Category: Political

Political

I was watching as the election results came in last night, but at around 11:30 PM, they were still counting and I was getting tired. So, I went to bed. I woke up at 2:30, went into the living room and turned on the TV. I was just in time to see the final states wrap it up and the headline informing us that Clinton called Trump.

Donald Trump will be our next president. Even though I did not support Clinton in this election, I would feel better if she had won. But she didn’t. Trump is the president elect.

We have a two party system. That means there’s always going to be a tug of war between the two parties. It’s always going to be a back and forth motion. Democrats are not always going to win and Republicans are not always going to win. And it can only be one or the other, according to this bullshit two-party system.

It really shouldn’t be a  big surprise that Trump will be our next president. We’ve been going back and forth between Republicans and Democrats for the last several election circles.

Let’s see….

George H. W. Bush (Rep), served a four year term. When was that? Late 80’s-early 90’s, right?

Bill Clinton (Dem), served two four-year terms, through the rest of the 90’s.

George W. Bush (Rep), served eight years, 2001-2009, right?

Barack Obama (Dem), served eight years.

Donald Trump (Rep), will begin his presidency in 2017.

Do you see this fucking back and forth motion. It’s practically predictable. It’s going to keep happening because there’s no more options. It’s always got to be one of those two, one of those two, ONE OF THOSE TWO! Always!

It’s not always going to be your candidate and it’s not always going to be their candidate.

This two party system is the real problem in our country. That’s how I see it.

Yes, I am concerned about what a Trump presidency will mean for all of us. I could continue on about that, but John Scalzi said pretty much what I’m thinking, so I’m just going to link you to his post.

I find comfort in Scalzi’s last paragraph: “But at the end of that time, I hope you come back to us. Looking at the numbers as they stand right now, Trump won by just about 300,000 votes Clinton got at least 100,000 more votes than Trump out of about 120 million individual votes cast. There’s a lot of us who will stand with you, when you’re ready to stand again with us. There’s work to be done over the next four years and beyond. We need to get to it.”

Also, my friend Jackie said this a couple weeks ago: “No matter which candidate wins neither of them is going to be as big a disaster as their detractors make them out to be nor as wonderful as their supporters think they are.” I’d like to believe that. I hope she’s spot on.

As I said before, I voted Libertarian because I feel the Libertarian Party takes what I value from both sides and puts it together. The two major parties make me feel like I’ll have to give something up, something that I very much want to keep. The Libertarian Party does not make me feel that way.

I’m not proud that our country elected Trump, but I am proud of my Libertarian vote.

I posted this on Facebook shortly after the final results came in. So, you might not see me around there for a while, if ever again. I haven’t decided yet.

 

Political

Tomorrow is the big day. Those who haven’t already voted will be at the polls. We’ll wait to see if we’re doomed for the next four years. Of course, whoever the next president is, some people will say we’re doomed, while others will say we’re not. But this election year seems more heated than any I remember. I almost think a civil war will start tomorrow night.

Anyway, vote however you want. Don’t let the political bullies shame you into voting their way. I saw people accusing third party voters of sexism, claiming the third party voters  don’t want to vote for a woman. That’s a crock of shit. A lot of people are voting for the Green Party. That’s Jill Stein. Hillary Clinton isn’t the only woman on the ballot.

Vote however you want. Vote Democrat, Republican or any of the third parties, whatever feels right to you, and let everyone vote how they want to vote.

Political

Just filled out my Absent Voter’s Ballot. I registered to vote by mail in the last couple elections, because my poor eyesight prevents me from driving myself to the township hall on Election Day.

Johnson and Weld got my vote for President and Vice President. For other offices, I voted Libertarian wherever I could. I really am tired of Republicans and Democrats. I feel that the tug of war between these two parties is a real problem in our country.

I want the two party system to end. In recent years, I’ve become less and less inclined to support either Republicans or Democrats.  But this is the first election where I’m voting for the Libertarian presidential candidate.

No, I did not waste my vote. I voted for the candidates I wanted to vote for. I feel that the Libertarians hold more of my values than the Democrats and Republicans.

But if you want to vote Democrat or Republican, that’s cool. That’s your right.

Political

Political

A few weeks ago I had a lengthy discussion on Facebook about the ACA. The bulk of the discussion was voiced by me, a couple of my cousins and an asshole who seemed to think his opinion was the only opinion that mattered (and who I no longer respect after he basically called us all freeloaders when he couldn’t convince us that his way is the only way).

I was swayed back and forth between both sides of the argument. But then something Irene said pulled it all together for me and I was able to take a solid stance. So, here’s the summary and what it all came down to for me.

(Comment copied from the discussion with mild edits applied.)

I guess it depends on how you look at it. When we call it slavery, though, it feels like a big exaggeration, like we’re blowing the whole thing out of proportion. If this is slavery, it’s barely noticeable.

I’ve been thinking about this discussion all day. Wendy moved to England a little more than a year ago when she married Mark. I don’t know exactly how long she had been fighting cancer, but if I recall correctly, she’d beaten the cancer not long before she got married. So, it wasn’t that long ago that she was dealing with the insurance companies we have here in the United States. I think her information is up-to-date and accurate.

Now Wendy is living in England and, as she said, she gets free healthcare. David pointed out that there is no such thing as free healthcare; that somebody else has to shoulder the expenses for the healthcare that is considered to be “free”. He’s not wrong, but Wendy’s not exactly getting charity that somebody else has to pay for. Wendy pays 70 pounds a month along with, I’m guessing, everyone else in the UK, whether they need the medical attention or not. This insures that when somebody does need medical attention they don’t have to worry about whether they can afford it or not, because it’s already covered.

Why shouldn’t we have something like that in the United States? While the ACA is not exactly the same thing as what Wendy has in England, it sounds like they intend for it to function in pretty much the same way. Irene, who has worked in the medical field for years, reminded us that people use emergency rooms as doctor’s offices because they can’t afford insurance. More often than not, they also can’t afford the bill for their time in the emergency room. The bill goes to the government and the government pays it with tax dollars.

I think that people who oppose the ACA are saying to those in need of medical attention, “If you can’t afford it, you can’t have it.” But I feel that nobody should have to suffer or die just because they can’t afford insurance. The ACA, like the NHS, could make it so that nobody has to worry about not being able to afford healthcare when they need it.

So, that’s where I stand. The ACA, although not perfect, makes a lot of sense to me now. I think it makes as much sense as paying taxes for roads, schools, law enforcement and fire departments, etc. Everyone needs medical attention at some point in their lives, and if they can’t afford it, the government covers it. I think the ACA would make it so the government doesn’t have to pay for so much and it could improve the economy. It would probably be better if we went for something more like what they have in Europe, but the ACA looks like a step in the right direction.

Political

I believe in leaving the Constitution alone. It’s why I support the right to bear arms. It’s why I think religion should have no part of our government, it’s why I believe in equal rights for all.

You know the original version of the Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 and it did not contain the words “under God”.

The original Pledge of Allegiance said, “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” The conservative in me says that was fine, we should have left it alone. Why? Because it respects the fact that some people don’t hold to the Christian belief, and we were supposed to be a nation where religion and government do not mix.

I don’t think too many people had complaints about the original Pledge of Allegiance, except maybe those who want this to be a Christian nation. And they got their way. They changed things. How very liberal of them. I like the original Pledge of Allegiance, for the reasons stated above, and because it was the original and it worked. There was no reason to change it.

The same is true of “In God We Trust”. Again forgetting that the Unites States is a country of mixed races, cultures and religions. Both, “In God We Trust” and “Under God” were inserted in the 1950s.

I think religion is one of the things that makes it so hard for the government to function. We have people who claim to hold true to the Constitution, but they’re trying to keep certain groups from enjoying the same rights that they do. All because their religion tells them it’s wrong. It’s fine to believe what you do, but the government shouldn’t heed to religion when it has a lot of different cultures to consider.

If you want to uphold the Constitution, then by God, uphold the Constitution. Hold it up high so everyone can see it, and don’t put your fingers over the parts you don’t like.

Equal rights for all. That should means just what it says. Gay people must be allowed to marry under our Constitution.

For the record: I’m not an atheist.