I don't know what John McCain was thinking picking Sarah Palin. He looks uber hypocritical for picking on Obama's "lack of experience" now. Her "family values" will be scoffed at by the media because of her 17 year old daughter's pregnancy outside of marriage. She doesn't seem to add anything to the ticket but youngness (something he previously scoffed at) and femininity, neither of which are convincing reasons to vote for a person. The GOP ticket hasn't had it's bounce from the convention yet and I wonder if it will come at all.
The DNC was terrific. I still haven't watched all the speeches but what I saw I liked. Obama's speeches are less inspiring and more serious. His hair is getting greyer by the day it seems. Biden has his pros and cons.
Sarah Palin makes me dislike McCain even more. She is FAR too conservative. She wants Creationism taught in science class. She's pro-life. BTW, I hate that term. It makes any position other then that which regards the fetus as a human with equal rights from the moment of conception seem like a murderer. What bothers me more is that many Frum Jews purport to be Pro-life and that is NOT the halachic position. See the Tzitz Eliezer for an old Yerushalmi's view on the matter. If somebody knows the exact source please put it in the comments. Needless to say he's very lenient on the matter. He was a well known Rabbi at the hospitals in Jerusalem and of all the frum opinions that I've heard on the matter, I respected his the most. Please note that I'm not well versed on the matter, politically, scientifically, or halachicly. I think that abortion should be curtailed as much as possible (who doesn't?) but that it should be left as an option in certain cases.
Obama continues to impress me and has done it yet again, this time in regards to science. Click to read more.
I'm a skeptic of Obama's financial plans but for those that subscribe to the liberal spenders and the frugal conservatives stereotype, click.
There is a mantra that is developing in silence of my thoughts.
The government is evil.
Our formerly free country has enrolled us as slaves with all these taxes and what do they give us in return? Whatever it is, its not nearly what we are giving to them. Americans praise capitalism to high heavens, but can we say that we are really capitalists, with all these taxes?
Lechatchila, (as a first choice) I would go for something like laissez-faire capitalism, but that ain't gonna happen, at least not in America. But since we are already signing over our paychecks to the government anyhow, couldn't they give us a little something in return? Maybe a free education, or free health care? But of course as soon as that happens our education will get even worse and our relatively decent health care will plummet, from lack of competition. (There's always vouchers... but that's another can of worms.)
I hate that we allow our government to steal our hard earned money only to give us sardines in return and I especially hate that we stride the fence that divides capitalism from socialism. I mean pick one already. We are chasing the red herring of "capitalism" and meanwhile, we are being robbed.
Labels: politics
Earlier I posted Obama's now two year old speech about religion and politics. I was very impressed. You can read it here.
Recently James Dobson, big mucky muck in the Christian Right, has attacked Obama as "deliberately distorting the Bible," "dragging biblical understanding through the gutter," "willfully trying to confuse people," and having a "fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution." Read about that here.
But now, another Christian named Jim Wallis, a left wing Evangelical leader, is shooting back at Dobson as being un-Christian. That you can read here.
All this sniping is entertaining but the moral of the story is, if Obama can bring his liberal Christianity to this country, we'll be taking a huge leap in the right direction. Tolerance, open mindedness, religion that translates itself to a language that everyone can speak. Change, in which we can believe. Yes. We. Can.
McCain the Straight Talker! McCain seems like an alright guy but I wouldn't want him as my president. What I want to know is how the hell did he get a reputation for being a Straight Talker?
One thing everyone agrees on is Obama's thrilling oratory skills. He is truly a poet. But it's not just his hypnotic effect behind the microphone that has secured my vote. Obama is right on when it comes to the issues. I'm very proud to have voted for Obama in the primaries and I can't wait to do it again in the General Election. Obama for president 2008!
Labels: politics