Why I Love Jon Stewart!

I never would've thought that Jon Stewart would be the voice reason amidst all the recent political madness. I'm tired of the radicals on the fringe of either side having the loudest voices and getting the most attention. Let's be honest, most Americans fall right in the middle but our voices are not being heard simply because we don't want to scream.


"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" 

Who among us has not wanted to open their window and shout that at the top of their lungs? 

Seriously, who? 

Because we're looking for those people. We're looking for the people who think shouting is annoying, counterproductive, and terrible for your throat; who feel that the loudest voices shouldn't be the only ones that get heard; and who believe that the only time it's appropriate to draw a Hitler mustache on someone is when that person is actually Hitler. Or Charlie Chaplin in certain roles. 

Are you one of those people? Excellent. Then we'd like you to join us in Washington, DC on October 30 -- a date of no significance whatsoever -- at the Daily Show's "Rally to Restore Sanity." Ours is a rally for the people who've been too busy to go to rallies, who actually have lives and families and jobs (or are looking for jobs) -- not so much the Silent Majority as the Busy Majority. If we had to sum up the political view of our participants in a single sentence... we couldn't. That's sort of the point. 

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Thoughts on 9/11

It's been too long since I've posted anything here lately. To be quite honest, I've been so fed up with all the hate and fear mongering going on in politics that I've tuned it all out. But lately, I've been far too opinionated about the most recent controversies to let this one go by the wayside. There have been several things that prompted me to sit down, log on, and start typing away - the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque", the church leader who wants to have a Quran burning bonfire on 9/11, and meeting kids who don't even know what happened that fateful day! I'll also throw in a rant about Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, just for kicks.

It's hard to believe that those terrible attacks were 9 years ago. It's our generation's date that will live in infamy. I still remember where I was, what I was doing, and how I felt. I recently realized that my 9 year old sister has no recollection of that tragic event. My wife has piano students that weren't even alive and who have only a small idea of what "9/11" means because they heard their school teacher say something about it once. I visited Ground Zero a few years ago and it was one of the most moving experiences of my adult life. I will never forget it. The words on the memorial, "May We Never Forget", are forever etched into my mind.




As we commemorate 9/11 and honor those who died and those who risked their lives for others to live, let's take a look around the country at some totally inappropriate ways of doing so. Burning the Koran - appalling. For those of you who are wondering if anybody actually supports guy - the answer is yes. I read this on MSN this morning: Despite a general outcry against Rev. Jones' plan, the Florida pastor does have his supporters. A former Baptist minister in Springfield, Tenn. has said he will join in on the event and burn a Quran himself on Saturday and post a video of it on the Internet, according to a report by The Tennessean newspaper. "If they want to have their religion, they can have it somewhere else," said Rev. Bob Old, the former pastor who now runs an evangelical ministry called Disciples of Christ.


How can thes "pastors" call themselves Christian and think it's ok to burn the  holy writ of another religion. They are preaching hate and intolerance, and I can guarantee you that is not what Jesus would do! 


Another totally inappropriate way to commemorate - charging people $225 to listen to you talk about what a patriot you are. I'm talking to you Glenn Beck and Half-Governor Sarah Palin! Palin announced, "We can count on Glenn to make the night interesting and inspiring, and I can think of no better way to commemorate 9/11 than to gather with patriots who will 'never forget," And charging them $225 to do so, of course. Anything to turn a profit, right Governor? I hope everyone in the media cries foul for this, forcing them to donate 100% of ticket sales to 9/11 victim's families. Will the Republican party ever realize that these people are an embarrassment?


Lastly, let's talk about this "Ground Zero Mosque". I can honestly say that this is the first time in my life that I have agreed with ultra-liberal talk show host Keith Olbermann. There is no Ground Zero Mosque! First - it's several blocks away, not even in view of Ground Zero. Second- it's not a mosque or a future training ground for terrorists! It's a COMMUNITY CENTER. A mosque is for worship only, and this place will have a culinary school and a basketball court, and will be open to all. "Terrorist chefs. Terrorist point guards. What a threat!" 







Lastly, let's talk about hate and intolerance. I'm so sick of hearing ignorant people talk about this Mosque like it's the biggest possible insult to 9/11 victims and their families. Guess what, people? Islam did not attack us, a bunch of radicals who don't understand their own religion did! So you people are ok with going to war and losing thousands of American troops to FREE a Muslim country from a tryannical dictator, but you're not ok with letting them practice their freedoms in America, the Land of the Free?! Stop being so hypocritical. I think Mayor Bloomberg said it best ,

"On September 11, 2001, thousands of first responders heroically rushed to the scene and saved tens of thousands of lives. More than 400 of those first responders did not make it out alive. In rushing into those burning buildings, not one of them asked 'What God do you pray to?' 'What beliefs do you hold?'

"The attack was an act of war – and our first responders defended not only our City but also our country and our Constitution. We do not honor their lives by denying the very Constitutional rights they died protecting. We honor their lives by defending those rights – and the freedoms that the terrorists attacked.

"Of course, it is fair to ask the organizers of the mosque to show some special sensitivity to the situation – and in fact, their plan envisions reaching beyond their walls and building an interfaith community. By doing so, it is my hope that the mosque will help to bring our City even closer together and help repudiate the false and repugnant idea that the attacks of 9/11 were in any way consistent with Islam. "

I'll end with a quote from the beliefs of my own relgion...and believe me, we know a thing or two about not being allowed to worship where we want. "We claim the privilege of worshiping the Almighty God according to the dictates of our own consience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, and what they may."


I can think of no better way to commemorate 9/11, than by learning to be tolerant of all people and all relgions, and allowing them to practice their own freedoms - freedoms which so many people over hundreds of years have fought and died for.

A Real-Life Jack Bauer?

Making the headlines recently has been Obama's decision to oust General, a decision which 53% of Americans support. I do not. A change of command in the middle of a war is never a good idea. Look at it this way: he was the mastermind who convinced the ultra-liberal President Obama to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan when Obama wanted both wars over and done asap. He's a counterinsurgency genius. Everything happening in Afghanistan right now was all his idea. Luckily he's being replaced by the guy who wrote the counterinsurgency manual in the first place. And I am a big Petraeus fan, so I'm not totally upset. I met General Petraeus in person once at the National Defense University in D.C. His surprisingly small stature doesn't do justice to his huge reputation. But hey, Napoleon was small, too and he conquered Europe...for a little while, anyway. So here's hoping that General Petraeus has more success than General McChrystal and longer lasting success than Napoleon. I'm thinking President Petraeus in the near future. It has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you say?

However, after I read the Rolling Stone article that got General McChrystal fired by President Obama, the first thing that came to my mind was a desire to make a movie about this guy's life! McChrystal sounds like he's super bad-ass. A true B.A.M.F. The movie would be part A Few Good Men, part Black Hawk Down and part 24... and it would be seriously awesome. Imagine Jack Bauer taking command of the entire war, but still going on an occasional nighttime terrorist hunt. Bruce Willis would star and Steven Spielberg would direct. I just made myself a hundred million dollars.

Everyone's Got Issues! Do you?

The Battle for the Internets!

In recent years, many politicians have taken advantage of the many tools available online to communicate and spread their message. It wasn’t too long ago when W. was saying “the Internets” and GOP tech savvy was the butt of many jokes. So for a long time it seemed as if the Democrats had a monopoly on being internet savvy, but have Republicans caught up? When it comes to politics, which party dominates the internet?

The 2008 Presidential election was a wake up call from the GOP. While Obama built a huge following on the internet and on various social networks, John McCain admitted openly that he didn’t even know how to use a computer!

This was in a recent CNN article:

“from what we have observed from the short life of the web, opening one's site to the capricious innovations of grass-roots users can be enormously beneficial but hard to control. Conservatives may one day embrace the participatory web en masse. However, the very structure of the internet as a decentralized grouping of communities may never appeal to the large portion of right-wingers who prefer military-style hierarchies and commanding leaders. And, as years go by without a conservative social-media pioneer or a top-ranked website, it looks as though the internet has already chosen a side.”

So liberals seem to think that they have won the Battle, but have they really? When it comes to Social Media, Republicans seem to have learned very quickly. Former Presidential candidate Mitt Romney now has over 350,000 people who like him on Facebook. And as a side-by-side comparison House Minority Leader John Boehner has about 75,000 fans vs Majority Leader Pelosi’s 20,000. And the “Impeach Pelosi” page is liked by over 80,000.

And this is from Mother Jones, an independent, non-profit magazine:

Status Update: The GOP Became a Fan of Social Media

…as of January 2010, only 34 percent of Democratic House members were on Facebook and only 20 percent had hit Twitter. Meanwhile, since January 2009, the percentage of House Republicans using Facebook has jumped from 37 percent to 79 percent (as of early April). Sixty-four percent of these GOPers are on Twitter, compared with 28 percent in January last year. And 89 percent now have a YouTube channel, compared with 56 percent last year. “We’re getting to the point where we’ve leapfrogged the majority party." With 2010 shaping up as a potentially tough year for the Democrats, they can ill afford to be out-tweeted.

So who do you think has won the battle, and will it make a difference? I think it will!

Glenn Beck Has Nazi Tourette's

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Utah Red

Since I started this blog, my main focus has been on national politics. Some pretty interesting things have also been happening here in Utah though, so I figured it was about time for me to voice my opinion on the matter.

First on the agenda is Senator Bob Bennett’s reelection campaign. The grandson of a president of the Mormon church and son of a four-term senator, Bennett is conservative enough to have earned an A grade from the National Rifle Association, a 98 percent rating from the Chamber of Commerce, and 84 percent from the American Conservative Union (ACU). For the nation’s most Republican state it seems odd that such a man would be considered the nation’s most vulnerable Republican Senator!

Despite being endorsed by local hero Mitt Romney, he didn't even it make it to the party primary. Apparently he’s not conservative enough for Utah’s Tea Partiers, who are all things anti-Wasington and anti-incumbents and have hijacked the State GOP Convention. Thanks to Utah’s wacky political system, which allows only about 1,000 state delegates to choose the GOP’s candidate, Bennett won’t be back to Washington. Most of these delegates are Tea Partiers, as far-right as they come on the ideological spectrum, as opposed to the rest of Utah whose favorite Governor was Hunstman, a moderate Republican. Not to mention Salt Lake City, who elected a Democrat mayor.

I initially thought Bennett was too old and has been in too long (18 years), and thought it was time for a change anyway. What I am against were the delegates' motives. Bennett is sort of an endangered species of politicians – one willing to reach across the aisle and engage in bipartisanship to accomplish some good for the country. But because of this, and their strong anti-incumbency feelings, the hardcore right-wingers wanted him out. They want nothing at all to do with Washington, even if it means voting out a politician with a lot of influence. And after watching him get very emotional during his concession speech, I realized that Utah is losing a great, dedicated man. One of few politicians who is not self-interested, and who actually does care about his state and his country. I feel bad for Bennett, and worse for Utah who is about to contribute one more politician to "The Party of No".


Added 5/10/10 - From Newsweek:

"The truth is, Bennett would not have lost anywhere other than Utah. For starters, it's the reddest state in the nation, so what's considered "conservative enough" there is a little further to the right than what's considered conservative enough in hotbeds of liberalism like, say, Texas or Alabama (i.e., everywhere else). Secondly, a major D.C. advocacy group, the Club for Growth, decided to spend a whopping $200,000 to ensure Bennett's defeat--the kind of intraparty hit that the Club can only afford to carry out in one or two races per cycle. And thirdly--and most importantly--Utah doesn't actually let its Republican residents vote on a full slate of Republican candidates. Instead, it convenes an odd, pre-primary convention where a select group of 3,500 delegates, who tend to be even more conservative than Utah's general Republican electorate, participate in several rounds of balloting in order to narrow the field to a measly two contenders. According to a recent Dan Jones & Associates poll, Bennett leads his closest rival, Lee, by 20 points among Utah Republicans at large--meaning in a normal primary system, he probably would've won the nomination. But because the senator received 160 fewer delegates at the convention than Bridgewater--delegates who were undoubtedly swayed by the Club's expensive anti-Bennett campaign--he isn't even getting the chance to compete." 

On the total opposite end of the spectrum, I was surprised by Salt Lake County Mayor Pete Carroon’s recent announcement to have a split-ticket in his run for governor. He recently chose Republican state lawmaker Sheryl Allen as running mate.

Carroon – “I don’t think this race is about being a Democrat or a Reublican. I think it’s about leading the state of Utah into the future… We're seeing parties are leaving citizens behind. They're leaving the moderate representatives behind. That's why we believe in bipartisan government. We're going to work hand in hand."

Allen- “The voices have been a little shrill lately. We want to give a different tone to the campaign. So you’re going to hear ‘bipartisanship’ and ‘cooperation’ a lot because that’s how we feel about it…Cooperation is more important than party politics. Utah needs to come first. I hope that becomes the trend, frankly, across the nation.”

The Corroon campaign's strategy seems to be tapping into Utahns who don't feel represented by the extremes of either party right now. Corroon indicated that their priorities in office will include "getting back to basics" in order to improve education and the economy. Will the strategy pay off? It will be interesting to see! I for one remain undecided, but the idea behind the decision is a fascinating one that I think will resonate with a lot of people. After all…

Sports & Politics?!

Los Suns and the Inmigración Law de Arizona

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”

The Statue of Liberty (and of course, the United States) has always stood as a beacon of hope and a symbol of freedom to the entire world. We must never forget that. That is what makes this country great. Our diversity gives us strength.

BUT…please, come here legally and don’t break our laws!

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Arizona’s new immigration law, and illegal immigration is expected to soon be tackled by President Obama. So once again, I just thought I’d voice my opinion. I also welcome any comments, ideas, suggestions, etc…

Basically it comes down to this. Immigration=good. Illegal immigration=bad. Racism/racial profiling=worse.

For those of you who don’t know, the law basically allows law enforcement officials to stop anyone they believe to be illegal immigrants, and force them to show documents that prove otherwise. In other words, if you look at all like a Latino you could be stopped by the police for no other reason than that! My own brother, who happens to get very tan in the summer time, once got pulled over for speeding and the highway patrolman listed “Latino” as his race on the ticket. My ancestors are from Sweden! So, my brother who apparently looks Latino could even be targeted in this mess. What a joke.

 But, after receiving a lot of backlash for condoning (perhaps inadvertently) racial profiling, they changed the law to include stricter requirements so that police officers could only request registration documents if they had committed some other crime or violation. Here are the details of the law. http://www.azimmigrationcompliance.com/

In my point of view, racial profiling is bigotry at its worst. Just yesterday, I heard the story of a police officer here in Utah who deliberately drives down the freeway looking for beater cars full of Mexicans, and pulls them over for no reason. That is ridiculous and incredibly offensive!

However, I by no means condone illegal immigration. But why do they come here in the first place? Because there are jobs here, and the promise of a better life. The solution? Attack the root of the problem – the employers. Crack down on the companies that are breaking the law by employing illegal immigrants and put them out of business. Take away the motivation for coming here in the first place. And of course, by cracking down on crime and drug trafficking you're sure to find an illegal immigrant or two that you could deport, rather than keep in our already overcrowded and underfunded prisons.

One thing I hear all the time is “well I shouldn’t have to pay for their healthcare with my tax money when they’re here illegally!” Fine. But mass deportation and racial profiling are NOT the solution. Perhaps an ER visit could also be one of those times when it is perfectly justifiable to ask for proof of citizenship. But don’t deny them healthcare in emergency situations, that would just be inhumane. Treat anything life-threatening, then have the government send them to a hospital in their home country.

I can understand why Arizona would want to pass a law like this, because illegal immigration is a big problem. But my biggest problem with this law (other than the fact that I think it was spawned out of bigotry and fear) is that in the end, it will solve nothing. If they can’t go to Arizona, they’ll just go to California or Texas or some other state. Any solution needs to be federal, and include all states.

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo (though it’s ironically not widely celebrated in Mexico), and the Phoenix Suns decided to make a political statement by sporting their Los Suns jerseys. Kudos to them and to the NBA! Just like the United States is a giant melting pot of many nations, the NBA has players from 26 different countries. So I applaud them for embracing our diversity. On a side note, CNN reported that they even have a Latin-born player, Leandro Barbosa. Don’t tell him he’s Latin-born, because he’s from Brazil! Newsflash CNN: Brazilians speak Portuguese and are not Latino! Nice work on that one.

Everyone on the team voted unanimously to wear the jerseys.Here's what the players and NBA officials had to say about the team wearing its "Los Suns" jerseys for Wednesday night's Game 2 against the San Antonio Spurs "to honor [the] Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona, and our nation." 

Suns owner Robert Sarver: 

Sarver said frustration with the federal government's failure to deal with the illegal immigration issue led to the passage of what he called "a flawed state law."

"However intended, the result of passing the law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question," he said, "and Arizona's already struggling economy will suffer even further setbacks at a time when the state can ill-afford them."

Steve Nash (who, on a side note, is Canadian)

"I think it's fantastic," Nash said after Tuesday's practice. "I think the law is very misguided. I think it's, unfortunately, to the detriment of our society and our civil liberties. I think it's very important for us to stand up for things we believe in. As a team and as an organization, we have a lot of love and support for all of our fans. The league is very multicultural. We have players from all over the world, and our Latino community here is very strong and important to us."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich even tried to get their "Los Spurs" jerseys, although it was too late. 

Furthermore, NBA Players Association executive director Billy Hunter issued a press release, denouncing the law.

The recent passage of the new immigration law in Arizona is disappointing and disturbing. The National Basketball Players Association strongly supports the repeal or immediate modification of this legislation. Any attempt to encourage, tolerate or legalize racial profiling is offensive and incompatible with basic notions of fairness and equal protection. A law that unfairly targets one group is ultimately a threat to all.

We applaud the actions of Phoenix Suns players and management and join them in taking a stand against the misguided efforts of Arizona lawmakers. We are consulting with our members and our player leadership to determine the most effective way for our union to continue to voice our opposition to this legislation.

I'm sure lots of people won't care what the NBA and its players have to say bout the issue...as for me, I love sports and I love politics, so this has been the ideal topic to write about! And I can't wait to hear what you all have to say about the issue. 

Poll: USA fed up with political incivility

"Americans believe in civility … and in compromise; they believe in middle-ground solutions. Those are two issues that I think Americans believe are not well-reflected in the media — in talk radio, television programs, the Internet."

Is Obama REALLY a socialist? Not even close.

Sick of hearing people ignorantly call Obama a socialist or communist? Me too! I'm not too happy with him either, but he's definitely not a socialist. I found this great article on CNN  where they interviewed an actual socialist leader to ask him what he thinks of Obama. I thought it was pretty interesting, so I posted it here.

Twitter's Gettin' Some Government Love

I came across this article on CNN.com and thought it was pretty cool and kinda funny! Click on the link for the full article, but basically the Library of Congress has created a massive Twitter archive...apparently random, self-obsessed tweets have become important historical documents.

Library of Congress to archive your tweets

Twitter and the Library of Congress announced Wednesday that every public tweet posted since Twitter started in 2006 will be archived digitally by the federal library.

The purpose, according to a blog post by Library of Congress communications director Matt Raymond, is to document "important tweets" as well as gather information about the way we live through the sheer masses of tweets on the site.

"I'm no Ph.D., but it boggles my mind to think what we might be able to learn about ourselves and the world around us from this wealth of data," Raymond said in the post. And I'm certain we'll learn things that none of us now can even possibly conceive."

Calling All Independents

This was an article I found on CNN.com - interesting stuff! Click on the link below to read the whole thing.

Can independents seize the day?

By John Avlon, Special to CNN

April 7, 2010 9:13 a.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Three credible independents running for governor this year in three New England states
• They say they're too fiscally conservative for Democrats, too socially liberal for GOP
• Registered independents outnumber Democrats and Republicans there
• Big question: Can they channel popular discontent into a winning campaign?

JJ's comments: Traditionally independent third parties have only played a spoiler role in elections, meaning that they only garner enough support to take away votes from one of the candidates and not enough to actually have a chance at winning. Most of the time though, these spoiler candidates have come from the fringes, not the middle. My theory is that most Americans are politically moderate or centrist, and a party organized around these views could be very powerful! I don't think there's ever been a better time to do so, either.

By the way, if you're wondering if there has ever been an "independent" (meaning someone not affiliated with any single party) President, there has. His name was George Washington.

I'd love to hear your opinions about this.

Where Have All the Moderates Gone?

The nice thing about deciding to do a political blog is that there is no shortage of material to write about! This week especially, it seemed like the news stories about bad behavior on both the far right and the far left were never ending. There was the Sarah Palin controversy about her use of rifle crosshairs over districts that Republicans were targeting to take back from Democrats this year. On a related note, she recently criticized Obama for not putting tougher sanctions on Iran, stating that doing so will allow them to develop nuclear weapons and cause a "Second Holocaust." I find it hard to take foreign policy advice from a woman whose previous foreign policy experience was limited to, as she so famously stated, being able to see Russia from her backyard. I often wonder how anyone can possibly take this woman as a serious political figure...but I'll refrain from saying much more, given my self-imposed rules of refraining from angry name-calling on this blog.

I digress. Aside from the Sarah Palin controversy, there were also acts and threats of violence committed against members of Congress in both parties after the signing of the healthcare bill, Karl Rove getting heckled for being a "war criminal" at a book signing, Tea Party participants harassing a homeless person by loudly shouting he was in the wrong place if he was looking for a handout, domestic terrorists being arrested... and probably a lot more of disturbing, extreme political behavior.

It's unfortunate, but there's obviously a big divide in our country. You can see this in any recent poll - America has been split basically 50/50 on every major controversial issue of the past few years, whether it's the healthcare, the wars, or the economy. What's even more unfortunate is that it's only the far sides of the political spectrum that are getting the attention. Both liberal and conservative politicians seem to be moving farther left or right as well, only making the situation worse. I was listening to a local early morning radio show the other day, when the obviously liberal hosts were bashing the tea party movement. From what they said the movement is really about fear of change, fear of having a black President, fear of having a Latina on the Supreme Court, etc.. In other words it's just a bunch of rich, racist white people complaining about change. I could not believe what I was hearing! Then on the conservative side, I don't know how many times I've heard people ignorantly accuse Obama of being a communist, a Muslim spy, or even an illegal alien.

It's all ridiculous! It's this kind of thinking that causes people to resort to bad behavior and violence. If people would just get educated on the issues and learn to communicate about their ideological differences, maybe our country wouldn't be so divided. Have we forgotten what the 'U' in USA stands for? I only hope that the next President can do a much better job of unifying this country, because we sorely need it!

Time to Celebrate, or Denounce the Barakolypse?

I’m sure everyone has heard all they want to hear on the issue of healthcare reform, so I’ll try not to beat a dead horse. In a sense I guess I’m just joining the fray…but I think my frustration is shared by many and voiced by few, so here goes.

On one hand, the bill has some pretty worthy aims that I think most people would like. Dependents can remain on their parent’s health insurance plans until age 26 (good news for college kids, or recent grads like myself). People with pre-existing conditions will no longer get denied coverage. No more lifetime or annual limits on coverage. Preventive services will now be covered. So far so good….here’s the bill in its entirety if you feel so inclined.

But here’s my big issue with Democrats – it’s called bipartisanship, try it. Obama came in to office promising to unify our country, and he’s only making us more divided! When other historic bills like Social Security and Medicare passed, they did so with support from both sides of the aisle. In both the House and the Senate, not a single Republican voted for the bill…for the second time in Obama’s short time in office. Hey Obama, what was your slogan? Was it, “Yes We Can -- alienate an entire segment of America,”?

On the other hand, the Republicans aren’t exactly doing themselves any favors. They love to say it’s a government takeover of the healthcare industry, that it will create a massive bureaucracy, bankrupt the economy, and that it will raise taxes. Despite the fact that it’s a very one-sided look at the issue, they are still valid concerns. Ever been to the DMV? Or tried to fight a traffic ticket? Now imagine how it will be to adjust your insurance claim. And $1 trillion!? Seriously? Just to get an idea of how huge that number is, I heard that 1 billion seconds is 38 years…1 trillion seconds is 38 thousand years. Wow.

But here’s my issue with Republicans – where’s your solution, then?! Rather than saying no to everything, come up with at least something in response. And what’s with the “baby-killer” outburst? You’re making the Party look like a bunch of ignorant fools only capable of pithy name calling and dramatic disagreements. After the bill passed, House Republican leader John Boehner commented that doing so has failed the American people. Well John, you’ve failed too. Just because your constituents disagree with how Obama is accomplishing it, doesn’t mean they don’t want something to be done about it.

But like I said before, I think Obama’s goals are, in essence, worthwhile. I do feel, however, that he is going about it the wrong way. But the problem is that so are Republicans. Now they’re beginning this huge campaign to repeal the bill, and several Attorneys General, including Utah’s Mark Shurtleff, are vowing to take it to the courts. For those of you who think that’s ridiculous, it’s actually not so far-fetched. For example, Virginia has a law in place saying that its people cannot be forced to buy insurance. Still, it’s an act of desperation that will more than likely end up being a big waste of time and tax-payer money and accomplish nothing.

Speaking of Utah, in case you were wondering ALL of Utah’s elected officials voted against the healthcare bill, including Democrat Jim Matheson. Kudos to you for being a politician who actually listens to his constituency.

So maybe having the States get involved isn’t such a bad idea. Look at what Romney did in MA. From what I see, he’s the only Republican with an actual plan on how to solve the problem. Why can’t states decide what the best solution is for them? Local politicians, though not without flaw, understand what their state needs better than a massive federal bureaucracy would.

To summarize my views – this post was indeed about the healthcare bill, but mostly about my frustration with our country’s politicians who are polarizing the people, rather than working together to come up with solutions to the problems our nation is facing.