Archive for the 'Elections' Category

Obama changes tactic on Iran…

Published
by
seanb
on 24 June 2009
in Elections, Obama, Political and Voting
. 0 Comments

… only he really didn’t.

And if he did, show me because I can’t see it.

From the Monday following the elections, to yesterday’s comments in his news conference, President Obama has railed against the vicious treatment protesters in Iran have received at the hands of the Basiji.

He has stopped short of calling the results of the elections illegitimate; however, is that really the place of our President? The last one to say something he wasn’t absolutely sure about ended up getting us involved in two wars, tanking our economy, and generally ransacking our international prestige in the process, so much so that Obama is still working hard to right the ship.

Barack Obama spoke initially in measured tones on the issue. Yesterday he was a bit more forceful in his rhetoric…

Perhaps that change in timbre is what is meant by a “change in tactic.”

But I still don’t see it.

Oh no… Obama wants to socialize our healthcare system!!!

Published
by
seanb
on 22 June 2009
in Elections, News, Obama and Voting
. 0 Comments

One of the fundamental economic issues facing our republic in today’s world is the “problem” of healthcare costs spiraling out of control.

In most Western economies, healthcare is provided by a national health system paid for by everyone through various taxing schemes (income, value added, etc.). In this regard, most Western economies do provide healthcare “from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs,” if Karl Marx will please excuse my profane use of his oft-cited quotation. It is argued by many on the right that were the United States to move in the direction of such a nationally-provided healthcare system, our quality of care would suffer and stagnate because of added layers of bureaucracy that would be added.

Even President Obama in his desire to pass some form of healthcare reform has declared such a single-payer system to be “off the table” for the purposes of this year’s attempts at passing this, yet many on the right continue to rail against Obama’s plans as a potential “back door” to allow single-payer healthcare at a later time.

What I’d like to know is: what makes our congressional leaders (in both houses) so much better than us that they can obtain health insurance for themselves AND their spouses for roughly $290 per month? On top of this, they have access to physicians at their place of work, and have access to the Naval medical centers so prevalent around DC. If they happen to need prescriptions (with the mean age of them approaching 60, who of them could POSSIBLY need that), they have a great prescription drug plan.

We already pay these people $175,000+ per year, which is slightly more than four-times what the average Joe the Plumber makes… add to that the health benefits, and these are some pretty cushy jobs that you and me pay for.

So what I’d like to see happen for healthcare is either you and me get the option of choosing the healthcare plan of our senators and/or representative, or this same congress cobbles together a plan, like Medicare, that is made optional for those of us who have no health insurance, or who think we can get a better deal on the national plan.

Chances are I’d stick with my employer-provided option, because I’m quite happy with the HMO that I have been enrolled in.

But the time has come to level the playing field between us and our worldwide competitors when it comes to getting EVERYONE access to the best healthcare we ALL can afford.

The Miami Progressive Recommends…

Published
by
seanb
on 20 October 2008
in Democracy, Elections and Voting
. 0 Comments

Today is the first day of early voting in Miami-Dade County. The Miami Progressive got in line at 7:45 this morning, and walked out of the polling place at the Coral Gables Library 50 minutes later. It was a great experience – the poll workers were quite professional, and knew what they were doing. The only slow thing was the actual process.

Because the ballot is long, I would recommend filling out the sample ballot before going in. Additionally, there is much legalese on the ballot, and as such, The Miami Progressive recommends the following:

For President and Vice President – Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The Obama/Biden ticket provides the injection of hope that this country needs to get it back on its feet after years of neglect during the Bush presidency. The election of Obama and Biden will not FIX the problems, but it will be a good start – and will provide an administration the public can work with to make America great again.

Representative in Congress for FL District 18 – Annette Taddeo. Ileanna Ros-Lehtinen has provided good service, but she voted for the bailout package which will bail out the big banks while doing little to help the middle class. I initially thought I was going to have to review my recommendation on this, after seeing that she initially voted “no” for the bailout in its initial form, but Ros-Lehtinen went back and voted yes on round two.

State Representative – District 111. Frank Morra.

County Clerk – Harvey Ruvin. Ruvin has been there for years, and while his attempts at modernization of the courts has been thwarted, he promises to bring the needed modernization to fruition.

Property Appraiser – Pedro J. Garcia. Garcia is the only one of the four with any in-depth property appraisal experience. Margolis, who is probably the frontrunner, is a lifetime politician. And we’ve seen what politicians do when they involve themselves in an environment without having the knowledge to run it.

Constitutional Amendments…

Amendment 1 – Declaration of Rights. This amendment will delete provisions authorizing the state to regulate property owned by aliens ineligible for citizenship. The Miami Progressive recommends a “no” vote on this.

Amendment 2 – Florida Marriage Protection Amendment. This amendment says that marriage and civil unions shall be limited to one man and one woman. The Miami Progressive recommends a “no” vote on this.

Amendment 3 – Changes and Improvements Not Affecting the Assessed Value of Residential Real Property. The Miami Progressive recommends a “no” vote on this amendment.

Amendment 4 – Property Tax Exemption of Perpetually Conserved Land; Classification and Assessment of Land Used for Conservation. The Miami Progressive recommends a “yes” vote on this amendment.

Amendment 6 – Assessment of Working Waterfront Property Based Upon Current Use. The Miami Progressive recommends a “yes” vote on this amendment.

Amendment 8 – Local Option Community College Funding. The Miami Progressive recommends a “yes” vote on this amendment.

Enjoy your voting!

The presidential race is entering its final throes…

Published
by
seanb
on 15 October 2008
in Democracy, Elections and Voting
. 0 Comments

And, quite frankly, I couldn’t be happier – though I do think that McCain still does have some more punches to throw.  As he has stated before, he cannot be counted out yet.  That’s why if we want Barack Obama to win (as I do), I cannot stress enough the importance of getting out there and actually casting your vote.

While early voting starts in Florida on October 20, 2008, you can contact your local Elections department (here in Miami-Dade it’s www.miamidade.gov/elections) and request an absentee ballot.  Absentee voting is safe, effective, and it helps you avoid the long lines that are being predicted at the polling places.  Here in Miami-Dade, the elections department is preparing for a 90%+ turnout for this election.

While the race for president is the most talked about, it is by no means alone in its level of importance in terms of ballot initiatives and measures.  In the coming days, The Miami Progressive will be featuring information that you need to be aware of from a local, state, and national perspective.

Stay tuned!

 

If you’re voting McCain, you’re getting Palin, too…

Published
by
seanb
on 8 October 2008
in Democracy and Elections
. 1 Comment

McCain/Palin is just that… McCain/Palin… with the emphasis (for the purposes of this article) on Palin…

John McCain is 78 years old. While his mother is still alive, and I hope John McCain lives for another 20 years too, we must understand that he is older than most Americans will ever get (with the average age being 77.8 years). He has served our country like no one else. I concede this.

But his age does concern me – but mostly because of who will step into the Oval Office if he happened to kick it while president. Sarah Palin.

I think Maureen Dowd said it best in her commentary on Palin, as…

“Palin finally took questions on Tuesday from her traveling press corps on her campaign plane. Asked if she thought Senator Obama was dishonest, McCain’s Mean Girl meandered:

‘I’m not saying he’s dishonest, but in terms of judgment, in terms of being able to answer a question forthrightly, it has two different parts to this. The judgment and the truthfulness and just being able to answer very candidly a simple question about when did you know him, how did you know him, is there still — has there been an association continued since ’02 or ’05, I know I’ve read a couple different stories. I think it’s relevant.’”

My thoughts on the debate…

Published
by
seanb
on 3 October 2008
in Elections and Political
. 1 Comment

I watched part of the debate between the Vice Presidential candidates, Sarah Palin (R) and Joseph Biden (D), last night.  I thought both performed rather well.  Joe Biden stayed away from any of the major gaffes for which he has become infamous, and Sarah Palin displayed a much more articulate side of her that had apparently been absent in her prior TV interviews.

Throughout the debate, I found myself annoyed that Biden kept attacking John McCain, rather than attacking Palin directly.  However, in retrospect, I believe he comported himself in the most appropriate way, since each direct attach on Palin would have likely scored points for her, rather than for him.  Not for the content of the attacks, but merely for the point that he would have been attacking a newcomer to the national political stage with which he himself has been familiar for decades.

I did, however, find Palin a bit condescending in her tone at times, and annoying to listen to.  And is it just me, or is she taking her acting lessons from Hillary Clinton?

Tags: , ,

Somewhere between Jacksonville and Orlando…

Published
by
seanb
on 16 September 2008
in Biden, Elections, Justice, Obama, Political and Society
. 0 Comments

NPR’s Morning Edition is reporting today that John McCain stated at a rally in Jacksonville, Florida that “The fundamentals of the economy are strong,” but changed his tune when he was at a rally later that day in Orlando, Florida to “I know Americans are hurting.” The distance between these two cities, according to Google Maps, is 141 miles, or about a two-hour drive (probably a two-hour flight, too… maybe not, I don’t know if McCain sprung for a flight or travelled by bus.).

I’d like to know why he changed his tune. It could be that McCain has finally come to his senses that the current Executive has lead us down the wrong path, to a point where we now have investment banks – some of the largest in the world – failing, taking out insurance companies in their wake. It could be that McCain suddenly finds himself lamenting the binds in which the working class finds itself. However, I’m more inclined to believe that one of McCain’s advisors whispered to him, “Nice job John… you might want to change your message at the next stop…”

You see, the problem with the McCain-Palin ticket is that they don’t share any links with the working- or middle class voter, aside from Palin’s family (arguably) being from the middle class. McCain has been a staunch supporter of a market free of government intervention; Palin has been a staunch supporter of a “hands off” approach to Federal Government intervention in Alaska.

Barack Obama may not be an economist, but at the very least he knows that what we have now isn’t working – and he HAS known this for a long time.

It’s not something he just learned in his latest 141 mile trip, like McCain did.

Miami-Dade Elections Better Get it Together Before November…

Published
by
seanb
on 30 January 2008
in Democracy, Elections, Voting and Voting Machines
. 1 Comment

I voted early. In fact, I voted on the first day I could during early voting.

An acquaintance of mine, Heidi, who had her first opportunity to vote in a primary election today, was unable to cast a ballot in that race because either the poll worker messed up her voting machine, or because she was mistakenly mislabeled as having No Party Affiliation.

Regardless of the cause, and regardless of her ability to verify the machine’s correctness before casting her vote, it’s reprehensible that in this day and age, after so much scrutiny, Miami-Dade Elections still cannot get it right.