Romney Debate Statements That Could Hurt His Bid

During the past two presidential debates between Democratic incumbent Barack Obama and Republican hopeful Mitt Romney, the GOP candidate made potentially detrimental statements that have surprisingly received no criticism.

There are two statements that were stand-outs as potentially damaging to Romney’s campaign:

• “I believe that we are all children of the same god.”
• “Free markets need regulations to work.”

Children of the Same God
There are several obvious reasons Romney’s statement that he believes we are all children of the same god has the potential to damage his campaign. In a nation filled with a population that increasingly declares itself to be nonreligious, atheists, and polytheistic pagans, his statement alienates all those who fall into these categories.

More damning to his campaign, however, is that he uses that reference to the “same god.” Why would this be so problematic? Romney is a devout Mormon. All too many polls show that upwards of 65 percent of Christians in America do not consider Mormonism to be a form of Christianity. Keeping in mind how tightly he sticks to his Mormon beliefs, one can only imagine how many Christian may have bristled at his assertion, which is normally received well-enough when coming from some of the world’s longer established monotheistic religions.

Free Markets Need Regulations
In the first presidential debate, the questions focused on domestic policy. This, of course, centered strongly on the economy. In this debate, Romney clearly stated that “free markets need regulations to work.”  If only the media had panned to a shot of Paul Ryan cringing at Romney’s statement.

In choosing Ryan as his running mate, Romney obviously hoped to garner the support of Tea Partiers, but even more specifically, the Ayn Randists who continuously call for the end of regulations. Those who cling tightly to the ideas and warnings that Ayn Rand presented in “Atlas Shrugged” truly believe that the world is worse off because of all those pesky regulations. Things like, bans on child labor, minimum wage, environmental standards, and such.  

No Mention in the Press?
With all the flak Romney received for his Big Bird and binders full of women statements, it’s a wonder that he didn’t receive much more biting criticism from his base for his free market regulations and same god statements. Of course, it’s not all that surprising. After all, Obama has yet to get called out with any significance for his blatant violations of international laws and war crimes committed under the auspice of drone warfare. Why should Romney be any different?

3 Sure-fire Ways to Boost Your Political Profile

With the final weeks of election season descending upon the US population, many voters might peruse the deluge of candidate literature making their way to mail boxes and think, "I'd do a better job than this guy/gal."

If this is you, then there are three tried-and-true things you might consider doing if you've never made a run for city council, county commissioner, mayor, and so on.

Go to Church

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Although not stated as often as in the past, candidates who belong to large mainstream Christian churches often garner huge support from their fellow church-goers. The evangelism that is a huge aspect of Christianity in all its sects provides an obvious platform for "spreading the word" about a candidate seen as a good, G0d-fearing wo/man.

In the Pacific Northwest, candidates understand the importance of not stating any religious affiliation in their literature. It is, after all, the religious "None" zone capital of the world. However, churches provide an all-too important network for like-minded individuals.

If not already a church-goer, you're best bet is to go with a mainstream Christian church. Baptist, Catholic, Episcopalian, Protestant, even Fellowships are safe bets. Avoid anything considered fringe, like Islam, Buddhism, Neo-Pagan, and even Mormon (unless you live in a heavily Mormon region like Utah). Judaism is a gray area that is dependent on where you live.

Sit on a Board of Directors

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Most non-profit organizations, such as YMCA and the United Way, provide opportunities for members of the community to serve as members on their boards of directors. The commitment is minimal. Most directors need invest only a mere 2 hours a month. The political points scored are insanely huge .

Coach a Teen Sports Team

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Is there anyone more heroic in US culture as the person who coaches the high school sports team? Coach a winning season, and your political credentials skyrocket. After all, someone who can lead a team of teens to victory should effectively run a winning political office, right?

As with choosing which church to attend, candidates should pick only the most mainstream of sports to coach. Baseball, football, and basketball all present the greatest potential. Age is also a factor. While coaching Little League or Pop Warner football carries lots off political weight, coaching gymnastics or soccer at the YMCA presents almost no value to voters.

How will your resume look as you head off to start your run for office during the next round? Will you be able to check these three items off the list?

Author Note: I actually view these three credentials with cynicism and generally discount them as meaningless credentials. In my eyes, these are nothing more than empty political hooks. I am much more interested in hearing a candidate's clearly stated position and plan of action than what boards they've sat on or what baseball team they coached.

Why Hiring Mid-East Veterans Should be Approached with Caution

As someone who has been the victim of police harassment many times throughout the years, every time based on my appearance, a very possible future has me concerned.

Police forces around the country will be filled over the next several years with veterans who should likely not fill such roles.

Veterans Usually Are Ideal Choices for Police Work

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Before I begin to explain why I don't think that many vets should take on police roles, I want to clarify my position on the practice of hiring vets.

Anyone who has served in the military has the training required to serve in any police force:

• They are trained in, at the very least, basic weapons handling, self-defense, and general hand-to-hand combat.
  
• They understand how chains of command work and are well versed in the ways of authoritarian protocol and discipline.
  
• They know how to wear and care for uniforms and how to maintain a professional appearance.
• They understand the importance of memorizing and adhering to departmental/institutional regulations.

This saves any police force considerable amounts of funds in way of training, which means a major savings to the people who ultimately pay the police - us, the taxpaying populous.

The practice of hiring veterans first has been par for the course for generations and should likely remain the case.

The Dark Side of Police Work

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There's one thing about all police that affects even the most generally civic-minded of them that is troublesome — the Us vs. Them mentality.

It's hard to blame police officers for developing this idea that everyone they pull over or approach is a possible danger to them or up to no good. It's also difficult to blame them for getting so calloused, as most people they confront generally give them attitude. I'm certainly no exception (then again, I had very good reason to be upset with the cops who stopped me for no good reasons at all).

What develops is this disconnect between an officer's true role in our communities — to serve and protect — and how they tend to behave — to seek out all wrong-doers and punish them to the full extent of the law.

There are many initiatives within certain communities across the country that are working to reshape their police force to roles of compassionate public servant, and many of those efforts are sponsored by sections of the police forces themselves. After all, most people don't enjoy being viewed as the bad guy, especially when they should ideally be viewed as the good guy.

Still, the modern police paradigm prevails: If you're not a cop (us), you're likely up to no good and possibly dangerous (them).

In the Middle East, All Others Are Suspect

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I can't even begin to imagine how terrifying it must be to serve in a military role in Iraq or Afghanistan. Even the most routine of traffic stops or roadside inspections can mean loss of limbs, senses, or the end of your life.

Understandably so, military personnel rapidly develop an exceptionally strong "us vs. them" mentality. I certainly would.

What is more terrifying, though, are the exceptionally high numbers of civilian casualties. We're not talking about deaths as a result of getting caught in the crossfire (not to say those casualties don't exist). It's that anyone who is slightly suspect is often jailed, if they're lucky. So many others are just shot upon sight, or their hovels destroyed with enough fire power to sink a destroyer.

I honestly don't know which would be scarier, being a Middle Easterner or serving in the US military. At least if you're in the military, though, there'd be no doubt as to which "side" you serve.

Rampant Refusal to Diagnose Veterans with PTSD Is a Recipe for Abuse

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It's now a well-known fact that the US military is notoriously refusing to diagnose soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). There are many reasons thrown around for why the military would choose to deny such diagnoses. The most obvious, of course, is that in reducing the diagnoses, the military reduces the long-term health costs related with treating these troops.

After WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam, cases of domestic violence began to soar. This is a clearly documented phenomenon. What wasn't documented, mostly due to the more doe-eyed hero-worshiping citizenry of those eras, was the prevalence of police abuse. Most of the accounts of police abuse came from marginalized groups like African Americans and hippies, so they were generally discounted.

The Possible Danger of Thousands of Vets Becoming Cops

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One of the most in-demand occupations these days is in the field of police work. With unemployment rates soaring to record highs and tens of thousands of troops returning from lengthy deployments in the Middle East, thousands of these troops will end up working in some form of law enforcement or security roles.

Combine the prevalence of PTSD in troops with their hyper sense of "us vs. them" and unleash them on the American population, and we are facing a very real possibility of excruciatingly high levels of police abuse.

Intensified Psychological Pre-screening Should be Required

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I truly hope my prediction is incorrect, and I definitely don't believe that all troops-gone-cop will inherently become abusive police officers.

However, the risk of this happening is very real. Unless police forces take pro-active steps to ensure that their officers will adhere to a "to serve and protect" mindset instead of a viciously "us vs. them" mentality, a spike in police abuse claims will occur. In beefing up the depth of the psychological evaluations that all police candidates must undergo before employment, police force administrators should be able to avoid such a negative development from arising.

In this era of social media, nothing will be more damaging to the role that a police force should serve than a vet-gone-cop who loses it with the wrong person around to record it. Such exposure is not only devastating to the reputation of the specific department, but to the taxpayer costs in lieu of legal fees.

Whatever You Do This November, Don't Vote!

Sarah Silverman and Jonah Hill are masters of irony. Remember, October 4 is your last day to register to vote in many states. Go register, then vote this November.


"Don't Vote!" - CollegeHumor.com

Sarah Palin in Disney's "Head of Skate"

From the producers of "The Mighty Ducks" comes the blockbuster of the holiday season.


"Head of Skate" - CollegeHumor.com

Sarah Palin Is a Valley Girl

If you're familiar with the expression "gag me with a spoon" and the culture that associated with it, you know what a "valley girl" is.

Back in the early eighties, the term was so popular that there was even a short-lived television series based on the culture.

Paris Hilton and her ilk might like to think that they created the super-materialistic, vacuous bimbo image, but they are mere echos to the rampant material girls who strove to imitate women living in the world-famous Los Angelic "Valley."

But, how does this make Sarah Palin a "valley girl," you might wonder?

In Southcentral Alaska, the small towns of Palmer and Wasilla are collectively referred to as "The Valley." Wasilla, as you recall, is the now infamous hometown of Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Aside from being the meth capital of Alaska, Wasilla also boasts the second highest concentration of "hot" women (Girdwood, home of disgraced Republican Senator Ted Stevens, being the first). "If Lindsay Lohan lived in Alaska, she'd definitely live in Wasilla," said one University of Alaska, Anchorage, Freshman.

Add to all of that the fact that Sarah competed in the Miss Alaska beauty pageant, and you have a recipe for a bona fide "valley girl."

While investigating a tie between Ms. Palin and the possibility in her involvement in the valley girl movement of 1983, one anonymous classmate had this to report: "I've always remembered how in our senior year, Sarah said, 'Like, wouldn't it be sooo rad if I became the first woman president?' I used that line day for years. It never got old."

What Would You Ask Palin?

Looks like the McCain campaign isn't entirely convinced of their pick for John's running mate, first-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

According to an AP story posted on Yahoo! News, Palin has merely repeated the "greatest hits" from her acceptance speech given last week in Minnesota. She has said little else, and the media has not been granted any real Q&A time with her.

In contrast, Democratic Vice Presidential hopeful Joe Biden has addressed the media countless times, usually answering all questions thrown his way.

Why is Sarah Palin not allowed to stand up and speak for herself? What skeletons or otherwise embarassing mannerisms or philosophies are the McCain campaign afraid of leaking to the press? Do they not trust her to give quality or acceptable responses to the media's questions?

What ever their reasons, Palin's handlers need to let her loose, to let her step up to the plate and show she is capable of handling tough questions. It is part of the job she's vying for after all.

If you had the chance to ask Governor Palin one question, what would it be?

YOU Plan the American Budget

Whether Democrat, Republican, Constitution, Libertarian, or Green, we all tend to criticize our politicians about debacles in our national budget. Introducing "Budget Hero"!

Jefferson Public Radio (serving the State of Jefferson) has posted this new interactive game that puts you in charge of determining how to spend $3.3 trillion dollars. After deciding what programs to keep and which ones to cut, which taxes to raise and which ones to cut, you can then see the 10 year impact your choices would likely have on our nation.

The game was created by American Public Media, and it illuminates how truly challenging it can be to balance the US budget. Go give Budget Hero a try!

2 Firsts, No Matter Who Wins the General Election

I am not voting for McCain. I refuse. But his pick in Vice Presidential candidates is exhilarating. McCain announced Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.

This little-known politician rounds off McCain's ticket in a way that is going to make it more difficult for Obama to win over swing voters. In choosing a woman running mate, I am certain that McCain is hoping to win over some angry Hillary Clinton supporters with his veep pick.

I have little positive to say about McCain, but I thank him for his pick. In choosing Palin as his vice-presidential candidate, he has created a win-win situation for all American voters who want to see a change in the "pedigree" of the White House administration.

My top concerns with McCain's pick? Nearly complete inexperience on this Alaskan Governor's part and the opening of ANWR. Alaska is a state most heavily tied into oil production, after all.

Obama Had Me At Langston Hughes

Barack Obama gave his candidacy acceptance speech a couple hours ago. As I shared my opinions of his speech with my wife, I wondered what the media would take from his speech. What would the headlines read?

Yahoo! posted an article from the Associated Press. The writers note that:

On a night 45 years after Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I have a Dream Speech," Obama made no overt mention of his own race.

Pardon me? What is his race? Remember that he is half white, too. I feel that this statement reeks of the "one drop rule." I wonder if he struggled with checking boxes on forms, or if he just always checked African American without giving it a second thought.

It's interesting, too, to note that the Wikipedia page that the details the one drop rule opens references Langston Hughes response to the odd rule:

You see, unfortunately, I am not black. There are lots of different kinds of blood in our family. But here in the United States, the word "Negro" is used to mean anyone who has any Negro blood at all in his veins. In Africa, the word is more pure. It means all Negro, therefore black. I am brown.

Why is this interesting in the context of the Obama speech? Well in it, he refers to "dreams deferred." This is classic Langston Hughes and it speaks miles to the overall sentiment of our country — regardless of race.

Dream Deferred

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load
Or does it explode?

This poem spoke to me from the first time I read it. My life so often would feel like it was just one long string of dreams deferred until "it just sags / like a heavy load." I've moved past most of that now, but I immediately saw the connection he was drawing to the current state of our country.

I actually learned about "Dream Deferred" through a play by Lorraine Hansberry called "Raisin in the Sun." The (possibly unintended) reference to this play packed an extra wallop, as it continues to be a steady favorite in theater productions and represents some firsts. The play was the first Broadway play written by a black woman and with the first black director of a show on Broadway.
'
The nuance of this (un)intentional refererence invokes the spirits of two African Americans who left a legacy, as well as the beloved Langston Hughes. And that's where Obama had me... with Langston Hughes.

Now, I know that I've pussyfooted around the whole un/intentional thing. Well, I'll take a stance and say Obama intended to invoke "Raisin in the Sun." Why...?

While pursuing my English degree, my lit class read the play. As with any lit class, we had a theme around which we would discuss the book. In the case of this one, we discussed The American Dream!

That's right. Did you happen to hear any overt references to The American Dream throughout the rest of Obama's speech? I think I remember a few. The synchronicity of it all is slowly giving me chills. Here is a person who I relate to more than any other I can ever remember, because he was raised by his hard-working mother, his father was absent, he rose out of poverty, and he's been married about as long as me.

Yet despite all our similarities, Obama had me at Langston Hughes.

Talking about Osam... Oops, I mean, Obama

News groups continue to slash their staff writers and editors by the bushel. I can't help but wonder how often (if elected president) Barack Obama will be accidentally referenced as "Osama." Can you see the headlines already?

"President Osama Obama Approves Ax Tax Cuts for Poor"

Should the US President Have Served in the Military?

Despite calls from his supporters, McCain continues to point out that he has served in the military and Obama has not.

Does it really matter if the future president has military experience?
Look at Bush. Sure, he served in the guard, but he doesn't have any measurable experience. While our boys were getting blown to bits in Vietnam, he was having a grand time in the Gulf of Mexico flying fighter jets and going AWOL. Yet, here he is - Commander in Chief.

Then there's McCain, a five-year prisoner of war. He was a victim of terrible atrocities, and I commend him for choosing to remain a POW so that his fellow soldiers could be released instead. Yet, he is a victim. It's always a bad idea to put the victim in charge, because their decisions won't be balanced or objective. It's like the female rape victim who will forever view every male as a potential rapist.

Despite these points, there's something bigger at stake when a nation of voters demand that their president have military experience.

To vote for a presidential candidate because he or she has military experience is to say that we are a warring (vs. peaceful) nation.

Why should a peaceful nation need a soldier as their president? Look at all other nations who choose to vote in a military commander or POW as their top-elected officials. How does that typically turn out? Can you say Peron, Castro, Stalin, Mugabe, Hitler...?

The point is this:
An understanding of how you can most effectively deploy the military is more important than having served in it.

Afghanistan or Iraq - Which really poses the bigger threat? Which is home to the Taliban and al-Qaida?

Obama knows where the real danger lives? McCain is too blinded by all the oil in Iraq to see the truth - even if he won't admit it.

Why McCain Will Lose

This post may sound a bit overly optimistic, but bear with me...

Why do so many people flock to Obama? Well, it's quite simple really; Obama is running on a campaign of change and hope.

The majority of US citizens no longer want our troops fighting in the Middle East. Those who do believe we should continue fighting tend to bow to the idea that our enemies are not in Iraq, but in the hopelessly under-soldiered country of Afghanistan. (Note: Ignorant exceptions do exist.)

Stepping beyond his initial cry to pull all troops out of the Middle East, Obama has listened to military commanders and consultants and conceded that a shift in our troops to Afghanistan is needed.

In the meantime, McCain is running on a double campaign of "steady on" and mudslinging.

Yet it won't be his views on the Middle East that destroys McCain's campaign. So far, he has parroted the policies of the current Administration.
It's clear most US citizens want a clear divergence from Bush Co.

In short, McCain offers zero change. Just look at how he's running his campaign. He offers no solutions, only blame. What's worse, he spends too much time trying to smear and mock Obama's campaign efforts and not enough time solidifying his own ticket.

Voters have had enough of politics as usual. They want the candidates to tell them what they plan to change, not how their opponent's policies will result in the complete devastation of our society.

McCain needs to start focusing on his own message, to start telling us how he's going to create measurable change in our nation. So far, he's fallen far short of anything even closely resembling such a campaign.

This post was inspired by an AP article titled "McCain rejects 'audacity of hopelessness' for Iraq" and was composed using ScribeFire.

I Am Elated!

Back in late October, I left a labor of love: a local publication based on a web to print model. I had helped to build this potentially incredible publication from the ground up. I stood at ground zero and worked either for free or handouts.

I continuously stated, "My time is my investment." Yet, when I hesitantly asked for it in writing a year after helping to launch it, I was met with severe resistance then granted a mere pittance of pay. No partnership, no recognition that I was co-founder.

Aside from the abusive one-sided relationship with this supposed "partner," I lobbied relentlessly for the development and employment of contributor compensation and for more printing of the members'/contributors' content. After all, that's what we were claiming to do in our marketing materials.

Well, I decided that fateful October day that it was time for me to split. No reason to stick around for the "kids'" sakes. Several months have passed, and I've continued to remain somewhat active on the site. This was a serious mistake, as it kept me aware of the shamelessly self-interested and nosistic way he ran the site, while continuing to tell people that it was their voice in print when the actuality was much, much different.

I continued to turn a blind eye until today. He had announced that the one who contributed the "best" or "most interesting" article would win an iPod. Now, let's not discuss the sheer hackery of this "incentive." Every company, it seems, is using this form of enticement these days. Screw the iPod; pay me for my contributions... I have bills to pay.

What happened today to cause me to finally cut all ties? He deleted my comment/question in regards to the iPod incentive. I think my question was warranted: "How is the 'best' selected?"

Once I saw it was deleted, I deleted every blog I wrote, every picture I uploaded, every poll I devised, every field in my profile. I wanted to delete my account entirely, but he has cleverly hidden or removed this option.

With each item I deleted, especially each blog post, I felt a greater sense of joy. Each click of the delete button brought me to a tremendous sense of closure. As I was unable to delete my account, I wrote him with instructions to delete my account, that I was done with the site. But, it wasn't until I removed the bookmark from my browser that the full sense of elation washed over me and the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s immortal speech rang through my very fiber:

"Free at last, free at last, thank God, I'm free at last!"

Welcome to a truly new era in my blogging life.

Netflix and Blockbuster Save the Post Office

For the past decade, we've witnessed the Postmaster General raising the price of stamps. The United States Post Office has cited a decline in demand for good old fashioned letter service as the main reason. With less people sending snail mail, less money flows in to maintain daily operations.

Now, forget the fact that direct marketing campaigns flood our boxes with junk, or that magazine subscriptions seem to be on the rise. Then there's the rise in online shopping (and no, UPS and FedEx are not the only companies delivering the goods). However, a new trend that is hitting video stores where it hurts may just be bringing new life to the postal service: DVD mailers!

The two top services are Netflix and Blockbuster, with the former touting "over a billion movies delivered to homes" in radio ads. That equates to a lot of cash for the post office.

The Death of Daylight Savings?

In the US, we have this crazy time switch that occurs every Spring and Fall, known inaccurately as Daylight Savings Time. Each March, we “spring ahead,” setting our clocks ahead one hour shortly after the witching hour of a new week. Come October, we then “fall back” into non-DST time.

Although the human race has adjusted to the shifting daylight, the DST that most Americans have come to know more as a reason to show up late or early for work was formerly adopted in 1918. Many reasons exist for the adoption of DST, mainly related to actually reducing energy consumption and accommodating an agricultural-based society. Ben Franklin was a primary proponent for the practicing, citing high savings on the fuel used for lighting. What was it ole Ben said? “Early to bed, early to wise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

Our world is different these days, and a recent intensive study performed by the University of California has shown that DST actually does the opposite of providing any sort of savings. In fact, the opposite is true. (To read the article, click here.)

Ever since its inception, DST has received many calls for its discontinuation. In our current society, it only makes sense to do away with DST. Think about how many people actually work a 9-5 job. Not as many as we would be led to believe. Shifts range round the clock, and the increase in international work schedules makes time of day or daylight irrelevant.

Perhaps most relevant is the current US recession (which economists can’t seem to agree upon). With the dollar already stretched to its limits, this costly and useless practice erroneously known as Daylight SAVINGS Time may finally wind up on the chopping block.

Make Your Own Cartoons

Funny Times is a terrific newsprint monthly publication that compiles the best of the month's cartoons and humor columns. They've recently launched "Cartoon Playground," a fancy piece of software that allows you to create your own cartoons online. I learned about the site through the publication, as they choose a few of their favorites to print in the monthly. Check it out at Funny Times.

This is the cartoon I made when I went to check it out:

Bush's New Stategy

I rarely wax political on this blog, but I can't restrain on this one.

Most of us are well aware that Bush's new blind-sighted agenda for the Iraq incursion involves a "surge" or "boost" in US troops. As Commander-in-Chief, he unfortunately has the right to make that happen. I don't agree with it, most of the US public disagrees with it, and Congress is wise enough to challenge this new tactic.

But, Bush is more clever than he appears.

He feels strongly that the plan will work and will send the troops with or without Congressional funding. So how is this clever? Well, if the surge doesn't work, he can not only blame Congress for refusing to finance the troop increase, but can also cite that lack of funding as the source of increased deaths. How very slick. Either way, he can continue to point fingers at everyone except himself.

You go, King George! It's a good thing your pop bought that land in that South American country that promised to harbor war criminals; you'll have a safe haven for when the ax finally falls.