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I’d figure I start some election coverage since I’m all intersted in politics and everything.  Here is a rundown of who is running for president.

Democratic Candidate: Barack Hussein Obama (VP: Joseph Biden)

Republican Candidate: John Sidney McCain (VP: Sarah Palin)

I don’t know about you guys, but when I am in that voting booth tomorrow and I have that middle-name starring right back at me, I can’t help but reconsider my vote.  Seriously, who would name their kid boy “Sidney”?   Unbelievable.  That is just silly, no wonder he picked a female vice-presidential candidate.  I suppose middle-names are just reserved for rejected names.  For example, McCain’s parents thought he was going to be born a girl much like Obama’s parents thought Barack would be born an genocidal dictator (Hey! They might not be far off).

I haven’t made up who I am voting for, although I’d like to just so I can influence your decision tomorrow in the polls and for the candidates to proudly display my blog’s web address in one of their advertisements, “Wamzlee.com has endorsed us!”

I should direct my focus to the local elections.  I’ve opted to vote in Minnesota this year since I’ve lived her for the past 5 years, and politics back home rarely apply to me.  Unfortunately, I am an uninformed voter and have no clue what platform most of these candidates are on.  I know the candidate running against Jerry Mayor wants to do away with alternate side parking, but is that really an issue I want to base my vote on?  I have to admit that when the bridge closed, I was happy with the speed and quickness to handle the situation.  Although it didn’t work the best for us who work across the bridge, it was still a situation where something was better than nothing, especially when it was out of their control.

The County Commissioner post seems interesting.  I’ve been leaning towards voting for Greg Olson, although I don’t know much about him.  Joe at work says he is going to vote for him because he inspected his houses and the guy came off as a good guy.  Although I am aware of Joe’s pary-political leanings, I don’t think they play much of a part in local politics.  Also, if what is said is true about Stoltman, I definitely can’t support a candidate who takes trips to Hawaii for Commissioner meetings.  I want to live like a King too, but doesn’t mean I should.

Still up in the air with Walz/Davis, although I was thoroughly unimpressed with Davis when he showed up at the Winona County Delegate Convention.  Tim Walz has shown a willingness to vote against his party, especially on the bail-out bill that I opposed.  I don’t know why I said I am up in the air with him, Walz is a pretty damn good candidate.  Even the Republican party knows it.

Finally, the Senate seat.  The DFL picked Al Franken for their candidate.  I went to the DFL’s debate earlier this year, and I was expecting to be blown away, but was thoroughly disappointed.  The two other DFL candidates were much more impressive, although one came off too much like a politician and the other was too third-party like.  Franken?  Didn’t have anything worthwhile to say, besides telling a funny joke or two.  Not to say that Franken would make a bad candidate.  He wants to continue Wellstone’s policies, which Coleman seems to be handling in a way.  Coleman isn’t too far off from the Demoractic Farmer Labor path, as he once was affiliated with the party.  As for Dean Barkley?  Hmmm… I will take a look.

Now, for the Presidential candidates?  I can’t vote for Barack Obama.  As much as I would like to see him over McCain, I don’t think I can trust him.  He voted for the FISA bill, and he voted for the Bail Out.  What pocket is he in?  Is he in the pocket for change (see what I did there) or is he in the pocket of the big corporations?  I am quite confident it’s the latter.   As for McCain?  I don’t know….he is two-face as well.  His means will not justify the ends if he becomes President.  Take it as you will.  Some Republicans have told me that they are dead afraid of an Obama-presidency, and it seems to be the only reason to vote McCain.  I’m quite convinced that the Republican party is a bunch of scaredy cats.  One reason I like McCain being their candidate because  it gives the chance to show the extremist of the Republicans who they really are.  Hopefully a Republican loss in the Presidential race will eject these little fuckers from the party so Republicans can finally get back to what real conservatives did best: living in a pre-9/11 world.  That’s right, fuck you PFTNAC

Well, it’s less than 10 hours until voting time.  I think I better get my pen warmed up to get to the polls.

One intelligent musing that Dane Cook probably has ever uttered was “that’s not a sleep, that’s a coma” in response to people who over exaggerate, “oh, I slept like a thousand hours last night!”.  I suppose even mentioning Dane Cook has maybe lost interest for some for this post while gaining others.

These past few days, I’ve been sleeping a considerable amount, even through things.  I swear I will sleep through a gun fight….maybe I will even sleep through an Obama victory.  Or a McCain? Haha.  I caught a little bit of the debate tonight, Senator McCain seemed to be on fire.  I even got to thinking tonight as well, about how if Obama becomes president he will be the first of many things.

He will be the first president:

1.  To be of black ethnicity.

2. The first Senator since JFK to be elected.

3.  The first president to use the internet (much like FDR was the radio - read this one on digg)

4.  The first President to not have served any military service.  (from what I could find out)

Numero cuatro seems very interesting as I don’t recall a President who hasn’t served in the military since Franklin Roosevelt? I would fact check, but I am currently in a weird position in my bed that doesn’t allow me to do such things.  Forgot what they call it…oh yeah! being lazy.

Last night a classmate of mine wanted me to help him with our book we have to read and review for a class. We both didn’t read it yet, so we took it chapter by chapter. We sat in the bean-bag farm in the library, and I just passed out. I was so comfortable and the book was so boring (although it was chuck-full of sexual characteristics) that I decided to take a 15 minute nap. Well, that nap turned into an hour-long. I decided that I wasn’t being any use and just went home and gone to bed. I hate not being helpful, but I was beat from the long day.

I saw Barack Obama in La Crosse yesterday morning. I met up with my friends Greg and Jake and his girlfriend. I had hoped to hang out with them later, but I had to run back to Winona for class then work. Seeing Barack still didn’t help me make up my decision on who to vote for, but I love attending rallies such as these. You can see some pictures on my facebook album.

I really can’t adjust to cold as well as I use to. Right now I just want to bundle myself up like a little kid who can’t even move his arms (because he has so many thick clothes on!) and just lie in wake in the middle of a leaf pile.  I should get use to the cold, because I think I am falling in love with the ice.

I had a really great birthday.  I think it was my most favorite, I am glad I stayed in town.  I don’t even know where to begin. One thing for sure is I’m replying to all the facebook messages people left me.  The long journey to that goal will begin shortly!

Currently sitting in the library on a bean bag, and I must be doing it wrong because I can’t breath.  Odd I know, but since its the library any breathing I do I worry that someone will hear it and be irritated.  Paranoia?  Probably, but all I know is that if I quit breathing…I’ll die. That’s a little fact of life right there.

Went to my first Winona State football game in three years.  It was a fun time, it was misting but felt like it was perfect weather.  I promised myself I would attempt to go to a few games for recreation.  It’s too bad I will be missing the homecoming next week.  All my friends will be having fun, but I think I will have a lot of fun camping with my brother and his fiancee.  I do hope to make it back though.

Later tonight I have to meet up with my group partner so we can form our debate around the question “Does human nature make security a primary concern in politics?”.  We will argue that yes it does.  The tricky part is, I don’t see how anyone can argue against it, but hopefully we can come up with some arguments from the opposition

Packers won today.  Can’t believe the Lions came all the way back.  The play-calling on defense and offense is really questionable, which basically just gave the Lions the points.  You have to give credit to the defense for winning this one again, granted Rodgers played well and Kitna collapsed under pressure.  I actually feel bad for Jon Kitna, not just because he is on the Lions.  He has a strong desire to win, but its just not the right environment for him.  He gets too frustrated and that drastically affects his play.  Next week we see the Cowboys take on the Packers.  I have little doubt that Aaron Rodgers will perform well just like last year.  I would like to see the game as “payback”, not because they beat us last year, but because they couldn’t meet us in the NFC Championship game for a real rematch.

Spoiler Alerts!

I have my first real homework assignment due tomorrow, which requires me to read a few magazine articles. It’s for my Politics & Violence class. I am not much interested in the homework, but just increasingly more interested in the movie There Will Be Blood. The most famous and favorite scene of mine is that “I have a milkshake” at the very end of the movie. Not only is it fun to say, but also very educational. Thomas Hobbes once wrote an essay explaining that every human at their basic nature is–for lack of a better word–a savage, looking out for their own interest. For characteristics of human nature, he had described three things, one of them being competitiveness.

In the movie There Will Be Blood, the main character Daniel Plainview (played by actor Daniel Day-Lewis) cites competitiveness as his method behind his madness. Plainview succeeds with all his goals, but his own goals are what drives him crazy. He is secluded from the outside world in his own mansion, but when he discovers his son becoming a competitor, he disowns him [again]. It’s not until Eli Sunday visits again to offer a drilling partnership when I feel the movie reaches its climax.

“Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, that’s a straw, you see? You watching?. And my straw reaches acroooooooss the room, and starts to drink your milkshake… I… drink… your… milkshake! [sucking sound] I drink it up!”

Not only does Plainview do the same as Sunday had done to him, but he also reveals a bit of the anatomy of human violence instead of simply alluding to oil drilling. Why drink your own milkshake when you can drink your neighbor’s just as easily?

It’s very interesting. Competitiveness. Something I severely lack. But definitely something that should be rectified.

Some black guy.

Psyche! He will…at least there is a 99% chance he will. Apparently an ailing Ted Kennedy wasn’t going to even show up for the convention, but the place went nuts when he did. Some good entertainment, just like a good movie. For example, people went crazy when they saw Samuel Jackson show up as Nick Fury at the end credits of Iron Man, maybe some people went crazy like me when Tony Stark showed up at the end of The Incredible Hulk. But like a Hollywood motion picture, politicians are nothing but great story-tellers.

I promised a little blog post about politics, so I might as well deliver. This election year there is only one word that can really describe my feelings and involvement: apathetic. I am not hearing what I need to hear, I suppose you could say. Obama promises change, McCain promises more of the same. One thing I can guarantee about Obama is a “change of mind”. I can elaborate on that later. As for McCain, a 2008 McCain is nowhere near a 2000 McCain — that’s troublesome.

During the primary season, I became a supporter for Ron Paul. (Unlike a majority running for president, he wasn’t a fairy-teller. He told you the reality and he told you what had to be done. As of now, he is just running a campaign to get back to the Constitution and no longer seeking the presidency. I really don’t want to make this a story about Dr. Paul though.) It was early, but my friend told me that if Obama or McCain ended up being the two party nominations, he wouldn’t be able to decide. I could agree, the two were the best of both worlds. However, as of today, he is a huge Barack Obama supporter. I don’t blame him, putting the two side-by-side, Obama appears to be a much better candidate.

I’ve spoked to some staunch Republicans about their views on McCain, and even they say that McCain isn’t their favorite but they support him because simply… “he isn’t the enemy Democrat”. I even went into the history of McCain, one didn’t take too kindly to my comments about how he may have received special treatment from the Vietcong because they discovered his father was a top admiral of the Navy. I shit you not, this is what the guy asked of me, “Are you saying he is unpatriotic?”. I face-palmed myself and just saved myself from mentioning how much of a terrible pilot John McCain was to begin with (he crashed 5 planes, Come ON!)

Then there is Obama. Who can’t say great things about him? I definitely can atleast say he doesn’t have my vote. I was always told that when something is “too good to be true, it almost always is”. For example, Obama has a tendency to do a 180° on everything he believed in. Then he picked Joe Biden. Obama has been bought.

And that is why I am so apathetic. Its no so much I am fatigued by having to listen to who the media wants me to support (as my one friend had been saying. It goes further than that. It’s the lobbying, the big-money, the corporate sponsors. Barack Obama was suppose to change all that, I was told he represented the good in all of us, but even he couldn’t escape the Telecom companies.

I’ve had a few people ask me who I was supporting, but they expect a short response, so they don’t allow me enough time to explain my decision. So I just sit back and shrug my shoulders, that’s all I can do until this one is played out.

One focus I want to make my blog is probably sports. To me, sports is synonymous with the phrase “Football”. Okay, I’m only bullshitting. I have been getting into sports much more these past few years than I ever have. I wound up subscribing to Sports Illustrated all of a sudden. American football is an entertaining sport. I had a conversation with a random towney bar patron. It was during the time of the Euro Cup I was wearing my Germany team-soccer jersey when he shouted at me and told me the Netherlands would win it all. We got into the mechanics and entertainment between soccer and football. By George, he was right. Not that the Netherlands would win, but that American football is a far more interesting sport than soccer. He boiled it down to that fact that the strategy and play is predetermined before the ball is even snapped. Sure there is some strategy to soccer, but falls way short of the team-effort of an American football team. I would entertain this thought a bit longer, but I am sure some friends of mine would whole-heartedly disagree with me.

Right now I am looking forward to the NFL regular season. The Green Bay Packers are looking questionable, and not because Brett Favre isn’t under center. The defense is really in trouble. I had previously wrote in disgust that they tried “bribing” Favreback in retirement, but it turned out that things weren’t being handled that way. Speaking of Favre, I actually read an interesting quote on the front of USAToday, refering to Hilary Clinton.

“Sometimes dealing with the Clintons is like dealing with Brett Favre, They’re very good players and they’ve got a great record, but sometimes you’re not sure what they really want.” - Leon Panetta, Clinton’s former White House chief of staff

Funny.  I will have to make a post about politics later!