A Song for You

For those of you who chose to vote for freedom as a whole instead of just parts of it, or even those who refrained from voting for the same reason, this song's for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKYrppBQDq0&feature=related

Perhaps while we wait, we could live as if we have the freedom that we want. After all, we do. The only person stopping you from having that freedom is you. Live by example.

Joe-the-Plumber and the 2008 Election

Since I've gone so long without posting, let me set a record and make 3 posts in one day, even if one of them is nothing but a picture. (",)

I have yet to say anything about recent events of the 2008 Presidential election in the U.S. So, before it is all said-and-done in just a few days, I might as well throw my pocket change in.

Almost above and beyond all, I gotta say something about all of this "Joe-the-Plumber" nonsense, because I think both of the two, major candidates are not being very smart about it.

First and foremost, Obama's plan to raise taxes on a certain class of people just because they make the amount of income that puts them in that class is nothing short of class warfare. It is also immoral and completely unfair.

Just because someone is successful does not mean they are obligated to pay a higher percentage for society as their fellow countrymen. Again, that is nothing short of class warfare and it is beyond me why anyone would want to elect a President that supports creating more class warfare than what we already have.

McCain is no better. At least Obama has an ideological point he is driving toward, even if it is a divisive and non-logical point. McCain, on the other hand, is being just plain offensive because he apparently thinks the American people are stupid (and they are, if they fall for it).

McCain is portraying Joe-the-Plumber as an ordinary person that the majority of Americans - the middle class - can relate to. Yes, Joe-the-Plumber talks like a regular person without fancy words. Yes, Joe-the-Plumber wears t-shirts and jeans. Yes, Joe-the-Plumber is a plumber.

But, here is a newsflash: If you make $250,000 or more per year (including before taxes), you sure as Hell are not in the middle class, regardless of how often you wear t-shirts and jeans!

McCain's attempt to get the public to emotionally connect themselves to someone like Joe-the-Plumber is exactly that - emotion - emotional rhetoric, and it is distasteful for a Presidential candidate to attempt lulling the American people into such poor reasoning.

Above, I said Joe-the-Plumber was almost above and beyond all that I wanted to mention. Joe-the-Plumber just about says it all when it comes to our front-runners, but there is one other thing.

If you are a voter in America, in a few days you have the opportunity to vote for someone who will not allow any group of individuals to force any other group of individuals to live the way the former wants them to live, unless it is only at the state or local level where the latter individuals are free to leave or to go. That is a free country.

Or, you can vote for someone who will allow a particular group of individuals to force another group of individuals to live the way the former wants them to live, whether it's socially, economically, or both, at the national level. This is not an example of a free country.

The Democratic and Republican front runners can both be compared to the second example I gave you.

I hope you don't let freedom go down the drain like a turd that we will need to call a plumber to come unclog.

Our Leader

Sorry for the hold-up on this post, if there are any readers left here. My brain has been in all kinds of places lately, with the elections going on and all.

As promised, this is part two of my last post (last real post), concerning the leadership aspect of The Most Powerful Man in the World.

The U.S. has no leader.

At least, that is the way the Republic was originally designed. Today, it seems to be a vastly different story, mostly because the U.S. population seems to believe the President is a position of leadership.

It is not.

It is a position of an executive, with specific duties, limitations, and guidance.

The duties are as follows: Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Navy, and Militia (there still is no authority for command over the Air Force or Coast Guard, unknown to most people); making treaties (with Senate consent); picking federal judges, military officers, public ministers (religious ministry? I don't know. I hope not), public consuls, and ambassadors; granting reprieves and pardons; filling up vacancies within the Senate (to expire at the following term); provide to Congress a state of the union as well as recommendations; receive ambassadors and consuls from other places; convene both Houses in case of disagreement or adjourn them; and give final approval to any piece of legislation that is generated in Congress.

The limitations: Nothing except the above can be done (Amendment X).

The Guidance: The Constitution.

Therefore, the President is not the leader of America. America is suppose to be secured by three branches of government composed of many, many people, of which The People themselves elect some of.

Of course, this leaves open the question as to whether or not the government could be considered a "ruler" or "leader" still, regardless of the fact that it is comprised of many people. But, that is another topic.

My point here is that one person - the President - is not the leader of the U.S.

We in the U.S. have seemed to forgotten this, usually by assuming he or she will right all of our wrongs and fix all of our problems, particularly during election years.

The President cannot fix all of our woes. Yet, The People so desperately want a savior, instead of saving themselves, that we have effectively allowed the President much more power than what is allowed, such as unconstitutional wiretapping capabilities, unconstiutional manipulation of wars without congressional approval, attempts to create unconstitutional amendments to the Constitution, and the list goes on, despite the fact that the President has never been able to fix all of our woes even with increased power that the President should not have in the first place.

Our two most popular Presidential candidates for 2008 think they can even manipulate our economy and we'll probably be stupid enough to allow them to do it.

Even our own Vice President and one of the VP candidates claims he has/she should have the power to do as he/she pleases, even though the VP is actually regulated to one job and one job only, to be a tie-breaker for Congress.

It's only a free country if We The People remain neither leaders nor followers and expect the same of our federal government, which should be used as nothing more than a means to help us help ourselves.

Happy Halloween

Better late than never...courtesy of my cuz Donee (or someone my cousin knows, not sure which):