Just Sick of It!

Finally, after 2 years of campaigning and politics, it’s over and Obama is president. Part of me is actually glad, my hope is that the real Republicans will get their heads out of their collective asses and head back to what matters. Hopefully John McCain will never run again, Sara Palin will go back to Alaska and never return. As much as I like John McCain he’s not a smart man, and extremely old and out of touch. Sara Palin doesn’t have any experience or knowledge to have been thrust into the position she was in, stay in Alaska lady. McCain had to choose someone like Palin because choosing someone like Mitt Romney would anger the bible thumping Republicans.

What I hear from 90% of the young, smart, people out there is that if Republicans were so god damn bible thumping they would stand with them. They constantly side with the religious fanatics, which are the rights version of the lefts anti-war, green party, MoveOn.org’ers. Young people are extremely tolerant, but there is no reason for religion in politics for a county that doesn’t have one religion, and they know this. The Republicans constantly tackle issues that no one cares about because they have to please the bible thump’ers, for example the FCC’s crusade against TV and Radio for accidents. They try to be the ones who says what’s moral and not, and this is what they got.

I classify myself as a socially liberal conservative. This means I’m pro choice, I’m not religious but I’m spiritual. I believe in limited government and that taxes should be low. I believe that people will help other people, though giving and that shouldn’t be mandated via the government. I believe in free speech and that I have no right to tell gays or lesbians how to live and that they should get married. I also believe in the right to bear arms.

Now why is this that so freaking hard! No one speaks for me, no one. Republicans are bible thump’ers who just want to stifle speech on radio and TV because it may contain sex. They also want to tell gays and lesbians that they can’t marry and no more abortions. Meanwhile the Democrats want to tax me to death, give it to people who pay no taxes and don’t work. They want abortions but refuse to kill criminals who rape and kill people. They trumpet man made global warming that any people with half a brain knows is a lie. They also hate every religion and want it banned from everything, except of course if that religion is Muslim.

I HATE both parties! I’m sick of having to put up with Republican religious bullshit because they are better than the Democrats. Wait, I just heard something, did one of you reading this just say a third party? Green Party (YUCK), Libertarian (YUCK AGAIN). Independent, now wait a second, what dies Independent mean? Well let me tell you, it’s a Democrat or Republican who’s trying to get the most votes by not being affiliated with one of those parties.

I don’t mind Obama being president, but having the Democrats control everything is not good. It wasn’t good when the Republicans had that power, and all the Democrats were crying. Now that the tables are turned they love it. It makes me sick and it should make you sick too. Our government and Congress in particular was founded on the principal of compromise. Well we can’t have that when one party is in control.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again. Things are going to get a lot worse before they get any better. People have to stop being blindly lead around by flashy’ness, or party politics. This country isn’t doomed because of Obama, he’ll do fine. But this country is doomed because of us, all of us.

Just sick of it perfectly sums up the the sentiment of the majority of Americans. The Democrats, Republicans, Independents and Green party members are all disappointed and disillusioned. I personally believe that this is testament to the importance of not relying on the federal government. Never fall for the flattery rhetoric that promises an easy life Barrack Obama, Hillary, Bush, and John McCain have never felt. we need to focus on the importance of individual responsibility. Here are some examples:

Energy: Stop blaming the oil companies and go for a walk every once and a while. I don’t care how expensive gas is because I have a fuel efficient car and a bicycle.

Social Security: The fact that I have been relying on the government to take care of my retirement is absolutely repulsive. If they stopped taking that 83 dollars out of my check I would have 100 dollars directly deposited into a retirement fund or 401k.

Health Care: Its not hard to get health care, and its not hard to have whatever is left over written off or to make a payment plan! I know because I have done it. Conclusion, there is no health care problem!

If these example don’t make sense to you, please comment me.

Sincerely: J Smith

Updated 7/1/2008 [ED: Minor changes and styling]

This political season universal, or if your trying to hide a meaning behind cleaver words national, health care is an extremely hot topic. While I do agree that we should help as many people as possible and I have a great disdain for the health care insurance industry. But I’ll tackle those snakes at a latter time, today I want to talk about national health care.

I was born in Winnipeg, Canada and lived there for about 10 years before I moved to the United States. I go back and visit Canada every year and have on occasion gone to doctors offices and hospitals to visit family members. Although I don’t have a tremendous volume of experience with Canada’s health care system I have far more then most people who talk about it here. My thoughts about it, it’s great in theory. I’ve heard horror stories from family members about waiting months or years to get quality of life surgery, because there are waiting lists, or hours upon end in doctors offices and emergency rooms. I watched Micheal Moore’s documentary on national health care and where he shows the completely vacant doctors office is the exception, not the rule.

My mom has some health conditions and when she moved back up to Canada for a while she had trouble finding a doctor that would take her. Most of the doctors she used when we lived there before were not accepting new patients and finding ones that were was a difficult task. Much like here in the United States you have a primary care physician, ‘your’ doctor. This is where you go when you need a check up, something looked at, maybe having some trouble, etc. You always go to your primary care doctor first. Well what happens when people don’t have a primary care doctor? They go to the hospital first and more accurately they go to the Emergency Room or a walk in clinic.

Now there are news reports of Canada running out of doctors. Which can’t be true, because of the superior nature of national health care those doctors are paid very well and thus it’s a desirable job, or not. If someone is telling you that national health care is the land of milk and honey and has so many benefits and never once mentions an issue or downside your healthy level of skepticism should have kicked in. For god’s sake our government can’t even keep it’s restaurants in order and we expect them to do our health care correctly?

I believe that extending Medicare and Medicaid, which need major fixing, to everyone that can’t afford or does not have health insurance is a good thing, but there should be provisions to make sure companies still offer health plans. Also laws and regulations should be created to prevent the health insurance companies from denying claims just to save them money.

Rarely is totally one solution ever is the right answer and dramatic swings in our country’s fundamentals are pretty dangerous as well. Much like United States population we should blend the best of both worlds, the total coverage of national health care with the best doctors and technology of privatized health care and have a system we can all be proud off, instead of taking sides like schoolkids on the playground.

Let me be frank, I’m a firm believer in term limits across the board. I’ve been in countless arguments about term limits and I’ve heard all the reason for term limits. But there is a reason why that argument should never even have to be brought up. The reason is we no longer have any Statesmen in this country. My definition of a Statesmen differs from what I think it currently is. My definition is a person who is serving for the public interest and fulfilling their civic duty.

Statesmen serve because they believe they can help or fix an issue, that they bring something to the public office that would help the city, state, country. After they finished or feel that their work is done, they leave. Statesmen serve a term or two and try and make a difference. Public service should be much like the Military Reserve or National Guard, once the job is done they go back to their real lives and jobs. Which means that politics isn’t those peoples whole lives.
We’ve gotten away from Statesmen, now we have career politicians who spend their entire life in government. We shouldn’t need term limits. But because of power hungry politicians who crave power and money we are now in a situation where our options for high political office are between a “Douche and a Turd” and there is no end in sight. A Statesmen takes the countries priorities and needs before their parties or their constituents. Even if their choice is not popular with the whole country or their party they should do it if is in the best interests of the country.

When your the President the only thing that matters is the country as a whole and being at the helm of the country means you should steer it like you would a large ship, slow and methodical. This is the essence of a Statesmen, someone who will do what’s needed, popular or not, to keep the country continuing on it’s path.

Look, there is a fair amount I do agree with Jesse Ventura about, and one of them is that the county needs the Statesmen of old to return. Now there is a fair amount I don’t agree with Jesse Ventura about. Namely the 9/11 conspiracy junk and the open borders issue. But this country would not be here today without Statesmen, and in particular one, George Washington, who was offered the crown of the United States. Tell me how many politicians in current times could you see turning that down.

So I have only one question, where have all the Statesmen gone?

I wish to give a hearty hello to all the typical white people out there. The racial undertones that placate the United States are finally coming to the surface with the democrat presidential nomination success of Sen. Barack Obama. I would agree with Sen. Obama and his “just proud of America now” wife that the United States is still raciest, but as a human who understands the world around him I know that it won’t change.

As humans, we profile based on the information at hand. For example if I get chased down the street by a mad raccoon in the middle of the night, I will now avoid raccoon’s, because there is a possibility they might attack. No raciest undertones here people, I actually do mean raccoon’s!

I used my past experience to create a profile of something that might be a danger to me or of expected behavior. It takes time to modify a profile that’s so ingrained and propagated. Some deem that raciest, I deem it a useful survival instinct. Profiling is useful and it’s the way we work, it’s not just based on race, but can be based on any group-able criteria, for example age, clothing, etc.

Does racism still exist, yes. Is it as bad as it was, no. Racism is not just a white creation, as we’ve been lead to believe for all these years. A few years ago a friend of mine was talking a political science course at a university when the topic of racism came up. The topic was completely about white racism and they posed a question to the instructor, “What about black racism?”. The instructors response that backs cannot be racist because they don’t have the power to act on it.

Now according to the dictionary the definition of racism is “a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.” I must have missed the part about having the power to act on racism. So then, why can’t blacks be racists?

Don’t get me wrong here, I could care less if someone wants to be raciest; black, white or brown. That’s their choice and it’s not my place to tell them otherwise. I’m just sick of the double standard. As a country we have to realize the mistakes of our past, slavery, but not put the blame on any specific race of people, because that would be racist. I know there is a majority of white people out there that have white guilt, but I’m not one of them. I didn’t and no one in my family, or their descendants, own slaves, I have no horse in that race.

Let’s concede that there is still racism, that some groups and people like the KKK and Jeremiah Wright are racist and there’s not much we can do about it but protecting our kids from that particular ideology and taking it with a huge grain of salt.

Carry on my Typical White People, carry on.