News

Heath Ledger died.

Over 650 people have died in Kenya in the last month.

Voting

So I did a blog on politics and it stirred up a lot more than I was expecting. First off I want to say that I picked Mike Huckabee, not to pick on him, but because he was the candidate that most of the people in my circle have been supporting. Since mostly people in my circle read this blog, I figured I would be relevant to that. Most of the people reading this aren't supporting Obama or Clinton so it wouldn't have really mattered to write a post on why I don't agree with them. I have nothing against Mike Huckabee.

But this whole thing goes to a bigger issue. I don't feel like I can support any of the candidates that are currently running in the two party system that we have. Many of them, including Mike Huckabee, seem to have many good points, but there are just things that they support and believe that I just can't support. I understand that I will agree with no candidate completely and many people adopt the 'vote for the least bad one' strategy. I just can't bring myself to do that.

So what do I do? I haven't found anyone that I can support, and I believe strongly that I should vote. The only option that I can come up with right now is to do heavy research and find a candidate from another party other than the two big ones. That candidate won't win, but I can probably in a good conscience vote for him or her.

Clarification

I want to clarify the last post. It is one person's opinion(me) about whether or not I agree with another person(Huckabee). Just my thoughts on quotes I found on his website. I don't mean any of the statements to be an accusation of the US. I love the states and am very glad that I am a US citizen. I think that the US does a pretty good job in the position it is in the world. It is hard to be the big guy.

Politics

I almost never step into the realm of politics, but it seems that in certain circles, Mike Huckabee is being hailed as the one to like and vote for. This is long and hopefully doesn't become too much of a soapbox, but these are things that I feel, some very strongly about and others less so. Following are some reasons why I cannot support him. All quotes are taken from his website.

HEALTH CARE:
...We don't need universal health care mandated by federal edict or funded through ever-higher taxes...It consumes about 17% of our gross domestic product, easily surpassing the few European nations where spending is close to 10% and far higher than any other country in the world...
After living in Germany I have seen universal health care work and he states right here that it is cheaper in Europe. The US has attempted to fix health care privately for too long. Maybe we should realize that our European friends might have figured something out.

BORDERS:
...I strongly oppose the economic integration of North America that would have open borders among the United States, Canada, and Mexico. I know we must have closed and secure borders...
With the global environment that is happening, this type of secludist talking will get us nowhere. There are many good things that we can learn from other countries.

IRAQ:
...Setting a timetable for withdrawal is a mistake. This country has never declared war until "a week from Wednesday," we have always declared war until victory...
I could have put his entire page on Iraq here. I cannot support someone who still thinks that we should have gone in or need to stay in Iraq. There isn't even a thought of how to get out of another sovereign country that we should have left alone.

MILITARY:
...I will expand the army and increase the defense budget...
You have got to be kidding me. People are starving on the street and we can't even get health care or help these African nations, but we need to spend more money on the military. Let's get our priorities straight and start caring about people, not taking over people.

ISRAEL:
...As President, I will always ensure that Israel has access to the state-of-the-art weapons and technology she needs to defend herself from those who seek her annihilation...
It is amazing how Israel stays perfect as the country bombs Palestine and Palestine is always the bad country. Maybe we should reevaluate.

HUMAN RIGHTS:
...The United States must continue to lead the world in condemning the human rights abuses inflicted on the Cuban people...
Why can we torture people as much as we want but than claim to be clean. We should clean up our act before condemning other countries.

GUN CONTROL:
...I consistently opposed banning assault weapons and opposed the Brady Bill...
Still don't understand why people need to walk around with assault weapons. This might be a good thing to ban.

These are some issues that cause me to not be able to support him.