I’ve not update in quite awhile. I’ve been really busy at work and playing shows with a rock/progressive/metal band lately. I’ve also been writing a few other posts on more tech related topics lately; however, I haven’t been able to finish them yet. I am finding that the best way to force yourself to learn about something is to write about it and as I have been writing about things I am realizing how little I actually know about how they work. In particular I am working on technology articles about PyQt vs. other python GUI design tools, and SSH connectivity through Python and the various technologies available to do it. In order to write them though I need to have robust code written and so far my software is too buggy to show to the masses. Once I get it working though I’ll write articles on how I did it and why I chose the technologies I did (PyQt and Paramiko kick ass if you’re building windows compatible python apps). I’m also planning on writing an article on “bully” breed dog rescue programs because my wife and I recently had to deal with a stray 90lb pitbull that introduced me to the problems associated with those dogs and the shelters that will deal with them. I might write one about the spam that this blog generates as well seing how I had to clear out literally hundreds of spam messages before I could write this up. Then there is the review of Vista I could write because guess what, it is actually a good Operating System despite what everyone that isn’t using it says. All of that being said though, this post was actually prompted by a video and a blog post by Dr. Larry Hunter and thus will be a bit political in nature and will likely ramble and be incohesive because the topic at hand is too complicated for my scattered mind to write about effectively. If you don’t have a stomach for that kind of crap then stop reading now.
I read a post from Dr. Hunter and it is so rare that I read or hear a piece that is concise and rational that I thought it was worth reposting. It’s hard to write a political piece that doesn’t oversimplify something and piss someone off because of it. Truthfully though, to keep up on politics requires a lot of effort on the part of the reader and to write it is even more difficult. The world is complicated and there is nothing that is black and white. That is what makes the piece so interesting. If you want to read the piece, check it out here.
I am friends with quite a few die hard Republicans. My Dad is Republican. Being that I am a Democrat that isn’t down with big government, dislikes unchecked spending, and hates gun-control laws, I tend to agree with handful of traditionally Republican talking points and consequently get roped into conversations about them. There is something that get me riled up though and that is Republicans who make any kind of arguments using “Big Government”, “Tax and Spend”, or “Welfare” when describing Democrats and then use those retarded arguments to justify talking shit on Obama.
If you’re a Republican who believes that over reaching government, welfare, and/or unchecked spending is bad then you need to seriously consider your party affiliation on this election and what you’re going to do with your vote. The current Republican administration has been tromping on individual rights, providing corporate welfare to oil companies, and irresponsibly spending more money than any administration (Dem or Rep) in history and that is just the big ticket headline stuff. There is a laundry list of bullcrap that has been done by the current administration that at best lacks integrity and at worst is actually evil. Not holding them accountable for hijacking the party, its ideals, and the Constitution for the last 8 years is irresponsible. You don’t have to vote Dem. You can write someone in or not vote to protest; however, voting for the McCain administration is a bad move because it really is more of the same. He might get rid of a little of the cronyism, but we really need something different right now. Back to Dr. Hunter.
Dr. Hunter was the chief economist for Reagan. He helped pen the “Contract with America.” He is the definition of a traditional Republican. He’s voting for Obama. I suggest that people read his article or watch the video with an open mind and consider what he says. There are more important things than intelligent design in schools, abortion rights, and gay marriage right now; however, no one votes on those issues. All anyone seems to care about is that kind of rinky dink bullshit; however, if efforts aren’t made to get our economy and status square with the world, we’re not going to have time to care about that kind of stuff. I am not trying to trivialize the things that everyone focuses on; however, people need to realize that there is more to the world than that small subset of issues and the issues that are the big hot-button issues have almost nothing to do with the President.
Think about the world at large. Why do other nations want to destroy us? Why is the economy stumbling? When you stop trying to short term fix things and start thinking about the actual causes you’ll start to see that greed and an administration that empowers greed by overstepping the very things that used to define what it was to be American you’ll find your answers. I don’t believe a word that comes out of politicians mouths, but I think something needs to change. More of the same isn’t going to make things better and a Republican administration is more of the same. Something different might not be the solution either, but at least it is a try. At this point trying to do something different and hoping that it will be as ethical as they say it will be is a risk worth taking.
Anyway, check out the article mentioned above. His reasons are better explained.
