Tuesday, November 07, 2000
My take on the 2000 Election
November 7th, 2000. A day that will live in infamy.
Oh, sorry, I might have the month wrong there.
We have a choice coming. A choice between the right direction, and the ... other ... direction. I won’t say wrong, because only history will decide what direction is ‘right’. And history is of course written by the winners.
Resumes
I find it interesting that the statement presented by Vice President Al Gore and Senator Joseph Lieberman reads like a resume. Gore has stated that he has spent the last 26 years in service to the people. But he only lists the US Army and his time as a Reporter as ‘occupations’. I’m assuming that he does not think that his time in the House, Senate and Vice-presidency a walk in the park. We all know it’s hard work to represent people who can’t see the ‘bigger picture’. That’s probably why he chose to vote in line with Republican thinking on some of his issues. Because he understands that the truth is not on one side or the other, but somewhere in-between. I like that kind of thinking.
Of the four pictures on this page in the Voters Pamphlet, only Al Gore is looking away from the camera. Who knows why? I don’t. He might be planning his next speech, which he probably writes by himself. He might be too busy on the campaign trail to have a specific picture taken. Heck, on those lines even the picture of Joseph Lieberman looks like it was taken by a newspaper.
George W. Bush said a mouthful at the last debate. He said "I trust the people". That was enough for me, even if I had not made up my mind yet. I don’t know everything. I don’t have time to deal with the bigger picture of the way a country should go. Abraham Lincoln didn’t "trust the people". That’s why we have one country instead of two. Military Leaders don’t "trust the people". That’s why the military is not a democracy. I do know where I want my life to go; I do know what I want teachers to say in classes; I do know where I want my bank to invest my money. That’s why I make the decisions on where I work, where my children go to school, and where my investments are focused. I don’t need someone in an office somewhere to tell me I have that power. Those are the powers that define our country, and make us who we are. The bigger picture is someone else’s job, and I don’t want someone in that office that will try to foster that responsibility down on my shoulders. I already have enough.
We don’t need someone in the office of the President to make sweeping changes. Every time people start talking about big changes on a government level, I get nervous. We need someone to pick and choose our battles, who is willing to take things one step at a time. We need someone who knows that the far future is not something to pass on to our children with a pat on the back and a “good luck”, but something to plan for and invest in with sound economic decisions that will last not one generation, not two, but two hundred. Thinking anything else is like saying that someone is going to come out of the sky and rescue us from our own folly.
George Bush wants to give a tax break to everyone. In a perfect world, that would be great. But in a perfect world, we wouldn’t have 20% of our people getting government help because they don’t have the training and education to get a job that would pay their bills. People make millions and billions of dollars because they have made some very good choices. Congratulations, and can I have a piece of the pie too? Anyone who thinks they just can’t live if they have to pay 30 million dollars more in personal income taxes with this guy in the office than the other guy is someone who I don’t want to hear from. If I had won the Washington State Lottery tonight (30 Million Dollars worth), I would gladly pay whatever amount of taxes the government wanted to take. Because those taxes are what keep the roads drivable and the schools open.
Governor Bush keeps harping on the fact that the current administration made promises that it didn’t keep. But Dave Ross (KIRO 710 Seattle) mentioned something interesting about that. The only power that the president has is Executive. In that he is supreme, the chief, the boss, the end of the line. Anything else he wants to do he has to ask permission for. Supreme Court Justices, Tax Cuts, his budget, etc. Anything. And what did the current administration have to go up against to try and keep those promises? A Republican controlled Congress. Gee, I guess Bush may be able to get the ball moving after all if he gets elected. At least the Congress will vote for HIS ideas. They’re on the same team. Oh, and by the way. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think the person running for office in 1992 and 1996 was William Clinton. Not Al Gore. So Al Gore did not break his promises. And I don’t think he would. At least not those promises that he has control over.
Everyone reading this raise your hand if you think the schools are good enough and don’t need more money. I don’t see very many hands. Both sides think that the schools need improvement. Both sides think they need testing from the 3rd grade all the way up to the 8th grade. Makes you wonder how the school administration knows which students to pass on to the next grade. I mean if they don’t have testing now to see how the kids are doing in class, how do they know who passed? The point is that tests happen every day all over the country. I don’t think we need another test. I think we need to go somewhere with the knowledge we have. There should be a standard test required for everyone to get a high school diploma. The subjects should be reading, writing, math, science, sociology, economics, world history, US history, social skills, job skills, resume writing, physical readiness, health, nutrition, sexuality, philosophy, logic, music, art, speech, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Chinese, ... Get the point yet? Where exactly do we think our children will get taught all the skills that they will need to be in the work force? At home? How many parents out there would be comfortable teaching their children how to solve a geometry problem? Or how to solve that logic equation? Or how to protect themselves from AIDS? When someone reaches the age of 18, we expect them to be ready to fight and defend our country in the armed forces if they get called. How much more important is that than being able to support themselves if they don’t get called? Not very.
George Bush has mentioned that he would have no personal objection to seeing the ‘standard version’ of the 10 commandments posted in school. I think anyone with any knowledge of history and religion would agree that the ‘standard version’ of the 10 commandments comes from the Talmud. So in that, I agree with him. I have no personal objection to having the 10 commandments posted in schools either. As long as they are printed in Hebrew. And if the kids can read them, then we know we have improved the schools. In fact, can anyone think of a religion in the world where the laws and original text was written in the English Language? I can. So if we want to put a good moral system up where everyone can read it, let’s post the Wiccan Rede.
But who am I to say all this? I’m just one man. On November 7th, I’ll have the opportunity to be equal to George Bush, Al Gore and William Clinton. They only get one vote, and so do I. And so do you. If you had the opportunity just one time in your life to feel real power, this is it. You don’t have to agree with what I say. You don’t have to agree with what anyone says. There was a program on a few weeks ago that really touched me. Governor Ventura of Minnesota told a TV program on independent candidates that it’s not about choosing the lesser of two evils. Election day is about voting with your mind, heart and soul to get the people in the offices in our government that will follow your ideals and represent your interests in the forming of the ‘big picture’. And unless you want to put yourself up for election and take on that level of responsibility, November 7th is the only chance you will have to make your ideas and dreams known. So if the only thing you ever tell anyone who is wondering what to do on November 7th, be sure to tell them to vote. It’s our greatest connection to the ones who started it all in the West. Athens, Greece. You remember, the people who worshiped the Goddess.
Blessed Be!
Chad Lupkes
chadlupkes@yahoo.com
Touch Magic, Pass It On!
Oh, sorry, I might have the month wrong there.
We have a choice coming. A choice between the right direction, and the ... other ... direction. I won’t say wrong, because only history will decide what direction is ‘right’. And history is of course written by the winners.
Resumes
I find it interesting that the statement presented by Vice President Al Gore and Senator Joseph Lieberman reads like a resume. Gore has stated that he has spent the last 26 years in service to the people. But he only lists the US Army and his time as a Reporter as ‘occupations’. I’m assuming that he does not think that his time in the House, Senate and Vice-presidency a walk in the park. We all know it’s hard work to represent people who can’t see the ‘bigger picture’. That’s probably why he chose to vote in line with Republican thinking on some of his issues. Because he understands that the truth is not on one side or the other, but somewhere in-between. I like that kind of thinking.
Of the four pictures on this page in the Voters Pamphlet, only Al Gore is looking away from the camera. Who knows why? I don’t. He might be planning his next speech, which he probably writes by himself. He might be too busy on the campaign trail to have a specific picture taken. Heck, on those lines even the picture of Joseph Lieberman looks like it was taken by a newspaper.
George W. Bush said a mouthful at the last debate. He said "I trust the people". That was enough for me, even if I had not made up my mind yet. I don’t know everything. I don’t have time to deal with the bigger picture of the way a country should go. Abraham Lincoln didn’t "trust the people". That’s why we have one country instead of two. Military Leaders don’t "trust the people". That’s why the military is not a democracy. I do know where I want my life to go; I do know what I want teachers to say in classes; I do know where I want my bank to invest my money. That’s why I make the decisions on where I work, where my children go to school, and where my investments are focused. I don’t need someone in an office somewhere to tell me I have that power. Those are the powers that define our country, and make us who we are. The bigger picture is someone else’s job, and I don’t want someone in that office that will try to foster that responsibility down on my shoulders. I already have enough.
We don’t need someone in the office of the President to make sweeping changes. Every time people start talking about big changes on a government level, I get nervous. We need someone to pick and choose our battles, who is willing to take things one step at a time. We need someone who knows that the far future is not something to pass on to our children with a pat on the back and a “good luck”, but something to plan for and invest in with sound economic decisions that will last not one generation, not two, but two hundred. Thinking anything else is like saying that someone is going to come out of the sky and rescue us from our own folly.
George Bush wants to give a tax break to everyone. In a perfect world, that would be great. But in a perfect world, we wouldn’t have 20% of our people getting government help because they don’t have the training and education to get a job that would pay their bills. People make millions and billions of dollars because they have made some very good choices. Congratulations, and can I have a piece of the pie too? Anyone who thinks they just can’t live if they have to pay 30 million dollars more in personal income taxes with this guy in the office than the other guy is someone who I don’t want to hear from. If I had won the Washington State Lottery tonight (30 Million Dollars worth), I would gladly pay whatever amount of taxes the government wanted to take. Because those taxes are what keep the roads drivable and the schools open.
Governor Bush keeps harping on the fact that the current administration made promises that it didn’t keep. But Dave Ross (KIRO 710 Seattle) mentioned something interesting about that. The only power that the president has is Executive. In that he is supreme, the chief, the boss, the end of the line. Anything else he wants to do he has to ask permission for. Supreme Court Justices, Tax Cuts, his budget, etc. Anything. And what did the current administration have to go up against to try and keep those promises? A Republican controlled Congress. Gee, I guess Bush may be able to get the ball moving after all if he gets elected. At least the Congress will vote for HIS ideas. They’re on the same team. Oh, and by the way. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think the person running for office in 1992 and 1996 was William Clinton. Not Al Gore. So Al Gore did not break his promises. And I don’t think he would. At least not those promises that he has control over.
Everyone reading this raise your hand if you think the schools are good enough and don’t need more money. I don’t see very many hands. Both sides think that the schools need improvement. Both sides think they need testing from the 3rd grade all the way up to the 8th grade. Makes you wonder how the school administration knows which students to pass on to the next grade. I mean if they don’t have testing now to see how the kids are doing in class, how do they know who passed? The point is that tests happen every day all over the country. I don’t think we need another test. I think we need to go somewhere with the knowledge we have. There should be a standard test required for everyone to get a high school diploma. The subjects should be reading, writing, math, science, sociology, economics, world history, US history, social skills, job skills, resume writing, physical readiness, health, nutrition, sexuality, philosophy, logic, music, art, speech, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Chinese, ... Get the point yet? Where exactly do we think our children will get taught all the skills that they will need to be in the work force? At home? How many parents out there would be comfortable teaching their children how to solve a geometry problem? Or how to solve that logic equation? Or how to protect themselves from AIDS? When someone reaches the age of 18, we expect them to be ready to fight and defend our country in the armed forces if they get called. How much more important is that than being able to support themselves if they don’t get called? Not very.
George Bush has mentioned that he would have no personal objection to seeing the ‘standard version’ of the 10 commandments posted in school. I think anyone with any knowledge of history and religion would agree that the ‘standard version’ of the 10 commandments comes from the Talmud. So in that, I agree with him. I have no personal objection to having the 10 commandments posted in schools either. As long as they are printed in Hebrew. And if the kids can read them, then we know we have improved the schools. In fact, can anyone think of a religion in the world where the laws and original text was written in the English Language? I can. So if we want to put a good moral system up where everyone can read it, let’s post the Wiccan Rede.
But who am I to say all this? I’m just one man. On November 7th, I’ll have the opportunity to be equal to George Bush, Al Gore and William Clinton. They only get one vote, and so do I. And so do you. If you had the opportunity just one time in your life to feel real power, this is it. You don’t have to agree with what I say. You don’t have to agree with what anyone says. There was a program on a few weeks ago that really touched me. Governor Ventura of Minnesota told a TV program on independent candidates that it’s not about choosing the lesser of two evils. Election day is about voting with your mind, heart and soul to get the people in the offices in our government that will follow your ideals and represent your interests in the forming of the ‘big picture’. And unless you want to put yourself up for election and take on that level of responsibility, November 7th is the only chance you will have to make your ideas and dreams known. So if the only thing you ever tell anyone who is wondering what to do on November 7th, be sure to tell them to vote. It’s our greatest connection to the ones who started it all in the West. Athens, Greece. You remember, the people who worshiped the Goddess.
Blessed Be!
Chad Lupkes
chadlupkes@yahoo.com
Touch Magic, Pass It On!
