2008-05-03

Ron Paul says Obama best on foreign policy

Today Ron Paul, while speaking to Wolf Blitzer about his book and the current state of the nominations, hinted that he would be more likely to back Obama than McCain.  He said that of the three remaining candidates, “I would think the one who would most likely keep us from expanding the war would be Obama.”  

Ron Paul also said that foreign policy issues were the biggest reason he cannot support John McCain. 


2008-05-02

The Other Healthcare Plan

McCain's healthcare plan would give tax breaks to people who buy their own insurance, but also cap the amount of tax breaks for companies.  

This tax change would have the effect of penalizing some workers (possibly me) whose companies give them decent, but expensive, health plans through a higher tax bill.  

Contrast that with Obama's plan, which would largely leave my plan alone but give free-to-cheap plans for those who are unemployed or have to buy their own insurance.

2008-05-01

Mission Accomplished: 5 Years Ago


Five years ago today, George W. Bush landed on an aircraft carrier in a jumpsuit and gave a speech in which he told all of us that major combat operation in Iraq were over.  Behind him was a large banner that read: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Five years later and the guerilla war rages on, with no end in sight.  


2008-04-30

This guy is not good for the GOP

He thinks that pornography is a Jewish conspiracy, hangs out with guys waving swastikas, and is running for office in Indiana.  Meet the new, young face of the republican party!  Maybe McCain will pick him up as his running mate, after all, he needs to win over those "ultra conservative" voters.

Ron Paul is alive and kicking

And he's even got the current #1 best seller on amazon.com, The Revolution: A Manifesto

Most reviews are very positive and it is supposedly short (less than 200 pages) and to the point.

You can buy it here or at your local, more expensive bookstore.

Why the "gax tax holiday" won't help you

Hillary Clinton and John McCain are both preposing a "gax tax holiday" in which the federal gas tax, 18.4 cents per gallon, would be eliminated during the summer.  

This is a complete farce, designed to make those without a background in economics actually feel that the candidates are helping them.  They are not.

There are several issues involved, and I will try to break them down one by one.

1. The average person drives 12-15,000 miles per year.  Let's be generous and say you drive 15,000 miles per year, and that you drive an SUV that gets an average of 17 miles per gallon (the average car gets more than that).  During a 3 month period, you would drive 3750 miles and consume 220 gallons of gas.  The "savings" the gas tax would give you in this not-too-realistic circumstance?  $40.59 cents.  About the price of 1 tank of gas.  

2. But wait, that's just the amount of federal tax you'd save.  Let's say that this 18.4 cent tax is removed and people suddenly start driving more.  There is a psychological effect of a tax break: people will use it to buy things they weren't planning on.  In this case, it may be taking a vacation by car.  Demand will almost certainly go up.  Due to good old supply and demand, given a constant supply, the price of gas will go up like wiping out any savings.

3. Where is this money coming from to pay this?  There are 2 possibilities.  Either we get a cash advance on our Central People's Republic Bank of China credit card, or we take the money from where the gas tax goes to: roads.  That's right, get ready for longer waits on potholes being fixed, jobless construction workers, and maybe even a falling bridge.

Hillary and McCain have both seized on this idea and keep running around screaming that it will help out average Americans.  Will $40 really help out the average American, especially if the price goes up to compensate and it turns into a $10 savings that you much more than lose when you need a new tire after you hit the pothole that wasn't fixed because the federal highway administration didn't have enough money?  Sheesh!

The only candidate who is correct about this issue is Obama.  From the beginning, he cited many of the economic reasons above and called it what it is: a gimmick.  Said Obama, "This isn't an idea designed to get you through the summer, it's an idea designed to get them through an election."

Many prominent economists have also chimed in and they all agree that this would not do a damn thing.  

If the government wants to do away with the gas tax, then take my advice from several years ago and just get rid of the tax permanently.  Of course, that would require cutting spending in something... hmm... what are we wasting money on these days...?  Iraq?

Here's a calculator to help you figure out how much you'll "save" 


2008-04-28

Wright shows he's everything Obama's not

Starting this week, Rev. Jeremiah Wright embarked on some type of speaking tour, that included stops in Washington, Detroit, and other cities.  He repeated some of his earlier controversial comments, snuggled up with Detroit's finest mayor ever, Kwame Kilpatrick, and talked a lot about God and race.  

I think Reverend Wright is angry that Barack Obama has been able to transcend race in a world that Wright feels is still very racist.  Instead of seeing us all come together and leave race behind, as Obama's message tells us, Wright would rather his group become the aggressors and leave us hopelessly divided.

Most likely, Wright feels betrayed by Obama.  He thought that once his comments came out, Obama would defend everything he said, instead of stating that Wright is angry and fails to see all the progress that has been made in the past forty years.  He said that Wright embodied the "angry" emotions of older black generations, just as his white grandmother and immigrants my embody "resentment" toward affirmative action programs and that while both emotions are justifiable, they are not productive.

Today Obama said this about Wright's recent comments (emphasis added):
“I think certainly what the last three days indicate is that we’re not coordinating with him.  He’s obviously free to speak his mind, but I just want to emphasize he is my former pastor. Many of the statements he made both to trigger this initial controversy, and that he’s made over the last couple days are not statements that I heard him make previously. They don’t represent my views and they don’t represent what this campaign is about. But he’s obviously free to make those statements.”
I think its about time we let Reverend Wright say his crazy things and stop giving him an audience.  I hope this is the last post I have to write about this guy.

2008-04-27

Obama on elitism, his suits, and bowling

Pretty funny video, especially when he goes after the press for hanging on every single thing he does, like throw gutter balls.