Tag: politics

Why I Chose Politics

therightliberal1 Comment

I could blog about anything I wanted. I could choose to pursue a profession that was less cut-throat and more fun. I could hide under a rock and pretend it was not there.

But instead, I have chosen to involve myself in the often frustrating and  continuously puzzling world of politics.

(Augustus Caesar, one of the greatest politicians in history)

Yet I do not lack reason for this choice. While many see themselves as having a calling in fields such as business, health-care or others, I have always seen myself in politics.

My reasons are simple. I feel it is a way in which I can help people, something I have skill in, something that I enjoy, plus there is money too. It is not easy nor is it always fun, but I feel as though I would fit in well.

Politics is tricky because humans do not agree. It is difficult because a politician seeks progress in a world that is not often accepting of change. The best politicians make people feel as though nothing is changing when in fact, everything is.

Take FDR for example. At first glance, one might say, “Everyone knew how much the world was changing during his time in office!” But did they?

We look back and see how much he did to halt the Great Depression, from passing bills to inspiring the people. He also led us through one of the most difficult war times our country has seen.

But what made him great was the instilled confidence in the people. He was calm and confident. He understated the reality of the situation. He understood that sometimes the American people did not need to know information until after the fact.

The confidence he instilled in the people and the respect he earned is the glorious side of politics. There is a chance (though quite slight) to obtain a type of immortality; infamy. I do not see this as being the sole reason why anyone should seek public office, but if one’s goal is to help the people in every way possible, representing them and what they believe, then go for it.

I see myself in the wild world of politics out of a self-duty. I do not see it as a chore nor a thing of pure enjoyment. I see politics as my way of leading and my way of giving. I do not believe in fate but I do believe (at least at this point) that I want to help create the world I will live in.

Warren G. Harding said, “America’s present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration.”

This is true today and it will be true tomorrow. And despite what we face, I want to be part of it.

The Tea Party

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A new CNN poll shows that 53% of Americans think poorly of the Tea Party and 28% hold “favorable views.” CNN said these were the most extreme numbers they had polled on the opinions of the Tea Party.

This is shocking to me. How can 28% of Americans support the Tea baggers? I know there are some ignorant and gullible people out there, but really? The Tea Party represents so much of what is wrong with America today and it infuriates me.

“We are taxed enough already!” Oh, are you? Because from where I am sitting we are not taxed enough. Our public school systems are tanking, we are cutting public programs like they are going out of style and on top of it all, we have a 3 trillion+ deficit.

You think that we can solve all of this by just cutting spending? Well it hasn’t worked in the past but why not waste our time again. You think boycotting the Census and having rallies that encourage citizens to not report their yearly income is helping? If you do, sorry to break it to you, but you are irrational.

I don’t find radicalism to be helpful or progressive in any form. In the manner that I am writing this blog, one might think that I am a radical Liberal. But that is far from the truth. I do not think that big government is always a good idea and I think that at times we are too Liberal in our Judicial policy.

Despite that, I find the Tea Party to be repulsive. I see it almost like I see angsty teens; using shock value and going against the grain to get attention. On that note, they should be treated like angsty teens, with that opinion of “When you grow up, you will see that you are wrong. This is just a stage.”

Unfortunately, most of the members of the Tea Party will not grow up. They will keep up with their radical ways, spreading hate and ignorance throughout the world with a little help from Fox News. All I can hope is that the rest of America wakes up and discourages the ridiculousness that is the Tea Party.

“Occupy Wall Street”

therightliberal2 Comments

Currently there is a movement to protest the actions of the economic top 1% of Americans called “Occupy Wall Street.” Not just a verbal movement, an actual protest in New York.

Chances are you haven’t heard about it, and I believe there is a reason for that: News corporations don’t like covering protest unless things are on fire and the police are involved.

Now I could write a book on how much I despise the choices of most news organizations, but instead I want to focus on what Wall Street has done to this country.

It all goes back to greed. Traders on Wall Street work for companies, and at the helms of those companies are CEO’s. I have nothing against CEO’s in general, more the ideas that their job title in general seeks to accomplish.

They want power and money. They want their shares to boom and then they want to create more shares which will boom some more. Yes, there are some advantages to this system of market (Yay Capitalism!), it encourages competitive businesses and seeks to advance our markets.

But what is the cost? Well, I think we are seeing the cost right now. Wealth in America is incredibly concentrated, with the middle class shrinking at shocking rates. These trends are due to the greed that has been encouraged through our system of economics.

The whole goal for most Americans is to get rich. Children are encouraged to choose jobs that will make them wealthy when they grow up. But then we reach the problem of having such an elitist society that money passes from hand to hand, instead of from hand to hands.

Don’t get me wrong, I love money. I love the finer things in life, from food to fast cars, probably more than many people. But what I want to think about is greed and how much money we really need as individuals. Go and buy that nice car, that nice house, that perfect vacation. But in the mean time, think about what you can buy for others with what you have.

And now we come back to the Occupy Wall Street protest. Thousands of people have been protesting, not just in New York, but in major cities across America. They want the top 1% to look and listen to what is happening in America. They are not asking for the wealthy to give up their lifestyles, all they are asking for is less greed and more sympathy.

We are a country, we are supposed to look after each other (to what degree can be debated all you want). Corporations (who are not people by the way) and the CEO’s (who are people) who run them need to get their priorities in line and start supporting the country that gave them what they have today.

Jobs for America

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How do we as a country lower the jobless levels. There is no doubt that it is a problem, the only question is how we fix it.

Obama‘s massive “Jobs for America” bill could potentially do a lot of good. Despite being a huge fan of Obama, I do see a couple of issues.

First is that I’m not so sure it will get through the house. Obama seems to be fairly confident and I know he has a bit more information than I, but with the general consensus of Republicans not supporting the bill, I don’t see how this is going to pass.

Secondly is the effectiveness. Just like with the health care bill, compromises could kill the effectiveness. We don’t know if the healthcare program will work but hopefully it does, but with compromise comes less progress. Obviously there is no way around compromise with the American system but I just don’t see how such a small redistribution of wealth will make such a large difference.

Employing teachers, emergency workers and other public helpers is a huge step in the right direction but will the boost from that be worth the $447 Billion put in to it. Are people going to save or spend with more money?

Hopefully if they have learned anything they will save, but for the sake of the US economy, we hope that they spend.

As I see it, this is a progressive move, despite my doubts. But ideally we could go after business and try to encourage them to hire through incentive. Tax the corperations that are switching technology with real people and see if there is a change.

It may seem immoral to go after those corperations but if you look at the amounts of money they are taking in that are not being taxed due to loopholes and interesting accounting, many would find the morals to be lacking heavily.

We are trillions, yes trillions, of dollars in debt. We can not act like the banks once did and pretend that our debts will go away given time. We are facing a financial crisis so large that it is scary as well as difficult to imagine. As painful as paying taxes may be, we need to suck it up and increase tax rates. The luxuries we have from the government are only in place due to taxes.

Jobs are the key to having a good economy and Obama is working to create jobs. Whether or not you support the bill, admitting the economy is in trouble and that jobs are the answer is a necessity. Support the bill and see where it goes, because in the end, we need help now.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mysterious Love Child

Paloma SpencerLeave a comment

Yep, just another public representative having fun with a secretary.

“No biggie.”

Yes, I am being sarcastic, but I am also just so gosh darn tired of these high ranking officials, who we look up to as mentors and inspirations, committing such acts of entitlement and arrogance.

You would think that after so many presidential affairs have leaked out over the ages, that such a public official would be smart enough, even if not moral enough, to resist from having sexual relations with a woman besides their own wife.

Really guys?

Ugh, just so annoying.

Anyhow, to elaborate on the Schwarzenegger story, our previous California governor has admitted to having an affair and fathering the son with a member of his own household staff.

And funny enough, this news has just begun to circulate, arriving in the headlines only one day after Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, went public about their separation.

Unfortunately, I am not too surprised about this news. Just another arrogant man who believes his position in power entitles him to step outside the boundaries of morals.

Hopefully, people in politics will actually learn from the mistakes of men such as these.

And if that dirty feeling that I believe must exist from having an affair does not stop you from doing it, I hope that your pride in your position will.