I supported Obama early on. I thought he was the right guy for the job. I articulated this in at least two articles on this site in April and May. Then again, my support for him presupposed he would select a strong running mate like Hilary Clinton.
Then the Biden choice was announced. I was bowled over. Joe friggin’ Biden? This forced me to step back and re-evaluate my loyalties. I wondered out loud if Michelle Obama–perhaps injured by some of Hilary’s early comments(?)–influenced Barack “I-do-what-my-wife-says” Obama’s decision. Or maybe Obama was not the progressive political animal I thought him to be, but instead nothing more than a storefront for the Democratimo Washington crime family.
Joe Biden?! Old, stale, closet racist Joe Biden? Why?! I thought I was voting for “Change [I] could believe in,” not another four years of the same old Washington bureaucracy and liberal compassion that enabled the housing meltdown, and signed off on the most cataclysmic military action in the history of the U.S. without even so much as a PEEP of protest?! [To all those countries who are angry with the U.S.: if you think our president has messed up the country, you ought to see what our congress has done to it!. The Biden decision still confounds me, and something tells me Barack will regret it at some point--if he doesn't already..]
I then decided to step back and give McCain another chance. When he added Palin to the ticket, I thought it was a bold move, consistent with his “maverick” mantra. I anxiously waited to hear Palin talk, while the Republicans sheltered her from the press. Then one day I saw a video of her telling a church congregation that our troops in Iraq were on a mission from God. That was when my hopes began to fade.
Then came the Palin interviews, then the debate, then her polarizing personal attacks and false accusations leveled at Obama. Not cool. I don’t like personal attacks. They bring out the worst in me. I like rhetoric that inspires me. To make matters worse, McCain’s response to criticism of his and Palin’s besmirching rhetoric has been disappointing at best, and to be perfectly candid, I take offense to his presumptuousness and arrogance.
I respect both Palin and McCain. I recognize their sacrifices for country and community. But I’ve seen enough. Despite my indifference towards Doc Hollywood Biden, I can say with confidence I will be voting for Obama. McCain is many things, but a leader he is not. Leaders aren’t snarky grandstanders who meddle in trivial or irreleveant matters. Leaders focus on the issues. Leader are diplomats. Poised statesmen. How will Obama handle the right wing? Just like he has for the past two years, wtih class and restraint.
Leaders attack PRINCIPLES AND POLICY, not people. Leaders don’t resort to polarizing, underhanded tactics that bring out the worst in people. Leaders bring out the best in people. They even celebrate the best in their opponents. Obama typifies leadership in these ways and many others.
McCain IS like Bush in that he would run the government any way he saw fit, and he would not be interested in open dialog, negotiation, cooperation, feedback, or justifying his actions.. ever. He would be a closed book just like Heather Fargo is. “Father knows best” McCain would conduct himself the same way he did the day he snapped “Thanks for the question, you little JERK” at a student who asked him if he might “be too old to be president, and too conservative to be respected.” That old John Wayne style of leadership style is as antiquated as McCain’s ties.
Enough already with the dictatorships.
I am tired of people whose sole purpose of entering government is to push their views on everyone else. To LEAD is to SERVE. To be a SERVANT. Not to dictate with no accountability. I believe Obama’s vision for the presidency is more consistent with this maxim than McCain’s. And I don’t think Obama is the Cosmopolitan the right wing would like us to believe he is. I think he is a patriot who understands the true definition of consensus. I can tell Obama is an excellent listener (you can see this in his interviews), and will have more of an open door policy than McCain will. I believe Obama’s presidency will be a cooperative, wheras McCain will be of the same ilk Gavin Newsome is: “Like it or not! Here it comes!” That is the Bush way, too.
More and more I am beginning to ask: Who are these people to force their views and agendas down the throats of Americans? Hijacking the White House (or City Hall), and running the government with reckless abandon to serve one’s own party agenda should be considered an act of political terrorism.
This quasi communist brand of governance has led to profound dissonance and division between citizens across our country. Sadly it has spread like a virus to our capital, and penetrated our own city hall ranks where the MAJORITY of Sacramento city council “servants” employ the same political consultant Richie Ross and run the city completely void of accountability (the city manager does not even present the budget at city hall meetings).
Such dismal leadership has consequences. For every action there is an equal or greater reaction. One reaction is self serving citizenship, which leads to civil unrest and dissonance, which leads to a city that is absent cooperation, community pride and shared vision. Another reaction is intolerance on the part of citizens; you know, people who discriminate against fellow citizens for their politics, lifestyles, race, and/or religion.
Unfortunately, poor leadership in Sacramento has enabled a lot of hate and unrest in the capital city. I encountered a fresh dose of it while reading the Bee’s comments this morning in response to an article about Prop 8 funding (a reader accused the entire Catholic Clergy of being pedophiles) and I have been sick to my stomach the whole day. I am shocked by the apparent interminable level of hate people have towards one another’s lifestyles and beliefs. Some members of the gay community and liberal left are just as bad as the hard-line conservatives like Rush Limbaugh. They all breed hate. They are ALL roadblocks on the road to solidarity.
But this is what happens when there is no unifying leadership. This is what happens when leaders will only take a stand for those who subscribe to their own political agenda. This is what happens when disconnected citizens think the only way to make a point is to say something brutally offensive about a fellow citizen. This is what happens when no one cares about each other’s feelings anymore… my friends.. not..
Hey Joe,
Well thought out material, I am not quite the neo conservative you or other’s have suggested. I will only add that if Obama is elected, I hope he governs like Clinton did, more from the middle–I just hope the country is not faced with a Senate filibustering a bunch of wacky Obama plans. One last point, McCain has had a much beefier record of working with Dems passing major legislation,and therefore is a leader, he has worked with several senator’s and has clearly demonstrated cooperation. Obama’s is much weaker and that can be fact checked easily. To hear that McCain has supported Bush 95% is a joke, how many times has Obama voted aganist his own party, 2 or3 % or less. Both sides have engaged in negative campaigning–I wish you would mention the class warfare Obama is so good at and the ads saying Mccain can’t email, which is because some prick in a prison camp broke his arms. Electing a president is about understanding one’s character–reaching back into past associations is fair game. Obama running around the country telling people that you will not get taxed if you earn 250k or less is disturbing too, does this involve corporate taxes, because that is not a high number for most small businesses.
Joe for president
Until we have a peace-loving government, everything else is secondary. We are at war right now. The war is expensive, pointless and demoralizing. We are supposed to be a nation under GOD but yet we are invading other countries and brutally murdering their citizens? McCain’s words have been despicable. Any Christian who is serious about his or her religion should be mortified by his “Bomb bomb bomb Iran” chant and his reliance on military leaders as his most trusted advisers. I believe Obama genuinely wants to end this war and I think his early opposition to it speaks volumes about his judgment.
Having said that, I shudder at the thought of Obama pushing a socialist agenda down on our throats. I hope he is not the egalitarian he appears to be sometimes. I hope he is focused on finding the right balance. This economic crisis has proven unchecked compassion can have fatal consequences to our country. Look what happened to the housing market when banks opened their doors to every Tom, Dick and Mary with social security number (and even some without).
Our government needs to be firm, and impartial and stick to serving the people and not themselves
Riveting post, Joe. There are some fantastic points here, several I have never even thought about. I tend to agree with you and will probably vote for Obama, but I sure hope is a moderate and not a crackpot liberal who wants to turn the US into sin city. I hope is the peacemaker Christian he claims to be.
Joe-
Great post- very moderate, well-thought out and appreciated. I find it stunning that Palin can run around the country touting a “culture of life” while McCain is singing Bomb Iran (I don’t care, it’s not a funny joke). It’s not about being American, it’s about being human and doing your best not to kill innocent people just because you want more oil/land/religion/oil/pride/revenge or whatever other reason Rove drummed up. I think Obama will use the military wisely and only when necessary to prevent further death and destruction.
Charlie- I think you’re safe. Obama will be like the best of Clinton without the sex scandals. I believe he truly thinks through his policies, surrounds himself with smart people and is open to criticism, which is how I want any leader to be. But Charlie… my greatgrandma could email and paid her bills online before she died at 93… with voice-recognition software. Stephen Hawking could email… so using the “oh my arms were broken” thing is frankly, a lame excuse to refuse to join the 21st century.
Sac Blog thanks kindly. I realize it was a bit repetitious and verbose, but I haven’t the time to edit and revise as much as I’d like so most posts are more stream of consciousness. I’m sure a s teacher you probably cringe at my garmmar at times. I cringe myself
I agree with you on all points about Obama. I think he is centered and stable. And as I have said repeatedly, he is the picture of poise and diplomacy, and this country needs that now more than ever.
Only you Joe could so cleverly tie something as complicated as partisan politics to something as simple as good citizenship. As much as I would like to disagree with you, I can’t because your points are hard to refute. In every system throughout history leadership sets the example. If the example is a good one, people follow. If the example is a bad one, people follow.
I think what we’ve seen on a local level are the effects of the Bush regime. Bush has been a self serving president, so dysfunctional leaders on the local level have followed his example. No accountability in the White House? Why should there be accountability at city hall?
An old adage comes to mind: Shit rolls downhill. That should have been your article title
I have to agree with the Prez here - nice post. I can’t say, as a woman and a liberal, that I agree with your assessment that Palin is deserving of my respect, but I understand the struggle many Americans have had with the way the system should work and the way it does work and what our role and place in it all is and how exactly we can make it better.
Lori you said “how exactly we can make it better…” I didn’t want to post a response to Joe’s post because few can improve on his very insightful post…but after reading your post I have to say this…I could make it better..if I had five years of dictatorial powers… its not that hard…
I’d arrest every person involved in the banking crisis..and take all of the profits they made… that’s easy.
I would remove all members of Congress and Senate..replacing them with random pics from the phone book.. of those who had at least a high school education for Congress and a college degree for the Senate… we could have elections after my five year reign was over…
I would use these random picks to convene a new constitutional convention and tweek our old one a bit… giving much more power back to the states as originally intended…
The one single thing policy that would change America the most is making the current corporate and special interest group lobbying system illegal…making anything but a small anonymous campaign contributions illegal. I would institute public financing of campaigns. I would make all tv and radio stations give free air time for candidates…(the taxpayers own the airwaves through the FCC) I would institute at least one more party…the tripartite party scheme would break up a lot of the good old boy two party deals. We need a new Party to represent the average working class who are 85-95% non union…(and don’t for one second tell me the Dems do) like the old school Regan Democrats used to do…now they are controlled by the far left wing socialist movement.
We need more of our governments dealings on the internet, out in the open…
We need to put America first..and stop intervening and trying to save the world..we are the ones who will soon need to be saved.. and do you think anyone would? NO they would all laugh as we crumbled.
I would encourage free market capitalism…but not at the expense of our country, which has happened… American workers cannot compete on the third world labor market, which we are being forced to do now at gun point… (try fighting the government) We are sending trillions of dollars out of our country for cheap crap at walmart… is this worth what we get in return?
I would remove all illegal aliens, but then institute a well controlled guest worker program, and allow them to come back in and work for 6 months a year..their families could not come.
I would privatize much of the governments functions encouraging competition for most public functions except for life and safety…including at least half of the schools and make them compete with each other for the best academic numbers…
Return manufacturing jobs to the US for national security reasons…our economy is a national security concern..( I heard a few politicians saying this exact thing this week on CNN…after they said oops..we made a mistake)
I would outlaw 75% of internal combustion engines in 20 years..replace oil permanently…. build reliable.. and a user friendly mass transit train system.
I would build 100 nuclear power plants, sorry.. but we need them, and they are safe no matter what you have been told… go ask France.
While I’m at it… since I am hallucinating….we need to control population growth… I would institute a test to have children..If you did not pass.. sorry no children…the earth will soon be overwhelmed with undereducated morons who keep having six kids… we will soon run out of enough water sources in California, and the carbon footprint (to coin a greenie term) is growing too fast…
Lori, I could go on and on…but so could most of those who post on Joe’s site…my point is this….we do have the answers…its not that hard to envision how we could improve our country…we the citizens DO have the answers…. we have just given up our power as citizens through apathy and indifference to what was happening…and I hope we can change…our very existence as a country may soon depend on it in our lifetimes.
I also understand that voting no longer works in America, our current form of corporate/special interest democracy will not allow change to occur, no matter how hard we wish it otherwise.
I am passionately driven to work every day to try to improve my community and my planet because I believe all citizens have this same civic duty…I may even try to organize a national march on Washington in the spring or summer of 09…laugh at this idea as you may…I may or may not succeed, but I will at least TRY to do something besides voting and instead of just sitting around posting on the internet. All of us need to at lest TRY, we can no longer afford to leave it to our elected officials..look what they have done. At the risk of being called melodramatic, I think something drastic MUST start to be done NOW…(and I don’t mean electing Obama for god sake, he does not have the power to change Washington, and if you believe he does your a fool) Our current crisis, and upcoming severe recession/depression, should act as a wake up call…I truly believe that our country and our children’s futures depend on it…
oh and throw out Fargo and Tretheway
Movie star smoothness like Kennedy’s or Reagan’s do go well with the press. I understand that it looks good when a president takes any insult from any source and turns it into a quip or deflects it like a comedian. This is called a front man. GW Bush fulfills this role with competence. Obama will do as well. Probably should not confuse that skill with presidential leadership. Too bad the press made Senator McCain look like a meanie when an arrogant student insulted the senator about his age and his heart-beliefs. Too bad you agreed with the press instead of realizing the wrong done the Senator. McCain routinely gets into it when he believes he is right: For example, McCain stands for legalized immigration, against his party. He isn’t smooth. He does care about people. He does look at what is real. And reality is not pretty in politics. Mr. Obama’s past is not pretty-he keeps his mouth shut.
I have tired of the the callous, cold-hearted, “who knows what they really think” words of Obama and Biden. Their words change as needed. Palin, for her flaws, has been a breath of fresh air. Nice to hear someone who has taken high government office, survived without capitulation, and still wants to serve. She learns quickly and well. She is a model VP candidate for McCain. She is one smart cookie. It is a great disservice to say of Palin that this is all you are ever going to get. Her potential is amazing. Look at what she has achieved.
I think that obama will probably win the election. Though I am not voting for him for several reasons but one of the reasons I will share is he complains about the economic crisis but yet employs the former ceos of freddie mac and fannie mae on his campaign staff. To me that is a slap in the face to the american people why would you employ these bums to be on your staff and give you advice on the economy? I have done a lot of reaserch on both canidates. Both have many faults but abamas faults FOR ME outweigh mcCains. We still have time make sure you do a lot of search and make a solid choice for yourself.
Sac Insider,
And therein lies the problem. A dictatorship probably wouldn’t work for me. Your answer wouldn’t necessarily be my answers, so we pick the ones who align most closely with our own beliefs in hopes they’ll actually do what they say. Once they get there, they realize it’s not as easy as just having a faith or belief that you have a mandate from your constituency. It’s an entrenched hierarchal system that one must work within to get anything done. And, I won’t say you’re a fool if you don’t agree with me on presidential candidates.
I don’t think your march idea is silly. Any time we can stand up and be counted as a person and not just a vote is a good thing, I’m thinking.
And though we have some seriously fundamental disagreements on how we define making thing better, I too am a responsible citizen that works everyday to make this a better place.
Rachel, you know I think a lot of people are voting against someone rather than _for_ someone. I am black and I will vote for Obama, but not because he is black. I’m voting for him because I don’t want Palin to be my president (which could very well happen given McCain’s age and cancer history). So I am voting against the McCain and Palin ticket. If I had another better choice, I would not vote for McCain or Obama because I personally think neither one is presidential material. Obama is a young rook who will undoubtedly screw up a lot, but McCain is an old jerk who thinks everyone is stupid
Sac Pine, I agree Palin has accomplished a lot. But given everything I have seen and heard so far, I think Obama and Biden are a better fit for our diverse country than her and McCain. And talk about smooth talkers and slick tv ads, have you seen this “Original Mavericks” bit going around? Is this spot an advertisement for a movie, or a presidential ticket? How DUMB do they think we are? Wait, don’t even answer that..
I’m all for political satire and humor, but this is unacceptable. Comparing Obama to the 9/11 mastermind? Are you kidding me? The author of this should be ashamed of himself. This is disgraceful.
From the Bee: “The official Web site of Sacramento County’s Republican Party (www.sacramentorepublicans.org) on Tuesday pictured Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in a turban next to Osama bin Laden. The comments and image were removed later in the day.”
Lori..what my ideas are was not really the point…
SacInsider- If your ideas were not the point, why did you write them? Seems like they were the point- you’re trying to say you have a lot of ideas and at least you’re doing something about them. I, like Lori, disagree with nearly every idea you wrote. But I admire your tenacity and your attitude. If more people stood up for what they believed in and took action instead of just whining, we’d have a much different country.
Joe- your post from the Sac Republican party is also frightening- particularly because the Bee ran the whole page in extra large print, as if it were an advertisement. I don’t mind you posting an excerpt here because it’s not taking up your whole screen with a little tiny disclaimer. But the Bee’s running of it was actually WORSE in my opinion than the Reps putting it on their website. Larger audience, more viability, less tact.
Sarah Palin scares me. I wouldn’t characterize her as a breath of fresh air. She’s a breath of deep-south, racist, fear-mongering air who refuses to answer a question straight because she believes she’s above such questions. And she lies. There I said it. She lies. How can she honestly sit there and say that that the “Troopergate” report cleared her of any wrongdoing or unethical activity? If you want to contest the validity of the report, that’s one thing. But to say the report cleared you is a flat out lie. I had great respect for John McCain going into this campaign. He had great character, honor and handled himself with dignity. Now I wonder who’s pulling the strings…
My thoughts on Sac Insider’s ideas…
arrest every person involved in the banking crisis..and take all of the profits they made… that’s easy
I wouldn’t arrest them. I do not want non violent criminals in our jails anymore. House arrest is the way to go. Confine them to their homes. Take it from me, it’s a death sentence of sorts.
remove all members of Congress and Senate..replacing them with random pics from the phone book.. of those who had at least a high school education for Congress and a college degree for the Senate… we could have elections after my five year reign was over…
The point Sac Insider is making here is that our government is messed up. The phone book idea would never work though; it would be inhumane to put innocent bystanders in the middle of this mess.
I would use these random picks to convene a new constitutional convention and tweak our old one a bit… giving much more power back to the states as originally intended…
There is some merit to the latter part of this one. The federal government has grown into a monster and it is stealing all of our freedoms (Sac Blog you yourself said our freedoms are getting chipped away at every day, little by little, I agree)
The one single thing policy that would change America the most is making the current corporate and special interest group lobbying system illegal…making anything but a small anonymous campaign contributions illegal. I would institute public financing of campaigns. I would make all tv and radio stations give free air time for candidates…(the taxpayers own the airwaves through the FCC)
Lobbyists DOMINATE Washington. Abolishing them is not a radical idea. A lot of Americans want to see corporate America peeled away from state. If we’re going to separate church and state, then why not separate corporation and state? Why is this a bad idea? I am all for it.
I would institute at least one more party…the tripartite party scheme would break up a lot of the good old boy two party deals. We need a new Party to represent the average working class who are 85-95% non union…(and don’t for one second tell me the Dems do) like the old school Regan Democrats used to do…now they are controlled by the far left wing socialist movement.
What is wrong with the idea of a new party? I abolsutely agree a third party would break up the Ma-Bell like political stranglehold the Dems and Reps have on our government. This is not a radical idea. This is a forward-thinking idea IMO.
We need more of our governments dealings on the internet, out in the open…
This is an excellent idea that Kevin Johnson supports 100%. It’s called GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY. I don’t understand why any voter who demands government accountability would not support this idea.
We need to put America first..and stop intervening and trying to save the world..we are the ones who will soon need to be saved.. and do you think anyone would? NO they would all laugh as we crumbled.
I competely agree, we are NOT the world police. I don’t know why anyone would disagree with this unless they loved war. “Preemptive military strikes” are for communists. Let love rule. We should only be employing the military to defend ourselves.
I would encourage free market capitalism…but not at the expense of our country, which has happened… American workers cannot compete on the third world labor market, which we are being forced to do now at gun point… (try fighting the government) We are sending trillions of dollars out of our country for cheap crap at walmart… is this worth what we get in return?
This one is complicated because cheap labor keeps the cost of goods down, which is critical given the sky high cost of everything in America.
I would remove all illegal aliens, but then institute a well controlled guest worker program, and allow them to come back in and work for 6 months a year..their families could not come.
This is also complicated. I do agree with work visas. They work in the IT world, I know this firsthand. But I would grant citizenship to those who are here, issue them social security numbers, and start taxing the crap out of them like we get taxed. Welcome to America. Say goodbye to your income. Let them bring their families, too. Jobs and taxes for all!
I would privatize much of the governments functions encouraging competition for most public functions except for life and safety…including at least half of the schools and make them compete with each other for the best academic numbers…
There are pros and cons to privatization. I would worry about oversight. I don’t trust anyone to watchdog.
Return manufacturing jobs to the US for national security reasons…our economy is a national security concern..( I heard a few politicians saying this exact thing this week on CNN…after they said oops..we made a mistake)
Agreed. This has started to happen already due to gas prices. Hopefully we will see more of the same.
I would outlaw 75% of internal combustion engines in 20 years..replace oil permanently…. build reliable.. and a user friendly mass transit train system.
Ambitious, but admirable. Save the planet. We’re killing her.
I would build 100 nuclear power plants, sorry.. but we need them, and they are safe no matter what you have been told… go ask France.
Nuclear energy is clean and doable if controlled and managed by responsible people. But there’s that “R” word again. Who could we trust? Chernobyl scares the crap out of people.
While I’m at it… since I am hallucinating….we need to control population growth… I would institute a test to have children..If you did not pass.. sorry no children…the earth will soon be overwhelmed with undereducated morons who keep having six kids… we will soon run out of enough water sources in California, and the carbon footprint (to coin a greenie term) is growing too fast…
OK I will write that one off to blogging under the influence
Lori, I could go on and on…but so could most of those who post on Joe’s site…my point is this….we do have the answers…its not that hard to envision how we could improve our country…we the citizens DO have the answers…. we have just given up our power as citizens through apathy and indifference to what was happening…and I hope we can change…our very existence as a country may soon depend on it in our lifetimes.
I agree the situation is getting more and more dire, and it is becoming increasingly important that those in the positions of power have the intellect and impartiality to do their job for us. One MAJOR issue right now is that most of our politicians have LAW degrees. Why? What good is a law degree in this day and age? I want our president to have a doctorate in FINANCE and our vice president to have one in CRIMINAL JUSTICE. Let’s get real. We keep electing the WRONG people with the WRONG skills.
oh and throw out Fargo and Tretheway
Yep
Joe- you appear to be open to discussion on these so here I go- though I can’t seem to make the bold work…
1) arrest every person involved in the banking crisis..and take all of the profits they made…
Why? So I can pay for them? No thanks. Take the profits, house arrest them.
2) I would use these random picks to convene a new constitutional convention and tweak our old one a bit… giving much more power back to the states as originally intended…
Our freedoms have not been chipped away because the Constitution is wrong… it has been the interpretation of the Constitution. I do not support any tweaking. I also do no think that a bold states’ rights policy works in a global economy. Too much travel, interstate commerce and chaos. It’s bad enough that if you’re gay and married it may or may not be legal depending on where your airplane lands. Or that if you’re a wine distributor you can ship to certain states via ground, some via air, some not at all, some with a signature, some none required. A strong states’ rights government is too confusing in this day and age.
3)The one single thing policy that would change America the most is making the current corporate and special interest group lobbying system illegal…making anything but a small anonymous campaign contributions illegal. I would institute public financing of campaigns. I would make all tv and radio stations give free air time for candidates…(the taxpayers own the airwaves through the FCC)
Absolutely no argument here- except on anonymous contributions. If they’re anonymous, it’s too easy for a lot of “Friends” to get together. I’d require all contributors to be listed on the internet and no candidate could take more than $200 from any one person, no more than $10,000 from any group of people with the same employer.
4)I would institute at least one more party…the tripartite party scheme would break up a lot of the good old boy two party deals. We need a new Party to represent the average working class who are 85-95% non union…(and don’t for one second tell me the Dems do) like the old school Regan Democrats used to do…now they are controlled by the far left wing socialist movement.
The American people have not demanded a 3rd party system. When they demand it, it will emerge. When people care, change happens. Frankly, I don’t personally need a 3rd party so I have no motivation.
5) We need more of our governments dealings on the internet, out in the open…
Yes, every single document, every meeting agenda and minutes. I don’t want to FOIA everything and wait 6 months.
6) We need to put America first..and stop intervening and trying to save the world..we are the ones who will soon need to be saved.. and do you think anyone would? “Preemptive military strikes” are for communists. Let love rule. We should only be employing the military to defend ourselves.
Disagree- we should be employing the military anytime that the loss of life from the military action would be less than the event taking place. I believe we should be in Darfur, not Iraq. Our first resort should not be military, but it should be on the table to protect humanity.
6) I would encourage free market capitalism…but not at the expense of our country, which has happened… American workers cannot compete on the third world labor market, which we are being forced to do now at gun point… (try fighting the government) We are sending trillions of dollars out of our country for cheap crap at walmart… is this worth what we get in return?
Hmmmm… Walmart is a prime example of free market capitalism. People buy cheap crap because they can and they want it and it’s available. If you believe in free market capitalism, don’t shop at Walmart, go to the mom and pop store. Good luck with that.
7)I would remove all illegal aliens, but then institute a well controlled guest worker program, and allow them to come back in and work for 6 months a year..their families could not come.
Absurd. The sheer cost alone would make it impossible. Guest worker program, amnesty and taxation. Those are the best options.
8)I would privatize much of the governments functions encouraging competition for most public functions except for life and safety…including at least half of the schools and make them compete with each other for the best academic numbers…
Privatization doesn’t work for the good of the people. Who would want to open a school in South Central LA? Or the backwoods of Kentucky? There is not money to be made there. When you need a service that benefits all the people, all the time, privatization is not effective.
9)I would outlaw 75% of internal combustion engines in 20 years..replace oil permanently…. build reliable.. and a user friendly mass transit train system.
Is this part of the free market privatization plan? Because there’s no money in building a mass transit system…
10)I would build 100 nuclear power plants, sorry.. but we need them, and they are safe no matter what you have been told… go ask France.
Old technology and 1980s thinking. Solar, wind and hydrogen are the way of the future. Nuclear is expensive, potentially dangerous in the hands of the wrong folks and complicated to build. I don’t want the next dictator having keys to the plants.
11) While I’m at it… since I am hallucinating….we need to control population growth… I would institute a test to have children..If you did not pass.. sorry no children…the earth will soon be overwhelmed with undereducated morons who keep having six kids… we will soon run out of enough water sources in California, and the carbon footprint (to coin a greenie term) is growing too fast…
Shocking. Ridiculous. Sorry to say it but someone has to take those manufacturing jobs assembling widgets. If only smart people have kids and you kicked out the illegal aliens who are undocumented, who will pick the lettuce and make the cars? It comes back to education- we need a school system that educates everyone for the 21st century, including those that are not going to college. They need useful, real world skills. I don’t give a crap if they can do algebra if they can fix my computer.
12) oh and throw out Fargo and Tretheway
DUH!
T, use strong and /strong with <> to encapsulate bold text. I will add font controls for comments asap. Sorry for inconvenience
1) Agree, Sac Blog
2) Yes, but a behemoth federal govt is not too great either
3) Heck yes, I agree with all your points. Enough with anonymous donors. There should be no anonymity when it comes to political contributions. I want to know who is pushing what. I want to be able to make the choice to patronize that company or not.
4) Somewhat disagree, Sac Blog. You may not need a third party YET. But if you keep evolving, and your party doesn’t……
5) Agree, Sac Blog. Make them disclose EVERYTHING. You know Fargo is “opposed” to the idea of sharing her daily appointments? Can you believe it? If I were mayor I would gladly tell everyone what I was doing at all times, even when I was home chilling on a week day because I worked the whole weekend. People who have nothing to hide have no fear of full disclosure whatsoever. Do away with ANY politician who refuses to be accountable to the people.
6) I respectfully disagree. We are not world police. There needs to be a global humanitarian police force COALITION assembled. The UN and others aren’t cutting it. It needs to be a well-funded army of sorts with the ability to shut down situations like Darfur. This is why I like Obama. I think he thinks globally like this.
6) Agree with you, Sac Blog. I am not against cheap labor. Call me a capitalist. My company employs a lot of overseas developers because if we were to employ people with the same skills stateside, we could not afford to do business in California. Period, This is not even a negotiable point from my perspective.
7) Agree with you, Sac Blog.
9) Agree with you, Sac Blog. And I disagree with people who think electric cars are the answer. SMUD can’t even keep the power on in my neighborhood with NO electric cars plugged in at night.
10) I agree it is dangerous in the wrong hands. I agree there are other ways.
11) Agree 100% with you, Sac Blog
12) I think most rational people agree with this one.
PS I made the dirty Obama ad much smaller. Agree with your point, especially about the Bee doing the poster size version of it
Joe- it’s funny how far apart we seem sometimes, and yet so close together!
Your point on a humanitarian coalition is more what I had in mind. But with even our national guard stationed overseas right now, we can’t muster up enough bodies for humanitarian aid. I think most early humanitarian missions are best run by military operations so that the whack-jobs on the ground don’t get any ideas about stealing rice and medicine to sell to the highest bidder. Put it under the UN, NATO, make a new one, I don’t care. But I hate to see people seriously and truly suffering while my neighbor is *itching she can’t afford the new iPhone.
T, I could not agree more!! My wife and I just had this same conversation! Spoiled whiny Americans and there shiny rims and air jordans (I’m guilty of this one — ok can I have just one vice!?) and marble countertops and … while millions are drinking dirty water today.
Yay, textarea formatting controls.
Geez you kids have been busy! Wait for me!
I am too far behind now. All I can say is that its great to read so many intelligent, spirited, passionate comments. I’m gload to know my Natomas neighbors give a shit.
Yes, SacInsider, I know, but I wasn’t going there. It would just end in a flameout.
Oh c’mon, Sac Insider is a big teddy bear.