I believe in America. I believe in the system. I work the system. I benefit from the system as much as I possibly can. I'm extremely fiscally conservative. I pay as little in taxes as I possibly can. I believe giving money to the government is worse than burying it in your backyard. I give to tax-deductible charities and you better believe I deduct it from my taxes. I hire a very sharp tax preparation guy and have done so for years.
I am not a "tax and spend liberal". We need rich people and we need for people to know they can build meaningful wealth for themselves and their children if they work hard in this country. Somehow people associate these ideals with Republican presidents, which baffles me. In my lifetime at least, Republican presidents have spent this great country in to massive debt every chance they've gotten.
To me, John "Bomb Iran" McCain represents more wasteful spending on totally unnecessary foreign wars. Bush, like both his father and Ronald Reagan, has failed to uphold any reasonable standard of fiscal conservatism. He has wasted billions of dollars and destroyed hundreds of thousands of lives. The repercussions of his foolish, selfish, illegitimate presidency will be felt for generations. Blah, blah, blah. That is self-evident and not news. How did I even get started on Bush? Ish.
Anyway, John McCain seems like he will continue Bush's policies. I'm not much of an Obama fan (well, I am on facebook, technically) but I think he will, at the very least, probably not continue the Republican pattern of egregious wasting of money and lives. If Obama raises taxes a bit, so be it. At least he won't bury it all in the distant sand.
Seriously, that is all. I promise. I've made up my mind. By now you probably have too. Politics out.
Showing posts with label John McCain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John McCain. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Message From A Friend
I hand over the keys to A. Hon, who recently sent this message to his friends and family. I second that emotion:
Dear friends and family,
I put a lot of thought and energy (probably too much) into politics and the state of the world, but I generally don't like to inflict unsolicited opinions on people I care about. But the last couple of days have left me really disturbed.
On Friday morning, John McCain introduced Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. It was a jaw-droppingly irresponsible move.
McCain is 72 years old and has a history of cancer, among other health problems. There is reasonable concern he may not survive a first term if elected.
Palin is 44 and has been governor of Alaska for a year and a half. Before that, she was city council member and mayor of a village of about 6,500 people. Before that, she was a TV sportscaster. She has a BA degree in journalism from the University of Idaho. Palin has no record of accomplishment, engagement, or even interest in any of the very serious national and international issues that we are facing.
The thing that is really terrifying about this is what it says about McCain's judgement. He met Palin only twice before offering her the job on Thursday morning. His staff claims that she has been fully vetted, but Republican leaders in Alaska say no one from McCain's campaign ever met with them to get their views.
Palin is currently under investigation for abusing her power as governor in a personnel matter. She was chosen to be McCain's running mate ahead of numerous qualified and scandal-free candidates mainly because she is enthusiastically supported by the religious right.
Here's a quote from a New York Times article published today http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/us/politics/31reconstruct.html?scp=4&sq=&st=nyt:
"The selection…offers a glimpse into how Mr. McCain might make high-stakes decisions as president.
"At the very least, the process reflects Mr. McCain’s history of making fast, instinctive and sometimes risky decisions. 'I make them as quickly as I can, quicker than the other fellow, if I can,' Mr. McCain wrote, with his top adviser Mark Salter, in his 2002 book, 'Worth the Fighting For.' 'Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint.'"
If McCain becomes president we will all have to live with the consequences of his impulsive mistakes. Imagine him in a position to make hasty, instinctive decisions about going to war with Iran, or Russia. It chills my blood.
If you've been thinking about voting for McCain, I am urging you to please reconsider. Even if you agree with him on issues, please do some research and reflection on his judgement and temperament.
I support Barack Obama because I am impressed with his skills, judgement, and vision. All the same, I've been reasonably secure that John McCain would do more good than harm if elected. I don't feel that way any more. This isn't about politics but making sure our families have a future.
Thanks for hearing me out. Please feel free to forward if you feel so moved.
Andy
Dear friends and family,
I put a lot of thought and energy (probably too much) into politics and the state of the world, but I generally don't like to inflict unsolicited opinions on people I care about. But the last couple of days have left me really disturbed.
On Friday morning, John McCain introduced Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. It was a jaw-droppingly irresponsible move.
McCain is 72 years old and has a history of cancer, among other health problems. There is reasonable concern he may not survive a first term if elected.
Palin is 44 and has been governor of Alaska for a year and a half. Before that, she was city council member and mayor of a village of about 6,500 people. Before that, she was a TV sportscaster. She has a BA degree in journalism from the University of Idaho. Palin has no record of accomplishment, engagement, or even interest in any of the very serious national and international issues that we are facing.
The thing that is really terrifying about this is what it says about McCain's judgement. He met Palin only twice before offering her the job on Thursday morning. His staff claims that she has been fully vetted, but Republican leaders in Alaska say no one from McCain's campaign ever met with them to get their views.
Palin is currently under investigation for abusing her power as governor in a personnel matter. She was chosen to be McCain's running mate ahead of numerous qualified and scandal-free candidates mainly because she is enthusiastically supported by the religious right.
Here's a quote from a New York Times article published today http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/us/politics/31reconstruct.html?scp=4&sq=&st=nyt:
"The selection…offers a glimpse into how Mr. McCain might make high-stakes decisions as president.
"At the very least, the process reflects Mr. McCain’s history of making fast, instinctive and sometimes risky decisions. 'I make them as quickly as I can, quicker than the other fellow, if I can,' Mr. McCain wrote, with his top adviser Mark Salter, in his 2002 book, 'Worth the Fighting For.' 'Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint.'"
If McCain becomes president we will all have to live with the consequences of his impulsive mistakes. Imagine him in a position to make hasty, instinctive decisions about going to war with Iran, or Russia. It chills my blood.
If you've been thinking about voting for McCain, I am urging you to please reconsider. Even if you agree with him on issues, please do some research and reflection on his judgement and temperament.
I support Barack Obama because I am impressed with his skills, judgement, and vision. All the same, I've been reasonably secure that John McCain would do more good than harm if elected. I don't feel that way any more. This isn't about politics but making sure our families have a future.
Thanks for hearing me out. Please feel free to forward if you feel so moved.
Andy
Friday, August 29, 2008
Ladiemens And Gentlemens, My Endorsement Goes To…
Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Why? Well you might ask, as I have been critical of Obama in the past here at Memphis Evans: The Blog. Here's the deal.
A person I know who is decidedly not a Republican got invited to a Republican fundraising event starring John Can'tthinkoflastnameanditdoesn'tmatter from Five For Fighting. Ultimately, my friend decided she could not go because the Republicans are ramping up the anti-gay-marriage and anti-choice rhetoric.
There are issues that are more important to me (school funding for one) but somehow gay marriage really just seems perfectly fine to me. And people who are against it seem fundamentally misguided at best. It seems like people who are against gay marriage are the same people who would have been against the abolition of slavery. I simply can find no reasonable argument against gay marriage. And I have personally known gay people who were sad because they couldn't get married.
So as far as I know neither candidate actually fully endorses gay marriage (which would probably be political death) but my understanding is that a McCain administration will try to amend the constitution to prohibit it for all time. That's such a bad idea for so many reasons, both conservative and liberal, that I now half-heartedly announce my complete endorsement of:
Barack Obama and Joe Biden for President and Vice-President of the United States.
There. Now we can all be done with it. I won't read or watch or blog any more about it if you won't. Deal?
(Incidentally, I tried to visit Obama's web site to research his position on gay marriage. A visit to www.barackobama.com yielded no meaningful content, only a way to sign up with my e-mail address, zip code, watch a video, and make a donation. Sigh. We're going to lose again, aren't we? Dammit.)
A person I know who is decidedly not a Republican got invited to a Republican fundraising event starring John Can'tthinkoflastnameanditdoesn'tmatter from Five For Fighting. Ultimately, my friend decided she could not go because the Republicans are ramping up the anti-gay-marriage and anti-choice rhetoric.
There are issues that are more important to me (school funding for one) but somehow gay marriage really just seems perfectly fine to me. And people who are against it seem fundamentally misguided at best. It seems like people who are against gay marriage are the same people who would have been against the abolition of slavery. I simply can find no reasonable argument against gay marriage. And I have personally known gay people who were sad because they couldn't get married.
So as far as I know neither candidate actually fully endorses gay marriage (which would probably be political death) but my understanding is that a McCain administration will try to amend the constitution to prohibit it for all time. That's such a bad idea for so many reasons, both conservative and liberal, that I now half-heartedly announce my complete endorsement of:
Barack Obama and Joe Biden for President and Vice-President of the United States.
There. Now we can all be done with it. I won't read or watch or blog any more about it if you won't. Deal?
(Incidentally, I tried to visit Obama's web site to research his position on gay marriage. A visit to www.barackobama.com yielded no meaningful content, only a way to sign up with my e-mail address, zip code, watch a video, and make a donation. Sigh. We're going to lose again, aren't we? Dammit.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
