Racism is not dead

Today I was at the dentist. My hygienist said something about my birthday being on Christmas. Then she asked, "Did you get Jewed out of presents." I was stunned that someone would make that racist of a remark, that I just sat there dumbfounded. Also it's somewhat hard to talk with that sucking thing in my mouth. I guess that's kind of a cop out. I'm still debating on whether I should call the office to complain. For those that think just because we elected a Black President that racism is over, you are sorely mistaken. With such huge injustices in our judicial and educational systems and work discrimination, we need to remember that the fight against racism and injustice is never gone.

How old is 14?

This past week some of the kids at the ministry I work at had been talking about R Kelly. Many of them don't see a problem with what R Kelly did. They don't seem to care how old the participant in the now infamous R Kelly tape is. In my opinion part of this has to do with the acceptance in the inner city of older men being with much younger girls. Many teenage girls have twenty something boyfriends.

Obviously from a moral perspective what R Kelly did was wrong. However should his actions be illegal? Now I know the argument that the girl was well aware of what she was doing and made a choice. I'm also aware that many people feel that someone at the age of 14 is not adult enough to make those kind of decisions. The problem then lies with the hypocrisy of our system. Many conservative mouth pieces were outraged at what was done to this "child". However these are the same people in the media that would call for the same girl to be charged as an adult had she committed a crime. So the girl is not adult enough to make decisions about sex, but is completely adult enough to know the consequences of matters of life and death?

I for one think that it should be illegal for someone to have any sexual contact with a person under the age of 18. However I also think that there should be a flat age for when someone becomes an adult in the eyes of the state. If they are under 18, they get charged as a minor, no way around it. However our system has taken on a case by case basis, which has lead to widespread discrimination. Black youths are twice as likely to be charged as adults as white youths. In order to take bias and discrimination completely out of the equation there needs to be a national adult age. I would say that 18 makes the most sense. At 18 you should have all the rights and responsibilities of an adult. Before that you're a minor.

Is religion the problem?

The recent events in Mumbai have drawn our eyes once again to terrorism perpetrated by religious zealots. For a long time we have heard from the Bill Mahrs of the world that religion causes these terrible acts. Some of the world's worst acts were committed in the name of religion. However to say that these terrible acts of violence would not occur without religion is naive. Right now the Middle East is a hotbed of for "religious violence". Take religion completely out of the equation. Who gets the land? The Arabs/Palestinians or the Jews(as a race of people). For centuries developing countries and regions have fought and killed massive amounts of people for one thing, land. They aren't making any more of it. The European settlers committed genocide on the Native Americans for land. Many of the tribal genocides in Africa are over control of the land.

Genocide is a terrible thing, and many times religion is used as a backdrop or reason for it. However in many developing countries power, wealth, and control of the land is the ultimate goal. How can you claim power over an entire group of people? Tell your group that they are better than the others. There is a classic experiment that shows that they did this with eye color with elementary school students. In one day the students of one eye color had assumed a superiority complex over the other students just because of statements by a teacher. This idea of achieving power and wealth by superiority is what fuel Nazi Germany. It is what kept the conscience clean of American during the African slave trade.

The problem is whether it is religion, race, or stars on the bellies (Dr. Seuss reference) people will always uses their perceived superiority to step on others to gain what they want. Obviously not all horrendous acts are motivated this way. The new Batman movie said it best, "Some men just want to see the world burn". But aside from those that simply desire suffering, religion is just a tool to be misused in order to perpetuate violence. If you remove the tool, those who desire it will pick up another.

The Next Big Thing.

Well mma has a new champion, kind of. Brock Lesnar is the new UFC champion (Although he still has to beat the winner of Mir/Nog to be the undisputed champion). The question now is this good for the sport. Obviously the he will bring in more viewers to the UFC. However he obviously is not the best Heavyweight in the world. That title belongs to Fedor Emielienko. Since he is fighting for Affliction, the UFC hype machine will be able to convince the public that Brock is the best. However new fans to the sport will begin to see the top fighters in the world that are in the UFC like Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, Forrest Griffin, and George St. Pierre. Many will say that this is the same argument that Elite XC used in the Kimbo Slice debacle. There is however a huge difference. Brock Lesnar is good. He may not be the best, but if he gets past Nogueira (who should beat Mir) he is in the top 3 of the HW division.

Many of the hardcore mma fans don't like Lesnar because of his WWE background. They fear that people who watch fake wrestling will think that mma is fake or that any huge guy can dominate the UFC. However people need to understand that Lesnar is a one of a kind athlete. Remember that he is a former NCAA freestyle wrestling champion. Also at the NFL combine he ran a 4.77 40, did 51 reps at 225lbs, and had a 33 inch vertical. For a man of 290lbs that is amazing. Brock already has the necessary wrestling base for mma. His stand up has improved exponentially from fight to fight. So it's time to give the big man his due, because he is the future of the sport. Fedor, Nogueira, Couture, and Barnett aren't getting any younger. There needs to be an influx of talent into the Heavyweight division in mma, and Lesnar is just the man to do it.

Do I not understand codenames?

Well Obama's Secret Service codename is Renegade. The media knew it right away. I thought codenames or codes were things that people used so that those listening in wouldn't understand what is being said. If everyone knows the code, is it a code? Why don't they just call him president or Obama, since everyone already knows what their talking about.

Obama Nation and Sarah Palin

I've seen many jokes about the rabid Obama maniacs being depressed now that they don't have a cause to fight for. President-elect Barack Obama mobilized a movement of people to volunteer for his campaign. Why? They wanted to change the world. While I believe that he is a change that this country needs, he himself says that he needs our help. I believe there is something he can do now, even though he is not yet commander in chief. He needs to call on his avid supporters to stay mobilized. During the course of this election hundreds of people descended on the city of Gary to get people in this city involved in the political process. It was an admirable thing, but now is not the time for these people to return to the comfort of their suburban and well-to-do neighborhoods. The work is not done. Imagine if Obama called on his supporters to remain volunteers. Want to change the world? Tutor children from poor schools. Mentor kids without positive role models. Clean up and fix a deteriorating neighborhood. Provide support to single parent households. Provide job training for those who need it. Imagine the change we could have if an army of volunteers were willing to do these things. In the words of Senator Obama, "We are the ones we've been waiting for"

Now my last post on Sarah Palin, I think



Now there are two explanations for this and neither are pretty. One is that the Republican party wants to throw the whole blame on Sarah Palin. If it is her fault than the party doesn't need to look at an ideological change. Let me be clear. The change I'm talking about has nothing to do with the Reagan era ideology that calls for small government. That is a platform, I think, they might still be able to win with. Although if the youth continue to show up, it will be difficult. I am talking about courting the far Christian right. I think rather than take a hard look at the party, it's easier to make someone a martyr.

I however think the second solution is more likely. Sarah Palin is not that intelligent. I know we've all made jokes about Bush's intelligence. While I don't think he was "the best and the brightest", I don't think he was ignorant either. Sarah Palin, I'm not so sure. Now if this was a report by MSNBC I would think that it was a complete misquote. For my liberal friends, you should actually look up some of the "terrible things" that the Countdown finds that people have said. Most of it is taken out of context as much as the KKK takes the bible. But this is a FOX News report. Is it possible that she is that ignorant. I could understand if she didn't know that Zaire is now the Democratic Republican of the Congo, but not knowing that Africa is not a continent? I know the arguments that while she may not excel in knowledge, she does in other areas and has proved it on the state level. I want my president to be a great deal smarter than me. Some will say that she was elected to Governor's office for a reason. This of course is the same state that recently reelected a Senator that has been indicted on 8 counts felony corruption.

Either way it goes the Republican party needs to look elsewhere for their new leadership. Otherwise the results aren't going to change for them. Gone are the days of being able to appeal to a small section of "real America" by bible thumping and waving the flag to win an election. In closing, I do think the McCain camp needs to leave Palin alone, especially if they want her to be the future of the party. Even if they don't how can attacking your own party be helpful? Did she help his campaign? No. Did she cost him the election? No, "it's the economy stupid".

The time is now.

Same Cooke said, "I know a change gonna come." Well change is finally here. Last night I admit that I shed a few tears as the results came in. Our country has changed. Obviously a lot of people will talk about the unprecedented black vote. More importantly Latinos, young people who no longer see race as a factor, and the highly educated changed the face of the election. For so long the thought was that small town America and "Joe the plumber" decides elections. We now see that they no longer do. And if the Republican party is to bounce back, they must learn that the America they cater to is shrinking. I have heard from so many that Obama's campaign was a movement, and it clearly was. Who else could have brought so many people of different races together? What else could have unleashed an multiracial army on the city of Gary to help win Indiana for Obama? That was something that gave me a sense of pride and mad me feel like I was a part of it.

Today I went to the Save-more (local grocery store in Gary) to buy a newspaper (all the papers in the city were sold out by the way). Today I was proudly wearing my Obama shirt and buttons. An elderly black man, whom I have never met, came up to me and gave me a hug, and said, "We did it". We not black, not white, but we. The community in which we live has waited for something, anything to give them hope. We have searched for a true leader, not a black leader, but a leader of all people. We have wandered in the desert for some forty years, after we lost our Moses, but we have truly found our Joshua.

As we remember our Moses





We look forward to the future that our Joshua is bringing

Why I Voted for Obama part II

Jobs

We have lost 760,000 jobs in this country this year. In Gary Indiana finding a job is next to impossible. People are losing their jobs. I know a few people have recently lost their jobs, because businesses John McCain has present really nothing different than the current administration as to creating new jobs. He simply thinks that if they continue to cut taxes on wealthy Americans, they will start new businesses and create jobs. The problem is that it hasn't worked for eight years. Why would it work now?

Obama, on the other hand, has some real ideas about creating jobs. The first is creating a multitude of jobs to increase and fix our infrastructure. If this sounds familiar, it should. FDR did the same thing to create jobs. I personally love this idea, since I live in a city with high unemployment and crumbling infrastructure. Maybe some of that money could go towards fixing the Gary sewers. That are about 80% clogged and also corroding. There was a collapse in the line behind my house, and now there is a sink hole. Thus I have to by bottled water.

The second part is to create jobs through basic job programs. The third part is to create jobs in an attempt to be more energy independent. This is another brilliant plan that takes care of two bird with one stone, joblessness and energy/environmental concerns. If we can make wind energy viable, then those gigantic windmills will have to be constructed. They are made out of steel, and in a steel town that looks pretty good. Also creating jobs in maintaining energy guarantees that they can't be outsourced.


War

A high ranking Al Qaeda member said that we they couldn't beat the United States in a head to head war. What they could do is drag the US into a war that put such an economic strain on our country that it could bring us down. That is exactly what the Iraq war was. The Iraq war is simple. It was about bad intel and oil. Many of the high ranking people in the Bush administration have come out and said that there was an effort to draw an line between Bin Ladin and Iraq. There of course was no connection. There was some intel that said that Iraq had WMDs. However there was little intel, because we don't have a large number of operatives working in the Middle East. Most of our CIA and NSA are still trained and acting as if Russia is our biggest threat. The oil connection is obvious. Bush has said that we brought freedom to a nation that had an evil dictator. Somewhat true, however there are multiple African nations that we don't step into. We have done nothing in Burma. China has terrible human rights violations. Why didn't we go there?

Now what about McCain's claim that we want to bring our troops home in victory. The problem is that we are not fighting an army. Think we are? What does an Iraqi uniform look like? We are fighting insurgences. They are never going to give up. So it is time to let Iraqis protect their own country from itself. We need to focus on Afghanistan. We need to find the Al qaeada leadership, who are planning to attack us. That is a war we can win. As someone who has a friend who reports to the Marines in December, I want to see a time where there is peace, and our fighting men and women can come home.



Unifying the country

I went to an Obama rally here in Gary during the primaries. There were some whites there, but the crowd was predominantly black. Tonight I went to another rally. There were whites, blacks, latinos, indians, arabs, and people of every race and hue were there. Obama has successfully brought people from every race, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, and religion together. John McCain has done his best to divide us as a nation. Trying to associate him with Arabs, like being an Arab is inherently evil. His campagin that there is a "real America" and I guess a fake America. That somehow democrats don't love this country and can't be pro-America. Maybe Senator McCain should note that the majority of the men and women who sign up for the United States military are from urban areas. Senator Obama is bringing us together more than any politician I have ever seen.

He reminds many of us of Dr. King. He is the realization of Dr. Kings dream, not because he is black. It is because he is the best person for the presidency. We judge him not on the color of his skin, but on the content of his character. Hopefully on November 4, we will truly be able to say, "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

Why I voted for Barack Obama

I voted early today. I must say I felt very good about it. Anyone who has ever read my blogs knows I am a supporter of Senator Obama. I like to give some very personal reasons why. I will be posting more as we lead up to the election, but here's the first three.

THE ECONOMY

I think we can all say that the economy is in bad shape. As someone who raises support, I think my salary is a microcosm of how the economy is going. Over the pat 2 years my support has dropped by 25%. In my opinion people are strapped for cash and don't have as much to give. The deregulation of Wall Street and lenders has caused many of these problems. Senator McCain is directly responsible for deregulation. Now we have this problem and it needs solving. To simplify the candidates positions. McCain wants to fix it from the top down, and Obama is the opposite. In order to get our nation back on track we need to make a drastic change. People have been saying that Obama is proposing the most spending since The Great Society. I hate to break it to you, but the Great Society worked. It brought our country back from the brink.

HEALTH CARE

McCain has proposed giving people $5,000, but he wants to tax my health benefits. As a diabetic and a person who had cancer the amount of money my provider spends on maintaining my disease is huge. So Senator McCain is warning the middle class about Obama tax hikes. My taxes would shoot through the roof. I would run through that $5000 in three months by my calculations.

Also getting health care that is not mandated by the government is impossible. After Jacque and I got married I was without health insurance for quite some time. No one would insure me, not even the government. What does a person do without insurance. You avoid the doctors office, and if you're a diabetic you reuse needles to save money. Your health declines, and there is nothing you can do about it.

GUNS CONTROL

Obama is for stricter gun control. McCain voted against the Assault Weapons Ban. As someone who recently lost a friend to gun violence. I find this inexcusable. No one needs an assault weapon. You want a gun to protect your family fine. You want to hunt fine. Senator Obama will let you get a gun after a thorough background check. But if you care more about being able to tear a target to shreds with an AK-47 than a young man's life, than I don't know what to say to you.

For those of you who say most guns used in crimes were purchased illegally, you're right. Except for the fact that most were originally purchased legally, not smuggled, and then resold illegally. So if they weren't allowed to be purchased in the first place, they wouldn't find their way onto the street.

Kinda Cool!

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3646789

Kenny Florian answered one of my questions on mma live. I thought it was kind of cool, even though he got confused and called me Gary. It's at 27:30, if you want to watch it.

Obama is 3/3

Well Obama wins again. I know that the Republicans will say that McCain won, even though the Republican pundits on ABC and CNN disagreed. In the CBS, MSN, CNN, ABC, NBC, and even FOX news polls Obama won decisively. I have to admit that McCain started out well. He was very much attacking Obama's policies. Even though I knew some of the things he was saying was untrue, it might have resonated with those who are less familiar with Obama's plans. I thought he hit the "I'm George Bush" comment. When he lost it, was when he started with the Ayers and ACORN smears. I think most American's are tire of hearing these phony Hail Mary bombs. McCain tried to attack these points hard, but he almost looked conflicted about it. He seemed to not want to take the low road, but he "had" to do it. He seemed unable to get it back together. He once when Obama said that small businesses would be exempt from fines for not providing health care, simply ignore the comment and delivered a stump speech about how it will kill small businesses. One of the Republican pundits compared Obama's performance to Ali's vs Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle. For those not familiar, Ali laid against the Ropes and let Foreman punch himself out. He was saying that Obama expertly countered all of McCain's attacks. By the way Roberto Duran's counter punching win over the attacks of Sugar Ray Leonard is a way better analogy. I think I predicted a few weeks ago that we are seeing Clinton/Dole all over again. Now that the national poll lead has reached double digits does anyone doubt me? McCain needed to do something drastic, but he didn't. He stayed in the game, but he's losing the game. In closing Joe "the plumber" ought to by that business, because he got a heck of a lot of free advertising tonight.

Remebering Arien Barber

I'm sure most people who look at my blog on a regular basis are expecting comments about Palin's trooper scandal, the government's buying stocks, or Obama's lead in the polls. But today all that seems pretty unimportant. Pretty much everything in life today seems pointless. We see often the young black thug stereotype in movies, TV, and music. Many time they are elevated to a place of respect and even honor. That somehow they are some sort of modern day robin hood. That their thug status is "the realest" a young man can be. Today the thought of these people being though of as heroic and role models sickens me. Because last night one of them took away a young man from this earth. Arien Barber wasn't a statistic or some line in a song. He was a good man, and he was a friend of mine. He was not perfect as none of us are, but he wasn't a gangster or a drug dealer. He was someone's father, someone's son, and someone's brother. I never saw him happier or prouder than we he introduced me to his daughter. Even as kid he would be concerned with the feelings of others. I can remember my mother crying one day, and Arien was the one who consoled her. Now he's gone, because some fool decided to solve his problems with a gun. I am writing about this maybe for my own therapeutic reasons, because I don't know how many more tears I can shed. I just don't know why we can't see that it's us that this thug mentality is hurting. At the end of this nothing is solved. There is no glory to be claimed. There is just a mother without a son, children without a father, sisters without a brother, and friends left to mourn. No one ever gains anything when someone decides to be a "thug" and use a gun. The only thing that happens is that the world is deprived of knowing a man with a heart of gold like Arien Barber. And all we can do is ask God why?



We'll all miss you Arien, but we'll see you again one day.

Palin goes too dagone far.

http://thedailyvoice.com/voice/2008/10/mccain-and-palin-do-nothing-wh-001213.php

As has been reported through several media outlets there have been some incidents at Sarah Palin's rallies. Some supporters harassed and use racial epitaphs at a black member of the media. Way to go Republicans, prove what the black community already thinks about you, that you're a bunch of racist hateful white people. I know not all Republicans are like this, but others in the crowd or on the stage should have corrected these people. Also when Palin mentioned Obama's name the crowd shouted terrorist and kill him. Palin's response as a responsible politician, heck as a descent human being, should have been to tell the crowd they were out of line. Instead she said, "you guys get it". I have made no bones about the fact that I don't like Governor Palin and think she's not qualified. I have now gone a step further. I no longer hold any respect for her as a human being. The greatest fear that I have encounter in the black community is that Senator Obama could be assassinated. In my canvassing I have even encountered people who won't vote for him because of this fear. As one guy put it, "I Like Obama. Why would I set him up to get killed? I can't vote for him, that's like giving him a death sentence." Where does this fear come from? If you don't know then where were you in History class? Many major black leaders have been assassinated. Dr King, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, and Fred Hampton (assassinated by the Chicago Police Department)to name a few. This is not a matter to joke about or think is funny. It is a crippling fear that many people will live with throughout Obama's presidency should he win. Heaven forbid, should Senator Obama be killed, 1968 would look like a walk in the park. The riots that would happen in cities across America would be widespread and violent. And this time there won't be a wall of National Guard surrounding the "black communities" to keep white folks safe. Why not, because 70% of the National Guard is either deployed or on leave. The war in Iraq has stretched them way too thin. Also the fact that 20% of the nations police force has been laid off doesn't bode to well for our country. I hope this scenario never plays out, but for Governor Palin to simply shrug off these comments proves she has no idea what's going on. Maybe that's funny in Alaska, but where the rest of us live it's despicable.

Debate #2 winners and losers

I have to say at this point in the debates, nothing new is being said. To my Republican friends who think that Senator McCain's house plan is new, the treasury secretary has already been given that authority in the bailout plan. Maybe he should read it. So at this point who wins and loses is basically who you agreed with. I do have to say there are times there were things McCain said I knew to be untrue. However if you're a Republican you might have caught some things you thought Obama said wasn't true. The point is that who won? No one, so therefore Obama won. I'm not just saying this because I'm an Obama supporter. Obama has a very large lead electroally in the polls over McCain. It's similar to when a champion boxer fights to a draw. He's still the champ. Barack's lead has been growing and I don't think that is going to change after tonight. McCain needs something big, and he hasn't gotten it. People just believe Obama and his policies are better. At this point I really don't know what Obama could say at debate to turn this around at a debate besides:



As far as the "that one" comment, it didn't help McCain. I don't think he meant it in a racist way. If you he would have called him boy or "you people" that would have been one thing. I can't say whether Senator McCain is a racist or not. I simply believe the comment was to marginalize Obama as a candidate not as a black man.

It's hard being right all the time.

So Palin lost. She did better than a lot of people thought, but then again most people thought she'd just smile and stare into the camera. So expectations weren't that high. Bidden came out was clear and answered the questions that were asked. Palin as I predicted answered some of the questions, but at other times just delivered a stump speech that had nothing to do with the question. For example, when asked about the taxation of health benefits, she talked about energy policy. Either she didn't know the answer, or it wasn't flattering to the ticket. Some will say she did well. However even the Republican pundits on ABC said that Bidden won. MSNBC had close to 79% of their poll saying that Bidden won, but they are elitist left wing media. I mean obviously The Republican News Network, I mean The Fox New network, had different results right? They did Fox News watchers only voted that Bidden won 61% of the time. The problem is that all Palin did was hang in there or even stay neck and neck with Bidden, they need to have a drastic change. McCain is now pulling all of his campaign out of Michigan. He is running out of places to get to 270. He can't lose Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri, or Indiana. He only holds the lead Indiana. If Obama can continue to hold serve in the campaign, he should win. That is unless all the polls are wrong, or the Republicans keep blacks from voting again. I'm looking at you Florida. I think McCain's gambles are starting to catch up with him. Palin is a gamble that is starting to hurt his campaign. Imagine if he had Romney in for economics right now. Suspending the campaign is being seen for the cheap political stunt that it is. All Obama needs now is for a good voter turnout. So if you're pro Obama make sure to get out and vote. If you're pro McCain you probably shouldn't be operating a vehicle so you might want to stay home. (just kidding...kind of)

Fair and balance=Republicans only

Fox news is supposed to be fair and balanced correct? Then why can't I find a current electoral poll map on their website? Every other major news network has an easily accessible map that shows the poll numbers (each one is different) from all the states. CNN, MSNBC, ABC, and even yahoo all have one. The closest thing you can find on the FOX website is the electoral map from 2004. Maybe FOX is ignoring the polls this election season since they can be so easily wrong. What makes this so dubious? The polls on the map for 2008 were very easily accessible for FOX's website about two weeks ago. Now when you click on the map there is simply no data. Let's see what has changed since then? Is it the fact that Senator Obama has jumped out to a large lead since then? Maybe I'm just a conspiracy theorist. Maybe they just have the same guys doing their website that were in charge of the network crashing everyday at Moody. Maybe they just haven't gathered all the data. And maybe just maybe if I'm real good this year, a fat guy in a red coat will put a bunch of present under a plastic tree in my living room. Come on the FOX propaganda machine is worried that Republican base is going to give up and stay home, if news of an impending Obama victory gets out.

Bailout America or your campaign, a contest Palin belongs in?

Today the bailout was defeated by the House of Representatives, and the stock market dropped the most points in history. One representative said, "Everyone is saying that this is something that you should vote for, but no one wants to be the one to vote for it." The problem is that many in Congress are worried that there will be a backlash from voters. Most voters seem to be against the bailout, feeling that somehow they should get the money for their houses instead of financial institutions. The problem is these financial institutions need to be able to lend in order for the market to pick up again. With such a deficit lenders will not be wiling to do so. The economy will drop, and the problem will be felt by everyone. However instead of doing what's best for the country 1/3 of all democrats and 2/3 of all republicans voted against it. I understand why politically. Democrats want to be able to say that they are for the average person and not Wall Street CEOs. For Republicans it's a huge chance to distance themselves from one of the most unpopular presidents in history. The problem is that they are thinking about what's best for them not the country. Everyone knows that this needs to happen. Are Congressmen willing to sacrifice the American markets and economy for the next five weeks just to get elected? Probably, and that's why people can't stand politicians.


Finally if you read my blog at all, you know my dislike for Sarah Palin. I have been waiting for the debate this Thursday, so I can watch her get destroyed. I mean her debating Bidden is like bringing a knife to a gunfight. However in my study of her I have found that she "shines" in debates? Apparently she is brilliant at staying off topic and saying general fluff. One writer said of her Alaskan gubernatorial debate, "you could tell she wasn't the most well informed, but her 45 second soundbites were what people wanted to hear. I guess it's possible that she could come off as the darling candidate. However I think it's much more likely that she gets destroyed. Most likely the people who thinks she won won't be those who understand most of what is being said. It will be those that say "I agree that we do need to clean up Washington". Even though it probably had nothing to do with the question. So in closing I found a contest I think that she's qualified for:

This election is different.

This election is different as it pertains to the Black community. Now I must start by saying that I'm not lumping all blacks together. I am more than aware that there are some African Americans voting for McCain. In my canvasing for Senator Obama's campaign of the Gary area, I have been able to see the response of many in our community here. Part of the campaigning has been to offer forms to get absentee ballots for voters, since the lines can be so long at polling places. I told one man that he might have to wait in line for a descent amount of time. His response was, "I've been waiting 50 years for this, I can wait a few more hours." Most people we encountered wanted the privilege to show up and vote rather than sending their vote in. Out of the 127 doors I knocked on today (yes I'm tired), only 1 man said he wasn't going to vote for Obama. After talking to him, I think he was just lonely and knew that it would get me to talk to him for awhile. Barack Obama offers a hope to this community that they have not felt in such a long time. I think it was put very well on SNL tonight when they said. "critics of the bailout plan say it will save Wall St. while it will do nothing to help out Main St, and as always you're on your own Martin Luther King Blvd." For so long people in the black communities have felt neglected by their leaders, and it has led to a drop off in voting. Senator Obama's campaign has led a resurgence in African American voting. It means so much to so many. I talked to man today who was originally from Mississippi. He talked about marching during the 60's, and how they chased him with dogs. He said that he feels that this is what he was fighting for. Barack's historic campaign has even given young people hope. For the first time since I've been in this city I have heard young children saying that they need to do their homework so they can be president like Barack Obama. Before him it was thought of as an impossibility. This election is different because it could serve to heal many of the wounds that racism has put on our country. I think it's also important to point out that while the fact that Senator Obama winning would be important because he's black. The main issues is that he was not discriminated from being president because he's black. For finally we may have reached that day when a man "is judged not by the color of his skin, but the content of his character." The fact that Barack Obama could be seen as the best man for the highest job in this country no matter his skin color is a huge step.

The Debates...and more.

1. The first thing I think that John McCain's suspended campaign has been proven to be simply a stunt. He still ran ads. He still did interviews, and he still showed up at the debate.

2. Now on to the debate. I don't think that it was a knockout by either candidate. I was surprised that McCain held his own, which after watching his speeches I wondered if he could. Obama did what he needed to do and proved that he is less versed in foreign policy. So who won. If you're a Republican you think McCain won. If you're a democrat you think Obama won. I think both of them got their points across. It comes down to who you agree with. I think Obama's policies are the better way for are country to go, so he won in my eyes. I do think that McCain's constantly focusing on earmarks is ridiculous. It is such a small portion of the overall budget. It isn't even 5% of the budget. Getting rid of 18 billion dollars isn't going to bring enough money into our economy to make an impact. In closing I felt McCain was a little disrespectful at times saying that Obama didn't understand or was naive. From a supporter of Obama's campaign I think it will help Obama that he was able to stand toe-to-toe with McCain on foreign policy. Since that was supposed to be McCain's strong point, I felt that it can only help Obama. At the very least I don't think it's going to decrease his lead. The economy is supposed to be Obama's strongest point, so we'll see if McCain can do the same thing that Obama did.

3. Finally here is something not political. For years I have heard how great of a coach Pete Carroll is. People talk about his great teams, and that USC is always in the national title hunt. USC always has a lot of talent, which means Pete Carroll is a good recruiter. But when every year when you have the most talented team and lose to a team you're supposed to crush, it's coaching that's the problem. He simply is not getting his players ready to play against the lesser competition. Great coaches can get great teams to perform night in night out, like Phil Jackson did as a basketball coach.

Politics as Usual

Well John McCain is suspending his campaign to fix things in Washington. He is not going to run ads (we'll see). He thinks the debate should be postponed. Is he doing this to put the country's well being over his campaign? Of course not. It is simply politics as usual. McCain needs to do something, anything to try and get back some momentum in his campaign. The spike from the Palin stunt (lets be honest that's all it was) has worn off. It's time for a new stunt. Obama has said that he plans to go back to Washington, but he will not suspend his campaign. Senator McCain is obviously not worried about missing votes, since he leads the Senate in missed votes this year with 412. Senator Obama was third with 295. I don't blame Senator McCain, he has do to something to make people forget that he sponsored the deregulation of wall street in the Senate. I guess maybe from his perspective, that since he helped create this mess, he should clean it up. The problem is that he is not on the committee for this legislation. It must clear the House before the Senate can even vote on it. Let's be honest about the debates. John McCain doesn't want to debate Obama right now. He is currently down by about 5 points and losing most battle ground states. After the bump Obama could get from the debates could make the race seem not close. Remember what happened in 1996 when a few weeks before the election, and Bob Dole was losing by a significant amount. The republican base didn't show up to the polls, and he was destroyed. McCain is simply trying to pull some politics to try to keep it close.

As a side note if you saw Katie Couric's interview with Sarah Palin today, she looked like she didn't know what was going on again. She constantly says things like according to my understanding. She has to have dozens of people trying to brief her on things. If she can't get the talking points down, how could she run the country? With Bush you thought well maybe he just can't speak well. But I'm pretty sure I'm smarter than Sara Palin, and that's kind of scary.

Ridiculousness: Laugh or Cry your decision?

1. In the Gary Post today there was an article about a Grandmother who pulled a gun on her granddaughter. The problem was that her granddaughter went to the grocery store, and the grandmother didn't like what she brought back. So after "smacking her in the head with a bag of soda cans" (direct quote from the police report), She pulled out her .380 and still had it in her pocket. You have to laugh sometimes to keep from crying.

2. Well Clay Aiken is gay. If you're surprised smack yourself with your mouse. I just wonder if this will affect him making really crappy music.

3. Bush's bailout plan is being spearheaded by Secretary of The Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson. Paulson thinks that the bail should go forth "without any executive or legislative oversight". Really, you want 800 billion dollars, but don't want to tell anyone where it's going? Both McCain and Obama think this is a bad idea. If these two are agreeing on something than you know it's ridiculous.

4. President Bush, do I need to say more? President Bush is working very hard to earn the title as "worst president ever". Let's see get into a huge unnecessary war that is draining our economy check. Fail to bring the perpetrators of 9/11 check. Worst unemployment since The Great depression check. Take the Justice out of the Justice Department check. Forget to give people food and water in New Orleans check. Huge collapse of the financial network check. It just makes me wonder what he's going to do next in his campaign to be the worst. Will he nuke Iran? Invade Canada for looking at him funny? Decide to stop funding public education? Start a Civil War with Oklahoma, because they messed with Texas. He's got three months to secure his title. It will be interesting.

5. John McCain still saying that Barack is going to raise every ones taxes. Look Senator just admit that he's going to raise rich people's taxes. Independent examiners have said he's wrong. ABC new, NBC news, and CNN have said he's wrong. Now FOX news is saying it. OK senator if the network that thinks Republicans crap gold, says you're lying it might be time to stop.

Is Jesus a Republican?

This past weekend I was feeling pretty good. I had just finished working for the Obama campaign in Gary, registering people to vote. I was very proud to have volunteered to put my time in for something I believe in. I needed to go down to my Grandfather's house to try (unsuccessfully I might add) to move his pool table out of the basement. On the way there I saw a sign outside on a church marquee reading: God is always right, never left. While I completely agree that God is always right meaning correct, the sign made me extremely angry. It took everything within me not to stop and chew out the pastor of the church. I have been thinking a lot about this attitude, and it is a problem amongst Christians.

Is Jesus a Republican? The easy answer is no, and as much as it hurts me to admit he's not a Democrat either. No person should consider their political party choice to be divined by God. I am well aware that there are moral issues in politics. However the "moral issues" in politics are not limited to gay marriage and abortion. I am pro life, however I don't make all political decisions on that alone. I weigh both candidates. I also don't always pick the Democrat. I have voted for Senator Richard Lugar (R) many times mostly because of his stance on foreign policy and willingness to break from his party. The other moral issues in my mind, are issues dealing with poverty, treating of all Americans equally, and peace. These are part of the reasons I am going to vote for Senator Barack Obama.

I have dealt with this issue for a long time. Christians thinking that in order to be a good Christian you must be a Republican. I can remember during the 2000 presidential campaign, guys at Moody feeling they needed to pray for my salvation, because I was a democrat. This attitude has bigger ramifications than some may think. While most committed white evangelical Christians are Republicans, most committed black evangelical Christians are Democrats. Dr. King said that Sunday morning is the most segregated time of the week. If we ever want to try to come together as Christians we need to start to understand that there are differences among us. We also need realize that one group is not right and the other is wrong. There is no way you can say that the bible states which political platform is more Godly than the other. No Christian should therefore admonish another for their political views. And as pastors we have an even higher level of accountability. The preaching of political views from the pulpit is wrong no matter which side of the line you are on.

McDespicable...the real John McCain.

John McCain used to be someone who I disagreed with, but still respected. Within the last few weeks, my respect has gone out the window with his integrity. Now as the ad says he has diminished to dirty tactics and outright lies. As the ad states some of the media has had enough of the formerly honorable Senator's tactics. One such attack was that Obama wanted to teach comprehensive sex education to kindergartners. Something that is simply untrue. The main purpose of the bill in question for children of that age was to let them no what was appropriate and inappropriate contact from another person. Only Senator McCain could take a bill whose purpose was to help children who being abused and use it as an attack.

There of course is a bigger problem here. McCain's campaign feels absolutely no need to tell the truth. For example, McCain continually says that Obama's tax plan will raise taxes on most Americans despite the fact that he knows that to be untrue. If the media contradicts them with the truth, it is simply the liberal media distorting McCain. If someone in the media asks him about it, he tells them that he is a war hero. On the tonight show Jay Leno asked him how he did not know how many houses he had. Senator McCain launched into a speech about his time as a P.O.W. How bad are things getting when you are dodging questions from Jay Leno? The problem is that the American people are obviously buying it. The recent poll says that race is extremely close. Two weeks ago Obama had a very clear advantage. The Sarah Palin announcement has played a huge part in that. The McCain campaign continues to make the assertion that she turned down the bridge to nowhere, despite clears evidence to the contrary. McCain has now realized that Americans want change. So even though he his policies on education, taxes, economics, foreign affairs, and the war are identical George Bush, he is now telling you he is going to change America. We have all heard that politicians say what they have to in order to be elected. What message will it send to politicians if McCain is elected? It seems that America is saying we like being lied to keep it up. How bad has gotten? Karl Rove, the mastermind behind attack John Kerry's war record and author of McCain has a baby by a Bangladeshi prostitute, thinks that "McCain has gone too far, and attributing to Obama things that are beyond the 100% truth test." Come on

Sources:

http://time-blog.com/swampland/2008/09/apology_not_accepted.html
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/staff/margaret_talev/story/52169.html
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2008/09/does_the_truth_matter_anymore.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/10/politics/animal/main4434276.shtml?source=search_story

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/08/politics/animal/main4426001.shtml?source=search_story

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/08/politics/animal/main4425331.shtml?source=search_story

smart is a bad thing

I hear it over and over Barack Obama is an elitist. Basically attacking him for being smart and thinking he's smarter than other people. I don't know about most people, but I would surely hope the president is smarter than me. I would hope he knows more than me. When's the last time you went into surgery thinking, "I hope my doctor is more like me and less of an intellectual." So why would you want your country to be run by such a person? Do you want the guy to operate on you to be magna cum laude from Harvard or the bottom of his class at the naval academy? Or even better how about someone who went to school to Hawaii Pacific, North Idaho, Idaho, and Matanuska -Susitna just to get a degree in communications with a journalism focus. I thought communications was a degree for football players. I mean I trust Peggy Kusinski (google it) when it comes to the bears, but I don't think she should be the vice-president. Seriously when did it become an okay thing for our leaders to be not the best of the best. I understand the argument that you want a leader to understand where you're coming from, but that's not the argument against Obama. He grew up poor and understands the plight of the working people and underprivaledged. Something that cannont be said for McCain. I just don't get the appeal of electing someone who is not a lot smarter than myself. But what do I know I voted against Bush twice and look how well that turned out. Wait a minute?!?

Who's to blame?

Today (well technically yesterday) was the 7 year anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001. I think most of us remember that day vividly. I can remember that I didn't have class that day and slept in. I came down stairs and turned on the TV not to long after the second plane hit the towers. I sat on the couch not being able to believe what I was watching. It was a terrible day that is burned into the minds of the people in our country.

Today as we always do at God's Children's House, we talked about what is in the news. Many of the kids mentioned that today was the anniversary of 9/11. Several of them didn't really know that much about it. So I explained what happened, and how the terrorist used the planes as weapons. Then one of the student's spoke up and said, "them terrorist were some beasts" (that's hood for someone who can't be stopped for example Lebron James is a beast on the court). I tried to explain to this young man that something terrible had happened. Then he and other's responded with they was on their job, that was gangsta. I was dumbfounded. After laying into them pretty bad about there being nothing good about anyone who kills innocent people, I began to think who's to blame for this attitude?

There are several easy answers. It's because of violent video games. However most credible studies now say that there is no link between violent video games and violent behavior or attitudes. Also most of the kids who were talking don't even own video game systems. The other obcious answer is rap music. I do agree that portrayl of the gangsta lifestyle as being a true black man by rappers is a problem. Seriously ten years ago most there was a definite choice in main stream hip hop. There was a big movement of positive hip hop. Today the Lupe Fiasco's are two few to be heard. Even BET said that Little Brother's music video was too intelligent for their audience. These are problems when the role models in a society act in this manner. However most kids are able to understand the difference between the fake lifestyles portrayed by most rappers and reality.

The root of the probelm is in our and other inner city communities there is no parental guidance to stiffle this gangsta attitude. It is not just absent parents that are the problem. Most of the kids have parents, they just have bad ones. Many of our parents would drive their child around the neighborhood looking for another child who had punked their child, so their child could beat the other kid up. They get into physical fights with other parents, threaten teachers, and allow their children to shoot off their guns (we're not talking about hunting here, we're talking about letting off automatic gunfire into the air in a populated area). What can we do about parents that not only don't know how to be parents, but can't be desecent human beings? Recently in Vibe magazine they asked "Why does Barack Obama think he needs to call black parents to task everytime he speaks." First of all he's not talking to just black parents, he's talking to all parents. The reason is he gets it. No amount of govermental programs are going to make your kids descent people if you don't raise them. So what's the answer? In the words of Larry Norman, "Don't ask me for the answer's I only have one that a man leaves the darkness, when he follows the son." Without a change in their very spirit there will be no change. I guess that is why I do what I do I guess. I hope that maybe some of the kids will get it, and through their faith in Christ they take a different path.

Republicans want to pull the kid gloves back out.

After leveling vicious attacks against Obama since before he was even the nominee, the Republicans want to put the kid gloves back on. The McCain campaign says that Senator Obama needs to apologize for comments he made about Governor Palin. What Senator Obama said was that you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig. You can wrap a fish in paper called change, but it still stinks. His comments were directed squarley at Senator McCain. However the McCain campaign now wants an apology for Governor Palin. Is this going to be the new stratedgy? Every time Obama points out a glaring diparage between McCains actions and words, they can just jump up and down screaming be nice to the girl. Talk about sexism. Just more proof that even the McCain camp doesn't take Palin seriously. (want another example how about passing out buttons at RNC that said "The hottest governor from the coolest state") The McCain camp gets question both Barack and Michelle's patriotism, use images of terrorist supporting foreign leaders with Obama in ads, bring up Jeremiah Wright, and try to link him to a "terrorist" from the sixities. But now something not even directed at Palin is too much. Seriously how long will people accept the McCain campaign feeding us BS and telling us it's steak. Oh does it matter that John McCain said, "it's like putting lipstick on a pig" in reference to Hilary Clinton's health care plan? Wake up people.

NBC is wrong and right.

NBC has recently removed Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann as the co-anchors from the political coverage and make them commentators. I first must say I thought that the banter between the two was childish at times and something needed to change. I was disappointed that Chris Matthews was leaving, as I feel that he is a good journalist. He is kind of a pit bull, but he goes after both the right and the left. Olbermann on the other hand is the farthest thing from a journalist. He is a pundit for the left plain and simple. Just as Bill O'reilly and Shawn Hannity are the furthest thing from fair and balanced, Olbermann is not balanced on the both sides. These pundits like O'reilly, Hannity, and Olbermann should not be allowed to anchor news coverage. They spit rhetoric like it is fact. Fox at least has kept O'reilly in the pundit role. These pundits passing as journalists muddy the waters for uniformed Americans who turn to these people for their "news"

More from the RNC

1. Good Job McCain

First I would like to say I thought that there was something good that McCain did tonight. He didn't attack Senator Obama, the person. Hopefully this is not to just counter Obama doing it first, but a serious strategy change from personal attacks on Obama.

2. Who I am not what I stand for.

John McCain has made his position clear. He is not going to talk about the specifics of his economic plans, war strategy, or any real meat of the issues. He is going to try to convince us that he is a better person than Senator Obama. Why? He can't win on the issues. 80% of Americans think that the Bush economic policy needs to be changed. The problem for Senator McCain is that his economic policy is almost identical to President Bush's. Hopefully America won't get caught up who is who and vote on the issues.

3. Civil Rights?

Senator McCain said that education is the greatest civil rights issue of our time. I completely agree. However Senator McCain doesn't get to talk about civil rights, since he has fought his entire career against it. He has shot down every affirmative action that has come before. He has done everything possible to keep equal pay legislation from being passed. Senator McCain even led the fight against making Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday from becoming a national holiday. Senator McCain you sir have not earned the right to speak on Civil Rights.

4. Community Organizer

Apparently Republicans don't really know what this is. In poor communities we don't get support from most politicians, becasue we can't support their campaigns financially. Wait maybe I need to back up a little more. In America there are these communities where people don't have a lot of money. We struggle for jobs and have poor schools. I know Republican politicains have seen these communities on the news, even if you only visit them when they're under water. We need these organizers to get things done, since no one else cares about us. They serve our communites in a way that most politicians don't. This is why we as the underprivaledged Americans support Obama.

Palin second guessed

First I would like to say that I was interested to see what Governor Palin had to say. I was surprised at most of her speech, so here are my thoughts.

1. Republicans want their cake and to eat it to

Governor Palin wants to attack Senator Obama on his experience, where hers is very questionable. She was a Governor of a town half the size of the state Senate district that Senator Obama represented. A town she left with an enormous debt. She was Governor of a state 1/3 the size of Chicago. I don't understand how she can attack Senator Obama's experience. Also she is trying to call herself a Washington outsider while attacking his experience. How does that work?

2. New canidates same old retouric

Sarah Palin is very concerned about her family that are opening a new buisness and auto workers in Michigan's taxes being raised by Senator Obama. I would like to put her mind at ease. Unless that auto worker is working 90 hours a week making over $250,000 his taxes won't be raised. Unless her family members pull a personal income (not buisness profit) of over $250,000 they will also not have their taxes raised. Republicans have gone to the old jump up and down scream their going to raise taxes as their strategy. Look if you make that much money I think you can afford a little more.

3. I think the fact that Governor Palin's daughter being pregnant or Troopergate shouldn't matter. I do think the fact that she is planning to still accept the money from "the bridge to nowhere" and use it for other state money. There are several cases of her misappropriating federal funds. However the McCain had to know that these issues would hurt his campagin. Why did he do it? The bottom line is he didn't research his pick. Neither he nor anyone from his campaign talked to anyone from the Alaskian legislature. The didn't talk to any state officials. He only met with her once. They didn't do their homework. Remember the last time the Republicans didn't do their homework? How's that Iraq thing going anyway? Her personal issues don't call her judgment into question. They do draw Senator McCains make a shooting from the hip decision making.

Also throughout the course of the night she and other Republicans made assertions that simply were not true. Here's a Associated Press article that points some of them out. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_fact_check

Obama acts presidential

It has been announced that Gov. Patlin's daughter is pregnant. While it is a little humorous that someone who supports abstinence only sex education, has a pregnant teenage daughter. I am glad that Senator Obama has called this a non-issue and says family is off limits. It makes me even prouder to be a supporter of him. This is an extension of the statement in his speech that he wants this campaign to be about the issues. I do wonder if the Republicans would be as generous. Since the Republican attack machine is infamous. They tried to sex scandel Clinton, interneted Al Gore, swift boated John Kerry, and tried to celebrity and terrorist Barack Obama. I hope other left organizations like Moveon.org don't drag us down to that level.

Also I hope that Senator Obama and the deocratic party leave "Troopergate" alone. Yes they came up with a dumb name for it. Can I ask why every "scandel" since Watergate has to end with gate? This at least at the time appears to be something cooked up by someone she lost the election to. The guy that she allegedly pressured to fire her former brother-in-law says he received some pressure from her office, but no direct contact with her about it. Also the trooper that was fired tazed his son and had broken somewhere around 11 laws while acting as an officer. If she did do something improper or it even appears that way it could hurt McCain's campaign. However I have no problem with getting crooked cops off the street.

Exciting Week in politics and a little scary.

The Speech

I would like to start off by talking about Senator Obama's speech at the Democratic convention. I think I finally understand how my parents felt when they heard John F. Kennedy or Dr King speak. That moment will be something that I will be able to talk to my nieces and nephews about some day (no kids for Ben). I'll be the old guy that can tell the kids about when I heard President Obama (fingers crossed) speak at the DNC. The day that 45 years after his speech Dr. King's dream was starting to be realized. Not because he's black, but because the fact that he's black is unimportant. He is simply the best man for the job. He is being judged on the content of this charicter not the color of his skin. As far as the speech itself I thought it was amazing. He had the usual poetry that we expect from him, but there was something more. He was able to lay out the differences between John McCain and himself, and he also talked about the specifics of his policies. I have heard people say that they thought maybe it was a little too negative. For months now many of us Obama supporters have been wondering when is he going to strike back. McCain has been leveling attack after attack, and unlike Senator Kerry, Obama finally struck back. However in doing so he took the moral high ground by saying that he doesn't question what kind of a man Senator McCain is, only his stance on the issues. It is a moral high ground that I hope Senator McCain agrees to join him on, even if he has been running his campaign to the contrary so far. I doubt Senator McCain will do so, because on the issues he's not very strong. Poll show that majority of Americans want the war in Iraq to end, don't like the Bush economic package, and think that the country needs to go into a new direction.

The Scary

I went to sleep Thursday night on cloud nine, and then was awoken this moring with a possible storm. Senator McCain picked his VP canidate. I understand he didn't want Senator Obama's amazing speech to be the lead on the news cycle. The weeks leading up to the choice I was filled with hope. He was going to choose Romney or Pawlenty. Either of which I think the Obama camp could have handled easily. I also heard Lieberman. What a perfect dream that would have been, might have as well started planning the inaugeration. Then I found out this morning it was Governor Patlin. Who? The governor of Minnesota, and she's a young woman. Now I think this is a huge gamble for McCain, but it is a scary one for me. Obviously I like the fact that McCain really can't bring up the experience factor anymore, since this woman really doesn't have much. She is a relative unknown, which has pros and cons. While she doesn't have a popular name, people will want to know about her. With only two months left until the election I hope her story doesn't mask Senator McCain's stances on the issues. Also there is the ticked off Hilary voters, who seem to think that Barack somehow stole the election. ( they obviously can't do math) I hope that they see through the show of a woman VP to see that she comes out on the opposite side on every issue with Hilary Clinton. I hope America is smart enough to vote for the canidate that emodies their beliefs about our government, not just for the woman or for that matter the black guy. However this is a country that has given us about 26 seasons of The Bachelor. I want to have faith in our country that they will make an informed decision, but it scares me. One final thought I've had. There are going to be some ignorant people that will refuse to vote for Obama, because he's black. Aren't these some of the same kind of ignorant people who wouldn't vote for a woman. Now who are dumb rednecks going to vote for?

Saddleback Sellout and Ridiculous Republicans

SADDLEBACK SELLOUT

I must say that I have not read any of Pastor Warren's books. I did see him on the CNN special in which he himself stated that issues of poverty, justice, and the AIDS crisis are some of the most important issues that Christians should be concerned with. So I was very hopeful when I watch the interviews with Senator Obama and Senator McCain. Since these issues are near to my heart as a Christian I was anxious to see what the Senators would say. However none of these issues were brought up at all. Instead Pastor Warren went down the Conservative Right's checklist of issues: Abortion, judges, gay marriage, and taxes, specifically at what point is someone considered rich. I was unaware that taxes were an issue of faith, other than "render unto Cesar what is Cesars". I was appalled that a man of God who claims that certain issues are supposed to be at forefront of our faith would drop those issues to make his canidate, Senator McCain look better. Maybe time ran out, or no one sent in any questions about these issues, or maybe he just sold out. Could it have hurt him in the eyes of the Christian Right had he taken Senator McCain to task on some of these issues? Yes. Was it the right thing to do? Definitely. I just find it hard to believe that a man I saw speak so passionately on these issues, no longer found them to have any merit.

RIDICULOUS REPUBLICANS

The lastest attack from the Republican party against Senator Obama is that he is pro infanticide. I'm not talking his abortion stance (which I whole heartedly disagree with him on), that he wants to kill babies. There was a bill while he was in the Senate that was going to ban the killing of babies of botched abortions, that he voted against. The Republicans now say he is in favor of killing those babies. It doesn't matter that there was a bill that has been a law in Illinois for 20 years already protecting these babies, or that the Illinois board of health was against this bill as well. It also doesn't matter that the reason he rejected this bill was that the language was such that would overturn Roe vs. Wade, and the resubmitted bill with the changed language passed after Obama became a United States Senator. They are know going to say Obama wants to kill babies. Come on Republicans you can do better.

Like I said I don't agree with Senator Obama's stance on abortion, not that McCain has had a good voting record on it until he was running for president. I simply think there are other issues to consider besides abortion. I think a child is always important not just before they are born. I think that is very hypocritical to say that Roe v. Wade should be overturned (which despite the promises of President Regan, President Bush Sr, and current President Bush still stands) and then vote against the Childrens Medical Inssurance Bill.

US Foreign policy hurting Olympic Athletes

The announcers have constantly made it obvious, whatever the sport, that no country has an advantage with the amount of judges. It was just poor judging that the girl who beat Alicia Sacramone fell flat on her face. It was simply incompetence that kept judges from giving points to Demetrius Andrade for landing punch after punch on his opponent. It is true that no single country can influence these outcomes. However no country is as disliked for our foreign policy decisions right now as the United States is. America is not a well like nation in Europe, Asia, or Latin America. The fact that our foreign policy is that we know best, leaves a bad taste in other country's mouths. Whether it's subliminal or not I'm sure some of the judges in boxing and gymnastics wouldn't mind seeing the US's self-proclaimed superiority knocked down a few pegs. How often do you hear other country's leaders going on and on about how their country is the best in the world? Sometimes people want to put the cocky kid who thinks they are better than everyone else in their place.

Top 3 things I'm ranting about

3. The if you like option- Whether it's Netflix, Amazon.com, or Xbox Live they all tell you what you should like. Unfortunately it makes no sense. Netflix just told me because I like Rocky V, I should like Celion Dion live from Las Vegas. What? After watching the trailer to "Tropic Thunder" Xbox live thinks I would like Nanny Mcphee, Wing Commander, and Six Degrees of seperation. Amazon.com thinks since I enjoyed the TV show Angel I will also like Picket Fences. I just don't understand how they come to the realizations, unless they are simply pushing certain products. In the grand scope of things it's not that big of a deal

2. Michael Phelps- How can I hate on the greatest Olympic Champion of all time. How did he do it? He won in swimming. What's my problem with that? Swimming has so many different events, that it is ridicuolous. There's a breast stroke, a freestyle, backstroke, a medley(where you combine the riduculousness, and relays. Why can't it simply be however you did it you got from one end of the pool to the other faster. Don't you think Carl Lewis could have won the 100m skip, hop, backpeddle, and medely. Simply put Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer ever, but the greatest Olympian ever? No, he is simply in a sport that awards more medals than any other.

1. President Bush- In an interview with Bob Costas, President Bush said, "I don't think America has problems." In a country with a major recession, a sky rocketing unemployment, a war with no end in sight, a failing educational system, and the highest poverty rate since the Great Depression, our president says there aren't any problems. That is exactly the problem.

Olympic Boxing Scoring

Alright most of you might not care about this, but it really bugs me. The Olympic committee changed the way the scoring was done after 1988 games, in which Roy Jones Jr. was the beneficiary of the worst screw job in Olympic Boxing history. The changed it to "computer scoring" to take away the human bias. Unfortunately it's simply electronic human scoring. Three judges have a button for each fighter. Every time a fighter lands a scoring blow to the torso or head the judge presses the button. If all three judges press the button within a single second then the fighter is awarded a point. There are three major problems with the system.

First it has not fixed the problem. The judges aren't pressing the buttons. The scores so far in the Olympics have been extremely low. There are two explanations. In the words of Teddy Atlas (one of the world's best boxing commentators), "either it's incompetence or corruption." I watch a fight with a non-USA boxer that had won the world championships. He landed about seven clean shots in a row and was awarded no points.

The second problem is that is awards no extra points or weighted points for knockdowns or standing 8 counts. The reason, in my humble opinion, is to discriminate against fighters from the Americas. Notice I didn't say America. The style of Latin American fighters and fighters from the USA does not lend itself to just scoring points. This is a reason why many successful Olympic boxers have a hard time as pros. They are basically two different sports.

The third major problem with this system is that the equipment is expensive. So it is not used in most non-Olympic amateur bouts. It is not used in the Golden Gloves competition. It is obviously not used in club fights that amateurs take part in. This hurts fighters that don't come from countries without sports colleges. Russia, Cuba, and China are examples of countries who have these kinds of amateur programs. America obviously does not. This has to do with our lack of track education system, which I don't really want to get into. The problem is that successful American and Latin American boxers (excluding Cuba) have to retrain themselves how to fight this different style.

Alright I talked about the New Yorker cover, so I figured I would talk about the Vanity Fair response. While the Vanity Fair cartoon is in poor taste, it isn't as bad as the New Yorker. Let me start by saying I think the Vanity Fair response would be for the most part acceptable except for one thing: The constitution in the fire place. Now I know most would think that it is simply because of my bias that I think this. However if you look at the two cartoons there is a big difference, TRUTH. Like I said the burning constitution is plain wrong. However Cindy McCain did have a problem with pills, even though it is somewhat in poor taste. John McCain would be the oldest president we have ever had. Also the picture of George Bush really shouldn't be offensive, since Senator McCain now promotes most of Bush's ideas. The difference with the Obama cartoon is that there is that he's not a Muslim, his wife has no ties to Black militants, and he has no ties to the nation's most hated enemy Osama bin Ladin. Also in my last post I talked about the historical factors. If the Vanity Fair cartoon would have been first, I most likely would have condemned it. I feel that Vanity Fair was not only trying to balance the scales, but also take some shots at The New Yorker. While I believe the Vanity Fair cartoon is not as bad as The New Yorker's cartoon, neither are really helpful to the political process. Diminishing the McCain and Obama to negative caricatures takes focus away from the issues. The issues that are going to decided what kind of country we live in.

I've tried, but it's time...

I've tried for so long to try to keep Fox News' fair and balanced news coverage out of my blog. Mainly I wanted to do this because it seems like every liberal is always whining about Fox. However after what I saw recently, I can't keep my mouth shut. Fox aired a news report about Senator Obama jumping on the General Patreas band wagon. Back last September there was an add that ran calling him General Betrayus. The house voted on a resolution to condemn the add. The recent Fox News reports have claimed that Obama did not vote for the resolution. The problem is that it is public record that Senator Obama did vote for the resolution. It is one thing to have pundits who claim that there are problems with Obama. It is just ludacris in this age of media for a news organization to make a "mistake" like that. It is obvious that Fox does not care about the truth. They simply want to attack Obama with anything, even if it is an boldface lie. Most of know that Fox is far from fair and balanced. Unfortunately there are those that actually get their news from this journalistic wasteland.

Polls don't matter

A new poll, that has been reported on by all the major news organizations, says that over 60% of white Americans have a negative view of Obama. We all know to get an accurate poll, the poll must have a large enough sampling of the population to properly represent the populous. So how many people were polled: a million, 100 thousand, 10 thousand? The actually polled less than 2,000 people. There is no way to get a legitimate poll with this small of a sampling. Depending on econmic levels, education levels, and geographic area of pollees can make a huge difference. However polling just a few of each group is simply ridiculous. People wonder why polls keep being wrong. This is why.

Satire or poor taste?

This is the photo The New Yorker is claiming to be satire. The obama camp says that it is in poor taste. The argument from the magazine is that the cartoon points out the ridiculousness of the ideas that have been spread about Senator Obama seems to be a good one. Unfortunately The New Yorker did not explain the photo in any article, and beyond that mostly attacked Senator Obama for his "flip flopping". Most intelligent people can look at this and say it's in poor taste or that it is an attempt at satire. The problem is that people that believe that Obama is a Muslim (12% believe this according to the latest polls, and 1% think he's Jewish and that's just funny) aren't the educated people in our country. I understand the New Yorker's audience is most likely educated enough to not see this as a reality. Unfortunately this picture will circulate through the internet and be used the Republicans (not the McCain camp itself, but some supporters will) to put fear into uneducated white people. It perpetuates the stigmas that have been placed on Barack and Michelle Obama. My final point is that even if this an attempt to tear down stereotypes, this is not the way to do it. For far too long racist caricatures have been a staple in this country. It was used during the time of slavery to denagrate blacks. They were used during segregation to motivate fear that blacks would destroy our country if they were given freedom. Now our country has taken an enormous step forward, and this simply takes back to a time in our history that all Americans should be ashamed of.

Why can't politics be about policy?

This past week I was visiting my sister and her husband. Her husband is a conservative republican, and I am a democrat. Over our time there we talked about politic quite often. We disagree on many things, but neither of us believe the other side is evil. We were able to rationally discuss issues, and then agree to disagree. I don't agree with Republicans on hardly anything, but I don't think they are out to get us (at least not most of them). I just simply believe they have a different idea on how the country should be run. The problem is that most elections are not about issues. Wouldn't it be great if news organizations simply put it out there: On this issue Obama believes this and McCain believes that. The problem with that is trusting Americans to make an intelligent based on those discussion. I don't believe political strategists and pundits want to give Americans that much credit. The want to discuss the latest internet rumor, misstep made by a canidate, or the latest crazy preacher (and they both have crazy preachers). Whether it's Fox News' racist coverage or MSNBC calling McCain a warmonger, it's not helpful. It simply muddies the waters. Whose fault is it though that things have gotten this way? It's America's. Look if you consider Obama and McCain's policies and vote for McCain than I respect that (I don't understand it, but I respect it). However if you make your decision
based on a pundit or some internet rumor, than you are everything that is wrong with this country. Please turn these pundits off, don't listen to the hype, and make an informed decision.

Fight night predictions

I plan to write predictions for all the big fights (mma/boxing). If you don't care READ IT ANYWAY. Just kidding.

Here's my predictions for the June 21 Ultimate Fighter Finale

Preliminaries:

Rob Yundt vs Rob Kimmons: Don't know much about either of these guys, but Kimmons is a good jujitsu guy. Yundt lost his last fight by Guillotine. KIMMONS SUB RD 2

Tim Credur vs Cale Yarburough: I think it's safe to say that Credur has the advantage, by simply looking at how they both performed against Dollaway. Cale is inexperienced on the ground. Credur proved that he could take some good shots. CREDUR SUB RD 1

Dean Lister vs Jeremy Horn: This is obviously going to be a ground battle. I think Horn is very much on the downside of his career, but Lister tends to gas in the latter rounds. I think Horn wins the rematch. HORN DEC

Matt Brown vs Matt Arroyo Another rematch. This time I think Arroyo's ground skills will dominate this fight. Brown is a slow starter anyway. I think Arroyo will inside trip him, take him down, and submit him. ARROYO SUB RD 2

Marvin Eastman vs Andrew Mcfedries: To be honest who cares about this one. I think Eastman overwhelms him early. EASTMAN KO RD 1

Josh Burkman vs Dustin Hazelett: This one is going to be close I think Burkman has to win, but I don't think he will. HAZELETT SPLIT DEC

MAIN CARD:

Matt Riddle vs Dante Rivera: I think Rivera is a guy who will benefit more from training with his own camp than with the trainers on the show. I don't think he will gas out. Also I can't stand Riddle, so that may cloud my judgement. RIVERA TKO RD 2

Spencer Fisher vs Jeremy Stephens I think Fisher will be too powerful for Stephens, and his submissions are better. FISHER TKO RD 3

Diego Sanchez vs Luigi Fioravanti: Remember when Sanchez was the next big thing, then he ran into my boy Jon Fitch (who is taking GSP's title believe that). I think he's gonna get back on track if he goes back to his jujitsu. SANCHEZ SUB RD 3.

CB Dollaway vs Amir Sadollah: Let's start off with I hate CB Dollaway and really like Amir. So once again my judgement may be a little flawed. CB however has been gassing at the end of his fights. Amir on the other hand only gets stronger. I think CB will have the fight in complete control most of the way and get caught this time with a punch SADOLLAH KO RD 3

Kendall Grove vs Evan Tanner: Grove has been the biggest disappointment of all the Ultimate Fighter winners. Tanner hasn't proven that he can comeback. So this fight could be a big ?. I just think Tanner is more powerful and has better wrestling. TANNER TKO RD 3

Three things that I'm ranting about right now

3. Elite XC
Alright it's been almost two weeks since Elite XC put on their Primetime show. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about it's MMA (mixed martial arts, know also as ultimate fighting even though that is a brand name). Elite XC has decided that instead of going for quality fights that they are going for the hype that is pushing boxing. This is not surprising since Gary shaw the president of Elite XC is also a boxing promoter. Imagine the first ever prime time baseball broadcast being double AA. The only top ten fighter (and it's debatable whether he belongs there) was Robbie Lawler. The main event between internet sensation Kimbo Slice and James (I've lost 7 out of my last 9 fights) Thompson was a joke. Kimbo is not one of the top 25 heavyweights. He proved it by losing the first two rounds to a tomato can like Thompson. The official appeared to be slanting his decision towards the company's golden boy "Kimbo". Seriously who's ever heard of standing a guy up who's in side control. It was a disgrace to top fighters like Anderson Silva, Rampage Jackson, and BJ Penn who train hard and work to become masters at their sport.

2. Floyd Mayweather
Floyd Mayweather is retiring. He retires with a perfect inflated record. Floyd wants to be considered one of the top fighters of all time. I don't see how dodging fights by retiring helps his legacy. Floyd has not had a meaningful win in four years. He won a controversial decision over De la Hoya, who is on the downside of his career. He beat undersized fighters like Hatton and Judah. The rest of his fights over the past four years have been journeymen. Floyd had a promising early career. However he ducked the tough fights and took the easy ones. He retired so he wouldn't have to face De la Hoya, and definitely he didn't want to fight Miguel Cotto. If he wanted to be the best he should have fought the best competition. Sure he may have had some losses, but he would have been considered better for it. Sugar Ray Robinson had 19 losses and is considered the best boxer of all time, but he fought everybody. Sugar Ray Leonard, Ali, Haggler, and Hearns all had losses. However they are considered great because of who they fought. Mayweather will be forgotten because he chose to pad his record instead of fighting the best fighters out there.



1. People who believe the Obama rumors

After about the tenth email about Obama being a Muslim, terrorist, a criminal, hasn't sponsored one bill of legislation, or the whatever dumb crap the Republicans can start spreading I've had enough. I've talked to people who actually believe them to be true. I don't understand how people can be this stupid. The facts point directly against all of these things. However people I guess believe whatever they want. If you don't want to vote for Obama that's fine, but don't do it for an uniformed reason. There is no evidence to support any of these claims, but people believe what they want. Obviously most people won't come right out and say I won't vote for a black guy (except some of the people I saw interviewed in Kentucky and West Virgina). Look if you're going to vote try to make an informed decision. Come on people don't believe everything you read.