Arkady's Thoughts

I find myself in a very different philosophical, theoretical and physical mood today than I found myself 4 years ago on the day before elections.  Last year, I was a nervous wreck and considered the impending election a critical juncture in America's history.  While I found myself objecting to much of what McCain had to offer and ultimately chose to vote third party, deep inside I longed for his victory.  My rationale at the time, heightened by the mysterious nature of Barack Obama, was that someone as Left as Obama will be devastating for the country.  I look at that thought process now and laugh. See, I am not laughing because I was wrong in my assessment of Obama and his propensity for damage, especially armed with a like-minded Congress, I was very wrong for another reason.  I foolishly thought that if McCain had won, our economic and financial health would somehow be different.  I am sure at this point, you - regardless of political persuas...

This is a light post that will provide some insight into how I am voting and perhaps can serve as a recommendation for some of you who are undecided.   Naturally, brevity is key at this juncture and if you are concerned about the lack of content then it should be found elsewhere.  Naturally, you can just trust me and run with it.  My philosophy on voting is quite simple; always vote and always vote for the BEST candidate. President: So, contrary to popular belief there are SIX candidates running for President of the United States in 2012.  There are technically more, but only six can actually collect enough electoral college numbers to become president.  The six are as follows: Barack Obama (incumbent), Mitt Romney, Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, Virgil Goode and Rocky Anderson. For MA residents, the choice is made for you.  Barack Obama will win this State by as much as 20+ points. Therefore your vote will only be one data point in the great sea of vote...

It is a well known phrase around this time of the year, "you are throwing your vote away".  This is a canned response from anyone who discovers that you, *gasp*, are not voting for the major party.  It will take you all of 10 minutes to realize that these words are absolutely wrong and in fact, with the help of the electoral college chances are that voting for a major party *is* throwing away the vote. Let me explain. If you live in a non-battleground state, that is the majority of you, but live in a State with a very definitive shade of blue and red then your vote is decided for you.   Now if you are happy with the decision, then all is well and I envy you, as they say - ignorance is bliss. What about the many of you who are NOT happy with your choice, but you are going to vote anyway?  Let's say you live in Massachusetts and you really dislike Obama.  Sorry to burst your bubble, but a vote for Romney is a waste.   What about if you live in Geo...

Tonight is the 3rd party debate sponsored by Free and Equal and moderated by Larry King. Again, just like the two previous debates I live blogged the content will be reactionary and live.  However the format will be somewhat different due to the debate having four individuals instead of two.  The format is also unknown, but presumably it will be broken down by the questions and the answer that is the most interesting/odd/intelligent/whatever will be discussed.  Trying to address every candidate might result in carpal tunnel.   Watch the debate here:   http://live.freeandequal.org/stream.html The four candidates: Gary Johnson (Libertarian) Jill Stein (Green) Virgil Goode (Constitution) Rocky Anderson (Justice) The format:  Two moderators, streaming online and the audience is allowed to voice their pleasure.  Not sure how I feel about the audience chewing up pressure time, but so be it. The opening rant by the Free and Equal represen...

Just like the previous presidential debate, I will be blogging the VP debate.  I will approach this debate purely from a substantial standpoint and certain preconceived notions;  Paul Ryan is a fraud and Joe Biden is clueless as always.  I am interested in whether or not anything will be said that will benefit America and those that are interested in freedom. The conventional wisdom is that Paul Ryan being an awesome wonk will crush the "gaff-machine" Biden.  I disagree, never count out a skilled politician and orator. Here we go.... Segment 1:  Libya.  was the embassy attack, which is now confirmed (duh!?!??) a pre-planned attack a massive intelligence failure? Arkady:  There is a loaded question! Biden:  Skilfully pivoted, did not answer the question and blasted Romney as a war monger while highlighting how great Obama was at handling our existing wars.  If Ryan is good, he should skewer him on this non-answer. Ryan: ...

The race between Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren is much closer than many have anticipated.  As a resident of Massachusetts my personal observation is such that the race has been rather "civil" other than the whole Cherokee kerfuffle.   However one thing that does jump is the occasional reference to Brown standing with Wall St. against the little guy. Why is this odd? Well, because Scott Brown was the only Republican to vote for the Dodd-Frank bill.  In fact you could say he was a critical bill passing vote . This may have to do with him catering to his consistency or it may have everything to do with his principles that are built entirely on quick sand.   A man who wrote a portion of RomneyCare and then beamed with pride while announcing that is not a man who views limited Government as a fight worth pursuing.  Still, the reason for why a politician does this or that is best left to folks smarter than me. So how is it that the ...

Here we go! According to the moderator the role of government and the economy will be focal issues.  Fantastic. First question:  Jobs.  Compare and contrast. Obama:  Economic patriotism is now defined as more spending on education and green energy.  How fun! Romney: Cracking down on big 'ol evil China.  Because everyone knows that protectionism and tariffs work, just like Smoot-Hawley helped the Great Depression.  Oh wait... Obama:   "I want to hire 100,000 more teachers." This is despite the fact that public union pensions are absolutely crushing state budgets and have caused numerous nasty fights (Wisconsin, Chicago, California) between local Governments and teachers.  So why not throw our pretty ideas and let the States the financial burdens. Obama:  "Romney wants to cut 5 trillion dollars in taxes".  Really?  I would love to see that. Romney: "No I am not going to cut that much in taxes".   I knew it.  "...