a patriot's weapon of choice...

It was like everything just hit me at once.  Last night, I was browsing through the MoveOn.org videos (and LAUGHING my ass off), then this morning I read remjte's post on Gen Y'ers and their voting habits, and then, to top it all off, I saw a commercial on a network station this morning urging young people to vote.  "When you vote, you have a voice," the tagline taunted.  Basically, voting by peer pressure.  "It's so cool to vote.  Look, these kids are doing it."

I'm pretty sure it was a non-partisan effort, but what a crock.  If some pothead drop-out punk doesn't want to vote, who cares?  If some apathetic idiot wants to sit around and gripe about how he isn't going to vote because it's all fixed anyway, LET HIM.  Truth is, even the kids that aren't like these examples don't know jack squat about politics.  They can't tell you one thing about Obama or McCain that isn't some regurgitated online talking point.  "Well, I mean, John McCain says we need to stay in Iraq for 100 years, but Obama, he's like, wanting to change everything."  I feel like Julia Roberts in Mona Lisa Smile.  "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?"

They don't even require Civics classes in some high schools today.  These kids can't name the three branches of government or tell you what their duties are, but we're pushing them to go out and help choose the next leaders of the United States.

In high school, student government elections are nothing more than popularity contests.  I saw a few kids work their way up the student government ladder for three years only to have some big shot on campus run against them for Senior class president or even SGA president, because it suddenly occurred to them that they needed something to put on their college application other than how many drunk chicks they had sex with.  And the sheep in the school vote for the more popular kid not because they think he is better suited for the position, but because he's in that hot band they heard Saturday night.

This is what we're trying to do to America's election system, as if we're not already halfway there.  These commercials don't ask you to make an informed decision -- they just ask you to get your ass to a voting booth on election day.  They couldn't care less whether or not you know what you're doing.  They just want to see voter turnout go up.

You know, maybe lower voter turnout is a GOOD thing.  Maybe only the people that take the time to learn about the candidates and make an informed decision should be the ones that choose the president, not just the dumb masses.  They're looking for quantity in the vote experience, not quality.

Neal Boortz is right.  There really should be some kind of an exam to vote.  Like if you go into a computerized booth and press "Obama", a question pops up about where he stands on a certain issue.  Not only would it force people to learn about the candidates, but it would force the candidates to actually TAKE A POSITION ON AN ISSUE (which is something we don't see much anymore either).

And I'm sure some young idealist will stumble upon this blog post and be morally outraged that I could suggest such a thing, and to retaliate, they'll be sure to get to the voting booth and cancel me out.  That's awesome.  Whatever floats your boat.  Just don't fool yourself into thinking that you have any freaking clue of what you're voting for.  Yeah, I know, CHANGE.  What does that mean?

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

Watch these videos in the order they are posted.  The first one is a pretty popular moveon.org YouTube clip, and the second is a response to it.  LOVE IT.



This one's pretty cute too.

Happy 4th, everyone.

And RIP Jesse Helms.  We may not have seen eye-to-eye on everything, but you weren't afraid to stand up for what you believed in, which is cool with me.

Also cool that you were so stubborn as to just hold on long enough to die on Independence Day.  That is hardcore.  Kudos.

Here's the breakdown: Bev Perdue, the Democratic candidate for NC Governor, is receiving a ton of money from unions and other special interest groups.  Surprise, surprise, right?  Everyone wonders how it is that NC keeps electing Democratic governors, and this is why.  What WE need to do is show that the PEOPLE of North Carolina are the ones who are really in control here -- not the special interest groups with the deepest pockets.  Any amount that you can give will be beneficial.  Let's show the Democrats that we're not going to put up with their socialist-leaning policies anymore.

Republican Pat McCrory is boldly attempting to oust Perdue and the rest of Governor Mike "Tax-Hike" Easley's cronies.  But he can't do it alone.  He needs help from those of us that realize the Democrats are offering a false promise of "hope" in these trying times.  Sure, Perdue's promises of "free" healthcare and college education sound great, but we all know that none of that is free.  The taxpayers will continue to see more and more of their hard-earned dollars disappear from their paychecks, and we'll being having less and less say in who we choose to provide our medical care and where we go to college.  You know that I speak the truth, because this has already happened in the lower levels of education.

We can do this!  Go to www.patmccrory.com and click on the "CONTRIBUTE" tab.  Let's money-bomb Pat McCrory!

And I want one of THESE:






Can I borrow $330?  Oh, make that a little more.  I want the ankle holster! :)

This is the photo that was sent to my cell phone over the weekend by one of my best friends.  Obviously, our friendship is not based on political similarities.

She's not very political at all, but she was at the Denver PRIDE! celebration over the weekend (one of the top 5 PRIDE events in the country, she tells me) and she told me that there was Obama stuff EVERYWHERE.  I had gone with her to the NC PRIDE! two years back, and I spent a great deal of time hanging out at the Log Cabin Republican booth, so I asked her if they had a presence at the Denver PRIDE.  She responded "They were there, but people were being really rude and mean to them."

I think we all know how I feel about the gay rights (and if you don't, check out the column I wrote several years back for the UNCG paper in regards to the issue), but I'm certainly the farthest thing from a single-issue voter.  I'm sure it's easier for me to say that, since I am straight and therefore essentially unaffected by gay rights legislation, but I also find issues such as tax reform and individual liberties important as well.  And before anyone says it, I'm well aware of the fact that there is a third option.  We won't go there.

But my friend's comment makes me worry that this Obama fascination at the PRIDE! celebration is less of a gay rights issue and more of an anti-capitalism issue.  The Log Cabin Republicans are a pro-gay organization that also embraces Republican views on other issues.  Straight from their website: 

"We are loyal Republicans working for change within the party. Through education and action, we demonstrate that gay and lesbian Republicans can, in a spirit of solidarity and integrity, contribute substantially to building and sustaining a majority Republican Party and a great nation."

Education and action.  The Log Cabins are not blind.  They realize that the current Republican Party does not support gay issues, but rather than shun and dismiss the party as a lost cause, they work for change within the party.  They are not single issue voters.  They have weighed the consequences, and it is more important for them that our country not become a socialist nation while working for their rights.

I'm not saying that everyone that supports Obama for the reason of gay rights is a socialist.  I dare say that most of the people who were walking around with Obama memorabilia (including my friend) had no idea where he stands on most issues -- INCLUDING gay issues.  Do they realize, for example, that Obama is against gay marriage?  Can they tell me which gay issues he has supported, and in what ways he supports them?  Doubtful.  So I also doubt that they are aware of his Marxism appreciation.  The problem, however, is that those who were so strongly pushing his presence on these PRIDE! celebrations ARE aware of his socialist tendencies -- as were those who were being so rude to the Log Cabin Republicans.

Like the Log Cabin Republicans, I have some issues with the current Republican Party, but I am working towards change from within the Party -- rather than putting our country at risk to side with someone with whom I disagree on a so much more important issue.

I know that I have at least one gay McCain-supporter that reads my blog -- I'd be interested in his comments on this issue.

OMG! Run for your lives! The homosexuals in California can get MARRIED!

</sarcasm>

Neal Boortz did a great segment on his show today. He asked for people to call in to tell him how gay marriage was going to negatively impact their own heterosexual marriage. Among my favorites were the guy that said he didn't mind it all that much, but it was going to anger the Arabs that want to see America brought down in flames (which is why we will be repealing gay marriage and handing out burkas later this week…. To appease the Muslims).

Another caller claimed that gay marriage affected his straight marriage in the same way that a person living in a high-end neighborhood is affected when Section 8 housing moves down the street – the value of his commitment was "depreciated". He went on to say that straight marriage is a commitment between a man, a woman, and God. Boortz asked the man if he thought atheists should be allowed to marry. The man answered that they should, because "atheists believe in something, maybe not God, but they believe in the marriage." Uhhhhh K.

So please, aside from Old Testament law and misguided religious beliefs, give me one good reason that gay marriage should not be legalized. Let me go ahead and handle the basics:


1. I don't care that marriage is a "religious institution". It comes with tax benefits which makes it a government institution. This means we can either make it all inclusive or do away with it entirely. Unless, of course, you don't mind the government taking over your church and telling them what to preach. That is, after all, the equivalent of that argument.

2. No, this does not mean that people can get married to their dogs or horses or whatever. Marriage (as a legal entity) is a contract between two consenting adults. A child cannot enter that contract, a dog cannot enter that contract. The slippery slope does not apply to gay marriage in this context.

3. If the purpose of marriage is to have children, should infertile couples be allowed to wed? Likewise, should straight couples that don't want children be forbidden to marry?


Oh, and while we're at it, I've heard quite enough griping from people about the "activist judges" that passed down the ruling in California. You do all realize that it was those "activist judges" that outlawed segregation, yes? Judges aren't there to enforce the majority opinion, they're there to interpret the law, and to protect the law from the majority. If the majority of people that show up to vote in any random referendum decide that America would be better off if we banned all women from the workplace, does that mean it's okay? Who comes along and says, "Hey, you can't fire women just because the majority says so."

The courts, that's who.

WE DO NOT LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY, and thank God for that!

I run.

No, no one is chasing me. I actually do it for fun. And believe it or not, it actually puts me in a better mood.

Remember those New Balance ads they ran during March Madness about having a love/hate relationship with running?




This couldn't be more true. I'll go through periods of time when I just have to run every single day, and then it'll get to be a pain. Sometimes it's physical pain (lower back arthritis, knee pain, high arches, you name it, I got it), and sometimes it's just that pain of knowing that I have so many other things that I could be doing with my time. Whatever the reason, like the commercial says, I "break up with running". And then, I see people running, everywhere I look. And they are having so much fun.

I've had to take a break from running because I have completely worn out my running shoes, and I've been putting off having to shell out over $100 for a new pair. But I missed running so much -- I even attempted a few times to put on my old pair and tough it out, but my back punished me for days afterwards.

Now, for the last 10 months, I've been wearing Mizuno Wave Creations. For years, I'd gone to Dicks Sporting Goods to replace my running shoes, and I'd only ever had one good experience with them -- a guy, back in 2006, that actually knew about shoes and could suggest good shoes for my needs. The only downside was rather a biggie: After I left the store, he went up to the register that had checked me out, got my contact information from my Dick's card, and spent the next month calling, emailing, and IMing me, literally begging me to go out with him. Needless to say, I decided to try a new store.

I joined the Greensboro Running Club last summer, and I discovered that the only perk to the group was their 10% discount at Omega Sports. I was needing new shoes, so I stopped by after one of our meetings.

I felt like I had stepped into Runner's Heaven.

There were two people waiting in the shoe section (which wrapped around the entire back of the store) to help me find the perfect shoe. These were not teenage lackies with just enough brain power to pull the correct shoe size from the stock room -- these were actual runners with actual knowledge about the products they were selling. Not only did they take into account such things as my high arches, long runs, and back pain, but they actually had me take a short jog to check my striking motion and pronation. To top it all off, they actually had a girl working there that had gone through the same back surgery I had years ago, and she was also a runner with similar problems. I ended up buying the shoe that she uses -- the Mizuno Wave Creation that I mentioned earlier -- and it has served me wonderfully for the past 10 months.

So when it came time to replace them, I knew the type of shoe I wanted, and I decided to give Dicks one more try. Why? Well, the service is definitely worth it, but Omega's prices seemed to be a little higher than the average box store. Since I knew what kind of shoe I wanted, and a quick visit to Dicks' website told me that they carried it, I figured I could bypass the service and get straight to a potentially cheaper shoe.

I went into Dick's Sporting Goods on Friday afternoon, and there was one person working the shoe section. He did not acknowledge me, although I was the only customer back there, and he appeared to be no older than 17 and stoned out of his mind. I looked over their Mizuno collection and saw all the shoes -- Wave Rider, Wave Nirvana, Wave Elixer -- but no Wave Creation. Finally, I turned to the lackey and ask if they still carry the Wave Creation. "Hold on," he grunts, and he walks into the stock area. He comes back about a minute later and says, "Naw, we don't carry the Wave Creation no more. We got the Wave Riders and the Wave Nirvanas and all that now."

Assuming that this means the Wave Creations have been discontinued, I ask him which shoes are best for people with high arches. Haha, silly me. I get a blank stare, and then another, "Hold on," as he walks into the back again. He comes back a minute later again and says, "Naw, if you got high arches, you're gonna want the Wave Creations. But we don't have those. The Waver Riders are good for over-pronation."

Hey, thanks loser. The correct response for my question would have been to return with another shoe from a different brand that may be good for high arches. The world does not stop with Mizunos. But instead, you chose to suggest a shoe for over-pronation -- an issue that I have not once mentioned to you. Good job. You went above and beyond the call of stupidity.

I did what I should have done from the beginning: drove straight to Omega Sports. Sure enough, as I walked into the store, the angels sang and a beam of light shot down on the two seasoned runners who eagerly greeted me as I entered the shoe section. I breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Mizuno Wave Creation, size 7 please." The peppy sales associate informed me that they had just gotten the newest model in, and she would bring a pair right out.

While she was gone, I looked over the shoe wall and was amazed to see that many of the shoes were not only the same price as the ones at Dicks, but they were LOWER! I wondered why I had even attempted to go elsewhere.

And then, a problem. The sales associate comes back and informs me that the smallest size they have in the Wave Creation is a 7.5. She had brought a pair with her, just in case I wanted to try them, but I told her that my normal shoe size is 6.5, I just prefer to run in a half size larger. Had I still been at Dick's, I would have gotten a shrug and maybe a "sorry", but not at Omega. She immediately started in on my other options. Mizunos are at the lower end of their shoes (they are at the higher end at Dick's), but if I was willing to go up in price, she recommended the Asics Gel Nimbus for high arches and quality. She mentioned a few others, and I opted to try to Asics. They weren't very much higher than the Mizunos, and I'm willing to shell out for a good pair of running shoes, so long as the keep me pain-free.

The sales associate went to get a pair of the Asics, and then turned around and said, "Actually, the ones we have on display are the newest models that just came in, all of last year's models are on clearance. If we have any 7's left, and if you don't mind that it's last year's design and color, you can maybe save a few bucks."

A few bucks? By the time I paid for my size 7 Asics Gel Nimbus which were on clearance because the design is from "last year", and I get a 10% discount for the running club, I was out $80. That's over $50 less than I would have paid for the Mizuno Wave Creations at Dick's, and they're supposedly a longer lasting shoe. Heck, at $80, I wouldn't care if they DIDN'T last! Omega also has a great policy where I can try the shoes out to make sure they don't hurt while running, and as long as I do everything indoors or on a treadmill, they'll take them back.

So how are the shoes themselves? Well, I still haven't had a chance to run in them, but I wore them around the house today, and as one on-line reviewer put it, "I feel like I'm running on a cloud". Another stated these shoes give her "warm fuzzies all over my feet". People like these shoes.

I'm so excited to get to see running this week. We are going to have the best time ever.

John Kerry. Don't those two words still just send shivers down your spine? I mean, what were the Democrats thinking? Truth be told, I blame HIM for all of the problems that have resulted from the last four years, because more people were voting AGAINST him than were voting FOR Bush.

I guess he's going through now what I was going through in my first year out of college. I missed the college environment, the classes, the extracurriculars, and so I spent as much time as possible around campus or hanging out with friends who were still in college. I re-lived my college career through them.

Kerry misses the election spotlight, so he's going to butt in every chance he gets, and it looks like he's starting early. That means we can look forward to five more months of his mouth. Yay.

As you may have heard, two days ago on the "Today" show, McCain was pushed for a date when the troops would be returning home. McCain responded, "That's not too important." What was important, he countered, was that we reduce American casualties in Iraq. "The key is that we don't want any more Americans in harm's way."

Oh gosh, I'm so confused. I mean, I feel like I should be agreeing with that. After all, one of the major issues with being in Iraq is that we are sacrificing American lives for a cause that not everyone agrees with, right? So if we can stop those American casualties, we've solved half the problem, yes?

Thank God we have John Kerry to tell us how wrong we are.

"It is unbelievably out of touch with the needs and concerns of Americans, particularly of the families of the troops that are over there," Kerry said in response to McCain's statement. "To them, [bringing the troops home] is the most important thing in the world."

Hey, isn't this the same guy that said only stupid kids join the military? I'm glad he's gotten back "in touch" with them since that insensitive comment.

Yes, I am aware that the families of the soldiers miss them very much. But as far as I'm concerned, if we could guarantee that their loved ones wouldn't be killed while overseas, they don't have a whole lot of ground to stand on. Whatever their motivation at the time, these individuals joined the military. I am aware that it is insensitive to expect that these men put their lives on the line just because they joined the military, but does that also mean they don't have to leave home at all?

Excuse the cliché, but no one came into your home, grabbed your son or husband, and forced him to join the military. You can make the argument that the military "bribes" some people with education and money, but they all ultimately had free will in deciding what to do. No recruiter can promise you that the military will pay for your college education in exchange for a carefree walk in the park.

It's a job. Lots of times, jobs make you do things you don't want to do, including being separated from your family from long periods of time. It sucks, but we don't all run to Daddy Government about it.

Ack!

One of my lolhumans made it to the main page of pundit kitchen!


see more politics and fun!

It kinda sucks, because when I made it, I didn't think it was that funny, so I didn't put my name on it.... wouldn't you know that's the one they pick to show!

I saw this a few weeks back, and it's almost outdated, but not quite. Especially after that thing Hillary just gave... as Britt Hume said, "Whatever that was."




"Good Lord, make up your mind, I need to know who I'm going to vote against."

I've been stimulated.

Unfortunately for the economy, I pre-spent my stimulus "refund" before the prices had a chance to go up. Sorry Bush.

I made a lolhuman!


moar funny pictures

(Scott McClellan, for those of you that don't know who that's a pic of)

Go vote for me!! :)

Oh good God.

MoveOn says McClellan should not profit

MoveOn's petition e-mail, sent out to its supporters Saturday morning, said that Mr. McClellan's "coming clean is admirable.”

"But McClellan shouldn't profit off the role he played in our nation's largest foreign policy blunder,” the release reads.

"After spending years defending the Bush administration and perpetuating the lies that led our country into war, Scott McClellan is poised to make bank — his tell-all book is a bestseller and he may make hundreds of thousands or millions,” MoveOn says. "Meanwhile, our troops are still dying in Iraq.”

Just proof that regardless of what you do, the liberals will never ever be happy with it.

see more politics and fun!


see more politics and fun!


see more politics and fun!


see more politics and fun!


see more politics and fun!

... because reading crap like this makes me want to start smoking.

Sarasota County bans smokers from government employment 

Yeah, that's right.  Not only can current smokers not apply for employment with the Sarasota county government, anyone that's enjoyed a cigarette or cigar in the last TWELVE MONTHS cannot apply for employment.

So now, not only is the government discriminating against people who may partake of marijuana in their own homes in their own free time, they're discriminating against enjoying a LEGAL activity in your own free time!

I have this urge to buy a pack of cigarettes and smoke them in Sarasota.

I'm back.  Promise.

I had to take a break there right after the primary.  It's not that blogging is incredibly stressful, but politics was my life for that last week.  I was literally scheduling time during my days to do post entries.  It sort of took over.

I'm pretty upset that my voice post that I did during the McCrory victory party didn't take.  I thought I told it to post publicly, but it posted privately instead.  Anyway, for those of you that don't keep up with NC politics, Pat McCrory won the Republican nomination, so he'll be running against Bev Perdue in the November election.  He's already ahead in the polls :)

The primary night party was the first actual victory party I've ever been to.  I've worked on plenty of campaigns, but I always seem to get sick -- like really REALLY sick -- pretty much the day of the election.  During the primary season in 2004, the doctor couldn't even tell what I had.  I remember she told me, "Well, it looks like the flu -- but it's not."  And it lasted for pretty much two weeks after the primary.  That November, I was so sick the night BEFORE the election that the guy I was dating at the time actually called my mother to have her pick me up at his apartment because I was so insistent on driving to Reidsville the next morning to vote and he knew there was no way I could drive safely.  I made her drive me back to Victory 2004 headquarters after voting that morning so I could spend my day calling people to remind them to vote.  I actually think I fell asleep a few times while making those calls.  As soon as I got back to my apartment, I passed out.  I missed the actual election results as well as the party, but remjte kept me updated via text messages, so everytime I woke up after having a nightmare that Kerry had won, I could just check my phone and go back to sleep in peace (believe it or not, this happened at least three times throughout the night).

Luckily, I avoided all that this year.  I made it out with no more than just a really nasty sunburn (don't even TALK to me about my tan line right now) and a bit of a hangover the morning after.  I had been a little concerned as the primary date loomed closer that it wouldn't go quite as smoothly as it did, and I asked several of my politically active friends what it's like to be at a victory party that doesn't result in a victory.  Fortunately for me, my first victory party WAS a victory party.

We took Guilford County, the county that I was focusing on, by almost 20%.  The Guilford County volunteer coordinator kept me updated throughout the night to Guilford's numbers, and when he gave me the final results, I told him, "I'm going to take full credit for this."  He laughed and said that I could if I wanted to, because he was just glad that we had done it.

I began my political hiatus the day following the primary, as you can tell by my lack of blogging.  I didn't even bother to publicize my accidentally-private final voice post (nor did I even listen to it).  I was just -- DONE.

I'm gearing up for November though.  I'm going to be getting a blog that's solely political to redirect my ncpoliticalnerd.com address to.  Any tips?  I see that a lot of people are using WordPress now, so I guess I'll look into that.  If anyone has any other outlets that they think are particularly good, I'd appreciate some insight on those as well.

Also, I got a new video camera for my birthday, so I'll be getting into the YouTube scene like I've been wanting to do for the past year or so.  Matt and I went around UNCG this weekend, and I took some video of all the crap taxpayers are wasting their money on right now, and I think they turned out really well (the videos, not the stupid crap taxpayers are paying for).  I'm attempting to figure out my new "movie-maker" software right now, so I'll post some of my work after I clean it up :)

I'm looking forward to this upcoming campaign season.  I think I'm ready.  And I think North Carolina is going to see its first Republican governor in 15 years.

Post: (results so far) mccrory 47 smith 36 with over 20% in!