Cyber Pulpit

2012 Presidential Election

2011-10-12T08:09:00-04:00

Its that time again - every four years: the United States Presidential Election is almost upon us.

As of October 2011, we haven’t had the party primaries yet, so there any obvious contenders, nor have running mates been announced.

There have been a couple of politicians state that they won’t be running for election this time around: Sarah Palin, for example. Personally, I’ve always found that she would be better off in entertainment than in politics - she seems to really love the lime light. Chris Christie, current Governor of New Jersey, also said he’s not running for president - he says he’s backing Mitt Romney.

Of course those vying for their party’s selection in the primaries are making some noise:

Herman Cain
Rick Perry
Mitt Romney
Dr. Ron Paul

Don’t forget the Democrats! The headliner for their party is none other than the incumbent president: Barack Obama!

While Obama did an amazing job on the campain trail during the 2008 presidential election, this time around might be a lot harder for him. He’s put a lot of effort into keeping his promises, but the fact is that the United States is still in a depression or a recession, and the citizens want to work. Its impossible to determine who is to blame for the current situation, but I expect the voters will show their discontent at the polls.

This is my first article on the subject of the 2012 Presidential Elections, but it certainly will not be my last! In fact, I’ve built a new site specifically focused on the matter:

2012 Presidential Elections

That site will have a lot more to offer than my writing, so come on by and join in on the discussion!

Health Care Bill Is Repealed

2011-01-23T20:53:19-05:00

With little fanfare, the Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare”, was repealed this past week on Wednesday by a Republican led House of Representatives.

I found it strange that the news was so dampened - especially compared to the noise that accompanied its passage last year.

What now? Back to business as usual? Its not like healthcare before “Obamacare” was anything to write home about. Actually thinking about this matter after writing that reminds me of a sound byte I heard on the radio, something along the lines of “to move forward, we have to start over”.

What do you think?

Social Networks

2010-09-24T19:14:52-04:00

Social networks of days gone by, such as Friendster and MySpace, focused more on entertainment than politics and business.

Social Networks “2.0”

More recent social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook are casting a wider net, and snaring business communities and political campaigns alike.

For example, while DC mayor and incumbent candidate Adrian M. Fenty recently lost the primary bid for reelection and conceded defeat, his supporters weren’t so ready to let go. They formed a Facebook group called “Run Fenty Run”, encouraging voters to write him in when it comes to election day.

The Internet

2010-09-20T16:29:23-04:00

While the effect the Internet is having on elections has yet to be determined, its effect on politicians in the news media is changing the landscape of politics forever.

Take for example, the “grass roots” (I use quotes around grass roots there because the terms may seem contrary to high-tech, but in my opinion, isn’t) support given to small-time politician Ron Paul during the last few presidential elections.

Dr. Paul’s supporters built “tea party” websites asking small-time donors to all donate on specific days with great success, breaking several records for single-day campaign donations.

OpenSecrets.org has a page on Ron Paul’s campaign from 2008 that reports that 99% of his campaign funds (about thirty five million dollars) came from individuals. Impressive, huh?

I have no doubt that politicians will look intently to the Internet when trying to raise campaign funds for the next presidential election.

The G.O.P. versus the Tea Party

2010-09-20T15:36:12-04:00

What is the G.O.P. Afraid Of?

As a former Boston native, I’ve always gotten a kick out of the name of the “taxed enough already” party, aka the Tea Party.

While I question how genuine the tea party favorite, Sarah Palin, is, I am fan of some other libertarian politicians, like Ron Paul.

So what is it about the Tea Party that the GOP doesn’t like?

Mayor Rahm Emanuel?

2010-09-07T18:53:02-04:00

Looks like we have a potential future presidential candidate with Rahm Emanuel, and a Jewish one at that! There has never been a Jewish president of the United States. Could Rahm Emanuel be the first?

Why would I say something like this? Rahm Emanuel is very familiar with the White House. He’s currently the White House Chief of Staff, and has served that role for the Clinton administration as well.

His career path could go something like this:

White House Chief of Staff
Chicago Mayor
Illinois Senator
Presidential Candidate

At 50 years of age, Mr. Emanuel has enough time to walk this path.

UPDATE

As of October 3, 2010, Rahm Emanuel has announced that he is indeed running for Mayor of Chicago.

Radio

2010-08-29T09:26:33-04:00

Radio had a major effect on politics, starting way back at the invention of the radio at the dawn of last century all the way through to the present. The radio enabled presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt to address the entire nation (at least those that were tuning in) with weekly radio addresses, though it was Calvin Coolidge to deliver the first address to Congress over the airwaves.

Roosevelt created quite the tradition; weekly radio addresses are continued today, though they have undergone technological advances, integrating podcasts and YouTube! Reagan, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama have all produced some form of weekly radio addresses.

Joe Miller Pimping Lisa Murkowski

2010-08-28T14:50:34-04:00

No, the title of this post is a farce, but if you’ve been reading the news, you’ll no doubt have notices reports of one politician comparing another’s actions to prostitution on Twitter.

Technology and 24/7/365 always-on, lightening fast news reports are changing politics in ways we never imagined.

By comparing Senator Lisa Murkowski’s potential run as a third party candidate to prostitution, Joe Miller made what most people would consider a huge mistake. But hang on, think about it - in the aftermath, more people are now even aware of who Joe Miller is. And what will they connect him with? A Twitter gaffe, oh-no! And something having to do with prostitution… wait, he’s a politician, that’s right.

Taxed For Blogging

2010-08-23T18:02:03-04:00

Wow. The news that Philadelphia is trying to tax city $300 for a license bloggers is insane, and I wonder if the upcoming legislation covering SLAPP lawsuits could protect those getting taxed.

Its so ridiculous and frustrating that politicians can engage in behavior that is hurtful and damaging to people and communities without any accountability or recourse. I guess the public is to blame for voting them into office in the first place!

Remember, people:

RIP Senator Stevens

2010-08-11T00:14:57-04:00

Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska passed away today due to a plane crash. He was 86 years old, and possibly one of the most corrupt politicians the nation has seen. Funny thing is, he seemed proud of it!

He was brought up on charges of corruption in the past, but was still voted into office by Alaskan voters.

Charles Rangel Is Unethical

2010-07-22T22:04:18-04:00

After many news reports about the shady shenanigans of the House of Representatives Charles Rangel, a House ethics committee has decided that he is, indeed, unethical.

I guess it may have been his abuse of rent control in New York City, his failure to disclose funding for travel to the Caribbean, or perhaps his tax evasion for his rental property in the Dominican Republic - whatever it was, he’s since stepped down from his post as head of the Ways and Means Committee.

Personally, I think he should have been fired and charged for the crimes he’s committed long ago.

Its a shame that Congressman are seemingly untouchable!

UPDATE: I heard on the radio today that one of the contenders vying for Charlie Rangel’s seat in the house is Adam Clayton Powell, IV. The juicy part is that Adam Clayton Powell, IV’s grandfather, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr, had the seat before Charlie Rangel, and was also accused of ethics violations!

Is Shirley Sherrod Racist?

2010-07-20T20:06:09-04:00

I haven’t seen the videos, but the fact that Shirley Sherrod is recorded making racist remarks about a white farmer while winning millions in a discrimination lawsuit against the US government makes me mad!

Who is paying for the lawsuit? You and me!!

UPDATE: Today I read that the video where she allegedly made racist remarks was doctored! Insanity!!

Jeff Greene Running for US Senate in Florida

2010-07-15T20:42:18-04:00

Salon is featuring an article about Jeff Greene. Its a bit sarcastic, though.

The highlights:

Jeff Greene allegedly parties with “outlaw” Lindsey Lohan
He became a billionaire by betting on the so-called shady business of shorting sub-prime mortgage credit default swaps
He’s raised $3,000 in donations, while spending $5.8 million
His campaign manager quit

Looks like I’ll have to look into what this guy is all about, after all.

Tea Party Racism?

2010-07-14T17:23:35-04:00

The Tea Party has been all over the media lately. Personally, I think what they stand for is great! While I think that consistency across states is very important, I think the United States Federal Government has gotten way too big, and that federal spending has gotten way out of control.

They say that any media exposure is good, but I have to think that getting accused of racism is not. CNN is reporting that the NAACP is accusing the Tea Party of racism. Doh!

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/14/naacp.tea.party/

An Interesting Platform

2010-07-10T13:23:57-04:00

Craig Herskowitz is running on an interesting platform: the public dislike of speed cameras in Maryland.

I saw his signs and wrote up a blog post about it at the Bethesda Notes blog:

Annoyed by Speed Cameras?

Presidential Stumping

2010-07-09T21:17:11-04:00

What about you? Are you OK with the President of the United States stumping for candidates of their same party?

I’ve heard that certain employees of the federal government are not supposed to express political opinions or affiliations - so why not the president??

Aren’t we paying him or her to run the country instead of pursuing their own political agendas?

Now I’m not privy to judging the president, but I’ve seen President Obama do this way to many times. First with the race to replace Senator Kennedy in Massachusetts, and Harry Reid for Nevada.

Not cool dude. Not cool.

RIP Senator Byrd

2010-06-28T13:47:38-04:00

News agencies are reporting that Senator Byrd from West Virginia passed away this morning. He was 92 years old and served the longest term in the Congress in US history.

While he’s often celebrated, his past certainly has some skeletons. For instance, he was formerly a member of the KKK. I heard him speak about that experience once and found his perspective very interesting - how on the one hand he felt empowered by their acceptance of him, but also felt his affiliation with them hindered him on the national stage.

Its been a long time since his KKK days, and while more recently he’s supported Civil Rights laws, in between he’s opposed some other important civil rights laws.

The news is portraying him as a hero to West Virginians for bringing Federal funds to his home state while chairman of the Senate Appropriations committee. Frankly, I’m not so sure that is a good thing - steering funds based on personal ties instead of value and merit sounds almost criminal to me. I wonder if he got any kickbacks?

Way to Go Etheridge!

2010-06-14T11:25:53-04:00

VAT? Are you kidding?

2010-04-18T16:44:46-04:00

I’m disappointed to learn that the United States is even considering a value added tax (VAT).

Small businesses have enough red-tape to deal with!

And as Anchorite says:

VAT is a nightmare to administer and is generally very harsh on low- and fixed-income people.

The Cost of Independence

2009-11-22T18:02:01-05:00

When it comes to business, corporate, and special interest lobbying, I’m under the impression that being bigger is better.

I did a quick search on Wikipedia for information, and they reference OpenSecrets.org, which houses some interesting information about who the biggest spenders were in 2009:

Lobbying Client	Total
US Chamber of Commerce	$65,211,000
Exxon Mobil	$20,750,000
Pharmaceutical Rsrch & Mfrs of America	$20,165,000
General Electric	$19,661,000
Blue Cross/Blue Shield	$16,727,065
Pfizer Inc	$16,340,000
Chevron Corp	$15,515,000
AARP	$15,060,000
National Assn of Realtors	$13,857,000
Verizon Communications	$13,450,000
ConocoPhillips	$13,292,079
American Medical Assn	$12,600,000
American Hospital Assn	$12,337,176
FedEx Corp	$12,290,000
BP	$11,370,000
AT&T Inc	$11,368,732
Boeing Co	$10,720,000
National Cable & Telecommunications Assn	$10,660,000
Altria Group	$10,170,000
Lockheed Martin	$9,928,992

Surprise! The US Chamber of Commerce spent the most on lobbying last year. Sounds, impressive right? According the chamber of commerce website:

More than 96% of U.S. Chamber members are small businesses with 100 employees or fewer.

However, the next 19 biggest spenders collectively spent $2,615,536,322, 4000% as much as the US Chamber of Commerce.

I’m reviewing this information to learn about how independent businesses are represented in Washington, D.C., and in the process I’m shocked at how much money is spent on lobbying. Incredible.