People are saying we should take action against oppressive government and overspending by starting at the local level. For those of you in a homeowners association (HOA), good luck. My efforts have met with downright hostility, as my column here shows. Read it and see if you have similar situations where you live. It might also make you put your HOA woes into perspective, considering the trillions being bandied about by the current Administration in DC.

With Ted spending his days under the care of some of the top medical professionals of our time, we need another Kennedy in D.C. Plus, there is an empty chair in the Senate for New York. Caroline Kennedy to the rescue. But is she qualified? Read my column to find a simple way to test this.

Just want you all to know that I have no control over what ads appear on this page. I can assure you that all of these ads about "green" this and "alternative" that, not to mention the "B.O.zo" man images are definitely NOT my choice. Please, you Townhall.com ad folks, put something else on my page!

• There are five people in your immediate family. Three want to go to Pizza Hut and two want to go to Subway. A majority vote will be for Pizza Hut (even if it’s the kids voting that way). So, you Subway folks will end up at Pizza Hut, trying to find something on their menu that you like.
• Your HOA has 200 houses and 101 households want a swimming pool despite the cost and fuss being laid out before them in black-and-white. Alas, 99 households will end up paying for that pool. Worse thing is that of those 101 households that want a pool statistics show that only about 10 households will use it on a regular basis, meaning that 190 households are paying for 10 households to enjoy a pool.
• The majority of people who voted (not necessarily the majority of people registered to vote) want even bigger government that will use its force to take even more from your neighbor and give it to you. So, that’s what we’re about to get by grace of the President-elect Statist that, according to his transition team, will be sworn in to “rule” the country.

I can only “hope” that the “change” coming our way in about 30 days won’t be irreversible. With sites like the ones below, you can get a heads up on what we might be in for and what we could all end up losing:

• “Capitalism vs. Statism” – A long blog that is an in-depth look at Capitalism versus Statism from a self-confessed laymen who has used his spare time to study in depth these two systems of economics and government. A must read.
• “Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis ” by Ludwig von Mises – An in-depth study of Socialism and its dire consequences.
• “Citizens for a Constitutional Republic”.

All’s fair in love and politics – or so some bloggers think. The right to free speech is also being exercised with gleeful abandon. Their target-du-jour? Sarah Palin – Governor of Alaska, Republican, VP running mate to McCain and – gasp! – a woman! The Dems are having a field day, working hard to bring out into the harsh light of public scrutiny anything and everything they can find and blowing those things up out of all proportion. All in the name of running a campaign. Sounds good but…

Does any of this “pouncin’ on Palin” have validity? Is there any dirt (other than under the sofa) to find?

My theory:

The Dems, with Pelosi leading the fracas from behind the scenes (she couldn’t stand the thought of not being the most powerful female in D.C.), virtually ganged up on Hillary during the campaign for the Democrat Party nomination, and then ignored the 18+ million who voted for her by not naming her as Lord-on-high Obama’s running mate. (After all, can’t have THREE presidents – Hillary, Bill, and Barack – simultaneously.) Now, the Republicans have named a woman Veep candidate, and the Dems are sputtering, “But…but…we’re the party that advances equality for women!”

But, that’s just my humble theory.

So, all the libs are fuming and foaming at the mouth that a woman dares to go out there and compete with the “big boys” yet is not a member of the Democrat Party. (The Republicans have the “sex card” in their hand and the Dems don’t like it one bit.)

Of course, they are missing the point about women’s equality. It’s not really women’s equality. It’s gender equality.

Individuals – both women and men – should be able to live their life as they choose without restrictions due to their gender. Only in the matter of giving birth is there an exception. (Sorry, guys, but you just aren’t equipped.) However, once the baby is born, to tell a man that due to his gender he cannot be the primary caregiver is just as ludicrous as telling a woman that she has to set aside any thought other than the care of that child until the child “launches” (to use the term from the movie “Failure to Launch”).

From who can be in the kitchen, who should mow the lawn, who should drive the kids to hockey practice, etc., these decisions are up to the people directly involved, not the government, bloggers, or a bunch of do-gooding busybodies. (Remember the scene from “The Music Man” where the townswomen were gossiping in a barnyard henish manner?)

Hey, all you Dems, keep yelling about the Republicans having the “sex card.” It’s good for the country.

Copyright © 2008 A.C. Cargill

A.C. Cargill resides on the East Coast for now, has lived in several locations, including Europe, and uses her background in technical writing, including researching topics online, along with her degree in Philosophy and English, to point out good ideas that aren’t so good after all. (And don't forget to check out her blog site: Sounded Good.) She and her hubby also have a fun blog that takes a little lighter look at the issues: Break Time Topics (things to read while you take a break to enjoy your morning coffee of afternoon tea). Also, don’t miss her on Townhall.com.

1. Companies use our legislators to get their products a dominant position in the market by working with them to get bills passed that mandate their usage. If you don’t believe that, just hearken back to the recent energy bill that mandates the phase out of incandescent bulbs in favor of CFLs (once there scroll down to the heading “Poisoned Bulbs”).
2. The move toward fuel alternatives and additives needs to be competitive and market-driven, not legislated. And we really know who the CEOs of these chemical companies are, and what planet they are from. Ha!

Don, a stay-at-home dad, and Shelly, an administrative assistant who’s gone back to school to become an accountant, are quickly running through their winnings as they struggle to pay thousands a month for electricity, household help and other outsize bills for their outsize home.

On top of that, they had to take out a loan to pay off a $672,000 tax bill on their winnings.

The voters in Rhode Island, Vermont, Ohio, and Texas have spoken. The Republican field is down to one serious contender (Ron Paul is virtually the “unknown” candidate, with the media ignoring him as much as it fawned over Barack Obama). The Democrats still have a real contest going with Hillary winning three out of the four states yesterday. They say she got backed into a political corner and came out swinging. Sounds good, but…

Could the real reason for this turnaround be Michelle Obama’s comments a few days ago? Did people suddenly realize that they and their employers are seen as the enemy?

Hard to say. What is easy to say is that, if elected, Barack would have the same spousal difficulty that Hillary would have: too much public spouting of politically-loaded opinions that would result in the public seeing behind the façade.

On the other hand, McCain’s wife is generally perceived as “arm candy” (very rich arm candy) and, therefore, not potentially embarrassing. (She’s not afraid to express her pride in this country, however.)

The Republican party has set aside the putrid taste that McCain liberalism leaves in one’s mouth and put the higher goal of keeping their party in the White House (well, he’s sort of a Republican, if you overlook all of the times he worked against his party – he doesn’t need to reach across the aisle, since he already sits there, metaphorically, at least).

The Democrats still have a slug fest on their hands. Or do they? The question of a running mate is raising the possibility of these two contenders sharing billing when the primary dust has settled. I can’t even imagine Hillary accepting the Vice Presidency – not after salivating for years over the top spot. Barack is equally unlikely to curb his ego and play second banana. Maybe they could be co-Presidents (shudder!).

I doubt that either one has the guts that Dick Cheney has displayed. He stood up for his office as it is defined in the U.S. Constitution. He refused to be bullied by Congress into turning over records which his office had a right to claim as private. Can we picture Barack in this same situation appearing to be anything but sleazy? Hillary has already shown that she is not at all disinclined to squirrel away sought-after records in her own office for years while denying that she even knew of their existence. (If she’s that feeble-minded, what kind of leader of the Free World does that make her? And who is the candidate that is too old for office then?)

Talk about a lack of choices. There isn’t even anyone to vote for as a way of voting against the other candidate. Of course, there’s always Ralph Nader.

Yeah, in your nightmares.

Copyright © 2008 A.C. Cargill

A.C. Cargill resides on the East Coast for now, has lived in several locations, including Europe, and uses her background in technical writing, including researching topics online, along with her degree in Philosophy and English, to point out good ideas that aren’t so good afterall. (And don't forget to check out her blog sites: Sounded Good, Shame on You, and Kudos to You.)

She made it through the K-thru-12 years and went on to college. Then, Michelle Obama pursued a degree at Princeton and Harvard law schools. Truly, she was following the American dream. Sounds good, but…

Instead of the dream, she wound up married and in debt up to her eyeballs with student loans. Horrors!

Now, Michelle is on a mission. She must save other young women in this country from her fate. Don’t go to college! Don’t get sucked into taking out student loans! And most of all, don’t get sucked into a lucrative career in – Gasp! – Corporate America!

Oh, those evil, evil, rich corporate Americans!

But wait! If we don’t have evil, evil, rich corporate Americans, who will her hubby and Hillary have to rant about on the campaign trail? Who will they tax up the wazoo when one of them ends up in the White House and the other resumes his/her Senate seat? Why, the evil, evil, rich corporations that employ them, of course!

But… if there are no evil, evil, rich corporate Americans, who will the evil, evil, rich corporations employ? Please, don’t bother Michelle with details. She’s too busy celebrating the fact that those student loans are finally paid off, thanks to her hubby’s best-selling books.

Gee, I wonder if Michelle ever thought of actually pursuing a career using that expensive college education. Naw, that would be too logical.

And something has to be done about those student loan guys who twisted her arm and forced her into taking out those loans. And what about those guidance counselors who pushed her into going to Princeton and Harvard? Maybe it will come in handy during those state dinners when hubby is in the White House and later (after he has served his two terms) when she becomes a Senator from a state peopled by drones who will vote for her and then re-elect her to another term, and then she runs for the Presidency… wait, this is starting to sound familiar.

The more important point here should be: Is a high-priced college education right for everyone?

Today, college enrollment is way up. The question is “Why?” The push is on for people to get a college education, whether they want it or not. A college degree has become a rite of passage, part of our “rights” as U.S. citizens. Along with a chicken in every pot, promised by Herbert Hoover on the campaign trail in 1928, every household is being promised a college degree.

Reality is starting to sink in, though, as more people begin to recognize that college – the traditional, liberal arts focused college – is not for everyone. It should be a choice, not a mandate. Especially, with tech colleges enrollment on the rise.

Of course, you can always follow Michelle’s advice and go into community service. True, they don’t all make the $316,962 annual salary she did in 2005 (a jump from $121,910 in 2004, the year before Barack got elected to the Senate – just a coincidence – yeah, sure). She has that law degree from Princeton and Harvard. However, overall the salaries in the public sector are higher. Governments don’t have a pesky bottom line to pay attention to.

In short: Don’t pursue college. Instead, go into public service, where all of the undereducated, underachieving people go, and get paid more than those dolts who took out all of those student loans to pursue a career in the evil, evil, rich corporate America.

Copyright © 2008 A.C. Cargill

A.C. Cargill resides on the East Coast for now, has lived in several locations, including Europe, and uses her background in technical writing, including researching topics online, along with her degree in Philosophy and English, to point out good ideas that aren’t so good afterall. (And don't forget to check out her blog sites: Sounded Good, Shame on You, and Kudos to You.)

The word “change” started being peppered throughout campaign speeches while there was still quite an array of candidates (visit 4President.org for bumper sticker images – Hillary and Barack are the top two by sheer coincidence – yeah, right! – while McCain and Huckabee are about halfway down). Now the field has been winnowed down to five (horsemen of the Apocalypse?), but the word “change” is as prevalent as ever. A sign, no doubt, of the candidates’ steadfastness to make America a better place. Sounds good, but…

What kind of change do they mean?

Based on their track records and various campaign speeches, I have pieced together this personal view of some possibilities (just a taste – there’s lots more!) lying ahead for our nation when one of these five wins the election and becomes President.

 

Clinton (Hill, not Bill):
Per her positions as stated on Campaign Issues 2008:

• Greedy, irresponsible corporations will no longer handle jobs that the government should be doing (educating your children, enslaving healthcare professionals to give you cradle-to-grave medical care, etc.). Many of these corporations, who have had virtually one client – the government – will go out of business and you, the taxpayer, will provide them with Workers Comp and schooling so they can get a better job than you have. Or maybe they will become government workers, the only good kind of worker – yeah, right!
• Tougher laws on “hate crimes” will be enacted. To enforce this, you will all have a special monitoring chip implanted in your brain by enslaved surgeons, assisted by enslaved nurses and enslaved anesthesiologists. Big Sister will be watching you, so play nice!
• You may have no children of your own (by your own choice), but you will be a parent to all children everywhere – and LIKE it or else! As “Mrs. Bill” says, (all together now) “it takes a village!”

 

Obama (Oh, mama!):
Per his speech on Saturday, February 10th, 2007, announcing his candidacy for President.

• Government schools will take more cents out of every dollar you earn as they strive to recruit more teachers and teach children what the money and teachers they have already have not been able to: how to compete in the digital age.

• Government funded research will eat up more cents of every dollar you earn and go for programs such as how to turn corn into expense fuel (can you say “Ethanol refinery in my backyard”?) while our own oil sits under the Gulf of Mexico and up in Alaska under some elk’s grazing ground. And we’ll stop wondering about why gas costs so much because we all will be thoroughly convinced that it’s our “addiction” that is the root cause.

• More companies will have to decide whether to cash out all of their assets (thus, going out of business) to fund benefits programs they were practically forced into by union leaders and the government but can’t afford. The government will prevent them from defaulting. Companies who have insufficient assets will be aided by the government taking a bigger bite out of your paycheck, causing you to be unable to save for your own future and thus be dependent on the government in your old age (a vicious cycle, since you will be drawing money from younger generations, who will not be able to save for their old age, and on and on…).

 

McCain (McCan’t!):

Based on his speech on Wednesday, April 25, 2007, announcing his candidacy for President.

• Dehydrated babies will get bottled water during an emergency. A good thing, but hardly the President’s responsibility. Meanwhile, the number of illegal “residents” will drastically rise, especially women on the verge of delivering who want their baby to be born in this country, thus becoming an automatic citizen (and getting free bottled water).
• Our dependence on foreign oil will be lessened. We don’t know how and McCain doesn’t say but, by golly, depending on foreign oil is not good enough for him, so it’s not good enough for us! Start working out on that exercise bike and be prepared to “go Chinese” (ride your bike to work like most workers still do in China – of course, the Chinese government is actively discouraging this in favor of more cars which already clog their streets, but it’s a sign of China’s prosperity, so cars are in and bikes out!).
• You won’t just be paying (through tax dollars taken from you for the Workers Comp program) to help you neighbor through a lean month or two while he finds a new job at another factory. You’ll be sending him to school to get a better education than you have and some day be your boss. Isn’t that nice?

 

Huckabee (Prez wannabe):

Per his positions as stated on Campaign Issues 2008:

• All females who become pregnant will carry to term. No discussion. The fetus is in control of your body as soon as the egg and sperm unite! No female will make any attempt to avoid getting pregnant except by abstinence, which is what she should practice until she’s married anyway. No more of this hippie-style free love (I guess Nancy Pelosi will have to give up holding those “gatherings” – just kidding!).
• The definition of marriage will be rewritten as a “covenant” where you stick together no matter how miserable you are. (Wonder if that will be retroactive? Ew – don’t want to even think about what life would be like right now with my “starter husband”!) Of course, a lot of other things would be rewritten. Can’t have our U.S. laws disagreeing with the Bible. Just like Britain can’t have a conflict between Sharia and good old British laws. (Time to rewrite Britain’s laws that their burgeoning Muslim population is ignoring anyway in items like marriage and property – as in I’m married, so now I’m my husband’s property – to agree with Sharia. Gee, if these Muslim laws are so great, just chuck out all your laws, Britain, and embrace the burqa.)
• All this nonsense about gun control will be hidden in the closet or tucked under the bed for the next four years – wait, that’s a good thing! Go, Huck, go! And don’t forget the FairTax.

Saving the best for last:

 

Paul (most Constitutional of all):

Per his positions as stated on Campaign Issues 2008:

• The U.S. Constitution will mean something again. No more talk about how “old-fashioned” it is. Of course, you may have to give up your dependence on “nanny government” and learn to think for yourself about such matters as whether to hire someone based on his group identity or on how he will contribute to your company. (That is, get rid of the Equal Employment Opportunity outrage.)
• Business will – well, get back to business. The yoke of government regulations would be lifted as the government gets back to – well, governing! What else should they do but defend us and keep the peace? Nothing! A lot of dead weight in Washington, D.C. would disappear (just think of all those lobbyists bent on getting exemptions from those regulations suddenly jobless and ending up dishing up your next order of fries – makes my mouth water!
• The War on Drugs, a drain on the economy in the billions of dollars with little or nothing to show for it, will end, with the price of drugs falling drastically (as the black market that this “war” helped create and nurture withers and dies) and people choosing such a destructive pastime dwindling. Now, that’s change I can believe in!

Just a bit of daydreaming. How about you? How do you see the next President “changing” this country?

Let’s hope it’s a good change. Life doesn’t come with an “undo” button.

Copyright © 2008 A.C. Cargill

A.C. Cargill resides on the East Coast for now, has lived in several locations, including Europe, and uses her background in technical writing, including researching topics online, along with her degree in Philosophy and English, to point out good ideas that aren’t so good afterall. (And don't forget to check out her blog sites: Sounded Good, Shame on You, and Kudos to You.)

First, Huckabee refuses to do the logical thing and bow out of the race for the Republican nomination, leaving a wider field open for Romney (maybe). Then, McCain starts making loud protestations that he really is a conservative (honest!). Before anyone could say “Massachusetts Turnpike Authority,” Romney was lagging behind where he should have been gaining. McCain surged ahead in the delegate count after Super(fluous) Tuesday. Looks like he’s gonna get his shot at the Oval Office race after all. Sounds good, but…

Although I disagree with Ann Coulter that voting for Hillary is a better choice over voting for McCain, there isn’t a clothespin built that could block the stench from my olfactory zone long enough for me to vote for McCain. (Let’s face it, Huckabee has the same chance as the proverbial snowball of getting the nomination, let alone running against either Barack or “Billary” and staying standing, not to mention winning.)

Maybe Ann just has another book in the works that she is trying to sell.

Of course, Romney supporters are still reeling from his announcement today that he is gathering up his toys and going home. Better to cut-and-run – oops, he’s not the cut-and-run type, that’s the Dems’ bailiwick – retreat gracefully now and stay in good with the party bigwigs for the next time he tries to grab the brass ring of the Presidency. Hmm, sounds like what John Edwards did. Oh, sorry, no, he was just concerned for his wife, Elizabeth and her battle with breast cancer. (About time!) And he certainly has no Veep aspirations – no, not one – zero – zip – zilch – well, a few – sure, he’d be honored to be Hillarack’s – Barackillary – uh, Clintama’s running mate.

Too bad Ron Paul’s true adherence to the U.S. Constitution has been overshadowed by the press’ distorted view of his stand on foreign policy and national defense. While I disagree with him on Iraq (we needed to go in, we needed to oust a horrific dictator, we need to finish the job – most of all we need to show strength to our terrorist enemies), he otherwise is a breath of fresh air in a field of candidates who are hardly indistinguishable. I call his thinking “Ron-Paulitics.”

So, for those of you who haven’t voted in a primary or participated in a caucus yet, while you are contemplating what differentiates “Mr. Cute” and “Mrs. Bill” (not very bloody much), be more concerned (especially if you are a conservative) about what doesn’t differentiate them from McCain.

My slogan for the rest of his campaign: “McCain? McCan’t!”

Copyright © 2008 A.C. Cargill

A.C. Cargill resides on the East Coast for now, has lived in several locations, including Europe, and uses her background in technical writing, including researching topics online, along with her degree in Philosophy and English, to point out good ideas that aren’t so good afterall. (And don't forget to check out her blog sites: Sounded Good, Shame on You, and Kudos to You.)

The Oh-So-Cute Obama and That-Hillary-Woman (otherwise known as Mrs. Bill) have a clear field on the Democratic side of the primaries now that Edwards has decided (all on his own, no coercion whatsoever – well, hardly any – okay, a lot) to drop out. The big issue differentiating these two battling servants of the public good? Your healthcare. Spiraling costs have made it harder for your employer to provide coverage. You certainly can’t afford it on your own. Time for another government program that fills the bill. Sounds good, but… 

You may have heard that George ‘Dubya’ has a budget proposal of $3.1 trillion.

Yes, T-R-I-L-L-I-O-N.

You may also have heard that California doesn’t have the funds for it’s own healthcare proposal (that was for children only, like Obama’s plan). [By the way, when did it get decided that I have to pay for the healthcare of my neighbors’ children? They had ‘em, so they need to pay for ‘em.]

So how will the Federal Government pay for healthcare for every adult and child in this country (including the flood of illegals who will be virtually unstoppable as they go after this latest handout)?

You can count on any estimate that Hillary or anyone else comes up with to be about one-tenth of what the actual cost will be per year (for the first five years or less, with that cost increasing every year).

Not to worry. Hillarycare has as one of its features mandatory – that means forced, as in “you don’t have a choice” – coverage for everyone, not just children. If you don’t want to pay? Hillary has a plan for that, too. As she finally slipped out during an interview with George Stephanopoulos:

STEPHANOPOULOS: I want to bear down on this question one more time… Will you garnish wages of people who don’t comply, don’t buy the insurance?

SEN. CLINTON: George, we will have an enforcement mechanism. Whether it’s that or it’s some other mechanism through the tax system or automatic enrollments.

As someone who is uninsured by choice, I take affront at this. The main reason I don’t have insurance isn’t affordability. It’s ethics. I have a real issue with doctors being dictated to by a healthcare insurer and see our healthcare professionals being regarded more and more as virtual slaves to our healthcare needs. If that sounds a little too strong, consider this story from Britain, where, under their national healthcare system, a doctor is little more than a public employee (we know how much government workers care about their jobs – not!): “Doctors fight against extended hours”

Let’s add to this the fact that here in the U.S. healthcare insurers also pay only a fraction to a doctor of what he/she bills to them. It is often not enough to cover the doctor’s costs of maintaining an office. Imagine if you had to operate your business that way. (Of course, some businesses do, such as electric companies, whose rates are held artificially low by government restrictions.)

The voting on ‘Super Tuesday’ definitely deals with more than whether you and your children will have to worry about providing your own healthcare. It’s about you and everyone else choosing to either stand up for yourselves and stop being a “caught pig” or accept yet another “freebie” from the government and watch the amount of your hard-earned pay that you actually get to take home shrink even further.

Oh course, if we abolished the IRS and passed the Fairtax, we could all afford to pay for our own healthcare insurance, not to mention all of the other things we want/need, including educating the children we chose to have and that big screen TV that we bought to watch the Giants win the latest SuperBowl.

Oh, and Hillary shed some more tears by a big coincidence (NOT!) the day before a big primary. Déjà vu from New Hampshire. Must be her deep concern for our welfare.

Well, maybe not…

Copyright © 2008 A.C. Cargill

A.C. Cargill resides on the East Coast for now, has lived in several locations, including Europe, and uses her background in technical writing, including researching topics online, along with her degree in Philosophy and English, to point out good ideas that aren’t so good afterall. (And don't forget to check out her blog sites: Sounded Good, Shame on You, and Kudos to You.)

Maybe it was gentlemanly manners. Maybe he’s just slowing down in his rotund, white-haired years. Whatever the reason, Ted Kennedy announced his endorsement of Obama after his niece, Caroline. Sounds good, but…

Manners and advanced years doesn’t matter. The effect was a build-up from Caroline’s announcement to his. The press was already frenzied and waiting for the next big endorsement. They were primed and ready. How better to increase the very public nature of a big raspberry (“Phtht!”) at Bill and Hillary?

Speaking of Hillary, does anybody remember her campaign for reelection to the New York seat in the U.S. Senate? Check this article: Hillary: Love Her, Hate Her. She raised a (relatively) huge Senate race war chest, all the while poo-pooing the idea that she would not fulfill her second 6-year term and would instead seek the Presidency. That certainly deserves a raspberry: “Phtht!”

That goes double for the voters in New York who fell for her b--- s---: “Phtht! Phtht!”The author of another article certainly got it wrong when he stated:

“…she promised New Yorkers she would serve out her Senate term, which ends in 2006. Political promises are broken all the time, but Senator Clinton, unlike her husband, is known in Congress as a straight shooter.” [“Hillary's Money Machine Love her or hate her, Clinton's dollars are driving the Democrats.” Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, December 8, 2003]

She may have served out that first term, but obviously had no intention of serving out the second one.

Talk about throwing your vote away!

By the way, all of this brouhaha has focused people on whether Obama is running a race-neutral campaign or not. That’s sort of like the smokescreen cast up during the confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. It doesn’t matter. Obama is such a horror on his own, as an individual, not as a half black-half white candidate, there is no need to bring race into the mix.

A few items in his campaign that make me shudder:

• “I'll be a President who finally makes health care affordable and available to every single American” – Glad I’m not a doctor right now, about to be chained to my stethoscope for the sake of my neighbor’s “right” to treatment for every sniffle.
• “I'll be a President who ends the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas” – Gee, what about the labor unions, who drove labor costs artificially high, and the government, who forced companies to deal with these unions? Maybe that had a little something to do with this “jobs exodus.”
• “I'll be a President who harnesses the ingenuity of farmers and scientists and entrepreneurs to free this nation from the tyranny of oil once and for all.” – How about freeing the oil companies to go after the oil we have lying in the Gulf of Mexico and the barren wastelands of Alaska? Since it costs more in energy to process these “renewable” fuels and get them to your car or to the power company supplying your house, how does this help?
• “And I'll be a President who ends this war in Iraq and finally brings our troops home; who restores our moral standing; who understands that 9/11 is not a way to scare up votes, but a challenge that should unite America and the world against the common threats of the twenty-first century; common threats of terrorism and nuclear weapons; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease.” – This statement is so chockfull of garbage, I have to take it point by point:
  • Does this bozo even understand why we are in Iraq? Does he have any realistic idea of the threat we all face if our troops are pulled back home prematurely? Has he even heard of Vietnam? This would be much worse. Maybe I need to start getting fitted for that burqa now to be ready when the terrorists (almost all of whom are Muslim) take over.
  • We all understand that 9/11 is not a vote-getting tactic. Next, he’ll be saying that Bush planned the attack on that terrible day in 2001 so he could get re-elected in 2004. (Now, <em>that’s</em> planning ahead!) He seems to have some idea (or his speech writers do) of “terrorism” and “nuclear weapons” but has not been able to connect the dots with the strides we are making in Iraq. (He’s been taking in too much liberally-biased news, I guess.)
  • He lumps “climate change” with poverty. Hopefully, this is because he realizes the economic disaster that would befall this country if we were to sign the Kyoto Treaty. Hey, Obama, climate change happens. Get over it. (And watch the series “The Universe” on the History channel for the big picture. We’re just little specs in a vast space that is beyond our imagination.)
  • Finally, genocide and disease is another odd pairing. Maybe he is signaling to my American Indian relatives that they should vote for him and he won’t give them disease-infested blankets. Can’t imagine why else he is even saying this (oh, yeah, those speech writers again).

[Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: Iowa Caucus Night,” Des Moines, IA | January 03, 2008]

Bottom line: Ted may be giving the raspberry to the Clintons, but we still need to look past his endorsement and take a close, hard look at this Obama guy.

“Phtht!”

 

Copyright © 2008 A.C. Cargill

 

A.C. Cargill resides on the East Coast for now, has lived in several locations, including Europe, and uses her background in technical writing, including researching topics online, along with her degree in Philosophy and English, to point out good ideas that aren’t so good afterall. (And don't forget to check out her blog sites: Sounded Good, Shame on You, and Kudos to You.)