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Ok, what the f**k did we miss? Subtitled: It’s Obama vs McCain and Sarah Palin is kind of hot
Posted By: Reg

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Don’t call it a comeback!

This is what we get for not posting for 4 months. We missed the Dems fighting it out way too long, McCain’s ongoing battle with the media, Obama saying “look, we’re (something about change)” about a thousand times, Ron Paul’s book, Anthony got married!, Michael Phelps won a shit ton of gold medals, Biden, then Bayh, then Hillary, then finally Biden, then the DNC, Kennedy’s speech, Hillary Clinton saying all the right things but, let’s be honest, she still doesn’t love Obama–you just can’t fake human emotion, Bill Clinton overdoing it at the DNC by saying “I love you, I love you, I love you” during Hillary’s speech, Obama’s AWESOME speech that was so AWESOME but still not as good as the speech he gave after he won Iowa, I kind of look like Rachel Maddow from MSNBC, McCain not being able to extend his arms, Keith Olberman and the rest of the mainstream media going to the church of Obama, then Pawlenty, then Romney, then Palin, then who? (Who is Sarah Palin?) Sarah Palin has a bunch of kids who are having kids with hockey players like it’s Mystery Alaska, Rudy gave a speech, Sarah Palin gave a speech, and phew, I think we’re caught up…

Ok, Sarah Palin gave a really solid speech last night. A little short on substance, but she’s sassy. Like a “pit bull with lipstick on.” She’s going make this an interesting race, if it wasn’t already. Can’t wait to see what McCain delivers tonight. Oh, and Obama is on O’Reilly tonight.

What a great time to start blogging again…


POSTED BY: REG
Filed in 2008 Election, Politics, Politricks | Comments (3)

Unqualified for Government
Posted By: Andrew

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Since the First Intifada (1987) and even before a primary tactic of the Palestinians inside of Israel have been suicide bombings.  In 2007 and so far in 2008 there has only been one suicide bombing inside of Israel.  Over the past eight years suicide bombings have dropped from a high of 53 in 2002 to zero so far in 2008 and only in 2007.  Yet, even with this information in a speech in Deerfield Beach Florida Democrat VP Candidate Joe Biden said, “The fact of the matter is, Israel today is less secure, less secure than it was 8 years ago” and “I promise you. I promise you. We will. We will make it more secure.”

According to the Israeli government in 2002, 220 people in Israel were killed in 55 attacks related to terrorist activity; over the past year only 12 people in Israel have been killed in four terrorist attacks (Read more here).  Seeing how less people are dieing in fewer terrorist attacks how can Senator Biden claim Israel is less safe?  I see only 3 possibilities, he is stupid, he is lying or he is both.  In my opinion being a liar or stupid should disqualify you from being in office.

I am not claiming Bush being in office is the reason Israel is safer or that other (if not all) politicians are stupid and/or liars and therefore not qualified to be in office, just that Joe Biden definitely does not belong in government.


POSTED BY: ANDREW
Filed in 2008 Election, Israel, Middle East, Politics | Comments (10)

Return of THE POLITRICK / Death of Democracy / Birth of Tyranny
Posted By: Andrew

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Crying EagleIt has been over 4 months since “The Politrick” has had a new post and I thought that there wouldn’t be another post, at least not by me.  This may be the first of many new posts or it may be the last, I really don’t know.  There were several reasons why there have not been new posts over the past few months that I am not going to get into but I read an article just now that I can’t sit on.

Adolf Hitler did not become a dictator out of no where.  He didn’t come off the street and take control of the German Government, he was elected.  After being elected he changed the rules and refused to leave power and no one stopped him.  Now the same thing might happen in New York City if Mayor Bloomberg has his way.  A New York Times article “In Survey, Council Members Favor Term-Limit Change” talks about how Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York City Council want to change the 8 year term limits to allow them to stay in office even after New York City residents have voted overwhelmingly in favor of the term limits in both 1993 and 1996.

I am not saying that Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York City Council members are evil or have bad intentions.  I do not know their true intentions but believe they are part genuine and part selfish and possibly underhanded.  The point is though that it doesn’t matter what their intentions are.  Going against the will of the people and passing laws that directly benefit you is the first step in killing democracy and a major step in giving birth to tyranny.

This might only be a first step in the wrong direction, but one that may be irreversible, a baby step on the way to full blown suppression of the masses.  If the New York City Charter is changed in this way there are only 2 ways for us as a people to go.  If enough of us have the will, we can step up and revolt before it is too late and overthrow a government on its way to totalitarianism.  If not, we can sit back and wait until we can’t remember what freedom is, and live in the “Oceania” of George Orwell’s  ”Nineteen Eighty-Four”, a nation in which “Big Brother” is always watching, “Thoughtcrimes” exist, and “War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength.”


POSTED BY: ANDREW
Filed in Politics | Comments (3)

Jackie Robinson
Posted By: Andrew

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Jackie Robinson

April is one of my favorite times of the year. It’s the beginning of baseball season. Today major league baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson Day. April 15th marks the sixty first anniversary of Jackie Robinson braking major league baseball’s color barrier. I think Jackie would be proud of the honors that have been given to him throughout baseball.

Jackie Robinson’s number 42 is the only number that has been retired by all of Major League Baseball. After Mariano Rivera retires no baseball player will ever be allowed to wear his number again (Rivera was issued the number before it was retired and therefore allowed to keep it). A highway that connects Queens to Brooklyn was named after him. There have been many great books written on the great man so that his legacy will never be forgotten. For anyone interested I would highly recommend Opening Day by Jonathan Eig. This book does a great job of showing what Jackie Robinson had to go through, from a threat of a boycott by his teammates, to racial slurs and threats from opponents to death threats in the mail. You can read the entire book here.

Although it is not new news I didn’t really think about it until today. The Mets are opening a new stadium next year, Citi Field. The main area when you walk is being dedicated Jackie Robinson (The Jackie Robinson Rotunda).

At first I thought this was a great honor, and I still think it is, but at the same time it doesn’t fit. Jackie Robinson played his entire career with the Dodgers. He chose to retire rather than play for a cross town rival (The Giants). A stadium designed as a shrine to a player who never played for the team just doesn’t fit. There should be mention of Jackie Robinson where ever baseball is played and the Dodgers should consider building something similar to what the Mets are doing, but it doesn’t belong with the Mets. In no way am I downplaying his contribution to both baseball and more importantly civil rights. I just think there is a place for everything and the Jackie Robinson Rotunda is not the correct place to honor this great man.


POSTED BY: ANDREW
Filed in Politics, Sports | Comments (1)

Another tax to the middle class!
Posted By: Andrew

Monday, April 7, 2008

TrafficNew York State has until midnight tonight to pass Mayor Bloomberg’s latest massive tax increase on the millions of employees who work in Manhattan. Bloomberg’s new “Congestion Pricing” tax will add an eight dollar a trip tax to cars and twenty one dollar a trip tax to trucks entering downtown or lower Manhattan. Once again Bloomberg fails to realize that public transportation into Manhattan does not work for everyone and spending an extra two thousand dollars a year in transportation on top of the record high gas prices is not an option either.

Unfortunately the Mayor is showing once again that he does not care about the people. He only cares about himself. He wants to show how much money he can steal, I mean make in revenue from already taxed strapped New Yorkers. New York is not a cheap place to live to begin with and taxes are high enough. If Bloomberg wants to convince more people to take public transportation to work instead of driving maybe he should find a way to get mass transit fairs lowered instead of ridiculous taxes. If Bloomberg can get this tax through the state legislator and survive the eventual lawsuits from the outer boroughs and other surrounding areas he will tout himself as a great environmentalist for limiting gas use in NYC and a great executive for raising revenue. He will use this to try to get elected governor, senator or another powerful position where he can screw more hard working citizens.


POSTED BY: ANDREW
Filed in Politics, Taxes | Comments (4)

Dallas Encourages Law Breaking!
Posted By: Andrew

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

AccidentI had always been under the impression that traffic laws were there to protect us. I mean that’s what they tell us as we are learning how to drive. Dallas Texas and many other cities don’t think so. They think laws are there solely for us breaking them, get in trouble and pay fines. They could care less about safety. You could actually argue that they want people to get hurt! Dallas Texas and Charlotte North Carolina are just two of the cities that are choosing money over the safety of its citizens.

It seems as though red light cameras are actually accomplishing its goal of preventing people from running traffic lights. Unfortunately these cities don’t want people to be safe. They want people to break the law. They want people to get hurt. They choose money over safety. The Dallas officials who voted to turn off those red light cameras should be held legally responsible for all accidents caused by drivers running red lights.


POSTED BY: ANDREW
Filed in Politics, Taxes | Comments (8)

Gov. Richardson: “Barack Obama will Make a Great and Historic President.”
Posted By: Publius51

Friday, March 21, 2008

bill-richardson-2.jpegThe big campaign news of the day was made by Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico as he has thrown his support behind Senator Barack Obama in the race for President.

Governor Richardson’s endorsement is key at a time when Mr. Obama’s campaign had taken a serious hit due to the hateful rhetoric of his preacher, Reverend Wright. As a matter of fact, the latest Gallup poll taken by potential Democrat voters had Hillary up 49% to 42%.

Governor Richardson’s support for Senator Obama should help across the board. Mr. Richardson is a major power player in the Hispanic community, a constituency that Senator Clinton has been doing particularly well with. In addition, Richardson worked in the Clinton Administration as the Secretary of Energy as well as Ambassador to the United Nations. This defection of a former Clintonista should keep the Clinton campaign reeling against the ropes. What will be the knock out blow?

One thing is for certain, with Senator Obama up in the delegate count 1,628 to 1,493 and Hillary leading in most Pennsylvania primary polls, Governor Richardson has certainly given the Obama campaign a much needed lift as the race for the 2,025 delegates continues.


POSTED BY: PUBLIUS51
Filed in 2008 Election, Politics, Politricks | Comments (1)

Another New York Gubernatorial Sex Scandal!
Posted By: Andrew

Thursday, March 20, 2008

PatersonIt looks as though New York’s new governor David Paterson has used campaign money to pay for his affair. According the Washington Post Paterson used campaign fund for hotel rooms and not reimbursed the campaign for his affair. If this is true it is clearly illegal and he must step down! This crime is not at the same level of what former governor Eliot Spitzer was caught doing, but none the less still illegal.

For as long as I can remember being interested in politics I have wondered if there were any good and moral people in office. I am getting closer and closer to coming to the conclusion that there isn’t. People will make excuse after excuse for Paterson. They will say that we should cut him slack for coming forth with this information. They will say his wife was having an affair too. They will say they worked through their problems as and saved their marriage. I say none of that matters. We cannot allow people who break the law in office. Campaign laws are very serious, they are what makes elections fair.

We have reached the point where if we can’t find honest people to be in the government then there should be no government. I am aware that there is still no proof that governor Paterson broke any laws and therefore we must give him the benefit of the doubt. Innocent until proven guilty only exists in the court of law. Time and time again people are convicted in the court of public opinion, regardless of what a jury says, and most of the time we are right. We are right about OJ and we are right about Barry Bonds and steroids. We were wrong with Duke Lacrosse. We are not always right but the majority of the time we are. Politicians must begin to show us over a long period that they are a profession of honest people before I will give them any benefit of the doubt.


POSTED BY: ANDREW
Filed in Politics | Comments (9)

Obama’s Speech
Posted By: Reg

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

As you’ve all surely heard about by now, Barack Obama gave a pretty big speech yesterday on race relations in America. The speech was delivered in response to remarks made by the Reverand at Obama’s church, but there are much stronger story lines involved.

Personally, I thought it was a great speech. There is a good point-counterpoint on the importance of his speech here:

http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/what-obama-said/index.html

Opinions are ranging from “greatest speech of the year” to “inconsistent and politically motivated.”

If you haven’t already, you can read the transcript (it’s long) or watch the video here.


POSTED BY: REG
Filed in 2008 Election, Politics | Comments (7)

How Would a Ruff Rider Roll?
Posted By: Publius51

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

dmx-military-shirt-big.jpgSpecial thanks to my co-worker GetStrong for passing along this little tidbit. Rapper DMX recently did an interview in which he discussed the 2008 Presidential Election. So here is the transcript for your viewing pleasure:

Are you following the presidential race?
Not at all.

You’re not? You know there’s a Black guy running, Barack Obama and then there’s Hillary Clinton.
His name is Barack?!

Barack Obama, yeah.
Barack?!

Barack.
What the fuck is a Barack?! Barack Obama. Where he from, Africa?

Yeah, his dad is from Kenya.
Barack Obama?

Yeah.
What the fuck?! That ain’t no fuckin’ name, yo. That ain’t that nigga’s name. You can’t be serious. Barack Obama. Get the fuck outta here.

You’re telling me you haven’t heard about him before.
I ain’t really paying much attention.

I mean, it’s pretty big if a Black…
Wow, Barack! The nigga’s name is Barack. Barack? Nigga named Barack Obama. What the fuck, man?! Is he serious? That ain’t his fuckin’ name. Ima tell this nigga when I see him, “Stop that bullshit. Stop that bullshit” [laughs] “That ain’t your fuckin’ name.” Your momma ain’t name you no damn Barack.

So you’re not following the race. You can’t vote right?
Nope.

Is that why you’re not following it?
No, because it’s just—it doesn’t matter. They’re gonna do what they’re gonna do. It doesn’t really make a difference. These are the last years.

But it would be pretty big if we had a first Black president. That would be huge.
I mean, I guess…. What, they gon’ give a dog a bone? There you go. Ooh, we have a Black president now. They should’ve done that shit a long time ago, we wouldn’t be in the fuckin’ position we in now. With world war coming up right now. They done fucked this shit up then give it to the Black people, “Here you take it. Take my mess.”

Right, exactly.
It’s all a fuckin’ setup. It’s all a setup. All fuckin’ bullshit. All bullshit. I don’t give a fuck about none of that.

We could have a female president also, Hillary Clinton.
I mean, either way it doesn’t matter. I don’t care. No one person is directly affected by which president, you know, so what does it matter.

Yeah, but the country is.
I guess. The president is a puppet anyway. The president don’t make no damn decisions.

The president…they don’t have that much authority basically?
Nah, never.

But Bush pretty much…
You think Bush is making fuckin’ decisions?

He did, yeah, he fucked up the country.
He act like he making decisions. He could barely speak! He could barely fuckin’ speak!
Can’t be serious. He ain’t making no damn decisions.

Well Barack has a good chance of winning so that might be something.
Good for him, good for him.

You can view the interview in its entirety here: http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=20332

While DMX is more colorful in his views, his thoughts as to how the President does not affect his life are common place across the country. It is that apathy that leads to just barely half of the voting public casting their vote on Election Day. Is this apathy justified?


POSTED BY: PUBLIUS51
Filed in 2008 Election, Politics, Politricks | Comments (3)