Little bit of Espen, whole lot of politics

Espen is getting *so* close to crawling, it's fun to watch him! He's also slobbering like the dog on The Sandlot, so I figure he's working on tooth 3 and maybe 4. He's 8 months old (well, he will be in 4 days) and I still can't get over how amazing and incredible fatherhood is! WOW!

A rant today on the subject of politics.
Everyone knows how politically conservative I am, and I have to say that this election is just killing me. On one hand is the Republican candidate, John McCain. Yes, the Grand Old Party has gone away from most of its fundamental tenets and selected for its Presidential candidate a man who is as liberal a Republican as there is. On the other hand is Democrat Barack Obama, who has all but stated he's a socialist: "I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.” Let's be frank here, he's not talking about giving money from the lower class and giving it to the middle or upper class. Taking money from wealthy and giving it to someone else less well off is 1 of 4 things: 1) Charity 2) Communism 3) Socialism 4) Marxism. Three of those ideals would take the country down a dark and dangerous road. The United States is a fantastic place and I absolutely love living in this incredible country. It's a place of opportunity and freedom. We benefit from those opportunities financially, socially, and spiritually. Companies, groups, and individuals are often very giving of time, money, and materials. This is large- and small-scale. I've never come across an Eagle Scout project that cost the scout more than a few dollars, because companies donate everything from sandpaper and concrete to tractor rentals. For the September 11th fund, Americans donated close to A BILLION DOLLARS. People realize how lucky we are to live in this country and don't simply take it for granted (obviously a generalization) that we have food, water, electricity, and money. People donate for disasters, sure, but people give every year for canned food drives, March of Dimes, cancer walks, and Habitat For Humanity, to name but a few of the thousands of good samaritan causes. We do not need the government to reach into our pockets and take money from us to "spread around" to other people. If someone is suffering from a natural disaster, a medical condition, a death in the family, or lots of other things, people often come to their aid. Heck, we don't make lots of money, but we donate a little to the police department, to educational programs, and to various charitable fundraisers throughout the year. HOWEVER -- If you're a lazy jerk who refuses to get a job or an uneducated woman who pops out child after child, each with a different father... THERE IS NO ROOM IN MY BUDGET FOR YOU. Obama's plan to redistribute wealth is nonsensical rhetoric at best, and full-fledged communism at worst. America was built on the ideals of self-reliance, individual effort, and autonomy. We were not created as a society for some to work in order to pay for those who, through choice, do not. If people have fallen on hard times through no fault of their own, there are programs and services available, and there is potential for future success. That is one thing that makes American great.

Continuing in the Obama vein: it makes me sick to hear people describe anti-Obama voters as racist (and worse). I read an article in Newsweek, several interviews in which prominant African-Americans described their support for Obama, while stating people who voted against him were probably doing so to "keep the black man down" and that if McCain wins it will mean that whites are still afraid of powerful blacks. They don't see any hypocracy in voting FOR someone on the basis of skin color? If people vote STRICTLY on skin color, that means everyone who voted FOR him is racist, too! Caucasian isn't the only color capable of racism. Voting for an African-American so that we can have our first black President isn't less racist that voting a white guy in office just so we can have another white man leading. It should be insulting to people that voting has been changed from "liberal" versus "conservative" to "black sympathizer" versus "racist". Voting on the issues alone is what everyone should do, and is indeed the entire basis for the way our country was set up politically. I understand that some will vote for Obama and some will vote against Obama based on skin color. This is both saddening and maddening, but to throw everyone into those two camps is a flat out affront.

I don't know that it needs to be said, but heck, I'll say it anyway -- anyone is welcome to respond in whatever way they see fit in the comments section, or I'm happy to have a political discussion via email. I don't get angry about politics, despite my strong feelings. I don't really get people that get up in arms about policital topics. Getting mad doesn't get anywhere and it sure doesn't help your cause. Getting really ticked off just makes you look mentally unsound, which is actually probably a detriment to the point you're trying to make. Stay calm, you make more sense!

Anyway, useless fact for today: camels can run up to 40 mph in short bursts.