I read that 1 in 7 voters were still either undecided or open to discussion regarding their choice for the upcoming election. So I've been thinking about that. I know I only have like 10 readers, but if one of those readers is undecided, then I thought one last post would be worth it. I also started this out originally full of facts complete with non-partisan references, etc. But then I scratched that. So now I am just going to say what I feel, which may or may not be what you feel, and that is ok. Honestly, I don't think either side has all the answers. But here are my main reasons I will not be voting for Obama:
1. His economic policy: If you didn't see my earlier post regarding my feelings of the "redistribution plan" go
here. I believe this program is socialist in nature. Socialists believe that capitalism causes wealth to be concentrated in only a small percentage of society, which creates an unequal society, and that that wealth should be spread evenly to create an egalitarian society. If I wanted to live in a socialist country, I'd go live in Cuba. I do not in any way believe America was meant to be a socialist country. I also believe that in many cases "equality" (term used loosely, because equality has now become very subjective) creates mediocrity. And don't even come back at me with the current economic crisis we are in now and how it is Bush's fault, etc. etc., and so we need some massive overhaul. The problems we face now go way back to when Clinton was in office when all the Democrats started demanding lenders lend to more "risky" investors in order to make housing opportunities more "equal" among minorities and the underpriviledged, while at the same time refusing to put into place necessary checks and balances. We see where that got us. I really feel strongly that this part of the Democratic campaign is the most dangerous and will lead this country down a very slippery slope.
2. His healthcare policy: Healthcare is a big issue for me because my husband is self-employed, so it is not cheap or easy to have adequate coverage for our family. I realize our healthcare system does need some tweaking, mainly because of the insurance companies, but his plan leans way too much toward nationalized healthcare, which I am totally against. When I lived in England, where the health care is nationalized, their medical system was a joke. If you were old, you might as well pick out your coffin because you were put on the bottom of the list. People sat around and basically rotted away from cancer or other ailments because they had to wait for months to see the specialists they needed. That, and the doctors were so apathetic about the whole thing they just prescribed pill after pill to people without really trying to get to the root of the problem. JC grew up in Mexico, where health care is also nationalized, and you will never hear him tooting the horn of how great nationalized healthcare is. His grandma nearly died a few years ago because she had breast cancer and couldn't get the treatment she needed because she was put off for months. If it hadn't been for his dad pulling a few strings with a private doctor, she would have died. It is true that under Obama's plan there would still be the opportunity for private health insurance, but compared to a plan where the government pays the bills using tax-payers money, obviously the cost of those private doctors and care would not be comparable, so essentially the private health industry would fall apart and/or only the elite would be able to afford them, which isn't that what is being fought against now? And again, where there is no drive to be better or do better, then you don't get any better, and what incentive would doctors have who do not have the opportunity to make a lucrative career out of taking care of people. Yes, some may be in it out of the goodness of their hearts, but come on, we all know money talks.
3. His possible appointment of Supreme Court justices. Very possibly, if elected, Obama will be able to appoint up to 3 Supreme Court justices, which as you know, would massively affect the direction of this country's policies. He said that judges that "understand the importance" of what it is like to be "poor, black, gay, disabled, and old" are what he would base his criteria on when selecting them. Hmmm....I am not poor, black, gay, disabled or old, and the majority of people I know are not either. I would hope that the top justices in the country would not be chosen because of their sympathies and/or predjudices toward certain demographics. I don't expect a judge to be appointed because they "understand the importance" of what it means to be a woman or a Mormon or married to a Mexican. What about the majority of the people who do not fall into those categories?
4. His moral compass. I do not think he is a bad person, but I don't believe in a lot of his beliefs ranging from abortion to gay rights to affirmative action. I could expound a lot more in this area, but suffice it to say, there IS a right and a wrong. I do not believe in the fuzzy gray area of "oh let's make everyone happy so no one gets their feelings hurt" rhetoric. The Constitution was established to govern a moral people. If we are amoral, how can we make moral judgments and decisions? Once you start amoralizing government, then you soon become a nation without morals because
everything is "ok." Scriptures tell us that when the majority of people no longer choose the right, the nation crumbles. I do not believe in "pro-choice" because a woman has many choices already - she has the choice to have protected sex, or not have sex, she has the choice to give an unwanted child up for adoption. Freaking animals have rights, so why wouldn't an unborn child have at least as many if not more rights? I do not believe marriage should be defined as anything else but marriage between a man and a woman. If a man and a man can marry or a woman and a woman can marry, why can't I start to live another "alternative" lifestyle? Why can't I get another husband or my husband get another wife? Or why can't I marry my uncle? Why can't my 8-year-old get married? (NOT THAT I WANT ANY OF THESE - IT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE). Oftentimes, the "rules" that are established to protect those who do not follow the mainstream are just actually reversed prejudice to those who do. Case in point: If my kids want to say the pledge or pray at school, they should be able to. But I digress... these topics could be posts in themselves. Anyway, I could go on and on, but the point is I think Obama has an agenda, and it is not one I agree with.
5. His lack of experience. When you look at their backgrounds of governmental responsibilities and contributions, Barack Obama is like the kid brother trying to tag along and convince the big kids he really is cool enough to hang out with them. It's like comparing someone with a doctorate to a junior in high school. I love this quote from Arnold Swarzenegger,"
John McCain has served his country longer in a POW camp than his opponent has in the United States Senate." Seriously, everyone is all up in arms about Palin's lack of governmental experience, but she is not the one running for the President! Obama is. If elected, he WILL be President and he has no experience.
So there you have it. This post could have been much more eloquent, thought-out, probably more "politically correct" and much, much longer, but these are the main points I have concern with. I know I'm the one who said it, but I know I'm not the only one who thinks it. And even if I was, oh well. This election is an important election, and one I have for the most part kept my mouth shut about, but as I said in the beginning, if stating the reasons I am voting or not voting the way I am will help someone make their decision, then I am not afraid to put it on the line.
That being said, if Obama is elected, I will afford him the same respect I feel the office of the President deserves. I remember once in 5th grade when Reagan was elected, a kid wrote on a piece of paper "Assassinate Reagan!" and hung it up on our classroom bulletin board. He got in trouble, but where do you think he even learned that kind of thinking from?? I think it is irresponsible and disrespectful when people (especially parents) bad mouth the President of the United States. Even as this election nears, and I have answered questions from my kids or explained to them why I am voting for McCain, I have never once said a negative comment about Obama. I have only explained to them what I believe and why I feel that McCain most closely follows those beliefs. Because I don't want them being ignorant and saying disrespectful things if Obama is elected. Anyway, I don't know where this part came from, but now I am done. Don't forget to vote on Tuesday!
Mom, Dad, Me, Ali, Tori, and Walker - Christmas Eve 2008
In other news, we finally carved our pumpkins this past Sunday. Little J picked out the hugest pumpkins possible, so it was quite a task to carve them all, but the boys had fun designing and gutting them. And we have a plethora of pictures taken by Big J of every. single. step. of. the. process. But I wil spare you, and only post a few of the final products.
Little Man and I went to the 
You can watch the apples go through the process of being made into cider, as well as see the cider donuts being made. There is also a little general store of lots of homemade goodies. The highlight of the trip to Little Man, however, was running up and down the ramp inside the store over and over again. Aah, the simple pleasures of life. To top our date off, he puked everywhere when I put him in his carseat. Good times. It needed washing anyway. :-)
