Getting Political for a Minute

I read an interesting article today about a proposed tax hike of 10% on businesses in the indoor tanning service industry and it really dumbfounded me.  I'm no expert when it comes to politics and policies, but wasn't the goal of the Obama administration to support small businesses?  The indoor tanning service industry is about 99% comprised of small businesses!  A tax of 10% is ridiculous. 

They say that the idea is for the tax to support healthcare reform, you know, since indoor and outdoor tanning has been known to cause skin cancer.  Ok, I can kinda see the point there but aren't there industries that contribute more dead weight to healthcare than a tanning bed?  Look at the obesity rate in this country!  Large corporations operating fast food chains are who I would point the tax finger at.  Something tells me obesity and the many, many health issues that occur as a result of a person being obese probably end up controling more healthcare dollars than skin cancer.  But I don't have the facts, its just a hunch.

I just thought the Obama administration was all about promoting American small businesses.  If that is the case, as I'm positive it was during the election race, taxing an industry that is solely made up of small businesses doesn't make sense.  A tax of 10% on this industry is a heavy one and could mean the closure of many of the small businesses that make up the industry.  It's pretty hard to profit off of a tax when businesses fail as a result, isn't it?  And when these businesses fail, what's next?  Unemployment, that's what.

If someone can explain to me how this makes sense, please do.  I'd love to hear it.  Here is the link to the article.  I will admit that I did get a little chuckle out of the right-wingers in the comment section that immediately claimed that this is a tax on white people.

Media Mind Control

Ive been seeing a lot of commercials and videos for the Presidential race lately and, while most are pretty funny and entertaining, its getting to be too much. In fact, there is a Obama commercial on right now - the one where they talk about McCain the whole time and how he voted w/ Bush 90% of the time.

I just hope people dont rely on videos, late night humorous talk shows, and commercials like this to help them make their decision before they hit the polls. The media is the worse part of this election. All the sound clips are edited together to provide a one-sided view of a candidate's faults and this can be done by both sides. All it does is tap into emotions and emotions lead to uneducated and miscalculated decisions. In the case of the commercial that was just on, its the "I HATE BUSH and McCain is just like him!" emotion.

Instead of spewing this crap day in and day out, Id rather hear about a candidate's position on the issues over and over and over again. This is campaigning positively. This is empowering people. These are the things that should be engraved into people's minds, not who a candidate associates or associated with, what church they go to, what allowance they have for clothing, or how many houses they have. The media is the most powerful distributor of information in this country, yet it is more likely for the average person to hear what color suit Obama wore to a rally than what his position on immigration is.

Dont fall for it. Go out and do your own research on the issues that matter to you. Confucius said, "Tell me and I will forget, show me and I may not remember, involve me and I will understand." Get an understanding of what position each candidate takes. Realize you are not going to like either candidate 100% and use all of this information to help you make an educated and informed decision. You only get one vote every 4 years and its your responsibility to make sure it counts.

In related news, I tried to get my vote on today in Coconut Grove but I got there around 330p and they closed at 3p. D'oh...

Decision '08 is over for me

Right now, I feel as if our country and its citizens have been sucked into a modern day Civil War. Instead of a difference of opinion on slavery, we're battling each other about who is best qualified to run (and hopefully save) our country. Its really sad when you think about it. This is why I hate American politics. While it is the greatest freedom that a US citizen could ever have, at the same time, it pits neighbor versus neighbor, boss versus employee, man versus woman, adult versus child, and the list goes on.

Well, Ive been trying to be as open-minded as possible while searching for a reason to vote for either McCain or Obama for a few months now. Ive traveled all over the country and listened to opinions from people in states that largely support each candidate. Ive listened to the opinions of the rich, the poor, business owners, and average joes. Ive watched the RNC and DNC pep rallys, Ive read news reports, and Ive tried to buy into each party's plan.

The simple fact of the matter is that as much as Ive tried to buy into the Republican plan and John McCain, I simply cant. My decision has been made and Im voting for Obama.

I just dont like hardly anything McCain or his party stands for after the past 8 years of driving this country straight into the ground. The scare tactics have gotten quite old too. Im not afraid of what might happen to the economy if Obama gets elected because, quite frankly, it really doesnt get much worse than it is right now. I dont like the parading of Sarah Palin as some sort of great candidate for VP, period. She lacks experience, has admitted she doesnt know what a VP does, and uses the same speech over and over again. She's a robot, a pawn, and an attempt at wooing the votes of certain segments of the population. The sad part is that there are plenty of people in this country who are feeble-minded enough to fall for this crap. Same thing with Johnny Mac. While I commend him for fighting for my freedom and thank him for enduring what he went through, I really dont see that as a reason to vote him into office. I admired that he shied away from the typical Republican bashing of an opponents non-political-related shortcomings during his RNC speech. But again, that is no reason to vote him into office. Im not afraid that Obama "lacks experience" because so does McCain. He's never been President either. I feel like the Republicans have finally showed their true colors and are trying to find ways to influence voters that have absolutely no relevance to the task at hand which is restoring this country to its former glory.

The man for the job is Obama. The guy cares about people and the overall state of this country on multiple levels. He has ran the gauntlet of the political process like a running back determined to reach the endzone, stiff-arming would-be tacklers who hurl themselves at his legs trying to cut him down with personal attacks. With each hit he presses on, determined to reach the endzone and understanding that without the help of everyone else on his team that he will end up a yard short of the goal line or possibly more. We as a country need a guy like this and Im saying this as someone who at first didnt find him appealing at all as a candidate. After doing more research, I can say that Im on board with Team Obama and I look forward to him ending this Civil War.

Im going to end this again with a quote I used previously from the late Shannon Hoon:

"AS THE FUTURE BEHOLDS, OUR LIVES WILL UNFOLD. WE WILL ALL GROW TOGETHER AS ONE UNIT... A TEAM. AS TIME PASSES I WILL FEEL I HAVE BROTHERS TO LOOK OVER ME. AS I WILL WATCH OVER THEM. FOR WITHOUT EACH OTHER THE FUTURE WILL HOLD NOTHING. BUT WITH A TEAM LIKE US THE FUTURE IS OURS."