One of the Most Important Interviews of our Time

I stumbled across this interview and I think it’s important to explain its importance.  Robin Roberts interviewed President Obama on the issue of gay marriage, a controversial topic these days. In the interview Obama stated he support legalizing same-sex marriage, the first time a sitting president has said so. I want everyone out there to understand the leap the gay community was able to take when the president announced his support. Here is the interview.

A Goodbye and a New Start

 

Over the past three months I have had the pleasure of spending every day in my high school’s computer lab blogging. When this assignment came out I did not even know what a blog was. The dictionary definition is a web log, but a blog is so much more than that. It’s an experiment to express your ideas for the world to see and be able to communicate with the many different people on this planet.  Today my viewership consists of readers from China, Germany and India. When I first started I never would have imagined that I would get such wide viewership from across the world.

            My blog started out as a moderates take on the politics of America. The politics of our time today are riveting. In America there are so many different viewpoints and such a wide range of opinions, consensuses is hard to come by.  I try to represent the progressive middle in American politics, I’m not afraid to critic both the democrats and the republicans. I simply try to move the country forward towards a better future. That to me is the single greatest issue facing this generation.

            In my last article I spoke about how regular Americans are fed up with the politics we live under. They want real change in our political system, but must importantly they want to feel like the politicians care about them.  Americans need leadership that truly caries them into the second decade  of the twenty-first century. A leadership that does not bicker in Washington, but works for the good of all Americans.        

            Lastly I hope my work on this small but far reaching blog does something to change the situation in Washington. Thank you to all my readers and I hope someday things change for the better.

Why People Hate Politics

 http://www.bing.com/images/results.aspx?q=hating+politics&form=AARMHP&pq=hating+polit&sc=8-0&sp=-1&qs=n&sk=#view=detail&id=B70A6C48864DFE02F4A6BF2766E0020EEFEC1BC4&selectedIndex=3

As the election season draws to a close, we now have to live with the people we just elected for the next  four years. The ideas we voted for on the second Tuesday of November 2012 , will be with us till the second Tuesday of November 2016.  That an extremely long time in the split second digital  age we live in today. On our smartphones we can stream live feeds of events happening around the world, but yet our political system seems takes forever to work if it ever does .  Americans don’t have the patients they once did; they want things done now or maybe even five seconds ago. The government we live under might be the most progressive one in history, but it still can’t keep up with the changing times. A classic example of this is the Superstorm Sandy aid relief. Lawmakers took over two months to pass an aid bill when the people of New York and New Jersey suffered. The hold up, House Republicans Leadership not wanting to vote on a bill right after their loss on the Fiscal Cliff . Regardless where you stand politically that is terrible .Americans elect a government to serve them , not the other way around. Politicians seem to forget that their  elected in Washington to do something not just sit in their office, and play political games.  When Americans see the lack of progress their government makes ,  they get extremely  fed up!  That is the basics of why people hate politics.

The Voices That Lead the Nation!

I have assembled a chart of quotes to show where the leaders of the major political parties past and present stand on the issues.  I hope you find it informative, and I hope it provides insight into the leaders of yesterday, today, and for the future.

The Issue	Republicans	Democrats
Taxes	"Raising tax rates will slow down our ability to create the jobs that everyone says they want." John Boehner	“Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle. “ Franklin Roosevelt
Economic Growth	“Big-government economics breeds crony capitalism. It's corrupt, anything but neutral, and a barrier to broad participation in prosperity. “Paul Ryan	“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.” Franklin Roosevelt
Terrorism	“Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.”George W. Bush	“Four years ago, I promised to end the war in Iraq. We did. I promised to refocus on the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11. We have. We've blunted the Taliban's momentum in Afghanistan, and in 2014, our longest war will be over. A new tower rises above the New York skyline, al Qaeda is on the path to defeat, and Osama bin Laden is dead.” Barack Obama
Issue’s facing Gay Americans	“ My view is that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman”- Mitt Romney	“I've said very clearly, including in a State of the Union address, that I'm against 'don't ask, don't tell' and that we're going to end this policy.” President Obama
Drugs	“Let us not forget who we are. Drug abuse is a repudiation of everything America is.”_ Ronald Regan	“ We have strengthened cooperation with Mexico, Colombia, and throughout Central America to combat narco-traffickers and criminal gangs that threaten their citizens and ours.” DNC National Convention

Republicans in Review; A Party in Neutral

 

In the last two months America has determined its course for the next four years. President Barack Obama was reelected by a vast majority. Obama was reelected by a wide margin in the Electoral College and in the popular vote. This caused republicans to do a lot of soul searching. This soul searching was a long time coming. Republicans have only won two of the last six presidential races and in one of them they did not even win the popular vote.  Republicans have alienated key voting blocs such as women and Hispanics.    Republicans have moved too far from the middle. Republicans spent the early months of 2012 arguing over the use of contraception, which has not even been discussed for more than sixty years. Republicans are also partially to blame for the downgrade of the United States credit score after their refusal to compromise with democrats on spending and tax reform. I’m not saying democrats don’t have faults too, they do. What I’m saying is that they have moved farther from the center than the Democratic Party. My evidence is the election of 2012, where Mitt Romney moved so far right of center in the primaries, he was not able to race back to the center in time for the general election.   Republicans will need to soul search for a long time in order to find what they’re looking for; a presidential election victory. I hope that the republicans fashion themselves a new strategy for the years to come.   I want them to form a strategy that includes women, minorities and the disabled. If they ever find what I hope they find, it will make them a lot easier to vote for.

Thank You

 Dear Readers ,

Thank you for viewing my blog over the last few months. Your support means alot. I want to tell you that I on't be blogging till  2013 so Happy Holidays !

Moderate Man

The Five Ways to Survive Being A Moderate

           Being a moderate is difficult , that I know .  I try to do the best I can to be unbiased. With that said it's hard to not be passionate about issues I care about. There's now easy way to remain a moderate.  Even as news orgizations call us friendly and nonconfrontational, political parties try to purge us from their political parties .  I find it increasingly difficult to do so with this growing partisan political atmosphere.  I have tried to assemble a  quick list of tips that all moderates should strive by.

 1. Listen to all opinions.   All moderates must do this , listening provides the  opportunity to solve the problems only moderates can fix.
 2.  Keep quiet  A wise person keeps and keeps others guessing. You need to observe your friends and enemies,  not be observed. Moderates are notorious for waiting   To see who they are going to vote for. Look at the last presidential where moderates were the key swing votes in the election. The top  reason President Obama won was because moderates voted for him.  
3.  Stay away from partisan people. I'm not saying lock yourself in a closet and yell " La la la  la " until the partisans go away. I'm saying try now to let partisans influence you. Your your own person so be it.
 4.Read the news  You need to be current on the news , if you want to make up to date discussions  on issues. The news affects the policy's of the day,  so it's up to you if want to understand them .
 5. Be yourself  A true moderate can never be influenced , whatever their opinion is   It is truly there's.  We can learn a lot from ourselves, all you have to do is listen .