Oct. 13, 2008
I realize that "the unknown" often refers to metaphysical unknowns, such as, ESP, psychic phenomena, UFO's, etc. I do, in fact, have an interest in these things, but I am also interested in our physical world and the people in it. This blog is my take on the world around us, and that includes just about everything, known and unknown. My purpose is not only to express my thoughts and feelings, but to elicit responses from whomever wishes to respond.
Thank you.
LE
Oct. 21, 2008
Woah!!! What an exciting week this has been! The stock market has gone down and up and down and up. We're getting bombarded with ads from the presidential candidates. Wait! Are there only 2? Why aren't we hearing from the other 14? Florida has a record number of 16 candidates on the ballot this year. SNL has gotten new life with Tina Fey's portrayal of Sarah Palin. Oh yes...now economists have finally admitted that we are in a recession, now that we are closer to being in a depression. So what do we do with our investments, 401K's, IRA's, and anything else affected by the stock market drop? Financial experts last week: "Sell, sell, sell!"; this week: "Buy, buy, buy!" If the "experts" don't know what to do, how are we supposed to know what to do?
Most people I know are just staying put, or moving some of their investments into money markets or interest-bearing accounts. I put about one third of my 401K into such an account, but the rest is still in stocks because I am still contributing to it, and while my current investments have lost money, my new purchases will hopefully make money whenever the stock market decides to go up significantly. The market may not have hit bottom yet, but even the "experts" don't know when that will happen. So each person has to look at their own situation and see what is best for them. The only good advice I've heard is: don't sell in a panic, because you will definitely lose money. So, that's my 2-cents worth on the stock market, of which I don't even pretend to be an expert.
The presidential election has brought out some really bizarre statements from commentators. Things like, Obama is a terrorist, liberals are anti-American, rural America is the "real" America (per Sarah Palin). A McCain spokesperson, Nancy Pfotenhauer, said on a TV interview that northern Virginia has become more Democratic, but the rest of Virginia is the REAL Virginia which is more responsive to Sen. McCain. You have to wonder where these people come from, and what is wrong with them, anyway? They seem convinced that if you're a Democrat or a liberal you are therefore anti-American, or working with the "terrorists", or trying to make America a socialist country. None of these things are true, at least not for liberals, can't really say whether any of these descriptions apply to conservatives...
Oh well, that's all I have time for tonight.
We Must Battle On,
LE
Oct.26, 2008
The TV commentators, & various news outlets have been talking as if it's a foregone conclusion that Barack Obama will win the presidential election. Some pundits hae pointed out that this could be a problem because people who are for Obama may think that they don't need to vote because he is going to win anyway. No! No! No! Don't think that way! If too many people think they don't need to vote, then he could lose. Republicans are better than Democrats about making sure they get out and vote. Also, there have already been instances of election fraud in several swing states. Florida has been pulling tricks again to try to disenfranchise Democratic voters by having one or two machines in heavily Democratic areas, so people already have had to wait up to 5 hrs. in line to vote. This is the Republican way of discouraging people from waiting if they have to get back to work. There are other tricks being tried in many states, such as, removing registered voters from the lists if their voting registration doesn't EXACTLY match car registrations or Social Security records. Many voters won't know that they have been removed before election day. That will be too late, because there won't be time to correct the records. They may be allowed to vote with a provisional ballot. If this happens to you, fight it! Insist on voting on a valid ballot, because provisional ballots are almost never counted. This is why 32 states have started early voting.
The web site earlyvoting.net/states/abslaws.php lists all the states allowing early voting. This way people can tell ahead of time if they are going to have a problem voting.
Another issue that is being talked about is how race is affecting a person's vote. I thought that most people in America were beyond letting one's race influence their choice. But as the election gets nearer, I'm hearing more stories of people talking about Obama's race, at least his African American half. A TV commentator said the other day that white people of European descent are the only group who doesn't vote with their own race, all other racial groups do. What an absolutely stupid, idiotic...oh, sorry! I mean...history shows that white people have consistently voted for other white people. Although, judging by the number of black mayors, senators, etc. now in public office, my gut tells me that recently, many white people have been voting for blacks. Also, I think it is fair to say that throughout the years, many blacks, latinos, and other people of color have voted for white candidates.
The point is that race shouldn't have anything to do with who you vote for. Sure, many African Americans are planning to vote for Obama, but there are some who are not for Obama, and some who, during the primaries, were for Hillary Clinton. On the other hand, there are those white people who want to vote for the first African American to be President of the United States because it is an historical event. This is, in a sense, reverse race discrimination, though under the circumstances, I would say this is a good thing, as long as one agrees with the candidate on the issues.
But then there is the fear factor. There are white people who are convinced that either Barack Obama is Muslim and therefore against America, or that he is part of an agenda to bring blacks to power and enslave whites. There are people who are actually frightened that black people are still very, very angry over having been enslaved for so long. Yes, there may be an occasional person who just doesn't want to forget what was done to their ancestors, but my observation of modern black people is that they are more interested in getting on with life and just want to be treated the same as anybody else.
This brings up another point: what is to happen after the election. If John McCain wins, I have heard already that there will be demonstrations in the streets by both blacks and whites crying "Another stolen election by the Republicans!" After the elections of 2000 and 2004, people who feel that those elections were stolen will not be sitting around accepting it a 3rd time. What if Barack Obama wins? Will white suppremacists or perhaps Neo Cons plan an assassination? Whoever wins, I believe there will be a period of upheaval in America. This period of upheaval is necessary in order to weed out old ideas, prejudices, traditions, etc, so that new ideas can emerge. I believe this is a good thing.
There are so many changes happening all over now, not the least of which involves the economy. People are itching for conditions to improve, on many fronts. We now have access to so much information, thanks to the media and the internet. What will we do with all this information? First we have to sort out what is true and what isn't. That is extremely difficult, when there is so much disinformation going around. One thing I would hope would happen is that people will broaden their views of the world, learn not to be afraid of differences, but have an intellectual curiosity to learn more about those who seem different to themselves, and perhaps learn to accept and even respect those differences. We may be surprised to find that the people of the world who, at first, seem so different from us, really aren't all that different. Then we can begin to work together to save our planet from destruction, to rid the world of poverty and starvation, and to learn to live together in peace. This is my hope for the future.
We Must Battle On,
LE
Oct.30, 2008
OK,OK...I know...I got kinda serious in that last post. BUT...what is all this stuff about real Americans vs. fake(?) Americans? I'm not sure what Sarah Palin is calling those of us who aren't "real Americans". Does that mean we're not real people? Oh...I've got it! We're robots, or maybe androids who are pretending to be citizens of the U.S. Sarah Palin loves to talk to people from middle America, whom she calls "real Americans". People who are hard-working, own small businesses, active in their communities and churches. People like "Joe the Plumber" from near Toledo, Ohio, who asked Obama a question at a rally recently. He said he had been working as a plumber and was saving to buy his boss's business. He was concerned that if he made over $250,000/yr. he would have to pay higher taxes under Obama's plan. Obama tried to tell him that the increase in taxes would only be 3% of the profit. But Joe the Plumber was not impressed and expressed that with Obama as President, he couldn't afford to buy the business.
So this is the guy that McCain and Palin keep talking about at their rallies, as if he is representative of middle America. First of all, his first name isn't Joe, it's Sam, (although he says his middle name is Joseph), and he's not a real plumber! Well, he might plumb sometimes, but he's not licensed! Would you want an unlicensed plumber working in your house? Thanks, but no thanks. He owes back taxes to the state of Ohio, and he doesn't believe in Social Security. So this is the guy that McCain and Palin keep talking about at their rallies...
At one rally in Ohio, Sarah Palin mentioned Joe the Plumber and then proceeded to rattle off the names of other people she had met along the way: Ed the Dairy Man, Clark the Cook, Corena the Nurse, Tito the Builder (who got a TV interview as did Joe the Plumber), Doug the Barber, Rose the Teacher, Dave the Cop, Jack the Hunter, Christine the Florist, Vicky the Realtor, Jeffrey the Hockey Player, Phil the Bricklayer, Cindy the Citizen, and Joe the Farmer.
I must quote Jon Stewart ("The Daily Show") here: "What is with the name and occupation thing? Is McCain-Palin looking to rule us in the Middle Ages? McCain-Palin - Building a bridge to the 13th century!" That about sums it up.
Keep up the Battle,
LE