Barack, Jay, and Simon Cowell

I have to admit I stayed up later than usual last night in order to catch President Obama on “The Tonight Show,” just out of curiosity.  I find it interesting that our President literally treats his presidency like he is a movie star: promote your work on late night.  Although, if I were his advisor, I would have told him to do the exact same thing.  It’s a different audience for the most part (as opposed to the ultra-liberal Letterman).  At least Jay is a middle of the road guy and makes fun of EVERYONE, instead of just Republicans.  But we all know Obama is great at campaigning, and campaigning he shall continue!  

During the show, you had an audience full of left-wing followers who applauded after every other word he spoke, and who were about as giddy as Nancy Pelosi was when Obama addressed congress.  But aside from all that, I was really interested in what the guy had to say.  There were 2 things he said that stuck out to me, so I felt compelled to point out (and finally start writing on my blog again).  And it wasn’t even him feeling “stunned” over the AIG bonuses, because we already know that’s just not true.

Firstly, Obama said “the American people are all in a place where they understand it took us a while to get into this mess, it’s going to take a while for us to get out of it.” Translation: Bush is why we are here, and I will try to help you, but if I don’t and it takes too long, it’s still Bush’s fault.  I have said it from the get-go that Obama will place blame 100% of the time on Bush when things go wrong.  After all, he is still campaigning, and we all heard the phrase “4 more years of Bush” about 787 billion times (one time for every dollar he spent on the stimulus bill, just for fun).  

Secondly, Obama tried to joke that Washington, D.C. “is a bit like ‘American idol’ except everybody’s Simon Cowell. Everybody’s got an opinion,” adding, “I welcome the challenge.”  Excuse me?  Is he sounding like a little victim?  Poor President Obama, being scrutinized?  Hmph!  I’d love to hear how he would deal with the scrutiny Bush received over the last 8 years.  Or how McCain/Palin were treated by the press.  I’m sorry, but Obama saying he gets treated like American Idol contestants being scrutinized by Simon Cowell is simply laughable.  If that is true, then (most) of the American people and the media acts like Paula Abdul: a blubbering drunken idiot who doesn’t know what the hell she is talking about and praises everyone regardless of performance.  Oh yes, and Mr. President, you welcome the challenge?  Really?  Because the last time you were challenged, you diverted the attention to a right-wing talk-show host who you don’t like, and you know doesn’t like you.  Is that how you deal with a “challenge?”  

Oh the hypocrisy.

Bush’s Influence in 2008: The Bad, The Worse, and the VERY Ugly

To start, everyone read this: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122584386627599251.html.

The treatment of the press and American citizens towards our current President has been absolutely shameful.  I’m not sticking up for the guy or saying he has done an amazing job.  On the contrary, he is a war-time President and every war time President is unpopular because, well, war is ugly.  This war is particularly ugly because it is very questionable as to why we invaded Iraq.  Given the faulty intelligence, however, I can’t accuse Bush of wanting to go to war just because he likes war.  He has also done a ridiculously horrible job with the deficit, thus bringing the value of the dollar in the tank.

I think the line “It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything” is what best sums up his presidency.  If California crumbled off the coast and into the water, I have no doubt that everyone would point fingers and say he should have been better to the environment and that he could have prevented it.

The reason I bring up Bush is for 2 reasons.  Firstly, Bush was the reason Republicans lost this election, no question.  The Obama campaign came up with the wonderful little phrase that we heard probably 597 billion times over the last 2 years, “4 more years of Bush.”  But looking back over the last 8 years, I ask myself, was it REALLY that bad (at least until this year)?  

There are the incredibly looney people who say Bush actually created a government cover-up and attacked the twin towers all miraculously without anyone coming forward.  This is COMICAL.  For all the “he’s an idiot” comments and how “incompetent” they say he is, he somehow managed to orchestrate the best government cover-up of all time?  Please.  I’m not going to say he doesn’t sound like a blubbering idiot most of the time, because he does.  In fact, I’m actually excited to have someone in the White House who actually sounds intelligent.  After 9/11, he had very high approval ratings and seemed to be bringing the country together.  But once we went to Iraq, that was the end of him.  

There is also the issue of the economy.  I understand that Bush is the President, therefore, regardless of why this happened with the economy, he is the face of the nation, therefore it is easy to blame him and only him.  But I believe it is pretty ignorant to blame one party for this.  Very few people, especially young people, know the untold story of how President Clinton enacted the Community Reinvestment Act, which was a well-intended law designed to encourage minority homeownership, including lending to low and middle income families.  By doing this, he helped create the market for the risky subprime loans that he and Democrats now decry as not only greedy but “predatory.”  Before 1993, when Clinton put forth this act, the only way you could get a home loan was if you had above a 700 credit score and if you had 20% of the downpayment.  By encouraging people who have bad credit and no downpayment (so they take a loan of 100%) to buy houses, made it possible for them to default on these loans, go into foreclosure, thus driving down home prices, and then it just snowballed into the economic disaster we know find ourselves in.  

What bothers me when I hear people blame Republicans for the economy is this: the core values and beliefs of the Republican party is NO EXCUSES and personal responsibility.  In regards to crime, I don’t care if a pedofile had a sad little childhood therefore he shouldn’t go to jail because that was his upbringing.  I don’t care if a man grew up without a father, therefore, he can get a woman pregnant and leave her, blaming his childhood.  I don’t care if someone grew up in a poor neighborhood and blames his upbringing for the fact that he dropped out of school and didn’t go to college and thus becoming a criminal.  PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.  Life is about choices.  Get over it.  We live in America, therefore, regardless of how you grew up, you can be successful.  The problem with Bush was that he bought into this “let’s help the lower class get into homes, regardless of the outcome.”  Perhaps if he didn’t encourage the lower income people to buy, it would be politically incorrect and he would seem too “insensitive” to the common folk.  If Bush had held to the true foundations of the Republican party of no excuses and personal responsibility, he would not have encouraged these ridiculous loans to people who have bad credit, because: THEY HAVE BAD CREDIT!!!  If you pay your bills on time, perhaps have a little more established credit history, a car loan, etc, you will have good credit, and thus should qualify for a home loan.  If you don’t pay your bills on time, have a bankruptcy and a repossessed car on your credit, you will have bad credit, and should NOT qualify for a loan.  The fact that the Republican party somehow got tied up in this idea of subprime loans is ridiculous.      

Now I used to work in the mortgage industry so I 100% think it was the mortgage companies faults; our bonuses depended on selling a shady loan to a less-than-worthy family.  Where Bush went wrong was encouraging these risky loans to continue, and not regulating it at all.  He was horrible with the deficit, thus decreasing the value of the dollar.  I agree with blaming Bush for that.  But Republicans need to stand up and realize that HIS POLICIES are not necessarily policies that reflect all conservative values.  And…it isn’t ALL Bush’s fault.  Democrats had their fair share of encouraging these loans. 

Now back to my two points…the second reason I bring up Bush is because there is no doubt in my mind that from the time Obama gets into the Oval Office, the next 4 (or 8 if Obama gets reelected), if anything goes wrong, up until he leaves office, everything will still be blamed on Bush.  Let’s get right down to it: Bush started his presidency with an F, and Obama is at an A+++++++.  

I’m not saying everyone is hoping Obama has a great presidency, in fact, I hear some extremely right-wing people say “I hope he tanks and then we can get in the White House in 4 years.”  To this I say are you really an American?  I have heard over the last 8 years how horrible of a person Bush is and people wishing the same thing on the liberal side.  Don’t people realize that when they continually bash the person in charge of our country, people from other countries don’t notice?  Why can’t conservatives come together and hope and pray that this country gets on the right track?  Take the high road people!!!  Take back your party.  There are certain things Bush has done that has put a really bad name to Conservatives.  Fiscally, as a country we need to decrease the deficit, stop spending money we do not have, and we will have a better economic situation.  Spending is another reason the economy is in a horrible situation, and Bush has done HORRIBLY with that.  

I really hope for all the programs Obama promised to implement, that he decreases spending and brings down the deficit.  No doubt Obama has a huge task at hand and has many challenges facing him.  I just hope that Conservatives can look past the fact that the fanatical left have disgraced Bush and just look ahead and respect Obama.

Gay marriage demonizing Christians?

In Pop Culture today, all we hear about is one point of view on social politics: be open to every form of lifestyle, choice, and person regardless of what you believe.  For example, The Real World has been a show on MTV since 1992.  Sadly, I have to admit that this show, since the 2nd season, has been a guilty pleasure of mine, and they are now on their 22nd season.  It is like driving by a car accident…I can’t help but stare out of sheer curiosity.  The Real World always has the same type of stereotypical characters, with a few differences between seasons.  There is, for instance, always the gay man or woman, and always the one person in the house that is “close-minded” to someone living a homosexual lifestyle.  They have many quarrels during the show, and in the end, the person who was “gay bashing” has become enlightened and realized they were wrong and they need to accept other lifestyles.  Without my generation actually being aware of this influence, Hollywood and pop-culture has actually been promoting its social politics into everything we watch, read, and listen to.  The majority of this isn’t even obvious.  It isn’t a news anchor saying these things, but for instance a blockbuster movie, “I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry,” that shows some extremely hateful Christians with signs outside a courthouse that says, “God hates fags.”  Christians are portrayed as these hateful people who want to stone everyone and judge.  I admit, there are a few out there, but true Christianity is surrounded by LOVE, not hate.  Yet Christians are villified in the media and pop culture.  

The big news today is how there are protests against the Constitutional ban in California of gay marriage.  Let me get this straight: the voters of California voted overwhelmingly for Proposition 8, to ban gay marriage.  Supporters of this measure, mostly Christians (although lets be honest, there is NO WAY 52% of people in California are Christians) say this measure is a great step in protecting the sanctity of marriage.  Those who oppose this measure say Christians are imposing their beliefs on everyone else…yet aren’t they the ones now protesting all over the country to overturn this measure that passed by the majority of Californians, thus imposing their beliefs on everyone else?  Isn’t that a contradition?  Yet all we hear, as young Americans submerged in pop culture, is how this measure that was passed is ridiculous and we should go against the voters of California.  The View (oh how I love bashing that show) went on and on this morning about how we all should be open-minded and accept gay couples, etc, and of course, the audience loves this and gives an enthusiastic applause.  Sherri Shepherd talked about a gay man who adopted a kid and now does everything with him and is a great dad.  Now I actually agree with her, but the question remains: shouldn’t the people of each state decide this?  

I’m hearing from many that this isn’t a social issue but a civil rights issue, therefore should be decided by the courts (state and federal).  To that I ask this: what rights do you not have, other than not being able to get married (and by married I mean just the certificate)?  I find that the majority of homosexuals are the most successful demographic anywhere.  They are well educated, smart, articulate, and they have every freedom when it comes to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  They aren’t denied being with their lovers, aren’t denied kids, and aren’t denied things in life that can make us happy.  

Now my stance on gay marriage is a mix of the two extremes.  I think gays should have every legal right, whether that includes visiting a loved one in the hospital, adopting unwanted kids, to just having the right to live a fulfilling life.  I would like to know how that stance is still going against their civil rights?  For me it is just the term “marriage” that needs to be kept to man and woman.  

I also understand the argument for the separation of church and state.  In some instances, I know where people who say this come from.  I wouldn’t want someone saying a prayer over the loudspeaker at school in Arabic to Allah, just as I wouldn’t like the same prayer to Jesus.  But we have to understand where we came from.  Our founding fathers were definitely believers in God and founded this country on those principles.  Murder is a sin in the Bible, therefore, by saying that, am I not separating church and state?  No, because there needs to be some moral order, and there are moral absolutes.  If we didn’t, we would have orgies everywhere, men with 16 wives, prostitution rings, etc, because, after all, that is just their sexual preference right? 

I’m sure by even posting this I will be accused as anti-gay because I’m not protesting this Proposition, and because I said I don’t want gays to get the marriage certificate.  But shouldn’t people respect my beliefs, just as I respect theirs?  In a world saturated in ACLU activism, Christians are scorned for wearing a Christian cross neckless, yet a Muslim woman is protected for wearing their headscarf because, that is their religion.  

The fact is Christians in today’s society are viewed as bigots and Bible thumping whack-jobs who judge and hate everyone.  The double standard kills me.

Obama the Shirley Temple of the 21st Century?

Shirley Temple was the “darling” of the Great Depression.  When families could not buy bread, they looked up to this sweet little girl as a hope for the future and a distraction to the sadness in their lives.  They looked up to her cute little curles and thought, “can life be that bad that I can’t hope for something more?”  She was the biggest attraction in movies during one of the bleakest periods of American history. As she sang and danced her way into the hearts of millions of Americans, Temple became an institution.  There were Shirley Temple dolls, toys, and clothes, and her curly hair was imitated by countless little girls.  Shirley Temple was so beloved because she captured an overwhelming charisma and spirited performances.  She was pure and innocent and unblemished.  Sound familiar?  Just imagine Obama as a 6 year old girl with tights and a blond curly wig.

Obama won this year because of the hope many saw (I’m still awaiting a line of Obama dolls by the way).  No doubt he ran a well-oiled machine of a campaign…he had the most money ever spent by a campaign to date (campaign finance will be a whole other posting), and he became a brand that everyone could look up to as a hope for solving their problems.  His lack of experience was actually appealing to people because they saw him as a Washington outsider.  They saw that he did not come from a wealthy family, but rather a modest upbringing.  I’m willing to bet about 75% of people have no idea what Obama ACTUALLY stands for, yet the idea of hope and change has rocked their worlds.

Looking at pop culture the last 2 days made me feel like I should be floating on clouds with everyone and singing a show-tune every minute of the day.  While watching The Today show the day after the election, every anchor was so giddy they couldn’t stop smiling.  Oprah had a post-election day PARTY.  The View showed 5 women on cloud 9…every single one of them (Hasselbeck included) acted like they could have died that day and been absolutely at peace.  Ellen Degeneres talked about how wonderfully happy she was that change and hope won.  Her guest, Samuel L Jackson, was so overjoyed that it was the only topic of conversation.  And of course, all the crowds cheered on all these shows.

The worst part about the last 2 days…they are all still slamming the McCain campaign, STILL.  They are trying to kick a dead horse by saying how tense the McCain campaign has been the last 2 months, how Palin pissed off a bunch of McCain aides, etc.  Why can’t they just let it go?  It’s like the media decided that a landslide victory by Obama wasn’t enough, let’s try to unravel the party altogether.  

Obama is now President, McCain lost: GET OVER IT.  Enough with the $150,000 wardrobe for Palin.  She is from Alaska, probably doesn’t have more than 5 suits, isn’t incredibly wealthy, and all of the sudden she is thrown into this whirlwin campaign where they went to 1, 2, 7 cities on any given day…and she needed a wardrobe!  Yes, it is questionable why they spent that much from the campaign money on her wardrobe.  However, a good marketing/PR move is to create an appealing image.  I, for instance, would not have advised her to get ugly pantsuits and gain weight to get kankles like Hillary.  It’s not going to happen and it IS all about image.  Unfortunately, the disorganized McCain campaigned ruined their attempt to give her a great image.

I’d like to ask celebrities how much they spend at the Academy Awards for their gowns and jewelry.  No doubt a dress, on average, costs at least $20,000…FOR ONE DRESS.  Then you have half a million dollars in jewelry, etc, etc.  I’d like to ask Barbara Walters how many houses she has (as she asked the McCains on The View a while back as they cornered and butchered them on the show).  The point is…why should they have to answer?  IT IS THEIR MONEY.  Just as McCain’s wife has a fortune from her parents hard work…she shouldn’t have to apologize for it just because they have 7 houses.

With all of this post-election euphoria, I’m curious when the reality will sink in.  Once the buzz has passed and the “change” phrase fades…what are we left with?  A man we know very little about.  The fear many have about Obama is the fact that we don’t know what he will do as President.  The fact is his record was the most LIBERAL in the senate, yet he won the election as a man who represents both sides, as a centrist.  VERY SCARY.  

I think if he dresses up in a dress and little blonde curls then it will distract us from the reality that he truly is a mystery and we have no idea what we will get in the next 4 years.

Why I gave in to the blogosphere

I have decided to start a blog to start a grassroots effort to generate excitement for republicans/conservatives.  After reflecting on the 2008 election, in which Obama won by a landslide, I am getting more and more motivated to start a grassroots effort for MY GENERATION.  Of course, I welcome those older…but my main goal is to give those up to say age 30 a different perspective.  I want people who are in high school, college, or even out of college but still in the young, fun, chic crowd that it is OK to hear another perspective that does NOT include citing resources such as The New York Times, Newsweek, Oprah, celebrities, The View, Jon Stewart, Colbert, The Today Show, South Park, The Family Guy (I could really go on and on).  I want people to think that possibly there is a reason certain fundamentals of the Republican Party are GREAT, and we should not be embarrassed or ashamed of our beliefs, but instead be proud of it.

I am also irritated that our Party in the 2008 election was painted as old and out of touch.  McCain is 72 and he ran against a cool guy in his 40′s…automatically the “hip” factor was just not there.  In addition, if you watched the RNC, you automatically felt that the crowd had just hit the early bird special before going to the Convention, and that they had an ambulance there in case one of the elderly fans broke a hip.  It was a geriatrics convention!!!!  THIS IS THE IMAGE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, and I intend the change it.

MY first message: for those who are about to go to college, are in college, or have been out for several years, I ask you what shaped your beliefs?  Because it is NO SECRET that college professors and campuses across the country promote a liberal cause.  Do you really know what you truly believe, or are you just going along with the flow because it is cool?  That is my challenge to you all.

I will write a lot more from now on, but this is my first post and am trying to get everything organized before I start going off!