It No Longer Works

Sitting on the beach this morning and thinking about many things, I arrived at a new position on one key issue: The argument that offshore drilling will diminish the beauty of our coastlines no longer works, and I am now in full support of drilling now.

I came to this new stance in a very direct way. As I was sitting on the beach in Dewey Beach and I noticed all of the disgusting ciggarette butts and litter that was polluting the sand and water around me. If we as a community are O.K. with letting our children play in this garbage, then we have no right to say, “Well oil rigs would just ruin my two weeks in July!”

Seriously, liberals and anti-drilling folks are being completely hypocritical when they say that, and I, up until a half hour ago, include myself in that group as well. So from now on, that argument is a non-issue.

Drilling may not reap any benefits for us in the next 10 to 15 years, but it will help my nieces and future children. It isn’t always about us, you know. However, drilling isn’t the only answer. We need alternative energies ASAP and I am just unsure which candidate is going to give us the perfect hybrid of new energy technologies and offshore drilling that we desperately need.

Maybe it’ll be Paris Hilton.

Joe Who?

Joe Biden isn’t the only person that has the ability to put Delaware in the national spotlight.

My main man Tony Kornheiser gave a shout out tonight to the restaurants of Rehoboth Beach during a clip of PTI on SportsCenter, which then spilled over to the SportsCenter anchors talking about it during the show.

Da-da-da. Da-da-da.

You want to talk issues? So does this guy…

15 Red Bulls To Go

spg3 and I have decided we are going to shoot guns next week, just to see what the big deal is. Neither of us has ever even shot a gun before, let alone picked one up. All I’m saying is I am fucking jacked! I can’t wait, seriously. I have no clue as to why anyone would want one or why anyone would want to hunt or who in their right mind would want to skeet shoot. What I do know is that I want to feel like a fucking man next week and I want to pump up on 15 Red Bulls, and maybe steal a bit of my little cousin’s Ritalin as well. Mike W, what kind of gun do I need to feel like God would faint at the sight of me?

“Let’s go shoot some birds, I’m psyched.”

I was thinking…

Well this being my first post I decided to write what exactly I thought of posts. Its an interesting idea, that of “blogging”. New to the scene I have realized there are very different layers that develop while thinking about something to post on the internet. I first decided I would read a few other blogs to get a feel of what others believe is in important to express in this limited space that occupies others limited time while reading it.

Strangely enough any blog has a set agenda, meaning that the person has something in mind for the other person involved, the reader. If a person individually believes they are simply writing about what happened in their day that particular day, and believe it is but a journal to share, well they are still trying to convey a mood or situation to the reader, even if its subconscious, by only pointing out certain activities in their day for that person to be a part of. No matter how lackadaisical ones own motives may seem, they still exist.  There is some how still an expressive feeling even if that is to be unexpressive. So is literature I presume. But then what is the establishment of arguing points on blogging then? Why not just accept that people are not like us, do not have the same motives, and may only be motivated themselves to be argumentative? Why do so many people take time out of their day to convey emotions based on what another wrote?

On a surface value it could be said that blogging is merely a median to connect people with ideas. I believe this is true. However if a person wants to take advantage of the fact that they are only typing something online and do not have to face consequences that is their own decision and thus should be heard as well.

But the question is then, who to confront, who to rebuttal, who to try to explain your point of view to. Is the advantage of blogging to be able to partake in all types of psyches that may or may not be established only for the surreal world of the internet? Is it to establish yourself through opinions of others that may be immensely different from how those typist actually believe/act/feel in their daily lives? It seems to me these are things to consider when blogging. Who are you blogging for, what is the benefit of others, do you actually believe the people you even talk to, and really is any of this at all relevant?  These are all more questions then statements of subjectivity that I’ve come up with. Does one write for the sole purpose of experiencing themselves through writing or blogging, or is in contingent on the readers’ opinion?

Blogging gives us all a outlet to reach each other, that is undisputable. But what then what do each of us want from each other and from ourselves? How would one act if their words held no consequences and did not have to be identified by the writer? Does the pressure of identifying yourself with a sole blog lead to the uncomfortability of ourself, or vice versa?

For me today , this topic was  was a shot in the dark to write about while I sat on the porch with my own thoughts and decided not to be so intrigued as to whether to share them or not. Rather I made a conscious decision to try to question the sub conscious and to admit my ignorance of such practices on the internet. Throwing yourself in to unnatural environments is one way to learn more about the world, yourself and others, and so to you, here I am.

Hurricane Shmurricane

I just walked down the street to the beach to check out the waves in Rehoboth, and all I have to say is if you are willing to surf in that, you are one crazy motherfucker.

Drinking Conservertarianally

After reading posts and comments floating around the Delaware Blogosphere the past week or so, I have become utterly convinced that many people (bloggers, commenters) are drinking some serious Kool-Aide.

As I have mentioned on other blogs and on this very blog, it is the responsibility of Americans nation wide to make rational, educated, and responsible choices when the time comes to vote one way or another in November.  It is fine to vote for John McCain or Barack Obama or Bob Barr or Donald Duck if and only if you have taken the time to first listen to, then consider, and finally draw conclusions about all candidates running. No longer can I accept the pandering, lying, and partisan bullshit that goes on at places like DelawarePolitics and DelawareLiberal among others.

I had a pretty intense conversation over some drinks with my best friend this afternoon, and we came to the conclusion that it is utterly unacceptable to attatch character issues to candidates. By pandering to the masses, talking heads have effectively turned the Presidential race into a refferendum on race, gender, elitism, POW’s, community organizers, oratorical skills, and countless other character issues. These issues are just a means to realate your life experiences to that of a candidates. And although you may share certain characteristics or qualitites with a candidate that doesn’t mean you both have come to the same conclusion about these life experiences. Yes, Sarah Palin is a mother of five, however that doesn’t mean she needs to be at home all day like the lady down the street who has five pain in the ass kids.

No, the adjectives used to define these characteristics are false facades that allow the voters of America to remain uneducated about the issues facing the country. The media has allowed the focus of the election to shift from issues to adjectives, and if the American public does not step up to correct this, we are going to face some serious issues down the road.

“How do we fix this?”

Well, one solution my friend and I came up with is to use a ground up approach to reporting on issues, and by ground up, I mean the local blogosphere.

My solution would be frequent roundtable discussions on Real Issues. As a Democrat, if I personally wanted to read something about how I already stand on an issue, I would go to DelawareLiberal. That is precisely the problem, though. No one wants to leave their box. No one wants to hear where the other side stands on an issue. They go to familliar settings and revel when they all agree with each other.

To combat this, I believe it is our duty and responsibility as Americans and Delawareans to present the public with rounded and well covered issues. If we have someone from DelawareLibertarian, Kavips, DelawarePolitics, DelawareWay, DelawareLiberal, and all the way around the blogosphere, available to discuss issues, not only will we better informed on our own convictions, we will better inform the public. It is not about the web traffic, it is about the substance, and unfourtunately the Delaware Blogosphere is lacking in the latter. Wouldn’t you be stronger in your convictions if you actually had to discuss and defend them rather than be told, “Yes, sir.”??

There is my challenge. Forget a blog convention. That is counter productive if you ask me. Forget Progressive Democrats or Progressive Conservatives. If you really want to see progression, strive for Progressive Americans, because in the end all we are and all we always have been are Americans, and to progess together is much more important than to fall divided.

Joe Is My Homeboy

That’s right, my homeboy Joe is a Vice Presidential nominee. I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am about this. While I am still unsure about who I will throw my support behind in November, I can tell you that I am very happy for Joe. He is a great guy, and above all else, knows his shit. Period.

When my grandfather passed away a few years ago, Joe came up to myself and said, “I knew your grandfather very well and he was a damn good man. You should be proud.”  My brothers, cousins, and myself will remember that always.

All that being said, I wish him the best of luck in the upcoming election, and look forward to him supporting not just Delawareans, but all of America. Word.

“Look,”– ummm– “Listen,”– “NEXT QUESTION!”

While much of the Atlantic pub this month is being directed at Joshua Green’s article “The Front-Runner’s Fall,” I myself was much more intrigued by James Fallow’s article on how the candidates have evolved through the debates over the primary season in “Rhetorical Questions.”

What piqued my interest was how Fallow, through careful review of the 37 primary debates — 37! WTF! — managed to pull out rhetorical mishaps that the mass media has failed — or refused — to cover. In my own opinion, the most annoying rhetorical miscue is the ever-present “issue dismissal.”

The two signs that [Hillary Clinton] was ready to dispose of a nuisance issue: “I’ve said many time …,” so whatever has come up can’t be news; and “the real question is …,” the politician’s standard way of shifting discussion back to more-favorable ground. Barack Obama’s version of this tactic is to say “it’s just common sense …,” indicating that what he’s about to say is restating the obvious and reasonable. “Look” or “listen” at the start of an answer is his version of “the real question is,” a sign that he wants to answer something different from what is being asked.

After reading this particular paragraph, I went into deep recall mode. “Damn, Hillary has DEFINITELY said that before!”; “WOW! I can’t even count how many times I’ve heard Obama say those words!”

It hasn’t been isolated to debates either. I have watched countless clips of town hall type meetings, interviews, and of course debates, and “the real issue is” that these candidates dodge and deflect more than a fat girl when it’s raining arugula. Obama and Republican Nominee John McCain have spent more time explaing “the real question” than they have actual questions. In an interview with NPR, Obama was asked about why, without the support of many economist, he supports a windfall profits tax.

“It’s hard to find an economist who supports the idea of a windfall profits tax. Most argue that this would stifle investment in oil discovery and oil production precisely at the moment when the U.S. should be encouraging more.”

His response:

Look, I mean, most economists buy into that approach. Exxon Mobil made $12 billion last quarter. They made $11 billion before that, and $11 billion before that, and not all of this is going into research and development — and families need some relief.

Now, I am the first to admit that what we need is a comprehensive plan, and that’s what I’ve been putting forward for the last 18 months — making sure that we’re increasing fuel-efficiency standards on cars drastically, investing in the retooling so that we can have plug-in hybrids. I have set a goal that we reduce our oil consumption by 30 percent over the next 20 years. So that’s the long-term answer to rising gas prices.

So, Senator Obama, although most economist agree that this windfall profits tax would be very bad for developing and researching new alternative energies to combat our energy crisis, the “real” “long-term answer to rising gas prices” is actually NOT a windfall profits tax, but instead “increasing fuel-efficiency standards on cars…investing in the retooling so that we can have plug-in hybrids?” Your answer confused the hell out of me.

Hardcore Obama supporters, like my friends over at DelawareLiberal and Down With Absolutes would argue “SEE!!! He has an energy policy! That is your answer right there!” Yes, he may have a plan, however, that was not the question. Being a slick politician, he can cut his way through the “real question” and transform it into something familiar. This is a useful tactic when attempting to get elected. However, at what point do we need to start holding the candidates accountable? And at what point does the mass media begin to cover these deflections?

With mass media’s 24-hour news coverage one would think that there would be room to cover the lack of answering to serious issues that effect all Americans. However, that is not the case. They spend their days propping up these candidates and selling us on war, Coke, Nike Shoes, and Hannah Montana. Look, the real question is, “Where is the accountability?”

Daily Doesn’t (Weekend Edition)

I am down in Dewey and, since it is a gorgeous day, have decided to skip work and sit on the beach all day with my family and future in-laws. My question is, what do YOU do when it is this nice out? HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!