Barack Obama Won!

Putting that exclamation point on the end of that title is about the most excitement I've had since Tuesday regarding this topic. I honestly don't feel as though hope has triumphed or won. I see that this country has some MAJOR revisions it needs to get to working on. I could certain see how people were elated, but I just didn't feel like "celebrating". Am I glad Barack Obama won? YES. But that's about as far as it goes. I didn't cry or weep, nor shout or have fits of joy on Tuesday evening as everyone else I knew did. I was just like "well, that's good". And that was the extent of it for me.

I suppose since I work within the inefficient government system that Obama just inherited, I see things slightly differently. There was no difference in my life Tuesday night than their was Wednesday morning, except for the interest on the debt I have accruing more of a balance. I guess it's going to take more for me to become "thrilled". I wish there were something that could "light a fire" under me at this point. Sadly, to date, there isn't. And hasn't been in QUITE some time.

On the Eve of the Election...

I should be sleep! I need to get up at 6AM in order to be at the polls by 6:30AM and be one of the first to cast my vote in my district, but instead, I'm up blogging, because there was just something I had to get off of my chest.

Logically, it's pretty clear that Barack Obama SHOULD win. He's younger. More popular. Has broader appeal. Fresher ideas. And in a nutshell is a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10, when McCain is BARELY a 6 (and I'm being SO nice here). There's no way that McCain SHOULD win this election. His politics are stale. He doesn't have a clear, consistent message. And his choice of Vice President surely leaves MUCH to be desired.

I think tomorrow will really show what america is TRULY MADE OF. The only reason Barack Obama won't win tomorrow is racism pure and simple. There truly will be nothing else that can account for a defeat of a person who by all intents and purposes has TRAMPLED his competition in EVERY CONTEST! And I don't say this as one of those "frothing at the mouth Obama supporters". I can admit, I only support Barack Obama because he's the lessor of two evils. I'm not even all that "crazy" about what an Obama Administration might mean for this country, plus I can't stand Joe Biden, but I shudder to think of where this country is headed if McCain/Palin win!

I'm going to do my part and cast my vote in a few hours, and after that, I'm not logging on to the internet OR watching the news until WEDNESDAY MORNING! Hopefully by then, it'll all be over! I don't have the stomach or the nerves to watch hours upon hours of election coverage with guestimations and false declarations. I'll just wait for Wednesday morning's news headlines to read "_______ WINS"!

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Now That The Conventions Are Over...

...I can honestly say I saw nor heard anything that changed my opinion. I know that both the Democratic and the Republican National Conventions really just serve as "commercials" for the undecideds, but I found both of them to have their boring points.

I did enjoy the parts of the DNC that I saw. I missed Bill Clinton and Joe Biden's speeches, and I'm pretty sure I didn't miss anything with the latter. As has been mentioned by my sole blog commenter (LOL), BIDEN IS BORNING! In fact, just typing that with an exclamation point is about as exciting as Joe's gonna get in this campaign! LMAO.

As far as the RNC, I honestly forgot it was on most of the time. The only thing I made sure to tune in for was Sarah Palin's speech, but everything else mostly bored me to tears (or actually to sleep, as with John McCain's speech). I must say, Sarah Palin's speech was funny to me, but I take issue with the way people ONCE AGAIN are so "snowed" by her "performance". First, as a person that has had a few speech communication classes, from a purely technical standpoint her speech delivery was atrocious! She didn't project her voice well, she didn't really seem all too convinced about what she was saying, and it was all too obvious that she was reading off of a teleprompter. Now, I know that MOST SPEECHES (even Obama's) are put on the teleprompter, but in my opinion, if you're giving a live speech, and people can TELL you're reading from a teleprompter, YOU'RE DOING A BAD JOB! Additionally, both Palin and McCain kept making the mistake of not giving their audience enough time to respond to their comments! It's as if they practice their speeches only in front of one staff member who never once told them to PAUSE for applause or audience feedback. The MULTIPLE times this happened annoyed the hell out of me and I can't believe NO ONE in the mainstream media (or even the "fringe media") pointed this out.

I must say I'm not surprised how snookered in the american public was by Palin's speech. All she did was cloak herself in the american flag and espouse the same ol' nonsense about patriotism and heroics, and she pretty much had the vote of the lower-class white "Republican base" that she was going over.

Honestly, I watched Palin's speech EXPECTING HER TO DO WELL! I do believe I have the ability to be objective for both sides, because I believe both Republicans and Democrats are fundamentally full of sh1t! It was only after seeing her make the same mistakes, coupled with the poor delivery that I really decided that she doesn't have enough ANYTHING to make me even consider voting from her. Yes, I was (and still am) a Hillary supporter, and given that I fundamentally disagree with Sarah Palin on a HOST of issues that are important to me, she really never had a chance to gain my vote anyway. I did however want to remain open-minded and perhaps see what she was about, just in case she had some other qualities that balanced out her archaic stance on abortion and gay-marriage. I admit, she did give out a couple of awesome zingers! Especially the community organizer thing! LOL. I can't be as sensitive as some people I know about this issue. Tons of my "socially responsible" are trying to rally or boycott the Republican party (like they really care) calling for some kind of grassroots movement based off of her comments which they felt were "dismissive" of community-oriented workers. What amazes me is how quickly people forget to consider these comments IN CONTEXT! She made these comments while addressing the issue of how her experience as Mayor and Governor of a small town and small state aren't considered to be "cosmopolitan enough", and she sent a barb at the Democrats on a similar issue that she knew would hit home! Seems simple enough, but some many "community organizers" have their panties in a bunch right now! It just seems silly and its a waste of energy. Republicans don't give a sh1t about poor folks (who by in large are the ones who have and benefit from "community organizations") and they surely don't care two sh1ts about a bunch of community organizers who are gathering together against them, because they never had (nor expected) your vote in the first place!

Ok, back on topic: As far as how I'll be voting: I will more than likely cast a half-hearted vote for Obama. I really would have preferred to see Hillary on the ticket, but once again, as in 2000 and 2004, I'm forced to vote for "the lessor of two evils". Even though I think Obama's campaign is full of empty promises and rhetoric, there's NOTHING I've seen from the Republican party (nor their feigned attempted at embracing change by putting a woman on the ticket) that makes me want to vote for a McCain/Palin ticket.

Sarah Palin for President?

I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about this. First, yes, the title of this post is misleading. She's actually been picked for the number 2 spot of VP, but should McCain kick the bucket, like all the jokesters jest, she'd be PRESIDENT. Is she ready? Wait...is Obama?

Ok, I'll stick to the topic at hand. As soon as Sarah Palin was noted as John McCain's Vice President pick, I got a call/text message from a friend asking if this effectively "stole" my Hillary vote. I thought the idea of this was ludicrous! Anyone that's voting on the issues would still have to think long and hard about the candidates, and the fact that Sarah Palin is a woman, doesn't change my opinion of who most aligns with the issues I hold near and dear. Add to that: I DON'T KNOW SARAH PALIN! I've "known" Hillary since before I was a teenager, and while she's not perfect, she surely has grown on me, thus there's a sentimental factor that made me push harder for her to get the Democratic nomination, and be all the more disappointed when that didn't happen! Sarah Palin now being introduced to the "national landscape" doesn't sway my vote simply because she lacks a Y chromosome! It's actually rather offensive that someone would assume that because I'm a woman, she'll get my vote! It's just as silly as people who assumed that Barack would have my vote in the bag automatically as well.

If anything, Palin's nomination worries me. I'm not so much concerned about "deflecting Hillary supporters "as I am about white, middle-class conservative soccer moms who'll identify with this "everyday woman" that drinks beer, hunts, is a lifelong member of the NRA, knows how to take charge while still baking cookies, and believed in anti-abortion so much that she had a child she knew would be sick!

The bottom line here is that I'm once again excited about the political process. Not so excited that I actually get more politically involved, but I do care more about what's happening politically. I now think the Presidential race JUST GOT INTERESTING!

All the people looking for "change" now have that from the republican party, and while many see it as a feigned attempt to "snow" the american public with smoke and mirrors and keep them away from "the real issues", others view Palin's nomination as a breath of fresh air! She's everything that McCain is NOT! She shores up the "conservative base" AND she's a pretty white woman! I don't know if you've noticed this, but pretty white women RARELY LOSE ANYTHING! LMAO.

Teen Pregnancy on the Rise?

Everyone's in an uproar because of 17 girls in some "pregnancy pact" in Massachusetts. I don't get the big deal. Teens get pregnant all the time, and I'd surely question the "statistics" that have been kept on this issue for decades, because there are a number of variables that determines when a pregnancy is reported, and to whom.

Anywhoo, it occurred to me recently that the girls involved must be primarily white. The reason I think this is because you haven't seen ONE picture of any of the ones involved. History (and my own experience) tells me that's because they aren't people of color. If they were Black or Hispanic, their pictures, along with captions and video snippets of them talking about how proud they are to be pregnant, would be shrewn all over the web! Since I don't see that, I make the assumption that they're white. Sure, eventually time will tell if I'm right or wrong on this.

What pisses me off about this whole thing, is not the sad fact that a group of girls under 16 have decided to have babies, and negatively alter their lives, but the fact that the media is so quick to blame "popular culture" and movies like "Knocked Up" and "Juno". That's RIDICULOUS! Teens have been getting pregnant for decades, and you can't just immediately place the blame on idiots like Jamie Lynn Spears. Place the blame on the PARENTS who don't teach their kids values and morals and help them plan for the future! It's pretty obvious that Britney's parents failed her and her siblings in a number of ways, it's just sad that their family dysfunction gets plastered all over the news!

Teen girls have been getting pregnant for the same reason today that they did 30 years ago: THEY WANT TO BE LOVED! No girl with a future and dreams wants to be a parent at 16-17. No girl that truly has a loving, caring family ruins her future by getting knocked up before she's 18. Yes, being a teen parent these days doesn't mean that you automatically fail in life, as it used to mean many decades ago, but it does limit your potential. Not to mention adding the EXTRA PRESSURE of HAVING TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANOTHER LIFE to your list of "life worries".

This whole situation is sad, but regrettably nothing new. I think the worst of it is these girls are now NATIONAL CELEBRITIES. Even though we in the national audience can't identify who they are (yet), those in their local community know who they are, and I'm sure the attention they're getting is exactly what they wanted when they got knocked up. They'll get special baby showers, and I'm sure the town will come together and put up a fund for the mothers (and the kids) to go to college and pay for diapers, etc. Chances are, most of the father's WON'T get charged with any crimes, except maybe for the "24 year old homeless man" that everyone keeps talking about. Grown men have been having sex with underaged girls since way before R. Kelly was pissing on them!

Though this entire scenario is sad, it's more so indicative of a "slow news week", since people are tired of hearing about $4+/gallon gas prices (that don't seem to be getting any lower, by the way). I imagine in the next few weeks, Angelina Jolie's bastard twins will be the cause for the next "brouhaha" (and yes, I called them "bastards". It's unpopular, but it fits! LOL). Oh well. IT IS WHAT IT IS!