Where have I been?

Due to my wife's illness and the vacation that I have been on I have been busy. I have not looked at any political articles. I have only heard a few things here or there. If Obama was willing to concede to be Edwards VP they would probably win the ticket. It would need to be done soon though. This is my feeling. I don't think Clinton would be willing to be a VP. On the Republican side I can see both Huckabee and Romney losing support. They have been attacked so much and people really don't know who they are.

My wife made it to Christmas. She was not supposed to make it to Halloween. This made the holiday very special for my family. She wasn't able to do shopping, so for the first time ever I did the shopping for my kids. That was not a fun experience. I really don't know what to do when it comes to that. I think I need to learn. My kids will need to get used to getting more needs than wants for gifts. My daughter doesn't like to have others shop for her, so she will probably get gift cards.

I'm going to the Falcons vs Seahawks game. Seahawks have always been my favorite team, but I've never seen them play. Even though they will probably play a bunch of backups I am excited for the opportunity to see my favorite team play.

Fuel Standards

Congress is doing a huge bill to deal with energy standards. This is a strange bill. It will require states like Georgia to use wind and solar as an energy source. Solar power is expensive. Much more than coal or gas. Wind won't work. Wind has to be over 10 mph to start a windmill. These types of winds are not common in the South. So congress is passing a bill that will not help many people. It also has fuel mileage standards that I always thought were good to force Detroit to improve engines not horsepower. I was reading about football and got a very interesting explanation on this energy bill from an outside source. See for yourself. The part on fuel economy is halfway down the article.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/071204

A while back I noted that the taxation by specific parties is claimed but not practiced. The Democrats state they tax the rich and not the middle class. Republicans say they keep taxes low on everyone. I have said that both parties tax the middle class. Neither tax the rich or poor. Well here is a link to an article that studied where the representatives come from. Based on the wealth of their constituents.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312628,00.html?sPage=fnc.politics/house

I also found it ironic that Romney had to give a religious speech to try to keep his campaign for President going. Is the Republican party that biased? I did see someone on a message board complain that since he is atheist he is not American because freedom of faith is American. I would argue that atheism is a religion and that the freedom is theirs too. The issue is that they don't want anything to do with religion and so they actually view anything with faith as bad. These 10% of Americans actually are what fight separation of church and state. Our founding fathers were very religious. They realized that people would be of different faiths and wanted to make sure a church wasn't running the country. That was a big issue in Europe at the time. They also didn't want the country running a church. So why did Romney have to give a speech and say he will follow the US Constitution.

Iraq

While I know that many Americans put Iraq as the most important aspect of picking the next President I do not understand this. First of all it will take quite some time to get the equipment out of Iraq. Then they will probably still be in Afghanistan. This is something that the media makes out to be horrific. To this point about the same amount of Americans died in 9/11 as have so far in this war. To compare it to Vietnam is not a good comparison. Some 40,000 to 50,000 Americans died over there. While I was not in complete favor of going to Iraq I was not against it and to this day still remain neutral on the subject. I do believe that this is our war. Another big difference with Vietnam is that it wasn't our war. We were there to help the French and when they pulled out we should have too. We went into Iraq.

Why did we enter Iraq? This is where Americans love of polls comes in. Some 80% of the people polled wanted us to go to Iraq. Hmm, where are these people now. We forced the war because it was a very popular approach at the time. Now we see our mistake. I do know there were no WMD's found, but at the same time if they didn't have any why were they not allowing the inspectors to go in and look freely. They made it look like they had them to the Germans, Americans, British, and even Spaniards.

As Americans we need to be cautious how we listen to the media. They put their own spin on everything. Some make it more liberal while others are extra conservative. To base our opinions on what we hear on the news and read from media outlets can cause some major problems. They allow a large majority to see things one way and then when polled for public opinion people just spout out what they hear and what they think everyone else feels. It is kinda like political endorsements. Why should I care what some Iowan state senator thinks about who should be the next President. The big thing is the Politicians feel that people only want to back a winner. So these endorsements are big news. Not to me. I want to think for myself.

Thanksgiving

Just a quick note. Busy weekend. My wife's hospice got a donated ticket to take my son to the Falcons - Colts game on Thanksgiving evening. He is a big Colts fan and had a blast. He was able to sit in a suite on the 50 and go down on the field during pregame warm ups. This was a great experience for him. My daughter was with us also. Both were quite impressed and amazed at the experience. My son also got two signed footballs. One by Manning and the other by three Falcons.

I put up the Christmas decorations. This is quite a chore. Finished around halftime of the Tennessee game and watched the Vols try to lose before finally winning. Then did some grocery shopping.

Haven't been keeping up on the Political race. It was kinda nice not paying attention for a few days. I am still frustrated by all the negativity. Why is the only news reported what the candidates dig on there opponents. Why don't we hear any of the positive things they say. I think the media is trying to control the race and what is reported. This is a big issue. We can't make an educated choice on 30% of the information.

Middle Class Taxes

I saw on CNN Money the following article which has a breakdown on who would be paying more in taxes and who would be saving tax money. I have always been curious as to why Democrats always say they tax the rich and not the middle class. Lets get this right. Both Republicans and Democrats tax the middle class. In this tax proposal which is still in a very early stage those who make more than $500,000 would pay more in taxes. Those who make less than $500,000 would pay less on average. Here is where I have an issue. Currently 67% of taxes are paid by the top 1% of earners. The median household income is about $45,000. So most Americans will see a decrease of their taxes of about 1 -2 %. Now for the fun math. The big tax savings would be given to those making $100K - $500K. They save over 4%. How is this taxing the rich? These people make over 2 times that of the average American. Why do they get to save more? I would bet that when you look at it most people in congress fall in this particular financial range. I always thought that the Republicans were blowing smoke when saying this was a huge tax increase, but now I see it. Most people will save less than $100 while those making between 100K and 500K will save thousands and those that already pay taxes will pay tens of thousands more. Here is the link.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/01/pf/taxes/rangel_proposal_breakdown/index.htm?postversion=2007110213

It doesn't matter who we elect. Congress will never let us change this formula. I think it is scary to know how many people are going to vote for one party and one party only. I worry about Clinton as President and having a democratic congress. Let us Americans break the Clinton-Bush trend. I've already said I will never vote for anyone with these last names. I said it in 2004 and I say it now and will in 10 years. Lets also keep congress and the White House in different parties.

Primary Push

With all the states pushing up their primaries the two candidates that emerge from their party will probably have a long time to push each other away. Will this be the time for an independent to jump in? Ron Paul as a Libertarian if he doesn't win the Republican ticket. What about Bloomberg. He already changed from a Democrat to Republican to Independent. I believe more Americans will become Independents over the next few years. Look at Liberman from Connecticut. He is getting more and more critical of the Democrats. He has even said that Congress is more into fighting Bush than making a difference. Is this news to Americans. I believe this is why most Americans rate Congress poorly. Americans don't like the far right or the far left. Can we get a moderate.

Been busy and not writing. Still trying to keep up with politics, but have not had a chance to Blog. I find it funny that Clinton said that we need to become more dependant on domestic oil. Why did she vote against drilling in ANWR. Hmmmmmmmm. That oil would be coming on line about now. Too bad the democrats said no. Why do people not fight these wars of words. Slap them in the face. Lets find ways to compromise. I believe too many politicians preach change, but won't change. I don't see how Clinton can be a change. She says she is, but it seems she is running against Bush.

Lets hope Americans look at the issues and not the past to make a choice in the primaries. I am not anti Democrat, but am not in favor of Clinton. I am not pro Republican, but am Anti Guliani. I am soooooo afraid of a Guliani vs Clinton. It would be a tough choice for America. Where is the next great person that decides to run for President. I am convinced that Richardson and Romney would be good, but not great. Romney has a tough road due to his religion. I believe if he was a different religion he would probably be a favorite. Why does his poll numbers keep rising. Paul and Huckabee could be good too, but are they too far behind. Where is the next great American President. I am not sure I see one given the choices the we are presented with.

Debates

Since I am an Independent voter I do not vote in the Primaries. I do see some advantages in voting in the primaries, but not many. I was so upset last election with the choice of Bush or Kerry. I think the biggest thing that will happen is based on the polls. Clinton will likely choose Obama as a running mate. Romney would be wise to pick someone like Paul, although it is not clear whom he would choose. I would think he would truly need to pick a running mate that panders to the religious conservatives. Someone the Southern Baptists like.

Oil is going up, the dollar is going down, wages are creeping up. The funny thing is in most large expansions salaries went way up. Why are they only going up a little now? Is this due to the global economy? If so we are all in trouble. China is expanding and with the rise in oil prices there they will pass costs along to us. Inflation may be coming and the Federal Reserve may not be able to counteract it easily. We already can see how low interest rates cause issues with homeowners. How many jobs could be lost. Wages would have to go up. This is an issue that the next President is likely to face. I only know of two who might be able to deal with this. Romney with his business background and Richardson who I just think might be the smartest and most qualified. I do prefer people who have governed.

One more Clinton tidbit. You notice they have a company response to all of Romney's remarks. They always say he flip-flops and they expect him to endorse her. It will be interesting to see if the primary polls go as they are laid out. Many Democrats are labeling Clinton a flip flopper too.

My son lost a baseball game in the tournament. We got notice at 6:20 that the game time was changed to 6:15 and show up as quick as we can to play. We got there and kids were going from the car to the on deck circle. The other team was told the night before. This tournament was at the other teams park and we are probably the only team that could beat them. This put us at a huge disadvantage. We lost 7-1. It was 3-1 when we changed pitchers. My son walked both times fouling off quite a few pitches. Unfortunate how unfair things like this are done to kids.

We have a kid on our team that is a year younger than all the others. A kid's dad decided that he wanted to change teams after he signed up under us. So they had to give us one of their players. The coach tells this kid and his parents at a practice "We got another kid, so we had to pick a kid to go to this other team. We are sending you." When the parents came over they were upset. Their kid was just told we don't want you. I appeased the kid by saying we would win more games. Boy is this true. He should also get a trophy at the end of the tournament which he never would have gotten. It upsets me when people are treated this way. It is even more depressing when it is a kid treated this way by an adult. The younger generation is our future. Look at social security. They kids and grand kids pay for the retirements of the older generation through a wage tax.

Golf

I went golfing today for the first time in 18 months. I always enjoy playing golf. It is very difficult. I know some people make fun of it, but it is not an easy game to play. The course was very hilly. One hole you go up, the next one you go down. It made judging the distance more of a challenge.

I am amazed at how little the Elephants and Donkeys avoid each other. Wouldn't it be nice if congress worked together. I can't believe it has taken this long to pass a bill to avoid the AMT. This is a slow process, but one that has been done for years. Why wasn't it something done in the Spring. The Democrats need to quickly get it passed before peoples tax bill goes up. This would cause an election nightmare for them. You would think they would do more to avoid it. Everything seems to take the new congress a long time to get to the President. Did congress get old and slow.

Georgia has some issues with the water and their lakes. I remember these issues from when I lived in Vegas. Seems that during some years it rains all the time and other years very little. Soon the weather patterns will change and it will dump rain in Georgia. There were not any tropical storms in this part of the country this season. These are a great source of moisture. While they cause issues they do bring a lot of rain. The other issue is water rights. These type of agreements need to be made for 10-20 year periods. Vegas had issues cause in the 1920's nobody thought a million people would ever live in the middle of the desert. That changed with Air Conditioners and Gambling. So much for Global Warming. Although that could change weather patterns.

Too many years

Things can be quite busy. My kids are keeping me up at night. Between baseball, marching band, marching band competitions, laundry, grocery shopping, and cleaning there is not much time for anything else. Modern economics is hurting me because of the constant medical bills. A local hospital has called my house every day for a month requesting payment. Funny that they care about the $591 amount they are owed, but don't say a word about the $126 bill that is 8 weeks older. I keep telling them I will pay it in full by the end of the year. They think I am lying. Since my wife has cancer I can write off the bill if I pay it, if I don't pay it I can't. Even though I tell the person over the phone this they talk like I am just putting them off. I would think that they would use this as a way to collect. "Pay your bill so you can write it off on your taxes."

The title too many years goes back to the saying I started right after the election of 2004. I was very frustrated with Kerry for President. I didn't feel he would be good, but I also didn't feel Bush was going to be successful. Well I was right. I think had it been Edwards it would have been a Democrat in office and not a Republican. So right after that election they were talking about Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton. Well that freaked me out. I started telling my wife that I am done voting for anyone with a last name of Bush or Clinton. I turned 18 a month and a half after Bush SR was elected. Then 8 years of Clinton and 8 years of Bush made it 20 years of a Bush or Clinton. Way too many years. If we are not careful we will have a Monarchy. I can't see 28 years. If Clinton is elected it will be way too many years of two families in the White house. This is actually the biggest reason I will not vote for Clinton. Her husband was a good President, but had too many non political distractions.

The Tennessee Vols looked real bad yesterday. I can not believe that they couldn't cover DJ Hall. They can't defense the pass. They haven't been able to all year. The Offense looked a little off. This is a team that when Manning was there could recruit whoever they wanted. That is not true now. The talent on the team is average and when playing the top teams this really shows. Georgia is the same way. These teams are now talent wise equal to South Carolina and Kentucky. It seems Alabama and Auburn are the same way. This is why the top PAC10 teams will probably be better than the SEC teams for the next few years.

Bias Americans

I don't understand outward bias reactions within this country. My children get along well with other races. I do see a lot of people who are outwardly bias, especially here in Georgia. Let me give a couple examples. My boss a few years back was a black lady. We were at lunch together and a black man came up and said, "You shouldn't eat with a white person." This was a black man who was biased against me who is white. Why? I don't know, but I just didn't understand back then. I grew up out west and wasn't raised this way.

Example 2. My daughter 8 years ago went to a birthday party. Her best friend in school wasn't there. She asked the mother of the girl who's birthday it was if this girl was coming. The mother told her that the girl couldn't make it. I was sitting on the side and could here the conversation. After my daughter went back to playing this mother turned to a couple other mothers and said that "We didn't invite her because she is black." WOW. That is so stupid. I had only lived in Georgia for a year and was really just learning how biased people are. Sad thing is all the girls in the school class were invited to a party except this girl. What happened when she found out? Why did none of these parents care.

Then I see things like a white man giving up his seat on a commuter bus for a black lady. The lady moved to a certain part of the bus and sat down in the seat previously occupied by this white man. The funny thing is she was upset because she said she asked three black men if she could sit and they all refused. She never asked the white man who voluntarily gave up his seat. It shows we have come a long way. It also shows we have a long way yet to go. I do see black and white kids and teenagers get along much better then their parents. I think future generations will improve this, I sure hope they do.

How does all this work for Obama? I think people will not admit an outward bias. They will say he lacks experience.
What about Richardson? They will probably come up with a lame excuse instead of pointing out his Hispanic heritage.
What about Clinton? Instead of saying she is a woman they will say she is too liberal, or say they didn't like her husband.
What about Romney? He will be labeled a flip flopper and not a Mormon.

People need to look deep inside and make a wise choice not filled with bias. Can Americans do this? I am convinced that some can. We will never know what percentage is biased.

My son won his baseball game today 16-5 and he went 3 for 3 with 2 doubles. He stole 4 bases and scored 3 runs with 1 RBI. He has very few RBI's due to batting 2nd in the lineup. My daughter had a band competition today. She moves so much while playing the melaphone. She is moving forward and backward and playing at the same time. She just amazes me.

We got my other son some African Dwarf Frogs. He has 5 in a 10 gallon tank. They dance around a lot and are quite active. If you have an aquarium and don't have violent fish these guys are great. Fun and different.

Gore won a Prize

I am quite surprised that Al Gore hasn't gotten into the Presidential race. Is he holding out as some sort of favor to Bill Clinton? Not sure. Don't see anyone that would be able to beat him. I suppose he could go on about a lockbox or something, but even that shouldn't keep him from becoming the next President. It is funny how much people move in response to those that are in their electorate base. For instance Gore used to be a moderate. I lived in Knoxville while he was the Senator. He has since become very liberal. The last two Democratic presidents were moderate governors. If he would have stayed moderate he would have easily beat Bush. Our country does not like extreme liberals as a whole. I believe a Democrat needs to be more of a moderate to win election. Occasionally when the whole country is upset with the Republican party, as they seem to be now, they will possibly elect a liberal.

You see this pattern with Romney. I think he is a great example. He was very moderate in his viewpoint in order to get elected Gov. of MA and then has become conservative in order to try to become President. If he was conservative he would have never been Gov. however now he will need to avoid being a flip flopper. It all comes back to why politicians are viewed as not honest. Not sure which is the best way to be. I would prefer that they were honest. One other interesting point. Harry Reid the Senate Majority leader is a Mormon. Wouldn't it be funny to see him and Romney fight over ethics when they share a similar moral upbringing.

I have realized why I am so disgusted with the leaders of today. I used to not worry as much, but with my wife dying I am more so wanting a much better life for my children. I can survive in a crumbling political world, but I don't know if my kids can. An example of this is the Turkish - Armanian bill in congress. Its been 90 years. Turkey has been helpful. We have troops that could have issues if there is an issue with Turkey. Why now? Why not in 10 years? Why not wait at least till we are out of Iraq? What is going on here is a congressman desperate to have a large voting base happy with him. If 10 troops are killed due to having to deal with the Turks and Kurds then the democrats will blame Bush for us being there. The point is it would have been avoidable. American troops don't need any more to deal with anything else. If I had a child over there I would be furious.

The other big issue is the boundries for congress. It doesn't matter how I vote. The last election was won by a Republican who got 70% of the vote. Due to the boundries the Democrats don't even bother putting up a fight. When boundries are drawn they are drawn in order to make sure that districts are safe for one party or another. This means that maybe 2 of 10 districts are up for grabs. I like the area that I live in, but will probably not have a democrat representative unless I move. Maybe after the lines are redrawn.

I am busy. Got to run my daughter to school so she can get ready for her halftime band performance.

10/4/2007

Wow I have been busy. I coach a 9-10 yr old baseball team. I am actually the pitching coach. This takes up some of my time. I have been dealing with the practices and the pitching is actually getting better. I have spent many nights teaching some of these kids to throw, let alone pitch. Some are way behind where they should be. My son is doing well. He is currently 7 for 8 with 3 walks.

Politics is funny. I was reading about Romney being Mormon and that 25% of Americans refuse to vote for a Mormon. I don't see too many differences between the Mormon people I know and the Southern Baptists that I know. I do know that there are bias people and they have existed throughout history. I just wonder if another candidate will come out and attack his religion. I for one will not vote for anyone with an outward bias. To me I like much of what Mitt has to offer. While I don't see him as electable, I do see him as having a different background that could change this country for the better. Maybe he would be a good VP. I would hope a Democrat would offer him the post of Secretary of Commerce.

The more I see of Richardson the more I like him. I am afraid of how the next President will approach the armed forces. President Clinton drastically cut the number of military personnel which has probably caused some issues in recent years. If our country pulls out of Iraq will the insurgents just leave Americans alone? Not likely. This could be avoided by moving some of the troops to Afghanistan. The other issue is how we will be viewed throughout the world. Will America's reputation get worse for leaving a country in chaos. Ultimately America has to leave at the right time. When that is I don't know, but I feel right after an election may not be the best time. This is the only area I don't agree with Richardson.

My wife is actually feeling a little better. Her color has come back to her face. While she is still very sick I am hoping that the doctors time frame of her death is wrong. He said she should die this month. I am hoping to see that extend out for quite a bit longer.

9/27/2006

Well since this blog is about my political Independence I will list some brief thoughts about the current candidates and my feelings about them. Before I get to this point I want to state the idea of checks and balances. In today's Washington DC we have two parties that don't agree on anything. If Congress and the White House are occupied by the same party I feel that this eliminates one of the checks. Bush didn't veto bills sent to him by a Republican Congress. Clinton was a horrible President his first 2 years when he had a democratic congress. If the polls show a large Congressional advantage to the Democrats it is probably in the best interest to have a Republican President. Funny thing is that in the partisan political world we are in today this is a check and balance that is needed. If they could work together then this approach would not be necessary.

The candidates for the next election - only the front runners.

Clinton - Will only make partisan politics worse. She can't work with anyone.
Obama - I like him. Not sure about foreign policy, but I think he would be good for Americans.
Edwards - Do we want to elect a President who is going to lose his wife to a horrible disease?
Richardson - My favorite Democrat. I think he would be a great President or VP.

Giuliani - He scares me.
Romney- Wouldn't it be nice to have a businessman in the White House? May be what we need.
McCain - Don't like him. might be a good VP.
Thompson - I like him, but still have questions.

If I were voting today the two I would not vote for are Clinton or Giuliani. We are all screwed if this is our choice come the next election. Just something to ponder about.

Introduction - 9/26/2007

I am writing this blog as a response to all the political issues that do not get addressed in our country. I am a moderate and do not vote for any particular political party. I honestly believe that voting for one and only one political party is a mistake. The same for voting for incumbents. The issue is due to incumbents who do not do a good job, but get elected anyway because of their political party.

I am married with 3 children. My wife has been diagnosed with incurable breast cancer and is expected to pass away soon. She is all of 35 years old. This aspect of my life will probably be addressed in this blog as I will need to take care of my children and that will consume my life.

I have a degree in finance and love sports. Football, Baseball, and March Madness are my favorites. I rarely watch TV unless its Football or March Madness.