Voting Party Li(n)es

VOTING PARTY LI(N)ES
by Brett Hall
8-29-08

Between lies is loyalty found in one letter,
Cherished by the elephant and ass,
And while they think the fourteenth makes them better
Their actions prove that on it they both pass.
For voting party li(n)es is rather simple--
No thought be needed time and time again.
To think for you each party may prove ample,
Just punch the card for party li( )es to win!



Alright, now that you've read my latest political poetry, it is time to return to the humors of the 2008 election cycle (though it be a dark humor). So, I have heard both candidates in their speeches, debates, and ads. The latest farce that both Obama and McCain have dropped like a bone to the salivating voters is the need for America to "Pay our teachers more." This makes me laugh to see both pandering to the American public on an issue that the President has little to no control over. They drop such lines so that the American people will think, "Oh, yes, my candidate is for education. It is important to them and they support teachers in what they are doing for America's youth and future." Okay, so I am a teacher--I wouldn't object to a pay raise, but the argument is truly ridiculous! Think about it. How many teachers are there in America? Now think about the government increasing all of their paychecks. . . and from where do they plan to get this money? Seriously, that would be billions upon billions of dollars a year to take on such a feat. Ah, taxes! Like I said, I wouldn't object to a pay raise, but to force others to pay higher taxes in order to pay me more when I am doing alright on what I make. . . that just doesn't seem fair to me. . . especially during an economic crisis. What makes it even more ridiculous is when one considers that public education is funded primarily through the state in which the teachers are employed. about 93% of all funds alloted to schools come from state government. That means about 7% of all funds comes from the federal government. So, what is a presidential candidate thinking when he makes such a statement as "lets pay our teachers more money"? What they are thinking is, "I can dupe these stupid Americans into giving me their vote over an issue that I have absolutely no control over." Shame on Obama and shame on McCain for being so blatantly deceptive!
Education is primarily a state matter. Only governors and state senators have the right to make such statements as they are the one's who have the means by which to legislate such measures. And even then, it is up to school boards to use whatever additional funds they might receive from government in the actual use within public education.

. . . Politicians! They are certainly an interesting breed. . .

Political humor and nonsense

since my adult life, I have always been interested in politics, and while I am a self-identified conservative, I realize that no one party has all the right answers and one all of the wrong ideas. The truth of the matter is that there are good and bad ideas in all political parties and there are good and bad candidates in all political parties. What I would like to focus on today is the humor in the inconsistencies within the current presidential election. I must be honest, I have not yet decided who to vote for as I believe both Barack Obama and John McCain are seriously flawed politicians. Anyhow, here are a few of the inconsistencies that I find humorous, especially the way that media, pundits, and voters are hypocritical in their assessment of candidates.

1. The concept that Sarah Palin is a blubbering fool. Yes, she seriously messed up in attempting to defend a statement in an interview with Katie Couric as is seen here:

but to characterize her from this one mistake is disingenuous when Barack Obama has made his own gaffes that are not widely spoken of or shared in the media, as is seen here:

and John McCain makes mistakes too:

And Joe Biden as well:


Needless to say, all politicians, as all people, have moments that they wish they could take back. So it is humorous to me to think that people will say Palin is not fit to be president because of a few fumbling of words when all candidates have done it.

2. The attacks from the media and from the political left that Palin has no foreign policy experience and is therefore not qualified to be Vice President. Hello, people! Barack Obama does not have any more foreign policy experience than Palin in any measurable way, and he wants to be President! If you are going to knock Palin for it, you have to knock Obama in return.

3. John McCain as Maverick? Ok, so McCain has done some things to tick conservatives off, but to say that he is a Washington outsider is funny. He is full-blown Washington!

4. Barack Obama as a bipartisan agent of change? Haha! This one really makes me laugh! It is hard to believe that the media has sold him as such and America is buying it. The reality is that he has voted 94% of the time lock-step with the democratic position in the senate. 94% of the time! How is espousing the democratic platform change? How is never reaching across the aisle to compromise with republicans bipartisan?

5. Barack Obama as an agent of hope? Obama is pure-blood politician who has been involved in some pretty corrupt dealings during his reign in the Illinois state senate. Just listen to him try to explain away his relationships with corrupt politicians, businessmen, and preachers--it is quite humorous!

6. John McCain with his straight talk? Just listen to him twist and turn on his positions.

7. The media's sudden revelation that McCain is dishonest in how he portrays his opponents is hilarious! The media beats up on McCain for "distorting" Obama's record in his web-video adds and they seem shocked by the maneuver. HELLO MEDIA! McCain was doing the same thing in the primary elections when he completely distorted Romney and the media ate it up. McCain hasn't changed in his tactics--it is just that the media ignores it if the tactic is used on a republican then cries foul if it is done on a democrat. This should be no surprise to anyone who is honest in their observations of the political contests.

There is so much more that I could get into, but I do not wish this blog entry to be too long. The fact of the matter is that double-standards do exist with the media, that both candidates have some serious baggage, and the American people on both sides of the issues are being duped into false ideas and perceptions. I'll address more later.