Obama's Katrina?

I haven't talked too much about the oil spill because I don't really know why there should be two sides to something like this. It's obvious BP should be responsible for being irresponsible and they should finance the clean-up effort. This is the result of a situation where proper precautions weren't taken and emergencies weren't prepared for.

The reason I am now bringing this up after almost two months of this being an issue is because recently some on the right have called this "Obama's Katrina." That comparison is obviously far off and isn't true. But there are some things the President needs to start doing to ensure he doesn't come close to holding the same title the former President rightly earned.

We know that an oil spill really can't be fixed by the President of the United States. But we do know who is responsible and I think the American people would like to see their President articulate that anger that Americans are feeling right now and also start taking a tougher stance against BP.

The 'No Drama Obama' title he has rightfully earned can go both ways. Sure it makes him look as though he has a steady hand through shaky times. But sometimes it makes him seem a little disconnected when Americans feel he should be knocking skulls together. This is a good moment for our President to show us that he is ticked off as well.

When it comes to policy, him and his administration should, in a way, hit the 'pause' button on drilling and make sure that this cannot happen anywhere else. Aside from that, they should make sure oil companies like BP have a plan in place so that when something like this does happen, we are prepared.

Finally, this damage and devastation down in the Gulf of Mexico should be cleaned up using the wallet of BP, no one else. And a law should be passed making sure that, no matter how high it is, the clean up cost should be left with the oil companies - period.

So we don't expect our President to fix this himself; he can't. But we do like to see a little emotion when a company like BP screws up this badly.

A Memorial Day Wish

In my mind, the upcoming holiday not only celebrates how fortunate we are to have men and women on the battlefield fighting for our freedoms as Americans, but it also marks the beginning of the summer season. In 2010, however, it marks another day in a country where politics makes people forget how lucky we are as Americans.

Let us all take a day - or even just a moment - to remember the folks who fought for us generations ago and those who do so today; for you, for me, for America. They don't fight with the vision of a political ideology or political party on their mind. They fight for all of us, and they don't flinch while doing it.

Tonight, the parents of an American soldier will find out their child won't be coming home. Other parents will learn that a son or daughter will be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan - many on a third of fourth or fifth tour of duty - and they will lie in bed praying that they will return safely. These soldiers and their families sacrifice more in a day than most of us do throughout our lives and it is our responsibility to take a day to remember them for it.

We may be torn as to political ideology; we may disagree about the direction our country should take. We may be members of different political parties, or we may agree with no political party. But on days like Memorial Day, it is our responsibility to come together as Americans and recognize those heroes and remember that we are Americans first; always Americans first.

Paul Against Civil Rights Act?

In a recent interview with the Courier Journal, Senate Candidate Rand Paul spoke of how he thought business owners should have the right to discriminate against African Americans or gays or any other minority and that The Civil Rights Act of 1964 should not have contained a provision making sure private businesses did not discriminate. For example, he believes a restaurant should be allowed to prohibit blacks or gays to eat there. He said it may be hateful or abhorrent, but it still should be allowed.

In this interview on The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, he dodges the question again and again as to whether he meant what he said in the original interview. His views are, indeed, extreme so I don't find it any bit surprising that the Tea Party group was so enthusiastic about his candidacy and about his victory on Tuesday.

Take a look at the end of their interview and decide for yourself.

Apathy

Just a quick thought before I turn in for the night:

I was just having a talk with some of my friends about how apathetic this generation seems to be when it comes to being involved in the important issues that shape our future. And I think it is safe to say that we have a lot of work to do in order to make sure we give the next generation the same chances the generation before gave us. And it's time for us to start giving back.

It's easy for all of us to say we should volunteer, help out and give back but how many of us really do it? I can admit that I probably should do more to give back to my community and to important causes that affect our country and our world. Moving forward, I will do my best to take some time out of my schedule and help those who weren't dealt as good a hand in life as I was. It is up to all of us to follow in the foot steps of generations before and regain that sense of urgency to do something about the issues this world faces.

So I encourage everyone to volunteer. Give to good charities where you know your money will be well-spent. Take some time out of your schedule to help out at a homeless shelter or a nursing home. Make phone calls and knock on doors to make people aware of the issues that we all need to be united in dealing with. Call or write to your Senators or Congressmen and women and make sure they are serving us and not some company or lobbyist or special interest that's filling their pockets with thousands of dollars.

We can't just kick the can further down the road and hope that the next generation can face these challenges and solve some of the problems we have. It is up to all of us to start giving back to our communities and our country in any way we can today.

So what are you waiting for? Go change the world.

Returns

Tonight, there were some pretty important elections across the country testing whether or not the incumbent candidates could make it through a tough political environment.

In the Pennsylvania Democratic primary, Arlen Specter, Republican turned Democratic Senator who has been in office since 1981, lost his primary bid to Congressman Joe Sestak. At this hour the results have Sestak winning about 54% of the vote and Specter receiving 46%.

In another Democratic Primary in Arkansas, Blanche Lincoln who failed to obtain at least 50% of the vote has been forced into a run-off election with Washington outsider, Bill Halter. Right now the results are extremely close. Lincoln is at 43.0%. Halter is at 42.9%. It doesn't get any closer than that.

Across the aisle, in the Kentucky Republican primary, Rand Paul, the son of former Congressman and one-time Republican Presidential candidate, Ron Paul, beat his Republican opponent, Trey Grayson in what is an apparent victory for the Tea Party people (although Democrats surprisingly turned out over 150,000 more votes than Republicans).

However, Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional district - a conservative district that went for McCain in 2008 - fell for the Democrats tonight by a pretty good margin. Mark Critz had a decisive win over Republican opponent, Jim Burns - 53% to 45% as of now - even with Burns spending over $1 million in his campaign.

So that's the big political news for tonight. I think one thing we can say is that Democrats should be a little bit more optimistic about the upcoming elections this fall.

(Election results were from politico.com)

Tax And Spend, What?

I was just surfing the web reading about what the Tea Party's biggest legitimate concern is with the Obama administration. I assume most of the folks marching in these anti-tax and anti-government rallies are part of the middle class.

I did some research and I found that when the President says he gave 95% of working Americans a tax cut, he's telling the truth. It's fact. If you'd like to see further on that, then visit this link:http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/jan/28/barack-obama/tax-cut-95-percent-stimulus-made-it-so/

I also did some more research when it comes to all these taxes that the Tax Day protesters say have been burdening them because of Barack Obama. Experts say that no one, particularly middle-class Americans, has gotten a tax increase under this administration. In fact, the only tax that experts say has been put in place so far is an increase in the federal cigarette tax.

The only reason I bring this up is because this seems to be among the talking points of the opposition. "He's taxing us to death!"

It's just not true. In the first year of the Obama administration the total average tax load of the American people came to 9.2% of a person's income. This is the lowest - yes lowest - fraction of American income the government has taken from us since the 1950s.

As far as the chart I provided at the top of this post. It reflects how middle-income earners have been taxed under the Obama Administration. It shows that middle-income earners are now paying federal taxes at/near historically low levels. In fact, the average family of four right now is paying 4.6% of its income in federal income taxes - the second lowest percentage in, say, 50 years! What?!

Isn't Obama that guy on those Tea Party signs that is "taxing me to death?" Unfortunately, it isn't him.

You've got the wrong guy, and you've got the wrong facts.

(Sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/15/tax-day-2010-protesters-i_n_538556.html, http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/05/12/matthews_under_obama_america_is_taxed_less.html

http://20somethingfinance.com/obama-tax-cuts/, and of course http://politifact.com/)

Happy Mother's Day

This isn't a political issue or anything like that but I thought I would take a minute to acknowledge today's holiday.

It's Mother's Day and we should thank our mothers for all of the things they do for us. They go all year not getting much credit for what they do so we should at least spend today appreciating them for it. I know I'm lucky to have a mom who has selflessly been there for me and has helped make me the person I am today. I love her for it.

So Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there!

Now back to politics...