I just posted this on Teh Facebooks. It pretty well sums up some of my feelings on this election:
"I've had quite enough of all political junk on here. The people crowing about the victory, the people complaining about the defeat, and the people (myself included in this group) calling out one group or the other for whatever. Yeah, it's stupid to say you'll move to Canada because the wrong stuffed shirt is in office and the world is going to end. Yeah, it's stupid to claim that because the right shirt won, the world is going to be all happiness and rainbows and that this is a great time for freedom and 'murica and all that. I've had enough of it all. This election burned me out. For those of you who know me well, you know I'm pretty unflinching in my political stances, and I'm generally willing to discuss them. But no one posting now seems at all interested in discussion. Everyone, just shut up. Enough. Yes, I'd be saying this if Romney won as well in all likelihood."
As alluded to in my last post (potentially two back depending on when this goes live relative the the "quick win" post) I burned out early. I couldn't get enthusiastic about Romney, and I've had doubts as to whether he'd be any better than Obama. I quite simply loathe Obama and so much of what he stands for though, so my hopes went to what I saw as the lesser of two evils. My support went third party.
It was really disappointing to read more and more about the Johnson/Gray ticket and get more and more interested and excited, only to have floating in the back of my mind the absolute knowledge that they were NEVER going to win.
It's really hard to care about the direction the government is going when the inertia behind it is of most of the countries voting public. I sympathize with those people who keep saying they're moving to Canada or wherever. It's tempting to be able to wash your hands of the seemingly inevitable decline of this country. The only real problem with that is that there's not really anywhere better to run.
It's hard to care when the liberal notion of feelings over results becomes so widespread as to have any attempt at logical debate impossible.
To counter arguments that this will just continue to foster support for the tea party and other third parties, how likely does that really seem? The people who have bothered to find out more about the tea party and co. ALREADY SUPPORT THEM. Those who haven't won't be swayed in any case. I think that the mindset I have towards government is the best one. There's a reason I hold it. I know I'm distinctly in the minority on this one, and I have a hard time seeing how it's going to get better.
Lighter content may turn up once I'm not feeling quite so cynical.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
Voter's Block
So. Tomorrow, November 6th, I will be voting for the first time. I am 20, and should have voted in the last round of elections, but I missed registration, so now's the time.
I'm voting for Gary Johnson.
I've been mulling over this for quite some time. I knew there was absolutely NO way I was ever going to vote for Obama. My distaste for the man and his policies runs too deep, and the potential for what he could do as a lame duck is frankly more frightening than I want to consider. The Romney question has been more troublesome.
Honestly, I have a hard time feeling much of anything. I certainly can't get enthusiastic about him. His record in Massachusetts is too wishy-washy, and he has seemed to be making an effort to appeal in disingenuous ways (such as his purchase of a Life NRA membership and some of the other firearms related stuff, especially in light of the Massachusetts AWB) but on his core principles, he seems a solid individual, and his effectiveness record is rather impressive. I can't work up a lather against him. I just disagree on enough practical issues to not care to vote for him.
I'm voting in Texas. I don't think there's much doubt in anyone's mind that Texas is going to Romney. My vote wouldn't matter much anyways voting for him. Enter Gary Johnson/Jim Gray. People, this is a ticket I can get behind. I'm not in 100% agreement with everything they've said, but unless I decide to run myself, that's probably not going to happen anyways. Their principles are well aligned with mine, and they seem just ridiculously intelligent.
They are not going to win.
As much as I wish they could, this country is too well seated in the two party system to allow a third party to get the kind of momentum needed to come into its own. A loss in this election though doesn't preclude winning the eventual war. If they get enough votes to catch the attention of the nation, there's a chance that it may be the start to a larger trend.
I'm not going to make any predictions for tomorrow. People much smarter and better versed in the issues are completely divided on who will win, and I'll leave that question for another 48 hours. I expect there to be cheating, and accusations of the same flying for days if not years. Time will tell.
I pray that this country can start to turn itself around. I've seen a number of internet posts saying "don't set this country back 50 years" and the like. People, that's precisely what I'd like to see (with obvious exceptions of certain social tendencies like racism and sexism.) Movement is not necessarily good. I want to move backwards. Forwards just leads off a cliff.
I still have a mental pile of posts I want to get into real form, and a few that are halfway there. I think I'm coming back.
I'm voting for Gary Johnson.
I've been mulling over this for quite some time. I knew there was absolutely NO way I was ever going to vote for Obama. My distaste for the man and his policies runs too deep, and the potential for what he could do as a lame duck is frankly more frightening than I want to consider. The Romney question has been more troublesome.
Honestly, I have a hard time feeling much of anything. I certainly can't get enthusiastic about him. His record in Massachusetts is too wishy-washy, and he has seemed to be making an effort to appeal in disingenuous ways (such as his purchase of a Life NRA membership and some of the other firearms related stuff, especially in light of the Massachusetts AWB) but on his core principles, he seems a solid individual, and his effectiveness record is rather impressive. I can't work up a lather against him. I just disagree on enough practical issues to not care to vote for him.
I'm voting in Texas. I don't think there's much doubt in anyone's mind that Texas is going to Romney. My vote wouldn't matter much anyways voting for him. Enter Gary Johnson/Jim Gray. People, this is a ticket I can get behind. I'm not in 100% agreement with everything they've said, but unless I decide to run myself, that's probably not going to happen anyways. Their principles are well aligned with mine, and they seem just ridiculously intelligent.
They are not going to win.
As much as I wish they could, this country is too well seated in the two party system to allow a third party to get the kind of momentum needed to come into its own. A loss in this election though doesn't preclude winning the eventual war. If they get enough votes to catch the attention of the nation, there's a chance that it may be the start to a larger trend.
I'm not going to make any predictions for tomorrow. People much smarter and better versed in the issues are completely divided on who will win, and I'll leave that question for another 48 hours. I expect there to be cheating, and accusations of the same flying for days if not years. Time will tell.
I pray that this country can start to turn itself around. I've seen a number of internet posts saying "don't set this country back 50 years" and the like. People, that's precisely what I'd like to see (with obvious exceptions of certain social tendencies like racism and sexism.) Movement is not necessarily good. I want to move backwards. Forwards just leads off a cliff.
I still have a mental pile of posts I want to get into real form, and a few that are halfway there. I think I'm coming back.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Sorry everyone...
Sorry for the lack of posting. I've been having some blogger issues, but the main problem is a sudden drying of the wellspring of creativity. I've got plenty of things to talk about, but lately the time and inclination to actually post about them has dwindled. I'm not gone. Blogging has simply never been my priority, and the higher rated things are taking up more time than usual. I haven't forgotten about you all though. I'll be back, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Blogger troubles
I am having trouble with Blogger eating my posts. We'll hopefully be back up and running shortly.
Monday, September 17, 2012
DAB 2.0
All I can say is wow. I had a fantastic time throughout, and I hope everyone else had as much fun as I did. I'll have a more full account later, but real life has me swamped at the moment. Too many things I should have been doing this weekend instead of the blogmeet. Oh well. Worth it.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
And We're Back
There was an outbreak of real life there, but I think it's safely contained now.
I've had a few things percolating, but, unfortunately, none of them are quite coalescing into workable posts.
So, it's another hodge podge!
United States Ambassador to Libya murdered by angry crowd. I find this depressing on a huge number of levels, not least of which is that this sort of headline is becoming all too familiar. Add to that the highly unlikely nature of any retaliatory action against this blatant act of war, and it's just... gah.
The other thing that really irks me is our involvement in putting in place the very system whose constituents are now rampaging about murdering our diplomats. I said it then, and I say it now. We have/had NO business interfering in Libya, much less on the side of the rebels. (Nor anywhere else in the "Arab Spring", for that matter.)
Another September 11th has rolled around, and the recognizance has, predictably, decreased dramatically. As with December 7, 1942, time is balm for many wounds, and the nation has collectively moved on.
While I would say that the time for grief is past, I would absolutely not say that the time has come to forget, and, though it is not a very Christian thing of me to say, the time has not come for forgiveness either.
One of the posts I'm working on concerns this. I wanted to have it up for the 11th, but life got in the way.
My rhetoric class has actually been my most interesting course so far this year. I am rather fond of argument and analysis of the same (as some of you may have figured out by now) and it's a fun subject. There is absolutely no career in it I would care for of course, so that's the catch. I like engineering and biology more in any case.
I got a package of joy from the Fed-Ex truck. I am actually starting to get on the point where the dwarf seahorse project is becoming a reality. It is exciting. Pictures will come in due course.
Technology is fantastic.
The Dallas Area Blogmeet/shoot is this Saturday/Sunday. I am ridiculously excited. I don't know if you can still sign up to join us, but head over to BobS to find out.
On Sunday I heard an absolutely fantastic talk by Jeffery Holland, an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I'll link to it once I find the transcript. It's good from a secular or religious perspective.
On that note, I am right now actively exploring my faith, and am shortly going to be baptized into the LDS church. I'm probably not going to talk about matters of faith particularly often or in depth, and I won't be using this space for proselytizing. All I ask is that you all remain respectful. I've never had a problem with an abusive or even rude commenter, and I hope to keep up that record as long as possible.
Thinking about the history of medicine, I have to wonder what the next huge leap will be. Penicillin and other antibiotics were one, and vaccines another (there are lots, of course.) The thing that strikes me though is that the people from before the discovery could never have predicted it. (As is true of any innovation, but the medical ones are particularly interesting to me right now.)
Firefly is a fantastic series, and anyone with access to Netflix should watch it. It doesn't take long.
I think that's enough brain flow for a while.
I've had a few things percolating, but, unfortunately, none of them are quite coalescing into workable posts.
So, it's another hodge podge!
United States Ambassador to Libya murdered by angry crowd. I find this depressing on a huge number of levels, not least of which is that this sort of headline is becoming all too familiar. Add to that the highly unlikely nature of any retaliatory action against this blatant act of war, and it's just... gah.
The other thing that really irks me is our involvement in putting in place the very system whose constituents are now rampaging about murdering our diplomats. I said it then, and I say it now. We have/had NO business interfering in Libya, much less on the side of the rebels. (Nor anywhere else in the "Arab Spring", for that matter.)
Another September 11th has rolled around, and the recognizance has, predictably, decreased dramatically. As with December 7, 1942, time is balm for many wounds, and the nation has collectively moved on.
While I would say that the time for grief is past, I would absolutely not say that the time has come to forget, and, though it is not a very Christian thing of me to say, the time has not come for forgiveness either.
One of the posts I'm working on concerns this. I wanted to have it up for the 11th, but life got in the way.
My rhetoric class has actually been my most interesting course so far this year. I am rather fond of argument and analysis of the same (as some of you may have figured out by now) and it's a fun subject. There is absolutely no career in it I would care for of course, so that's the catch. I like engineering and biology more in any case.
I got a package of joy from the Fed-Ex truck. I am actually starting to get on the point where the dwarf seahorse project is becoming a reality. It is exciting. Pictures will come in due course.
Technology is fantastic.
The Dallas Area Blogmeet/shoot is this Saturday/Sunday. I am ridiculously excited. I don't know if you can still sign up to join us, but head over to BobS to find out.
On Sunday I heard an absolutely fantastic talk by Jeffery Holland, an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I'll link to it once I find the transcript. It's good from a secular or religious perspective.
On that note, I am right now actively exploring my faith, and am shortly going to be baptized into the LDS church. I'm probably not going to talk about matters of faith particularly often or in depth, and I won't be using this space for proselytizing. All I ask is that you all remain respectful. I've never had a problem with an abusive or even rude commenter, and I hope to keep up that record as long as possible.
Thinking about the history of medicine, I have to wonder what the next huge leap will be. Penicillin and other antibiotics were one, and vaccines another (there are lots, of course.) The thing that strikes me though is that the people from before the discovery could never have predicted it. (As is true of any innovation, but the medical ones are particularly interesting to me right now.)
Firefly is a fantastic series, and anyone with access to Netflix should watch it. It doesn't take long.
I think that's enough brain flow for a while.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Political Ethics.... Right
Long time readers will perhaps remember at one point last year I decided to run a weekly feature on political ethics. Similarly, they may also remember that I stopped doing those fairly quickly.
Quite simply, I bit off more than I could chew. Questions of political ethics are exceedingly complicated, in the nature of politics. Political ideals are impossible, as the people in power are still people, and as such have interests of their own, potentially contrary to their political duties. While honorable politicians have, and potentially still do, existed, they are, unfortunately, the minority.
Similarly, the double bind, or lesser of two evils, situation is exceptionally common in political work, and even the most honorable of politicians may find themselves torn between competing ideals.
I came to realize fairly quickly that I just plain don't know enough and am too unqualified to really speak on these things.
I may come back to the topic from time to time (I still want to get through my topic list in some way or another) but making a weekly feature of it isn't feasible. I'm trying to resurrect it in some capacity or another though.
Quite simply, I bit off more than I could chew. Questions of political ethics are exceedingly complicated, in the nature of politics. Political ideals are impossible, as the people in power are still people, and as such have interests of their own, potentially contrary to their political duties. While honorable politicians have, and potentially still do, existed, they are, unfortunately, the minority.
Similarly, the double bind, or lesser of two evils, situation is exceptionally common in political work, and even the most honorable of politicians may find themselves torn between competing ideals.
I came to realize fairly quickly that I just plain don't know enough and am too unqualified to really speak on these things.
I may come back to the topic from time to time (I still want to get through my topic list in some way or another) but making a weekly feature of it isn't feasible. I'm trying to resurrect it in some capacity or another though.
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