Greater is he who acts from love than he who acts from fear.
Talmud (Sota 31a)
Acting from love
August 7th, 20082008 Election Predictions - Part 2
August 5th, 2008When I made my previous predictions about this year’s presidential election, I didn’t have the advantage of having examined the research done by sites like Pollster.com and hardworking bloggers like Paul Rosenberg over at Open Left (be sure to check out Paul’s analysis and predictions).
I didn’t have that advantage this time, either.
I wasn’t informed of Paul’s analysis or Pollster.com–which, by the way, is now my homepage in Firefox–until after I had already pored over poll data, read editorials and letters to the editor from prominent swing state newspapers, factored in my gut instinct and created that little graphic you see below. That said, here’s my current forecast: Read more…
Joy and suffering
August 4th, 2008Whatever joy there is in this world,
All comes from wanting others to be happy.
Whatever suffering there is in this world,
All comes from wanting oneself to be happy.The Bodhicharyāvatāra (VIII, 129)
Please, Mr. McCain… stop talking about Obama!
August 4th, 2008To say that I’m not a fan of John McCain would be the understatement of the year, but I didn’t think I could have any less respect for the man until his campaign commercials started airing.
Now, don’t get me wrong; even when I disagree with a candidate’s political positions, I try hard to separate the style of communication from the message (assuming there is a message). I appreciate a funny, unique or thought-provoking ad. But when a candidate airs commercials that amount to nothing more than thirty-ish seconds of video completely devoid of intelligent content or good taste, I get annoyed.
Perhaps that’s why I’m so sick of John McCain. The man takes advantage of every opportunity he can find to talk about Barack Obama: how he thinks Obama is too inexperienced, how Obama’s popularity is a bad thing, and how upset he is by the fact that nobody–himself included–will shut up about Barack Obama. Read more…
The system is broken! or: Why I am voting Libertarian
August 2nd, 2008The past few months in politics have been an interesting time for me.
You see, I’m a libertarian.
I would like to have a smaller, more fiscally conservative federal government. I think the federal government should avoid legislating moral issues (among many other things), and should instead follow the Constitution and leave most issues up to the states. I’m very much against wars of aggression, government subsidies and suppressive legislation like the PATRIOT Act. I support Second Amendment rights–a position popular among Republicans–but I also believe that our current foreign policy has failed disastrously and the first step in fixing this mess is ending our occupation of Iraq. Read more…
Obama and McCain on Taxes
August 1st, 2008The swiftboating has officially started in the 2008 presidential election. John McCain’s “Straight Talk Express” has ramped up its anti-Obama campaign lately and the media (the same people who were supposed to be in love with Obama) have eaten it up. I can see where McCain is coming from: sure, Obama may be wildly popular and could help America regain some respect abroad, but Americans shouldn’t let that distract them from real issues, like how he didn’t mention Latin America in a speech, or how he might not be fat enough to be president.
There is a glimmer of hope, though. Some renegade journalists still write about facts and issues (how un-American!), including some at the Washington Post. They write:
According to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are both proposing tax plans that would result in cuts for most American families. Obama’s plan gives the biggest cuts to those who make the least, while McCain would give the largest cuts to the very wealthy.
This side-by-side comparison of the two candidates’ tax policies shows that lower-income Americans would pay much lower taxes under an Obama administration than they would under a McCain administration, but this would be offset by much higher taxes for the very wealthy. I have to say that More than anything else, I’m curious as to how–or even if–Senator McCain plans to reduce spending to compensate for lower taxes. I think closing down a few of our 700+ foreign military bases would be a good start.
Ecuador tells U.S. to leave base next year
July 31st, 2008As reported late yesterday, the Ecuadorean government has decided not to renew the United States’ lease on its only South American military base when the lease expires next November 12. Ecuadoran President Rafael Carrea has said for some time that he would not renew the United States’ lease on the Manta Air Base, but this the Ecuadoran government’s first official statement on the matter. However, one should note Carrea did say that Ecuador would renew the lease if the U.S. would allow Ecuador to construct a base in Miami; needless to say, Washington did not agree to such an exchange.
What does this mean for the United States? I believe that losing this lease will likely affect U.S. policy in at least two key areas: its relations with South American nations and its treatment of the War on Drugs.
Read more…
