*UPDATE* This entry (slightly modified) will be in the Sept. 7th Spectator! "Would You Like A Protest With That?"

As most of you know, the Republican National Convention has descended upon New York City. And with the convention comes the protestors, as many as half a million, in fact. On Sunday, the biggest protest, organized by "United For Peace and Justice," took place as protestors marched from Union Square Park up to Madison Square Garden, where the Convention is taking place.

I decided that instead of watching protest highlights on the nightly news, or having to tell my friends, "Well, yes I was a few miles away from the protests, but...," I decided to go on downtown and check out the action for myself. Just to clarify, I did not protest, because I find myself lying somewhere in the middle of the political spectrum, not completely agreeing with the current administration, but not irascibly opposed to it either.

I enjoyed many of the signs, such as this one

or this one


But there actually is a point to this blog. After standing outside for a couple of hours, I decided to go into the McDonalds behind me, get a bite to eat, and watch the protest from the second floor. I brought up my Chicken McNuggets meal, and sat in front of a big glass window overlooking the festivities. As I took out my camera, I was told by the manager that we weren't allowed to take pictures from the restaurant. I asked the lady eating next to me why this was, and she just replied "That's their policy, you can't take pictures." The manager reiterated this, but in a more curt fashion, simply restating, "No pictures."

I still cannot figure out why pictures are not allowed to be taken, aside from them worried that too many people would try to take pictures from the store, and overcrowd it, which seems unlikely since most spectators weren"t taking pictures, and very few were in the McDonalds. What irks me is the blind acceptance of absurd rules. Outside people were standing up for their beliefs, shouting and sweating, some risking arrest, while inside people were simply being told what they could or could not do, and did not ask twice.

While taking pictures from a McDonalds may not be the biggest problem facing Americans today, the attitude of the lady next to me seems to seems to be a microcosm of many Americans, from all over the political spectrum. Even some of those protesting may fit into this category. Because they are so bent on getting President Bush out of office, they consistently have a violent reaction to anything the President may say. It doesn't matter what policy he proposes, it must be wrong. But this attitude is, in truth, just as dangerous as readily accepting what an authority says.

The problem today seems to be that a "conservative" will always go along with the Conservative Platform, instead of actually thinking about each policy, and deciding if the policy seems agreeable. Similarly, a more Liberal person will hear that same policy and automatically dismiss it as a bad policy.

As we near the November elections, just keep in mind what a candidate actually says, instead of looking at the name of the party next to his or her name. Even if you know you're a Liberal, a Conservative, a Libertarian, or an Independent, think about what each candidate actually stands for, challenge even your favorite candidate, and be sure you know what goes along with casting that ballot or pulling that lever.

Dubya's Blog

Though my blog is obviously ridiculously important, it may not be the most important blog in the country. CIA Asks Bush to Discontinue His Blog.

An amusing article, but there is something horribly wrong with the picture in the article

give up?












Macs are for smart people.

Ok, I feel trite for taking a low-blow at Bush, no better than any liberal, tie-die, hippie, going on and on about Bush being horrible and stupid, and since his grammar is improper, it logically follows that his foreign policy is fallacious. The problem with this argument is that it's convincing only "Northeast/university-educated/Starbucks" liberals to hate Bush, and it makes his base, Midwestern-types, love him more. They (his base (don't want a dangling pronoun in there, have to watch my grammar in this entry)) don't care at all about intelligence; it (intelligence) has nothing to do with being an effective leader. All that matters is being trustworthy, genuine, and "a good guy."* (This frame of mind is epitomized by an instance my 10th grade history teacher told the class about, in which he was building a second house in a small town in Maine and was lent $30,000 in lumber because he had a solid handshake.) In fact, the fact that liberals put so much importance on intelligence makes Bushies hate them even more.
So, when you're driving through Kentucky, stopped at a gas station, purchasing some beef-jerky inside the store, and you and Buck get into a discussion about the upcoming election, don't bring up the latest "Bushism;" instead, point out that job creation is at its lowest point since Bush took office, about 7 million jobs behind his initial 6 million job goal. You can also point out that the last President to say that the economy is “taking a turn” was President Hoover, and we all know how well the economy did after that turn.

*Granted, Bush does not possess any of these characteristics, but that's another issue entirely.

Feel free to leave any comments, especially grammatical corrections; I wouldn't want to be mistaken for the leader of the free world.