Obama is a Socialist(?)

All I ever hear from the Conservatives/Republicans anymore is "blah blah blah, Socialist, blah blah blah." Let us make something perfectly clear, Obama is hardly a socialist. He obviously believes in free-market principles but believes a mixed economy is key. This is not a push towards Lenin/Marxist-type principles. It is acknowledging that when the economy is left completely unchecked, it implodes/explodes beyond sustainable levels. While in my heart, I would love to see some of these banks and auto manufacturers fail, in my mind I know that something as catostrophic as that is not in the best interest of ANY American. If you believe Obama is a socialist, you have NOT read The Audacity of Hope, or heard him speak for that matter. By his own words, he values hard work and rewarding those who do work. Last I checked welfare is hardly a livable paycheck. Besides, if wanting higher wages for workers so they can maintain a comfortable lifestyle is socialist, then color me socialist. Please, turn Rush off, use your brains, and think about what is best for EVERYONE and not just yourself.

A CNN commentary article recently called out Republicans on their "small government" rhetoric versus their record.

On Jonathan Krohn and CPAC

On Jonathan Krohn: You can make a parrot repeat what you want it to say and it will come across charming. I sincerely doubt this kid has a single independent thought; he's likely been brought up in a very conservative home, watching Fox News and hearing his dad and possibly his mom go on about how great it is to have money and be a Republican. He's likely not dealt with many of the social woes that society has to offer because he's been underexposed.

Honestly, I do not really understand the message the Republicans are trying to send here. I can think of two. Either one, they are trying to say that even a thirteen year old realizes that conservatism trumps liberalism, thereby saying that all the liberals are dumber than a thirteen year old. Or two, and this is likely NOT what they are attempting, that their principles are so SIMPLE that even a thirteen year old can grasp them. I have often thought that the problem with the present day Republicans is that they resort to one-liners ("Drill Here, Drill Now") and knee jerk reactions ("If we let gays marry, who's to stop someone from marrying a goat?"), effectively oversimplifying often complex problems/issues.

Perhaps it's a matter of perspective. Getting back to Jonathan Krohn's underexposure, maybe it is an issue that some of these people do not know any better. For instance, maybe they have only ever seen downtown Baltimore on the news or as they race through the "bad parts" of the city to get from the Inner Harbor back to Owings Mills, Towson, or White Marsh. They live in their bubble and expect that everyone else can easily do what they have done and live the way they live and it's just that simple. Like Kriss over at the Insanity Report suggests in a related article on CPAC, it's possible to be a socially liberal, fiscal conservative; that's what the GOP USED to be before the Reagan Revolution. When they talked about smaller government, they meant they were not going to use the government to invade your private life and tell you how to live. If the current lot of Republicans are the defenders of the Constitution they say they are, they would uphold the aspect of "Freedom of Religion" in the First Amendment that clearly implies you are free to practice whatever religion you want, even if that means no religion at all. Thomas Jefferson wrote an additional commentary (in a letter I believe) that discussed the "separation of church and state," that I believe provides justification that "Freedom of Religion" can also mean "Freedom from Religion."

The current Republicans call for theocratic rule out of one side of their mouth while advocating for smaller and smaller government. Well, if the Republicans can successfully negotiate the criminalization of abortion, how do they intend to enforce it? If they successfully make gay marriage illegal, are they going to stick to their States' Rights guns when "liberal" states allow them through referendum or legislative votes? Quite a bit of money is already poured into federal oversight of States' Rights they disagree with; the DEA comes in and punishes people for smoking marijuana when the State of California says it's OK. So, it is a message of smaller government only when it agrees with their world-view, otherwise we can build up huge budgets to other government institutions that enforce the rules they want to see enforced. Just as long as they are not helping poor people or taxing the wealthy at reasonable rates. Deficit spending is deficit spending anyway you look at it, regardless of whether the money is going to beef up the DHS or going towards more "welfare" programs.

Luckily, not all Republicans are THAT wacky. While I may not agree with him ALL of the time, I have a great deal of respect for Ron Paul in sticking to his old school GOP, pseudo-libertarian ways. He generally appeals more realistically to common-sense rather than touchy-feely emotions surrounding the issues related to morality. I could agree with him a lot more if I did not think that people in the position to have a lot of money and power will not try to keep that money and power at all costs. For better or worse, the drivers of a capitilistic economy are greed and envy - "keeping up with the Joneses". I also believe that from the bottom to the top, it is a natural instinct for people to get the most they can doing the least amount of work necessary, so I find it hard to believe all of the folks at "the top" who claim to have worked "so hard" for what they have. Not to belittle the efforts of those who have truly worked hard, but "working hard" is a matter of perspective, and I have often found that there is a wide variety of views on "hard work" in the eye of the beholder. Think about it next time when you hear a co-worker or friend complain about what they have to do.

Playing Catch-Up

So, I started the blog back in July as the campaign was starting to heat up between Obama and McCain, but had not nearly gotten close to reaching it's peak. A lot has happened and I had intended to write about a lot of it, so I am using this time to play catch-up. Here goes...

August - September

- Obama officially wins the Democratic Nomination and the campaign between Obama and McCain really starts - I was excited and liked McCain as the GOP nominee (keeping in mind the rest of the flock to choose from)... until he started to tow the party line. He was like Bush-Light... not Busch Light, the tasty, cheap Anheuser-Busch brand Bud Light alternative in which McCain's trophy-wife has vested ownership, but President Bush light... Needless to say, I was disappointed in McCain.

- Sarah Palin is selected as the GOP VP nominee - Here's what went through my mind: "Who is this wacky bitch? Damn she's stupid... kinda hot though... but definitely stupid. Oh, she's against teaching children anything but abstinence in school, what a surprise... wait her daughter's pregnant?! Bwahahaha." In retrospect, what a DUMB move for Republicans.


October - December

- Joe the Plumber - Douchebag extraordinaire... possibly a GOP plant? What was the count of the number of times McCain used his name in the debate? "Joe the Plumber... my good friend Joe... Joe..." Joe the frickin' plumber.

- Despite everything thrown at him, Obama wins handily on Nov. 4th - Freakin' sweet! That said, I was happy that the Democrats did not win the filibuster-proof Congress; the last thing we needed were the Pelosi and Reid combo of spending without a little bit of check and balance from the opposing party.

- The Auto Bailout - Let the Big Three fail if that is what is going to happen eventually. Renegotiate the labor contracts, put limits on executive pay and start making better cars! People on the left wanted to blame the executives and people on the right wanted to blame the labor unions. I think both are to blame and in this case both groups are filled with people who feel they are owed more than they deserve. Stagnant development and uninteresting designs, along with little regard for impending energy issues have contributed to the failing of these companies. Along with that, the labor contracts put the companies in a poor position to compete with their foreign-designed, but domestically produced competitors. Of the three, I think Ford can fare the best and would like to see them make it out of this, but Chrysler and GM can eat a fat one.

- Christmas Season '08 - Despite the fact that commercials start running right after Halloween these days, the season was even more ridiculously commercialized than usual and thus overly annoying as a result of the bad economy... and, this gets to me everytime, who in the hell buys a Lexus for their significant other during that time? Rich, white Republicans, that's who... at least Lexus knows their target audience (just watch the commercials). You want to know what is ruining the Christmas message? It is not the over-PC-ification of Christmas; I will say "Happy Holiday" or "Merry Christmas" to most of the cashiers/workers during the season and they seem to appreciate it more often than not. It's the blatent free market capitalism mentality of "consume, consume, consume" that has muddied the waters of what the season represents: Family coming together and if you celebrate it, the birth of good ol' JC.

January

- Massive gun-sales leading up to Jan. 20th - Who in the hell needs an automatic rifle? They are cool, I will admit. I think guns are cool, yes... but don't hit me with the bullshit that you need an AK-47 for hunting. What are you hunting?! Elephants?! Just say what it is... it's an overcompensation for something you lack. Either you are making up for your Larry Craig-ness or your John Bobbit-ness... by the way, that's what your ridiculously oversized pick-up truck is saying about you too; if you have a dualie I better see you hauling something or permanent mud all over your truck.

- Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America - This was an admittedly moving moment and despite what some pundits said I thought he killed the speech; he said what he needed to and did a good job of capturing his moderate message. I think he is going to be a great President; this is pretty clear by the fact that he is butting heads with both the established Republicans and Democrats. I will say that I was really surprised some hillbilly hick, Jimmy Bob Lee, did not show up and try something though. Obama clearly has more faith in his people than I do... dude got out of the car and walked a mile along the Presidential parade route. Either that, or he's got bigger balls than anyone. Gangster.

- Goodbye Bush! - Sha nah nah naaah, sha nah nah naaah, hey, hey, f***ck you! Just watching from the sideline while the Republicans continue to dig their political grave.

February

- Michael Phelps smokes marijuana/pot/ganja/wacky-tobbacy - Who gives a shit?! Dude won more gold medals than Flava Flav has clock-chains and viking hats. Let the guy act his age... and according to what I have read it is pretty hard for about half of America to judge anyways. The other half would probably do well to smoke some and chill out. And who is this guy/girl who decided it was their moral (or monetary) obligation to take a picture of him smoking? Michael, you would do well to pick your parties better.

- Octomom - Let me get this straight. She already had 6 kids and she wanted more? And, she doesn't work? 8 more kids?! This chick is clearly out of her mind! That is really all that needs to be said.

- The Bailout (a.k.a. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) - I have got mixed feelings about this piece of "stimulative" legislation. I can see both sides of the coin and think that fiscal restraint is important, but doing nothing is quite possibly the worst thing we could do. Leave pet projects for appropriations bills, Democrats! Stop being whining losers, Republicans. What a time for Republicans to start talking about fiscal responsibility after YEARS of spending billions in Iraq, on the Department of Homeland Security, in granting tax cuts to the folks who didn't need them, etc. Apparently, 3 Republicans are willing to work together with the Democrats and the rest just kow-tow to Rush Limbaugh, the almighty.


That about sums it up, and now I am caught up to date and can start talking current events. If there are any other important things I missed, feel free to add them to the comment section.