politics kills me.

seriously.

so i have to write this term paper for class about all the main party presidential nominees (and their veep running mates) along with ralph nader & bob barr. i haven't really gotten into doing too much research, but i'm already aggravated with politics. i've been watching the debates for class (since i also have to write papers on those) and it just amazes me how people can blatantly lie and feel there should be no repercussions for it.

now, i'm a registered democrat, and this is the first presidential election that i'm elegible to vote in. so this is obviously going to have a bit of a slant to it.

i know that barack obama isn't the best candidate ever. there are many issues on which i disagree with him (mostly ethical), but there are way more things that i support him on as opposed to john mccain.

number one. john mccain is a t-rex. i was trying to figure out what it is about his movements that freak me out so much. it's because he's a t-rex. i knew it was something from the prehistoric era (besides himself of course). thankfully the mystery has been solved.

now, my entire life, i've been pro-life. but i have never been in favor of making abortion illegal, it's just not practical. but i've done some growing up, and although i can never see myself being able to have an abortion (i personally believe that life begins at conception), i don't feel that anyone is qualified to make that choice for someone else. there are instances where abortion is the only option (aka the mother's life is in danger... you can only save the baby or the mother... then it becomes a 100% plausible possiblity in my mind.) i also believe that in instances of rape or incest, there are some people who would never be able to live with that child. i can say that "if it were me i would give it up for adoption" as much as i want to... but i can never make that choice for someone else. it's not fair. i start having a big problem with abortion when it's used as birth control, then it's completely unacceptable in my mind.

if we overturn Roe v. Wade and make abortion illegal, it will happen anyway. it'll bring coathanger abortions back into style, and we'll be having more women die because they couldn't terminate a pregnancy the safe way after they were raped. it's not my place to make your decision. i can only pick what's right for me. the fact that obama agrees with partial birth abortions does upset me. no matter how the child was concieved or the reason for ending that fetus' life, i do not believe it is ever right to birth the child part way and then kill it. because many people define a fetus being alive at birth when it takes its first breath. partial birth abortion really is murder. no matter which way you look at it.

also, at the veep debate, Sarah Palin said that the mccain ticket was in favor of granting the same privilages to same sex couples as those in heterosexual relationships share. for some reason, i don't really think this is true. it's something that i'll be looking to find out in my research. i'm not opposed to civil unions or granting rights to same sex couples at all (in fact i'm in favor of it... i know, controversial priest's daughter: party of one!). i'm not in favor of same sex "marriage" though, because being someone who is religious, i have always learned that marriage is something that is between a woman and a man. "marriage" is also a religious institution as well as legal. whereas a civil union is stricly legal.

anyway, getting back to my main point here. looking over my debate notes, i'm totally mystified at how both mccain & palin were able to completely avoid answering any questions. they both constantly changed the subject and kept from answering direct questions. during the first debate, mccain never even made eye contact with obama. that sickens me.

also, stop hiding behind the fact that you're a war veteran! i know that it is honorable, trust me. i've had family members and friends who have served in the military, and my uncled was killed during the Vietnam War. but that is something that should speak for itself. it's not something that you should point out or bring up every chance you get. the honor in being a veteran of war should speak for itself in the way you carry yourself, and the way you have honored your country. you should not be mentioning it every chance you can get to show that you have served this country while the other candidate has not.

remember, you're 72, he's 47, there's a different level of life experience there.

also, the concept of sarah palin just scares the heebie jeebies out of me. she needs to have her ovaries revoked, because she just sucks as a woman. more importantly, she sucks as a human being.

she? is a captain planet eco-villian.

i'm pretty eco-conscious, but not psycho about it. but seriously, shooting wolves from airplanes? protesting polar bears being on the endangered species list? she is a horrible excuse for a human being. and gosh darn it dont'cha know, that whole folksy thing is really getting old. i know that you want everyone to think that you can relate to them, but if you really look at the life sarah palin has lead, i can't see one place where we relate. you haven't been "working class" your entire life. you were the freaking governor of a state.


**sidebar: let's make a really clear distinction here. being the governor of alaska does not qualify you to say that you were the governor of "the largest state in america" without using the term "area wise" or something to that affect in there. because although it is the largest in geographic terms, it is ranked 47th among states population wise. 683,478 people in your state in 2007 and 1 seat in the house of representatives isn't enough to convince me. rhode island has over 300,000 people more than you do. also, wasilla? i've heard some rumors about crystal meth. nice job. end sidebar**

so during the debates, i'm also sick and tired of hearing the same lies over and over again... especially when the truth is twisted... like the constant cry that "barack obama voted against funding your troops!" that is to incite anger into the hearts of anyone who considers themselves patriotic.

yes. he did vote against funding them. he voted against funding them, because that particular piece of legislation he voted against did not have a timeline for bringing the troops home.

he did however, vote in favor of a piece of legislation funding the troops that had a deadline by which the troops would be withdrawn. oh hey, guess who voted against that. i'll give you a hint. his name rhymes with lick-slain

politics is absolute ridiculousness and i never want to have any part in it. if we just had candidates that were absolutely honest with us, i'm sure this country would be a much better place. also, if they didn't consider mudslinging to be a vital part of their campaign, people might like them better.

the whole "obama is friends with a terrorist!" and "mccain was..." well, i can't remember the mccain thing, but i know it's that he associated with someone that people consider "bad". either way, both parties are at fault for that. and the fact that even after the point has been clarified that they associated with this person either after their involvement with whatever questionable organization or whatever had come to a close, they continue to use this as though it's new and completely viable.

dumb

something else said in the debates a lot that i do not get at all is something that's said about the war in Iraq all the time. why is it that the republicans are always saying that both general patreus AND osama bin laden said that iraq is the main battleground for the war on terrorism.

seriously? we're siding with bin laden on this one? i just don't think that if osama bin laden said "hey, we're all hiding in iraq!!" that they're really hiding in iraq. he probably just thought that americans were really dumb. oh hey! looks like we are! i once had an english teacher tell me that he's convinced that osama bin laden is nowhere in the middle east. he's pumping gas in jersey. it's probably true. we're running willy nilly in iraq like chickens with our heads cut off, and bin laden and his cronies are pumping gas and opening 7-11s all over the country.



and the whole economic situation gets me even angrier. now i don't really understand economics, and i'm not going to attempt to. i just know that a $700 billion bailout package was set up to help these companies. and AIG was given $85 billion. and then said company spent $442,000 on "a retreat for AIG executives at an exclusive California resort"

WTF?!?!

i don't care that you're a freaking CEO, or that this was set up "months ago" you freaking cancel. there's an economic crisis going on, because you made bad investments and decisions. and now the government is going to give them more money? that just doesn't make sense. it's like we're sending the message that if you screw up, don't worry we'll take care of you.

you know, if you cause the problem yourself by making bad choices with your company's money.

but if you're in trouble because of... oh, i don't know... a natural disaster over which you had no control, well then sorry. the nation is too deep in debt to try to rebuild levies and homes that were destroyed. looks like you picked a bad place to live.

is that really the kind of country we live in? we value a company full of people who can't make sound financial investments, who take a cut of profits for themselves, can own more than one home or high-rise apartment, who waste money on frivolous things, people who obviously have no real concern for real humans who are struggling to make mortgage payments and pay off credit card debt? that's who we're going to help?? companies that mismanage the money the american people have entrusted them with?

we value those companies and the livelihoods of people who probably won't be affected by this economic crisis at all, more than the people who are still displaced and recovering from disasters like Hurricaine Katrina?

good job America.

now, i'm not saying that i'm ashamed to be American. not at all. i'm ashamed at the way that our government treats people. they look at the value of a person by what's in their bank account, and sadly, still today in 2008, at the color of their skin and the class they hold in society.

it's sickening

i want someone to freeze all of george w. bush's accounts for a day. make him live the life of someone who had everything taken away from them by a natural disaster and not receive any help. let him see what it's like to let those people hang by a thread.

and you know what? it doesn't even have to be that extreme.

let him, as well as all the other government big shots who grew up in privelage and didn't have to work for anything in their lives, let them live the life of a normal working class family. someone who has taken out a second mortgage on their house so they can send their child to college. two working parents who are struggling to put gas in their car, and are in debt. oh, and their house is in danger of foreclosure because of this economic crisis.

maybe if they were forced to live a day in the life, they'd see what they're doing to this country.

and maybe, just maybe, they'd see that we've lost our respect as a country. we're trying to fix third world countries? well open your eyes. there are parts of the United States that are in the condition of a third world country. you don't even have to cross and ocean to get to it. we have to take care of our country. we have to stop the genocide and ethnic cleansing going on in other parts of the world. we have to lead by example. and unfortunately, our example right now is a plummeting stock market, and CEOs who stuff their pockets and screw over the middle and lower class.

way to be.

let's fix this crisis. and then take care of the things we really need to work on. because the fact that we abandoned our efforts in afghanistan really just kinda made us look like douchebags. we've gotta take care of thie terrorism thing. and take care of the human rights of the people around the world. and get ourselves off of fossil fuels. (note: not just FOREIGN oil... oil in general). alternative energy sources are going to lower the cost of energy around the country, help the environment, get us to stop depending on countries that are doing some not so cool things (middle eastern countries... russia), and really help this country by being the forerunners in this kind of technology.

oh, and while we're at the human rights thing... let's take some action in turkey and make the turkish government and citizens recognize the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople as the spiritual head of over 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide. because we're seriously getting screwed here. i'm doing a project on it. i know.




i think this is the longest entry i have EVER posted. and the most i've ever talked about politics and world issues in my entire life. but it feels good to get this all out. because i know that there are other people out there who agree with me. even if only in some areas.

how likely is it that i'm going to get arrested for this angry, angsty, political rant fueled by late afternoon coffee and a dose of codeine?