Ranting and Raving

I was forwarded this email. It is apparently from an Obama's supporter, and shows us what they think on this year's issues. Have a go at it.

1. I Agree with Obama on NOT drilling off shore. Americans need to be weaned from addiction to oil, and the materialistic life style manipulated by companies peddling their non essential wares, in 'consumer economy'.

America has 3% of the world oil reserve. Drilling off shore is a short term, short sighted measure, and catering to interest of oil companies to make profit. This is capitalism running amok. It is the most sensible thing to invest heavily in renewable energy sources. Look at how Denmark became independent of oil after experiencing the oil shock of the 1970s. Newt Gingrich had a book just out 'Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less'. Oh my God!!! Talking about feeding a bad habit, short term pandering!!!

2. Many things in the Constitution are not clear, and need interpretation. Also they were written at a much simpler time, and if they are no longer good for the country in light of the new environment, then they need to be revisited. Nothing wrong with the Supreme Court Judges making interpretation based on their assessment.

Also there are laws that are obsolete, and clearly wrong, written at a particular time. Are the laws in the South that deny education to blacks just and should be enforced? Should the laws that deny blacks access to public facilities be enforced because they are 'Laws' passed at one time by bigots?

3. Service in the Military: Remember that after Vietnam, the military is all volunteer, and no more draft. The vast majority of young people below the draft age when the draft was abolished do not serve in the military. There are many ways to serve one's country, and joining the military is not the only way. Fighting to defend your country is admirable, and the people in the military deserve the thanks from the people. However, shutting down your thinking mind, taking orders even though they are clearly bad and wrong is not a desirable thing.

4. The US SHOULD introduce a health care system where EVERYBODY is covered. It is a matter of running it efficiently. It will cost a lot less than having 45 millions people without health insurance, do not have the knowledge or means to maintain good health, and go to the emergency room and burden hospitals, and in the end society, when they are gravely sick. I do not want to be tied in to a job because of the need to get health insurance. With my recent experience with the health care I need (I have 2 health care insurance policies), and the sheenanigan that both service providers and insurance companies are playing, I am leery of the slogans 'you are in charge of your own health care, you have choices'. Watch the programs on public TV on the health care systems in other countries such as Canada, England, Germany, Sweden, Taiwan, and yes even Cuba. America, one of the richest country in the world, is ranked in the 30s in healthcare.

5. Obama did NOT say 'pull troops out of Iraq immediately'. He favors a clear time frame for disengagement, getting the Iraquis to take primary care of their nation, and consistent with a safe withdrawal for US troops. This is what the Iraquis now are saying, and now Bush and McCain also adopt.

6. I don't have any problem with not having guns in my house, if I can rely on the police and government to protect me and my family. I don't have problems with people keeping guns in their houses to protect themselves, as the government and the police have not been able to provide adequate security, especially in many poor areas. I have problems with people owning guns to show off the gung ho, 'manly' behavior, to go hunting deers when they do not need the meat (I don't have problems with deer population control), and yeah, hunting quails too for fun. I wonder whether Dick Cheney needs the quail meat.

7. What's people do in their bedroom is their business. I thought that Republicans are for getting the government out of regulating people's life. Sex is only one aspect of life, at a certain stage where hormones are raging, and it is also as a natural built-in instinct. There are other aspects of human relantionship such as companionship, caring for each others. With the number of people in the world now, with wars all over the place, and human's means for mass destruction, and behavior not conducive to a sustainable world, I can see the time when homosexual people, not only being allowed to get married, but might be even rewarded for not bringing kids into this world. And by the way, if they adopt children and really take good care of them, they should be lauded. How about looking at homosexuality as nature's, or creation's mistake?

8. Money is not everything. Nobody likes taxes, but if they provide the means for programs to benefit society at large, they are justified.

9. English has become the defacto language of the world, because of the advances in technologies, and the freedom of speech and democracy in England, Canada, Australia and the US. People who do not know, or learn it is short changing themselves. There is no need to make it a law. Talking about less government and regulations!!! The children of immigrants here all learn and speak English. Why the need to make life miserable for older people who do not have the time, the means, or ability to learn a not so easy language?

10. What does it mean by give 'Social Security benefits to illegals?' Social Security is given to people who pay taxes, and contribute to Social Security. What's wrong with returning benefits to people to contribute into the fund?

11. Now on the issue of taxes. I do not know where the details come from. I saw on TV Obama stating that he will cut taxes for people making less than $250K a year, but will abolish the tax breaks that Bush and the Republicans introduced that help make the rich much richer, and the middle class and the poor having much harder time. In America, if you take advantage of the opportunities, work hard, stay healthy (not ingesting all those food, drugs and chemicals that companies are peddling), you should be able to have a decent life, with all basic needs taken care of. Beyond the basic essential needs for yourself and your family, what's having hundreds of millions, and billions for? especially if you have to work your ass off, and fight and squeeze everybody else? If the rich have the ability, and the drive to make and accumulate tons of money, let them do it. If they have to work 12 hours a day, screw others and take advantage of other people's labor and fear, and are unhappy, I think they are out of their minds, and need to be checked for the good of society. Is it right for managers of Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac to get millions of dollars in compensation in the 'good' time, and millions in severance pay, then when the financial sheenaneegan finally cause the housing bust (and yeah, due to less regulations, and letting the 'free market' govern), the tax payers are left with ante up the money to bail out (perhaps just a bigger deficits, and pushing the problems to your children's generations). Talk about family values!!!.

12. On inheritance taxes: I think the right, and best way is to bring your children up right, provide them with opportunities, and teach them to take care of themselves properly. Squeezing other people, make millions, try to hang on to the money and give them to your children is a good way to spoil them. There are plenty of tax break to give adequate help to your children ($12K/year from each parent), and tax loophole for the rich to give to their children (setting up a non profit charity, put their children in charge, and pay them tons of money as salary is one way). I have seen plenty of rich kids who become good for nothing, and sometimes even unhappy. When at Cornell, my room mate taught at a special school for children who are sent there by the court for committing some crimes, and plenty of them come from very rich families. They are smart, mischievous, unhappy, and have plenty of axes to grind against their parents.

13. On new taxes proposed by Obama: I want to see the real sources before making too many comments. No problem with me on more taxes on gasoline, if this is needed to wean Americans against oil addiction, and love for the automobiles (perhaps a necessity because of the way America was developed, with plenty of lands and resources at one time, and the frontier spirit and 'individualism', so no good public transportation facilities were built). If this helps cut down on the consumption, it is a good thing, for America's independence from foreign oil, and the environment.

I don't have anything against McCain per se, but funny that he is taking the theme of 'change' from Obama, knowing that the vast majority of Americans are sick of the Bush Administration and the Republicans for the last 8 years, and think that America is on the wrong track. Note that now he is touting the 'maverick' image, while voting for Bush policies more than 90% of the time, even reversing his original strong position against torture.

What alarms me most was his catering to the religious rights by selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate. She is clearly a strongly 'religious' person. From Yahoo's news 'Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told ministry students at her former church that the United States sent troops to fight in the Iraq war on a 'task that is from God.' and will try to advance the religious agenda. And look at her family. I remember watching Jimmy Swaggart on TV crying 'I have sinned', and then 'God forgives him'. The same kind of theme over and over. What kind of God would forgive these transgressions, just because people say they have repented, and now believe in Him, while bringing his wrath and Armageddon on people who use their minds that God give them, and question the words of people who claim to be speaking for him. The world would be a much better place if there are less of those 'religious' people who profess to serve their God, follow the teaching of their faith, and killing each others, and by-standers.

Funny thing is they believe in the same God, except different prophets (perhaps God made plenty of mistakes, and needed to send different people at different time to correct?). Even just different people who fought to take over the whelm when their prophet died would kill each others (the Sunnies and the Shiites).

And some of them even actively try to help God bring about his 'Armageddon' so they can go to Heaven. See the attached article I received from a friend Nov 5, 2004. I would not want to go to Heaven to see again these people who believe they act to bring about God's will. I wonder how God is going to deal with all these people when they go the Heaven to bask in his presence.

Dont'get me wrong on religions. There are plenty of good things that religions bring, and plenty of good religious people. They might bring courage, and solace at difficult time. There are Mother Theresa and Desmond Tutu, then also there are Jim Jones, Jimmy Baker, Jimmy Swaggart etc. But I believe religion and faith is a personal thing, and should be kept that way. Nothing wrong with trying to convert others to their faith. It might even help some people to have simple faith. Only when religions get institutionalized, when religious people get power, and try to impose their faith, thinking and way of life on others that I have problems with.

There are plenty of religious people who do good deeds, and also plenty of agnostics and atheists who do good deeds. And what deeds are good depends on how you assess them, from what viewpoint.

God give me a mind to think, and question. If not God himself, at least those who profess to speak for him, want me to shut down my mind, to have blind faith in the sheenaneegan they preach.

A McCain ad earlier this week twisted newpaper quotes to ridicule Barack Obama's record on education reform. The McCainites are using a similar technique to claim that Obama has 'air-dropped a mini-army' of lawyers and opposition researchers into Alaska in an attempt to 'destroy' the reputation of Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin.'

A new McCain ad caricatures Barack Obama's education record by claiming that his only achievement is to pass legislation ensuring 'comprehensive sex education' for kindergartners. The Facts: 'the principal purpose of the bill was to make them aware of the risk of inappropriate touching and sexual predators. Other states, including California and Massachusetts, have passed similar legislation.' CA and MA are bllue states, of course.

There are still small towns in the US that ban dancing. I still remember vividly the reaction some people had watching Elvis Presley Rock-n-Roll dancing (Exercising Citizen arrest laws). Now Rock-n-Roll is played in Churches, with religious themes to attract the 'young generations'. How time has changed.

There are plenty of spins, twisting of the facts in their favors by all politicians. I look at these as part of human nature (a God's creation?). Politicians change their tunes depending who they are trying to get the votes from (cynically), or looking at it from different viewpoint, they need to respond to/take in the views of all constituencies (kindly). This is particularly amplified in the US.

When you are attacked viciously by the other sides by false rumor spread, you need to fight back/correct. Playing nice (or looking at it from another viewpoint, stupid) like John Kerry against the Swift Boat Attack puts you at a disadvantage. Look for more vicious attacks, twists and lies from both sides from now to November, and use your head to make decision, with view toward the welfare of all, Americans and Human Kind at large, as guiding principle, or cynically, choose the lesser of the 2 evils. Anyway, go and vote what you believe is good for America. I hope that there are enough good Americans who use their logical mind to make the right choice, not only for America but for the world, so America can prosper, and become a real beacon for the world.

I say that we just start putting these commies in internment camps and then start “processing” them. They are far more dangerous than an invading army.

LLS

America has 3% of the world oil reserve

Since when??????

I call complete and utter BS, and have to read no further. What an idiot.

http://ostseis.anl.gov/guide/oilshale/index.cfm

"While oil shale is found in many places worldwide, by far the largest deposits in the world are found in the United States in the Green River Formation, which covers portions of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Estimates of the oil resource in place within the Green River Formation range from 1.2 to 1.8 trillion barrels. Not all resources in place are recoverable; however, even a moderate estimate of 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil from oil shale in the Green River Formation is three times greater than the proven oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. Present U.S. demand for petroleum products is about 20 million barrels per day. If oil shale could be used to meet a quarter of that demand, the estimated 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil from the Green River Formation would last for more than 400 years."

Communism is becoming a preferred form of government to way too many Americans. These Americans who prefer this will at some point be willing to take by force if necessary, other Americans hard earned things in order to redistribute them.

Read of what Obama supporters think of private property rights and the right to defend yourself and you will see this goes way beyond simple disagreements.

Josef Goebbels would be proud.

Notorious propagandist for Hitler’s regime, for benefit of the historicaly challenged...

My only other reaction is this is such idiocy there’s no point in trying to refute it.

...Also there are laws that are obsolete, and clearly wrong, written at a particular time. Are the laws in the South that deny education to blacks just and should be enforced? Should the laws that deny blacks access to public facilities be enforced because they are 'Laws' passed at one time by bigots?....

The writer(s) of this email use this as an argument for 'interpretation' of the Constitution. In reality, the Constitution didn't need interpreting. It only needed enforcement. Curiously, the writer(s) also never mention that those laws so abhorrent to them were written by Democrats.

November, and use your head to make decision, with view toward the welfare of all, Americans and Human Kind at large

WOWZERS. welfare of all & Human kind at large? WTF.

That is straight Marxist doctrine:

a belief that this dialectical historical process will ultimately result in a replacement of the current class structure of society with a system that manages society for the good of all

Obama and his following can head back to their damned Marxist collective and keep their mental midgetry to themselves.

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