Surprise, Surprise....

Well, last night was very interesting...I honestly was not sure that Obama would win. But it happened and it seems to have happened without a bunch of accusations of widespread voter fraud from the right. So that is a good thing. I do not think that a lot is going to change on a national level since Congress is still the same.

I am sure the usual suspects will continue to ring the bells of doom and America will continue to roll along. Like it always has. Then four years from now there will be someone new to panic about on one side or the other. But until then lets remember we are all in this together and let's keep on rockin!! Because if we weren't free then why in the world would freaks like this be allowed on stage.

Monday

Today is another day. A Monday to be exact and not much has changed in the world. Now if you listen to some people then it seems like things will be changing tomorrow depending on who wins the American Presidential election. I think this is kind of what it boils down to for some people depending on who gets elected.




Or this





But really it doesn't matter who wins. Life will go on. The earth will continue to spin. The spice will continue to flow. Or in our cases the oil will continue to flow and that really is all that seems to matter.

But for myself I am going to keep on dancing.....

Speech Has Consequences

I am tired right now. I am tired of all of the Presidential election news. I am tired of people talking like electing Obama to a second term is going to be the end of the world and America as we know it.

"Yea verily, when the Black Devil Barack Obama is re-elected, then truly the real death will come upon America. The Angel of Death with all of the powers of his evil Socialist Masters shall fall upon us. The Communist overlords shall stand atop the smoking ruins of our capital and true patriots shall weep as a Thousand years of darkness shall fall upon us." 

Well, maybe that won't happen. I don't know either way. What I do know for sure is that I made all of it up just now. I didn't read something or study something that made me think I could predict the future because really I also know that you can't predict the future. It is silly to even try. It also benefits no one for me to do so. Now one thing I could do is send out a letter that kind of vaguely predicts things and is geared to scare people and prey on their fears. Their fears may be religious based or they may just be coming out of sheer ignorance but maybe if I can pray on the fears I can get them to send my some money and line my pockets a little bit. I mean really, what harm can I cause? Who is really hurt? What is wrong with a few white lies or grey lies as it were. 

What follows is a letter that Focus on the Family sent out in 2008 just before the Presidential elections. There are 34 things that they say might happen. There is one that maybe happened and 33 others that did not at all. It is an amazing exercise in trying to spread baseless fear.

Focus on the Family letter



 I think people should think before they claim that Obama wants to destroy America. The people like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. Words have consequences and people know that. During the last election as things began to wrap up and it looked more and more like Obama would win, I heard the same kind of talk about Bush. The liberal pundits and conspiracy theorists were sure that Bush was going to call a "State of Emergency" and suspend the election. That didn't happen. That the Republicans would use the electronic voting machines to change results. That didn't happen. America survived Bush and it will survive Obama and if Romney wins the election it will survive Romney. Life goes on.

 The only real difference this time around as far as propaganda goes is that there seems to me too be a lot more biblical speak that is being used to justify the accusations.  They know that the more inflamed they can make the populace the more money they can make. The more books they will sell and the higher their radio and television ratings will be. They don't care about us. I do not even think they care about America. They care about making money. They care about marketing and they care about getting fat on their propaganda while the rest of us shrivel away and get eaten up inside by stress and and anger and fear.

Ahhhhh, thanks for letting me vent folks. Deep breaths, Lance. Deep breaths. You guys be safe out there.

Voting Day

Tuesday November 2nd is election day. Things are a little different in Oregon because of our vote by mail system. So rather then going into your local precinct headquarters we get a ballot in the mail a few weeks before the election that we are supposed to fill out and mail back in. If we do not mail it in early enough then you can drop it off on election day at different drop points all around the state.

Earlier this month after I had filled out my ballot and mailed it off I raised a question on my Facebook page about purchasing a stamp to mail in my ballot. This made for an interesting discussion and one that I want to bring over to the blog. So first I will put in some of what people said on my post and then hopefully we can get some comments to address the different points people made.

So what I said was this

"Lance Cummins has voted and now would like to begin the conversation about the vote by mail process in Oregon and why he has to use his own stamps to mail it back in."

I received several different comments some from people letting me know that I didn't have to mail that I could go drop it off. Which was already aware of. On a personal level it doesn't really bother me to buy my own stamp and I like the flexibility of doing my research and being an informed voter and then mailing it in as opposed to going to the HQ and voting in the booth. I mainly was just wanting to see what people thought.

My friend and regular commentator on this blog, Joel, had this to say:

"if they wish to use the VBM process, make the ballot postage paid. It in essence a poll tax. I do understand that if we had to go to a polling place we would have to expend resources to do so as well."

I felt like that was a valid point. By buying a stamp I am in effect paying for the privilege of voting.

Another friend and regular commentator Macy had this to say:

"for me, I just am not seeing how a stamp is more expensive/intrusive than the old system of having to show up at the ballot box at a specific day, taking time out of your schedule (and maybe hours off work) in order to stand in line. It seems I never turn my ballot in early, so I always drop it by a drop-site, which isn't inconvenient as they have them all over the place and I can just combine it with another errand."

I thought she made a good point that is does come down a little bit to what it feels like for each person. Some people really felt like going to the HQ was a hassle and too to much time out of the day. I have heard stories about people voting in other states, never Oregon, and having to wait 4 and 5 or more hours to vote. Now for me that is unacceptable. I like to vote I enjoy it. But I can't imagine that I would wait that long to cast my ballot no matter how important it was. I mean lets just be honest. How many of us would wait that long?

My friend and fellow blogger Christopher closed with this thought:

"If I were king for a day I'd burn the vote by mail law and go back to the old system. I really liked going to vote at the local voting booth, it made me feel like a citizen."

I can understand where he is coming from. I do not agree. I like to vote by mail. But, I also like feeling like a citizen and right now with politics the way they are it is very easy to feel unconnected to government and to feel like your vote really counts for nothing. Which is really to bad. In Australia and Venezuela voting is mandatory and I do not think that is a good thing. As much as I think everyone should vote I also like that in America I am able to not vote if I feel so inclined. Though I also think you void your right to complain if you do not vote. I know it is easy to be cynical and say that special interests control government and I do feel that the Supreme Courts ruling about the person hood of corporations does not help things. But voting is the only way I have, you have, to be heard. I am not going to use violence to get my message across. So for me being involved by voting is how I say part of the solution. So get out and vote people!! Do it for me.

3--9-2010 (Tuesday)

Well, here we are it is Tuesday morning and today is the last day for people to file in Oregon if they are going to run for office. It may be an interesting day but I am not sure. I was going to write some more about the upcoming elections in Oregon but I honestly am not all that interested in it. I will be shocked and amazed if a Republican were to win. I will be even more shocked and amazed of a third party candidate even gets any recognition in this state at all. I think the reality is that Oregon is basically a Democratic state. Or at least the population centers in the state are and until we start counting votes in a different way that is not going to change.

Now, understand me, I am not taking a pro or con on that position. I just think that is the case. The thing that may benefit the Republicans in this upcoming election is if maybe Chris Dudley can be thought of as some sort of political newcomer and can pick up some of the moderate and independent voters. They took a straw poll this weekend at Dorchester, the big Oregon Republican conference in Seaside, and Allen Alley won. I honestly am not sure what that means. I do not think Alley is going to be able to pull a moderate vote and I believe the majority of the people that attend an event like Dorchester are the pretty hard core true believers.

On the Democrats side I do not think anyone they are putting up in the primaries is going to beat Kitzhaber. While it is true that Bill Bradbury is making some noise I just do not see him actually toppling the Kitz. Also on a personal note Bradbury is not a friend of the work I do. He never has been and if he becomes governor he will most likely hurt the system in Oregon. I believe and believed even when I did not work in the process that the petition system is part of what makes Oregon special and lets the voters have a say now and then. Oh sure there are problems much like in any system but even at it's worst it still comes down to a vote and that is a good thing.

That is about all for today folks. Have a good one.

3-2-2010 (Tuesday)

It is Tuesday morning and the sun has risen again and I am back at it. I hope you all are well and my lack of writing yesterday didn't leave to big of a hole in your lives. I know my wisdom that I give to you all freely is very important and without it most of you would not be able to really function. So rest assured that I am not planning on going anywhere. Also remember that when I rise to the top and I stand astride two pillars over the ashes of all who opposed me. Know that I will remember you and you all will have places in the new regime. Well some of you are going to. I really can't be expected to have a place for all of you. I am not sure who I can trust. So better safe then sorry. You know what? Just forget about that last part there. Things well work out you can trust me.

I listened to an interesting piece on NPR this morning talking to Mitt Romney and discussing his chances for 2012. He seems to be pretty obviously getting ready to run again. It is going to be interesting to see the build up to 2012. The Republicans feel that they have some momentum and that things are going to change in their favor. I think anything is possible but I wonder if Romney is conservative enough for the Tea Party crowd. I also still question as I did in 2008 if he can pull in the conservative Protestant Christians. I do not think he can. I have been wrong before but I do not think I am wrong on this one. It will be hard to tell anything on this one until we get closer to the primaries. I am not really sure who else the Republicans will put up.

That is all for today folks. As usual feel free to throw your thoughts at me.

2-9-10 (Tuesday)

Good morning folks. I hope everybody had a good weekend and a good Monday. I frankly was surprised at the outcome of the Super Bowl. I thought for sure that the Colts would win it. I was even more surprised that Payton Manning threw an interception. I really went into the game thinking well he isn't Brett Favre and there is no way he will make a mistake that could cost the Colts the game. I was wrong. But, I have been wrong before and I will be again. That is one of the many reasons why I watch sports. I like to be surprised. If I always knew the outcome of every event I watched I think things would get a little boring.

In political news Democratic Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania has died. He was 77. He had been suffering complications from gallbladder surgery. The retired Marine Corps officer was an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq. It is going to be interesting to me to see how this shakes out in terms of who replaces him. I am not sure what the policy is in Pennsylvania. I know that it varies from state to state with some state having the Gov appoint a replacement until the next election and some run a special election. Either way I am sure the Republicans are going to be "chomping at the bit" to get one of their own into office. He had been in office for 36 years and it will be pretty fascinating to me to see what happens next. I am sure that the "Tea Party" folks will begin rallying for some sort of candidate as well as the Democrats.

Interesting story on NPR this morning about the paper published in the "Lancet" several years ago that claimed a link to Autism from Vaccine. This caused a pretty strong anti Vaccine movement and now the "Lancet" has released a press release saying that the paper used false information and bad data and there was no link. One Doctor went on the air and said that the paper was basically a hypothesis and that it shouldn't have been published. He said it would be akin to him saying that "peanut butter causes Leukemia, and then tracking down five children with Leukemia who had eaten peanut butter a month before diagnosis and using that to make his case." I also found that fascinating and it is going to be interesting to see what potential fallout may come of this.

Thanks for reading and you folks have a good day.

1-22-23 (Friday)

Good morning America. Say hello to our new corporate masters!! Yesterday in a 5 to 4 vote the United Stats Supreme Court ruled that there are now no spending limits on how much money a corporation can spend on or for a political campaign or candidate. To put this in different terms. If a company like Nike wanted George H. W. Obama III to be in office they could, in the past, give him a limited amount of money or open a PAC (Political Action Committee) that they could use to raise money and to funnel money through. Now with the new Supreme Court ruling Nike could spend say a billion dollars to run commercials or buy blocks of advertising. Really with no limits to the shape it could take. While it is true that they can't give the money directly to the candidate this still concerns me.

The reason it concerns me is that humans are lame. We are not pleasant people, sure some of us are but allow me the generalization, at our core humans tend to look out for number one. I am already in low opinion of most politicians to begin with. What this ruling means that the pressure a politician may already feel to rule in favor of a financial supporter may be magnified ten or even one hundred fold. In my personal life if someone gives me money for something even if it is a gift for a holiday I tend to feel like I need to give them the benefit of a listen if they have a suggestion as to how I might spend it.

So how is politician supposed to not listen and even do what a corporation asks or tells him to do when they say 'hey pal, we spend x millions of dollars to get you elected. If you do not we will spend it on your opponent in the next cycle.' I just do not see a good outcome for this. I think it will make the public more cynical of the whole process and make politicians more corrupt if that is even possible.

Maybe I am wrong and if a reader can explain to me why. Then by all means please do so. I would love to hear it.

1-20-10 (Wednesday)

Well, well, well and interesting turn of events in Massachusetts last night. The Internet is a buzz this morning as was Facebook last night with all of the usual suspects taking their usual sides and being all excited about something that they think is going to change everything.

I say phooey! I say nothing is going to change and that in the end this whole thing is just going to be business as usual for the people that really run this country. Oh sure the right is all fired up. The Tea pot is boiling over!! We have turned back Obama they yell. It is the death knell for universal health care others proclaim. I would argue that if you actually thought that universal health care had a chance of passing in this country you were deluding yourself.

The only way it will pass here is if it would in some way benefit the pharmaceutical companies and the insurance companies. This will never happen. The big drug companies depend on the amount of money they take in from there medicines and insurance depends on the premiums that they take in. These two groups alone will never give up their stranglehold on health care. I would argue that this is also another reason that marijuana will never be legalized nationwide in America. It may get legalized on a state by state level which it appears to be on the path toward just that. But I do not see the drug industry getting out of the way of and allowing the legalization of a pain killing substance that people are able to grow in their back yard or basement.

But that is a side issue and I didn't intend to talk about that today though it relates to lots of things. I think most if not all of what goes on in Washington D.C. is done at the behest of the large corporations and special interest groups. I remember when President Obama was elected a large amount of Americans started buying up guns and ammunition and reloading materials to the extent that it became hard to find them in the stores. Several of my friends were convinced that Obama was going to move to ban guns. My response was this. "What do you think the NRA is doing in Washington? The NRA (National Rifle Association) gets millions of dollars a year from people in America who love guns. They know that if guns were to be banned this money tree would dry up. It is only reasonable that they do all they can to ensure that the new president does not ban guns." So has there been any movement to ban guns from the White House? Not that I have seen so far. I think the only way there ever will be such a thing in this country is if a large lobbying firm came in with billions of dollars and went head to head against the NRA in a battle of who had the deepest pockets. Then we would truly see how much greed runs things in this country.

Because in the end this is what truly runs America. The almighty dollar and the desire to get more and keep more for yourself even if that means climbing over the backs of others to do so. I think this is true of the ruling class in this country regardless of their claiming to be right or to be left. It just doesn't matter! With that being said I leave you with this lovely picture of Massachusetts newest Senator Scott Brown. He does appear to be ready to lead.