HBO orders fantasy pilot \'Thrones\' --The Live Feed

HBO orders fantasy pilot 'Thrones' --The Live Feed

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This says it all...

Chicago Reader | Election 08 | We Knew It Would End This Way: By Michael Miner

And another great article:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/11/some-mayhem-arrests-after-obama-rally.html

How am I voting on Tuesday?

A friend of mine on Facebook is VERY pro-Obama. She was very happy to get tickets to his rally on Tuesday and that sparked a little bit of a discussion between myself and her. Here is my last response... I figured it was general enough to post here.

I was all for Obama early in the primaries. I thought he was eloquent, inspiring, intelligent, all the things that would make a great president. And I found the primaries intensely fascinating for all the historical reasons (first woman president vs first black president). But the more that I learned about Obama and the more I heard him speak the less I liked him. I see him as hypocritical, willing to say whatever will inspire the people in front of him, even if it directly contradicts other things he's said. I think he has his own interests at the forefront of his agenda and not the people he represents. If you don't believe that just look at the neighborhoods that he represented while a state senator and community organizer. They're some of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago. If he can't improve a few neighborhoods how is he going to lead the entire country? And he's all about changing the face of politics and opposing the old traditions of Washington, but he seems to be playing the game of politics as well as any seasoned politician. He even picked Biden, one of the most senior senators (even longer in office than McCain) as his running mate (who, by the way swore Obama wasn't fit to be president and would be happy to run with McCain during the primaries - what's changed?). Then there's all the people he has had relationships and has been influenced by throughout his entire life. Sure, when you're involved in politics, law, education, etc. you're bound to run across a few kooks, but Obama seems to have had serious friendships with quite a few people with rather extreme ideologies. I'm sure they're not all as bad as right wing media makes them out to be, but you have to admit, there are a lot of them: Ayers, Wright, Rezko, Flagar, Khalidi, Davis, etc. etc. And his connections with ACORN, and other centers of corruption scare me, too. I don't know, maybe he'll make a great president. I hope so if he gets elected. All I know is that I can't vote for him in good conscience given what I've learned about him, even though I voted for him enthusiastically during the primaries.

McCain scares me too though, but I don't think as much as Obama. While I think McCain has been relatively honest (his campaign and right wing conservatives have had their share of lies and embellishments, too), I do think his campaign has self destructed. If he can't manage his campaign well, how can he manage the entire country? He can't give a real answer about anything other than "I know how to do that" or "I have the scars to prove it". I'm sick of hearing his war stories. Just because he fought and suffered for this country doesn't mean he's fit to lead it, even if he has proven he puts his country before all else. That's great, but it does nothing if you can't inspire people to follow you. I think if McCain is president at worst we'll just have another for years of what we've already had. Then Obama can have a second chance in 2012.

So I haven't decided who I'm voting for, or even if I'm voting this year. I may vote for Nader or Barr, or even write in Paul, just to show support for someone other than a democrat or republican (I truly believe the two party politics we have is the source of the corruption in the country, both political and commercial). But as my wife keeps reminding me, a vote for anyone other than McCain is essentially a vote for Obama, especially in Illinois. I don't know... I've just been completely turned off by the whole thing. Which sucks, because I was really excited back in January and February. I'm sure the US will pull through, I just hope it's better off in four years and we're not all kicking ourselves regardless of the outcome Tuesday.

Turn on the heat.

Well, we didn't quite make it as long as I would have liked, but October 20th isn't too bad.  We finally turned on the heat in the house tonight.  I think last year we made it into November and before Michael was born we'd let the house get down to around 56° before turning on the furnace.  Yeah, Julie and I like it cold in the house.  It was actually two degrees warmer in the house today (66°) than it was over the weekend, but the rain and humidity today just chilled us to the bones.  So I set the heat to 70° until it got the chill out of the air and then set it back down to 68° for the night.  Tomorrow it'll go off again until we need it, but judging by the weather forecast that will be soon enough.  Oh well...

A prediction, but hopefully not.

Well, Julie and I finished watching the last debate last night and I've come to realize that we're probably screwed regardless of whether Obama or McCain wins the election.  I think they're both wrong more than they're right and both have too many problems.  I won't go into all my problems with both candidates again, read my past posts if you're interested, but I will offer a prediction...

Now let me preface this by saying I hope to God that I am wrong about this...  But I fear that regardless of who wins the election we're going to have another terror attack on US soil within the first year of the new president's inauguration.  Hopefully it'll just be a foiled attempt, but I think an attack or at least major attempt at an attack is inevitable.  Both candidates have been saying that the other candidate's policies on fighting terror are wrong, the economy is in shambles, and we already have our military spread pretty thin across the entire middle east.  A successful attack next year would probably throw our political arena into a mad house of finger pointing, accusations, and hysteria.  I can see it now, the losing party pointing at the winner saying, "see, if only we had done things our way".  Our economy would probably suffer even more than it is.  And, if the attack looked like it was masterminded from another region (maybe Africa or Asia, like Indonesia) it could serve to force us to spread our military even thinner. 

We're currently in a situation in our country where all the ingredients are there for a disaster.  Hopefully any terror activity will be successfully thwarted by US intelligence, Homeland Security, the military, and all the other forces that serve to protect our country.  Or better yet, I hope I'm wrong about a future attack completely.  But if one does come I pray that our country is strong enough to pull together and survive and that the damage done isn't so severe that we can't persevere. 

Like millions of others, I'll give my opinion on the debates...

OK.  I'll make this brief, because after all, who really cares what one more voice in cyberspace has to say.  But I do want to put my opinion out there.

I get it, they both have fundamental differences on everything, but you both have the country's best interest at heart!  McCain lacks judgment and therefore makes bad decisions, Obama lacks experience and therefore will make bad decisions.  I'm not extremely happy with either candidate.  I don't think either of them has all the right answers, but here's what I really don't like about each of them.

Obama first:

1. What are your true motivations and ideals?  I don't like the character of Obama's associates, both past and present.  There are too many extremists in his circle of friends, too many stories (true and/or rumor) of connections with fascists, communists, terrorists, and religious extremists.  I understand that someone with political ties will run across a few bad eggs, but Obama seems to attract them like flies to...  well, you know.  When someone has this many close friends, mentors, and influences with the extreme views that Obama's pals have, it makes me question that person's ideologies.  I'd like some answers (I'd love to see these connections come up in a debate), but at this point I don't think the answers would be anything more than political garble.
2. Be straight with us!  Don't be hypocritical.  Don't use double talk.  Don't tell one thing to one party and another thing to someone else.  I said it in a previous post, but I'm tired of the political games Obama is playing.  He twists facts so that they make himself look better.  I don't want distorted stories, I want the truth.  And for cryin' out loud, answer the questions posed to you.  Don't spit out one generic sentence and then twist the conversation in a completely different direction just to avoid a question!  That reeks of the type of politics you say you want to change!
3. Stop taking credit for things you had no control over.  Instead tell us what you've actually accomplished!  If I hear that Obama opposed the war in Iraq while McCain thought it would be a quick victory one more time I'm going to scream.  Obama didn't have any influence whatsoever on the decision to go into Iraq; he was an Illinois State Senator at the time, not part of the Federal Government.  I'll write more on this later...  I have a lot to say.  Instead I'd like to hear about things that Obama has actually accomplished.  What reforms has he actually proposed.  How has he changed things in Washington in his few years there?  What did he actually accomplish as a State Senator?  As a community organizer?  Last I remember, the community and district that he was in charge of was one of the worst areas of Chicago.  Why's that?

OK.  Enough about Obama...  Now for McCain.

1. Give us some details!  Obama has given us detail on his economic plans, reform plans, foreign policy strategies, etc.  The details coming from McCain are very sketchy at best.  I keep hearing from McCain "I know how to do this..." and "I've reached across the aisle...", or "I know what out troops are going through...".  But are we really supposed to just take him at his word?  I understand if McCain doesn't want to broadcast his plan to track down and kill Bin Laden, but give us some details on how you want to help the economy besides "We need to revitalize the housing market".  I know McCain has some plans, but Obama keeps hammering us with details.  It would be nice to hear some counter plans from McCain, too.
2. When your plans are attacked, have a response!  Now, I don't think either candidate has all the right answers, but at least whenever the details of Obama's plans are questioned he comes back with a response.  Increased spending?  Obama says it's actually a net cut because the increased funding to "vital" programs would come from cuts in other programs.  Raising taxes?  Obama says 95% of Americans won't see increased taxes and those making under 200K will get tax cuts.  Taxing small businesses?  Obama says most small business owners make less than 250K so they won't see tax increases.  Over and over Obama refutes McCains attacks.  But when Obama criticizes flaws in McCain's plans there's no response.  $5k credits for healthcare actually mean people will have to pay more for their healthcare?  No response.  700k tax cuts for fortune 500 CEOs?  No response.  McCain may have some good ideas, but when Obama punches them full of holes and McCain can't come up with a response it makes me worry.
3. Separate yourself from the Bush administration!  I get it, you're a maverick and have opposed your own party.  You've reached across the aisle and worked with both parties and independents to accomplish stuff.  But what exactly?  And what did you oppose the Bush administration on?  McCain's best blow tonight was when he spoke of the energy bill stuffed with benefits for oil companies proposed by Bush/Cheney which Obama voted for and McCain opposed.  We need more of that.  And it's pretty obvious that the war in Iraq was mishandled.  The surge seems to have worked, but why wasn't something like that done years ago?  There's nothing wrong with saying it seemed like the right idea to go into Iraq at the time, but things were mishandled and now we need to start cleaning up our mess.  If McCain says he knows how to clean up the mess in Iraq I think it'd give him some credibility and distance himself from the decisions of Bush and Cheney.  That is unless he actually did support Bush and Cheney all along.  But I'd like some details.  And if he's opposed Bush on other things, let us know what they were, especially if they were things that Obama supported.

Anyway, it's late and I could rant on and on.  But now it's time for bed.  The more I watch these two in debates and the more I learn the more I'm convinced that we're screwed either way.  I was hoping this would be an election worth voting in, but it seems like it's turning out to be an attempt to figure out who is the lesser evil.

How I currently feel about politics...

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