McCain vs. Barack

A billion dollars well spent, hopefully

The economist said the 2008 election pricetag would sum to a billion bucks. I think we should all invest some thoughtful discernment to the issues at hand, and have some idea what our ideal candidate should look like, if different from what's offered. We should be responsible citizens, thoughtful voters, and an educated electorate. In a way, we're deciding history, the future, policy, and the tenor of the next 4-8 years. I've spent much of today reading the positions on my link (http://www.2008electionprocon.org/), deciding what I like and dislike about each.

Here's what I want to share:

They're both senators. Of this 110th congress, Obama has missed almost 40% of the votes, and McCain has missed over 55% Shouldn't they be doing their jobs? It should at least be in the 90's, I would think. Of course, you can only do so much, I guess. Gotsta campaign. They should be allowed to vote in absentia, in my opinion. I would think you could telecommute, if you're a congressperson. It's pretty much all about words and ideas. It's hard to live in the present when you're so focused on the future? Anyway,

John Sidney McCain III (enjoy acidic him in sin!)
First, the bad news. I don't like McCain. I didn't know much about him, but today's research didn't elevate my opinion. He's 72 years old, and my first impression was he's a fuddy-duddy. Now, I think he's wishy-washy, too. He's a wishy washy fuddy duddy, lol.

abortion
He's got the right stance on abortion, he's pro-life. But it's not solid. He won't tell others they can't abort, so he's basically pro-choice. He wants it decided by each state individually, and doesn't approve of "legislating from the bench." But that's what the supreme court does. It interprets the laws, thereby making the law, so to speak. in 2005, he said, "I think it [right to an abortion] depends on the stage of the pregnancy, and I know we're splitting hairs here. But there's a point-there's a point where the woman's health is, obviously, in the later stages of pregnancy, is-gains in greater and greater importance."

If he thinks everyone is going to move to a state with laws they agree with, he's got a different thing coming. Pro-life people are going to live in pro-choice states, and pro-choicers are going to live in pro-life, states. If you're going to proscribe abortion for these people, why not everyone. Have some balls. Abortion is murder.

His concern with women's health is good, but this particular concern shouldn't influence policy. Giving birth is not a very dangerous affair (at least in the West), according to Wikipedia, and I wrote an earlier post on why maternal mortality was not a reason to abort. I guess he's afraid of civil war, and what future president wants to deal with that kind of hassle, right? I would, if I were president. Let the murderers have their own country.

He wants each "unwanted" baby's life defended merely by "armies of compassion." That's like pleading with a murderer not to kill you. He should stand tall and commit to criminalizing this shit. Has he watched the movie 'Juno"? Life of the mother- abortion's okay, if that's what the mother chooses. I agree with this. But not rape or incest. It's not the baby's fault. Why should the baby be snuffed? Granted, incest babies don't have the best genetics, but neither do a lot of people. Call me uncaring. I don't care, lol.

integrity, values, universal life ethic
He touts integrity, but why have integrity to wishy washy values? One thing I have said is the United States is never united. We are a diverse country of diverse people with diverse opinions and ideas. But just because the country is schizophrenic, doesn't mean our leader should be. And he's against flag burning. He should be willing to die for the right of Americans to burn their flag. It's a symbol, it's speech, and if you don't believe in free speech, you don't believe in a core American value. I don't care if you think it's hate speech, we are free to hate. Don't legislate hatred against haters. There's alot that should rightly be hated. Also, why be pro-life, if you're pro-capital punishment, or pro-war/military??

trade
He's pro free-trade, which is good, and better than Obama, in my opinion. Everyone benefits from free trade, even if jobs are lost and exported. This is because products are made in places where there is a comparative advantage, and mathematically, the most wealth is created. People shouldn't be kept working in dying industries. The economy needs to be adaptive and dynamic. Besides, the rest of the world is a lot poorer than America. The amount of food we throw away...we have a glut of food, you practically don't even need to work. But I digress. Basically, as far as I am aware, trade restriction is just a way of robbing the rest of the world of their rightful development. And richer foreign countries mean higher exports of the products we DO make.

Cuban embargo
"My administration will press the Cuban regime to release all political prisoners unconditionally, to legalize all political parties, labor unions and free media and to schedule internationally monitored elections. And, the embargo will stay in place until those terms are met." His heart is in the right place, in my opinion, but the Cuban people should not suffer because most Americans disagree with the Cuban government's actions. A government is not it's people. It is important to keep this distinction. Even America's, despite it being a democracy. In my opinion, the goal of government should be to reduce suffering and increase happiness, not merely a self-righteous spreading of "values." The Cubans chose their government. He's pro states rights. Well, he should be pro-sovereignty of foreign countries, then, too, by my lights. Why are we punishing Cuba's people? Life and happiness are MY values. But just because Buddhists say they know the way to happiness, doesn't mean I want to legislate everybody to be Buddhist.

Darfur
He's for action, as a military man of integrity. But he should also be consistent. He should commit to fighting atrocities everywhere else in the world. He should mention being proactive, and not reactive to all the trouble spots in the world. But if we don't want to expand the number of states in America from 50 (a nice round number, I'll admit) to 300 or whatever, and I'm pretty sure we don't, unless you're in the CIA or a shadow government, then we should do it all through the UN (which we should pay are fair share of). Question: Can Americans join a UN peacekeeping force, or do they have to join the American military and hope our president commits troops to a multilateral UN force? I believe in shared human values. I do not believe in nationalism. I'm a citizen of the world. I'm a human before I'm an American. So overlapping regional entities should bind the world together, if the world must necessarily remain culturally divided. Being good doesn't mean fighting, and service doesn't mean joining a military. It seems like the whole world needs to turn it's head around. We're all in this, together.

system of things
There should be a world military, if any military at all. Maybe aliens will invade. Maybe we want a world police force. We don't need a world government, necessarily. Each state can keep it's laws, but lawyers should be actively arguing their values outside of their little community bubbles. It's a world economy, there are global issues, we all pretty much want the same things, what's the problem? Let's not be competitive, selfish, pursuing national interests. To be positive, we have to be human, first.

Barack I think articulates our global identity better, and inspires all Americans to be co-presidents, emphasizing hope, change, and community action. But he doesn't support sending troops to Darfur, because we would be alone there. Also, he says, " millions have been slaughtered as a consequence of ethnic strife in Congo," so by our Iraq logic, we should have 300,000 troops there. Well, let's do it, then. Us being humanity. The UN or whatever. Let's not throw up our hands and say because we seem to not have the political will to solve ALL problems, that we shouldn't solve ANY. I want everything solved. Everything. Jail those Janjaweed bastards. Open a tasty vegetarian non-profit restaurant/food kitchen, or something. ETC. lol. We all have as much power as any president, already, in my opinion.

The world should get hardcore. Not just a summer of love, but say 10 years of love, where we just solve everything in sight. It would snowball, and last forever, no? I like that band, Presidents of the United States of America. I like peaches, too. I like money, but it's not all about money. If global development impacts the U.S. negatively, we should accept it, and not keep the world down, so we can live what are basically outrageous lifestyles, by world standards. Humans only need food and shelter, and we should derive our happiness not from being better than the Joneses, i.e. having more stuff than them, but by helping to lift the worse off in a global community of goodwill. Just do it.

education
I don't care what anybody's stance on education is. I think everyone should have high-speed internet, and all the world's books should be online, and people should stay curious, my friend, and have the answers at their fingertips, as well as being critical thinkers. I think higher education is mostly a con for the almighty diploma, knowledge from which you could have got for free. The world's best teachers should be free online, like the MIT courses online are, or like the TED.com series of lectures, and TV should be educational, and it could be...so why do we have this huge con game called higher education? Education should be question and answer, not just lecture, to keep people engaged, which is well addressed in a virtual environment. Librarians are standing by to answer your questions.

Iran
McCain says, "There is only one thing worse than a military solution, and that, my friends, is a nuclear armed Iran. The regime must understand that it cannot win a showdown with the world." That just sucks. This is crap. What, we don't like Iran because they're Islamic? I googled 'picture of Koran' and got a picture of Arabic writing on toilet paper. This is just disgusting. America has nukes. I don't hear him saying anything about eliminating American nukes. Pure f-ing hypocrisy. If we have them, then we should allow Iran to, as well. People are different. Countries are different. What right do we have to dictate who can and can't? We're not married to Israel, which is obviously what this is all about. Or at least we shouldn't be. If Israel wants to attack Iran, let them. Would Israel use its nukes to keep Iran from getting nukes? Geez. The more countries that have nukes, the more likely their use will be, my IR professor Miroslav Nincic taught back in the day. That makes sense to me. If you really want nuclear war to be unthinkable, eliminate the world's arsenal. Duh. There's nothing to be proud of by being in the world's nuclear club. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Japan doesn't even have a military. They could have nukes, but they don't. Why? Because they KNOW how goddamn horrible they are. McCain is military through and through. He's a tool. A tool of the military. He's fourth generation military, which I think is a scary thought for a commander in chief. He's so steeped in their culture, he has no perspective, I think. As much as we'd like to think of our military as a department of DEFENSE, alot of the military wants to fight and kill "the enemy." Nobody's going to take over the U.S. It's offensive, really. I am offended by all militaries. The art of war is deception. I distrust them, and I don't want one of them to be our commander in chief.

If Israel wants to pre-empt being attacked, it should take down the wall, and live as peaceably as possible in a cohabiting Palestine. I don't even think there should be two side by side states. They're stuck with each other, so why not just one state? America is multireligious, and so is Israel, actually, so what's the difference. Call it Palrael or Israstine, or even both names, call it what you will. God's promised land is for humanity, not just jews. I should know, I'm God. If there's any terrorism, treat it like any other crime, and use forensics and the justice system to deal with each incident as it arises. And America, Israel, and Iran should all be eminently proud to NOT have any nuclear weapons.

healthcare
McCain calls the Democratic plan for universal health care "Hillary-care." Although Hillary is widely disliked, how can you dislike universal health coverage? I saw Michael Moore's 'Sicko' and I am swayed to the opinion and belief that healthcare is a human right, that should be guaranteed to all of humanity, not just all Americans. We live in a culture of death, that glorifies violence. But we're also supposedly a Christian country, that considers healers to wield Godlike power. Without health, nothing else matters. Why wouldn't we create this basic prerequisite for happiness for all, like clean water, or nutritious food? Instead, fast food restaurants are serving huge portions of unhealthy meals just to make a buck, and we're in the midst of an obesity epidemic. Diabetes, too. McCain took on tobacco companies. So I'm missing something: Be a God- Heal thyself? At the core, as a Republican, I surmise he doesn't really mind if the poor die, in this dog eat dog world. Survival of the fittest, right? I hope I'm wrong. He actually doesn't strike me as being callous like that. He did the right thing with tobacco. Shouldn't he do that across the board? Look at Denmark. If we outlaw suicide, we should outlaw tobacco. It's slow-suicide, for most smokers. Plus, we could grow actual food in the midst of this global food crisis. He may be a small government type of guy, and America may value self-reliance, but America is largely unhealthy, and we need help. We should all care for each other. Healthcare shouldn't cost an arm and a leg, so to speak. It's a human right. It should be free.

Barack Hussein Obama, Junior (baboonish marijuana sucker!)
There's some bad news here, too. But on the whole, this is my guy. I'm excited by the prospect of him being America's president, and what he can do to inspire all Americans to energize toward making a better world.

He strikes me as a genuinely warm, principled person. His smile is glowing. His rhetoric is passionate and eloquent. He makes me happy. He's bright (edited the Harvard law review) and is all about involving people in making change and exciting hope in the future and finding common ground and bringing people together. I know, I may appear to be a bit of an abortion issue fanatic, the ultimate wedge issue, but I still like Barack because he really gets down and dirty and talks to everyone and is characterized by honesty and good humor. I read his Audacity of Hope book, and I like that he is such a clear thinker. He's post-racial and I believe not too dogmatic in his religious beliefs. He's leading a movement, not just a campaign. The world is too messed up. We need activism and lots of leaders to step up. I believe Barack is just what we need. Sure, he wants to give women the right to kill their babies, among other things like restricting free trade or .... But Barack stands for all of us working to further our own agendas in a cooperative and civil way, not just his personal opinions. That's how I see it. Barack not only inspires me, but I think he will inspire fellow african-americans and people around the world to be positive and make change. Bush, on the other hand, has apocalyptic beliefs about Jesus and the end of the world, I think. We don't need more of that. When Dubya was elected, I was hopeful to have a comedian-in-chief who would keep us all entertained with his wacky way with words. I voted Gore and Kerry, but I try and see the silver lining. He lost my goodwill, though, with this stupid unwarranted war. Okay, so anyway, that was my endorsement. Here's my take on his stands on the issues, as relayed by the procon website I referenced earlier in the post:

capital punishment
He stated, "While the evidence tells me that the death penalty does little to deter crime, I believe there are some crimes- mass murder, the rape and murder of a child- so heinous, so beyond the pale, that the community is justified in expressing the full measure of its outrage by meting out the ultimate punishment." I disagree with this.

BF Skinner basically said that he could have made even the morally impeccable Barack into a child-raping mass murder/serial killer, if he had raised him. People should be held responsible for their actions, but people are not always fully in control of themselves, ranging from past experience and motivation to volition itself, all of which is partially bound up in genetics. Murdering murderers makes us no better than them, in my opinion. Even the most heinous perpetrators can reform and serve society, from prison. No one deserves death. Meting out death is like playing God. Well, I'm God, and I say show some infinite mercy, fellas. Death? All in good time. Time kills all. By the way, prison should be pleasant, too, in my opinion. The point is to keep society safe, not to terrorize people for their past mistakes. Prison should not be a form of state-sponsored terrorism. Also, capital punishment is too expensive (more than life imprisonment), and, as I'm sure he knows, unfairly applied across a vast "justice" system.

McCain has supported a bill to provide for the imposition of the death penalty for the terrorist murder of United States nationals abroad. I'm sorry, but Christians do want to take over the world and convert everybody. So do Muslims. So the religions are at odds. Islam espouses jihad, as I understand it. I don't think it's really a matter of terrorism. I think America and groups like Al-Qaeda are both just fighting for their values, what they think God wants them to fight for. I'm not saying American soldiers think Dubya is God. But they signed up to be his pawns, in the global geopolitical chess game of military foreign policy we're playing, so yeah, he kind of is. I, as God, am saying please stop all this silliness. I do not espouse or prefer either Islam or Christianity, especially at the expense of the other. Everybody believes murder is wrong and God is merciful. Christians and Jews follow the 10 commandments. Muslims are also people of the book, of the Abrahamic faith. The ten Commandments shared by Jews and Christians are almost identical to the laws found in the Koran, but the Koran doesn't list them as systematically as you find them in the Old Testament (in Exodus 20:2–17). Regarding murder, the Koran says, like the sixth commandment which prohibits unjust killing or murder, that it is wrong. Murder is prohibited and the holy Quran compares the unjust killing of one life to be equivalent to the murder of all of humanity (5:32; 17:33). Both sides in any war are terrorists to the other. And need I remind everyone that, truth be told, if we really wanted to fight the major source of 9-11, we would have invaded Saudi Arabia. And I personally believe we let Osama off the hook, for geopolitical reasons, despite his role in 9-11, as we had people hot on his tracks who were called off from the pursuit, if I remember correctly. So welcome to wonderland, where nothing is what it seems. Americans are terrorists, too. Terrorism isn't even the right word. It's like homophobia. People that don't like gays aren't afraid of them. And terrorists aren't necessarily after terror; they pursue military objectives. Terrorism is just a label we apply to the "bad" guy. Apparently, if the violence is being done by a state military headed by a democratically elected commander in chief, then it's not terrorism. To me, this is a bit ridiculous.

I don't want to be a bad guy or anything, but maybe Mohammed was a hypocrite. An expert on Islam says history proves that regardless of what President Bush or others say, Islam is not a religion of peace. In his book Islam Unveiled: Disturbing Questions About the World's Fastest Growing Faith, Robert Spencer says the facts show Islam is a religion of violence. He cites one instance where Islam's prophet had a direct role in the massacre of 700 people. He explains that the Banu Qurayza, a Jewish tribe in Arabia, fought and lost a battle against Muhammad.
"Muhammad ... had all [700] men killed and the women and children enslaved," Spencer says. "This is actually in accordance with Islamic law as it has been enshrined from that incident on throughout Islamic history." According to Spencer, the Shariah -- or Islamic legal tradition -- dictates that conquering Muslims have a right to kill, if they choose, the men who fight against them and to enslave the women and children.

What does Shariah say about 9-11? Does it matter if the killing is in defense or in offense?

Anyway,
As a democrat, I believe Barack has the interests of the poor more at heart, including supporting the UN millenium development goals. I look forward to seeing debates and further elaboration on issues in the future. And because neither are pro-life, anti-death penalty, or blanket dismissive of war, I'll be looking at other candidates as well for the best fit with my values. No matter who wins, I'll be rooting for progress, as I see it.

Some trivia, from votesmart.org:
Barack's
favorite Movies: Casablanca, Godfather I and II, Lawrence of Arabia, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Favorite MusicianMiles Davis, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Johann Sebastian Bach (cello suites), and The Fugees.
Favorite Quote"The Arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." Martin Luther King.

McCain's
Favorite Book: For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Favorite Food: Chocolate ice cream, pizza with pepperoni and onions, baby-back ribs.
Favorite Movie: Viva Zapata, Letters From Iwo Jima, Some Like It Hot.
Favorite Musician: Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison.
Favorite TV Shows: 24, Seinfeld.