Look! I don't get it. When McCain was the nominee in 2008, the "republican" talk radio crowd was suggesting we should have nominated Romney because he was a conservative. Now in 2012 people, like Rush Limbaugh, are calling Mitt Romny "McCain Lite" or "McCain Jr." Seriously! Romney is a conservative. But he is willing to have a discussion about policies and hear other ideas. He's not so absolutely stuck in his ideology that he will gridlock Washington. He knows how to work with a democratic house. He had one in Massachusetts while he was Governor.
What dumbfounds me even more is when people like Rush, Dana Loesch, Greg Garrison, and so on, talk about how all the other candidates will "really take it to Obama" and that Mitt won't "stand up to Obama." HELLO! Are you kidding me? Romney was the first to start taking it to Obama. He even has a whole site dedicated to it. ObamaIsntWorking.com And are they not even listening to the debates? All he does is talk about Obama's fail policies.
I described how I feel about the other candidates in one of my previous posts, so I won't go through it again. I just can't see any other candidate beating Obama in the general election. Mitt Romney is the only candidate with the experience, intelligence, money and the squeaky clean image to win this thing. He will work with all parties to make sure this country is on the right track to recovery.
If you can't tell, or if you haven't read any of my previous posts, I am heavily endorsing Mitt Romney. I hope he wins the primary so people can really get to know him and understand that he is the right man for the job.
So maybe that should give me some sort of political validation. That I am not just some sort of drone robot following the commands of my talk radio or FOX News. Since they have done nothing but try to tear down Romney and I am sticking to my guns. I do have a mind of my own...and that mind is set on President Romney.
Ever buy a cd, download an album or whatever you do to own music, and not really care for that album or think it's just ok? Maybe at that time you would give the album a B or C. Not quite an A. Then you go back and pull that album out a few months or a year later and listen to it again and then BAM! It hits you. This album is pure genius. And you wonder how in the world you missed it last time?
This has happened to me recently with two albums. It's not that I hated these albums, I just thought they were OK. Now, I can't get enough of them. I know, you are all siting there, reading this blog, just waiting for me to tell you what the two albums were. Well here you go.
The first album I've recently rediscovered is Oracular Spectacular by MGMT. I've always liked this album. It was always an B+ in my mind but for some reason, just recently, I have fallen in love with this album all over again. I was originally sucked in by "Time To Pretend," but this album is so much more. You have to listen to the whole album to really understand this band. "Time To Pretend" just won't do it. Below you will find the "Time To Pretend" video along with "Electric Feel" so you can experience this amazing band for yourself.
I believe that MGMT is an acquired taste. You aren't going to love it your first listen but you'll kind of enjoy it. You'll find yourself singing the song later and thinking, "I want to listen to that again." Then, you'll search the song on Spotify or GrooveShark and you'll listen to it again. It will grow on you. Seriously though, this band is not for everyone. If you are looking to rock, then this isn't the band for you. They don't have wailing guitars or bass thumping hip hop beats. They are their own monster and it's spectacular.
The second of these two albums was Future Breeds by Hot Hot Heat. When I first heard it, I thought it was just ok. Nothing spectacular. Honestly, I was really looking forward to this album because I loved their last one, Happiness LTD. Future Breeds was a complete departure from Happiness LTD. It had more of a mechanical, technical, experimental feel to it. I know that sounds odd, but seriously, below is a song from Happiness LTD called "Let Me In". It's a great song and what made me fall in love with Hot Hot Heat. After listening to that song, check out the second video "YVR", which is from the Future Breeds album. You might understand what I am talking about. Both albums are great in their own way though I have just recently realized how awesome Future Breeds is. This album is complete genius.
I can't stop listening to these two albums. They are amazing. I hope you at least give them a chance. Enjoy.
I have been wanting to write this post for some time. I just haven't found the time to do so. Nevertheless, here it is.
I watched bits and pieces of the Republican Presidential Debate last night and it got me thinking about who I was going to be voting for in the primary. Now, anyone that knows me knows that I am a huge Mitt Romney supporter but I always like to keep an open mind about these things. I've watched a few of the other debates, read many stories online about each one, watched interviews, etc. I like following politics. I find it fascinating. So here is my assessment of all these candidates.
Newt Gingrich - He may be the smartest man in the room but he keeps tripping over his arrogance. I like what he has to say, most of the time, but there are things that make me question his judgement. One big red flag to me is his personal life. Cheating on his wives is a huge deal to me. That just shows me his moral compass is way off. No matter what you think of President Obama, he is a great husband and a wonderful family man. This will be exploited to the highest if Newt got the republican nomination. Too many skeletons in Newt's closet to become president.
Ron Paul - You know, I was telling my wife the other night. I would love to live in an alternate universe where Ron Paul became president, just to see what would happen. Like when Friends did those episodes where Monica was still fat and Rachel married Barry. But after I got a glimpse into this world, I would probably like to go back to before the Ron Paul revolution. He has some great ideas but most of his ideas are kooky, at best. No worries, he won't get the republican nomination.
Jon Huntsman - HA! a-hem...I mean. He won't get the nomination. Huntsman isn't a bad guy. He just isn't inspiring me. I can't really tell you anything he stands for. He's just white noise in this field. He'll drop out soon enough.
Michele Bachmann - I actually think she would make a decent president but there is just something I don't like about her. I can't put my finger on it. I can't pinpoint it. She says most the right things. She stands up to people and doesn't back down from a fight. Maybe she just needs a few more years to mature into a more polished politician. Not sure why. I wouldn't feel bad voting for her if she were the nominee...though I don't know if she could win the whole thing.
Rick Santorum - I kind of feel the same way about Santorum that I do about Huntsman. He's just white noise in this whole thing. Though he does add some comic relief. He always looks confused. Like he's thinking "how did I get here?" Andy Samberg nailed the impression of Santorum. Rick doesn't instill confidence in me. If we had another 9/11 style attack and he came on TV to address the American public, I think his perceived confusion would just add more panic.
Rick Perry - I was excited to see Rick Perry when he first announced he was running. I had heard so many great things about this man. So when I got to hear him for the first time, I was greatly disappointed. For starters, he seems like Bush 2.0. Don't get me wrong, I liked George W. Bush, but I don't think the country is ready for another Texas Governor who is perceived as a nitwit. Then I started to learn more and more about Rick Perry. He worked on one of Al Gore's campaigns, by executive order forced many young girls to get HPV vaccine, he's soft on immigration, grant tuition to illegals, and, on top of all that, he's not very good on his feet at the debates. I really hope he doesn't get the nomination. It would be hard to vote for Perry as president. I'll just pretend I'm voting for Agent P (for all you Phineas and Ferb fans).
Mitt Romney - Now, for my favorite candidate. Maybe I'm a bit bias, but like I said earlier, I really try to keep an open mind until I reach election day (that goes for democrat or republican...but I'll address that later). Nevertheless, I still feel that Mitt Romney is the best man for the job. He has private sector and government experience (both of which were executive leadership positions). He has spent the last four plus years educating himself further on the world around him. He has proposed plans. Everyone complains that politicians just say that they can fix the economy but never tell us how. Mitt Romney has told us exactly how he is going to fix it. You can download the plans from his website. It's amazing the effort and planning he has done. He is ready to hit the ground running on day one. He is a true businessman who speaks a language that I really understand. As for the flip-flops. He has changed his mind a few times, and we are all entitled to that. I used to be anti-christian anything, but now I fully believe that Jesus Christ is my lord and savior. We can all grow and learn and change our position on topics. FactCheck.org has a list showing the truth of Mitt's flip-flops. There may be a few flips but not to the extent that everyone is making it out to be. Also, people keep saying that he is too squeaky clean. Seriously! This is a downfall? This is exactly what we need. Someone with no skeletons in their closet. No infidelities. No DUIs. No past that is going to be dug up. Nothing bad. Mitt Romney is a great family man with an amazing resume and a squeaky clean image. What more could you want?
So there you have it. That is my take on all the Republican candidates. Now, as to where I stand...well first I think you have to understand my voting issues. I believe that the financial security as well as our actual security are tied for number one on this list. I see so many people talking about gay marriage, abortion, immigration, education, green initiatives, etc. but those just aren't on my radar. Well...maybe immigration because I feel it's closely tied to our economy but the economy is still the biggest issue to me.
I don't want to see amnesty for all illegals. That just encourages them to continue to illegally enter our country. I would like to see them go through the process to become legal citizens. Then build a big fence, a huge wall, with military and motes at both Mexican and Canadian boarders. Ha ha. Well, maybe not all of that but we do need to enforce the boarders more.
Now, call me a weird republican but, as for gay marriage, I don't care. Let the gays get married. They deserve the right to be happy just like the rest of us. If you don't like calling it marriage, then call it a civil union or whatever. Basically it's not my hot button issue. American is not going to fall apart because Steve and Bill want to confess their love for each other. None of my business.
I know that this will also get me in hot water but abortion just isn't my hot button issue either. Do I wish it would never happen? Of course...but I don't think it's my right to tell others what to do. If some girl wants to kill her unborn child, she will have that cross to bare with her for her entire life. She will have to deal with that sacrifice. Are there cases where I think it should be allowed? Of course. If it's medically important to save the mother's life, in cases of rape, etc...but again, that's her decision. Not mine.
Don't even get me started on the "green initiative" hoax. Look, here is my feeling. If you want to recycle and you want to bring your own tupperware containers to restaurants so you aren't harming the environment with their styrofoam, then fine! Do that. But don't push it onto me. See my previous blog post. Global warming is a hoax. We can't even predict what the weather is going to be ten days down the road. How am I supposed to believe that some scientists have figured out what the Earth is going to do 100 years from now. I am all for keeping this planet clean. There is no reason to throw a bag of McDonald's out of your car window. That, my friends, is keeping the planet clean. Not adding a tax on high carbon emissions. That is government controlling us and taxing us way too much. But I would like to say that I am all in favor of electric cars and windmill power but only because I think the ideas are really cool, not because I want to save the environment.
So for me, the economy is the biggest issue in this election cycle. And out of all the candidates I believe that Mitt Romney is the man that is going to get this economy working again. He has a plan to help small businesses and big businesses. Cut taxes, cut spending, open up lending, blah blah blah. As a small business owner, I love hearing what he has to say. As I said before, I keep an open mind about these things. If President Obama came out tomorrow with a plan to make the tax code more "fair", since that is what everyone wants, I may support it. Though my version of fair is different from others. I believe that everyone should pay the same percentage. If everyone paid 10% (I'm making that number up, so just bare with me), then it would be fair. So if Bob makes $100 a week and Jane make $1million a week, they would both be paying the same percentage, which is fair. I don't see how that punishes the poor. Bob would pay $10 and Jane would pay $100,000. That way, no matter what you make, you know that you will be paying 10% to the government. Of course, we would all like to pay zero but that can't happen. If President Obama came out tomorrow and said everyone will pay 10% and he would eliminate capital gains tax, death tax and inheritance tax, then chances are I'd vote for him. Or even if he was going to eliminate the tax code all together and start a national sales tax, I might vote for him. But he won't. The democrats want to tax the wealthy. They want to punish those who have large amounts of money. WHY!? Why should those people be punished for having money? Even if they inherited it. Even if they never worked for it a day in their life. Who cares? It's their money, NOT the government's.
Now, I'm not going to go into Obamacare because all the republican candidates are going to try to repeal it. I think an overhaul of the healthcare system is needed but not the way it was done.
So there you have it. Not sure if anyone cares about my point of view but I put it out there anyways. I hope you will take a look at Mitt Romney and hopefully vote for him in the primary and in the general election as well.
