OpEd - My concerns for America by Jon Voight

Obama sowing socialist seeds in young people: there's nothing else I can say about it. Mr. Voight is confirming the opinion I already had. I'm glad to see that there are some reasonable people in Hollywood after all.

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Why is this election so important?

It’s not because the first black candidate is on the ballot this year. I’m sure Obama has worked very hard to get where he is, but his color and race are of no concern to me as a voter. His lack of experience and blatantly Marxist views are very important to me. McCain barely warrants comment, because he is a pale carbon copy of similar views, with Iraq being his only redeeming policy. The fact that most American voters don’t care enough to know anything beyond the latest sound byte is depressing.
The thought of Obama working with a Democrat majority in Congress is frightening. The thought of McCain compromising in the name of bipartisanship is not much better.
I always complain that Congress doesn’t accomplish anything of merit. I suddenly find myself hoping that they will accomplish even less in the future. Nothing suddenly sounds much better than the alternative. No legislation is better than bad legislation, but that has always been the case. I’m afraid that all our representatives will find themselves able to pass bills when they know they won’t have any opposition.
On the other side of the ticket, we have John McCain, whose only redeeming quality is his military service. That alone, however, is not qualification enough to be President. I absolutely refuse to forgive the McCain-Feingold CFRA. So, up until recently, I didn’t have a candidate in this election.
Now that Bob Barr is in the race, I couldn’t be more excited. Although I disagree with Barr on Iraq, we differ on minor points not significant enough to discourage my support. Also, it is the only point on which I disagree with Barr. For the first time, I have contributed to a campaign and signed up to volunteer. The following reasons will explain why I support Bob Barr.
A truly viable third party candidate is running this year. I do not buy into the wasted vote mantra of the Republicans, but it’s nice to have a candidate worthy of my vote.
I’m tired of voting for the least offensive candidate. In the past I’ve had no candidate I supported on most issues. Voting for President is not a high school popularity contest.
Most importantly, Barr supports smaller government, personal freedom and lower taxes.
The American voter as become complacent. Although I am concerned about terrorism, I am more concerned about my government and my liberty.
Barr has valid experience and supports Federalist principles. I am willing to accept that he has learned from past mistakes and genuinely means what he says. I can’t think of many politicians who live up to that standard.
The major parties have become virtually indistinguishable and won’t change until they get tossed from office.
I am very interested in the results of this election, probably more than any previous election since I started voting. It will be an interesting year. I can’t paint fast enough to get all the ideas out of my head. Barr is doing a great job breaking onto the national scene and exposing the system as broken. It’s very encouraging to see him doing so well, so early. It’s not about winning, it’s about changing the system. Raising awareness is the first step.

It’s too much trouble to find out what a candidate stands for.

This is something I was told in a recent conversation. It was delivered with a straight face – the man was completely serious. He went on to say that it’s easier to watch the campaign ads closer to the election and pick the one who sounds the best. This, essentially, is what is wrong with the American voter. Everything has become dependent on the latest sound bite, the latest promise of a handout, the best way to benefit from the system. People are lazy, they don’t care, and they want to be taken care of. It’s so much easier to blame someone else than to take responsibility, so lets put someone else in charge of everything. These are all reasons why I think Obama has a good chance of winning the election.
He has learned to master the sound bite. He is a performer of high talent, and even runs his campaign like a ringmaster or game show host. You can register to win a place next to him at the convention. The Presidency has become a popularity contest. He seems genuine, even when he changes his position to please the current audience. He inspires people. No one cares about the substance of his speeches, or the consequences of enacting his proposals.
I can’t help but wonder what is so inspiring about income redistribution. How is compulsory volunteerism different from slavery? How is diplomacy going to work against people who dream of martyrdom and the annihilation of our country? When has the government ever run a social program that didn’t become a gaping black hole sucking money and freedom from the people? Where in the Constitution does it say that the government should do these things?
The fourth of July has become just another day to barbeque, because the majority of people don’t want to be free. Freedom requires personal sacrifice, responsibility and work. No one wants to make the effort anymore. Let the government take care of it.

Change you can fear#1: Defining Obama’s Blueprint for America.

There are so many things wrong with this man’s campaign platform, I don’t even know where to start. After slogging through this repetitive and dogmatic treatise on Obama’s socialist dream for our future, I was absolutely amazed that anyone would vote for this man. I can’t believe that people have gotten so lazy that they would put this guy in office. We’re in for some hard times if Obama gets the Presidency with a Democratic majority in Congress. The only up side to the whole thing is the inspiration it has given me for a series of paintings. The level of taxes I’ll have to pay if I sell them makes me reconsider the practicality of working for myself. The days of bread and circuses are upon us, and it won’t be pretty.
The biggest concern I have with the Blueprint for America, is the economic reality of it. Since the government has no means of income other than taxes, I’m having trouble figuring out how Obama thinks he’s going to pay for it. Even if he empties his tax sheltered account in a gesture of good faith to the American people, he won’t come within a century of being close to paying for his programs. I guess some people think it sounds great to stick it to the rich because they can afford it, but there are several problems with that plan.
First, there aren’t enough rich people in the world to pay for it all. Obama wants to give everything to nearly everyone, and he’s not happy to restrict himself to Americans either. The second problem I see is that government rarely does anything well, and it always costs much more than projected.
I would say he just wants to help people, but he’s really just like any other politician on a power trip. I would say he just doesn’t realize that the numbers don’t add up. The problem is, he said he doesn’t care about the effect on the economy because he’s more concerned about fairness. I have a hard time understanding what’s fair about taking money from people who work for it. He talks about the debt of the Bush administration, but he’s promising to pile on some more. The inevitable result of wealth redistribution in the name of equality, is that everyone ends up poor.
I guess he has the messiah complex too, because I got the impression he’s going to solve all the world’s problems while he’s in office.
We keep hearing about change we can believe in, but no one has really defined what that change is going to be. We’re told that it’s okay that Obama doesn’t have any accomplishments as a Senator because he inspires people. I’m not feeling very inspired, unless you count the ideas I have for paintings about him. I have a feeling he won’t find that very inspiring, so maybe it’s an even trade. He talks about his ability to change Washington, and my ability to help him achieve that goal, but our goals are not the same. I don’t need another wealthy politician/lawyer/pompous oaf telling me that I can make a difference. I already knew that.
I prefer to have the opportunity to improve my life, rather than have the government screw it up. I don’t want to be reduced to the lowest common denominator, I want people to be responsible for themselves, whatever the consequences.
Don’t fool yourself thinking this man cares anything about your needs. He is concerned first and foremost with his own ascent to power. His ideals and their execution are the only other concern he has room for. Not your health. Not your well-being. Not your income. Not your safety. Nothing.

How big government takes, rather than gives

I recently signed up as an online activist for the Bobb Barr campaign and came across the following question on his Facebook page. What will this country become if we continue to be led by big government politicians? Now that I have had time to think on it and do a little research, I have come to a more informed conclusion in much the same vein as the reply I posted there. The following is my response:
I am voting for Bobb Barr in this election because I think he will do more to make our country and each individual within it more free than it is now. He is running on a platform of smaller government and lower taxes, the two most important issues directly affecting our lives in this country. I believe that if we continue on the path of big government handouts and regulation that we are paving for ourselves, this country will become less free and more like the countries that envy us so much for our success.
We have politicians in this country fighting to make us more like our Canadian and European counterparts, where people can't get healthcare or languish on waiting lists because of the inefficeincies of government. We have people running for office on a campaign platform that promises change with no real definition, because the change being promised always leads to the problems our friends in the third world struggle to overcome. High unemployment, food shortages, and a lower standard of living for all is the historic result of policies meant to redistribute wealth and micromanage people's actions in the name of fairness. We have people who call themselves Conservatives talking about obscene profit, refusing to address our dependence on foreign oil, and buying into global warming hysteria. Big government has the same results regardless of the point of view, or execution of ideals.
These politicians talk about fairness and equality, but their true goal is power. Even if they genuinely care about the people, they are more concerned with enacting their ideals, at any cost, than they are with truly helping the people. The result is never to bring the poor up, but to bring the rich down. The result is that we all loose something.
The best thing the government can do for the people is to do the job it was set up to do and leave the rest to the people, for better or worse. Personal freedom and free markets allow people who work hard to achieve anything. It may be callous, but people who don't care to help themselves, don't have any right to the profits of someone else's hard work. Personal freedom will allow people to achieve what no government can give them. If you think we have problems with healthcare and the economy now, wait until we start to see the results of change for its own sake.They say there's no such thing as a free lunch. If you wait around for the government to feed you on someone else's dime, you deserve the slop you will get.

What's up with this presidential race?

Is there anyone worth voting for? I don't vote Democrat and prefer not to vote Republican most of the time. The Libertarians don't have anyone this time. Ron Paul's week on defense, Huckabee seems to be a maniac whose only redeeming quality is his support for the Fair Tax. I can't vote for him because I don't think he can push tax reform through this Congress. I do think he could do some spending and nannying that would go right through. I like Thomson, but he's not making any effort. I hear good things about Hunter, but he's below the radar. I want to like Giuliani, but we disagree on major issues. Don't get me started on McCain.
Are the Republicans and everyone else trying to hand this thing over to Hillary? That's going to be a huge nightmare. You think we have problems with healthcare and the economy now, wait till she's in office with all her bed wetting liberal friends in Congress.
The American people need to wake up and realize what'sgoing on here. There ain't no free lunch, and the government will be serving slop if they get any worse.Why can't people take off the blinders and ignore the retoric?We need some serious third party action.I'd run myself, but if you haven't figured it out, I'm not a people person. I just want to be left alone. The government needs to do its job and leave the rest of us alone.

are you mad yet?

Is it just me, or does this two-party system suck? When is everyone going to wake up and realize that these career politicians are just in it for the power? I'd like to see the average joe voter wake up and tell me when a serious third party candidate is going to break through the system. I'd like the average joe voter to wake upand realize that the government isn't going to take care of them and that it's not the government's job anyway. There's a little piece of paper called the Constitution that lays out the government's job. Taking care of average joe's needs and wants is not on there. Just a couple little things called his rights and freedom.
I'd like to see the Libertarians get it together, but, like the big guys, their most prominent candidates on the national level tend to come across as wack jobs. I'll get into more specific issues on a later date.
I can't wait to stir the puddin, but I need organize a bit first. If you want a little background on my crazy politics and the art that brings them to visual reality, check out http://www.machinepolitick.com/.
Let me know what you think. Maybe you can get the ball rolling in a whole new direction.