2008 Presidential Candidates

Last week I wrote about how disinterested I am in the national elections this year. This got me to thinking about who the candidates are and what choices we really have. For good or bad, the only candidates with a real chance of actually winning are the Democratic and Republican (I did that alphabetically only with no intended implication of one being better than the other) candidates. However, they aren’t the only guys running for our highest office. I did some checking and was really surprised at how many people were vying for the job. Vote Smart has the full list, check it out here.

Because the popular vote does not determine the winner in the Presidential election (it’s all done by the Electoral College) it is pretty useless to vote for anyone other than one of the two main candidates. The absolute best person for the office could be running under some other party and they have virtually no chance of winning the election, even if they get the most [popular] votes.

How does someone win the election? All they need is 270 Electoral College votes. It’s that simple. And you thought your vote mattered! Eight years ago we had an election where the popular vote went to one person and the office went to the other. Check out this link to find out what the current standings are.

Still want to vote for one of the two main candidates? Not sure which one? Take the quiz at the Washington Post to see which one of them is closest to you on important issues.

2008 Elections

I came across this while surfing through some of my favorite blogs the other day. It's a new word recommendation for the dictionary:

Elec-tile Dysfunction: The inability to become aroused over any of the choices for President put forth by either of the two political parties in the 2008 election year.

This really resonated with me. Back in January I wrote a blog about the primary elections going on in my state and why I felt disenfranchised by the whole mess. Well, I still don't feel any better about the whole process. Our nation is going through a series of very difficult 'economic corrections' right now and I, like many folks, have little faith in my elected officials being able to do anything constructive about the situation.

The local area of politics, and maybe the state level, is the only place I'm interested in. It is the only place that I feel I have any real control over my future and any real say in the outcome of the election. As for the national election, I'm still trying to decide who my write-in name should be for president.

Signed,
Looking for suggestions

A trip through the mountains

The other week I did a Blog on the things that I love. Since I'm really sick of politics right now I decided that I would just post some pictures that I've taken in the past of other places that I love. It's winter now in the U.S. and lots of people are dealing with snow and cold weather, so I thought some pictures of green plants and other non-frozen stuff might be nice.

The picture shown above was taken somewhere in the Great Smokey Mountains - another place that I love - mountains that is, although this series of pictures is all from various places in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

The above picture is from an out-of-the-way, country road in South Carolina. Hidden treasure (and I'm not talking money) awaits those who travel off the beaten path.

There are lots of waterfalls throughout the Appalachian range. They are wonderful for soothing the soul and refreshing the spirit.

It was a bright but cloudy day when I took this. A blue sky would have been nice, but we don't always get everything that we want. Better to enjoy what we have.

Inspiration

What inspires you: people, places, things? For myself, among other things, it’s quotations that other people have said over the centuries that inspire me. So, lacking inspiration for a topic this week, I’ve decided to list some of my favorite ones here. They are in no particular order, mostly just as I find them from where they are stashed – my bulletin board, stuck to the side of the fridge, taped to the filing cabinet, or filed in my PalmPilot.

This one might seem wrong at first, but you need to think about it:
"Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right." - Isaac Asimov

Now here is one that you might have seen, it certainly fits the United States now [unfortunately]:
"Those who would give up essential liberty for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin

Here’s a couple I wish the entire planet would follow:
"Treat the Earth well: is was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children" - Indian proverb
"Fear less, hope more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours." - Swedish proverb

The source of this one may surprise you:
"A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest-- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." - Albert Einstein

Here are some very timely ones:
"Unfortunately, prejudice comes from education and family life and all the things that are praised by religious orthodoxy." - Sir Peter Ustinov
"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." - Susan B Anthony
"The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself." - Richard Francis Burton
"The biggest cause of trouble in the world today is that the stupid people are so sure about things and the intelligent folks are so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell

Here’s one that I try hard to follow:
"I have made peace with myself somewhere between my ambitions and my limitations." - from the movie, Tea House of the August Moon

I’d like to think that this one is a good description of me:
"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed." - Theodore Roosevelt

Lastly, since I just quit my job, I guess this one is really me:
"I'd rather be a failure at something I enjoy than a success at something I hate." - George Burns

Do you have any favorite quotations or sayings?

Avarice and Envy, addendum

I’ve been thinking about my recent post and realize that I sound like doom and gloom. That’s not how I really want to be, nor is that the tone that I want for this Blog.

With that in mind I want to post my ideas for how to resolve the election/government mess:

• We have certification tests for all kinds of professions: everything from selling real estate to practicing law, medicine, and even working on computers. Let’s create a certification test for anyone who wants to run for elected office. We could create different tests depending upon the level of office, everything from local, to state, up to the national level.
• One of the big problems now is that, for the most part, the only people who can get elected are those with big pots of money (or those who have access to people who can give them big pots of money). We need to get money out of the process. There are lots of no cost and low cost ways that they can campaign:

• Blogs – there are lots of sites that don’t even charge you to post one.
• Web sites – again, there are lots of hosting companies that charge less than $5 a month to host your site.
• Sports stadiums and other large arenas could host debates or “meet and greet” events. The hosting location could hand out advertising for whatever they normally have there, vendors could make money selling beverages (no alcoholic stuff!) and food items, so it would still make money, or potential money, for the location.
• Public television and radio stations could interview the candidates and offer call-in question opportunities for the public. The public TV or radio station could even hold the event around one of their fund raising times to try and raise more money for themselves.

• We need to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions. If they are on the public dole and get caught doing some crime, then they should be punished for their crime just like any other criminal. Really punished! Especially at the national level; no more lifetime pension and health care. For that matter, why should any of them get lifetime pension and health care? Check out this letter.
• Lastly, let’s get rid of all the consultants, PACs (Political Action Committees), lobbyists, and other large organizations that use their influence and money to mold government. We make it a law that the only people who can express their opinion are the citizens themselves. Sure, many of them will be owners of, or high-ranking employees of large organizations; however, their influence would be limited to a letter, fax, or e-mail message that they send as an individual citizen ONLY.

So, there you have a few simple suggestions. Let me know what you think.

As always, thanks for listening,
Lee