, both had thought of skin color as no different than eye color or hair color. There's a span of years between them, so I was surprised how parallel the reactions and conclusions. My youngest has a "white" friend who was raised the same way, and his mother said he had drawn the same conclusion and had had the same reaction to his rude awakening. If you follow out their preschool train of thought, I and any other people of mixed lineage are no more black than white. To say so is to say that a brown-eyed white white child is somehow more the child of his brown-eyed father than his hazel-eyed mother. Try explaining otherwise to a five year old with no other previous frame of reference on the matter.
As for my vote, it's still looking for someone to acknowledge that our nation needs to move in leaps and bounds to catch up to my kids' progressive thinking on race and other problems, like economic justice, health care, criminal justice, war as a solution, etc. And I'd also like to vote for someone who can define what those leaps and bounds should look like, at least roughly. The following poem was written about the conversation immediately following my eldest's rude awakening. It's twelve years old, but it still works for me today; I'd like to vote for someone who will lead in such a way that the sentiment behind this poem will be old news twelve years from now.
The Color of Love
Sometimes when we talk
And I listen
I know why my son is here
Like the time he said
Out of the blue
Mom, you're like brownish
He left the 'like brownish'
Hanging like a giant comma
Waiting for my open quotation marks.
The exact tone and hesitation of the comma
Suggested he had a specific dialogue in mind
But I would not be privy to a script.
So I took a deep breath and said
Yes, I am most definitely brownish.
Are you thinking of the word 'black'?
Yes, because people say you're black,
But you're not. You're like brownish,
Again with the giant comma--
I fumble momentarily,
It's funny the word 'black' like that,
Inserting a giant comma of my own
Yes, because people are like maybe
Whitish or even vanilla-ish and brownish, but never ...
Blackish, I finish,
I guess that's one time when 'black'
Is just a word, not a color;
Is it hard having a
Momma that's a different color?
In 2004, the pastor of a Baptist church I was attending stood in his pulpit and expressed the opinion that the election at hand could very well decide the moral fate of the United States of America. This assertion preceded a monologue rebuking the immorality of abortion on every level and in almost every circumstance; a view I have long held and continue to hold.
And yet, nearly one year after that sermon was given (and six months after I had abandoned that church for implying that AIDS should be handled by quarentine), Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, killing and permanently displacing thousands of impoverished Americans whose own indifferent government refused to come to their aid in time of greatest crises.
My moral vote for one defenseless population was given for the apparent sacrifice of another defenseless population. It was then and there that I proclaimed I would not vote for a Republican Congressman or President, as they had been given their chance to represent my Christian values, and categorically failed on all fronts.
Unlike most of my fellow citizens, I have a long memory, and the next year I followed through by voting exclusively for the Democratic Party. Still, as the election unfolds, I am conflicted by the implications of my decision. I am a Christian, but I am also a teacher. I am against abortion, but I am also against poverty. I am an environmentalist, but I also believe in family values. Where is my candidate?
I watched helplessly as John Edwards bowed out of the primaries, overshadowed by novelty candidates who signify just how self-destructive Democrats are, given that this is their election to lose. I have always accepted the compromise that comes with voting. No one's views are truly reflected in policy except the people who win the elections. The rest of us just have to throw our whole vote behind someone, hoping that we won't have to feel too dirty about it over the next four years. I want to divide up my vote, maybe give 40% to McCain and 60% to Obama. I don't know how I would divide it exactly. All I know is that I've felt exceedingly dirty over the last four years, and I would like two candidates that didn't so evenly split up my faith and my common sense. I'm sure that naive pastor is still preaching that the moral fate of the United States will be decided in November. If only it was that easy.
It's not that I don't know who I'd vote for were the Presidential Election to be held today. But I have an open mind, so here's an almost certain way to get my vote on November 4, 2008, presented as a resolution:
Whereas, the current status of my retirement accounts could not conceivably have occurred as the result of honest commerce, and,
Whereas, for both the legal and psychological health of the United States of America, there must be legitimate investigations of the various companies and individuals whose apparent (mis)behaviors and practices precipitated the current financial meltdown and,
Whereas, in the event the establishment of guilty parties and entities is determined through due process of the law, those guilty parties and entities will be required to make restitution from their assets (liquid and real property, corporate and/or personally owned) in addition to being sentenced to commensurate incarceration without the possibility of parole,
Therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the candidate for the office of President of the United States who publicly swears in the most transparent terms to pursue and report regularly and frequently with regard to the above premises and sequence...SHALL RECEIVE MY VOTE FOR PRESIDENT ON NOVEMBER 4, 2008.
An acceptable alternative to the above could be locking me in a room on a one-to-one basis, with the CEOs of the culpable financial institutions, so that I may express my disappointment and sadness with what they've done to my life and the lives of millions of other middle-class Americans.
As an Asian American I vote for candidates who fight discrimination and who favor immigration reform.
Therefore I support John McCain.
One would think that as an Asian American, I would support Barack Obama. After all, Obama’s step-father was Indonesian, his half-sister is Asian American, and he grew up in Indonesia , Hawaii and Los Angeles , where many Asians or Asian Americans live. Electing an African American could pave the way for Asian Americans to win higher elective office, such as governor of California . And being a Columbia University alumnus, I really would like a fellow Columbian to become president. Unfortunately, Obama’s policies are bad for Asian Americans and America .
McCain would help Asian Americans. Liberals control universities and use affirmative action to discriminate against Asian American applicants. McCain opposes racial quotas, a stand which would help Asian American applicants, while Obama would continue affirmative action. On immigration, Democrats have a good record, but McCain had the courage to push for immigration reform.
But most important, the Republicans’ policies are better for America and poor people, while the Democrats, contrary to Obama’s slogans, defend the status quo.
McCain would increase the supply of energy. Environmentalists oppose burning coal, nuclear reactors, drilling for oil, construction of refineries, etc. Environmentalists want poor people in northern states this winter to freeze on dark buses.
McCain supports school vouchers, which the majority of African Americans want. Meanwhile, the Clintons , Gores, Kerrys and Obamas send their children to private schools which poor people can’t afford. The teachers unions’ attitude is: “The Olympics are on TV but we don’t believe in competition. We will fight to keep our government monopoly and force you to pay higher taxes for a shoddy product. We also don’t want extensive testing to reveal your children can’t read, write, add or subtract.”
McCain is opposed to racial quotas. Rather than using race based affirmative action, universities should give preference to students who come from poor families.
McCain wants healthcare reform. Every policy wonk inside the Beltway knows healthcare costs are increasing at an unsustainable rate. By 2030 Medicare will consume 50% of the federal budget. Evidently Democrats want to eliminate the Pentagon, the FBI and national parks to pay for Medicare. McCain’s policies would help to reduce healthcare costs and make healthcare plans more portable. The Democrats’ healthcare plans want to expand and build on a bridge which is about to collapse.
Why do I support McCain? Because his policies are good for Asian Americans and best for America .
My political viewpoints have evolved constantly along with different experiences in my life. Initially my story, as with most, began with my family, which came from North Dakota. Although I wasn't really aware of the political aspects at the time, my father and many other family members regularly made comments about how the government can't do anything right, can't be trusted, should be smaller or eliminated, shouldn't help support people, etc. - in retrospect, a very conservative perspective that informed my initial viewpoints as I became an adult.
There were also many comments, socially accepted as I grew up, bashing gays, minorities, etc. that I initially took for granted. There were common jokes such as, “40 degrees below zero keeps the riff raff out.” By “riff raff” they meant minorities, especially blacks. Based on this upbringing, you could say I was a redneck in many ways when I graduated from high school.
Because individual rights always mattered so much to my parents, they always stressed the importance of voting. So I dutifully voted for the first Bush. Then Bill Clinton came along as I was struggling to make a living and find money and time for college. I was transfixed by his charisma and speaking ability. This was the first politician I had ever seen reach out to young people. His rhetoric about the middle class inspired me. I guess you could say that was a turning point for me, when I began to consider the other side, and my viewpoints have evolved from there.
As Igrew older, graduated from college, had children, and traveled to other countries, I realized I simply could not support ideologies of intolerance, religious politics, pure military solutions, and capitalism without responsibility. I have never been religious, so when the Republican Party began branding people like me as"godless", as a traitor to my country because I would dare question our government, as a murderer because I don't think abortion is a government issue, my transition to progressive politics was solidified. I guess I have become one of those "elite" progressives.
Unfortunately my income belies my newly acquired "elite" status! Remember when elite meant you were good at something? Remember when facts were based on science and primary sources? I do.
To get my vote I would need to see the candidates do the following:
1) To sit down, face to face, or on a small table with a mediator and debate until they're blue-in-the-face.
2) To take an oath on whatever it is they honor (The Bible, relatives that have passed away, etc.) that they swear to tell the truth and to do the following two steps.
3) To admit they aren't prophets that do not absolutely know what is good for this country—and then to come forth only with an agenda to understand the other opponent and not to belittle.
4) To not have them dance around all the real questions but to answer all of them with either "yes," "no," or a "maybe/both" – not to just sit there and smile or lower their heads when accusations are made against them.
This whole debate could be televised or put on the internet if it got too long.
Once I see how the candidates react to a real debate, will I be able to truly see who I think is best for this country.
Apparently Republicans don't understand the concept of a metaphor ; either that or they simply like to twist people's words to generate ugly, political rhetoric.
Barack Obama, in a September 10th speech, used the metaphor, "you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig," to describe the McCain campaign's attempts to disguise its platform so as to appear different from the policies of George W. Bush. Republican media shills have portrayed Obama's comment as a sexist attack on Sarah Palin.
Listen up Republicans. Pastor John Hagee, endorser of John McCain asked the question: "Do you know the difference between a woman with PMS and a snarling Doberman pinscher? The answer is lipstick."
Hopefully, Democratic strategists will fight-fire-with-fire and show where the real sexists reside and which political party they most resemble philosophically.
I think Obama knew as he was finishing the lipstick comment that it would be taken out-of-context - so he immediately went to the "smelly fish" analogy to try and re-make his point. But the Republicans smeared the lipstick so-to-speak, and intentionally made it appear that it was an attack on Governor Palin. They created an ad running Palin's "hockey-mom-pitbull-lipstick"
convention speech, then ran the Obama video immediately behind it.
Sleaze at the pinnacle.
What's truly hypocritical about the ad is that the same folks who smeared McCain in 2000, are now doing it to Obama on behalf of McCain. In 2000, they engineered a push poll in South Carolina, making phone calls to registered Republicans before the primary (Bush vs. McCain) asking; "Would you vote for McCain if you knew he had an illegitimate black daughter?" The McCains have a dark-skinned, adopted daughter from Bangladesh. The GOP slime-machine took that fact and created a disgusting, racist innuendo-lie that cost McCain the primary.
McCain, as a victim of such tactics, by using them himself is a hypocrite of the ugliest magnitude. Mr. "Straight Talk" has sold his soul and in my opinion, in terms of his colossal hypocrisy, lack of empathy and absence of fair-play, there ain't enough lipstick in the world to cover that ( metaphorically speaking, of course ) pig .
What I want to vote for is someone who includes ALL Americans, not just the Working Families. I work, I pay taxes, but I don't seem to exist because I don't have a Family. All politicans speak of any concern for is the working Families. They get the breaks I end up having to pay for. Since nobody is there to represent me, it feels kind of silly to bother to vote. I'm just voting for someone who treats me as a person who doesn't matter since I am not a working FAMILY, just a nothing working single. I was given a notice that I needed to send in something to stay registered to vote since I gave up voting for so long. It didn't seem worth it since I would just be voting for someone who thinks it is my duty to pay for tax deductions and other benefits that only working FAMILIES get. When the primaries were done I thought the man who won one of them might be for all people. He wasn't so full of kissing babies and talking Families as his competitor was. So, I went to a voting tent at a local town fair, and registered again. Now I see I seemed to be wrong. He is throwing around the F-word (FAMILIES) just like all the other politicians. So I'm just nobody again, still. Just here to pay the bills for the people who matter, the Working Families, and my own bills too. I better get his bumper sticker off my car now that I know Americans like me who don't have a mate and any children, don't exist to him just like ALL the Other politicians. I get told I should vote anyway. But I don't see the point in voting when all that happens is whoever wins stabs me in the back, making life harder for Working Singles.
I have always been very pleased with my health care in the U . It is affordable and oh so great. I had major surgery last year and only had to pay my $200 deductible. My care was top notch.
Top notch health care is one of the "perks" I receive for having worked hard, harder perhaps than some other people. There are rewards for hard work. Always remember that systems trying to equalize end up as disincentives to high achievers.
I am sure that my beliefs on race and politics were shaped by my family. My parents were both immigrants from Nazi Germany. They both became citizens as quickly as they could. My father was in his early 30's when he arrived in this country and he took citizenship classes. Voting was very important to them and I remember going to the polls with them as a child. My parents voted in every election, primary and general. Reading and learning was also very important to my parents. I remember being 8 years old and riding my bicycle to the public library more than a mile from home on a Saturday afternoon or during the summer-time. My father worked as a leather cutter in a shoe factory. My mother worked first part-time as a sales person in a shoe store. She completed her college degree after the age of 50 and then worked as a social worker. After they retired, my parents audited many college courses at the local state university. They also became election day poll workers.
As a Jewish, lesbian female from a working class background, I have always identified with the underdog. In middle school, most of my friends were African American. Regarding race, I don't remember my parents ever saying anything negative about people who were of a different race. Both my older siblings had African American friends in high school and sometimes brought those friends home with them. In middle school where the student population was about 25% African American and maybe 25% Jewish, most of my friends were African American. I remember doing my hair a certain way and trying to pass as bi-racial. My first boyfriends were African American. While in high school and college during the 1970's, I was also strongly influenced by the Feminist movement, which further instilled what I already knew from my own mother's example, that women should be treated and paid equally to men.
My parents also liked to take us places on vacation: to a state park, Niagra Falls, the 1964 Worlds Fair in New York. While traveling on my own, including outside the U.S., I saw that some countries had a lower standard of living than the U.S. while other countries had a higher standard of living. This perspective both gave me an appreciation for being American, but also an awareness that there are better ways for a country to care for its citizens.
This election is about two issues for me. The first is taxes. The tax relief of the past 7 years has been good for families. If these are kept and made permanent then, I believe, we will see increased prosperity over the next several years.
The second issue is the Iraq war. We have finally made some progress in stabilizing Iraq. Now is not the time to withdraw. If we and the Iraqis are successful in estabilishing a democracy, it will do more to promote peace and stability not just in Iraq but around the world.
For both of these issues, I believe that John McCain will be the one who can handle these better.
Blog Posts With the Most Comments
The Truth About Race
Im going to say some things here that I think alot of people would like to say and are afraid to. Im going to say alot of things here that many people will probably get bent out of shape over. Im going to say some things here that might possibly ban this letter from appearing on "Get My Vote." Im going to tell the truth from a white mans point of view. At least, one white mans point of view; about race. Ive been thinking about writing this since I heard the advert on NPR. I hope I come across the way I want to, but ive no doubt some people will take what I say the wrong way. Such is life. Anyhow, enough small talk, on to the post...
A little background first....
Im 35. Im a graphic designer. I have a 10 year old son. My wife and I are seperated but we have become closer friends than ever. I grew up in the suburbs mostly, although throughout college I lived in the inner city of Pittsburgh. My son currently lives in the city with his mother. I speak from some experience here. And im only telling things from personal experience. So lets begin, shall we?
My wife takes my son to a local park near her house, so he can learn how to ride his bike. Theyre enjoying an early spring day, several other kids are out and about. Suddenly a bottle smashes at her feet. She turns and is confronted by a group of black kids, between 8-12 years old. An older black girl stands there grinning. My wife, somewhat irked, asks who threw the bottle. They all deny it, laughing and giggling to themselves. Then take offense, saying that the only reason shes accusing them of throwing the bottle is because theyre black. Not because theyre all standing there laughing. Not because theyre the only ones there...but because they are black. It ends with the kids telling my wife to perform obscene sexual acts on them. 12 year old kids saying this to a 36 year old woman and her 10 year old son.
Another situation at a nearby park ends with my son being punched in the face by an older black kid. My wife and I have our dogs with us, we run to where my son is laying on the ground holding his face. This is a public park. In the city. It was beautful once, but its now covered in graffitti and trash litters the ground. Still, there arent alot of places to take a 10 year old to play so we go. As soon as we get to my kid, the crowd of black kids start telling us to get the *F----* out of THEIR park. We dont belong there. If it wasnt for the fact that Im a big man and I had my dogs, I have no doubt there would have been more violence. We left to the black kids singing "(We) is takin ovah....(We) is takin ovah...." and jeers and catcalls.
Why are there several colleges that are blacks only, but a college that billed itself as whites only would be considered racist? Why is it that a black man can be proud of being a black man, but if im proud of being white im a racist? Why are black people called African Americans? Why arent white people European Americans then? Why can a black person wear a tshirt that says "The blacker the college the sweeter the knowledge" but If i wore a shirt saying "The whiter the college the sweeter the knowledge" I would at BEST be asked to remove the shirt, and be labeled a racist? Why is it that whenever a black kid gets beat up by a white kid the race card is pulled, but when black kids jump a white kid, its considered justice? Why do I feel like im paying for something that I never had anything to do with? Why do i feel guitly of being white? Why is the inner city a dangerous place to be when the sun goes down? (and dont tell me police presence is greater in the suburbs).
I dont have any answers to these questions. I dont even have any guesses. Ive tried to teach my kid that all people are created equal. Ive tried to teach my kid that race doesnt matter. What do i tell him when he asks me why black people are so mean to him then? That theyre angry over something that happened to them a hundred years ago? Something that they dont even fully understand? THats not a reason, its a lame excuse. How do I teach my kid to treat everyone equally when hes treated like a pariah in his own school and neighborhood? Because hes white? How do i keep myself from being racist, when I see these things happening in my own backyard? This is a difficult time in America, for everyone. Black people no longer have a leg to stand on as far as equality...the next president of the United States will most likely be a black man. The equality thing just doesnt hold water anymore. "Whitey" isnt holding anyone down. Is this just something that I have to deal with? Do i have to teach my son to stay away from other races because hes going to be treated like a criminal by them?
These are only a few examples. I could write a bloody book on this. But im sure ive said enough already, and Im interested to see what kind of replies this post gets, if any. In a perfect world, we would all love one another and treat each other as brothers. But its not a perfect world...and races are polarizing themselves even more. I dont think Obama being elected will do anything but push the racial divide even further apart. There is no desire to get along, to understand one another. Not with the generation that seems to be coming up. There seems to be only anger, and hatred, and division, for no other reason than...I dont even know what to write there. The media? Music? Parents? The Gov't? Ourselves? Im at a loss...ill just end this here. Thanks for your time if you read this through. Luck.
Civil Rights Activist from the
We organized. We marched. I was a public television producer and did shows with black activists. It was wasn't particularly dangerous or strenuous, but we were optimistic.
Not any more.
The Dysons, Jacksons, and Wrights despise "middle-classness" and I guess this means one can build a life on a couple of dashikis, a nice Kwanzaa celebration, and an early exit from the educational system
And still they come -- the Koreans, the Vietnamese, the Hmong, the East Indians and now the Eastern Europeans. They run a store, a gas station, a motel, and begin the climb to their dream--the American Middle-Class. A home, food and clothing, church, school, nice car and a better future for their kids than they had.
What do many black kids get? A chip on their shoulders and nothing but a long list of grievances.
Black politicians insist on their MLK and Rosa Parks Boulevards but ignore those black kids or defend them when they mess up.
Oil prices (keep 'em high!)
I am unabashedly liberal. People complain about paying taxes? Frankly I don't even think I pay enough. A little wage garnering in exchange for health care, education, and safer streets seems like a fair deal to me.
So something has irked me for awhile: there's no candidate out there (that I know of anyway) who will stand up and say:
"You know what? Gas prices are high... and I'm gonna let 'em stay that way. Because you all need to stop driving so damn much so we can ween ourselves off oil, Middle Eastern or otherwise."
Honestly no candidate could get away with that stance, especially not on the democratic side, where both Obama and Clinton are trying to assuage the fears of low-income voters in a faltering economy. Can you blame them?
The thing is... the environment is a key issue for the left. And just about everyone agrees that if we were less dependent on foreign oil, we'd be in a lot better shape economically and in terms of international security and relations. But the key reason we ARE so dependent in the first place is that oil was so cheap for so long, and for decades we allowed our lifestyles and infrastructure to develop with cheap gas as a given.
Would people be driving 50 miles to work each day from exurban mcmansion developments if gasoline prices in the US had mirrored those of Europe's for the last 20 years? Some would, but certainly not as many.
Everyone likes the idea of changing their lifestyles for the better -- whether it's saving the environment or quitting smoking, it all sounds great on paper or on New Year's Eve -- but the one thing people truly respond to is economics. Many people finally quit smoking when it simply becomes too much of a financial burden to buy a pack every day. And the only thing that's really going to get a lot of people in this country to change their behavior, to use less gasoline, to make better decisions in terms of the cars they buy and the places they live, is to keep gas prices high and force them to break the habit.
One other (probably more politically viable) idea would be to foster telecommuting as technology advances. It's not exactly a solution, but it would still help somewhat, without requiring a radical overhaul of infrastructure. Though I do worry it would lead to more vacant cities and the general detachment that sprawl generates, when tight-knit urban centers of commerce and community are in fact better for society.
Electric Over Gas-powered Cars
Until I decided I wanted to buy an electric car, my idea of politics was to vote for whatever meant less taxes for me. I became interested in EVs after reading online about the upcoming Tesla Roadster, a $100k electric sports car. I then watched Who Killed the Electric Car? and was reminded of the EVs that graced California's roads during the heyday of the ZEV mandate.
A little bit of research made it painfully clear that switching America's commuter fleet to electric cars is the single most effective and practical step we could take to free ourselves from the menace of oil. So I decided to buy an EV and couple it with a rooftop photovoltaic system, which I figured I'd pay for with the money I'd save on gas. It's amazing what a perfect solution this is, both environmentally and economically, but for one small problem: It's impossible to buy an electric car.
How could it be that 1000s of EVs, highly reliable and highly demanded, were on the road 10 years ago; but today, even in the face of $4/gallon gas and the ominous future of global warming and bloody oil wars, not one is for sale? This called for more research, still ongoing, and the results so far speak volumes about what's wrong with our country. One highlight: Chevron, yes Chevron , owns and is effectively squatting on the patent rights for the Nickel Metal Hydride battery, a battery which has been proven to power cars like the Toyota RAV4-EV over 100 miles per charge even after 100k miles of driving. As soon as Chevron acquired these rights from GM they sued Toyota and Panasonic to cease production of these batteries and effectively killed the electric car.
More citizens need to learn about the story of the EV and get angry about it. The plight of this technology and the lack of awareness among the general public is emblematic of the ills of our nation as a whole. If we don't take back control of our government and make it serve the needs of the people we're in for an ominous future indeed.
A First Political Opinion: Hea
A few years ago I unexpectedly developed a political opinion in favor of national health care. I was halfway through my enlistment in the United States Air Force and having free health care in the military felt natural, like easy access to quality health care is a right everyone should have.
My opinion was a surprise to me because it was very different from my parent’s and that of the community I grew up in. I was brought up in a mostly upper middle-class suburban community, so I was a Republican by cultural osmosis. My family was in the lower economic quadrant of our community and we never had health care, but my parents were opposed to, and suspicious of any legislation that gave the federal government more power.
When Bill Clinton was president there was no end to my father’s first slamming tirades condemning national health care. I was in my late teens at the time and had no political opinions of my own. I was too busy with my new access to credit and a manic freedom from high school to spend any thought on the issues.
So, when I did finally form a political opinion based on my own experiences as an Airman, mom, wife, woman and a long overdue college education, I was surprised that it was in strong opposition to my upbringing. It turns out I am a Democrat, and I cast my first vote ever in Oklahoma’s presidential primary in Feb.’08.
My problem with global warming
I'm not sure what to make of the global warming talk that goes on and on and on. Of course, it's something I can do so little about - I recycle, I drive a small car, I don't make unnecessary trips anywhere, I walk to places when possible. That, however, is not my problem with global warming or rather man-made global warming.
I'm qualifying ahead of time that none of what I'm about to say is necessarily scientific, though I continue to see this as a logical conclusion. I just see that there is no reason to be alarmed about the global warming concept.
All things that make life so modern for us - cars, computers, clothes, toiletries (in other words, "things") - are man-made, of course. Let's take the item with which we have so much obsession, in the US anyway, and that is the automobile. It's a wonderful invention and one which provides us with so much freedom. It's made of steel, plastic, rubber and needs fuel to burn. All of these materials came to us from - you guessed it - mother Earth, though most have been refined through any number of processes and other materials.
So, the fuel that we burn in these automobiles comes from materials found on Earth. Through some process of adding energy and other chemicals - also from planet Earth - we get this gasoline that we burn and send out into the atmosphere where who knows what happens. The whole point of this is that we are not thowing things onto the earth that didn't first start here.
The only doubt I have with my logic is maybe that in one of these processes we may have the ability to put out materials that are not meant to be mixed up or that cause a toxic mixture for the planet. It would be like crossing a shark with a racoon to create a alien being. I don't know if that's a good analogy but I hope you get the picture.
So, this planet that has been around for billions of years (or is it millions?) has all this material on it. We humans use and abuse it so much but we aren't really adding anything to it that wasn't already there, or here, in the first place. Can we really change the planet's weather or cycle by hurling back at earth stuff it already has, like carbon? To this question I generally answer "No." While it's entirely possible we could cause a toxic mixture, I don't think that, given Earth's existence, we are going to create anything more toxic than what has happened in the past.
I welcome you to challenge my conclusion
as I probably could use an education in this topic. Please comment and tell me where I'm wrong or if you think I might be right to some degree. Thanks for reading.
Follow the Money Trails
For all the intricacies regarding the economy and the bailout of Wall Street and, all the frightening scenarios now facing middle-class Americans, the net result of the last eight years under a Republican White House and a President holding veto power throughout, is not so hard to comprehend.
George W. Bush in particular and Republicans in general have placed the priorities and agenda of Organized Wealth over those of the American people. Be it the war in Iraq which in retrospect appears primarily about blood money for no-bid contractor war-profiteers, the legislative de-regulation of the banking industry, the windfall profits of big oil and now, a plan to save Lehman Brothers and other scammer financial institutions, with nothing for the taxpayer but the bill, all roads are money trails to the rich!
And the tragic cost of this Republican-engineered assault, is not only in dollars, but also in the lives and limbs and futures of our military personnel and their families.
If for eight years, someone used a tool to repair a broken engine, and the tool failed continuously, would he reject out-of-hand a new tool, one that might perhaps be less-than-perfect but a possible improvement over the old tool, and reject it for no other reason than he felt less comfortable with its COLOR? As ridiculous as it sounds, many Americans will base their vote for President on such "reasoning" even if it means a vote against their own economic interests.
Arthur Gurmankin
How can I tell if I am a racis
Okay, controversial title out of the way. Now, let me explain....
I was born, raised, and continue to live in the state of Maine, which is one of the "whitest" states in the U . According to the latest census figures, Maine is 96.9% white. I suspect that when I was younger, the fraction of non-whites was even lower. Even today, it is very unusual to meet an African-American on the street. I am far more likely to meet someone who speaks French as a first language.
So I wonder, how do I tell if race will be a factor for me in the next election? This will be the first time I have ever had a chance to vote for an African-American in my life, at any level of government (and I have voted for or against nine presidents). Without an experience of meeting, getting to know, or even generally being around black people, on what basis am I to decide if race is a factor in my decision?
In Maine, we have had to fall back on our "fellow" white people as targets of our prejudice. There was always someone at school to poke fun at, because they were "different" somehow. I am reminded of a story I was told by someone who had friends up from the South to visit. The Southerners were amazed to see that all the menial jobs up here were filled with white people. Maybe we white Mainers have had to substitute white people for blacks as the targets of our prejudices, even as we have substituted white for black as our janitors, bus drivers, etc.
Does that mean that we (and I) are racist? Or just prejudiced?
Securing a Future for My Son
Race has already affected part of my choice in the '08 election. I will admit, no matter how embarrassed I am to say that there is a warm glow that generates inside of the center of my being when I think about Barack Obama holding that office. I don't dislike McCain or even distrust him because he is white, and I don't particularly trust Obama because he is half black. It is the vindication of generations of opression, ignorance, and fear that every person who is, or who has shared the black experience has felt, that inspires me to vote for Obama.
I don't really see much of a difference between the two candidates, they are both moderate, they both have good ideas and bad ideas. But when I look at my son whose father is white, and think of myself, a black women in America, I have to entertain that dream that Martin Luther King spoke of. Voting for Obama, in my mind, will secure a place for my son in the future of this country. It is the support of his place in this country that will guide me in the election.
If Obama wins, then just maybe black people, latino people, native americans, asians, gays, women, and the poor won't have to work so hard to get what wealthy white men seem to inherit at birth. His placement in that office will settle this impossible discussion once and for all. That we are all capable of greatness, and that it is okay to dream.
A Politician Who Thinks Like M
This election cycle has afforded our nation an opportunity to check our progress on a number of things, but for me and my kids, it's more about how far we have yet to go. The subject of race is a good example.
I raised my two kids without any mention of race until they heard it somewhere else first. I didn't do this on purpose, more because I didn't know what to say. My background with the subject was so convoluted. I was born in the late 60's, a ward of the state in a city experiencing some of the worst of the civil rights unrest. My biological father was "black" and my biological mother was "white." My foster and later adoptive family was "white," and I was raised in mostly white communities. I had a run-in with affirmative action in the 80's that left me declaring my race as human ever since. The writings of Dr. King also influenced and continued to strengthen the conviction of this decision.
I have experienced racism from whites and from blacks and understand from where it comes, but more importantly I have experienced the best of humanity with people of many races and lifestyles, shapes and sizes. So I was at a loss for preschool words on the subject. The end result was my kids (who have "white" fathers--in darker days one would say they can "pass") thought it was perfectly normal to have come from the belly of a mother with much darker skin who had a mother with much lighter skin named Grammy, but she didn't grow in Grammy's belly. It was normal to share features with a mother and a father who looked so different from each other. There was something incredibly natural about the normalcy of it all in their young eyes.
For both the rude awakening came around the age of 5. For the eldest it was someone referring to me as "black;" for the youngest it was a discussion about the black history in kindergarten to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Both came home in shellshock, and the processing on the subject of race with each has been ongoing ever since. My main theme in our discussions has pretty much been that it is important to honor the history of race relations, however, that history and other people's neverending issues with it should never define who they are. It is possible to honor history without being a victim to it.
It turns out that, at the time, both had thought of skin color as no different than eye color or hair color. There's a span of years between them, so I was surprised how parallel the reactions and conclusions. My youngest has a "white" friend who was raised the same way, and his mother said he had drawn the same conclusion and had had the same reaction to his rude awakening. If you follow out their preschool train of thought, I and any other people of mixed lineage are no more black than white. To say so is to say that a brown-eyed white white child is somehow more the child of his brown-eyed father than his hazel-eyed mother. Try explaining otherwise to a five year old with no other previous frame of reference on the matter.
As for my vote, it's still looking for someone to acknowledge that our nation needs to move in leaps and bounds to catch up to my kids' progressive thinking on race and other problems, like economic justice, health care, criminal justice, war as a solution, etc. And I'd also like to vote for someone who can define what those leaps and bounds should look like, at least roughly. The following poem was written about the conversation immediately following my eldest's rude awakening. It's twelve years old, but it still works for me today; I'd like to vote for someone who will lead in such a way that the sentiment behind this poem will be old news twelve years from now.
The Color of Love
Sometimes when we talk
And I listen
I know why my son is here
Like the time he said
Out of the blue
Mom, you're like brownish
He left the 'like brownish'
Hanging like a giant comma
Waiting for my open quotation marks.
The exact tone and hesitation of the comma
Suggested he had a specific dialogue in mind
But I would not be privy to a script.
So I took a deep breath and said
Yes, I am most definitely brownish.
Are you thinking of the word 'black'?
Yes, because people say you're black,
But you're not. You're like brownish,
Again with the giant comma-- I fumble momentarily,
It's funny the word 'black' like that,
Inserting a giant comma of my own
Yes, because people are like maybe
Whitish or even vanilla-ish and brownish, but never ...
Blackish, I finish,
I guess that's one time when 'black'
Is just a word, not a color;
Is it hard having a Momma that's a different color?
Not really.
Does it ever bother you?
No, because of how much you love me.
Flat. Like that. Period.
Me, I'm silently gushing exclamation points
All over the place.
So, I guess love doesn't have a color?
No, definitely not.
I love you sweetheart.
I love you too momma.
A Voter Conflicted Over Morals
In 2004, the pastor of a Baptist church I was attending stood in his pulpit and expressed the opinion that the election at hand could very well decide the moral fate of the United States of America. This assertion preceded a monologue rebuking the immorality of abortion on every level and in almost every circumstance; a view I have long held and continue to hold.
And yet, nearly one year after that sermon was given (and six months after I had abandoned that church for implying that AIDS should be handled by quarentine), Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, killing and permanently displacing thousands of impoverished Americans whose own indifferent government refused to come to their aid in time of greatest crises.
My moral vote for one defenseless population was given for the apparent sacrifice of another defenseless population. It was then and there that I proclaimed I would not vote for a Republican Congressman or President, as they had been given their chance to represent my Christian values, and categorically failed on all fronts.
Unlike most of my fellow citizens, I have a long memory, and the next year I followed through by voting exclusively for the Democratic Party. Still, as the election unfolds, I am conflicted by the implications of my decision. I am a Christian, but I am also a teacher. I am against abortion, but I am also against poverty. I am an environmentalist, but I also believe in family values. Where is my candidate?
I watched helplessly as John Edwards bowed out of the primaries, overshadowed by novelty candidates who signify just how self-destructive Democrats are, given that this is their election to lose. I have always accepted the compromise that comes with voting. No one's views are truly reflected in policy except the people who win the elections. The rest of us just have to throw our whole vote behind someone, hoping that we won't have to feel too dirty about it over the next four years. I want to divide up my vote, maybe give 40% to McCain and 60% to Obama. I don't know how I would divide it exactly. All I know is that I've felt exceedingly dirty over the last four years, and I would like two candidates that didn't so evenly split up my faith and my common sense. I'm sure that naive pastor is still preaching that the moral fate of the United States will be decided in November. If only it was that easy.
Want My Vote?
It's not that I don't know who I'd vote for were the Presidential Election to be held today. But I have an open mind, so here's an almost certain way to get my vote on November 4, 2008, presented as a resolution:
Whereas, the current status of my retirement accounts could not conceivably have occurred as the result of honest commerce, and,
Whereas, for both the legal and psychological health of the United States of America, there must be legitimate investigations of the various companies and individuals whose apparent (mis)behaviors and practices precipitated the current financial meltdown and,
Whereas, in the event the establishment of guilty parties and entities is determined through due process of the law, those guilty parties and entities will be required to make restitution from their assets (liquid and real property, corporate and/or personally owned) in addition to being sentenced to commensurate incarceration without the possibility of parole,
Therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the candidate for the office of President of the United States who publicly swears in the most transparent terms to pursue and report regularly and frequently with regard to the above premises and sequence...SHALL RECEIVE MY VOTE FOR PRESIDENT ON NOVEMBER 4, 2008.
An acceptable alternative to the above could be locking me in a room on a one-to-one basis, with the CEOs of the culpable financial institutions, so that I may express my disappointment and sadness with what they've done to my life and the lives of millions of other middle-class Americans.
I said, "I have an open mind."
So - All in favor, say "Aye." All opposed, "Nay."
Arthur Gurmankin
An Asian American on the presi
As an Asian American I vote for candidates who fight discrimination and who favor immigration reform.
Therefore I support John McCain.
One would think that as an Asian American, I would support Barack Obama. After all, Obama’s step-father was Indonesian, his half-sister is Asian American, and he grew up in Indonesia , Hawaii and Los Angeles , where many Asians or Asian Americans live. Electing an African American could pave the way for Asian Americans to win higher elective office, such as governor of California . And being a Columbia University alumnus, I really would like a fellow Columbian to become president. Unfortunately, Obama’s policies are bad for Asian Americans and America .
McCain would help Asian Americans. Liberals control universities and use affirmative action to discriminate against Asian American applicants. McCain opposes racial quotas, a stand which would help Asian American applicants, while Obama would continue affirmative action. On immigration, Democrats have a good record, but McCain had the courage to push for immigration reform.
But most important, the Republicans’ policies are better for America and poor people, while the Democrats, contrary to Obama’s slogans, defend the status quo.
McCain would increase the supply of energy. Environmentalists oppose burning coal, nuclear reactors, drilling for oil, construction of refineries, etc. Environmentalists want poor people in northern states this winter to freeze on dark buses.
McCain supports school vouchers, which the majority of African Americans want. Meanwhile, the Clintons , Gores, Kerrys and Obamas send their children to private schools which poor people can’t afford. The teachers unions’ attitude is: “The Olympics are on TV but we don’t believe in competition. We will fight to keep our government monopoly and force you to pay higher taxes for a shoddy product. We also don’t want extensive testing to reveal your children can’t read, write, add or subtract.”
McCain is opposed to racial quotas. Rather than using race based affirmative action, universities should give preference to students who come from poor families.
McCain wants healthcare reform. Every policy wonk inside the Beltway knows healthcare costs are increasing at an unsustainable rate. By 2030 Medicare will consume 50% of the federal budget. Evidently Democrats want to eliminate the Pentagon, the FBI and national parks to pay for Medicare. McCain’s policies would help to reduce healthcare costs and make healthcare plans more portable. The Democrats’ healthcare plans want to expand and build on a bridge which is about to collapse.
Why do I support McCain? Because his policies are good for Asian Americans and best for America .
Don W. Joe
Asian American Politics
www.asianam.org
Conservative becomes progressi
My political viewpoints have evolved constantly along with different experiences in my life. Initially my story, as with most, began with my family, which came from North Dakota. Although I wasn't really aware of the political aspects at the time, my father and many other family members regularly made comments about how the government can't do anything right, can't be trusted, should be smaller or eliminated, shouldn't help support people, etc. - in retrospect, a very conservative perspective that informed my initial viewpoints as I became an adult.
There were also many comments, socially accepted as I grew up, bashing gays, minorities, etc. that I initially took for granted. There were common jokes such as, “40 degrees below zero keeps the riff raff out.” By “riff raff” they meant minorities, especially blacks. Based on this upbringing, you could say I was a redneck in many ways when I graduated from high school.
Because individual rights always mattered so much to my parents, they always stressed the importance of voting. So I dutifully voted for the first Bush. Then Bill Clinton came along as I was struggling to make a living and find money and time for college. I was transfixed by his charisma and speaking ability. This was the first politician I had ever seen reach out to young people. His rhetoric about the middle class inspired me. I guess you could say that was a turning point for me, when I began to consider the other side, and my viewpoints have evolved from there.
As Igrew older, graduated from college, had children, and traveled to other countries, I realized I simply could not support ideologies of intolerance, religious politics, pure military solutions, and capitalism without responsibility. I have never been religious, so when the Republican Party began branding people like me as"godless", as a traitor to my country because I would dare question our government, as a murderer because I don't think abortion is a government issue, my transition to progressive politics was solidified. I guess I have become one of those "elite" progressives.
Unfortunately my income belies my newly acquired "elite" status! Remember when elite meant you were good at something? Remember when facts were based on science and primary sources? I do.
Unity and Respect
To get my vote I would need to see the candidates do the following:
1) To sit down, face to face, or on a small table with a mediator and debate until they're blue-in-the-face.
2) To take an oath on whatever it is they honor (The Bible, relatives that have passed away, etc.) that they swear to tell the truth and to do the following two steps.
3) To admit they aren't prophets that do not absolutely know what is good for this country—and then to come forth only with an agenda to understand the other opponent and not to belittle.
4) To not have them dance around all the real questions but to answer all of them with either "yes," "no," or a "maybe/both" – not to just sit there and smile or lower their heads when accusations are made against them.
This whole debate could be televised or put on the internet if it got too long.
Once I see how the candidates react to a real debate, will I be able to truly see who I think is best for this country.
The FIRST "Lipstick" Comment
Apparently Republicans don't understand the concept of a metaphor ; either that or they simply like to twist people's words to generate ugly, political rhetoric.
Barack Obama, in a September 10th speech, used the metaphor, "you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig," to describe the McCain campaign's attempts to disguise its platform so as to appear different from the policies of George W. Bush. Republican media shills have portrayed Obama's comment as a sexist attack on Sarah Palin.
Listen up Republicans. Pastor John Hagee, endorser of John McCain asked the question: "Do you know the difference between a woman with PMS and a snarling Doberman pinscher? The answer is lipstick."
Hopefully, Democratic strategists will fight-fire-with-fire and show where the real sexists reside and which political party they most resemble philosophically.
I think Obama knew as he was finishing the lipstick comment that it would be taken out-of-context - so he immediately went to the "smelly fish" analogy to try and re-make his point. But the Republicans smeared the lipstick so-to-speak, and intentionally made it appear that it was an attack on Governor Palin. They created an ad running Palin's "hockey-mom-pitbull-lipstick" convention speech, then ran the Obama video immediately behind it. Sleaze at the pinnacle.
What's truly hypocritical about the ad is that the same folks who smeared McCain in 2000, are now doing it to Obama on behalf of McCain. In 2000, they engineered a push poll in South Carolina, making phone calls to registered Republicans before the primary (Bush vs. McCain) asking; "Would you vote for McCain if you knew he had an illegitimate black daughter?" The McCains have a dark-skinned, adopted daughter from Bangladesh. The GOP slime-machine took that fact and created a disgusting, racist innuendo-lie that cost McCain the primary.
McCain, as a victim of such tactics, by using them himself is a hypocrite of the ugliest magnitude. Mr. "Straight Talk" has sold his soul and in my opinion, in terms of his colossal hypocrisy, lack of empathy and absence of fair-play, there ain't enough lipstick in the world to cover that ( metaphorically speaking, of course ) pig .
Politicians and the F Word
What I want to vote for is someone who includes ALL Americans, not just the Working Families. I work, I pay taxes, but I don't seem to exist because I don't have a Family. All politicans speak of any concern for is the working Families. They get the breaks I end up having to pay for. Since nobody is there to represent me, it feels kind of silly to bother to vote. I'm just voting for someone who treats me as a person who doesn't matter since I am not a working FAMILY, just a nothing working single. I was given a notice that I needed to send in something to stay registered to vote since I gave up voting for so long. It didn't seem worth it since I would just be voting for someone who thinks it is my duty to pay for tax deductions and other benefits that only working FAMILIES get. When the primaries were done I thought the man who won one of them might be for all people. He wasn't so full of kissing babies and talking Families as his competitor was. So, I went to a voting tent at a local town fair, and registered again. Now I see I seemed to be wrong. He is throwing around the F-word (FAMILIES) just like all the other politicians. So I'm just nobody again, still. Just here to pay the bills for the people who matter, the Working Families, and my own bills too. I better get his bumper sticker off my car now that I know Americans like me who don't have a mate and any children, don't exist to him just like ALL the Other politicians. I get told I should vote anyway. But I don't see the point in voting when all that happens is whoever wins stabs me in the back, making life harder for Working Singles.
health care in the US
I have always been very pleased with my health care in the U . It is affordable and oh so great. I had major surgery last year and only had to pay my $200 deductible. My care was top notch.
Top notch health care is one of the "perks" I receive for having worked hard, harder perhaps than some other people. There are rewards for hard work. Always remember that systems trying to equalize end up as disincentives to high achievers.
Race and Politics
I am sure that my beliefs on race and politics were shaped by my family. My parents were both immigrants from Nazi Germany. They both became citizens as quickly as they could. My father was in his early 30's when he arrived in this country and he took citizenship classes. Voting was very important to them and I remember going to the polls with them as a child. My parents voted in every election, primary and general. Reading and learning was also very important to my parents. I remember being 8 years old and riding my bicycle to the public library more than a mile from home on a Saturday afternoon or during the summer-time. My father worked as a leather cutter in a shoe factory. My mother worked first part-time as a sales person in a shoe store. She completed her college degree after the age of 50 and then worked as a social worker. After they retired, my parents audited many college courses at the local state university. They also became election day poll workers.
As a Jewish, lesbian female from a working class background, I have always identified with the underdog. In middle school, most of my friends were African American. Regarding race, I don't remember my parents ever saying anything negative about people who were of a different race. Both my older siblings had African American friends in high school and sometimes brought those friends home with them. In middle school where the student population was about 25% African American and maybe 25% Jewish, most of my friends were African American. I remember doing my hair a certain way and trying to pass as bi-racial. My first boyfriends were African American. While in high school and college during the 1970's, I was also strongly influenced by the Feminist movement, which further instilled what I already knew from my own mother's example, that women should be treated and paid equally to men.
My parents also liked to take us places on vacation: to a state park, Niagra Falls, the 1964 Worlds Fair in New York. While traveling on my own, including outside the U.S., I saw that some countries had a lower standard of living than the U.S. while other countries had a higher standard of living. This perspective both gave me an appreciation for being American, but also an awareness that there are better ways for a country to care for its citizens.
A Vote for McCain
This election is about two issues for me. The first is taxes. The tax relief of the past 7 years has been good for families. If these are kept and made permanent then, I believe, we will see increased prosperity over the next several years.
The second issue is the Iraq war. We have finally made some progress in stabilizing Iraq. Now is not the time to withdraw. If we and the Iraqis are successful in estabilishing a democracy, it will do more to promote peace and stability not just in Iraq but around the world.
For both of these issues, I believe that John McCain will be the one who can handle these better.