Barack Obama.
Today my students constantly asked me who I voted for. I'm hesitant to talk about these issues in the classroom environment because I think people should decide for themselves who to vote for, not throw away their vote in mimicry of someone they look up to (teacher, parent, etc.). Though, often, the people you look up to have the same ideals as you, so voting along those lines would make perfect sense.
I did ask a couple people who they voted for, and always followed up with, "Why?" The "why" is important.
One student said they "voted for McCain because Sarah Palin is hot."
Another student said they "voted for Obama because he's black."
Neither of these are good reasons. Obviously.
As I try to tell people when the subject comes up: I do not personally care, or judge, based on who you vote for. I judge you based on how well you can defend your reasons. If you think McCain was the better candidate because of his policies, and can identify which ones you agree with, good for you. Same with Obama. Be informed!
America made the right decision today.
More commentary after the cut.
Who you vote for should be based on what you value the most. I think McCain is better in almost all military affairs, but I think our economy, energy sources, and diplomacy are more important. Electing Barack Obama shows progression. Electing John McCain would have shown repetition. And had McCain been elected, America would have shown repetition.
A few people I know have said that the economy is going to fail now. Sorry, but the economy is already failing. Yes, it could get worse. But the policies that have been around are what brought us here, and if it's broke, I'm definitely going to try to fix it.
As a person, I almost like McCain. Almost. Sure, he's only a mediocre public speaker (and a horrible debater), but he means well. Unfortunately he had a huge handicap in Sarah Palin. I've made a couple posts about her before, so I'll refrain. I'll just say that she was the incorrect choice as a running mate.
I don't want to get overly political on the blog, so if you want more details on what I agree/disagree with from the candidates, ask me in person.
11.04.2008
And the Winner Is....
10.17.2008
A Great Site
Yes, this site has been around for a while, but one can never overemphasize a helpful hand.
FactCheck.org gives details on current politics, and unlike news sites, FactCheck actually finds evidence to prove or disprove what a candidate says.
For example, here are some examples of discrepancies from Debate 3. And yes, both candidates exaggerated or misled the viewers--sometimes intentionally, no doubt, and sometimes probably because their own research was inaccurate.
Either way, when something big comes up in the political realm, before you take what someone says as a truth, run by this site to see if it holds water.
Obama is Eloquent
I finally got around to watching the presidential debate from two days ago. I'm only going to touch on one topic to avoid massive arguments: Two times during the night Senator McCain followed a statement from Senator Obama by pointing out how 'eloquent' he was in his word choice.
Since when is eloquence a bad thing? Sorry that Obama is specific in his terms and chooses his word carefully. Maybe he should watch some McCain speeches so he can study how to mix sentences and lose his train of thought.
Also, I don't even think eloquent is the correct word McCain was aiming for. Eloquent means fluent language that is very polished and proper. What McCain was trying to show was that Obama would be sure to use a phrase like 'looking at' instead of 'going to.' I can't off the top of my head think of a word that means specifically to choose one's words carefully to avoid commitment, but it's definitely not eloquent. This seems like a decent sized oversight from someone attempting to police grammar.
10.15.2008
Kairi Gets Better Every Day
Hayden Panettiere, who I endearingly call 'Kairi' because her voice acting in Kingdom Hearts is better than anything else she's ever done, becomes more awesome by the day.
No, I don't watch Heroes (maybe someday).
No, I don't like getting into political arguments (except with my mom, because she'll love me no matter what [unless I vote non-Republican]).
Anyway, here's a video of Hayden pitching why McCain is a great candidate. There's mild use of the f-bomb, so don't watch this at work or school.
Oh, how I love sarcasm, satire, and parody. Sure, subtlety isn't very present here, but sometimes it's okay to be explicit. Video of the Month.
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