Mitt Romney or Your Mom

I think I like politics for the same reason I liked skateboarding as a teenager; I enjoy being frustrated. I have followed the presidential primaries a little too closely this last year so I feel compelled to take some time to write about my own opinions to even out all the time I have wasted listening to the opinions of others.

In full disclosure a large part of the reason I took interest in Mitt Romney’s campaign is because we share the same religion. I think it is a valid reason to support someone as long as they also share secular ideologies. I am a registered independent because I am adamantly against the two-party system. If we had a stronger third or fourth party there would be a lot less pandering and a lot more honesty in politics. Even beyond that I am convinced that no political party should be involved in a presidential nomination. The office of President is meant to be held by an individual not a political party. Our country needs a president that is not aligned or committed to any particular party so he can stand on his own merits and judgment and not those of his political party. I’ll make my point before I digress further into my anti partisan gibber jabber. Election time is not a time for Americans to be polarized or separated. It is a time when Americans should be united in a great cause; sorting through the rabble that our political systems offers us and finding the candidate that is the least likely to screw up this great nation. (I will try to make that my last pessimistic remark, pessimism is too easy).

Now here is a quick summary of why I’m voting for Romney and why I’m not voting for the other leading politicians:

Why Romney: Here are my top 5 reasons: 1. When I listen to him I hear sincerity in his voice. He is a politician and he plays political games but beyond that I think he has sincere intentions. 2. He can lead; he has proven his leadership abilities in both the private and political arenas. 3. He can succeed: In the U.S. success is measured in dollars and he has more of them than any other candidate. Being rich should not be a crutch for him; we are a capitalist society and we are more likely to remain that way if Mitt Romney is elected. 4. He seems to be a man of good character, something that is lacking in many politicians. 5. I have yet to hear any “Washington Insider” in the media say anything positive about him, this is a plus in my book, we need someone who will stir up the pot not meld to it.

Why not Giuliani: His personal life has to come into play in my decision because character is as important as any other presidential trait. The facts that his children don’t back him and he was unfaithful to his wife gives me reason to question his character. He has had some great achievements in his life but none that make him more qualified than Romney and his social views are not in sync with mine.

Why not Hillary: I think it would be a waste of cyberspace to answer that question but I will simply say I don’t see anything on her resume that qualifies her to “fix Washington”.

Why not Obama: I think Obama is the most sincere Candidate on the Democratic ticket. I think he has strong principals that outweigh his ambition. I think he has good leadership skill and the ability to motivate others; however I can't vote for him because I disagree with him on almost every issue and don’t believe he is a capitalist

Why not Huckabee: I will be honestly shallow here – every time I look at him all I can see is Gomer Pile in a suit. I have a difficult time seeing Gomer Pile leading the free world. He seems like a pretty good guy but I don’t think he has the fiscal know how to run a business or a country.

Why not McCain: McCain comes in close second for me, however his biggest achievement happens to be his biggest liability in my eyes which is the number of years he has spent in Washington. All pessimism aside I truly believe Washington corrupts or at the very least deteriorates a person’s judgment. I think it is important to have a president with as few Washington “contacts” as possible.

That's what I think.

I'm gonna give this another try.

It has been over five months but I'm going to attempt a come back. I don't have an excuse for my hiatus except for the lack of that 25th hour in a day. I sometimes wonder why God didn't give us that extra hour. 25 seems like such a better number then 24. I understand that it doesn't divide easily but we could all pretend there were 24 hours and then use the 25th one to catch up on stuff. I don't have much to say but I'm going to brainstorm and hopefully come up with something clever.

i found my soul in rock n roll

Sometimes you don't realize that something is missing until you find it.

I love music, I like classic rock, hard rock, soft rock, punk rock, even emotionally independant rock. I like hip hop, rap, house, techno and if Johnny Cash is country then I like that too. But something happened. I don't know exactly when or why but I stopped listening to music.

I spend most of my work week sitting in traffic or on airplanes which gives me plenty of time to listen to my old favs and keep up on what's new, then a year and a half ago I got XM and Audible. Since then audio books and talk radio have come to consume my world, until last week. I was reaching for the XM button when my finger slipped to M1 where Johnny Ramone was hammering out the chorus to Needles and Pins and I realized what I have been missing. The emotion and inspiration found in music can not be matched by other mediums. Jared Diamond's exhastive exposé on the social dynamics of the Inuit is no match for Mike Diamond's 2.5 minute exploration of sexism among America's youth.

This is a confessional more then anything else. I feel guilty for letting such a large part of me slip away, I can't remember the last time I learned a new song on the guitar or bought a new CD. But tomorrow is a new day...

Who do they think they are?

I'm tired of people complaining about how overly conservative BYU is. I am BYU Alumni and while I was a student I did my fair share of complaining; but I am older and wiser now and I am embarrassed for some of my short sited criticisms. The fact of the matter is, BYU is a private school and has the right to make any restrictions or standards that it sees fit especially since its tuition is only $1,810 per semester for members and $3,620 for non LDS members. (USC tuition is $14,994/semester, UC Berkeley is $3,899/semester for residents and $13,241/semester for nonresidents.) If you don't like or do not want to live by the standards then transfer somewhere else. If you do/did attend somewhere else then you have nothing to complain about and your criticisms are petty and make you appear insecure about your own college education.

Another quick point I’d like to make is, from my experience, BYU's student body is much more conservative then its faculty. Any “liberal” BYU students must understand that if they are hoping to affect change it’s going to be an extremely up hill battle. I know this seems like a “no duh” blog but I think there are way more BYU haters then there needs to be.

WWJD

Would *Jesus support a policy of disproportionate response? Would Jesus think it appropriate to protect your property with lethal force. Would Jesus justify capital punishment. Would Jesus be a capitalist or a socialist? So what makes the "Christian Right" so Christian? (In the interest of full disclosure I find myself disagreeing with **Jesus on some of these issues, which is disturbing.)

My point; religion has no place in politics. Anytime the two get mixed religion ends up being trampled in the mud. History teaches us that most wars are the result of religious differences when in fact, religion is simply being used to justify man's lust for power and revenge. Islam is no more responsible for terrorism than Christianity is responsible for the Inquisition. The purpose of the separation of church and state is not to protect the state from the church, but to protect the church from the state.

I know this post was somewhat disjointed and far from eloquent, these are just a few things I've had on my mind this election season.


*Jesus is used metaphorically here; I’m using him, not as a rational, living, breathing man but as an over simplified culmination of his teachings. I do this with respect and with no intentions of blasphemy.
**Again, I am not disagreeing with Jesus (he happens to always be right) I just happen to find myself agreeing with things that my metaphorical Jesus would disagree with.

WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON!?

Some may wonder where the Pirates vs. Ninjas controversy started. Others may not be aware that such a controversy exists. I will begin by addressing the second group of people. WAKE UP! History’s greatest adversaries are battling right under your noses. Google it.

For the rest of you here is a brief history lesson. In 1803 the USS Philadelphia ran aground in the Bay of Tripoli and 300 sailors and Marines were taken hostage by Barbary Pirates and handed over to Tripoli’s leader, Bashaw Yussef Karamanli. In response Thomas Jefferson sent William Eaton to command a handful of Marines to free the hostages and attempt our nation’s first regime change. After hiring several assassins (Ninja) and mercenaries in Egypt, Eaton marched across the Sahara to begin the United States first overseas operation. Eaton was never able to claim a definitive victory because Jefferson withdrew his support, however the struggle between ninja and pirates continues today.

Few realize that pirates were fanatical Muslims who used the principle of Jihad to justify their violent acts. They were generally state sponsored by Arab kingdoms trying to spread the word of Allah and make a buck. The U.S. had its hands in the Middle East cookie jar long before the discovery of oil. Due to our severely depleted Post-Revolution military our founding fathers found it necessary to pay off countries like Tunis and Tripoli to keep pirates from attacking our ships and harbors. Through the efforts of brave men such as the infamous Captain Kidd (who was so ninja that everyone thought he was a pirate) we were eventually able to rid our oceans of these barnacle loving terrorists. However, in recent years we have seen a resurgence of the pirate propaganda machine, from blockbuster movies to children’s books they are recruiting supporters by the thousands.

The Ninja have always stood for honor, loyalty and awesomeness. The ninja have never attacked our country. (The ninja do not fly planes they depend on stealth and Chinese stars and therefore could not have been a part of Pearl Harbor or 9/11.) Ninja have been the heroes of Japanese culture, protecting small towns and farms from the Emperors forces. Ninja work in total anonymity, they do not boast of their accomplishments. Ninja do not pillage and plunder in fact they are very polite. The ninja ranks are dwindling; Hollywood has not made a ninja movie since American Ninja 5 in 1992, because of their extreme stealth their battles go unnoticed by the media.

It is almost impossible to become a ninja; you must be able to master stars, nun chucks, staff, scythe, darts, and disappearing. Luckily you don’t have to become a ninja to be ninja. The adjective “ninja” describes anyone who is totally sweet and hates pirates. George W. Bush once said “you are either with us or against us.” So my fellow ninja, hasta la revolucion!

Paula Zahn Smells Funny

I've been sitting in the Phoenix airport for the last three hours due to a canceled flight and I'm about to slit my wrists with my car keys. somebody thought it would be a good idea to blare CNN through every speaker in the airport and the only story they have covered is a congressman with a hardon for 16 year old boys. Does anybody care, is anybody surprised and is Wolf Blitzer a warewolf?

Yesterday I was disgusted by all the news coverage on the Omish funeral. Not because they were monopolizing on a tragedy but because they were all reporting on how the media was monoplizing on a tragedy. There was more coverage on the media covering the funeral then there was on the funeral.

My point here is one of the reasons Americans are so dumb and complacent is because our news is so dumb and complacement. (I base my belief that we are dumb and complacent on the fact that we re-elected Pres Bush and almost elected John Kerry: two of the dullest men in Washington.) We have been tricked into thinking that watching the news will keep us informed on current events and able to make educated decision. Bill O'Reily and Lou Dobbs have become our Aristotle & Socrates. We are only a couple of decades away from becoming the mindless automatons protrayed in so many sci-fi novels. I thinks its time for us to turn off our TVs and start trying to make a difference in the world. However; NFL is on Sunday, Monday and Thursday. college football is on Friday and Saturday and MLB platoffs are just getting started so maybe we should try to make a difference in a couple months. Besides, I just typed this whole thing on my Palm Treo with two oversized thumbs, I think I have done my part.

Peace out.