I was a Republican until 2 months ago.

Yes. It is blasphemous. It is unheard of. Yes, I was once asked to park my car on the street because I had four, count 'em, four George W. Bush bumper stickers on my car. Am I proud? I was. I felt that re-electing G-Dub was the smart choice. I was, as the rest of America was, duped. Am I proud now? How could I be? How can anyone defend our current administration?

G-Dub has made a choice to increasingly trounce our rights. He has driven our economy into recession with ridiculous spending. The crazy thing is, some republicans actually defend him to this day. This shows an ever-increasing ignorance among Americans regarding not only politics, but the issues that drive modern day politics.

I had dinner with my brother-in-law this evening. Let me preface this by saying that he is clearly an intelligent individual. He works for the state/federal government in a capacity that is surely important to our well-being.

I will never say that his ideas are stupid. I won't say that about anybody's ideas. What I will say, is that there are some ideas out there that I can't believe I ever held to be true. If this sounds like a rant, it is. I am in awe at the way that some people can view our society.

Here is one such idea: Some people believe that homosexuality is a choice or, better yet, an excuse. I don't see why anyone in the world would choose to be a discriminated minority. How many Caucasian people do you know who would choose to be a minority? How many Caucasian people would choose to be people of color, knowing the persecution that those people have faced?

In that respect, why would someone choose to be gay when they understand that gay people face discrimination and hate? That is like saying that a person who is otherwise straight, DECIDES to be gay solely for the purpose of being persecuted. Clearly it isn't for financial or social gain, so why would one "choose" this path? I just don't believe that anyone would "choose" to be persecuted. The only other conclusion is that these people "choose" their sexual orientation merely to be rebels.

Some would say that same sex marriage "undermines" our society. One argument that I hear is that homosexual people can't reproduce. How can anyone sit there with a straight face and tell me that our planet needs more people? I think we should consider it a blessing that every person doesn't feel obligated to pop out another kid.

If your stance is that adding homosexual married couples to the mix places a burden on the insurance companies, I encourage you to look at the RECORD profits that each company nets. Insurance, specifically health insurance, is the biggest money-making scam of our time. So what if two homosexual people who are married want the same cost-saving family policy as heterosexual couples? Insurance companies already charge an exorbitant amount of money, why should homosexual couples not be allowed to take the tiny bit of savings that a family plan offers?

As an American people, we could NOT in anyway drive insurance companies to insolvency. These companies have made money by duping the public for years and years regarding the quality of care and the cost of premiums. They argue that they cannot handle the added burden of insuring homosexual couples. The way things work now, one pays exorbitant premiums only to pay again in co-pays and deductibles. Insurance companies post record profits while covering very little actual medical costs. Is it our country's goal to help profiteering companies dominate our failing national economy?

Barack Obama has set forth a health care plan that has some government funding and subsidies. Republicans actually question the merit of such ideas. They claim that it is the next step towards a socialist state.

Are we really going to oppose a partial nationalization of our health care in order to protect these companies that deny every claim that they can? Is it really a crime for our government to make it illegal for companies to overcharge us for sub-mediocre care?

Is anyone upset about this??!?!?!?


Ugh....

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The Audacity of Participation

A few days ago, I related to my friend that there had been a shooting at Northern Illinois University. She told me that she didn't want to know about it because it was depressing. It was shocking to me that anyone would disregard all news for the purpose of not hearing depressing things. In an ever-increasingly hostile world, it is more and more important to be aware of the world around you. This type of ambivalence is the kind of thing I face every day. Does it disturb anyone else that our country's young electorate is getting less and less involved every year?

There seems to be a growing portion of the country that have decided that politics are the concern of people other than them. That it is considered acceptable to allow only a select few to decide your fortune is all-together depressing trend.

Being informed is a powerful tool. I've come to decide, rather begrudgingly, that I will never be pleased with the attitudes of people my age. I ask people why they don't pay attention to the presidential election. People say, I'm just not in to politics, or, that's not really my thing. Seriously!!?!? At what point do you have to point out to people that the leader of every free nation directly affects their quality of life. At what point do people realize that their votes and their actions actually make a difference?

To sum it up, why let the world happen around you when you can be part of it instead? I hear people complaining all of the time about the bureacracy of their government. I hear them upset about foreign policy, taxes, etc., and I wonder what percentage actually voted. I realize how absolutely cliche it is, but I don't really care. If you want your country run the way that you feel it should be, do something about it! When you have no say in your government, you have no say in your, or your country's, future.


Some people are happy enough just maintaining life in America as it is. They are content with the status quo, and feel that things are okay the way that they are. I must ask some serious questions. Can you name one thing about America that you are happy with? Seriously, what about this country makes you happy to be here? Surely our country has seen happy days, but in the last eight years, what has made you proud to be American? Is it your freedom of speech? Your freedom of privacy? Is it the global opinion of our country? I plead with the American public to cherish our rights.

It's important to realize that in the name of public safety, of "homeland security", we have been stripped of nearly all of our rights. Can we not take a proactive approach to national security that does not trounce every right of every American without cause?

What is the point of this rant? I guess it's supposed to be a call to action. The only problem is, I'm fairly confident that every effort I have made has fallen upon deaf, non-voting, text messaging ears. I guess the other point is to motivate you to vote, and to become part of your country's progress. Encourage other people to vote. Encourage your neighbors to take the time to make differences in our country. I can think of no other candidate who has inspired the desire to change more than Barack Obama. Please check out his blueprint for America at his website. I think that anyone who reads his ideas can agree that they will help us to become the country we once were, a country that the world respects.

Check out http://www.barackobama.com

Are we that ignorant?

It amazes me the lengths that people will go to discredit someone for no reason.

I have been trying to spread the word about Barack Obama's candidacy to everyone I meet. About one third of the people I talk to favor McCain. When this happens, I refer them to my initial blog post. I point out that he will essentially be a 3rd term for the Bush administration. I point out McCain's ridiculous thoughts about Iraq and his lack of judgment in making jokes about bombing countries. I will not harp on this, as I have already addressed it, other than to reaffirm my belief that we will quickly become the country that the world does not respect with him in office. George W. Bush has already set us up for failure, and McCain would ensure that we continue this reign of idiocy on the global stage.

That being said, I would like to talk about the other portion of the responses I get.


When I mention Obama, another third of the people raise their eyebrows and say, "I don't think so." I ask these people, "Why not?" Most will not reply at first. I then say "Is it because he's a democrat?" or "Is it because he is a liberal?" At this point people get this "I'm not saying anything out loud....wink wink" look about them. I can immediately sense that there are two motivators that the average white American will not admit to. Allow me to address these individually.

• Obama is not white.

Let me clarify that statement. Most would think that people's racial motivations would center on him being a black man. However, I met a woman who said "He just doesn't look American."

I am confused. First of all, the thought that in 2008, with our government constantly devaluing not only our dollar but our country's image in the world, we are really that concerned over what color skin our president has is absolute insanity. Additionally, there are a lot of people I see that don't look American. It is my understanding that to "look American" one must be a direct descendant of Native Americans. The last time I checked, we are ALL sons and daughters of immigrants. I can't remember ONE president who was 100% Native American blooded.

This leads me to believe that all of this rhetoric is simply just a mask for not wanting a man of color in the "White" House. I wonder if to some it is better to have a failing nation with a white president than to have a prosperous nation with a black president.

• Obama is a Muslim

I run into this ALL the time. I presume it starts with his unfamiliar name. Let me start by clarifying that his name is Kenyan, much like people from Louisiana can have French names, and people from Brooklyn can have Italian names.

The other source, which I will link to later, is a smear campaign that has been emailed, posted, and blogged to no end. There is a message out there that purports to be the whistle-blower on an Obama "scam." According to these people, Obama is a radical Muslim who wants to tear down the United States from within. It also makes preposterous claims that he will not swear on the Bible, and that his middle name is Mohammed.

Here is my problem. First of all, these are all lies meant to generate fear and hate in the hearts and minds of potential voters.

Secondly, why are we we inherently scared to elect a Muslim president? To equate a Muslim to a Jihadist is ludicrous. That's akin to labeling all Christians as militant domestic terrorists. After all, Timothy McVeigh was a Christian, so naturally all Christians want to blow up government buildings. Many of these same people had NO problem voting for Mitt Romney, who is a Mormon (a religion which until 1978 refused admittance to black priests).


In summation, I believe the mass misinformation to be the work of people who cannot embrace change. To spread rumors and slander about a candidate is nothing new, but these smear campaigns seem only to be a technique to encourage racism and discrimination amongst people who would otherwise embrace him for his policy innovations and fair politics. It is sad to me that in America, we have a much easier time embracing ignorance than we do positive change.

Here are the links to the numerous websites debunking these hoax emails:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_barack_obama_muslim.htm

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My Confession

This is odd for me in more way than one, I've never posted a real blog, and I never thought I'd say this:

It appears that McCain will be the nominee for the republicans. I would just like to point out that McCain is about as republican as I am a billionaire.



If I have to choose between essentially 3 democrats (McCain, Clinton, Obama,) I think one needs to look at the stances of all 3. McCain is not a republican, he's more liberal than most democrats. His immigration policy is ludicrous. He's the one who thought it was okay to sing (to the tune of The Beach Boys' 'Barbara Ann' ): "Bomb, bomb, bomb....bomb, bomb Iran."

Here's the link:
Check it out here

Do we need the rest of the world to think that we take issues like this lightly, that we joke about international relations?

I have been a republican forever, but I now see that Barack Obama is the candidate who acts more intelligently than anyone else. There are all sorts of reasons that people vote for a party. I have voted faithfully republican since I was eighteen. I came to the sad realization that I was wrong recently. The current presidency (and republican congress) has brought us the Patriot Act, a constitutional nightmare, and we are, for some reason, borrowing money from China for an economic "stimulus".

I would challenge anyone to compare Mccain and Clinton to Senator Barack Obama, and would welcome the dialog that would follow. I firmly believe that Obama is the republican's smart choice. I don't see any benefit to electing a man like McCain, who wants to make light of foreign relations and support a 100 year presence in Iraq, simply because he is a republican.

Here's another link:
100 Years In Iraq


Please, check out Barack Obama's website. I wrote this in true conviction, because I believe that McCain will ensure America's failure on the global stage, and I believe that Hillary will too. I think Obama has not been given a fair chance as the true republican's alternative to McCain. Please pass this on, I firmly believe that all of America needs to at least check out the plans and strategies that Barack Obama plans to implement as our next president.

It's time that we made a change in Washington. Please check out BarackObama.com and pass the word on!!!

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-Robbie Garment