- The New York Times came out in support of Hillary last week (which was understandable since she's their senator, though I did think it was funny that Giuliani was snubbed) but today has two editorials of interest:
- Caroline Kennedy writes "A President Like My Father", endorsing Barack Obama.
- Another editorial has Questions for the Clintons about their harsh campaign tactics. She won among the Las Vegas hotels a couple weeks ago, but took a thumping this weekend in South Carolina. Will thier tactics continue?
- Unrelatedly, the New York Times has an article about the energy-cost of the meat we eat
- The Carnival of Personal Finance is up, including good posts about How Much Should I Save for Retirement?, Cash Flow Diagrams, good & bad ideas for your tax rebate, and money tips for 20-somethings.
- A fact that shocked a friend of mine was that I don't have a passport, and never have. I've only been out of the country once- and that was just over the border to Canada, just to say I did. Because we like road trips so much, the new "passport card" might be just the thing for us to look into. I hadn't heard of it before today.
- Bible visualizations- showing the story of God from an art (and data-driven?) perspective.
- From Blogger's Blogs of Note: a World of Warcraft player, playing as a pacifist, and trying to avoid killing anything. I think it's an awesome idea. Reminds me when I try to play Power Grid using only renewable power sources. Admittedly, I didn't win, but it was fun trying.
1.28.2008
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4 comments:
Wow, no passport?? :-) That card looks interesting... Since I've always had a passport (well, since I was 7) I have never thought about it being bulky, but I can see how it could be.
That Bible visualization is amazing!! I think I'll have to blog on it :)
I KNOW I practically only comment on Obama stuff, but it's the only time I ever really feel compelled. I really do enjoy your blog and lots of other entries, even though I don't comment on them.
Compare the political record and positions that Obama has taken compared with JFK.
Kennedy was against abortion, Obama is for it.
Obama was against the Iraq war before it began, and still is despite the gains our brave troops have made towards victory.
Kennedy wasn't for war, almost nobody is for war, but when one begins, the brave and the patriotic support the war effort. JFK is famous for his Purple Heart he won in the battle of Leyete Gulf when he commanded PT-109.
As President he authorized the use of defoliants, napalm and jet airplanes for use against the Communist North Vietnamese. He also sent 16,000 Green Berets as military "adviser's" in 1963.
He approved the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba and the Cuban Missle crisis showed he was willing to go to war to protect our Country from the Soviet Union placing ballistic missiles in Cuba.
Obama is for repealing President Bush's tax cuts so he can fund socialized medicine and the giving of tax dollars to those who pay no taxes, aka: Earned In come Tax Credit. A euphemism for taking money from those that have and giving to those who have not. Charity it is not. It is redistribution of wealth and confiscation, and JFK never advocated any such program.
Obama supporters and "modern day" Democrats (aka socialists) have hijacked the good name of John F. Kennedy. One of JFK's key economic plans included massive, across-the-board tax cuts, similar to those of Reagan. Much like the 1920's and 1980's, it was these tax cuts that led to the Golden Kennedy-Johnson years.
Pro-tax lobbyists and leftist Congressmen/women, claim that Kennedy's tax cuts were significantly different than the tax cuts of Reagan, and the tax cuts of President Bush. They claim that Kennedy's tax cuts benefited low-income families, while Republican tax cuts only benefit the wealthy.
To some extent, Kennedy's tax cuts benefited the upper and upper middle classes even more. By the time Kennedy took office, the top income tax rate had reached 94%. Kennedy originally asked for it to be reduced to 65%, but a Democrat Congress slashed this down to 70%.
During a speech, JFK stated, "the current tax system exerts too heavy a drag on growth, reduces the financial incentives for personal effort, investment and risk taking. Without a question, it is mostly the middle and upper classes that undertake risky purchases and investment".
As expected, the tax revenue from the top 1%, the top 5%, and top 20% surged as a result of income growth from the tax cuts. Tax revenue from the rich increased from almost 12% in 1963, to 15% by 1966.
One only needs to examine the true economic policy and beliefs of JFK. History is on the side of tax cuts - the same side of Calvin Coolidge, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush. The following is an actual quote from President Kennedy: "An economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough revenues to balance our budget - just as it will never produce enough jobs or profits." Yep, JFK was a supply-sider!
Marie-
I appreciate that you're challenging me and making us think. If it makes you feel better, I'm pretty sure you're in the vast majority as far as my blog readers go, you just happen to be the one commenting. I appreciate that you & everyone else keeps putting up with me :) I also am stepping out on a limb by bringing up some of the topics I do, so I appreciate that everyone has been civil.
(As an aside, I would appreciate it if in the future you didn't copy and paste others' words without attribution, though, as a courtesy to both writers & readers. It's just a pet peeve of mine.)
On the points made in the article:
To be honest, I don't know much about JFK, his policies, or the man at all. He was before my time, and it is his family making the comparison- not I.
- I'm always annoyed when someone says someone else is "for abortion". As the post said, "almost nobody is for war" - almost nobody is for abortion. No one I've talked to anyway. Obama wants to reduce the number of abortions by reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies- which is something I can agree with. Giving women better options, so that abortion seems like the worst option, seems to me to be the logical way to approach the problem. Obama also addressed this in Christianity Today, page 2 of the interview.
- On the second point in the article, being against the premises and handling of the war, and being against the troops, as it suggests, are very different things. I have talked to National Guardsmen back from Iraq that are both very supportive of their fellow troops, and very skeptical of the war. These friends have shown me that this is a logically consistent position to hold, and one which I think the majority of Americans hold.
- As for taxes to support public programs, this is a point that I differ from the author of the article on. I feel called to support the poor in whatever way we can- I see evidence throughout scripture that God has a special place in his heart for the poor and gives them preference, so any policy that does the same, I have a hard time arguing with. Jesus didn't talk a lot about keeping what we earn or being entitled to anything, but he did talk about selling all you own to give to the poor, and giving to Caesar's what is Caesar's, and turning the other cheek. He compared God to an unfair employer, even! Admittedly, I don't have very many answers involving taxes, and don't know a lot about how the policies and national budget works, but I know that I'm supposed to care for my neighbors, and not about my own interests.
As for comparisons to other presidents, I was surprised to Bush & Coolidge on their list- even experts don't rank them very high on the "best presidents" list.
Looking at the bigger picture, I have learned that what makes a good leader is often the way he goes about considering decisions and interacting with people. Whose opinions does he listen to? Is he even willing to listen to anyone? This is probably the biggest selling point for me for Obama- that he seems to build bridges between ideologies and to thoughtfully consider his words and actions, rather than do or say anything out of impulse or in an uninformed way.
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