I know the 2008 Iowa Caucus is but a distant memory and New Hampshire begins tomorrow, but I still want to get to my analysis of Barack Obama's issues. If you're wondering why I don't do everybody, well, I only have so much time on my hands. I imagine others might win in New Hampshire and/or future states, so I'll give them the spotlight when the time comes.
How, for Obama. Please read his
issues page first before trying to make sense of my comments.
1. Civil Rights: Sounds good, I support Mr. Obama on this issue, though I would urge him to go one step further and try to reduce ridiculous sentencing we see for many non-violent drug offenders.
2. Economy: Wow, lots of words. If people are too ignorant to read their credit card rules and not get crappy mortgage, they're probably not going to read this (but who needs to read, right?). Most of this stuff sounds like more excuses for fiscally retarded Americans to remain that way. Rather than "Credit Card Bill of Rights" how "How to Use a Credit Card," it would be a lot easier to make. Foreclosure stuff, same as credit card. Minimum wage: don't like it. People should feel free to work for as little as they see fit. There is also a lot of fluff in Obama's economy ideas, pandering to the down-and-out. "Right to organize?" I'd love to work at GM, where the company has been basically forced to pay its employees $25/hour to push a button 5000 times a day. How about the "Right for companies to fire employees who don't come to work?" Oh wait, most companies CAN do that, as long as their employees non-union. Robots are the future, Obama, robots. Not much good here, though I do agree that we should have fair trade with other countries. Too bad it doesn't sound like Obama wants to drop any of OUR subsidies.
3. Education: Hmm, Obama is once again talking about the ineptitude of the American population, and once again I feel that he's trying to do for them what they should be doing for themselves. It doesn't matter how much money you throw at a school if the students don't value the education their being given (isn't mandatory education, right?). If the family/community an individual is raised in doesn't value education, it is highly probable that the individual will follow. We need to change attitudes, but how you do that is beyond me. "Make math and science a national priority:" I believe that as long as the president takes the attitude that math and science are important and supports research and higher education (non-mandatory), then that is enough. The climate in the country needs to change before people can educate themselves. Until then, I guess the Bible is the only textbook most people will want.
4. Energy & Environment: I don't think the government should subsidize alternative energies (like ethanol) any more than it should give benefits and support to oil/gas companies. But, setting strict emissions and environmental standards IS within the realm of government and I support this. Don't tell Detroit to retool their factors, just tell them that the laws will change and they will have to keep pace. Prices will go up, but that's the price we'll have to pay for a clean country.
5. Ethics: If I thought Obama could do all of these things, which I don't now (but my mind could be changed), then I'd vote for him, no matter what else he says. This issue is KEY to making any of the other changes Obama (or any other candidate, for that matter) is suggesting possible.
6. Faith: a very short section, they way it should be for someone running for President.
7. Family: another relatively short section. No preaching, but unfortunately some welfare type ideas are suggested. Giving people subsidized jobs might give them experience (doing work that no one saw fit to have done before it was subsidized), but will not change the attitudes that lay at the hearth of our poverty problems. When you have a culture, as we do in America, where people place more importance on the live to come than the one that is, is there really any question why people don't find education important. How to fix it? No idea.
8. Fiscal: "Steal from the rich and give to the poor" is what I see. How about cutting federal spending and just leaving everyone's taxes low? The rich of America make what everyone else is doing possible (unless they're just scraping by on sustenance farming or something), so giving them the burden of caring for the incompetent (populous and government) is not a good idea. On the other hand, taxes should be fair, and in a fair system there should be no need for loopholes for anyone.
9. Foreign Policy: Sounds good, Obama, but maybe we should leave troops in Iraq a little longer? This is tough call, but Obama's overall idea gets two thumbs up.
10. Health care: Lead and mercury pollution is something everyone agrees needs to be controlled, but Obama takes a much bolder approach with health care. And, despite my libertarian stance on many issues and future career in the field of health, I must say that I support Obama's health care plan. After living in Japan for 4 years, I've seen how such a plan would work, and it worked great! Again, if I thought something like this could get through (which I'm somewhat doubtful of), I would vote for Obama despite everything else. Until then, I guess my family will just keep getting its check-ups in Japan every time we go for a visit! My son is on Hoosier Healthwise, though, which is great.
11. Homeland Security: Nothing to crazy here, which is good. But, again, ditch the "Homeland" stuff if you get in, please. Reminds me too much of the "Fatherland" of Nazi Germany or the "Motherland" of the USSR.
12. Immigration: Improve our immigration system: YES! Bring people out of the shadows: YES! Work with Mexico: YES! Remove incentives to enter illegally: how do you remove the incentive to work for the American dream? Make America more like Iran or Sudan and I'm sure people will be less anxious to join us. On the contrary, Mr. Obama, make MORE incentives for people to enter illegally, but rather than making them enter illegally, do all the other things you talk about to allow them in legally.
13. Iraq: The surge seems to be working, but, as Obama points out, the Iraq government still isn't doing anything. Good point. This is a tough issue, but Obama seems to have as good a plan as anybody (as long as the troops don't come out too fast).
14. Poverty: like Obama's ideas for education and family, this section provides some pleasant ideas that do not address the root of the problem. I don't think these suggestions will bring about any true change. I don't know, though. Maybe I'm just too pessimistic. Did any of the past programs like this really work? Obama talks about implementing "proven methods" to help low-income Americans succeed int he workforce, but how have then been "proven?" As transportation, well, you'll have to completely restructure about every major American city to make that work. I do like the nurse-family partnership idea, though. And, now that I see it, 7 paid sick days is very reasonable. Hmm, maybe this isn't so bad. . .
15. Rural: Don't like farming subsidies despite liking the small farm thing. I like supporting small farmers by buying things that are more likely to or that I know come from a small farm. But, forcing everyone else to pay more for food seems to run against Obama's ideas of lifting people out of poverty. On the other hand, incentives to draw health professionals and teachers into rural areas would be good.
16. Service: Sounds great. Spend a little less money on war and a little more on being nice.
17. Seniors & Social Security: I agree that we cannot shortchange the promises that were made to our seniors. I also agree that it doesn't make sense that only the first $97,500 is used for social security payroll tax. I also think, though, that if people need their DISH TV more than they need to put money into a savings account, then so be it. But, other Americans should not be held accountable for the shortsightedness of their fellow citizens.
18. Technology: I agree with most everything Obama has to say in this category. I don't know about worry about the fact that "every 9 out of 10 DVDs sold in China were illegal copies." If they didn't have copies, they definitely wouldn't buy the movies, so despite the obvious fact that this is stealing, it's hardly worth investing much time, money, and effort in an illegal activity that is actually one of the few outlets America has for promoting a positive image abroad.
19. Veterans: Sound ideas, but all of the candidates have good ideas in this area. Nothing special.
We will have to wait until tomorrow night to see who will be next on my list. Should Obama or Huckabee again be blessed with the top spot, I will take a more scrutinizing look at some of their more controversial policies.
Sweet. Not only can I continue to eat cheap corn-on-the-cob, but I can also plant switchgrass in my yard and only mow it once a year because I can sell it for ethanol!
In our search for an affordable, comfortable, and safe community to live in for the next four years, Ritsuko and I stumbled across a little town called Beech Grove. Surrounded by the city of Indianapolis, we wander over to the Beech Grove area near the end of our day-long Indianapolis neighborhood inspection and immediately realized that this was the place for us! Originally attracted to it due to the high rating it's schools are given, we soon found ourselves comment on how nice everything looked (well-kept properties), how it had a pleasant small-town feel (much warmer than many of the suburban, more expensive neighborhoods we looked at), and also how convinient living there would be. Granted, I would have a 15-20 min commute in to school each day, but it seems that the many pluses would outweight this. I can't really think of any other negatives, either. I guess the town is not very diverse (racially), but we can live with that. Oh, there's even an "Irish Pub" on one of the little main streets! Perfect.
I'm very jealous of my wife and son, who are both now in Asahikawa, Japan enjoying the winter scene (I think). Just thinking of them got me reminiscing about my days in Sapporo and Asahikawa and all of the great snowboarding I'm now missing here in Indiana. I just want to say that Kamui Ski Links is GREAT. With some of he best powder in the world, this moderately sized ski "jo" (place, area) is a steal at about $25/day for anyone living in Hokkaido. No lift lines, but plenty of fresh, virgin powder to be had. The runs are usually in good shape, and there should be enough off-course action if that's your kind of thing (not many Japanese seem to wander off the piste). Check out their homepage for some more info. By the way, that's a picture of me at Kamui back in early 2006.
