bitbol

News galore:

• AT&T is trying to set the record straight by refunding customers who were forced to buy accessories with their iPhone. The bad press was getting to them.
• Windows is losing developers quickly. In the last year, the number of developers has fallen 12%, which is something you notice.
• Firefighters are attacking Giuliani for his failures during 9/11. Among items on the list is false air quality assurances and the poor handling of those who risked their lives to save others. There is also the fact that h placed (or left) the emergency command in a building that had been previously attacked. I root for the firefighters.
• James Madison once said: "[I]f the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds [to] believe he will shelter him, the House of Representatives can impeach him; they can remove him if found guilty." We have a word for you Bush, it's "impeachment."
• Oh, and McCain is failing off the the tail. His campaign only raised $2M. That's bleak compared to Obama's $32M.

I made a second trip to the Apple Store today to make up for all of the things that I forgot to pay attention to. It was mostly the little things like the camera, where things like the power button was, and so on. It turns out that the speakers that I was looking at don't work- I think I just realized the problem: The Harman Kardon Soundsticks have a special volume adjustment that I totally forgot about.

Labels: America, Collections, Computer, Giuliani, McCain, News, Politics, President '08

It's fairly easy to see who has a chance in this up-coming election. Those with just one percent or less aren't worth mentioning. Others need to choose their sides carefully. Here's my take on the current front-runners:

Obama: Obama has to be one of the best candidates at this time. He is very charismatic, and honest. He is strongly opposed to the war, and even campaigned to pressure for a signing of the Iraq funding bill.

While Obama opposes gay marriage, he does support civil unions. At the very least, there is record of him voting "no" to the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. This weighs in heavily; everyone should have equal rights.

Obama is also supporting tax reform. He opposes the Bush tax cuts for businesses exporting jobs. He also plans to make financial policies made to make progress in the economy, not breaks for the rich.

Clinton: Hillary Clinton has one strong point: her husband previously held that position. With Bill Clinton's influence, there is some experience already present. Even still, that is not enough to get her the job.

While looking through her record, I saw that she voted to extend social security coverage to illegal immigrants. While I respect illegal immigrants as people, I don't believe that they deserve all of the services of the country until they become citizens, especially when they only serve as a financial drain. If they don't pay in, they shouldn't get out.

To date, Clinton has presented no prominent information. Much of the only reason I know the name is the relation to Bill. Apart from that, I do not hear much of anything about her, but no news may be good news.

Edwards: John Edwards is a man in a bind. His wife has cancer, and that could be his big downfall. Not only do many people feel that he should spend the time with family rather than campaign, but others predict that it could easily distract him from the job.

I do respect Edwards and his positions on the high-profile issues. He is for the right to have an abortion. He is for stem-cell research, which is where the US is falling behind most other countries. One thing that I don't like is his attitude on gay marriage; he would prefer leaving it to states to discriminate.

Giuliani: Rudy Giuliani, apart from having a hard to spell name, does not have much of a campaign. Much of the headlines he makes are about 9/11, terrorism, and blaming the democratic party. His most recent blunder was asserting that Americans should submit to the government. Giuliani has built his campaign on fear, and not much else. He even endorses torture.

Apart from that, Giuliani is a pro-choice republican (irony?). He would allow abortions, he has even said that he is for gay-rights, so his head is in the right place. Either way though, his scare-tactics and other follies make me want to avoid him.

McCain: Oh, where to start? How about "it is safe" in Iraq, which he is now trying to defend. He is strongly for the war, making me strongly against him.

McCain states that he would like to ban abortion, showing that he is not thinking. Making abortion illegal only makes people do it illegally, just like people will do drugs regardless of legality, it's just a matter of whether Congress would like it done in a sterile hospital or in the back of a van.

However not all is bad. He would like to use the power of the veto to reduce governmental spending. On the other hand, he also proposed a tax-cut plan that would cut $500 billion over ten years. So that means vetoing bills so that he cut taxes. Smart.

Romney: Romney is the republican flip-flopper. He was for abortion while governor of Massachusetts, but now opposes it. He is strongly against gay-marriage, eliminating him from any of my choices.

Romney says that his "pledge" is to not raise taxes, but most people know how this turned out for HWBush. From video clips in the news, I feel that Romney has too much intent to incorporate religious values into the government, which is a bad idea and even something the founding fathers opposed.

General criteria: In order for me to even consider many of the candidates, they have to support gay marriage, or at the very least, support civil unions. A candidate who opposes both is a candidate the won't get my vote. Another interest point is that they must oppose the Iraq war. We haven't made any progress in the past years, and it's time we accept that fate. Bonus points go to candidates who support tax reform so that the rich get taxed and relieve the middle class.

--Most information from YourNextPresident.

Labels: America, Clinton, Edwards, Giuliani, McCain, Obama, Politics, President '08, Romney

John McCain is now trying to make up for his visit to Baghdad, where he said that "it is safe" in Iraq. He now says that he did not want all of the protection, but it was given to him by the general. He is trying to fix the mistakes that he has already made.

The thing that got everybody up in arms was not the fact that he had the protection, but that he had all of the protection, then proceeded to say that it was safe to walk through the market. It was his own big mouth that ruined the trip for him. If he had said any other thing, it likely wouldn't have mattered. Maybe next time he will choose his words a little better.

Labels: McCain, News, Politics, President '08