Ron Paul

I’m going to make it short and sweet tonight.  I guess I’m moving back to the political front.  It’s an area that I have a lot of interest so it might be a recurring topic in my writing.

Today, I just wanted to point towards a candidate that I wish was running in the general election.  Ron Paul is a Republican candidate with Libertarian leaning values.  I have read and listened to many of his speeches and debates and I am in awe of how intelligent and on the right track this man is.  He takes these complicated government issues and puts them to a simple test.  Does the Constitution of our country say we should do this?  If it doesn’t, then it’s not the government’s place to intervene.  That’s the way our federal government was created to run.  If a right is not explicitly stated in the Constitution as belonging to the federal government, then it is a state’s right and there should be no intervention.  Using this as a litmus test for our federal policies simplifies a lot of issues.
Ron Paul is the type of person that should be running our country.  I only wish that the media and the establishment hadn’t forced him out of the spotlight.  Here’s one of the most popular YouTube video packages on Ron Paul.  Do your research!

A Drop in the Ocean

Well, I can say with some certainty that the 30 day challenge works.  It’s 4 am, I’m working on 23 hours now with no sleep and I have a mild buzz from going out this evening.  Even with all that, the one thing that was on my mind when I was driving home was “I can’t go to sleep because I don’t want to break my streak.”   So hear I lay, in bed, exhausted, and writing to keep the challenge streak going on my way to 30 straight days of serious writing.
I had originally planned to write another political entry because that seems to be all the rage in the news tonight.  I might wait until tomorrow for that.  I know that I have at least two more political topics that are stirring in my head, but there’s plenty of time.  I feel like taking a break and diversifying my portfolio a bit.

I decided about 8 months ago that I wanted to move.  I live in New York and I’ve been here for the better part of the last 7 years.  I’ve lived in the Midatlantic region of the country all my life.  I don’t remember what exactly triggered this thought, but somehow I got to thinking about how insignificant my life had been to that point.  It kind of popped into my head that, man, I really knew nothing about anything.  So right there I pledged to make a significant move.  I decided to stay in the US because I think that there’s plenty of culture and diversity here that I haven’t seen that I really want to experience that before I move on to the rest of the world.  It still really amazes me to consider that there are still parts of the country that have deep seeded racism or areas that are significantly conservative or that the experience of small town living where everyone knows everyones name still exists.  I don’t know if I necessarily want to live within any of those things, but it’s the kind of thought that makes you feel really small.

I’m utterly determined to really experience life before I settle down to family life.  Most people just live and are content to occupy their little part of the world in isolation.  I just can’t do that.  I won’t do that.  A person can wake up, not get out of bed, and simply lay there all day until the sun goes down and say that they lived life.  Who wants to just live life?  I want to live a life where people look back and say that I experienced my life.

So I’m going to move.  I’m going to go to a place that’s different from where I’ve been.  It’ll be a place that will probably shock my system for a while because maybe the weather is different or the people aren’t rude.  Maybe I’ll hate it and want to leave after living there for 3 months.  At least I can say that I’ve had that experience.  I know that I’ve certainly had plenty of jobs that sounded fun on paper and then sucked once I acutally go the job and went to work.  Even given that, I wouldn’t give up those experiences for anything.

So where am I going to move?  I honestly don’t know.  I’ve considered a number of places out west: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, various cities in Texas, and even coming back east, Charlotte and other areas of North Carolina.  They’re all very different from each other, but more importantly, they’re all very different from where I am now.  That’s what’s important.

If you happen to have any suggestions or feedback on great places to live, please leave me a comment or send me a message.

Day 8, and still going strong.

You have to admit, the guy is good

I just got finished watching Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.  I can honestly say that never in my life have I planned my day around watching a politician speak, but I felt like this was one I couldn’t miss.

After hearing that speech, it’s obvious that Barack Obama is not just using shallow inspirational speeches full of empty rhetoric.  The man has substantial depth of character and is as much bite as he is bark.  He’s got a plan.

After the speech was over, I was worked up.  I was genuinely emotional.  If Barack Obama has the ability to inspire and motivate me, a typically cynical independent that’s distrustful of any government larger then the local school board, then he has one of the major qualities that we need in a leader right now.  A leader that inspires has the ability to heal the great divide that exists in this country try now.  If we need anything right now, that’s it.  I’m seriously looking forward to the first debate between the two candidates on September 21.

On a related note, I’m also extremely pleased with the choice of Joe Biden as Obama’s running mate.  As a working class, middle income citizen, he’s my kind of guy.  The way that he speaks doesn’t make me think Washington Senator.  It makes me think of my relative or a guy I’d talk to while watching the football game at the sports bar.  He wasn’t brought up through privilege and after thirty some odd years in the Senate, he hasn’t forgotten where he comes from.  That’s a big reason why I might start leaning towards Obama.

Obviously, the glow of the Democratic Convention is still all around and it’s tough to make a decision before next week when we see the Republicans speak.  It’ll get even more defined once we see a few debates.

Even with all that, I’m going to put myself out there.  I’m going out on a limb and saying it:  Regardless of who I vote for for President, I’m saying right now that Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States..and it won’t be a close race.

Hold me to that prediction in 2 months.

PS.  Joe Biden’s daughter is hot.

Let’s Talk Politics

I’m sitting here watching the Democratic National Convention because, well, the summer is an atrocity when it comes to television programming. I like to know what’s going on so I can say that when I go to the voting booth, I’ve made an informed decision.

This particular election is killing me. I’ve jumped back and forth between the candidates about 20 times. Back in the primaries, I said that if it came down to McCain and Obama, I’d be happy. I’m still trying to decide if I agree with past me.

I’m kind of odd when it comes politics. I’m not a Democrat or a Republican. I agree with Republicans that we should have small government and more private intervention. We can look at Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the public school systems around the country and see that government should not be running these social institutions. How can I agree with Democrats (and Obama) that we should socialize healthcare? Do we really want to put people’s lives in the hands of politicians? I certainly don’t. So if had to classify myself, I’d say that fiscally I’m conservative. I might take some bashing for this because of the result of the last 8 years, but it has to be noted that Bush’s policies are not those of true conservatives.

At the same time, however, I’d say that I’m pro-choice, for equal rights to homosexuals, anti-gun, and truly believe the the Democratic Party is the party of the middle class, a social class that I am firmly situated in.

I’m definitely a hybrid, independent voter. So the question is, who should I vote for? I think the question can be answered by weighing the pros and cons of each candidate but through a very important couple of filters. There are two questions that we all need to ask ourselves in regard to the candidates and the issues. The first is: Is this stance one that is feasible even if the candidate gets elected? For example, socialized medicine will absolutely never pass through Congress, so the fact that I disagree with Barack Obama on this issue really should not matter to me. He can scratch and claw and fight for it, but it’s really not going to happen. The second filter that we need is to figure out what part of what the candidates are saying is really them and what part is simply necessary to hit their talking points for the press and their party. This needs further explanation

Let’s be honest with ourselves. Most elections are a big stage show. They’re so analyzed and strategized that it’s necessary to play to that information a little bit. For example, John McCain absolutely needs the highly conservative, religious base to win. Therefore, he has to change his “views” on a number of issues to fall in line with the beliefs of these people. It’s the only way that he can win. So when I look at McCain, I have to look at where he stood before he became a nominee. To me, that’s the guy that’s going to be in the White House if he gets elected. I actually really liked John McCain before the election started and all the smearing accentuated his flaws. He was very middle of the road in his views. He reached across the aisle on a number of issues and got stuff done in Congress. That’s the kind of guy that I want in the White House. Now I’m just left to wonder if I should question his integrity for not staying true to himself for the sake of gaining votes.

It’s such a complex election. I’ve read probably hundreds of pages in Time, Us News and World Report, and Newsweek about these candidates and the issues. I still don’t know. I’m just hoping that I can make the decision before November.

I just heard a great line from Bill Clinton’s speech tonight. It’s one that everyone should consider when they’re picking the President because it really embodies what makes America great through the eyes of its citizens and those of other countries.

“People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.”

Which candidate will use that power to fix everything that went wrong in these last 8 years? I wish I knew.

Bookmooch

I just wanted to recommend a great website that I found a while ago. I decided sometime in July that I wanted to unload a lot of the books that I had been moving around for years and never had the desire to re-read. I had maybe 20 books that I really couldn’t part with and maybe 30 more that I could care less about. I looked on half.com to see if I could get a decent price for them and many of them were selling for a dollar or less. It basically meant that after shipping fees, I’d lose a couple of dollars in order to sell them. Then I stumbled upon bookmooch.com

Bookmooch is basically a book swap site. You get 1/10th of a point for each book you list in your inventory and when  you get a full point (aka listing 10 books on the site), you can look through someones inventory and request a book that they want to get rid of. They’ll pay the shipping fee and send it off to you. In exchange, they also get your point and can then use that to get a new book for themselves.

I very quickly listed about 30 books and was able to, in a matter of weeks, get rid of about 15 of them. I’ve accumulated 24 points and requested 3 new books. I also have credits for 21 more and the total cost to me was about $30 in shipping charges. Basically, I never have to buy a book again. I can keep recycling a book that I got from the site back into my inventory and get my point back after I’ve finished reading it.

It’s really a great site and if you’re looking to unload books, I highly recommend it. Give it a shot and list 10 books that you really don’t care about. I guarantee you’ll be come an addict like I have.

Keeping it real?

I’ve lived in New York for the greater part of the last 7 years.  It’s really accentuated something that I see everywhere, not just in New York.  I think it’s just magnified here, like pretty much everything else.  This is a city that does it big or not at all. 

That thing that I’ve seen is just how fake most people are.  I’m really no exception, even as I actively observe it happening.  We’re all guilty of being nice to someone we really don’t like, then turning around when they’re gone and talking some shit about them.  We’re fake because it avoids conflict, or because it’s “polite,” or because we want to fit in.  I’m wondering if this fakeness is at the root of a lot of the social problems that we have. 

Over the past few years, I’ve noticed that I’m less and less willing to compromise and give in to the fakeness.  If I don’t like someone, I don’t pretend.  In some cases, I’ll just tell them.  “No hard feelings, I just don’t like you.  We’re not compatible people.  We don’t come from the same place.  We don’t see life through the same lens.”  Some people think that I’m a jackass because I do this.  It’s going to hurt someones feelings.  I look at it as, it’s going to cause a little pain now, or a lot later when this person finally finds out that I’ve been just pretending to like them.  On top of that, my life is so much less complicated just getting it all out there.

It’s odd to me that in some ways I’m attacked for being truthful and honest over being polite or nice.  Is the latter really so much better then the former?  I can’t really answer that.  I guess it’s a matter of opinion, but I’ll take the “impolite” real person over the “polite” fake person any day of the week.

Day 4 of 30 (This is going to be hard)

The Olympic Spirit

I was pretty much an Olympic whore for the last 2 weeks. I watched the closing ceremony tonight and there was a message that I brought away from it that I’d like to hold onto.

Especially in this country, we always focus on what is different about each of us. It’s always male vs female, old vs young, black vs white vs Latino. It’s nice to have the Olympics to remind us that we’re all the same in some ways. We all push ourselves to succeed. We all fail at times. We all have the common threads of life that connect us, whether we’re in the US or on the other side of the world in Beijing.

There were many stories from the Olympics that remind us of important things. It might be the USA Basketball team reminding us that success is nothing without respect. It might be Lolo Jones reminding us that even if we’re great at what we do, one misstep can lead to failure.

There were so many stories of success that didn’t even come with victory. The Georgian athletes showed the courage to keep competing, even as their country was entering a war. There was the the story of the Somalian athletes that could barely train because the rebels threatened to kill them. There was the distance swimmer who swam with one leg missing. She fulfilled her dream in spite of her adversity.

I could go on and on about the lessons that can be learned and the parallels between the past two weeks and our real lives. I think one of the greatest lessons came from Usain Bolt. When he was asked how he would respond to the IOC heads complaining about his showmanship, he simply stated “This is who I am. I’m here to have fun. I’m here to make sure these people have fun.” In spite of his own goals, he didn’t take the whole thing to seriously.

He was just having fun.

Breaking the habit

I’ve decided that I’m addicted to credit cards.

I’m no fiend. Think of it as a weekend warrior type of addiction instead of a heroine hit for breakfast type addiction. I don’t abuse my credit cards, but I use them too much and I think that, in the end, this hurts my quality of life. Credit cards make me believe that I can afford to buy more then I actually can. I’ve found that, while I don’t go to extremes of debt, I do spend much more money then I would if I didn’t have these preposterous pieces of plastic.

I’ve been trying, over the past few weeks to pay for my daily needs using only cash and my debit card (I still use the credit card’s for month to month expenses like my cell phone bill) and I’m finding it impossible to make it to my next paycheck without my bank account almost hitting zero. I’m entirely committed to my goal of weening myself off of credit cards, but I didn’t quite realize how much of adjustment I’d have to make to my lifestyle. For instance, in the days where I’d take a hit of credit and like it, it was easy to go crazy in the supermarket and drop two hundred dollars on groceries. Now, when I realize that I have $400 in my bank account that has to last me for 15 days, I think twice. I’ve been able to successfully knock about $80 in unneeded items off of that bill when I go. That’s just one example, but it’s really a problem that extends to all aspects of my life.

I have a feeling that I’m not alone in this addiction. I kind of liken it to the over consumption of sugar in America. Most people don’t realize how much of an issue it is because it’s so ingrained into our everyday existence. I challenge you to try it for just 2 weeks. Try to make all of your purchases using only cash or a debit card.

It’s hard… but I think it’s going to be one of the best decisions I’ve made in a while.

What is the 30 Day Challenge?

I’ve had a lot of time on my hands the past 7 weeks. I promise, I’m not gloating about that. (OK, maybe a little.) I decided when the last school year ended that I wanted to do some things to really change my life. I think a lot (maybe too much) and I realized that, for the most part, I do the same exact thing every day and some
of that stuff I do isn’t very productive. I wasn’t really living life, just kind of killing one day at time with nothing to really show for it. And now I can say that after 7 weeks….nothing has really changed. I’m waking up halfway through the day, playing video games, wandering around, watching lots of TV… nothing that I look back on and think that it was a summer to remember.

So here it is: my reboot. I’m going to give this a go one more time and try to start really wowing myself and being productive and proud of my day to day activities. Today is the day that I start my first 30 day challenge. What is the 30 day challenge? It’s a great idea that I successfully stole from a website. The author said that he stole the idea, so I guess it’s fair. His point was that a lot of people try to make big life altering changes to their life and ultimately fall back into their usual routine because they discouraged. I don’t know how many times I’ve joined a gym, said I was going to eat healthier, stop watching so much TV, work less, call home more often, etc etc etc. It’s hard to get out of that routine because it you actually have to turn off the autopilot. Saying that you’re going to go to the gym every day forever is a HUGE change… one that seems almost impossible to keep up forever. It’s a plan destined for failure. So instead, why not just challenge yourself to do something for 30 days. Go to the gym for 30 straight days. Don’t eat sugary foods for 30 days. Wake up a half hour early for 30 days. These are achievable goals. After 30 days, you then have the option to keep going because you enjoyed your success, or stop because this change isn’t for you. I think more often then not, you’ll see that you want to continue.

So today I start my first 30 day challenge for myself: this blog. It’s not a huge deal but it’s something that I’ve tried and failed at a few times. I’m going to write a decent post every day for the next 30 days. I need some kind of creative outlet and since I haven’t an artistic bone in my body, I figured writing is something to channel that energy into. I really enjoy writing but I never really had a purpose for it. I’m still not quite sure what that purpose is, but I hope you’ll stay with me and I think after 30 days, there will be a more definite focus.

Let me know you’re here and reading… comment on my stuff… I like the attention!
Most of all, let me know what your own 30 day challenge is going to be. I need ideas for my next one.

Day 1: In the bag.