I’m sure by now you have all seen this Rick Perry video.

Is saddens me that someone this bigoted is one of our leaders, and can actually be considered a presidential candidate. It makes me hopeful by all the dislikes it’s been getting. I believe it’s the most disliked video on YouTube now. Granted, most of his bigoted fan base probably isn’t online, but it gives me hope that common sense will prevail. Wouldn’t it be nice if our leaders knew what the constitution was, and what it stands for, and maybe even used logic and reason to make decisions that are best for the American people. Is that too much to ask for?

In all honesty though, did anybody really think Rick Perry was a serious candidate? He is just another of the crazies in the likes of Palin and Bachmann, that are in it to further their careers, or to cash in on a book deal. I’m sure they know they don’t have a chance in hell at winning the nomination yet alone the presidency. I wish there was a way to get rid of these faux candidates. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had strong candidates on both sides that used reason and logic? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to vote for someone you wanted, and not just against someone you don’t want? Yeah, i’m dreaming.

So today supposedly a bunch of people are going to refuse the airport scans and request the pat-downs.  I think it’s pretty stupid.  I don’t feel sorry one bit for the people getting patted down a little too much.  It serves them right.  I feel more sorry for the TSA people that have to pat down the idiots. 

First, if privacy is what they are worried about they may have a point.  The only images of the scanners I have seen have been online.  I am not sure how valid they are, or if they are photoshop jobs.  You may be able to see a little bit of an outline of some boobs or a penis, but who cares.  Aren’t we all adults here?

Second, if health reasons are what they are worried about they really shouldn’t.  There are two technologies being used in the new scanners.  Millimeter wave, and Backscatter X-ray.  There is no heath concerns with Millimeter wave scanners.  They use radio frequency radiation that is non-ionizing and cannot cause cell damage leading to cancer.  The Backscatter X-ray scanners on the other hand uses ionizing radiation which can cause cell damage and lead to cancer.  The thing is there is similar naturally occurring ionizing radiation all around us.  In 42 minutes of ordinary living, or 2 minutes in a plane flight, you would be exposed to the same amount of radiation.  So the amount of radiation you are getting from the scan is almost nothing.

You deserve to be felt up if you refuse to go through the scanners.  I don’t agree with the extra “security theater” the TSA is putting on though.  I think the new body scanners are a waste of money.  I don’t think the TSA has ever caught anybody trying to blow up a plane.  All this extra “security theater” is just telling the terrorists that they are winning.  The TSA always seems to be a step behind.  I can think of so many attacks that could happen that really couldn’t be stopped.  What would happen if someone set off a bomb waiting in the security line?  Then what would we do?  You really can’t stop anybody that is willing to kill themselves to cause terror.

I think the TSA should be doing stuff that can actually make us safer.  Taking off our shoes, throwing away our fingernail clippers, and putting our liquids in plastic baggies really doesn’t make us much safer.  Wouldn’t the money spent on these scanners be put to better use on educating TSA agents, and coming up with strategies that actually make us safer, and maybe less inconvenienced?

I’m not really a political junky, but you have to pay attention to be educated enough to vote intelligently.  That seems to be getting harder and harder with all the misinformation news networks and politicians spread nowadays. 

I don’t consider myself a member of any particular party.  I do my research and vote basted on the person, not whether they have a (R) or (D) next to their name.  Lately though, the GOP has been so wacky, I can’t honestly vote for any of them.

My main gripes about the GOP is how anti-science they are.  Anybody that denies global warming, or evolution, and wants to dumb down our children by teaching creationism in science class, is not fit to run our country. 

They GOP is so hell bent on cutting taxes for the rich, and cutting spending.  Isn’t a tax cut mathematically the same thing as increasing spending?  So they really want to increase spending and cut spending?  What?

What inspired this blog post was this video of Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann.  How she got re-elected I have no idea?  I thought Minnesotans were smarter than that.

In the video she goes on and on about some made up numbers pulled out of someone’s ass about the cost of Obama’s India trip.  It doesn’t matter how wrong them numbers are, she says them over and over, and other news networks will pick it up and pretty soon misinformation is as good as true.  It’s one thing for political pundits to pull numbers out of their asses, but a politician?  They should know better.  It’s this kind of misinformation spreading that drives me nuts. 

Then Anderson Cooper tries to get her to tell us where they are going to cut spending.  That was one her key re-election topics, and she had no idea where to make the cuts.  I guess it was just something that sounded good to get re-elected.

In a perfect world both sides would deal with only the facts and work together for the benefit of the American people.  Sadly it’s not a perfect world, so the American people are left confused to what the facts really are, and have to wade through all the misinformation, to decide who to vote for.

Oh well, at least the Sun will come up tomorrow.

Is everybody else as sick of hearing about the Qur’an burning as me?

Why is this news?

So some nut thinks 0.00000000001% of the Muslim population represents them all.  With that kind of thinking, you might as well say, “Since all Christians want to blow up federal buildings, lets burn some Bibles on April 20th”.  It’s just plain stupid.

Since nowadays we have many 24 hour news channels, and most of the time nothing is really going on, they need some kind of ratings boosting story.  So nuts like Terry Jones, the Balloon Boy, and many others make headlines, and have a platform.

Personally I find burning any kind of book offensive.  I bet the majority of Christians are against burning Qur-ans too.  It’s just another example of extremists making a bad name for the rest of them.  I was raised Christian and was taught to love everybody, even people that don’t agree with you.  Burning other people’s book of worship doesn’t sound like a Christian thing to do to me.

Some people think burning the Qur’an’s will make more enemies for the US in the Middle East.  I don’t really agree with that.  It would probably piss off our enemies, but the majority of Muslims over there I am sure would understand that this is just being done by a bunch of wackaloons, and is in no way representative of the majority of Americans.

I really wish the news media would just ignore the crazies, but crazies drive ratings, ratings sells ads, and ads make money.  And really, that’s what it’s all about.  Who cares about informing the public about what’s really going on, when there is money to be made in making up their own news.

The past weekend I worked, and like usual we listened to talk radio at work. I would rather listen to talk radio than music actually. The downside is that most talk radio is right-wing conservative talk, but some of them aren’t too bad, but a lot of them get under my skin. Why do so many of them have to spread fear and lies? The Glenn Beck’s of the world aren’t doing our country any good. Why not use your voice to educate your audience? I guess it’s more about ratings though. Tell people what they want to hear and they will listen.

Everybody tends to believe what they want to think is true. If you are a conservative, you are going to believe all the bad things you hear about Obama; if you are a liberal, you believed all the bad things about Bush. The truth is usually somewhere in the middle. I think everybody needs to listen to what BOTH sides have to say. That is one reason why I listen to right-wing conservative talk radio.

The thing is right now the conservatives seem to be spreading lies about how bad government health care would be, how government can’t do anything right, how Obama wants to kill your grandparents. Instead of spreading lies, why not come up with some solutions? Maybe they don’t think there is anything wrong with our healthcare, but I don’t think it’s right that big insurance companies are making billions off us by denying coverage. Conservatives always say the don’t want to pay for someone else’s healthcare, but they already are. One reason why prices are so high is to cover the people that don’t have insurance and end up in the emergency room. So everybody right now is paying for the people without insurance.

How ridiculous is it that the conservatives are so against the President talking to our students? What is so wrong about that? It’s not like he is going to be spreading any kind of agenda or anything. What would the point of that be? The students aren’t voters yet, and frankly, they probably don’t understand too many of the issues either. One little twenty minute speech isn’t going to turn your 3rd grader into a flaming liberal. I think it should be something every President does on the day after Labor Day. Having the current President talk and encourage the school kids to work hard would be a great way to start every school year.

The main thing is that Obama is our President right now, like it or not. You many not have voted for him, you might not agree with his politics, but he is OUR President, and deserves the respect. The same thing held true for Bush, and any future President. I wasn’t a fan of Bush’s politics, but I knew he was doing what he thought was best for our country. That’s exactly what Obama is doing now.

If this post is too liberal for you. Ben over at Neo-fight.tv put together a great video about his thoughts. He is a conservative and makes some very good points. Critical criticism is great, but both sides need to quit it with the name calling and spreading of lies. We are the United States of America, and need to start acting like it.

It is finally sinking in that we have finally gotten a President that I like. For the first time the guy I voted for won. On is first day in office he is already making some good changes. He froze the pay of White House employees making over $100,000. Treating the White House just like any other company trying to survive the recession. He also vowed to increase openness and improve ethics in Washington. The big thing he did was order Guantanamo Bay to close within a year.

We usually listen to talk radio at night at work because we really don’t have a music station worth listening too around here. I can’t really stand listening to the crazies like Hannity, Ingraham, or Limbaugh though. Last night we listened to Alan Colmes, who is much much better. Most talk radio show caller’s are right-wing nutjobs. They can be pretty entertaining and funny to listen too. Last night crazies were calling in saying Obama’s Presidency was already a failure. They were calling in and encouraging all their fellow crazies to pray for Obama to fail, or better yet, his death. It was pretty entertaining. Good thing praying doesn’t do crap and is worthless.

So this morning (I guess is was yesterday now) before I went to work I was able to catch the inauguration. I watched it on one computer and followed Twitter on another. It was a historic day. It sure makes you love our country the way we can have peaceful change of power like that. It was also amazing seeing how happy most people I follow are Twitter were. A few thought today was the end of the world, but I never understand those people anyway.

Obama has some pretty high expectations. I doubt he will totally live up to them, but I do believe it will be a well needed change. It’s going to be nice to have a President who believes in science and understands technology. It’s going to be weird actually agreeing with our President on things, but I am sure I will get use to it. He inherits a mess. I don’t envy his job.

I have been sick the past few days, but I am feeling better today, so it’s my turn to express my feeling on the past election. To start off remember, I don’t consider myself a Democrat or Republican. In fact I voted some some of each in the past election. I vote for who I think is the bet person for the job. Rarely to I ever agree with everything a person stands for.

I think Obama getting elected was a great thing. Not because I totally agree with him, because I don’t, but because I think it’s time for a change of power. Nothing against McCain. I think he would have done a decent job too, even though I have a lot if disagreements with him. I think the Republican Party was doomed from the beginning. Too many people were unhappy with Bush. My crazy theory of the Palin selection was that the Republicans knew they were doomed and none of them wanted to hurt their political career by being the VP in a losing battle.

I am almost certain that we will have a Republican president in eight years, or maybe even four depending on how successful Obama is. I remember four years ago when all the pundits were saying the Democratic Party was a mess and they needed to find who their leaders were. Well, I think the Republican Party is in that situation now. They will regroup and be back.

I am sick of all the Republican that think it’s the end of the world now, and how rolling back a tax cut for the rich when our country has a massive debt is socialist. I think Obama’s Tax cuts for the working class could help out to economy some. They are the people that will be spending the extra money anyway. That whole “spread the wealth” thing is a joke. I don’t even get it. Are the Republican against the tax cut for 95% of america? If so, then I get the “spread the wealth”, if they think the tax increase for the rich is going to the “bums” then they are wrong.

Another thing that drives me nuts are the people that thing Obama is a terrorist because he has met will Bill Ayers a couple time. Sure Bill Ayers has a checkered past, but that was 40 years ago. Are you the same person you were 40 years ago? People change. Ayers is currently a professor at the University of Illinois. He worked with Obama on education reform in Illinois. Who really cares if he was a rebel when he was in is 20s. Weren’t we all to some extent?

 And to the Christians out there that think Obama is a threat to you religion, get real. How is a Christian President a threat? If you are that unsure of your religion, then it seems the problem is you. Just because he wants to unite everyone, and become everyones President, not just the Christian’s President, doesn’t hurt your religion. This is not a Christian Nation. This Nation was formed on the freedom of religion. You have the right to pray to God, Allah, Buddha, The Flying Spaghetti Monster, or like a lot of us no one, and Obama understands that, and that is a good thing.

In the end all both McCain and Obama want is what’s best for our country. They have different ideas, but in reality, they probably have more similarities. If you don’t like was Obama does the next your years, you can show it with your vote. That’s what makes this country so great, and in the end, we are all Americans.

Here is an example of why I don’t and wont ever watch Fox News. They are totally one sided, and interrupt anybody with different ideas. I hate most of these stupid talking head shows, but this is the reason you won’t find Fox News on my satellite box guide.

Driving home from work I really noticed a lot of political yard signs. I don’t get the point of them. Do some people not know who is running? Are people going to base their vote on who their neighbors vote for? For me seeing all the McCain yard signs reminds be to get out and vote for Obama.

Today I also read that a bunch of people are having their Obama signs stolen, or destroyed. Are Republicans really that offend by the other side? Really?

I can’t wait for the election to be over. Not because I am sick of all the commercials, because I never watch live TV, but because I am sick of all the misinformation being spread.

Both parties are guilty of it. Factcheck.org is your friend use it. Do your own research, and make sure you are using reputable sites. Both parties spread a ton of misinformation on their commercials, and during the debate. Vote for who you think the right candidate is based on the facts, not the spin.

My Mom is a diehard Republican, and she sends me tons of emails of false information that she truly believes because she read it on the internet, or got it in an email. The latest email she sent me said that three former Fannie Mae executives are “economic advisers” to Obama. That is totally false.

Another thing that bugs me is people that vote based on one issue. Look at the bigger picture people! Don’t vote for McCain just because you are anti-choice. Vote for the person that you agree with on most issues. There are many things that I don’t agree with Obama on, but the majority I do, so he is my guy.

Another thing that drives me crazy is all the bashing of the candidate. Sure Palin is easy to pick on. The light heated stuff they do SNL or this song, are pretty funny, but this is uncalled for and not cool. Also, calling Obama a terrorist because of his name or skin color is totally uncalled for.

Both Obama and McCain are great American, and are both trying to do what they think is best for our country. Sure, they may differ on a lot of issues, but in the end, they both what’s best for our country, and both deserve lost of respect.

Go Obama!!!

So the internet was all a buzz yesterday about Sarah Palin’s email getting hacked, if you can call it that. I wouldn’t take much of a hacker to get into her email if she used easy to find information for the password reset questions. Pretty much every web based email system has a way to reset your password. You just have to answer a couple questions that most people wouldn’t know, but if you are a public figure, you should realize that people are going to know more about you. This has happened many times to celebrities. You would think people would learn.

The bigger question should be what the hell is she using Yahoo for government emails? Why have that data on Yahoo’s servers? Shouldn’t she use government servers, and better yet some encryption? What if she had some “top secret” stuff in her email? A “real” hacker/terrorist, could have probably gotten access to her email without anybody finding out and kept on reading it.

Government officials really need to know that sending an unencrypted email is like sending a postcard. Hopefully this minor little mishap will teach them all that they need to be a little more secure.

So politics seem to be on everybody’s minds lately. I keep up with what’s going on and stuff, but I am no political junky. I hate discussing it because it just starts fights. It’s not like you can change someone else’s ideas anyway.

I haven’t watched any of the DNC coverage. I just have better things to do with my time. I can read all about what happens afterwards. What President ever accomplishes what they says they are going to do anyway? I struggle to find unbiased news, and watching either convention is anything but unbiased.

It was kinda funny watching Twitter last night during Obama’s speech. You could see everybody’s biases. The Democrats were cheering and the Republicans were bashing. I was just sitting back and laughing. I don’t consider myself a Democrat or Republican. I consider myself an Independent. I research all the candidates and pick the ones I like best. I have voted for both in the past. I do side with Democrats more often, and really don’t like what the Republicans have been doing with our country lately, so this year I will be voting mostly Democrat. That could easily change if the Democrats start doing stupid things.

We have had a Republican President for 8 years now, so I think it is time for a Democrat President. Having different leaders with different ideals is what makes out country great. One party having too much power all the time wouldn’t be a good thing. Many people in our country have different ideals, and the government should reflect that.

I know where I stand on most issues. I am against abortion, but I don’t believe I have the right to make the decision for anybody else, so that makes me pro choice. I am against the death penalty because I think killing people is wrong. I don’t care how bad the criminal is. Lock them up for life, don’t kill them. We as a society are better than that. I don’t think we should stoop to the level of a criminal and kill.

Next Tuesday we are having local elections for some local offices and a smoking bad. I don’t know where I stand on the smoking ban. I love it that people can’t smoke in restaurants around here now. I can’t stand going to bars though. Most bars I struggle to breath and come home reeking. Good thing I don’t go to bars very often. So obviously I would love to see a smoking ban, but at the same time I think bar owners should also have the right to choose if they want a stinky bar or not.

Yesterday at work the radio was filled with ads for both sides of this issue. I think one ad I heard help me decide. They tried to bring the war into it. It said that our soldiers are fighting for our freedoms and we don’t want them to come home to some lost freedoms. Give me a break. That is just stupid. It’s not like we have total freedom in a bar now anyway. If we did I would buy a case of beer and sell it myself if a bar for half the price and make a killing. There are many things you can’t do it a bar. I don’t agree with the war, but I commend the soldiers. They are doing their job, and it is a tough one. I hate it when people use them to try and sell products or in this case get votes. That’s just wrong.

So since I didn’t quite know where I stood on the issue, an ad trying to get me to vote against it will actually make me vote for it. Stupid ads affect me more. You can have all the positive ads you want, but if you have one I don’t like, and I am on the fence, you are more likely to lose my vote than to gain it.

I am not one that ever cares about celebrity endorsements, but Tom Hanks says it like it is.
Beware: Celebrity Endorsement