California to become a Red State in November?

Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama announced his opposition to Proposition 8 in the following letter to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club:

Dear Friends,

Thank you for the opportunity to welcome everyone to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club’s Pridc Breakfast and to congratulate you on continuing a legacy of success, stretching back thirty-six years. As one of the oldest and most influential LGBT organizations in the country, you have continually rallied to support Democratic candidates and causes, and have fought tirelessly to secure equal rights and opportunities for LGBT Americans in California and throughout the country.

As the Democratic nominee for President, I am proud to join with and support the LGBT community in an effort to set our nation on a course that recognizes LGBT Americans with full equality under the law. That is why I support extending fully equal rights and benefits to same sex couples under both state and federal law. That is why I support repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy, and the passage of laws to protect LGBT Americans from hate crimes and employment discrimination. And that is why I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution, and similar efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution or those of other states.

For too long, issues of LGBT rights have been exploited by those seeking to divide us. It’s time to move beyond polarization and live up to our founding promise of equality by treating all our citizens with dignity and respect. This is no less than a core issue about who we are as Democrats and as Americans.

Finally, I want to congratulate all of you who have shown your love for each other by getting married these last few weeks. My thanks again to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club for allowing me to be a part of today’s celebration. I look forward to working with you in the coming months and years, and I wish you all continued success.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

The vast majority of Americans, regardless of political affiliation, do not support homosexual marriage.  Most people in every state recognize that mere sexual preference does not equate to civil rights nor necessitate changing the definition of marriage itself.  If enough common sense Californians turn out to vote in favor of Proposition 8 in November and against gay marriage, it should also translate into votes against Obama.  –J.

The Media Darling

I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth. — J.

Salesman of the Year!

Barack Obama declared the other evening that, “It’s time for America to chart a new course.”  (Quite possibly the scariest words in American politics.)  And who wouldn’t buy what this guy is selling??? 

Obama promised affordable education and declared that a college education should be a birthright for every American!  Obama promised affordable healthcare for every American and that all of us will have the same top-of-the-line healthcare as members of Congress in four years!   Obama promised to take the record profits of big oil and ”make” them reinvest in alternative energy sources and pay for pollution!  Obama promised good paying jobs for the jobless!  And for such a young man with little experience, Obama has done very well for himself in finding enough people to buy into the hype with their votes.

First, Obama does not seem to appreciate that education, especially higher education is something that should be earned through hard work, dedication and personal sacrifice.  What kind of a birthright is Obama talking about?  What kind of message does that send to slackers in high schools across America if the government will ensure that you get a college degree whether you’ve earned it or not?  How many excellent future graduates will then have their degrees discounted because the market is flooded and employers can’t determine whether these degrees represent any significant achievement?  Obama doesn’t understand that promising government-backed college education does not raise the bar, it lowers the bar for everyone.  Obama doesn’t understand that information, i.e. education,  is a commodity that students buy and that college education is an investment in yourself that shouldn’t be passed out to people who haven’t earned the privilege.

Second, Obama doesn’t appreciate the fact that compared to private sector compensation, full-time civil servants and elected officials in the Federal government typically make far less money in public service. One of the incentives to retain well-trained and competent employees and leaders is to provide an excellent healthcare incentive package.  The idea that EVERY American should be entitled to the same government healthcare benefits package is simply pandering for votes.  So, why work for the government anymore?  And more importantly, Obama’s plan cannot work well simply because healthcare services are limited and finite.  Anyone who has visited an emergency room lately already knows this.  If the government begins footing the medical bills of every American and disregarding the limited resources available and increasing the demand on our skilled medical professionals, we will be begging for the days of the 3 1/2 hour emergency room waiting experience.  Further, individuals will have less incentive to be proactive in maintaining their own health (quitting smoking for example) because medical bills will be a thing of the past.  (Well, not exactly, but I’ll get to that.)

Third, the evil “big oil” corporations.  Since when is actually making money such a problem in America?  I really don’t understand how people in cafes can complain about $3.75 per gallon gas while simultaneously paying $64.00 per gallon for their lattes with tipping to boot. Think about it.  We hear a lot about big, bad, American oil corporations and their outrageous profits, but Starbucks is making out like a bandit!  And Obama needs to brush up on corporate formation.  Last time I checked, it’s the shareholders, i.e. regular Americans, who actually own these companies and invest in them!  Obama promises to punish these oil companies for excessive profits, force them to reinvest in other energy sources and make them pay for global pollution.  So Obama’s policies will actually punish the investors, i.e. you and me!  So what’s the point in investing in stocks or mutual funds of American companies if the government is going to limit your opportutnities to amass wealth or save for retirement?  IT IS OUTRAGEOUS that Obama is going to take profits from hard-working, investing Americans and claim that he will help us and the economy by doing so. The government already rakes in billions of dollars with a “B” through corporate taxes and fuel taxes.  If you wish to revive the American economy, the answer cannot be found in punishing with EVEN MORE TAXES the very industries driving the economy in the first place.  Furthermore, Obama doesn’t explain why American oil companies should have to pay for global pollution but not other countries such as Mexico, India, and China. 

Finally, Obama promises good paying jobs (not good jobs) for the jobless–all 5% of them.  This can only mean one thing: raising the minimum wage.  If you haven’t already figured this out, artificially raising wages decreases the overall standard of living because prices rise as well.  You have “more” money, it just has less value.  So rather than raise the bar for everyone and strengthen the economy, minimum wages discount everyone’s dollar–all 100% of us.  Thanks, Barack!  So while a jobless person may find a new job, it won’t necessarily be worth it.  The taxes taken out of their pay check to fund American college educations, universal health insurance, global warming initiatives, and massive job programs won’t leave much after the bills are paid.  And any money left over won’t be worth investing in companies since profits are evil.  So Obama’s policies won’t be free at all.  All of us will pay much higher taxes, have much greater dependence on government and have less money and fewer opportunities for ourselves and our families.

So Obama really knows how to work a crowd and get people excited about “change” even though no one really seems to understand that change can be very, very, bad.  He appears to many as a political saviour, yet his policies only represent the tired old liberal ideas that have never worked.  Obama has the least experience of any Presidential candidate in modern times.  I ask you, “How is that change we can believe in?”

Vote for Obama! It’s easier than thinking! 

Family Man McCain

In an article entitled, Getting to Know John McCain, Karl Rove writes about Cindy and John McCain’s decision to adopt a child from one of Mother Teresa’s orphanages.

“…in 1991 Cindy McCain was visiting Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Bangladesh when a dying infant was thrust into her hands. The orphanage could not provide the medical care needed to save her life, so Mrs. McCain brought the child home to America with her. She was met at the airport by her husband, who asked what all this was about.

Mrs. McCain replied that the child desperately needed surgery and years of rehabilitation. “I hope she can stay with us,” she told her husband. Mr. McCain agreed. Today that child is their teenage daughter Bridget.

I was aware of this story. What I did not know, and what I learned from Doris, is that there was a second infant Mrs. McCain brought back. She ended up being adopted by a young McCain aide and his wife.

“We were called at midnight by Cindy,” Wes Gullett remembers, and “five days later we met our new daughter Nicki at the L.A. airport wearing the only clothing Cindy could find on the trip back, a 7-Up T-shirt she bought in the Bangkok airport.” Today, Nicki is a high school sophomore. Mr. Gullett told me, “I never saw a hospital bill” for her care.”

A few things not mentioned in Karl Rove’s article about Cindy McCain is that after earning a Masters in Special Education at the University of Southern California she became a special needs teacher. She has also founded and supported many very worthy charities including American Voluntary Medical Team (AVMT) which brought emergency medical relief to countries all over the world.

Another organization she founded is the Hensley Family Foundation, which donates monies towards children’s programs in Arizona and nationally. And she has been a longtime active volunteer in an organization called Operation Smile, a nonprofit organization that has been repairing child and young adult cleft palates and cleft lips in countries around the globe.

Hat Tip: Unborn Word of the Day

I’ll add that unlike President Bush, Barack Obama, or Hillary Clinton, John McCain actually has a son fighting on the ground in Iraq.  I think this speaks volumes to McCain’s understanding of the very real issues facing our national interests down to the very personal issues many military families and others deal with every day.  McCain has much more experience than just “Washington experience,” and it shows.

Associate Justice Hillary Rodham Clinton

 

As Barack Obama slowly but surely takes a definitive lead in the Democratic primary, there’s another option he could pursue to put opponent Hillary Clinton on his team as she gamely continues her seeming losing battle for the presidential nomination.

“It’s likely that the next president will face at least one Supreme Court vacancy,” a Washington Post guest writer points out in a much-read opinion piece today. “Obama should promise Hillary Clinton, now, that if he wins in November, the vacancy will be hers, making her first on a list of one.”

Even if Obama could persuade Clinton to accept a second-place position on a joint ticket, she would be a significant addition to the Supreme Court because of her intelligence, tenacity and expected liberal viewpoint, especially compared to some of the court’s sitting justices, according to James Andrew Miller, who served as an aide to former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker Jr., a Republican.

“President Obama would engender praise (at least from Democrats) at the prospect of Hillary going toe to toe with Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito,” Miller writes. “Clinton’s gumption and determination might make her one of the most powerful forces ever on the court, particularly when it comes to swaying other justices when the court is closely divided.”

Original Article Post

From Me: “Yikes!”  But I seriously doubt it would ever happen for any number of reasons.

Related: It’s About the Justices Stupid & Bill Proposes 50 New Federal Judgeships for Next President