I don’t like this guy much, but sometimes he is cool…
Why the audience laughs, is beyond me.
Obama memo justifies drone-war killing of Americans
If you are not outraged, then we are all doomed:
Something tells me if this were Bush’s doing, he would have been impeached yesterday:
“No Geographical Limit: NBC Leak - Memo
Obama's envoy for closing Gitmo prison reassigned
WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has reassigned its special envoy for closing the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in another step away from one of President Barack Obama’s first campaign promises.
LOL. It’s okay though, because Obama did it.
What I will not do is have that negotiation with a gun at the head of the American people.
My Voting Stub
- US Senator: Elizabeth Emken (R)
Elizabeth chances are slim, but not a toss away like voting for a Republican President in California. Feinstein needs to go. Her and Boxer have run their course. They no longer represent the people, but instead she has begun to serve herself. She is very liberal and simply been in office too long. She also doesn’t respect her own State’s voice. In ‘08 CA passes Prop. 8. Unconstitutional or not, it should have told her that we Californians respect the traditions (true) definition of marriage. Not for her, she went on in the Federal government to try and repeal DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). Yeah, screw what my constituents think. Just one of many reasons I pick Emken.
- US Representative: Bob Flores (D).
Not much of a choice here. Who is Bob? Not sure. But he isn’t Maxine Waters. Maxine who has a suspicious mark on her background and who simply serves the hard line Left’s purposes. Time for a change.
- State Senator: Charlotte A. Svolos (R)
Why does her opponent sound so familiar? I like to keep the parties fighting for OUR voice, not handing in all “D’s”- Sacremento needs some Republicans.
- State Assembly: Craig Huey (R)
Same thing as above, but better. I know this candidate. Not personally, but I have read about him plenty and receive his newsletters. Business man, and a strong Conservative & Christian. Need I say more?
- District Attorney: Alan Jackson
I do not know either candidate, but I do like that Alan prosecuted gang members. I also like that he is not attached to the old DA (like Jackie). Its good to have fresh faces.
- Prop. 30: Heck no.
Jerry Brown makes me sick. He goes to the Colleges begging for election from liberal students, then he abandons the colleges in favor of huge kickbacks to the Unions who got him elected (Prison police, etc.). Now he saying our only option to save schools is to raise taxes. Sounds like blackmail. Sounds like he planned to raise taxes anyway, but didn’t have the gaul to do it without our own permission.
- Prop. 31: No.
We have enough issues with 1 year budgets, 2 year budgets wont help.
- Prop. 32: Reluctant No.
I cannot stand Unions overpowering our voices as individuals, nor can I stand when Corporations/big business does it. Super PACs are doing this exact thing. I think something has to be done, but I cannot vote for this one for a number of reasons. 1. Too many holes. 2. Personal - my dad is a union member. While the defense against 32 is bologna in my opinion, I have been directly benefited by the great jobs, benefits, unions provide. I cannot abandon them completely, though I also cannot stand what MANY now stand for. I think they are running their course. They once stood for noble ideas like good wages and rights, now they are becoming political tool. For Example, Wisconsin’s recall of Gov. Walker was led by unions; really… why recall a governor who built a surplus, shrunk unemployment, and didn’t raise taxes? Really. If this passed, somehow, it wont silence unions. Unions most likely will sue as it is, But no, Super PACs are still available to unions if this passed. Unlike direct influence, Super PACs have to disclose more records.
- Prop. 33: Yeah, sure.
I think driver history should matter in insurance rates. Make sure you have insurance, and avoid higher rates.
- Prop. 34: No.
I believe repealing the death penalty doesn’t increase the value of life, it decreases it. Look at that killer in Norway - 21 years in prison for murdering 77 people. Really? Life in prison is also a drain on our economy. Prison should be punishment, not a time of leisure. Liberals are turning prison time into a new form of welfare.
- Prop. 35: Yes please.
Human sex trafficking is horrific and huge! We need to destroy it by all means. I like this expanded definition. Seems fair. We simply need to watch the grey areas (i.e. if someone finds child porn on their computer/work computer - they should be thoroughly investigated before being slapped with a “sex offender” label; it could be a mistake or not their fault). I have little tolerance for these people.
- Prop. 36: Yes.
The 3 Strikes law needs amendment. A non-serious/non-violent offender should not receive a life sentence for their 3 offense; they should receive help. This will help overcrowding too.
- Prop. 37: Yes.
I am voting for this. No, it is not the best, at all. But I would like to know what I put in my body. I believe our food is causing a lot of illness and allergies in our people today. This is a good start. Not the best, but good. I think the $$$ game is more of a scare than anything.
- Prop. 38: No.
Same deal with 30.
- Prop. 39: No.
California is seriously killing itself with Taxes. Taxing companies only drives them away. Get this… if we place taxes on cigarettes as incentives to quit voting, don’t taxes on jobs, income and business have the same effect?
- Prop. 40: No.
I honestly don’t care here.
- Measure A: Yes.
Most people don’t even know what LA County Assessor’s do. Let him be appointed rather than elected.
- Measure B: No.
Well this is awkward. Look I am against sexual immorality. Porn too. But, unfortunately, people watch it and it makes huge money/business in Los Angeles. More than 60% of people in San Fernando Valley work for the porn industry indirectly or directly (including mail, UPS, delivery, make-up, food etc.). If we lose these jobs, it will hurt a lot of hard working people off screen away from the… well… you know.
- Measure J: Yes.
Continue a 1/2 cent sales tax in order to continue funding the advancement of public services like trains, etc. Why not!? We won’t see an uptick as it will continue an old tax.
- President & Vice President of the United States: Mitt Romney & Paul Ryan (R)
No surprise here. Sadly, I live in a state where a Republican vote is spitting into the wind. If people actually cared to get things done, they’d make BOTH parties work for them instead of enslaving themselves to one. Here is hoping for the best! (Mitt will win California!) :P.
The reasons I am voting for Romney over Obama are more than plenty but here are some highlights: Fiscal conservatism (don’t spend what you do not have!), pro-life, pro-traditional values, pro-Israel, pro-American Exceptionalism, Pro-small government, pro-business, healthy de-regulation, a tougher stance on Islamic Radicalism (as opposed to Obama’s coddling), tougher stance on drugs and border security than Obama, pro-alterations to FEMA, pro-family, anti-Obamacare. I can keep going but I need sleep.
Vote tomorrow!
Obama's Foreign Policy...
Reason to celebrate or reason to shy away from? This was posted a week ago, but I waited until today’s debate to put it here on Tumblr.
Read my article on Foreign Policy in the Neon - Tommy; an online publication from USC’s Annenberg School of Communications:
Sic Vis Pacam Para Bellum: If you wish for Peace, Prepare for War.
The management of domestic politics is difficult in itself, but with two major ideologies leading the way, there is a simple priority to compromise and put the needs of a mutual constituency to the forefront.
One beautiful attribute of the relations between nations is the freedom each nation has to seek out its own will. As we know, these wills, when carried out externally, can lead to strife between international powers.
American foreign policy has been tested in a number of ways since our nation’s founding, from non-intervention (neutrality), to appeasement, to a defensive sphere of influence (the Monroe Doctrine) and deterrence (in fear of the Domino Theory).
Lately, the neo-Conservative ideals of foreign policy have taken the lead - whether it’s the Bush Doctrine’s pursuit of Democratic regime change, or Obama’s effective support of democratic revolutions in the Middle East and North African nations.
Like Bush, Obama is a believer in the Democratic Peace Theory in that he believes democracies are less prone to go to war, and do not war with each other. This is why the President supported the overthrow of Gadhafi and Mubarak, just as President Bush supplanted the Taliban and Saddam Hussein.
What makes President Obama different from President Bush concerning this application of foreign policy is President Bush’s willingness to lead from the front (sometimes too unilaterally) as opposed to Obama’s seeming willingness to “lead from behind,” as it has been labeled.
Let’s take a look a few key results of President’s Obamas leadership from behind by first looking at President Obama’s key successes overseas.
“Bin Laden is dead” is half of the bumper sticker Vice President Joe Biden has developed; but how did we go about getting to this point? What system did the President use in capturing the Most Wanted Terrorist in the World? As we came to found out in the aftermath of the death of bin Laden, the key intelligence that led to this success was from “enhanced interrogation techniques” by way of Guantanamo Bay; a policy President Obama had promised to stop and a prison he had promised to close upon election. Should Obama then claim success built on the back of his predecessor’s policies?
How about ending the Iraq war? The Iraq War, a fruitless effort engaged in by President Bush, was technically ended on the timetable as prescribed by President Bush’s Administration. This was even pointed out by John Stewart, the heavy handed liberal media comedic giant.
This leaves the President in an awkward position. Having his two greatest foreign policy victories based on the policies of his predecessor does not leave much room for other successes. As the war in Afghanistan rages on, the Obama Administration has promoted a timetable for withdrawal there as well. Unfortunately, that set schedule may be more to gain political votes than to gain advances in the war.
In Afghanistan, Obama has taken the lead in policy changes, changes that have left our troops spread thin and unable to keep up with the demands that are called for in this volatile region. Unfortunately, these policies have been a failure, adding to the almost 70 percent of the military deaths in Afghanistan that have come under the Obama Administration.
Like the supposed “Reset” of Relations with Russia, the Obama Administration has provided the rhetoric for change, as opposed to actually delivering on those promises. Russia and her ally China have been prominent and outspoken in opposing any strong sanctions on Iran, or any policy that allows the United States to take the lead in Iran.
Likewise, Russia and Iran have taken a heavy hand in “say-so” concerning the atrocities taking place in Syria, while the Obama Administration has satisfied itself with using the Central Intelligence Agency to fund Syrian Rebels - rebels who have torched Christian churches, suppressed their own people in ways similar to the Assad Regime and entered into cahoots with Al-Qaida.
While the President touts the Arab Spring as a success, our ally Israel has found herself surrounded by more radical neighbors in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Syria, Iran and Lebanon. Our ally Egypt has ignored our calls to tighten security on the canal and inspect Iranian ships (if not shut them out from transiting through), even electing a President who has called for a known and convicted terrorist to be released from an American prison.
More recently, the massive debacle in Benghazi, Libya has taken the spotlight. Whether you believe the administration knew of the terrorist nature of the event or not, there is no doubt that their willingness to throw American values aside in place of apologies and appeasement are extremely harmful to America’s stature abroad; and as the U.S. military faces sequestration, you can expect a continued decline in our respect militarily.
Seeking peace by preparing for war is not a pleasant ideal to swallow, but it is not a new ideal. Peace through strength is the only true rule of law in a lawless international world of nations. This does not make me a war hawk in anyway… as I see war as a last resort; but it is a useful tool of international relations. Because of that, I cannot agree with Obama’s approach to foreign policy, especially in an arena that is seemingly incompatible with a secular democracy. If we are to see true democracy spring forth from the Arab world, it must not be contrived from the outside, as it is being done today, but from within.
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