Greetings… Warning! Last political column on the Presidential
race. Rather than unsubscribing, either don’t read it and come
back Friday, read it with a new perspective on how you “think”
Flyboy and I will vote, or scroll all the way down to the end
of the column, where, hopefully, a pleasant surprise awaits you!
Yes, I know you are all sick of politics and sick of me talking
about it. I will have my final say today, until I congratulate
either John McCain, or Barack Obama as our next President and
I will support either one and pray for both of them. Given the
sentiments in email and the blogs, I understand why so many of
you feel that I have already made my choice and am very biased
because of it. You couldn’t be further from the truth in all
honesty. Whether you want to believe me right now is your perogative,
I can’t do anything to prove what I am going to say. On our kitchen
counter are two early voting ballots. Flyboy and I have had the ballots
for over a week and they are still sitting, unmarked. After Monday’s
column and the barrage of comments that poured in, Flyboy asked, no,
BEGGED me to let him write today’s column. I tried to persuade him
against it because I love the dude and hated the thought of anyone
saying the things to him that they have said to me. He copped a
macho attitude and puffed up his chest until I reminded him that
the nastiness wasn’t from men, but women. HaHa, that scared him,
but he insisted on taking a chance and suffering the consequences.
I’ll make you a deal here, try to remain calm, try to listen to
what “we” are saying, and at the end, I promise I will give you
something that will DEFINITELY remove any stress and not only
put a smile on your face, but I think it will actually cause you
to laugh out loud at least once or twice. Trust me a little on
this one…
Hi everybody, Flyboy here. Just wanted to find out if you are as
torn as we are at this point? I know most of you assume
by reading Jamies’ columns that we are solidly behind Obama, but
that isn’t true. We are torn, torn by a system that provides two
choices, neither of which we totally agree with. Trying to figure
out which is the lesser of two evils is proving difficult this
year. Torn by knowing the truth of both candidates and realizing
that we are screwed no matter who wins.
On one hand, there is Obama, by all accounts a very smart man,
but with policies that will really take it to us if he gets
elected. I’m blessed to have what I have, but how much is enough,
or too much for the government? Why should half the money someone
makes be taken by anyone? Why should we be penalized for being
successful? With Obama, those people who are successful will be
asked to be “patriotic” and give more? Basically, he has chosen a
certain level of success, and wages beyond that are
“more than anyone” needs to live on. Sorry if you want to save
more for retirement, put that extra money in a nest egg for your
family’s future, you are going to give it to us so others don’t
have to sacrifice. Those that just exceed this defined level of
“patriotism” would be far better off if they worked less and fell
just below the level of “patriotism”. It doesn’t give me the incentive
to work harder, it gives me the incentive to hold back, because I feel
like I already give enough.
Then there is the other hand, John McCain. He says he won’t
raise my taxes while the economy is bad. What happens when the
economy turns around? I’ve listened to his speeches and by my
calculations, something doesn’t smell right. He says “we” are going
to drill, “we” are going to build more nuclear power plants. Um…
where is this money coming from, and who is doing the drilling
and building? As far as I know, there are no national drilling and
building programs owned by the government. So what is he really saying?
Are we gonna subsidize these programs and give more money to the oil
companies and power companies? Hmmm, smells just as socialistic as
Obama’s ideas. How is he going to do all this stuff without raising
taxes? Reminds me of Bush Sr, “read my lips, no new taxes” mantra.
Bottom line is that both guys are gonna raise taxes, no doubt about
it. We are in the process of wearing out our military, a lot of
people and equipment will have to be replaced soon. The system was
never designed to fight sustained combat operations for this long.
The service life of our equipment was designed around a peace time
process, and we are flat out wearing out alot of stuff, with no
“peace” in sight for a long time. Someone is going to have to pay for
it, and that means you and me. It’s kind of scary because the terrorists
are going to do to us what we did to the Soviet Union. Tear the U.S.
apart from within, drive us bankrupt with fear and the cost of fighting
them all over the world. Think about the cost for a minute, 10 billion
a month, not including operations in Afghanistan, not including the
cost to replace equipment and personnel.
There is no lesser of two evils here, there is no REAL choice
because we, the voters, have already been put in a no win position
by our elected leaders. How are we going to “stop the madness”? How
do we take back our government? How do we elect leaders that don’t
have some type of either “socialistic agenda” or “economic agenda”
but just have an agenda of doing what is right for the majority
of Americans. I’m so fed up with a process that either rewards the
bottom 10% or the top 10% and everyone else is hosed. How do we fix
a system that corrupts politicians from their first day in office?
Can anyone name me one person in federal politics that hasn’t gotten
rich off of their service? A system that only allows the “elite” to
serve because the average citizen can’t afford to run for office.
And if we could run for office, we’d have to be funded by someone
who could afford to sponser us and we’d be in their debt from the
start.
Yes, as you can tell we’re frustrated. We don’t find either choice
all that appealing and I didn’t even touch foreign policy, immigration,
Social security, medicare, etc etc. A tough choice indeed this year
with the stakes so high. Hard not to make a choice on a selfish level,
because we all work hard for the money we make no matter what tax bracket
you are in. Good Luck in your decision making, I hope the winner of this
election can do half of what they both claim they can.
Flyboy
And, because Flyboy has a much more diplomatic demeanor than I do,
I’m going to add this to the “list of why I’m having a hard time
deciding”. Big corporations and the benefactors of the sickening bailout
program aside, Americans that are doing well and are living a life
that many others can’t, shouldn’t be made to feel guilty, or responsible
for “sharing the wealth”. Ask me to pay a tax to increase benfits to
Veterans and I will gladly open my wallet, ask me to pay for a girl,
having her second or third baby after paying for generations of her
family to do the same thing, and I’m not only going to have a big
problem with it, all of my normal sympathy for those less fortunate
will not only disappear, but cut back on legitimate or personal
preferred charities. After all, “rich people” need to pay more
because they got to go to school, worked hard, paid their dues,
all to make something of themselves, earn a good living, take care
of their familys and enjoy the fruits of their labor. HOW DARE THEY!
Someone on the blogs mentioned the fact that I have a pool guy and
a landscaper. Forget the fact that I live in Arizona and pools aren’t
the luxury they may be in other states. While the type of pool you
have in Arizona may be a sign of status, having a pool is not. That
aside, am I supposed to apologize for the pool guy or the landscaper?
Did I ask the government to subsidize Moose and Ginger’s giant drinking
bowl? Did Flyboy ask each Southwest passenger he flies all over
the country for donations so we can have someone cut the grass? Under
Obama, I may have to cut my own grass because my neighbor is getting
some of our paycheck and now, my landscaper is working for him, cutting
HIS grass. So again, for those of you who think I’m biased against the
Republicans and pro-Obama, you may want to rethink your opinion. What
I WILL say is I have been against the tactics the Republicans have
used and the continuous smear campaigns that have gone on. So PLEASE
stop sending me “Obama is part of a sleeper cell” emails and the other
BS that has been proven false over and over again. It’s the issues that
will make me cast my vote for a candidate, not the other “crap”,
INCLUDING the 150,000 wardrobe. Those of you who took such
issue with the column on that missed the point totally…
Alrighty then, there you have it. This race won’t be decided by votes
cast by Democrats or Republicans who vote for their party no matter
what. This race will be won when the Independent/undecided voters
make their choice. In spite of the rhetoric, nasty campaigning,
mudslinging and anything else that can be blamed on BOTH PARTIES,
we all have to remember one thing. We ALL love our country and
want nothing but the best for it and its citizens. Let’s hope
the next President remembers why they were voted into office…
And now, without further ado, may I keep my promise and give you
the promise of a smile? For the first time, Moose and Ginger are
starring in their own video, filmed and edited by my son Dizzy,
called Danes of Greatness. While a picture may be worth 1,000
words, I think you’ll get a better perspective of just how goofy
and BIG they are, with another full year of growing to do!
Just click on the link and enjoy! Let me know what you think,
(in between the drop dead emails)…
http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=13572
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Sherry,
Looked up conservative – one definition is “opposed to change”, quite appropriate in this case. Also, I did not imply that you were living beyond your means, I was attempting to show some sympathy for your point of view, that you observe those making less than you living it up while you work six days a week. I honestly believe that eventually that it does all come a tumblin’ down for those people.
And I beg to differ, there are people starving in this country, just because you don’t see them, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Stop by your local church and ask about the homeless people that stop by. It’s quite sad because there are programs to help people, both government and private, some just fall through the cracks. If things keep going the same way, you’ll see a whole ot more of it.
Good point Kelly – a whole different story, but obviously very related.
Loved the video!!! As for today’s column…Flyboy did a great job. He stated the pros and cons for both Presidential candidates. He didn’t get all caught up with the VP candidates. I am in agreement with most of what he stated. Election Day will be here before you know it… God help us.
PS. You know why Flyboy makes good money?? He is trained to do something that not everybody can do. You can’t hire just anybody off the street to do his job (at least I hope not!). He has thousands of peoples lives in his hands everytime he goes to work (don’t mean to add to the stress). You don’t become a Airline Pilot overnight and you don’t just read a manual and go to work.
You are correct Rebecca…
14 years in the Air Force, followed by various flying jobs that paid 25,000-50,000 a yr until he worked his way to Southwest Airlines…
My son, not in the military, went to the Delta Academy, flies for a company and makes roughly 32,000 a year. However, he has student loans for his pilot training for (you better sit down)….$122,000…
By the time a pilot gets to where Flyboy is in his career, ( if he’s lucky, the airline industry is causing plenty of financial hardships on pilots, flight attendants and their families), he has paid his dues and as was stated, the responsibility that is on the shoulders of pilots can’t be imagined, and since 9-11, the stress has increased for not only the pilots, but the ones who
wait patiently for them on the ground until they get home safe…
I believe in helping others and do my best to do so, however, with two boys in college and
helping those in need in my own family, I want, make that need, to keep as much of our money because “charity begins at home”. If I can’t help my own because a bigger portion of my income will be gone and mismanaged, then you can guarantee I’m going to feel resentment…
However…If Dorothy’s facts and figures are in fact, correct, and handed out as such, I will gladly pay an additional 1500.00 a year for the projected plans, the key word is “if”. Obama
has already lowered the 250,000 to 200,000 in his last speech. The “middle class” encompasses a very broad range of people and income. “Rich” is one of those words that
doesn’t necessarily define an income, it can be a word perceived by those making less and
can apply up and down the ladder without even getting to 200,000. I’m not sure the government has a complete grasp on “rich” when it comes to average people. People making 300,000 a year are not CEO’s of corporations and don’t get the “coporate welfare”
or tax breaks that those earning less get…
I’m not american, but please, allow me to just write my humble opinion.
I totally agree with Pat when she says that Mr. Obama scares her. He also scares a lot of nice and aware people of my country, Brazil.
The president of my country won the election using a very very similar speech to Mr. Obama: tax the rich to give to the poor, is going to fight for the social, etc. He and his left wing party – the Work Party – really wish that Mr. Obama is the president of the USA. And they also have a kind of campaign for Mr. Obama here. This is not good at all because if the Work Party is in favor of someone, one should be alert: they won’t do anything if they don’t have an interest.
The problem is that I guess american people are not aware of whom the president of my country, Mr. Lula da Silva, really is. Mr. Lula is subtly implementing the socialism/ communism in our country: black against the white, the poor against the rich, gays against the heterosexual; indians against ‘white’ people; He is dividing our country into the very poor (who receives some low financial support from the government so they are kind of ‘chained’ to him and his party) and very rich (those who are getting richer because they are partners in the ideology). The middle class is disappearing. And he is also tried for many times to put censorship to the midia, and everything that is according to the communist regime of Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia. And this is a treat among them by the Forum of Sao Paulo, a foundation whose members are the worst groups of terrorists and communists from all over the world.
This Saturday Mr. Lula went to Cuba and said publicly that he is in favor of Mr. Obama. He met Mr. Castro (Fidel) who confirmed that if Mr. Obama wins, their ‘plan’ to a ‘better world’ will finally be put into practice. They are all in favor of and very close to of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the iranian president.
I guess I won’t be able to explain here with my words, what I would like to. But if you want to have some true information on what goes on in Brazil, pelase access the site of “Olavo de Carvalho”, a brazilian phylosopher who lives in the USA and writes very good texts on political issues.
The link is: http://www.olavodecarvalho.org/english/
And finally, I’m not a racist, I only want the best for people of all over the world.
Please, I would be sincerely thankful if you consider at least reading Mr. Olavo’s texts on his site.
Thank you very much and God Bless America, the country I love so much.
Having a progressive income tax and some socialized programs is a far cry from communism. The first helps provide funds for infrastructure and needed programs for people with special needs, including education for all up to and including high school, and the second assures that no one need go without health care services because of lack of funds.