29 February 2008

Experience! Hope! Change!

The sad part is, looking toward Election '08 I find myself in almost exactly the same position I was in four years ago... not wanting to vote for GWB, but having NO OTHER CHOICE!
On the other hand, it truly is gonna be entertaining watching this story unfold!
By my way of thinking, Democrats have a mighty short time-frame to get things under control. There are rumblings that Hillary might end up with the nomination, even if she isn't chosen in the primaries. Think of the long term effect of such an action! Is that truly possible? Remember, we're talking about the Clintons!
Of course the probability is that "Mr. Hope and Change" will be running against "Mr. Ticking Time-Bomb"... I squirm, thinking of how interesting this will be!

Texas and Ohio loom heavily over the horizon. We know too much about Hillary... not enough about H&C. Hasn't he been masterful, NOT answering questions?!
I already know enough about him to know I can't vote for him. You probably do too, but help me here by reminding me if I've missed anything...

This guy "Barry Obama/Soetoro" has now popped up with more ties to Muslim Madrassas than previously thought. There is some conjecture about his faith from the time he was 10 until he was 27 or so. Religion was a factor for Romney... will it also be a factor for Obama/Soetoro?

Both Democrat candidates are promising to repair U.S. relationships with allies, while both threaten to break treaties with our closest neighbors (NAFTA).
Yeah, showing what little regard we have for our friends... that'll facilitate repair!

Obama has not been pressed to answer questions about Tony Rezko because of the love affair the media has had for him, and his opponent is every bit as dirty as he. That will change in an instant when the General Campaign gets underway.

I'm hopeful one of two things happens:
1. McCain names a true conservative as his running mate, and convinces me he'll lean heavily on him/her as an advisor.
Or-
2. As we approach the General election it's obvious we have another Nixon/McGovern blowout on our hands and I can smile while I fulfill my threat and write in "NONE OF THE ABOVE" as my candidate!

Excuse me, I'm gonna go pop some popcorn.

4 comments:

Mike Poole said...

So I run home for lunch today and my wife tells me Hillary has staged a comeback.

How in the hell am I supposed to explain this to my kids?

Anonymous said...

Greybeard asked: Texas and Ohio loom heavily over the horizon. We know too much about Hillary... not enough about H&C. Hasn't he been masterful, NOT answering questions?!
I already know enough about him to know I can't vote for him. You probably do too, but help me here by reminding me if I've missed anything...

I just learned of your site yesterday and haven't had time to peruse the archives for any other posts on Obama. But I've been following his and other campaigns pretty closely and so far Obama seems to be a pretty stand up guy. Sure his name and background has been thrown around and used to score petty political points but is that reason enough NOT to vote for him? And point to a politician you've voted for in your lifetime who has NOT learned politician speak. I'm not implying Obama is hiding anything but c'mon let's focus on the real issues.

Greybeard asked: This guy "Barry Obama/Soetoro" has now popped up with more ties to Muslim Madrassas than previously thought. There is some conjecture about his faith from the time he was 10 until he was 27 or so. Religion was a factor for Romney... will it also be a factor for Obama/Soetoro?

It obviously will be a factor. But should it be? Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln are on public record that they weren't religious. Did we disqualify them for their lack of religious faith? Obama is a secular Christian. What's so wrong with that? People shouldn't be judged based on the religion they practice but by the content of their character and the quality of their deeds. The "Madrassa" issue has already been debunked by reporters who actually went to Indonesia to verify this claim. Here's the link:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/

Greybeard wrote: Obama has not been pressed to answer questions about Tony Rezko because of the love affair the media has had for him, and his opponent is every bit as dirty as he. That will change in an instant when the General Campaign gets underway.

We'll see. It's obvious even HRC will stop at NOTHING to stay in power. So far Obama's been pretty transparant with any charge that has been levied against him. It's important to remember that Obama has NOT been indicted of any wrong doing with respect to the Tony Rezko scandal. I don't expect that to change since the evidence shows that Obama paid for his property with his own money and not from Rezko. If one of your old buddies in school got arrested for burglary does that make you guilty as well?

Forget the mainstream media. Everyone knows they're a joke. Sometimes the only way to getting the facts is by doing research on your own. Thank God we have the internet.

Greybeard wrote: I'm hopeful one of two things happens:
1. McCain names a true conservative as his running mate, and convinces me he'll lean heavily on him/her as an advisor.
Or-
2. As we approach the General election it's obvious we have another Nixon/McGovern blowout on our hands and I can smile while I fulfill my threat and write in "NONE OF THE ABOVE" as my candidate!

I'm hopeful this country gains traction again. I'll be completing Airframe and Powerplant training this semester and word that over 60,000 jobs were cut recently is very troubling. A popular helo training company that I was looking into recently closed doors because of financial problems. I read another article that spoke of the possibility of SFO maintenance being shipped overseas. What's next?

I don't expect a messiah to deliver us from the malaise that we're in. All I ask for in a president is good judgement, leadership and a unique ability to communicate. The real work in transforming and rebuilding this nation will come from the citizens and not the President.

btw. Thanks for sharing your personal insight. I think it's safe for me to say that we both share common ground in our fascination with flying machines. Look forward to hearing more about your stories and opinions.

Greybeard said...

Wowee!
Lots to discuss there, but I have no argument with most of it. One thing I will ask though...
You say Obama is a secular Christian. How do you know?
I think to truly know his beliefs you'd have to see straight into his heart. People WANT to believe what they HOPE is true... for a year we believed Fidel Castro when he said he wasn't a communist. We wanted to believe that.
We are at war with Islamic fundamentalism... can you think of a bigger plum than to put a symphathetic ear in our White House?
Is it fair to pursue that line of thought? Maybe not. Can we afford not to dig as deeply as possible to answer questions?
No.

I think once we all get a chance to weigh the entire package...
Cocaine use,
Church that gave an award to Louis Farakhan,
the Rezko connection,
and other corruption that is almost bound to turn up because of Chicago politics...
Obama's "Rock Star" status will be dimished to the point where the Democrat party will be wondering how they have nominated another loser like John Kerry.
Will they realize that before the convention? It's sure gonna be interesting to find out!

Now about the economy and your choice of jobs...
You've certainly picked a turbulent time to try to enter this industry. I've been a part of it for 41 years and have seen this cycle wax and wane. Looks like we are gettin' ready to wane for a while. However, the industry truly is experiencing a shortage of good mechanics. Jobs will be available to the persistent.
I wish you good luck.

Anonymous said...

Greybeard asked: You say Obama is a secular Christian. How do you know?

Because the evidence prove that he is. He's been attending the same Christian church and "praising Jesus" for twenty years. Give me one good reason to doubt him based on factual evidence.

Greybeard wrote: I think to truly know his beliefs you'd have to see straight into his heart.

Okay but since when did open heart surgery become a criteria for becoming President of this country? Okay that was a cheap shot. :-) But what exactly do you mean?

Greybeard wrote: People WANT to believe what they HOPE is true... for a year we believed Fidel Castro when he said he wasn't a communist. We wanted to believe that.

How does this make Obama un-American? He's running on the Democratic ticket. His childhood and career is well documented not only in his books but on public records. I don't have to believe that Obama is American on faith. The evidence speaks for itself.

Greybeard wrote: We are at war with Islamic fundamentalism... can you think of a bigger plum than to put a symphathetic ear in our White House?

That goes both ways. One can argue that our foreign policy has actually emboldened the Islamic fundamentalists. But where is the evidence that Obama is an Islamo-fascist? The guy's grandfather fought in WWII for crying out loud. On our side! I have a Spanish sounding name. Does that make me Spaniard? Of course not. I defend the same Constitution you do.

Greybeard wrote: Is it fair to pursue that line of thought? Maybe not. Can we afford not to dig as deeply as possible to answer questions? No.

It's absolutely fair to ask those questions. And I agree we wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't dig deep. But to ask them repeatedly without supporting evidence gives me the impression that it's fear mongering. Maybe that's not your intent but it sure is the media and the pundits intent.

Greybeard wrote: I think once we all get a chance to weigh the entire package...

1.Cocaine use-He's honest about it and I think that counts for something. Did he learn from his mistakes? Yes. President Bush has admitted to being a former alcoholic. Did he learn from his mistake? Yes.

2.Church that gave an award to Louis Farakhan-Name one religious leader who hasn't said some really DUMB thing thing to inspire their members. Obama has repeatedly "denounced and rejected" Farakhan so this is a non-issue. What's up with McCain accepting Hagee's endorsement? I find Hagee equally offensive as Farakhan yet why isn't anyone calling him on it? Who's the media soft on again?

3.Rezko-No charges filed against Obama. Obama's donated the campaign contribution that he received from him to charity and has called his association with him a "bonehead mistake."

4.corruption that is almost *bound* to turn up- If there are any others you know of then let's examine it.

If Obama wins the Dem nomination I'm voting for him in November. But don't worry. If he becomes our President you know who will be his biggest critic? ME. This is the first time I'm voting and I'm not gonna let anyone take my vote for granted.

Thanks for the advice and words of encouragement. I still remember my first flying lesson. I was stationed in Kodiak, Ak and decided to take a lesson from this dude with a thick Russian accent. The experience was amazing. The backdrop of the mountains and ocean was just breathtaking. From that point on I knew I had to get into aviation. I'll still have a year's worth of GI bill after my A&P so I'm thinking of using that to offset flight training costs. It's a long and slow process but I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing.