Youth Politics

It was shocking to hear this on TV:

“My name is Bob Barr and I approve this message.”

It’s the first time I’ve seen any other party’s campaign ad on TV in this election.

Their point was short and simple as it had to be due to their lack of money, but I have to admire the effort, especially since it aired while I was watching House (and LOTS of people watch House, by the way).

Is it going to persuade anyone to vote for them? Probably not, not at this stage in the game. People’s emotions have been manipulated enough to the point where really only 8 percent of the population can still be persuaded, and NOT to one of the third parties.

Has anyone even CONSIDERED Bob Barr when looking at the candidates that are running?

By the way, if you haven’t signed up for my feed to get updates delivered to you, you should. It’s like having the newspaper delivered to you daily except it costs you nothing.

You know I’ve heard that the US presidential election is different this year. Apparently, this year will definitely be the year when true change is going to come to the United States. I’ve even heard that this year both candidates are actually like-able, and so no one is truly picking the best of two evils. But how different is the 2008 election? I don’t see a single bit of difference.

1. We’re still practically limited to a race between the Republicans and the Democrats. That hasn’t changed.

2. We’ve still got negative ads flung into our faces left and right (pun most definitely intended). Despite McCain’s cry for no negative ads earlier in the election, that seems to have changed to nothing but character attacks on Obama. It’s too bad, because I really wanted this to be different. Obama also didn’t want to run negative ads, but apparently the American people supporting him wanted him to fight back, so there you have it. No difference here.

3. The Republicans still say the media is biased. And they are correct. It is STILL biased. However, I don’t believe the media is out to get Republicans the way that they claim.

4. There are more voters registered this year than ever before. That’s not really different though, it just shows a greater effort. There have always been more registered Democrats than Republicans, so the Democrats increasing their base even more isn’t making anything different. The Republicans just now have their work cut out for them.

5. Actions speak louder than words, and all I hear are words. To be honest, despite everything these candidates want to be able to do, very little of it will probably be accomplished. I’m not saying it’s because they are incompetent, but I’m going by past historical figures. Presidential candidates promise a lot, probably more than they are actually capable of doing within their term in office. Remember George Bush the first? “Read my lips: no new taxes.” Well that obviously flopped (which is a good thing I might add). Obama himself promised energy independence in 10 years… well, he’ll only really be around for 8 of them. So if it doesn’t happen, is he free from the blame?

I’m still looking for true fundamental change. I’m not gonna find that in this election, and we will not see it for a long time. There is so much infrastructure that needs to be reworked, and with the current global economic conditions, there’s just no way anyone is even thinking about that at this time. I sure hope during my lifetime that the political scene does change for the better; I’d like to see people actually regard highly of politicians and the political process these days.

It’s been a while since I’ve last posted.

Honestly, I’ve been very busy with other projects, so I decided to put my blog aside for the time being. The media was starting to get on my nerve anyway.

This bailout situation is a disaster.

I don’t even need to be reminded that I may be responsible for $7,000+ from what this is going to cost. I don’t need to know what the impact of this on the National Deficit is going to be.

Here are the facts.

1. Corporations went unregulated
2. Corporations screwed up
3. We have to pay for it

Those who are quick to blame the Clinton administration need to shut up. Clinton’s been out of office for 8 years. I’m sure the current administration could have done something about it. What’s the word, preemptive? They know all about preemptive strikes so there’s no excuse on the vocabulary.

And because we had a Republican administration, they left the economy on its own. And this is what we get.

How come we’re not sticking to Republican economic principles and let the market work its way out of this mess? Easy. Because it won’t. Woops.

McCain wants to suspend his campaign until this whole situation is sorted out. He’s trying to take the high road and transcend politics.

I’m so glad Obama is intelligent, because his statement puts McCain back down the road he continues to drive on, the lame one. It’s called multitasking. The election date isn’t changing, and people need to know who you are and what you stand for. We’re picking a new leader soon, and McCain can’t just suspend that process. If McCain wants strong leaders in the Senate, may he then stay a Senator.

Honestly, McCain’s campaign is scared that they’re not going to be able to handle an economic debate. This whole situation has ruined McCain’s standpoints. Make the Bush tax cuts permanent? No way that’s happening now.

McCain, show up or drop out. If Obama can handle both things at once, you can too. And being 72 is no excuse, not when you’re running for president.

You may read the original post here:

Pacer521 is a 13 year old blogger from Los Angeles California who actively contributes to Youth Politics. You may check out his other writings at the link cited directly below.

By Pacer521 from Culture Decoded
Sarah Palin’s stage presence is not just (frankly) full of it, but rather a powerful force that transcends her image right before your eyes.

And as the second chapter in the saga of the Republican convention comes to a close, all anyone can talk about was what everyone originally thought was a mire introduction to the grand closing — John McCain’s speech.

But it was instead the main figure of the entire convention, and the talking point on both the web and television, creating many side stories as well. Why? Palin’s speech was powerful. So powerful, in fact, that not only did it spark very heated initial reactions, but later provided so much aftershock that it seemed apparent to me to write about it.

Putting my strong political opinions aside, I must give Palin credit — that no matter how completely false and utter lies she used, it was hard (even for me) to shake of her speaking passion, mostly credited to how zoned in she was. And because of this, I know for a fact that many gullible Americans have fallen “victim” to her transcending speech, ignoring her factual mistakes and instead focusing intently on her valiant, confident speaking power.

And right now, no matter how many people (including me) stress the comparison between the top of each party’s ticket, because of her star power, Palin has gained the public centerpiece of not only the Republican party, but the image of politics in general. And, strangely, this is not because of the higher possibility of her being commander and chief in the near future, because — as my sister would say — John McCain is like a “dinosaur”, but rather because of her instant celebrity status and overall image that is so different.

By different, I don’t mean because of her gender, but rather her breed. She is a new breed of politician, far away from your raging and shouting, sweaty middle aged point maker, but rather someone who we have not seen yet — a setting of mind that many teachers know to loathe. She uses her stature and newly-found political ego to her advantage, acting like she knows for a fact that each and every single thing she says is true, in the most convincing way I have ever seen this done among politicians.

Simply put, she’s a giant black whole for your brain, in the form of a person who would most likely be the farthest away from that status — a small town governor of the second-least populated state in the US.

So — as a word of caution, not a political recommendation –please vote on what you believe, not what you have been convinced to know.

So I’ve been absent from blogging for a week. It’s my prerogative. Yes it may seem unfair because I cut short my thoughts on the Republican National Convention. To be honest, I was too tired to watch on Thursday, however I did read up about the acceptance speeches and it looks like the Republicans are more riled up than ever. I can just feel the enthusiasm on both sides now, so the race it really starting to heat up.

Now I need to talk about Sarah Palin.

First of all, I’m done hearing about whether or not she has experience, or whether she’s capable as a mom, or even her record with earmarks, amongst other things. I do not care about any of this. You can compare Palin’s experience with Obama’s experience for as long as you want, but it does not matter to me. Leave her experience OUT. If George W. Bush can lead this country, then I’m sure most people can. After all, cabinet members and all of the advisors the president and vice-president get will be plenty experienced.

Second, Obama is not going to family issues with Palin. All of the criticism about Palin is coming directly from the media or crazy Democrats. No rational person is actually disqualifying Palin from being vice-president because her teenage daughter is pregnant. That’s just unfair. And don’t even talk about responsibility, because no parent can be watching their kid’s every move 24 hours a day, especially once they get older. I should know, I was a teen only a year ago.

Third, stop worrying about her past record. She’s the vice-presidential pick. Yes, maybe she may have to step up as president, but that does not concern me. I do not think McCain will be down and out in four years, and I don’t think much of the population does either. If he were, then what would be the point of him running, and furthermore what would be the point of electing him at all!? Exactly my point. I don’t know why people care so much about what she’s done with Alaska, because believe me there is nothing of similarity between handling Alaska and handling the United States. There just isn’t. As for the “Bridge to Nowhere”. It wasn’t to nowhere. It had a legitimate purpose for Alaskans. It simply didn’t matter for the rest of us folks who do not live in Alaska.

I’m very disappointed with John McCain. I’m going to say this extremely candidly. McCain picked Sarah Palin to be his vice-presidential nominee because she is a woman. Period, end of story. There were many Republicans McCain could have picked who would have fit the bill, but he picked her as a stab towards the women vote and Hillary supporters. Don’t even give me the tired rhetoric that she was the perfect candidate, that he’s been considering her the whole time, and that no one can fill the role better than she can. That may all be true, but it does not change the initial motive for choosing her. It doesn’t take a genius to figure this one out; you know it’s true. Yes it may have been an excellent pick for the Republican base, but I’m not impressed with the motive. Yes they are trying to pass it off as change. I don’t see it as change. Different, but not change.

Wait a second, doesn’t different mean the same thing as change?

The simple answer is no. The more complicated answer is, it depends. Let’s say the Democrats win the election. Will the party elected into the executive branch be different? Yes. Will it be change? No. In and of itself, the Democrats retaking the White House is not change. We’ve had Democrats in the White House before. It would be the same old party politics all over again. Would putting the Green Party into power be different? Certainly, since that amount of power would have never come to that party before. Would it be change? You bet. It would show a break away from two-party politics and into a more diverse way of thinking.

Is Palin change? No. She is merely different in the fact that she is a woman. She still represents everything the Republicans have always represented, and that is NOT what I consider change.

Is McCain change? No. He has been on the political scene for many, many years now. He is seen as a maverick by some. And yes, in a way, he is. But being a maverick is NOT change! You can be an independent thinker from your colleagues and still represent the same old ideas from the past. Being independent is not change, it is a way of thinking. His choice of Palin proves my point. He’s not in it for the good of the people; he’s in it to simply win. And I don’t think electing Palin should be the deciding factor when it comes to who to vote for this November. It’s just… sad.