John McCain’s Answer isn’t one.

I would love for someone to explain to me why John McCain’s answer to the Energy Crisis is to lift the ban on offshore drilling.

It would be great if someone out there in the blogosphere could explain to me why destroying more ocean willife with human industry to simply get more oil is the answer to this giant question of “what’s next?”

The idea to me is simply flabergasting, yet at the same time, tells me so much about who runs this country. God forbid we as a people demanded an alternative; a gas-less nation where oil and the un-fixable situations that surround it no longer touch our lives. Of course, a country like that would be free of big oil.    And that’s where you find McCain.

I’m just as affected by the present gas prices as anyone else. I need my car to get to work across town, my family and many of my close friends live out of town and out of state. The infrastructure and public transit systems do not allow for me to sell my car, and my way of life depends on the money I bring in working.  We’re all in vicious cycles that only serve to stress and anger us as we watch the prices rise.

But, even as I see my paycheck spent faster and faster, I can’t bring myself to believe that reaping oil from the fragile coast is the right decision. It’s not only that I think conservation of what we cannot lose is important, but also, that drilling for oil where we haven’t before is only a temporary solution to what is a much bigger and more complex problem. Constantly, our lawmakers have shown us that in the United States, a dollar and a quick fix is more important than a stable solution.

Our dependence on foriegn oil is a problem in need of an immediate solution, but we can’t forget the underlying cause is our dependence on oil in general.

What’s next?

Another One Bites The Dust: Goodbye, Ron Paul

If you would have asked me a month ago if I thought that the two party nominees would be decided before the conventions, I would have nicely but firmly laughed in your face. Impossible! I thought. There’s no way that this mass of writing, fighting, money-raising sluggers will unravel before they have to.

But here we are, beginning of June, with the lines all figured out. Amazing!

She’s Out, He’s In.

I didn’t disclose to many who I was supporting for the 2008 Democratic nominee. I think my feelings were like that of some, including the aforementioned Al Gore, who were most likely thinking “I’m not going to get in to this one.” We waited it out, to see who was going to win “the race”, before involving ourselves in the drama.

I voted for Hillary Clinton. My reasons are simple; I think her experience and positions as a democrat would have been adequate to get us out of the slump we’re in. I’m not the kind of guy who thinks that radical change is the answer, most often. I think slow and steady wins the course; and the path out of the devestation we’re seeing now in this country is going to need nuture and care.

I also believe it’s time for a woman president. That simply comes from the idea that we’ve seen our country led by men since the beginning; why not see what a woman can do? People suggest that Obama would change the world through his youth and change; I think a woman can change it through compassion. Maybe she wouldn’t have been the mother we always wanted, but I know she would have thought about things in a different way, and possibly, in a better way.

Now that HC is out of the race, I will stand by Barack Obama. I don’t think he’s a bad candidate, in fact, I think he’s a great one. Just not *as* good as Hillary.

Seating the Delegates: Half the Fun

Wow. I am literally reeling after the activities of the Democratic party this weekend.

As most of you have been made aware, the Dems met this weekend to un-jumble the tangles of that whole Florida Michigan delegate debacle. Has anyone started thinking about calling shenannigans yet?

Point: if the committee was trying to do something by taking away the seats in the first place, why are we today dealing with a democratic nominee who has a.5 after her delegate count? Come on.

Seat them as full votes or don’t seat them at all. This dramatic score must end.

Why San Francisco? First-Hand Account of the Olympic Torch Protests

I’m not quite sure why it is that the Olympic Committee chose San Francisco, arguably the most liberal city in the United States, to run the 2008 Olympic Torch through. Americans everywhere have feelings on China; with the lead in toys scandal and pet food poisoning, and the crisis in Tibet, but in San Francisco, there’s no shortage of activists who take their causes to the streets. And the air, as we saw on Monday.

My sister lives in San Francisco, though she’s not an activist, she spent the early part of the day today mingling with other onlookers who found their normal route had been overtaken by protests and Tibetan flags.

“I didn’t know what was happening right away” She told me. “But it became obvious pretty fast.”

She says it wasn’t only protesters lining the embarcadero early on Wednesday, as some Chinese dancers and other people in support of the Olympics raised signs and cheered in blue and red.  There was a big separation between those who were celebrating and those who were making a stand against the games and the humanitarian disasters allowed by the Chinese government.

“I stood behind the protesters that walked down King Street for quite awhile, just listening and watching them. They were peaceful, screaming ‘China, Free Tibet!’ and holding up signs and flags. They eventually crossed the street, joining another group of people who were protesting near to the edge of the (At&T) Stadium.

The best part for me was, well, a family of a Mom, Dad and probably 10 year old daughter was standing there with me who had walked up King Street as well, and the Dad was explaining to the daughter why people were protesting. It was interesting, as he finished by saying, ‘In Tibet, people can’t protest like we can here. That’s what they want, the freedom to protest’.”

I can’t help but think that bringing the torch through San Francisco today was a marketing strategy aimed at producing more interest in the games. It just seems too…well, just too obvious.

More protesting equals more media coverage, more media coverage equals more people who are tuning in this summer when the games kick off.

Anyone else seeing this possibility? To those of you protesting – be careful. Speak your mind (and ours!), but be sure that your ideals aren’t being used as leverage against you.

Al Gore is the King of America: He’ll Never be President.

From the ashes of the 2000 elections, when brimstone met fire for a straight month of indecision and four letter words, there rose a man who while others thought was defeated, became lord and king of America.
We drooped under the defeat of our candidate; our Democrat, but he stood tall. When the system defeated him, he told the system to *&@% off.

Eight years later, as we face an election that will likely parallel the insanity of 2000, Al Gore has been vindicated. While the White House is still home to the victor of that battle, what more could the defeated ask than his adversary be the biggest presidential failure since our country’s founding? Gore didn’t have to raise a limb. Simply breathing and living has raised him to paramount standings in the eye of those who checked his name, and even, many who did not.

But, of course, simply living and breathing and not being George Bush doesn’t make one royalty, no; Al Gore, the King of America, didn’t fall to the hooves of defeat. When our troops were entered in to a false war, the King spoke against the actions of the Bush Doctrine, warning our actions would potentially harm our relationship with other countries. While everyone else sat on their hands while the people of New Orleans watched their city fell to mother nature, the King chartered his royal charter planes to evacuate as many survivors as possible. King Gore started a television station, Current, promoting progressive thought and creativity of young people. Through this forum, he fully endorsed same sex marriage, and laid down the best kick-in-the-hypocracy statement ever filmed: “Shouldn’t we be promoting the kind of faithfulness and loyalty to one’s partner regardless of sexual orientation? Because if you don’t do that, then to that extent you’re promoting promiscuity, and you’re promoting all the problems that can result from promiscuity. The loyalty and love that two people feel for one another when they fall in love ought to be celebrated and encouraged and shouldn’t be prevented by any form of discrimination in the law.”

He sits on the board of directors for giganto-companies Google and Apple. When the false war continued beyond expectations, King Gore spoke out against warrantless wiretapping and stood up for Americans, saying the treatment of Arabs post 911 was not condoned by the population.

King Gore has authored two books, ” The Assault on Reason”, and “An Inconvenient Truth”, both which spent time at #1 on the Best Seller List and have sold hundreds of millions of copies.

And yes, he’s a damn environmentalist. That key to the front door? Seems to help with getting shit done. In the years following his election loss, Gore was awarded over 13 prestigious honors and awards with regards to his work in the Climate Crisis battle. These aren’t your mom and pop store trophies, either. He’s got the big ones; an Emmy, an Oscar, and the &$*@ing Nobel Peace Prize. If you didn’t see it you’ve heard of it; his movie production “An Inconvenient Truth” was the single most controversial and fire-igniting documentary in American history. Why did he take home that Nobel? Because you’ve heard of this movie. King Gore either made you a believer or a non-believer in global warming, a hater or a lover, but he made you believe something. And it’s not likely you’ll forget.

See that picture at the top of this post? Now King Gore is being drafted. His faithful minions, a.k.a. America, is begging him to return to the glory at Capitol Hill. In an election which includes a powerful, experienced woman and a black man who speaks truly and wholeheartedly for change and progression, people are begging him to run for president. He’s everything we want in our leader. And that’s why he’ll never be.

He’s standing alone, in his kingdom, reigning over the future of America, as a powerful player with no strings attached. No lobbies, no elections, no donors, no special interests. He says whatever the hell he wants and when he wants. He’s making it happen.

His body is turned, but he faces the other direction just for a moment, snickering at the pile of politicians on the floor, screaming and yelling and lying only to get nothing done. For a loser, he sure *#&@ing rocks. Maybe someday, they’ll get it too.

Five Years: The Question

What do you think? Even as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton say they’ll begin removing troops from Iraq immediately, do you believe it will be necessary to keep some presence in Iraq?

Have we made a mess too big to solve?

A Vote for Hillary in an Obama World.

Was it the Red phone?

Was there magic within those scenes of “scary men” in your house at night?
Did those voters in Texas and Ohio think hard about Hillary Clinton “red phoning” away the bad guys when everyone else is asleep?

Something happened, because that momentum behind Senator Barack Obama fell crashing last night, to the smiling face of Hillary Clinton.

There’s people who will give excuses and suggest something or another, but these victories are huge for Clinton Gigantic. Last week, she found herself after adjectives like desperate – while Obama seemingly rode through city after city on a tall, white horse.

Maybe it wasn’t the phone ad, that isn’t half as offensive as everyone suggests. Maybe it was the debate, when Hillary seemed to turn up the power in a way different from the past. Maybe it was Obama’s NAFTA ad, or a combination.

I like it. I do. Yesterday, I blogged about the separation in the party. Today, I see something different…slightly…and it seems that despite what the media was flashing and bashing those voters with, they took to the polls and made their decisions for the candidate they thought was best fit for the job.

I’m still hoping for a conclusion soon…and I mean soon…but for the night, I was proud to see the voice of the people just might have outweighed the voice of the media.

The Dress Rehearsal is over, Hillary and Barack.

Sit down with me, friends. I’ve changed my sweater, taken off my shoes. Let’s talk about our friends Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Ohio and Texas. Both famous in their own right, for their own blunders, all having a common man involved. Tonight, they get the spotlight once again – another chance to make it happen, captain.

Hillary is ahead in Ohio, Barack in Texas; both have pounded their platforms into our heads and pointed enough fingers. For the sake of all democrats, let’s hope this decision is made tonight.

Let’s face it; the neck-and-neck stuff isn’t good for the party. Divided we stand, together we fall. The longer we wait for a sure candidate, the longer it takes takes for us to rise as one behind the nominee, and end this inter-party scuffling that’s weakening our very core.

Every day we wait for is a day John McCain’s strength grows. Those undecided voters are waiting for someone to stand behind, and while democrats focus their attention on who’s got more experience, McCain is creating legacy, stability and a nightmare for the democrats.

If there’s no democratic nominee until the August convention, we’re screwed. Seriously. This is a country that re-elected a failure president because the stability of a second term outweighed the chances of change. McCain believes in the war, wants to continue the war, and with “change for the better” happening in Iraq, it won’t be as hard as everyone thinks to convince middle-of-the-roaders that our money and time are well spent in the fight we created for the ideals we believe are most important. We’re wasting time, procrastinating, thinking “we’ll do it on the day”. Enter: Ralph Nader to the race. TODAY is the day.
Let’s make tonight the end of it. When the polls close, let’s choose our nominee. The fighting is taking its toll, and we don’t want to do it anymore. The dress rehearsal is over and if you don’t like the script now, you aren’t going to.

Ohio and Texas: Choose wisely.

What the HELL is a super delegate?

Everyone has heard the news: Hillary Clinton’ supergigantic delegate lead from a month ago has fallen hard. Once up by over 100, she’s now down to a 27-delegate lead over Barack Obama, 1,148 to 1,121. Obama is winning the delegate count by about 20, but Clinton is still ahead in superdelegates, which keep her in the top spot for now.

But what the hell is a democratic super delegate? I was hoping for something like this:

You know, your average – saving-lives-while-flying-through-the-air kind of guy. Not quite? Nope. Not at all.

Super delegates make up 796 of the 4,049 total. While the normal pledged delegates are made up of chosen “normal” every day democrats, SD’s aren’t chosen by process. They are made up of judges, public officials, governers, and other party leaders.

SD’s are also not required to choose a candidate at the local level. They are simply required to vote for their chosen one at the Democratic National Convention, happening this year in Denver, Colorado. Therefore, their choices can be up in the air until…well, until that fateful day in August.