My sudden change...

Ok, I know people are wondering how in the world I could be supporting Barack Obama. After all, I've considered myself a lifelong Republican and was a very devoted Mitt Romney supporter during the Republican primaries. I even posted a month ago about about how Pelosi and the Democratic congress should quit playing politics and do something for America. Admittedly, I've never been happy with John McCain, and if Mitt Romney had won the Republican primaries, I'm sure I'd be just as big a supporter as I was during his candidacy. I think Obama appealed to me because, like Romney, he is not a Washington insider, and as Romney was fond of saying, you can't put the same people in different seats and expect different results. McCain has been there for 26 years. I began taking a serious, objective look at both candidates. I went to both candidates' websites and compared and contrasted their plans for the economy, Iraq, and taxes among a host of other issues. I also read anything I could from economists to party strategists and even pundits. Let me be clear, in the past I, like many others in the South (especially evangelical Christians), have voted mainly on socially conservative issues. Fiscal conservatism has also influenced me, but as we have seen by the years of a Republican controlled congress, they cannot be trusted to be fiscally conservative. In the history of the United States, I don't believe there has ever been a congress that has been as reckless and irresponsible as the Republican controlled congress has been. The pork barrel spending has been shameful and wasteful of Americans' tax dollars. Having said that, I am still socially conservative, but let me say this as emphatically as I can, abortion and homosexual marriage are non-issues in this election!!! There is too much at stake in this election to cast my vote based solely on social issues.

The number one issue in this election is the economy. The economy alone has been enough to change my way of thinking, but to be sure, is not my only reason. McCain's plan for the economy is, to put it bluntly, bone-headed and complete nonsense. Exxon-Mobil makes $12 billion in profits every quarter, and now John McCain wants to give them an additional $4 billion in tax cuts. What sense does this make? I'm paying upwards of $4 per gallon for gas while the oil companies are profiting $48 billion a year, and now their going to bank $52 billion?? How is that helping the middle class. He wants to give other big business billions of dollars in tax breaks - companies that are sending our jobs 0verseas. What tax breaks will the average Joe get? None. Zip. Zilch. Republicans think if you give the wealthy tax breaks, the money will trickle down, but it never does. The CEOs get a pay raise, but the average worker gets nothing. Since WWII, anytime we've had a Republican president, the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the economy goes south. But when there has been a Democrat in office, the rich stay rich, many of the poor move into the middle class, the average American's income increases dramatically, and the economy grows dramatically. But this year is different, because America is no longer the economic power of the world. Competition from China and India is growing faster than we can keep up with. More on China later. We must make a stand and do something to remain the economic superpower of the world. McCain's plan for the economy is NO DIFFERENT from the current president's. Jobs will continue to go overseas and our economic woes will only continue and worsen. Thanks to Bush's brilliant handling of the economy 605,000 jobs have been lost this year. 85,000 just last month. We cannot afford a continuation of these same failed policies. Obama's plan, however, will repeal the Bush tax cuts for the rich. Big oil and big business will pay their fair share of taxes, and 95% of American workers will receive tax cuts. Think about what that would mean. The more money in the middle class families' pockets, the more likely they will be out spending that money purchasing products from businesses. This creates jobs in manufacturing and retail. His plans will also focus on new energy, creating hundreds of thousands of "green collar jobs." And the bottom line is this, we are borrowing billions of dollars every year from China to buy oil from countries who hate us and to finance a war that has been reckless and caused us to lose the respect of nations across the globe. As a result, in eight years, Bush has successfully managed to double the national deficit. China's being all quiet about it, but a day of reckoning will come and China will practically own the United States. How in the world can we pay down the national deficit when John McCain is cutting or eliminating taxes on those who should be paying the most?? It's absolutely senseless. There's a reason young voters are drawn to Obama. We don't want to be responsible for the debt incurred by the recklessness and greediness of today's president and his dismal policies and those of his preferred predecessor. If you're filthy rich, hey, you've got nothing to worry about. You do as well under Democrats as you do under Republicans. If you're poor or middle class, you have great reason to be worried if John McCain is elected President of the United States.

The second major issue in this election, for me at least, is Iraq. Those who know me know I've been a big supporter of President Bush and going to Iraq and taking out Saddam Hussein and so forth and so on. That was, of course, until I realized we were spending $10 billion per month every month we are there. There's a couple of problems with this. First, Iraq is sitting on top of $80 billion in the bank that they are not using for their own reconstruction. Why should they? We're paying $10 billion on it every month. The second problem is the Iraqi government is asking us to leave. They feel they are sufficiently stable and no longer need us there to keep the peace. They want us out, they have subscribed to Obama's plan of a timetable for troop withdrawals. And even now, President Bush has seen the light and is working to come up with such a timetable. John McCain stands alone, wanting to keep us in Iraq indefinitely, indefinitely spending $10 billion every month. Just think what the U.S. could do with that $10 billion...perhaps invest it in energy sources that would free us from dependence on Middle Eastern oil, put it into social programs that will help Americans rise above poverty and illiteracy, fix our education system or Social Security or Medicare??? Hey, it could even go toward our ever increasing national deficit. There are any number of worthy causes that would benefit the American people. McCain cites national security as a reason for staying. Ok, but as far as I can tell, the longer we stay there, the angrier certain groups of people will become with us and may seek to launch an attack deadlier than 9/11/2001. Obama has it right. We need to leave Iraq, which was a distraction from the real problem, which is again growing in the mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan - the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. This is where our our time and military resources should be and should have been from the beginning.

I watched both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. There was a stark difference between them. The Democrats, Hillary, and Barack all gave speeches that were substantive and relevant. They laid out their plans for change and improving American life and liberties. They defined for us what we can expect from a Obama/Biden presidency. On the other hand, the Republicans talked about John McCain's experience as a POW. Every one of them. That was the only talking point any of the Republicans had. They didn't even mention the words "middle class", spoke fleetingly about the economy, although refusing to discuss how they'd improve it, and other than yelling "Drill, drill, drill," ignored our growing energy crisis. John McCain wants us to Fight! with him. Fight for what? He hasn't told me anything he's going to fight for, except to lower taxes for businesses and oil companies who are already paying little to nothing. Oh yeah, he did mention his healthcare plan, although in his old age, he must have forgotten about mentioning the fact that his $5000 refundable tax credit will be considered income, potentially thrusting Americans into a higher tax bracket and thereby increasing our taxes. It's pretty pointless too, since insurance for a family would cost on average $12,000 annually. So let's recap, his healthcare plan will cause you to pay more taxes, and will be insufficient to afford a family health insurance. Obama, first of all, is going to lower 95% of American workers' taxes, and make available the same healthcare plans members of Congress receive at the same rates. If your happy with the plan you currently have through your employer, you can keep your plan and your premiums will be lowered. Hmmm...I wonder which plan will be better for more Americans?

John McCain likes to paint Obama as an elitist. This is the most laughable charge coming from the mouth of John McCain. As I recall, Barack Obama took out student loans to get through law school. Granted, he went to Harvard, that's pretty elite. But he also just finished paying back his student loans within the last few years. He got a nice home in Chicago, can't blame him for wanting to have a nice home in a nice neighborhood to raise his daughters. John McCain has SEVEN houses and he doesn't even know that fact. Who, I ask, is the elitist? If you can't even keep up with how many houses you have, you're pretty elite. I have an extremely hard time believing that John and Cindy McCain have an inkling of an idea what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck. McCain, who jokes about the middle class being those making less than $5 million a year, is so out of touch with the middle class and our struggles. He thinks the economy is "fundamentally sound." His economy may be fundamentally sound, but I'm working two jobs as a registered nurse and having a hard time making ends meet. The economy I live in hasn't been as kind to me as McCain's economy has been to his.

And finally, McCain's serious lack of judgment has me scared out of my mind if he becomes president. I wrote at length in a post last week how I felt about his pick of Sarah Palin, and in the time that has ensued, I have only more questions than answers. He did not vet her at all. She was picked at the last moment to change the momentum of the campaign. This political pandering is dangerous to our national security and shows McCain is willing to do anything to win this election. After all, he's changed his position on almost every matter of policy except the war in Iraq. That will be the topic of my next post.

So, to my family and friends, I have not given myself over to the dark side. I still consider myself a social conservative, although I absolutely do not consider myself a Republican, and still have the values that I was taught and raised with. However, I also have an analytical mind and so have concluded that in order to have a stronger dollar and economy, jobs, national security, healthcare that works, and actual change, the obvious choice for president this year is Barack Obama.

Barack Obama's DNC Speech

Hillary Clinton's DNC Speech

Any Hillary supporter who does not vote for Barack Obama is voting against everything she stands for!!!

Roll Tide Roll!!!!

#9 Clemson who?? Did anyone objectively pick the Crimson Tide to open the season like this against the best the ACC had to offer?? I'm not aware of anyone. Of course I, as well as thousands of Alabama fans, knew that Alabama was more than capable of taking on a top 10 team. And we handled them. Our offensive and defensive lines controlled the entire game. The only touchdown they scored was on special teams. I know that SEC teams will be tougher, but if we keep this up and finish games like we did tonight, there's gonna be a couple of upsets, particularly LSU. I said last year that Les Miles would never beat Nick Saban again (and honestly they didn't last year), and I stand by that statement. This is going to be a great season for the Crimson Tide and I can't wait for every Saturday this fall!!!

What was he thinking??

Or was he thinking at all?? Clearly, John McCain's judgment must be incredibly cloudy and must be questioned. Is he serious?? I am appalled. John McCain's VP pick in Sarah Palin is utterly irresponsible and dangerous. Seriously, McCain is old, the oldest first term President if he wins, and he's had skin cancer at least twice. Sure, his docs say he's in good health and should last the next four years, but they have to say that crap. His docs are not going to come out and tell the American people he's not healthy enough to be President. They're on his side. There's a good chance, God forbid, he could become incapacitated or die, and do you honestly think the "hockey mom" has what it takes to stand up to the likes of Vladimir Putin, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chavez, Kim Jong-il, and Osama bin Laden??? Is that who you want to be Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces?? I'm sorry, but contrary to what McCain thinks, mayor of a town of 8000 people and a year and a half as governor of one of the least populous states are not qualifications to be Vice President of the United States. She's only been outside the U.S. once in her life and that was last year. In addition, McCain is touting her record of ethics reform, while she is under investigation for ethics violations. Hmmm...can we say lack of judgment? I read one of McCain's spokesmen said that Palin would learn about foreign policy at the feet of the master. That's the scariest thing I've ever heard, given that McCain wants to keep us in Iraq at a time when they're asking us to leave and will continue the foreign policies of George Bush that has the world hating us. Presidents have died within the first couple of months after they've taken office. Who is she going to learn from then? We cannot afford to elect this ticket. We cannot take a chance on John McCain remaining healthy. We cannot take a chance on John McCain, period.

Furthermore, 18 million people right now should be offended. Women everywhere should feel that their intelligence has been insulted. Those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling were for Hillary and the issues and values she stood for. And as she said in her magnificent speech on Wednesday, if you voted for her in the primaries, you must vote for Obama to ensure that the policies she stands for will go forward. Don't get me wrong, I don't support abortion and other social issues that Hillary stands for. But voting for Palin just for the sake of voting for a woman is completely insane. Palin completely disagrees with almost everything Clinton stands for. People who vote for a woman for the sake of voting for a woman are uneducated and irresponsible. I've said the same about voting for Obama because he's black or voting for Romney because he's Mormon. None of these things are qualifications for being President or from "being a heartbeat away" from being President. To be sure, I did not support Hillary in the primaries, but I feel that my intelligence has been insulted. McCain has been preaching about putting the country first, but in this move, he has put his career and politics above the safety and security of the American people. He has put his country last, dead last. This is a total political gimmick and is shameful. And Palin came out and the first thing she did as VP candidate was to take credit for all of Hillary's hard work and tell the women of this country that women still haven't lost and that they can now vote for her. Hillary congratulated Palin on being chosen, but then warned that she and McCain would take the country in the wrong direction.

But other than national security, how is Palin going to handle other issues? What knowledge could she possibly have of how to fix the economy? The main export in Alaska is oil. That's about all she had to work with. And besides that, her husband worked for the oil companies. McCain is in bed with the oil companies like his predecessor. They want to give $4 billion in tax cuts to oil companies when they are making $12 billion in profits each quarter and we're paying nearly $4 a gallon for gas. I'm suffering at the pump and now oil companies are going to profit another $4 billion per year, thanks John and Sarah, but no thanks. They want to keep us in Iraq paying over $10 billion per month while Iraq is sitting on $80 billion and not spending anything on their reconstruction, no thanks John and Sarah. They want to give big oil and big business tax breaks while our jobs are going overseas and we're not getting any relief, no thanks. We're sitting on the biggest national deficit in American history, thanks to Bush. And the McCain policies of tax breaks for the rich will only further sink us in debt. Obama wants to free us of our dependency on foreign oil in 10 years, which would save us from borrowing money from China to buy oil in Middle Eastern nations and Venezuela, who openly hate us and would like to see us destroyed. McCain wants to give incentives to the same oil companies and countries who despise us and keep us dependent on them. I just wonder, what's in it for Bush and McCain?? What incentives are they getting from the oil companies to keep America dependent on them for energy? If McCain is so concerned about our national security and putting country first, he would encourage and promote initiatives that would free us from oil, rather than keeping us dependent on it.

But no, McCain - or as he has become known, McSame - doesn't practice what he preaches. He has put his political career ahead of what is good for the country by choosing Ms. Congeniality hockey mom as our potential commander in chief. He is trying to pick off a few of Hillary's upset women in an effort to make a comeback in this election he is obviously losing. He has demonstrated clear lack of judgment by making an irresponsible, dangerous choice of this woman who he only barely knows. It is my hope that women across America will see this ploy for what it is, and tell McCain that they are not going to vote for him out of this desperate and unwise VP pick. This is definitely NOT the change we need!!!

Found a Hilarious short film!!

Big Buck Bunny from Blender Foundation on Vimeo.

Finally...

Wow, that was the longest primary season I've ever experienced...of course it's only the 7th of my life. So, congratulations to Barack Obama for clinching the Democratic nomination for President. He ran a great campaign and handily defeated the expected nominee, although the expected nominee decided to drag it out to this point. The Clintons aren't very accustomed to losing, so I guess she didn't know how to do so gracefully. I just pray that Obama doesn't give in to pressure and take her on the ticket. That would make him look weak, and how could you give Bubba a key to the White House?? All I gotta say is if Barack picks Hillary, and wins in November, he better really watch his back and hire someone to taste everything before he does. Am I insinuating that the Clintons would have Obama taken out?? Well, I go back to my statement that the Clintons aren't very graceful losers. And they'll say or do whatever they can to obtain power. This has been plainly manifest throughout the primary process, most obviously by Hillary's refusal to abide by the rules she agreed to and signed at the very beginning. Hillary's behavior has quite literally made me sick. When Florida and Michigan didn't matter and she thought she was sure to win the nomination, she agreed they would not be seated at the convention. But as soon as she desparately needed them, she sang a completely different tune. Of course I vehemently disagree with Father Pfleger's assertions that Hillary felt entitled to the nomination because she's white, but I do strongly agree that she feels entitled, and when her nomination was threatened, she showed her true colors. And I am thrilled that she will not be our next President. Well, she won't be as long as she's not picked for the Veep slot.

Whew!!!

Boy am I glad that's over!! I'm obviously NOT referring to the Democratic primaries. No, I just finished with my spring semester, finally. I wasn't sure it would ever end. Now I only have two classes in June and two in July, then I graduate in August!!!!!!! What sucks about it is after all this hard work, there's no pay increase. Oh well, guess I can't complain. There aren't too many professions where you're guaranteed a job no matter where you are. The shortage in nursing is real. Two of my classes this summer will be on the Master's level, however I've decided that I will not be returning in the fall for my Master's. I'm going to wait until Henry starts school in a few years. Then I'll get my degree and have the experience to get the type of management position I'm looking for. I will go back and get it, I just have to finish the degree within 6 years. I'll be working a lot in the month of May while I'm out of school. St. V's is paying a nice bonus for extra shifts worked. And I'm going to read a book, relax, enjoy this month, because it's back to work hard core in June.

Now with regards to the Democratic primaries...Who knows?? I'm so tired of it now. Obama's pastor said this, Hillary said that, she's got experience, he's got none, but he's bringing change. Who cares?? They both say they're going to raise taxes on the rich and keep them low for the middle class. Bull crap, the rich will never pay their fair share of taxes and the burden will always be on the middle class. They have all these grand plans and ideas, and they all require a huge tax increase. Increased taxes = less money in our pockets = declining economy. When will the Dems learn??? Our economy is in enough trouble as it is. I know they need to raise taxes to fund all their extravagant plans, but they don't indicate closing shop on all the government programs we don't need, and they certainly don't talk about controlling pork barrell spending. Dems love their little pet projects and wasting our tax dollars on bull crap. I'm not saying Republicans have been any better lately. They had six years to get something done and put the country on a more fiscally sound path, but squandered that time and increased spending. Obama keeps talking about change. Ok, so when is he going to lay out any specific plans?? I went to his website the other day. I went specifically to find out his plans and proposals. All I found was he endorsed someone else's plan or offered some vague idea, but few concrete plans. The only concrete plan he has is to systematically withdraw troops from Iraq within 16 months. He obviously thinks it is ok to allow al-Qaeda to set up shop there and then try diplomacy. We're just going to end up going back over there to clean up Obama's mess from pulling out too early. Hey, but I'm just a dumb kid from Alabama, what the heck do I know??