The voter spin

Democrats are making a big deal right now about how they took their gerrymandering proposals to voters and Republicans did not. On the surface, this definitely makes the Democrats look good. If you look any deeper, I'm not impressed.

Venting about gerrymandering

I generally try to stay out of other states' business. What we just saw in Virginia is something that I simply can't overlook. This is quite possibly the most extreme gerrymander I have ever seen.

Celebrating death

During my school years, I ran into a lot of problems. Among them was that my teachers were consistently anti-educational, intolerant, and abusive. For the purpose of this post, I want to focus on intolerance.

The mindless senator

When it comes to intelligence and stupidity, I have been fairly open that I see things differently than most people. You can even find part of this in my list of Defining Beliefs. Nothing subjective in nature can be measured in a truly accurate and objective manner. There is no right and wrong in subjectivity, only personal opinions.

The blame game

Are the Democrats or Republicans responsible for the recent government shutdown? Technically speaking, both parties played a role, so we shouldn't look in such a binary manner. Both parties tried to pin the blame on the other.

Parital nationalizing of Intel

I'm not a writer, and I hate repeating myself. Unfortunately, Trump has convinced me that I need to go back to what I have already said about him.

Trump’s rhetoric

A while back, an official White House account posted something along the lines of, "Long live the king." They included an image of Donald Trump with a crown. Although I have plenty of issues with our current government, that doesn't mean that I want a king.

Diversity within political parties

I hate the term RINO. Republicans use this term for members of their party who don't mindlessly accept how the party dictates their votes. This is why I have been somewhat defensive of people such as Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney.

Scott Pelley's speech at Wake Forest

A lot of people have been discussing Scott Pelley's commencement speech at Wake Forest. I admittedly didn't watch the speech. I had something going in the background. I found a liberal website that posted his speech and read it.

Second Party

I hate the political party that actively lies and seeks ways to manipulate election results in their favor. This is the party that tries to overturn election results if they don't like the outcome and incites violence if they don't get their way. I'm sick of that party picking the worst candidate they can find and trying to fuel hatred and fear of the opposing candidate to win elections. I can't stand the cockiness of that party's leaders and the cult-like behavior of their followers. As a non-conformist, I also struggle with the idea that we are expected to think whatever that party tells us to think.

Tax revenue versus spending

Do you remember the one-two punch of the fiscal cliff and sequester during Barack Obama's presidency? During that time, Democrats pushed hard the idea that voters wanted to balance taxes and spending cuts as a way to address our high deficits.

The minority majority

When looking at race, white Americans are losing their majority status. I'm fine with that. What I'm not fine with is Democrats using that fact to fuel and exploit racism for the sake of political power.

Political terminology

How would you describe political views that are more characteristic of Democrats than Republicans? What about political views that are more characteristic of Republicans than Democrats? In all honesty, I have struggled with political terminology along these lines. We simply don't have good words to describe Democrat-like and Republican-like views.

Thoughts regarding the 2024-25 presidential election

Another presidential election has come and gone… sort of. Keep in mind that we technically voted for the electors rather than the president. The actual presidential election has not yet taken place. That said, I wanted to take some time to vent about some of my issues with the election.

Why religion doesn't push me towards the Democrats

I grew up in a religious family. Religion has always come off as a way to explain the unknown. Over the years, I have seen far better explanations for how everything works than some magical being. Ultimately, it seems more likely that God was a creation of man rather than the other way around.

Republicans need to reinvent their party

Republicans used to stand for a small government. Mostly, this has been more talk than anything. They frequently talk about cutting spending, but they never do.

The media's treatment of Obama and Trump

After Barack Obama was elected president, we were rocked by all kinds of scandals. Obama addressed these scandals by attacking the legitimacy. He also repeatedly pushed outright lies. Obama made it clear that he didn't run because he thought he could do a good job. He ran because he was egomaniacal. He only cared about himself. Even before the scandals, he made this clear by boasting about such things as turnout for his inauguration, which in no way measures his performance.

Democracy Summer

As someone who is deeply concerned with the state of education in the United States, I openly follow those who have substantial influence over the process. When looking at posts on X from Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, I came across a disturbing thread. It was started with the post below:

Today I joined @natldemsummer @dccc @jamie_raskin and labor lawyer Michael Anderson to have an amazing conversation with young people about the role labor and labor movements play in democracy. There is no democracy without labor and labor movements. https://t.co/hqHHX6MoQg

— Randi Weingarten 🇺🇦🇺🇸💪🏿👩‍🎓🟣 (@rweingarten) July 9, 2024

Left-right America

I have been openly critical of the left-right political spectrum. I find it ridiculous that we can identify politics that touch diverse concepts on a singular scale. A lot of this is arbitrary, and the use of this political spectrum leads people to very bizarre conclusions.

Government overreach and authoritarianism

After the COVID-19 pandemic, how did the Republicans come off as more authoritarian than the Democrats? Actually, I have some ideas. In short, our views of government overreach and authoritarianism swing wildly based on partisan convenience.