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Today's news round-up:

• Google took a big bite in the rear when the Health Advertising blog published a negative review to Moore's Sicko. Google took in all of the negative headlines over this story. Since then, the author of that post has stated that it was only her opinion. But that does not explain why Google allowed that to be published, and it is still untouched since the coverage. I think that Google made a huge mistake in even getting involved. As such a large company, they have no business in making such statements.
• Obama outdoes all other democratic candidates in fund-raising. He must be making a good impression on people.
• AT&T is ruining Apple's reputation. Some AT&T stores were forcing customers to buy accessories with the phone. This has to be Apple's biggest mistake. They may have a flawless device, but ever time the AT&T blunders, Apple takes a hit.

I am finishing up my Apple Store post mentioned yesterday, so expect it tomorrow.

Labels: Apple, Collections, Google, News, Obama, Politics, President '08

The newcomer and front-runner Barack Obama is winning support across the board. But the question remains, is he ready to be president? He has been in politics (senate) for eight years, but does not have the same experience as other candidates.

But perhaps that is what we need now. Maybe this country needs someone who needs a second to think things through before acting. Maybe we need someone who can work with both parties, not split the country. Maybe, just maybe, someone young will have the understanding of technology to veto future versions of the DMCA.

So what if he doesn't have the experience of other candidates? All politicians seem to go corrupt as a function of time. Obama hasn't been is business long enough to be getting the oil money and bribes. So just maybe, we can get someone who cares about the citizens, and not the oil companies.

Labels: America, News, Obama, Politics, President '08

Hilary Clinton is maintaining a star position in the democratic primaries. She holds 35% support, while second place is held by Barack Obama with 26% support. However, Clinton does not have much overall support compared to Obama. From the article:

Obama continues to enjoy the highest level of core support among all candidates in either party. Thirty-three percent (33%) would definitely vote for Obama while 38% would definitely vote against. For Edwards, the numbers are 27% definitely for and 35% definitely against. Clinton has solid support from 28% but 47% say they would definitely vote against her.

In the larger picture, Obama has more support than Clinton. Also, Clinton has a larger portion of people who would prefer not to see her in office. With 47% of people strongly against her, that leaves a very small margin to work with.

Labels: America, Clinton, News, Obama, 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

Some republicans are trying to smear Obama. They claim that the statistics used in one of his speeches are wrong, but Media Matters has found that the numbers that he used are correct. The presidential race is already getting dirty.

Labels: America, Obama, Politics, President '08

Some of the big donors during the George "Dubya" Bush campaign are now backing Barack Obama. Among his chief qualities, Obama has won much of his support by appealing to a large audience. He is trying to get more than just the Democratic party.

If Obama is swaying even republican supporters, I can only imagine that the party-neutral would sway towards him as well. Obama has come off as a reasonable and honest man, making him a polar opposite to George Bush. Even things like his teenage drug use poses no threat to him, as he simply replies that he did it, he regrets it, and has put it behind him. An honest man! I have a strong feeling that we are looking at what will be the first black president.

Labels: America, News, Obama, Politics, President '08