Discourse

These debates are getting intense.
They are fiery political discourse and they are getting personal.

This was evidenced by some stings Romney and Obama hit each other with in the Second Presidential Debate last night.  When pensions came up, and a spat over who has personal investments in China, Governor Romney (his wealth is now common knowledge) asked President Obama when he last took a look at his own pension and Obama turned to him and said
"I don't look at my pension, it's not as big as yours...I don't check it that often."
My jaw DROPPED.  Ouch! These insults were flying back and forth last night and at times I realized I was on the edge of the couch, amped for a fist fight.
At this point, a fist fight would definitely illustrate the characters of these men better than any of their high-falutin' brags about statistics would.

I know a Fight Club quote may not entirely fit into this discussion, but I agree that you don't know everything about yourself until you've been in a fight, and this is applicable to politics.  Certainly.
We just have to keep in mind that the political process may be a bit damaged if two dudes in suits start beating the absolute shit out of each other at a "town hall meeting" so we've got to make do with verbal fighting.
Which gets really old really fast.






















I love this image from last night's debate--it sums it up so well.  And politics in general.
Romney said a few things that were questionable, some that were downright wrong, and some that were offensive. His "binder full of women" remark falls into all three of these categories.
[Read more about said binder here]

The Vice-Presidential Debate was similarly intense and fascinating, and probably set the stage for the most recent presidential debate.
(For those of you that are non-American, or for Americans that live underground with no connection to the world but mysteriously can read this blog) The setup is like this:

1st Prez Debate
VP Debate
2nd Prez Debate
3rd Prez Debate

Vice President Biden was criticized as being too aggressive and harsh during the VP debate, but he needed to bring rough game after the weak face Obama put on for the first debate.  I believe Biden's sharp offense was spot-on for the Democrats and I rather enjoyed watching Paul Ryan squirm...though that is partially because I despise the fish-faced fool.
Media and viewers also had issue with Biden cracking up when Paul explained his different theories/platforms/ideas, etc.  and that was a bit much, but I prefer it to Ryan's ever present smirk.


I really perked up when JFK came up.

RYAN: You can cut tax rates by 20 percent and still preserve these important preferences for middle-class taxpayers. 

BIDEN: Not mathematically possible....

...RYAN: Jack Kennedy lowered tax rates, increased growth.

BIDEN: Oh, now you’re Jack Kennedy?

It was awesome. I was in hysterics.
And let me clarify that Ryan doesn't understand Kennedy's tax/growth connection.
As a Kennedy scholar, please allow me to clarify:

JFK PROPOSED changing taxes from a range of 20-91% to a range of 14-65%. He proposed that in 1963 (the last year he served as president, 3 years into his term).
Ironically, in 1963, the economy was seeing a significant amount of growth.  Silicon Valley was being established, the gross national product doubled in the early 1960s because Americans were transitioning to the suburbs in the wake of the postwar boom and therefore needed cars and refrigerators and television sets.  Commercial airlines were developed, the baby boomers were growing up, and sitcoms on TV encouraged consumerism.  Plus, after the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, Americans were generally living it up.
JFK had little, if anything, to do with this prosperity.  It was happening on its own--caused by long term factors in place before he was elected.
His proposed tax cuts didn't even happen until 1964 when they were put through following his death.

And these tax cuts don't really matter if you compare them to federal spending; in 1964 federal revenue increased by 25%, but federal spending grew by 24%.  The government was pushing the economy along in this way as well.

Sorry for my little history lesson there-- I figured it is something people (especially those running for Vice President) should be aware of.

I really just don't dig Paul Ryan.  The guy is so blindly pro-life that he wants to criminalize in-vitro fertilization.  Which, to me, is batshit crazy.  He also wants to get rid of several forms of contraception, and alongside Romney take away Planned Parenthood funding.  He is one of those that doesn't understand exactly what PP is, why it was founded, and what they do.
I'm afraid he thinks they're luring pregnant women in the back and performing illicit, gory, unAmerican abortions, conveyer belt style, killing as many healthy babies as possible.  Because they can.

The VP debate concluded with the topic of women's rights and Ryan, as predicted, said that he believes certain things are wrong, and they would outlaw them.
Biden said that his religion (he is Catholic, as well as Ryan) professes what he believes in, but that he would never force his personal opinion on someone else.  That was perfect.  That is exactly how politicians should be.

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This is a crazy election.  I have been following it closely and am looking forward to the last debate before voting. I really think it is going to come down to the Electoral College this year.

I don't believe early voting should be allowed as extensively as it has been (i.e. letting people vote even before the FIRST debate!! Ridiculous! These debates can affect so much!).
Personally, as you can probably tell from many of my posts, I will not be voting Romney/Ryan.
I like Romney.  Ryan I have no love for, and would never trust him to run a country, but Romney I like.  He is a good guy and he has done a lot of good things and clearly has some incredible financial and business experience.  But personally, I can't afford to have someone like him in office.  He won't be good for the middle class and because of his insurance coverage plan, he wouldn't be particularly good for me.  And with my own values, I cannot vote for someone that doesn't believe in gay rights and doesn't uphold women's rights the way he should.

I wasn't planning on voting for Obama this year, but that is my only option now so I am embracing it wholeheartedly.  Obama has been a disappointing president, but overall he has been decent and hasn't done anything to make me hate him or fear re-electing him.  I can only hope that if re-elected he doesn't take any more guff and try desperately to appease everyone and therefore often end up compromising or doing nothing at all, the way he has been. He needs to get in there with guns blazing.
But that is just my opinion. Everyone should have an opinion, and likewise respect the beliefs of others.
And everyone that is able should VOTE to make their opinion heard.

And now,
some interesting videos you may not have seen. Just to make you think.

I love this spunky veteran.

Um...Canada has a Prime Minister.  Not a President.

Just...weird.

Breathalyzer?

JFK wrote himself in Profiles in Courage that politics is a place where "the choice constantly lies between two blunders."
He was right.  All I can say is, do your research and hope for the best.