On Barack Obama

"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed --- "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today" ~ Martin Luther King Jr. 1963

"Until the philosophy which hold one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned - Everywhere is war! Until the colour of a man's skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes -Me say war." -- War ~ Bob Marley 1976

Even if you are of the school of thought that holds that Barack Obama is the end of our country, you cannot reasonably think that his election was a bad thing. The two above quotes (only 45 and 32 years old respectively) show that even if he fails as a president he will prove something about our country. Considering that just 50 years ago a black man couldn't even ride a bus with a white man, and now a black man is president, is enough to make even the most ardent america haters to be proud of this country.

This is the first time in quite awhile that I've felt compelled to say it:
God Bless America.

On 'The System' Or 'The Establishment'

The Establishment being, not the government as a whole or even select parts of the government, but more akin to any organized restriction on anything (trade and buisness for the most part in this post). An example can be found in cosmetology, I find it ridiculous that one needs to have a license (and in order to obtain said license, schooling) to cut hair and do make up. I see the idea behind all this - so that you don't have someone with no idea what they're doing, cutting hair or similar - but why make someone spend 2 years and god knows how much money learning how to cut someone else’s hair, when it would be much more simple to say that anyone can set up a beauty salon and leave it up to the individual to decide if they trust the operator to cut their hair well. If they do, then they have a haircut. If they don't then they can go elsewhere or cut their own hair.
I've seen, in other countries, people walking up and down the beach with a parachute offering parasailing, and all one needs to do is haggle a price with them and step inside the harness. No papers signed. In this country, however if one wants to set up a parasailing business one must get liability and several other insurances and by extension, charge and arm and a leg for a parachute ride. Again, if I don't trust the man on the beach with the parachute, I don't have to make use of his services. If I think his boat of other equipment isn't safe, that's my problem.

If no one was obligated to have a license to start a business then it would be up to the consumer to choose who he would patronize. If one wanted to get a license they could, and perhaps attract more customers by having it, but that would be their choice.
So, I suppose in this post 'The System' refers to the government [sticking its nose where it doesn't belong.]

On The Curious Phenomenon Of Voters With Signs (Election Day Blues)

Driving past voting places today I couldn't help but note the prominent groups of voters with sticks covered in signs for their favorite candidates. I personally find this practice futile and obnoxious, with the number of people in this country that don't vote, I believe most everyone who does cast their voice into the collective voice of this country in electing our new leader has decided already who 'their candidate' is. Thus standing around on a November with a little pole covered in signs is, for the most part, useless. People say that seeing signs all over the place does influence people subconsciously. Even if this is the case I would think that it's only practical to put one's signs up in the weeks or months before the election, thus getting 'Obama, greener energy for a Socialist Republic' or 'McCain, lipstick for pit bulls and pigs alike' ingrained in peoples minds before they make up their minds and vote. As I said, I find picketers not only wasters of their own time, but obnoxious. If I drive past a school of town office where voting is taking place and several groups of people I've never scene before smile and wave signs at me, I would think twice before voting for whom ever the signs were endorsing. A candidate who has a bunch of followers who don fake grins and staple a mess of signs to a yard stick and wave to passersby whom they've never met, acting like they're personal friends, is not my idea of a man I'd want in charge. Supports are large part of the image of a candidate, if people think of McCain Supporters as sign waving idiots, I wouldn't want to counted as a McCain Supporter (which I'm not) ands if people think of Obama supporters as bumbling idiots who wave at anyone and anything, I wouldn't want to be counted as an Obama supporter (which I suppose I could be - I would vote for Obama, not as a vote for him but as a vote against McCain)

To sum it all up, If you feel the need to hold a sign or two outside of a voting place, feel free to but I might make a few snide comments as I pass you