NevadaBrad

I finally did it. I took myself down to the county offices and changed my voter registration. I am now registered as an NP.

This is not the first time but it will be the last time until something drastic changes. I originally registered as an R right out of high school and voted in my first election five months later. My dad was a D, so I don’t remember how I ended up an R.

So, I first changed my registration in 2001 after the election of George W. Bush. I strongly supported him and was giddy when he won (yes, he was elected and not selected). One of the first things he tried to do was shove amnesty down our throats. I was so disgusted by this that I changed to an IA. The tragedy of 9/11 happened shortly after that and a lot of things changed. The Ds became very mean and hateful and seemed to quickly forget that our status as Americans came before our political affiliation. Partisan politics resumed and the vile things that came from the Ds was so offensive to me that I re-registered as an R to show support for President Bush.

As President Bush’s second term rolled along it became clear that his values were not quite in step with the people of this country. He again started pushing for amnesty and then saddled us with Medicare reform that only caused our hole to become deeper. As a capstone, near the end of his presidency he pushed for the original economic stimulus plan. Everyone seemed to know that it was a bad idea, but he pushed for it anyway. Then our supreme leader, President Barack Obama, came into office and continued the policies of President Bush.

It is clear that both major political parties are out of touch with the people of this country. I have chosen to shed my R because I’m tired of choosing the lesser of two evils. I can readily admit that President Bush made some major errors. I am further disgusted by news of John Ensign’s affair. I refuse to argue that he has done well for Nevada even though he has made such an egregious error in his personal life.

This is my challenge to any Ds that may be reading this: Admit that our supreme leader, President Barack Obama, has been a failure. Quit supporting his outrageous policies and hold him accountable in the same way that you would hold an R accountable. Hold Senator Reid accountable that same way you have held John Ensign accountable for his mistake. Finally, quit complaining about people in the townhall meetings and support them the same way you supported those who protested President Bush throughout his presidency.

Stop letting Washington pit everyone against each other! I’ve taken a step and I hope everyone reading this will find a way to take a step for themselves. There is no better time to start cleaning out Washington than now.

I find it interesting that during Bush’s two terms most of the critical comments made toward President Bush centered around his ability to speak, his intelligence, his supposed dodging of military service and so on. There were a few attacks that could be argued legitimately, such as the war in Iraq; however, this constituted the minority of attacks on President Bush. Now that Obama is in office the exact same attacks continue on the man that is no longer president.

For example, while cruising Facebook I recently viewed a picture of Barack Obama talking on a cell while walking across the tarmac. One person commented on the photo as follows: “So thankful we elected a president who not only can communicate in complete sentences, but knows how to use a cell phone!”

Right-wingers have attacked Obama on matters of substance with very few attacks lowering to the level of malicious and unfounded personal attacks. Yet again, the left and the right set themselves apart. While the left spent eight years calling Bush a bumbling idiot (a tactic which was not eliminated, just shifted to Sarah Palin), our current president is trying to fundamentally change our country by destroying everything good that America stands for. And the left has nothing to say about that. In fact, they can’t wait to help.

What’s more, the left constantly demanded records on Bush’s military service, univeristy transcripts and more. They jumped on the forged documents like they were candy because they were so eager to have some dirt on the president. If I remember correctly, I don’t think it took even 24 hours for the documents to be proven false. When Bush’s university transcripts were finally released, lefties dropped the subject fast because it showed that Bush (the “dummy”) actually had higher scores than John Kerry (the “intellectual”).

Now, when a legitimate question about Obama’s citizenship comes up they refuse to press the matter. If Obama is a citizen, simply release the birth certificate and end the debate. The continued denial and secrecy about the matter only makes President Obama look guilty.

While the right generally seeks to hold both sides accountable, the left will support any corrupt politician on their side and denounce any opposed. If we could work together instead of divided, we wouldn’t be in the mess we are now. We aren’t going to get out of this mess until those on the left recognize Obama for what he is.

It’s time to weigh-in on Obamacare. I speak with a little bit more experience than a lot of people because a) I lived in Canada for a couple of years and b) I experienced their health care firsthand on three different occasions. I can say from experience that socialized health care is LAME.

I could go on all night about this, but I’m going to try to keep it simple. Because it’s always a pleasure, I’ll start by pointing out yet another example of Democrat inconsistency, if not outright hypocrisy. During a press conference I saw one lady who talked about how her life is in ruins and she has lost almost everything because of cancer. She only had “hit by a bus” insurance, not cancer insurance. Every time I’ve heard a democrat talk about health care they talk about cancer. They like to talk about how much treatment costs and how awful it is. All of this is certainly true and I agree completely. My issue is that, as near as I’ve been able to tell, the United States spends about twice as much every year on AIDS research as they do on cancer research. I would think that bringing some of the AIDS money back to the US to work on cancer research would certainly help to lower costs and perhaps even find a cure. It just seems strange to me that we would spend so much more on a disease that is primarily spread through lifestyle decisions and spend less on a disease that mercilessly attacks innocent children. Democrats are the champions of fighting AIDS until they want socialized health care and then they are the sworn enemies of cancer.

Back to Canada! The things I heard most from Canadians were that taxes to pay for “free” health care were outrageously high, the best doctors didn’t stay in Canada – they moved to the United States and abuse of the system is rampant. I knew one person who regularly went to the emergency room to complain of a headache so that he could get Tylenol 3 (contains codeine).

As for my own experiences, I had surgery there after catching a foot in the face and having my nose broken. I saw a doctor and had the surgery completed without any issue. I really have nothing bad to say about the experience other than I wish I wouldn’t have been kicked in the face (it was an accident). I think the care was better because I’m American and they were getting paid with American dollars. My other experience occurred when I got an ear infection. The pain was so excruciating that I didn’t think there was any way that I could tolerate it. I was living second by second. I’m probably just a wuss, but it hurt. I went to the emergency room and there were at least 40 other people waiting for care. One guy had cut off one of his fingers, but because it wasn’t a “life threatening” injury he had to wait in line. After many hours I finally made it to the table. The person before me was seated on the other side of the curtain and I could hear his conversation with the doctor. This guy had come to the emergency because he twisted his ankle. While I’m there thinking I’m going to die, I have to listen to the doctor tell the guy to try not to walk on it, wrap it up, try to keep it elevated, blah, blah, blah.

This experience helped me to understand why Canada has such tight gun control laws. I can’t imagine people having to deal with that while they’re packing. Anyway, my ear drum ruptured while I was listening to this drivel, curled up on the table, blood running down the side of my head.

It seems obvious that we need to deal with the legal side of health care, not the medical side. Class-action lawsuits and frivolous malpractice suits need to be stopped. Take care of the legal problems with health care and you will have made the best health care system in the world even better.

Some may have noticed the lack of posts on NevadaBrad mentioning our supreme leader, President Barack Obama. This is deliberate. I only mention him now for a few reasons. 1) to explain why I don’t mention him, 3) to ponder on a question I can’t seem to answer and 3) because Rush said something about Obama that I found interesting.

It often appears that the America I love is dissolving before my eyes. There are few leaders in Washington that represent the people. Heaven knows Harry Reid is only looking after his own interests. (Speaking of, the election is coming up – expect to start hearing about Yucca Mountain soon.) Obama is actively working to destroy everything that made this country great since the beginning of its history. I don’t think Obama thinks he wants to destroy America, but he certainly doesn’t want America to the be sole super-power. If you’ve ever read Skousen’s The Naked Capitalist, you can easily imagine that Obama is the leader that has been in the making since long before FDR. It is frustrating and I can’t find anything to joke about. I understand the frustration people may have had about George W. Bush, but BDS was just wacky. I won’t resort to the silly tactics of those who despised George W. Bush. I have simply decided to let my blog watch from the sidelines as much as possible. In a nutshell, that’s why I just don’t mention him when I can help it.

My question is this, and I sincerely would love to have an answer: How is it that the same people who constantly joke about Bush being a bumbling idiot now think that Obama is the greatest orator of all time? At best, Obama is predictable and boring when reading the teleprompter. Without the teleprompter he sounds like the new guy at Toastmasters. Worst of all, when you can actually understand what he is talking about it is absolutely terrifying. As an example, consider his statements on Israel. Or consider that he immediately issued a statement about the murder of an abortion doctor, but only issued a statement on the murdered soldier several days later after being embarrassed by talk radio. Obama certainly has nothing on Bush when it comes to speaking. I feel like I’m living in bizarro world.

Finally, Rush Limbaugh was on Hannity recently and made the following comment: “If al-Qaeda wants to demolish the America we know and love, they better hurry, because Obama is beating them to it.”

Later in the show, during the Great American Panel segment, a democratic strategist (I wish I could remember his name)  explained his problem with Rush’s comment. He said he disagreed with Rush’s analysis because  he felt that Rush was comparing Obama with the terrorists. This seems to be the main complaint against Rush for making this statement. I happen to love Rush’s comment because it’s true and it touches on a deeper problem, which obviously didn’t occur to our democratic strategist. The intent doesn’t matter – the results do. If al-Qaeda destroys America because they hate us or if Obama destroys our country because he thinks he’s helping people, at the end of the day the country is destroyed.

Suppose someone were to kill a member of your family. The brakes in their car failed and they hit your family member as they were crossing the street. Are you okay with this since it was an accident? Would you be less angry if they were maliciously murdered? You may have some sympathy in the first instance, but ultimately the result is the same and you will most likely feel the same type of suffering either way.

Rush’s scenario is essentially the same. Rush regularly says that with liberals it’s always the intent that matters and not the result. Obama is proving that idea once again.

The stimulus was a failure and failed to accomplish anything it was meant to do and yet we’re forging ahead with health care. The best government does a horrible job running itself – Obama’s government has already shown – and will continue to show – what the worst government will do.

So, there it is. Why I don’t talk about Obama.

I like Monopoly , but generally I don’t have the time nor enough interested friends to break out the board game on a regular basis. I usually play video game versions, which offer two significant advantages. First, you can blast through a full-blown game in 30-45 minutes. Second, you can be absoutely ruthless and don’t have to worry about offending the computer players.

Electronic Arts is the creator of the newest video game version of Monopoly, which I acquired a while back for the Wii . Unless you can pick it up for one or two bucks at a garage sale I wouldn’t bother purchasing this one. The game play is horrible and it just isn’t fun at all. If you want a fun video game version of Monopoly then grab Monopoly Party for Gamecube or PS2. ANYWAY, this isn’t a video game review, so let me get back on topic…

Born of the Great Depression, Monopoly is basically a caricature of capitalistic ideas. Now, EA has corrected that problem. Although EA’s Monopoly is horrible, they added a version of the game called the "Richest Edition", or as I call it, the "Obama Edition". In this version of the game, every time someone lands on a Community Chest space, the poorest player gets to take properties – including whole monopolies – away from the winning players. Additionally, the winning players are always put at a disadvantage when playing mini games as the start of each round. Often, the best strategy is to stay behind the other players so that you can be awarded all their property as the game goes on.

As frustrating as it is to always have your winnings taken away and given to the players who are not very good, it must be truly maddening to have this happen in real life. If nothing else, the game gives you a good taste of what life under Obama will be like. If Obama has a heart, he’ll take my Monopoly game away and redistribute it to someone else.

Polls these days suggest that there are still somewhere between five and eight percent of the population that hasn’t decided on who to vote for.

Let me make this easy for you. Do NOT vote for Bob Barr! It’s true that you probably agree more with Bob Barr than John McCain; however, voting for Bob Barr will only create a repeat of the 1992 election in which Ross Perot handed the election to Bill Clinton.

All kidding aside, I understand that none of the undecideds are considering Bob Barr. Even though I agree with  much of what Bob Barr says I could never throw my support behind a candidate that aligns himself with the Libertarians . But that’s a subject for another post. The real issue is more serious.

How can a person be undecided? The differences between McCain and Obama are dramatic. I certainly don’t want to get into a lengthy discussion of all the differences but I would like to point out just a few of the obvious ones. Or at least the ones that matter most to me.

• Abortion – Obama has even argued for murdering children born after unsuccessful abortions (more on this later)
• Income redistribution
• Personal Responsibility

Whenever I hear someone from the Obama campaign (or any other Obama supporter) get asked about Obama’s support of infanticide they always say the same thing: “Oh, come on! Do you really believe Obama wants to kill babies?” They never deny it and they cannot dispute it. Although not exhaustive, FactCheck.org provides a reasonable introduction to the discussion. Even if this is inaccurate (which I don’t believe it is), the fact of the matter is that Obama’s stance on abortion is appalling.

I’m a little confused that there are so many people with either missing or broken moral compasses (another topic for an upcoming post). If you believe in life, freedom and all the other wonderful things the United States has to offer then you only have one choice. No matter how hard it is to put a check mark next to McCain’s name.

Until recently I haven’t had a strong opinion about who should win the Republican nomination. It seems that much of the debate surrounds the question, “Who can beat Hillary?”

Let me say this: If McCain wins the nomination then it doesn’t really matter whether we beat Hillary or not.

If Mike Huckabee didn’t make me a Romney supporter, then John McCain sure did. Huckabee looks rational and smooth on the surface, but he has shown his tolerance for attacking the Mormon faith as a way to try to gain support in the South. Whether slandering Mormons personally or allowing others to do his dirty work, Huckabee shows that he truly embraces the beliefs that so many Baptists share. This is certainly not who you want to have in the office of the President. What will be his first action? To reinstate the “extermination order“? This is ridiculous, of course, but it’s a good example of what happens when people with extremist views come into political power. Huckabee seems to be sinking like a lead weight, so the discussion is superfluous anyway.

Although the continuing failure of Mike Huckabee seems natural, the rise of Senator McCain seems entirely unnatural. Besides his anger management issues, he seems to regularly speak before thinking. He also seems to support some pretty crazy ideas. While I give him full credit for his stance on abortion and the war, I think he’s way off in areas of immigration, free speech and tax cuts. The issues of the war and abortion are more important than the other issues but I don’t believe McCain offers anything that Romney doesn’t.

As I’ve written previously, I have a problem with the fact that Romney was previously pro-choice; however, he has stated repeatedly that he is now pro-life and his record supports that claim. As for the war, I believe Romney will do just as well as McCain at fighting the terrorists. In fact, I think Romney’s demeanor is an asset compared to John McCain’s Howard Dean-esque style.

McCain has a few strengths, but he has an overwhelming number of weaknesses. He is no friend of the Republican party. If he wins the nomination then I don’t care who wins in November. Hopefully McCain can count on the Democrats and independents, because with Hillary or Obama as the other choice I probably just won’t vote…