Greg Nilsen

For ages, politicians have been accused of being unscrupulous crooks.  However, voters have managed to keep from putting a known crook into office.

But that track record may come to an end.

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens [who has served 40 years in the Senate, was often quoted when he regarded the internet as a "series of tubes", and was repeatedly denounced by Obama, McCain and Palin for his conviction for failing to properly report gifts] is still in the contest for re-election.  The vote has been so close, the position has still not been decided.

And, to me, that is absolutely mind-bottling.  Here is a man who was convicted just before Election Day, is likely to be forced to resign if he does end up winning re-election, and he still got nearly 50% of the vote of his constituents.  Do they just remember who they voted for last time and do it again, or are they simply ignoring the news of his conviction?  In all honesty, it's stories like this that make people lose faith in the democratic system.

So, next time a convicted fellon decides to run for office in your neck of the woods, remember to do your due dilligence and not vote for them!

UPDATE: Thankfully, the voters did manage to keep the streak going, with Ted Stevens losing out on his re-eleciton bid.  So, maybe there is some hope after all…

You've probably heard the old business adage about the three most important factors in the success of a business:

Location, Location, Location

Similarly, in the “most important election anyone in the universe may ever experience” between McCain and Obama, there were three key factors for me:

Policy, Policy, Policy

Regardless of who gets elected, we will see change.  W just took the executive brance too far to the right for us not to see any kind of change.  The question then becomes who's policies will take us in the best direction.

Sure, I have to admit there are some qualities that made me want to vote for Obama, but in general I believe his policies are not long term solutions to our nation's problems.  A few in particular that made me wary were:

• Increasing Minimum Wage – If there's one sure-fire way to kick-start inflation, it's by upping the baseline of minimum wage.  And to increase it more than 20% over the 15% increase that will already take place in January is sheer lunacy.  This is the kind of move that will cause small businesses to close and large ones to consolidate their workforces or find workers overseas.  So what's the point in paying the least-earning more if they won't be able to find a job to work.
• Opposing School Vouchers – I believe that our public school system needs to be forced to reform, and nothing can do that like some healthy competition.  Not only will it force schools to be more efficient and effective to attract students, but it will likely lead to better pay for our teachers and attract more and better people to the profession.
• Universal Health Care – Just ask Canadians about the “benefits” of social medicine, because all I've ever heard are complaints.  When care is mandated and regulated by a governing board, there becomes less incentive to pursue new treatments and develop new medications.
• Taxes vs. Spending – While Obama's tax plan does finally cut taxes where they should be cut, I am concerned about the number of additional programs he is proposing while having less money to work with.  Can you do more with less?  It would be nice in the government, but I'm not sure that change can happen in the next four years.
• Immigration - I'm a firm believer that if you don't chip in, then you shouldn't get the benefits.  It really irks me how many children of illegal immigrants benefit from our scools when they don't pay to support them.  If they want to apply for citizenship and all that, that's fine, but no more flying under the radar and raiding the cookie jar.

In the end, I had to go with McCain because his policies are much more in line with what I believe to be in the best interest of this country.  He may be older, and he may be a Republican “maverick” (heard that too many times already) who is campaigning in the wake of a Republican president who has left a bad taste in everyone's mouth, but he's got the right ideas to take this country back to where it needs to be.  Plus, he's got a sense of humor as well.

Take it from this non-affiliated voter who voted a almost evenly split ticket this morning: Obama's plans sound great at first, but many of them just won't work when you get down to the details.

However, even if you don't agree with me, at least get out and vote!  Otherwise, you have no right to complain about anything that happens in our government for the next four years!