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Wonderfully poetic, isn’t it?

Anyway, I’ve been sick during about the past 2 weeks or so.  It started as a sore throat, but that’s more or less gone away and been replaced with congestion, sneezing, coughing, and stuffed up and runny nose (yes, both).  Add on post-nasal drip, and yea, it’s bad.

I’d consider sleeping through tomorrow if I didn’t have work at 1pm, and a class at 12pm I really can’t miss since I’ll be missing four meetings next month due to my NAB/BEA convention trip.  So, in the meanwhile, I trudge through the day, trying my best not to pass it around.  As if; I got this from something that’s going around, and it’ll likely keep itself going until everyone’s got it.

That’s it for me; going to hang on for a bit, and get some pancakes over at the Student Center.

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I was amused by the primary season for a while. More than that, I was interested in the exchange of ideas between the candidates. It was good, I thought, that no one candidate would get the nomination too easily.

My amusement and interest has gone away. It is time for the Democrats to choose a candidate and get it done and over with. The primary campaigns have gone on for too long, and it’s just gotten nasty. For those who follow the campaign in terms of the blogosphere, supporters of the two candidates have gotten downright bitter with each other.

Depending on where their loyalties lies, each side accuses the other’s candidate of destroying the Democratic party. One argument has Obama’s campaign untenable because of the Wright affair, and the other side’s argument has Clinton cooked over-easy for discrepancies between statements about her experience and her recently released records from her time as First Lady.

It’s gotten to the point where the two sides are practically attacking each other, rather than explaining why their candidate is the best. Meanwhile, John McCain and supporters are living it up in the weeks before Pennsylvania, visiting Iraq, and using what time he has to plan their strategy against the future Democratic nominee. This is good for McCain, since he’ll be pretty ready to present his case, and be better prepared to dodge and attacks coming his way. The Democratic nominee, on the other hand, will have to make up for lost time.

Therefore, I think Pennsylvania will need to be a decisive race. Obama or Clinton needs to get a huge win there. I’m talking like 65% or better, so that there can be some sort of idea of the direction for the nomination (assuming the Supers line up behind the candidate with the most pledged delegates). Garnering a win of this magnitude would make Obama look pretty sparkling, and I think put the final nail in the coffin of Clinton’s campaign. Clinton just could not go on any more, I think, if she doesn’t do really well here. If she does, I won’t be the end for her, but she’ll also have to do really well in the home stretch.

It’s all up to Pennsylvania, so get out there, voters. In the meantime, I’ll continue to wince at every new development in the unsustainable battle between the two candidates.

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Well, apparently nobody is getting elected President this year.

If you believe the comments made in the blogosphere over the past couple months, Barack Obama is screwed for associating with Rev. Jeremiah Wright for 20 years, Hillary Clinton is done for adding Geraldine Ferraro to her campaign, and John McCain is roasted turkey for accepting the endorsements of prominent preachers like John Hagee and Pat Robertson.

Under these circumstances, and if you accept what the bloggers say after these scandals, that the involved candidate’s run is over, you come to only one conclusion: none of them will be elected President this year.

Yet, all of us here in the real world know that the truth is quite the opposite. Lets face it people; all three candidates have been associated with somebody known for making racially charged statements during their campaigns. All three have distanced themselves from said people, and probably later than should have been done. And all three have yet to say racially charged statements on their own (surrogates need not count).

Now, can we get back to an election and maybe discuss the issues? Please?

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When the big stories hit, I prefer to sit back a little.  This allows me to view the whole range of messages, and gather my thoughts.  Then I can go back and have a completed, thorough, piece to present.

The situation I speak of right now is, of course, Wrightgate (if it hasn’t already been coined). What did Obama know, and how long did he know it?  Does he really not agree with Wright, or is he just pretending?  Is he right to not have left the church, or is staying okay?  Why add Wright to his campaign?  Is it actually an issue?  The last two questions are my own, and I’ll get to them toward the end.   I won’t go into the nooks and crannies of the whole thing, since they have been covered elsewhere.

Look, it’s no secret, I think, that Obama’s gotten a pretty clean ride so far in the media.  I won’t go as far to say, “Oh, that liberal media,” but I don’t think people can deny this.  Sure, he’s gotten a few things thrown his way.  There was the pamphlet thing, and NAFTAgate, but otherwise, he hasn’t gotten much flack.  Compare him to the other two candidate, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain, and he was looking pretty good before this, in terms of negative media coverage, anyway.

Well, it’s full court press now, isn’t it?  I’m going to take a skeptical approach, though?  Besides the clips we’ve seen, was Reverend Wright saying all this crap about how white people are responsible for all the ills of black people every Sunday?  I doubt it.  Saying this is like saying that every Christian right church is espousing the evils of abortion or homosexuality every Sunday.  I no more believe that than I do about what’s being said at Trinity.  And before anyone says, “Mike, you don’t go to church, so how can you know?”  Well, I doubt people who go to Trinity all the time can really know, either.  I’m just taking my best educated guess, going on what I know about churches.  And my best guess is that mostly, they’re all talking about accepting Jesus Christ in to your heart, or some related topic.

So, is it going to be a problem for Obama?  A lot of conservatives or Clinton supporters seem to think so, but consider this.  After the whole Ferraro incident, a lot of people thought it was the end for Clinton, as many times they have said before.  Also remember Shoutingate after Pamphletgate, where Clinton lost traction…and then ended up winning Ohio and basically tieing in Texas.  My point is, these things come and go in phases.

Understand how the media works.  A big story comes along.  It floats around for a while, and is debated by everybody.  Then a new comes along, pushing the old one out of the way.  Keep in mind that a couple weeks ago, McCain was getting pounded over the maybe-sorta-probably not affair with the lobbyist, and whatever unethical actions he might have had there.  Now, most people probably don’t remember it.

So, I predict that within a week’s time, something new will come along, and probably for one of the other candidates.  There’s six weeks to go before Pennsylvania.  If Clinton can recover after losing 11 states, I think Obama has a good chance of re-gaining ground in the next six weeks.  So, is it an issue?  Right now it is, but the media moves quickly.  In six weeks, it might not be such a big deal.

Only time will really tell…

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Well, I quite literally just got back from shooting a PSA in my college’s town.  The PSA is about talking to your 8-14 year olds about not drinking underage.

In the PSA, I got to play the patient (who sadly dies).  Most unluckily for me, the guy playing the doctor actually works at the hospital in real life, so now my chest hurts because of all the times he had to do chest compressions.  Thankfully they weren’t real chest compressions, or I might be hurting even more.  In real chest compression, the sternum or ribs are usually broken due to the force.  So, I can’t complain, and if it makes for a good PSA, all the better.  The stakes are about $2000, so I’m happy to take some pain for that chance.

We started around midnight, and got done a little after 5am in the morning.  We had to do it then because the hospital is busy at other times.

Now we just need to start editing, and find out if the party scene we planned is needed, so that the stage can be set.  Alternatively, we might decide that the hospital scenes are enough.  However, we shall see.

Now I’m off to bed!

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In this chapter of the Independent Candidates 2008 series, I profile Blake Ashby.  Ashby is a small business owner who lives in St. Louis, Missouri.  Ashby worked for some Republican office holders in his early twenties, and for former U.S. Senator Jim Talent.  He wrote a book following the evolution of liberalism, arguing that the flavor we now know in the U.S. came from the idea of Utopianism.  Formerly a life-long Republican, he ran as a protest candidate in the 2004 Missouri primary.

Issues

National Security

Mr. Ashby would take a inclusionist approach to national security policy in the Middle East.  He would invite Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia to contribute troops to Iraq.  He says it is naive to keep these people out of the Iraqi stability process, arguing that the troop surge will not work, and the country would then be left to the Iranians, anyway. [Ed. Note: This platform may have been written before more recent developments in Iraq.  Though, whether the surge truly is the reason for stability is an issue for another entry.]

In Afghanistan, Ashby says the Taliban should be allowed to participate in their government, but only if they turn over Osama bin Laden.  He says it is up to the people to decide who their leaders should be, and if the Taliban recognizes the standards of international justice by giving up bin Laden, they should be allowed to participate in democratic elections.  He says if they win, it is a problem of Afghanistan government, not the U.S.

Economy

Ashby argues that the Bush tax cuts should be canceled, and that the argument that the economy will flounder if this is done is nonsense.  However, he also notes that spending must be cut back, and that the government should only spend what money it has, not what it wants to spend.  He argues that there needs to be faith in the free market to balance consumption and investment.

He also argues for tort reform, saying that attorneys need to have some liability in paying expenses if the other side should win.

United Nations

Ashby says the U.N. should create an agency to help spread the ideals of democracy.  It would evaluate countries on their political systems and spread democracy.  He argues that the U.S. flavor of democracy doesn’t need to be the message sent, just the idea of people electing their leaders.  Further, he argues that non-democratic nations should only have half a vote in the U.N.

Energy

Ashby argues that doubling the output capacity of existing nuclear energy sources is a must, and is the least disruptive way to lower our dependence on carbon-based sources.

He says that sugar should be imported at free market rates, and the trade barriers on the substance should be removed.  He argues that sugar is a much better method for bioenergy than corn.

Finally, he says that small incremental changes our the best way to reduce energy consumption, rather than a mass effort.

Welfare

Ashby says that it must be easier to take away children from parents doing a bad job.  He argues that the worst parents are setting standards for neighborhoods, and that letting them do bad jobs derides all other progress, from the economy to education.

Abortion

Ashby is for abortion, under the argument making it illegal would have an impact on the U.S. budget, and that every unwanted baby has a significant cost to the government.

Education

Ashby has several suggestions for improving education.  First, as mentioned above, he would make it easier to remove children from irresponsible parents, so that education, rather than policing in the classroom, can become more of a focus.

He argues for a repealing of No Child Left Behind, arguing that the schools are better served from a local perspective of the parents, although he agrees with a national standard.

Finally, Ashby would make it easier to remove underperforming teachers.

Commentary

I found Mr. Ashby very interesting.  He’s kind of like Ron Paul, but without the strict constitutionalist stance.  I agree with a lot that he stands for.  The economic arguments make a lot of sense.  I’ve said it before – you cannot cut taxes and then spend, spend, spend.  It hurts the economy, and the taxpayers.  It doesn’t make sense at all.

On energy, I’m nominally for increasing nuclear energy capacity, but also think that waste becomes an issue.  He doesn’t cover that issue in his platform, unfortunately.  Still, nuclear energy is not the end-all, and I think he recognizes this.   He argues that sugar is a better answer for biofuel.  I’d need to study the science behind it more, but I do know that all biofuel options have their pros and cons.

There are places I don’t agree with him, however.

I’m somewhat against his idea for Iraq.  He wants to put together Saudi, Iranian, and Syrian troops?  Talk about a mismatch.  The government of Iraq barely functions with Shia and Sunni elements together, and he wants to put in different kinds of military?  Not going to happen, I think.   As for Afghanistan, I’m not entirely in favor of letting back in power those who harbored the organization that attacked our soil.  While I understand the thought behind the idea, the Taliban is already gaining a foothold back into the country.

The U.N. idea is a nice one, but I think they have more important things to do than to go rating countries based on democracy.  I think it’s already easy to tell.  Besides, if we’re rating on how people elect their leaders, all the one who use direct elections are going before us!  I’m also not a big fan of the half-vote idea.  There are some countries out there that are still under true monarchies, but are not necessarily totalitarian or oppressive.

I’m going to remain neutral on his abortion platform, because I don’t have a fully formed opinion on his reasoning behind allowing it.  Finally, I didn’t include his platform on healthcare, because I think it was more of a mismash of what the problems are now vs. what the problems would be with true universal healthcare, rather than what he would do.

So, there you are, folks.  Blake Ashby, Independent candidate for President.

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I say “evangelical,” and what do you think?

Perhaps the name George W. Bush comes to mind.  Maybe Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson.  And yes, Ted Haggard really is an evangelical.  Then I tell you some new names.  Jimmy Carter.  Jim Wallis.  Amy Sullivan.  The first is rather more recognizable than the other two, but I think you know where I’m going with this after seeing Carter’s name in the list.

For those of you who haven’t already been enlightened to the fact, you better get yourself out of stereotype central, because liberal evangelicals do exist.

“But this can’t be”, you say.  “Aren’t evangelicals those people who dislike the idea of homosexuality and abortions?”

Perhaps there are many out there who could be defined by this, but it’s unfair to say all of them are like this.  Evangelicalism is not purely interrelated with politics.  Yes, there are many people who do mix the two.  But, you’ve got to think that not everybody who follows the movement thinks the same way about the issues in the world?

And it’s true.  Evangelicalism is first and foremost a religious movement.  From my studies, to be an evangelical, you usually have to have a strong commitment to Jesus Christ, and to be active in spreading His word.  Sometimes, there is also a conversion element to it (being born again).

It makes sense to me, then, that many types of people would wish to spread the word of Jesus, and yet may care for the environment, or want to be active in civil rights.  You know, those things traditionally associated with liberalism.

Now, I try to keep myself open-minded as possible, and yet, I am not devoid of personal prejudices.  There was a time where I believed “all evangelicals are right-wing fundamentalists.”  Then you get into the real world and find out what’s different.  Like how one of the best professors I’ve had is very much a practicing Catholic with strong views on the subject.  If you think he’s a conservative, try again.

So, because of things like this, it is not surprising to me that there are liberal evangelicals.  It’s doesn’t really phase me much because I know that people in this world are not robots.  There is no one person with quite the same views.  It’s be a boring world if this were the case.

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Monday’s entry will be the next IC 2008 entry. Then, hopefully, all this weekend and next week I’ll have one per day. Here’s why:

Spring Break! Ahh, it feels good to have a break every once in a while, and this upcoming week will be no exception. Nothing special going on, unfortunately, but the rest will be nice.

There was no entry yesterday, simply because it was a long day. I was more or less going from 11-11 that day. First, getting ready for an exam, then taking the exam. Then, went to a meeting to try to get some club money transferred into our budget account. Turns out I only need to fill out some form. That’s doable.

Then I had work, followed by setup for the news. We did something pretty awesome last night. We’ve been going live for a while, but have never done an actual live shot. You’ve see them all the time. A reporter is on location at a courthouse, a farm, a business, whatever. We’ve never done one, though. One of our newer members suggested doing it, found out how to do it, and then we set it up and did it. It went off very nicely, I must say.

Then, I went out for a bit with some fellow club members, then waited to find out whether we were or were not a go for a PSA shoot very late. Like, 2am late. See, the PSA we’re doing is about underage drinking, and having parents talk to their kids. Our location is a hospital. So, we can only do it when the emergency room isn’t busy. That means checking out that night to see what’s up. Unfortunately, our contact at the hospital found out it was busy last night, so it was no go. Hopefully we’ll have better luck on Monday night, though.

Today, had a class, then work. Our prop room was a mess, so me and my fellow lab assistant re-arranged it. Now it looks pretty and sparkling. Well, perhaps not sparkling, but it’s prettier than it used to be. You can walk in it, now, for instance, and not fear tripping over a chair.

Well, that’s it. Haven’t done a personal life entry in a while, so it was good to do. Now to work on the next IC 2008 entry…