Random Thoughts

Below is something I wrote some time ago with the idea of expanding on each topic, I completely forgot about it then came across it on my hard drive today and since I will probably never finish it, I thought I would post it as is.
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When I was a kid, I was proud to be an American, I was proud of all that it stood for, but now as I get older, I don’t know. I find, the older I get, there is a lot I don’t know.

I don’t believe anything I hear in the main stream media in the US, usually just because I heard it there. I read lots of news feeds every day from lots of agencies across the world. I have listened to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Randi Rhodes and Al Franken, Jeff Rense and Alex Jones. I think they all have interesting opinions, but I don’t believe any of them. Mother Jones sits next to The New American on my coffee table, I read them both, and they have interesting opinions too.

I am not a Republican; “So you must be a democrat then” is the common reply I receive when I say that, well no, I am not a democrat “So what are you?” That is a good question. If I’m not one, I must be the other, but if I’m not the other, what am I? Since when were we a two party system, anyway? Didn’t the founding fathers say something about that? The last campaign I remember having 3 candidates wealthy enough to compete was a fraud. Even as a young child I figured out pretty quick that nobody thinking about voting for Clinton was going to vote for Perot, only those not sure about Bush would vote for Perot, thus splitting Bushes votes and giving Clinton the presidency. Was I the only one who saw that?

I am shocked the citizens of our country put up with a “free speech zone”. Since when did constitutional rights have defined boundaries? That would mean, on the other side of the line, there is no free speech. Isn’t that what the communists did? Am I the only one who sees this? Cops and federal agents who swore to uphold and protect the constitution then enforce laws like that ought to go back to grade school and study the constitution; they must have been home sick when it was taught.

All this talk about democracy, spreading democracy through out the world, may be I read it wrong but I though our country was set up as a republic, I thought the founding fathers specifically said they did not want a democracy.

According to a recent UN study, there is a 90% chance it is humans’ fault that the globe is warming. I always thought that science was based on absolutes, not percentages, so to give it to us in a percentage, does that mean there is no science behind it? That’s what the scientists not quoted in the newspapers say.

I am all about alternative energy, but why don’t we come up with something worth while? Why are we stuck on ethanol and bio-diesel? Growing corn is no earth friendly task just to mix 5% of it in with our gas. The whole biofuel industry, the money is in the subsidies, what doe that tell you? Are we just trying to make ourselves feel better or are we actually making a difference?

I think it is despicable that Ted Stevens, the guy in charge of the committee to “investigate” the oil companies had accepted over $100,000 in campaign contributions from the very oil companies he was investigating. To me that seems like a conflict of interest, am I the only one who saw that?

I think high fructose corn syrup, soda, and processed foods are the cause of a large majority of what is diagnosed as ADD. It makes when sick when I see mothers pour Pepsi into their babies’ bottle. Why doesn’t anyone pay attention to the results the schools have had who have eliminated junk food from their campus?

I am not at all worried about the president of Iran, I’ve never met him but the US media makes him out to be such a bad guy, that must mean he is alright. He has actually written a couple of letters to the people of the United States, interestingly enough the US media didn’t publish them that I saw. Though the man is not a Christian, his letters revealed a much more Christian Character than the one we have in charge here who claims God tells him what to do. I don’t believe for one minute that Iran is supplying Iraq insurgents with weapons, I guess our government figures we won’t buy the whole WMD again so they are trying to get us on something of a little smaller scale. What is the big deal with them having a nuclear reactor or two? We have quite a few of them, some people say it is the cleanest, most efficient energy, others say they will kill us all, I personally don’t have an opinion because I don’t care enough to go back to school to get a nuclear engineer degree to know enough to have an opinion.

I don’t agree with the Iraq war, on the same note, I don’t agree with sending our military anywhere in the world, I think we should use our military to protect us. Anyhow, I am sure good things will come from the Iraq war, it has to be going okay, just because the media says its not. I do find it tough to swallow that they hung Saddam for crimes committed back when he was our friend. Couldn’t they come up with anything better than that?

I think NAFTA was a failure (for us in the US anyway) and I think the FTAA will speed up the tailspin of our economy. Yes, I think our economy is in a tailspin. As soon as I see a bank offer a CD that has a rate good enough that I won’t lose money from inflation, then I might reconsider.

If you don’t believe anything I say, that is okay. Most of my information can be found in the US media, you can look it up if you want. I already stated I don’t believe the media however so I don’t know if you should even bother looking it up, and since I don’t believe them, I don’t blame you for not believing me.

Not Voting

"All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, with moral questions; and betting naturally accompanies it. The character of the voters is not staked. I cast my vote, perchance, as I think right; but I am not vitally concerned that that right should prevail. I am willing to leave it to the majority. Its obligation, therefore, never exceeds that of expediency. Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men. When the majority shall at length vote for the abolition of slavery, it will be because they are indifferent to slavery, or because there is but little slavery left to be abolished by their vote. They will then be the only slaves. Only his vote can hasten the abolition of slavery who asserts his own freedom by his vote"

So said Henry David Thoreau back in 1849 in his essay 'Civil Disobedience'. I read that for the first time years ago and put it in the back of my mind. I grew up in the MTV Rock the Vote generation, one where if you didn't vote you couldn't complain. Well, that is all changing now, I am not voting and I am complaining.

After 8 years of watching my country be torn to shreds (no, I am not a democrat, they are just as much to blame as the republicans) I am appalled of what we are being offered for presidential options. By voting I would be saying that I believe in the system and I don't. Our country is (was) the greatest on earth, I am a red blooded American who loves my country, but I have lost faith in the system. If no one voted, the system would collapse and we could fix things. Sort of extreme, I know, but I can't think of any other way out.

So, the old motto "Rock the Vote"

The new motto: "Stop the Vote!"