The latest apology comes from Hillary Clinton, apologizing for the words of Geraldine Ferraro, and of Bill Clinton, and for the slow reaction to Hurricane Katrina; she did all of this to black Americans, in Washington last night to the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a group of more than 200 black community newspapers.
I'm getting sick and tired of people having to apologize for actions or words of others. Whether Geraldine Ferraro was correct in saying that Obama has only gotten as far as he has this election cycle because he is black is regardless. I would have to disagree with her; I don't think race had anything to do with hurting or helping his race for the Democratic nomination, in the long run. Yes there are pockets of support, even in the Democratic Party, in some parts of the Midwest or South, where because he was black, they voted for Hillary Clinton. I guess the ironic part is, they either have to come to terms with their racism or sexism, of which both problems are alive and well in America, even in 2008, in order to vote in the Democratic primary. Yes, you could vote for one of the other white men that may have made it on the ballot where they vote (most likely John Edwards, the consummate Southern Democrat), but to truly have mattered, you would vote for either Clinton or Obama.
Back to what I was saying. Obama shouldn't have apologized for whatever it was Louis Farrakhan said that was stupid back a few weeks, and Clinton shouldn't have to apologize for what others have said in support of her campaign. For that matter, McCain shouldn't have to apologize for what that idiot conservative talk show host said about Obama in Cincinnati during the Ohio primary.
People need to stop being so freaking sensitive about everything! It's not even a matter of being politically correct. Ms. Ferraro and Mr. Clinton have said things about race and Obama; if Ms. Clinton doesn't agree, she should say so. But no reason to apologize for the words or thoughts of others. If Mr. Obama or Mr. McCain disagrees with what their supporters say, by all means, clarify yourself! Be up front, proud and say out loud why you disagree with them.
But for the grace of God, stop apologizing for them. They are adults, they can live up to their own words on their own; they do not need to have Mom or Dad stand up for them and take their punches for them.
When will someone apologize to me for this idiocy?
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
My views on the issues
I have found THE best quiz to determine your political ideology or philosophy. I'm always interested in finding out what others score, especially those close to me. You can find the quiz here. You can even register to save your responses for later.
The reason I like this quiz so much are for a few reasons. The main reason is it's not just about gays, abortion or gun control. Those issues are listed, yes, but among other questions as well. Another reason is because it tells you what your answer means. When you click on the question it's asking, it says what it means if you support or oppose a particular stance. The side the question asks from also goes back and forth between the typically liberal and typically conservative view, so as to not show bias towards a particular side of an issue. Also, in case you need more information about the issue in question, it provides more detailed information in a quite non-partisan way. Very cool.
Then it will show you where you lie on the political spectrum. Most folks think it's left or right. Very wrong. Here's where I am currently:
I would be considered a moderate liberal, as I've discussed previously. That being said, however, I have some stands that don't particularly jive with the common position liberal Democrats hold, especially when it comes to free trade.
The quiz asks if you support or oppose a series if issues ranging from abortion to national defense. You also rank whether you strongly support or just regular support the issue, and an option for No Opinion/Neutral if need be. Here are my answers:
Individual Rights
Support - Abortion is a Woman's Right
Oppose - Require Companies to Hire More Women/Minorities
Strongly Support - Sexual Orientation Protected by Civil Rights Laws
Oppose - Permit Prayer In Public Schools
Domestic Issues
Oppose - Death Penalty
Strongly Oppose - Mandatory "Three Strikes" Sentencing Laws
Oppose - Absolute Right to Gun Ownership
Support - More Federal Funding For Health Coverage
Oppose - Privatize Social Security
Oppose - Parents Choose Schools Via Vouchers
Strongly Support - Reduce use of coal, oil, & nuclear energy
Strongly Oppose - Drugs Damage Society: Enforce Laws Against Use
Support - Allow Churches to Provide Welfare Services
Economic Issues
Oppose - Decrease overall taxation of the wealthy
Support - Immigration Helps Our Economy - Encourage It
Support - Support and Expand Free Trade
Defense & International Issues
Oppose - More Spending on Armed Forces
Strongly Support - Reduce Spending on Missile Defense ("Star Wars")
Support - Link Human Rights to Trade With China
Support - Seek UN approval for military action
I scored 78% for my personal score and 30% for my economic score. The higher personal score one has, the more social freedoms you would support (pro-choice, no Drug War, etc). The higher economic score, the more economic freedoms you would support (free trade, less taxes, etc). A hardcore liberal, then, would be 100% and 0%. A hardcore conservative would be 0% and 100%, libertarians 100% for both and authoritarians are 0% for both.
What are you? Let me know!
The reason I like this quiz so much are for a few reasons. The main reason is it's not just about gays, abortion or gun control. Those issues are listed, yes, but among other questions as well. Another reason is because it tells you what your answer means. When you click on the question it's asking, it says what it means if you support or oppose a particular stance. The side the question asks from also goes back and forth between the typically liberal and typically conservative view, so as to not show bias towards a particular side of an issue. Also, in case you need more information about the issue in question, it provides more detailed information in a quite non-partisan way. Very cool.
Then it will show you where you lie on the political spectrum. Most folks think it's left or right. Very wrong. Here's where I am currently:
I would be considered a moderate liberal, as I've discussed previously. That being said, however, I have some stands that don't particularly jive with the common position liberal Democrats hold, especially when it comes to free trade.The quiz asks if you support or oppose a series if issues ranging from abortion to national defense. You also rank whether you strongly support or just regular support the issue, and an option for No Opinion/Neutral if need be. Here are my answers:
Individual Rights
Support - Abortion is a Woman's Right
Oppose - Require Companies to Hire More Women/Minorities
Strongly Support - Sexual Orientation Protected by Civil Rights Laws
Oppose - Permit Prayer In Public Schools
Domestic Issues
Oppose - Death Penalty
Strongly Oppose - Mandatory "Three Strikes" Sentencing Laws
Oppose - Absolute Right to Gun Ownership
Support - More Federal Funding For Health Coverage
Oppose - Privatize Social Security
Oppose - Parents Choose Schools Via Vouchers
Strongly Support - Reduce use of coal, oil, & nuclear energy
Strongly Oppose - Drugs Damage Society: Enforce Laws Against Use
Support - Allow Churches to Provide Welfare Services
Economic Issues
Oppose - Decrease overall taxation of the wealthy
Support - Immigration Helps Our Economy - Encourage It
Support - Support and Expand Free Trade
Defense & International Issues
Oppose - More Spending on Armed Forces
Strongly Support - Reduce Spending on Missile Defense ("Star Wars")
Support - Link Human Rights to Trade With China
Support - Seek UN approval for military action
I scored 78% for my personal score and 30% for my economic score. The higher personal score one has, the more social freedoms you would support (pro-choice, no Drug War, etc). The higher economic score, the more economic freedoms you would support (free trade, less taxes, etc). A hardcore liberal, then, would be 100% and 0%. A hardcore conservative would be 0% and 100%, libertarians 100% for both and authoritarians are 0% for both.
What are you? Let me know!
Who am I?
Well I looked back since when I first started taking this quiz to gauge where I fall in the political spectrum. Things certainly have changed.
Politically, I grew up a Republican. That's what happens when you live in the middle of nowhere, a.k.a. North Central Ohio. I grew up in the country just south of Mansfield, OH, went to a "small town" high school. We had, I think maybe 3 black people? And that's our entire school, not just the high school. I graduated from a class of 121, just to give some perspective. So living in that sort of area, and in that sort of lifestyle, one tends to have a more conservative view. That being said, I would probably have been considered a moderate Republican.
I come from a huge family of Republicans; my mom is a moderate Republican, my dad a more traditionally conservative Republican. In our immediate family (parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles) there are only 3 actively non-Republicans. My one aunt is quite liberal (she went to school in a Big City and joined the Peace Corps when she was younger), and the other is pretty independent. It's nice to have at least a couple people I can talk to about stuff, when at family gatherings. It always seems to be a little harrowing, when attempting to discuss politics with some of my family members.
Don't get me wrong, I love them to death, but most of my family are hardcore Republicans. Anyways, that's the environment I grew up in. Towards the end of high school, however I became a Libertarian. Yes the big L because I actually joined the party and paid my dues. Have the card around here somewhere... I imagine at some point I was always a libertarian (yes small L, there is a difference!) at least a little bit, but one of my best friends Andy is the one that showed me the light. Too bad for him, 6 years later I became a registered Democrat.
If I had to label myself I would refer to myself as a moderate liberal with libertarian tendencies... but still a registered Democrat. I joined the Party because of Howard Dean, in 2002. My reason was because he was the best chance of getting a libertarian in the White House in 2004. I still contend if we had run Dean instead of Kerry, we would have won. But I digress. The Iraq War is an important topic to me, and quite sensitive to those that follow partisan politics. Whenever we had a discussion about the War at family functions, I always never spoke out. Keep in mind, at that time, it was very unpopular to not support the War or our president. Lucky for folks like me, time has changed for us in that regards.
So currently I am a moderate liberal Democrat (with some libertarian-leaning tendencies on issues). I currently support Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nominee for the 2008 presidential election. This is mainly because of a book called The Case for Hillary Clinton, by Susan Estrich. Please be careful, as there is (of course) a book called The Case Against Hillary Clinton; I will not dignify it with a link of it's own :)
Prior to that, I had no idea who I would support in the primary election. At that point, John Edwards had thrown in his hat again, and of course Dennis Kucinich was back. Now I will support whomever the Democratic nominee is in the end, and would probably vote for them as well, but there are only a few candidates out there I would actively campaign for. Once I read Ms. Estrich's book, well I knew Clinton was the candidate for me to support in the primary, let alone the general election.
I just took a quiz here, and it shows Clinton as my number one choice, which I'm glad. There are a few reasons why I support her, and not just because of nostalgia for the Clinton Years, nor simply because she is a woman. I like her positions. Not every position, but I'm not going to agree with my candidate 100% on everything; Dean is the only one that's come close, but I think there were even a few issues where we disagreed. Now it looks like it's going to be Obama or Clinton; either I will campaign for in the end.
Some are asking for a Dream Ticket, with both Clinton and Obama. The only way that would work is Clinton-Obama, and I'm not just saying that because I support her. The reasons are two-fold: 1. Clinton is no spring chicken. She can't be a vice president now and wait for 8 years to run again. It's now or never. And 2. Obama would not be able to stand her as his Number 2; she likes the spotlight, and no one wants the second place spot to outshine the first. Obama is still quite young, and after 8 years of Clintonian bliss (one can hope right?) he can run again, and win quite easily.
When it comes down to who can win against John McCain (at this moment he is THE Republican nominee), either can, and either would. The question is how close would it be? Well, that remains to be seen. But there will be a Democrat in the White House, come January 21, 2009; we just have to see which it will be. Unless Obama wins Pennsylvania (which is looking less and less a likely event), it will come down to the super delegates at the Convention in August.
My next post will talk about my views on the big issues of the day.
Politically, I grew up a Republican. That's what happens when you live in the middle of nowhere, a.k.a. North Central Ohio. I grew up in the country just south of Mansfield, OH, went to a "small town" high school. We had, I think maybe 3 black people? And that's our entire school, not just the high school. I graduated from a class of 121, just to give some perspective. So living in that sort of area, and in that sort of lifestyle, one tends to have a more conservative view. That being said, I would probably have been considered a moderate Republican.
I come from a huge family of Republicans; my mom is a moderate Republican, my dad a more traditionally conservative Republican. In our immediate family (parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles) there are only 3 actively non-Republicans. My one aunt is quite liberal (she went to school in a Big City and joined the Peace Corps when she was younger), and the other is pretty independent. It's nice to have at least a couple people I can talk to about stuff, when at family gatherings. It always seems to be a little harrowing, when attempting to discuss politics with some of my family members.
Don't get me wrong, I love them to death, but most of my family are hardcore Republicans. Anyways, that's the environment I grew up in. Towards the end of high school, however I became a Libertarian. Yes the big L because I actually joined the party and paid my dues. Have the card around here somewhere... I imagine at some point I was always a libertarian (yes small L, there is a difference!) at least a little bit, but one of my best friends Andy is the one that showed me the light. Too bad for him, 6 years later I became a registered Democrat.
If I had to label myself I would refer to myself as a moderate liberal with libertarian tendencies... but still a registered Democrat. I joined the Party because of Howard Dean, in 2002. My reason was because he was the best chance of getting a libertarian in the White House in 2004. I still contend if we had run Dean instead of Kerry, we would have won. But I digress. The Iraq War is an important topic to me, and quite sensitive to those that follow partisan politics. Whenever we had a discussion about the War at family functions, I always never spoke out. Keep in mind, at that time, it was very unpopular to not support the War or our president. Lucky for folks like me, time has changed for us in that regards.
So currently I am a moderate liberal Democrat (with some libertarian-leaning tendencies on issues). I currently support Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nominee for the 2008 presidential election. This is mainly because of a book called The Case for Hillary Clinton, by Susan Estrich. Please be careful, as there is (of course) a book called The Case Against Hillary Clinton; I will not dignify it with a link of it's own :)
Prior to that, I had no idea who I would support in the primary election. At that point, John Edwards had thrown in his hat again, and of course Dennis Kucinich was back. Now I will support whomever the Democratic nominee is in the end, and would probably vote for them as well, but there are only a few candidates out there I would actively campaign for. Once I read Ms. Estrich's book, well I knew Clinton was the candidate for me to support in the primary, let alone the general election.
I just took a quiz here, and it shows Clinton as my number one choice, which I'm glad. There are a few reasons why I support her, and not just because of nostalgia for the Clinton Years, nor simply because she is a woman. I like her positions. Not every position, but I'm not going to agree with my candidate 100% on everything; Dean is the only one that's come close, but I think there were even a few issues where we disagreed. Now it looks like it's going to be Obama or Clinton; either I will campaign for in the end.
Some are asking for a Dream Ticket, with both Clinton and Obama. The only way that would work is Clinton-Obama, and I'm not just saying that because I support her. The reasons are two-fold: 1. Clinton is no spring chicken. She can't be a vice president now and wait for 8 years to run again. It's now or never. And 2. Obama would not be able to stand her as his Number 2; she likes the spotlight, and no one wants the second place spot to outshine the first. Obama is still quite young, and after 8 years of Clintonian bliss (one can hope right?) he can run again, and win quite easily.
When it comes down to who can win against John McCain (at this moment he is THE Republican nominee), either can, and either would. The question is how close would it be? Well, that remains to be seen. But there will be a Democrat in the White House, come January 21, 2009; we just have to see which it will be. Unless Obama wins Pennsylvania (which is looking less and less a likely event), it will come down to the super delegates at the Convention in August.
My next post will talk about my views on the big issues of the day.
Starting out... again...
It's been a long time since I've been regularly writing, and every once in a while I get the urge to start writing again. Hopefully this time, since I've found Blogger once more, and attached it to my regular website address through Yahoo, I'll be a tad more active. We'll see. To view updated posts in the future, be sure to bookmark www.liberalohio.com!
For those of you who don't know me, a bit of an introduction. Like my profile says, I work for a majour cell phone company. I know quite a bit about the cell phone industry, and in particular information about the cell phone company for which I work. I won't say on here, but feel free to write me and I'll let you know. No, I cannot give you discounts on monthly access, or on phones, but I'll sure be glad to answer any questions you have.
I used to go to Ohio State - Columbus, but haven't been there in a while. Taking a sabbatical of sorts... just wore me down. Perhaps I'll go back to school some day, but not anytime soon. As the profile states, I live in Columbus, Ohio, right in the heart of it all.
I'll be writing most likely about politics of the day, current events, pretty much anything that interests me. But I'm a big political dork, so it will most likely be politically-related. So if that's what you like, then that's what it'll be :)
That's it for my introduction... feel free to let others know about this site, comment on here (no approval needed), as well as emailing me at brett@liberalohio.com.
The next post will entail more politics-stuff.
Later!
For those of you who don't know me, a bit of an introduction. Like my profile says, I work for a majour cell phone company. I know quite a bit about the cell phone industry, and in particular information about the cell phone company for which I work. I won't say on here, but feel free to write me and I'll let you know. No, I cannot give you discounts on monthly access, or on phones, but I'll sure be glad to answer any questions you have.
I used to go to Ohio State - Columbus, but haven't been there in a while. Taking a sabbatical of sorts... just wore me down. Perhaps I'll go back to school some day, but not anytime soon. As the profile states, I live in Columbus, Ohio, right in the heart of it all.
I'll be writing most likely about politics of the day, current events, pretty much anything that interests me. But I'm a big political dork, so it will most likely be politically-related. So if that's what you like, then that's what it'll be :)
That's it for my introduction... feel free to let others know about this site, comment on here (no approval needed), as well as emailing me at brett@liberalohio.com.
The next post will entail more politics-stuff.
Later!
Welcome back!
I will be posting something here very soon... Just re-configured everything, so will be up and running in no time. Come back soon for my newest awesome thoughts :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
