musings . . .

I wish I could support Hillary Clinton for President.  Not only do I think the time has come for the USA to be governed by a woman, I think someone with her values could be very valuable to our country.  However, since she was criticised for her role (and input) in the health care reformation that the 90’s never saw through to fruition, she’s been too cooperative with the people that stand in her way.  In order for real change, which is what we need, we need someone who knows how to work with people (even ones that s/he doesn’t like and stand in the way) without being too cooperative. 

What I need from a presidential candidate are these qualities:

• passion
• a strong sense of justice for all, no matter what may make them a minority (everyone, in one way or another, fits the definition of “minority” and “majority” simultaneously, depending on what aspect of the person you look at)
• a respect for human rights and the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• a respect for international governing bodies, their rules and treaties, and other international agreements that enable peace
• fearless problem-solving; not being afraid to recognize the good qualities that other systems or societies may have while being able to incorporate some of those to fix the problems that the leader has been unafraid to recognize in our society/systems
• honesty
• the ability to admit his/her mistakes and learn from them
• a clear perception of maintaining the separation of church and state
• the ability to find new ways to make our government work for the people and new ways of involving the people in the work of the government

Okay, that’s a short list, but in no way complete.  I just don’t think Hillary can live up to my expectations.  And if the democrats did elect her to be their candidate, there’s no way she would win the election in November.  Have you seen the poll numbers on this stuff?  It’s been a while since I did, but I can’t expect them to have changed too much.  The fact is that the great majority of Americans won’t vote for someone for president unless he is a white Christian male.  The polls show that women, racial minorities, and followers of religions other than Christianity (even Catholics get less votes than Protestants) are plain unelectable.  It’s sad, but there are enough hicks out there with ideas of racial and gender superiority who just can’t vote for someone who doesn’t believe in their god.  Personally, I think they can shove that non-existent god up their asses, but what do I know?

Hillary just can’t make it, in my opinion.  But I hope that either Obama or Edwards can.

I wish I had something better to say about the recent accident that killed two students at my sister’s school, one student at another school, and left another one in the hospital.  It’s very tragic.  I’ll link you up to the news stories:

• http://blogs.jsonline.com/nichols/archive/2007/11/28/ntsb-interested-in-i-43-crash.aspx
• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22013658/
• http://www.wisn.com/news/14704785/detail.html
• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22103779/

It looks like there are some key lessons to be learned for those who haven’t learned them already:

• Wear your seatbelt at all times
• Drive at a reasonable speed that you can manage
• Concentrate on driving – eliminate distractions such as phone calls, text messages, etc.
• Teach others you know (not just your children, but everybody) the importance of safe driving
• Realize the interdependence that vehicles on the road rely on
• Acknowledge that driving is not a right, but a privilege that can be taken away in the case of abuse

 I have very little sympathy for people who don’t protect themselves.  What is the point of all the new safety features in automobiles if we’re not doing the basics to keep ourselves safe?  Most automobiles that have airbags (from the little that I know about them) require that the seatbelt be engaged in order for the airbag to deploy in the case of an accident.  That’s one more thing that may have helped to save the lives of these kids if only they would have been taking care of themselves.  I can’t help but feel that this was irresponsibility to the point of suicide.  Let’s be reasonable here.  If I put together these elements:

1. I’m getting in a car with someone behind the wheel who has the reputation of driving too fast and being a bad driver.
2. I’m not putting on my seatbelt.

 I can’t expect anyone to feel anything about my death but pity and disgust.  All I can say is that I hope others learn the lessons here.  I hope people can start to understand the fragility of human life and the responsibility that comes with the possession of a driver’s license.  Anything short of that will only serve to create more death.