My buddy Alex posted this on one of his pages the other day:
I'm voting for the incumbent, but just so we're clear: the Obama administration has increased drone attacks, has advanced a horrendous foreign policy, which violates HUMAN rights, has deported the greatest number of immigrants in history, and has extended the Patriot Act, which gives the government powers to violate American citizens' human rights in this country.
So, when you go to the polls and you vote for "your man" (in my case Obama), please understand that. All of this brouhaha about women's rights/gay rights means nothing when it's superseded by an administration that has advanced violations of HUMAN rights. Human rights come first and foremost. Whether you are a person of color, gay/transgender, a woman, or an immigrant, the HUMAN rights violations umbrella will swallow you up first.
Once again, for the 10th presidential election cycle in my life, I am faced with the usual "lesser of two evils" choice. And that is, once again, beyond infuriating. Make sure you understand that the person for whom you're pulling the lever next month is still a cockroach.
While I don't agree with Alex on all points, his comments are valid and we need more like them. His points on drone strikes and the Patriot Act are spot on. I am ashamed to admit that I have all but given up on these big ticket items. You vote for the leftie guy and he acts like a rightie.~~sigh~~
Life is only so long. I can only worry so much.
But I want to point out a little thing, something specific thing that may well be effected by my vote. Last Saturday, Teresa Dixon Murray ran a Q & A about the CARD act. Therein she said:
Credit card companies are plenty ticked off that new rules that kicked in back in 2010 limit late payment fees to $25 in most cases. Before the change, the average late fee was $39. How would you like it if a certain part of your income went down by 36 percent?
Clearly, some credit card companies were out of control up to that point: They would charge late fees if your payment wasn't received by 7 a.m. Or they would charge inactivity fees for not using your credit card. Or they could increase your interest rate just because they were in the mood.
I am not one for predictions, but how likely is it that a Romney administration will plant the seeds to chip away at those regulations? Will we even hear about a quiet amendment that will raise the late payment limit, or a tiny loophole in some giant piece of unrelated legislation that will loosen up rules on raising interest rates?
Dunno, but that's one of the reasons why Obama still has my support. And if it isn't these credit card rules, what other consumer protections will a Romney administration try to erode? How hard will it be to push a few wishy-washy Dems in the Senate to go along?
It won't be be big obvious things. It will be little things. Thousands upon thousands of them. That's how the rich guys do it, folks: inflict death by a thousand cuts.
I can't stop Obama's goddamn drones, but at least I can do my best to keep him in office in order to protect us against swarming stateside sharks--and yes, dear reader, my confidence in that last assertion is only about 75 percent, give or take.
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