Country First?

Yes, that was one of the many tag lines of the McCain campaign. For those who voted for the losing ticket, this clip below (from the only news station you trust) should both give you pause and make you question your own judgement...

Never thought I would see the day...

I'm 39, and in my lifetime I never thought I would live to see this day. It is a day in which I had the privilege of voting for a man who was raised by a single mother from Wichita, Kansas, and whose father was from Kenya, as a candidate for President of the United States. I have faith our next President will end the war in Iraq, invest in American infrastructure, and restore America's standing in the world. My selection of Barack Obama for President gives me hope that my daughters will grow up in a renewed, openly diverse country with opportunities I never imagined.

Regardless who you voted for, here is a bit of levity:

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor.

McCain/Palin ticket and ethics

Lawmakers in Alaska released a 263-page report on Friday which concluded that Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, abused the power of her office and violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.

As highlighted by the Washington Monthly:

Our nation has had 102 major-party tickets covering 51 presidential elections over more than two centuries. And we've never had a ticket in which both candidates on the same ticket were responsible for ethics violations before a national election. McCain/Palin is the first.

In 1991, John McCain was rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for exercising "poor judgement" over his involvement in the Keating Five scandal. McCain later wrote that his attendance at two meetings with banking regulators was "the worst mistake of my life."

Biden vs. Palin

And to think this folksy "hockey Mom" could actually be a heartbeat away from the Presidency...

McCain and Obama's tax plans compared

Republicans and fiscal discipline

To secure any change in how the United States is governed, two branches--the Legislative and Executive branches must work hand-in-hand. Not to be insulting but just as a quick primer for those not awake during high school civics class, Article I Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States reads that, "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." Further on, Article II Section 1 of the Constitution states that "The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America." So the legislative branch = Senate + House of Representatives (Congress), and executive branch = President.

The purpose of the legislative branch is outlined in Article I Section 8, and in brief, the responsibility of Congress is to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States, borrow Money on the credit of the United States, declare War, and make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

The President of the United States is responsible for signing or rejecting bills into law (Article I Section 7), act as Commander in Chief of the armed services (Article II Section 2), and enforce the laws of the United States (Article II Section 3).

The Republican party controlled both the Senate and the House of Representatives, the entire legislative branch, from 1994 until 2006, when the Democratic party took control by slim margins. Since the disputed 2000 election when Bush edged out Gore to win the Presidency, the executive branch has been in the control of the Republican party. The Republican party has recently controlled both branches of Congress for 12 years and simultaneously controlled the executive and legislative branches for 6 years, so how does a party which runs on a platform which includes fiscal discipline (see page 46 of the RNC platform, just after "War on Terror" and Lower Taxes) measure up?

The Republicans have a history of failure by any measurement when it comes to fiscal discipline. The federal debt is up 92% since the Republican "Revolution" in 1994, and it's up 62% since George W. Bush became President (see chart above). Actions truly speak louder than words.

Wonder why I'm supporting Senator Barack Obama's candidacy for President? He has a proven record of supporting PAYGO (pay as you go) federal budget rules.

DorkyDad endores Sen. Barack Obama for President

My politics are pretty simple. I'm for limited government, an equitable tax structure, diplomacy over bombs, balancing the budget, and paying off our $9 trillion federal debt (over $30,000 for every man, woman, and child in America--scary!). I fall solidly in the Libertarian camp, and so I gave very serious consideration to the candidacy of Republican Congressman Ron Paul for President, the 1988 Libertarian Party candidate for President. While there is no perfect candidate, I completely disagree with his ideas on healthcare reform (I believe health coverage for all should be a right, just as is police and fire protection) and believe that Congressman Paul's answers to charges of racism lacking.

America needs to end the war in Iraq. I want diplomacy and peace. I want to save the environment. I'm tired of fear, and I'm tired of division. I'm ready to help change the world for good, and I am endorsing Barack Obama for President.

Cheney calls invasion of Iraq a quagmire

This is a widely seen video from an interview of a then unemployed Dick Cheney in 1994, but it's worth seeing again. It's shocking how prescient his message was, and it begs the question, "If Saddam wasn't worth more than 146 American casualties in 1994, why is the 'liberation of Iraq' and overthrow of Saddam worth over 3,700 American casualties today?"

At what point is incompetence treasonous?

Our President is delusional... when will the Senate have the guts to hold our Commander in Chief accountable? For someone with an MBA, President Bush does not understand that the economic and human sacrifices of this war are sunk costs, expenses which are unrecoverable and shouldn't be considered when determining whether to abandon or continue a particular action.

A heartfelt thanks on Memorial Day

Despite the chasm separating my political beliefs with those of some family members, I made a phone call today to thank my aunt and uncle for their most painful sacrifice to our nation. Tim, their son and my cousin, was an Air Force Academy graduate and Lieutenant in the Air Force. Tim was killed 21 years ago on a night training flight in south Georgia. As a parent, I can't imagine the pain of losing a child ever dulls.

If you don't have a friend or family member who has died in service to our country, know there have been 3,452 American military men and women sacrificed to the cause of war in Iraq since March, 2003. Regardless of your political beliefs, today is a day to remember their final sacrifice. I have.

Bravery of Lt. Col. Paul Yingling

Reading the brave editorial by Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yingling, deputy commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, in the Armed Forces Journal reminded me of a statement made by former Chief Justice Earl Warren, "Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile, I caught hell for."

It's your turn, Democrats

As my profile reads, I'm really a cynical, independent-minded voter who doesn't trust Republicans or Democrats to do, solve, or save me from anything. I'm technically a libertarian who believes in limited (small) government, an equitable tax structure, diplomacy over bombs, and balancing the budget followed by paying off the debt--everything the Bush-led Republican administration (including Congress) is not. So with Jim Webb securing the win in Virginia, both the House and Senate are in the hands of Democrats. There is now an overseer to the unchecked power wielded by the executive branch over the last 5 years. I have renewed faith in the American electorate.

How big of a win was this? Republicans did not win any of the Democrat-held House seats, not a single Democrat-held Senate seat went to a Republican, and they won none of the Democrat-held Governors races. In Bush's words, "It was a thumping."

Dems, come January 3, 2007, it's your turn.

I'll close with the sage words spoken on February 12, 2002, by our soon-to-be former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld:

As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns - that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones.

Stay the Course

Who is the real flip-flopper?

Absentee voting

I know I haven't written much about politics lately, and it isn't for lack of interest but rather it's for lack of time given the abundance of topics to address. I will mention one, however: the loss of liberty. I am reminded of this quote by Benjamin Franklin:

Those willing to give up a little liberty for a little security deserve neither security nor liberty.

On my birthday last week, President Bush signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 into law. With it, he legalized torture and eliminated the right of habeas corpus, granted in Article I, Section 9 of our Constitution. My thoughts on Bush's action are best summarized by the words of Keith Olbermann, who said, "We now face what our ancestors faced, at other times of exaggerated crisis and melodramatic fear-mongering: A government more dangerous to our liberty, than is the enemy it claims to protect us from."

I'm going to vote absentee today, and I'll let my bumper sticker do the rest of my talking.

Keith Olbermann echoes my sentiments

Keith Olbermann echoes my sentiments on 9/11.

Abu Ghraib: just the tip of the iceberg?

After reading this article in the Baltimore Sun about atrocities committed by service members in Vietnam and what the Pentagon did to prosecute those involved, I feel so relieved to know that this same Pentagon is responsible for investigating and prosecuting the rape and murder of a 14-year old girl along with the murder of her 5-year old sister, mother, and father.

Fortunately the Pentagon meted out some serious justice to Sgt. Milton Ortiz Jr. of the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment of the Pennsylvania National Guard, as the U.S. Command announced just Saturday that Ortiz was reduced in rank to specialist after pleading guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice by placing a rifle near a mortally wounded Iraqi in February and threatening and assaulting an Iraqi in March.

The charges against Ortiz resulted from the killing of an unarmed Iraqi near Ramadi by Spc. Nathan Lynn, who was cleared last month of manslaughter and conspiring to obstruct justice.

And don't get these stories confused with the Article 32 hearing that was completed on Friday in Tikrit where four soldiers from Company C, Third Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, were accused of killing three Iraqi detainees in Samarra three months ago. No decision on a trial was announced.

There is also the somewhat forgotten case of the November 19, 2005, murder of 15 civilians by Marines that seems to be in a perpetual state of "investigation".

No global warming?

I don't know the root cause--whether it's natural or manmade--but when I experience Chicago at 97 degrees while Atlanta is "only" 87 degrees, I know that our climate is changing.

New air freshener

With a lot going on I got several weeks behind opening my personal snail-mail, but I'm finally caught up. In addition to the usual subscription notices, mortgage refinancing letters, and slew of magazines, I received an unexpected gift from my friends Rob of Chasing the Fluency God and his wife Staci of NovelChick.

During their trip to Seattle, they were kind enough to think of me and my musty-smelling Ford Explorer and bought me a car freshener. And lest you think I have friends who would purchase me a $.49 car freshener assembled and packaged by a 6 year old in China to be sold at Wal-Mart, I'm here to say that my friends have style and know my particular taste in car fresheners because they sent me George Bush's Dumbass Head on a String.

Recommended uses include: in the car, under the toilet seat, anywhere there are hard to reach odors that need Republican attention... like our national debt.

I back an amendment banning stupid presidents

The title of an AP article out this morning reads, "Bush backs amendment banning gay marriage." Aside from holding this belief himself, the article attributes Bush's support for the amendment to appeasing his religious conservative base.

I personally like the position taken by Kinky Friedman, candidate for governor of Texas: Kinky supports gay marriage and equal rights for homosexuals. He believes that the constitution protects everyone. As he says, "I believe love is bigger than government. And besides, they have a right to be as miserable as the rest of us."

I know and am friends with many in the gay community, and of those in long-term relationships, not one has expressed a preference for entering into a "marriage" with their partner vs. entering into a "civil union"; what they are interested in is equal protection of the law as guaranteed in the 14th amendment. Today there are 1,138 benefits, rights and protections granted to married couples that do not apply to same-sex couples (because even long-term partners can't marry), and herein lies the problem since these obviously discriminate against same-sex couple who cannot marry today. Among these rights and benefits are:

• Community property ownership protections
• Eligibility for health benefits (without taxation) and COBRA benefits through an employer
• Right to inherit a spouse's pension
• Immunity from testifying against a spouse
• Right to sue for wrongful death of a spouse
• Child custody, visitation, and duties of financial support to children
• The right to make medical decisions for a sick spouse
• The right to make funeral arrangements for a deceased spouse
  

The basis in the argument against gay marriage boils down to one issue: discrimination. While the sight of a same-sex couple expressing their affection publicly is more awkward to me than seeing a heterosexual couple doing the same, I recognize and understand that this is my problem and prejudice--not theirs! And note that less than 40 years ago, interracial marriage was against the law in 16 states (interesting that all of these are "red" states with the exception of Delaware) when the Supreme Court struck down those laws in Loving v. Virginia.

Politically, I find it offensive that instead of working to extricate the United States from the quagmire of Iraq or spending time solving the problem of exploding government debt, that our president would rather focus on inane matters like banning gay marriage, because everyone knows that's what Jesus would do.

Signs of intelligent life

Dropping off my daughter this morning at her twice-weekly Mother's Morning Out program, I was astonished to see signs of hope that the realities of the state of our nation are beginning to break through the haze of propoganda in this bastion of blind Republican devotion called Cobb County, Georgia. It's one thing for people to disagree with their government; it's quite another for them to take action and put a bumper sticker on their car. Granted, it's not a vote, but it could translate into that very action. It's still a lifetime away, but Republicans could be in real trouble come November.

The first bumper sticker was a "Just Pretend It's All Okay" in the shape of a ribbon. The next one read, "My child is an honors student but my president is an idiot", and then I saw two different vehicles with "F the President" stickers... and one of the vehicles was a pickup truck complete with gun rack and a confederate flag sticker--gotta love Georgia!