Republicans' ratings are the worst ever

In the headline, I've linked to an article in the Indy paper that discusses the depths of loathing that our country has for Republican politicians, including GWB. OK, it's not THAT bad, but they are the lowest they've been in decades, and the Republicans are concerned about Congressional elections this November. Seeing as the elections are only seven months away, I don't think that they should be that worried, especially with the 24-hour news cycle and inundation of media coverage on any issue that comes before the government (and now, the nation). Remember, aside from an indirect abortion debate (with the recent Supreme Court appointments), very few of the big issues that won the election (abortion, homosexual marriage, and the ever-popular John-Kerry-Has-No-Charisma-No-Decision-Making-Capabilities-and-Doesn't-Deserve-His-Purple-Heart-Seeing-How-He's-a-Democrat-and-All discussion) have been in the forefront of the public eye.

Let's not forget that there are still seven months until the elections, which is plenty of time to bring up the controversial issues that key in on voters' beliefs rather than objectivity. Up til now, we've been dealing with issues that don't really favor the right wing (mainly the war & the fact that the Bush/Cheney administration may indeed have had something to with the CIA leak). But let's not forget that the abortion and homosexual marriage debates have been mostly on hold in DC, aside from the bevy of never-ending protests, making the fews moments without them seem non-routine these days, I'm sure. Rest assured that there will debates in Congress (and subsequently, the nation) on the topics towards the middle of summer and gaining steam into the fall.

Be it intentional or not, this is a formula that was worked for Bush and the GOP in the past -- take care of the less popular issues (or at least those unbecoming to the party) until voters start to key in on what's going on in Washington. Then the big guns come out, and make speeches that convince voters to base their vote more on what they believe rather than what is happening in the country and the world. It's worked so well because people (especially Christians, myself included) are inclined to choose something based on faith over something based on reason.

(NOTE: The following examples are not meant to laugh at Christians or what we believe. I've only included them to show the unexplainable facts that we believe) In church, we learned that, amongst other things, there was once a great Man who was born from a virgin womb, could turn water into wine, walk on that very same water, calm a sotrm with only his words, then be hung on a cross, die, and rise from the dead three days later. None of these things are reasonable and defy many, many things that science has taught us. If these lessons came from another religion, we might even laugh them off as tenets of a half-brained cult. But we beleive it, and very little evidence can sway us from what we believe.

So what defense can Democrats possibly bring up on issues that are so strongly tied to faith? Many of the same people that believe in God believe that abortion and homosexuality are wrong, and feel that the debate over whether or not they should be allowed is solely a matter of right and wrong, and any defense of allowing these is seen as a defense of the morality of the practice rather than giving people the freedom to choose whether or not it's something that's right for them. If these discussions are held close enough to election time, the passion of these voters leads directly to Republicans being elected, and yet, despite the cries of woe from Democrats, the world still revolves two years later (just with lower employment, a poorer economy, more war, and greater differences in the classes). And there's absolutely nothing wrong with this -- you cannot fault anyone for what they believe.

My point is that there's still time for the approval ratings to come up, especially with the divisive issues that are still on the table. Faith-based issues will always increase the support for those of the same faith of the majority, be they what's right from a government standpoint or not. By not dealing with these issues yet and having the capability to raise them to the public eye in the months near November, the Republicans have that ace in the hole that could give them majority in Congress for another two years.

I've never been prouder to be a Yankee

...or more ashamed of some people who claim to share my faith.

Choose hypocrisy.

What bugs me the most is that someone on the bench is using their faith to push this through. There is no reason for a government to push through a faith-based initiative with this level of controversy without allowing the opposing voice to be heard on the same forum, be it deemed public or no (how license plates aren't a public forum is beyond me!).

Of course, this is the time for highly-charged political discourse and decisions -- if there's anything the past six years have taught us, it's that anything goes during election season, as long as it gives politicians the opportunity to voice their opinions. Let's hope our judicial friends don't decide to take THAT away from the public forum as well.

NO. Stop this!

This is insane.

Why in the blue Hell is Congress spending its time on college football? Could it be for academic tampering or other violations? Perhaps millions of dollars have been misappropriated at UT or some other school of ill repute?

Nope. They just plain don't like the BCS.

There is absolutely no reason for Congress to be looking into this. There is no crime, no malfeasance, no anything going wrong other than the media's ire, fueled by radio talk shows, internet message boards, and blogs. About SPORTS. Now, sports are a big part of my life, but not big enough for legislators, the most powerful people in the COUNTRY, to waste their time over. This reeks of being a win-win for Congress -- if they find a "better way" (which, in reality, will only cause more turmoil), they can claim credit, and if they don't, well, it's a flawed system and the BCS is to blame. No hard decisions!

We don't elect legislators to poke their nose in trivial matters. Please, find a exit strategy from the war, balance the budget, find a fucking cure for AIDS -- stop devoting time to the whining of forty-year old men that think that they know what's best for the lives of college kids!

I'm writing/calling any of my Congresspeople on this committee and expressing my displeasure (sorry, India!) that this has even been introduced. So can you. I can understand the steroids issue being discussed -- that's an illegal substance being abused by role models and needed to be addressed. This mess that sports media has caused by throwing their hands up in protest of losing the power of naming a legit national champion has absolutely no business in the halls of Congress.

If you feel the same way, contact your Congressperson, or simply link to this post. Congress needs to focus on the vital issues that affect people's lives, not an annoyance that pertains to a source of entertainment.

What is this?

Yes, I'm being hoggish and starting another blog. I going to devote this one to mostly political topics, as I feel that, as a moderate, political views that match my own often get lost in the shouting match that is American politics.

I'm really going out of my comfort level by doing this, but I feel that if I can do it, so can you. There just aren't enough people who voice their opinion, even with all the outlets available to them. For a long time, I was one of those people. But that ends today, and you're reading this and feel the same way, I'm hoping you'll join me in raising your voice above the shouting.