Surprising many and relieving others, Barack Obama won a second term last night in a pretty big way. This is my ants-at-a-picnic view of the situation.

Things will continue to get better, little by little, as they always do, even as politicians try as they may to break them more. More people will find jobs because this is what we do: we work hard and provide for ourselves and our families (most of us).

The financial situation will get better because there is no choice in the matter. But one thing is for certain: no matter how measurably better things are, republicans will surely disapprove and continue to obstruct and bash the president at every turn. The media will stoke the fires of resentment and disagreement because we buy it up with our precious attention. Because this is what we do: we tear down those with whom we disagree without understanding.

Obama will continue to wage quiet warfare in who-knows-how many countries, killing who-knows-how many brown people whose families will vow to destroy us. He will continue to erode our civil liberties further and further whether it be wiretapping, spying, detention or assassination. And his supporters will be silent, even though these actions are in stark contrast to their supposed ethos. Because this is what we do: we unconditionally support the person who lives in a shell of that with which we want to identify.

And the rest of us will sit in waiting until one day when we might possibly have a way to express our disgust at all of it.

I was listening to the radio the other day and it occurred to me that there may be some problems with the American health care system. Just about every politician is talking about it and about as much as we can grok from all the rhetoric is whose plan isn’t going to work. But it seems to me that we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
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Will he be the same as the old boss? Probably.

If our country ran like it was intended, the state gubernatorial election would be as (or more) important than the national election. Alas, it isn’t; so a lot of people just don’t care who’s at the helm in Tallahassee. We should care, so I’m hoping to spur a little reading with this post, maybe even some discussion.

The most difficult thing for me is always finding objective information about each candidate. Political ads have degraded to cheap slander. Candidates’ web sites can be a source of information, but you have to be able to see through the empty rhetoric. Local news is decent from time to time, if they can cease the dramatization of every little matter for a moment. The Sun-Sentinel has a pretty readable section on the race. That same article also has individual sections on the Democratic front-runners as well as the Republican ones.

I’m still looking for a good side-by-side, issue-by-issue rundown from some nonpartisan source. A friend suggested realpolitics.com but considering the source, I don’t think that was what he was intending. Anyone have a good comparison site for state officials?

In yesterday’s White House press briefing, spokesman Tony Snow had this to say regarding the President’s position on embryonic stem cell research, specifically regarding the fact that these are embryos which are going to be discarded anyhow:

“…the President is not going to get on the slippery slope of taking something that is living and making it dead for the purpose of research.”

No, no, that would be a tragedy. But taking living things and making them dead in the name of world politics is a completely noble cause. Jackass.

I don’t spend a lot of time regurgitating political mantra on my blog, but I feel must do my part to bring light to this corner of the political world. If you, dear reader, have any inclanation against a U.S. Empire — one that forces its hand at the international rule of law despite the U.N., the E.U. or even common decency — keep reading.

During the 2004 campaign season, I became aware of a group called the Project for the New American Century, or PNAC. This group, made up of just about every Bush croney in the White House and nearby, states “that American leadership is good both for America and for the world; and that such leadership requires military strength, diplomatic energy and commitment to moral principle.” Sounds a little fishy, but it gets better. Casual perusal of the site uncovers the tenets of PNAC which include:

• Military increases
• Stronger ties to allies (do we still have any?) and stronger threats toward enemies (used to be able to count those on one hand)
• Promoting the cause of freedom abroad (presumably through war, see the first bullet (no pun) point)
• America (not NATO, not the UN, not Western Civilization) is unique in its ability to rule the world

I strongly recommend reading the PNAC Statement of Principles which goes into more detail and also lists the members (Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, just to name a few).

Folks, this group scares me to death. They outright state that their goal is to build military might and take over the world! Anyone see a problem with this? Is the reasoning behind our meddling in the Middle East becoming more apparent now?

If the last 3 years have shown us anything, it’s that PNAC is incapable of doing good. The Middle East is just one little section of their plan, and it’s failed miserably. Imagine what might happen if they get their tentacles into other parts of the world. Sheer disaster.

Please do your political duty and get familiarized with this group, so that you see what the White House is up to. Many decisions made after 9/11 will become clear when you realize the motives of the people we’ve elected.

For a more thorough assessment of PNAC, read Miles Wooley’s recent article on LewRockwell.com.