This is it, folks. The week I go in and my four wisdom teeth come out. I am really not looking forward to this, as so many folks keep talking about how miserable and painful it is. However, at least one or two people have said it was not that bad for them. I just want the pain to be short lived, and not to have a month of infections afterward - like what happened with my shoulder surgery.
I see quite a few bloggers I read are espousing the virtues of Obama. For them, education appears to be their number one issue. I think this is good. I think education should be everyone's number one issue, as one of the best ways to uplift a society is through education. On the other hand, I feel like finding quality educators and resources can be difficult. I think I feel dumber after reading half of whatever mainstream media has put out there, and I often think it is not just the inputting of facts and information into a person's head that is important, but also teaching them how to think and question and really get down and dirty with the facts. I do not feel that is done enough.
I also do not feel Obama supporters necessarily have the high ground in the debate. I think Obama is the smarter and better candidate. However, I have trouble viewing him as better or more honest. I have pointed this out before here. I was commenting to my girlfriend last night that I think it would be really awesome if a candidate decided one year to just be completely truthful and honest with the American people and the media about what they did and did not do and what their plans actually were. It would be interesting to see if the media picked up on this and there started to be some sort of contest as to which candidate could be the most honest. Instead of having to rely on factcheck.org to tell us what the truth actually is. The worst part is that I am not sure such services work.
I was listening to a news story recently discussing some scientific studies that have been done over the years and it appears the refutation of erroneous facts does not work. Hence, if someone tells you that the administration knows that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction or that the president's economic plan will save our economy, often the subsequent refutation of those statements with facts will not change the your original opinion. In fact, conservatives end up believing the originally stated erroneous fact more vigorously when it is refuted. This heightened state of belief did not seem to occur with non-conservative participants in the study, but that may have been because the questions involved were hot button conservative questions. It is unclear. What seems to be pretty clear is that once bad facts are out there, it is really hard to unring that bell. Perhaps we should institute fines on any political figures that deliver erroneous facts. It really seems odd to me that we, as voters, do not demand more. We get Obama and we are happy. Somehow it does not seem like enough.
Has Obama lied during the last two presidential debates? Of course. Has John McCain? Absolutely. Yet, we would like to elect one of these liars into our highest public office. Because "everyone does it". It somehow just does not feel right. What, liberals have the moral highground when voting for Obama because he wants to teach children? What does he want to teach them? If you lie well enough and tell enough people what they want to hear, you too can be president? It frustrates me that this is even acceptable. Not only acceptable but there are people so fervent in their support that they will wear buttons and T-shirts promoting their favorite liar. And make no mistake about it - McCain is no better. He cheated on his wife, inflated his accomplishments, omitted important facts and has done all sorts of inappropriate things. However, I wonder if Obama's record would be any cleaner if he had been in office for thirty years.
Sorry, I wandered off the path. I guess it is all of that wisdom still stuck in my head. Don't worry, though. They swear they will take it all away this week. Although, I hear it is very painful.
I see quite a few bloggers I read are espousing the virtues of Obama. For them, education appears to be their number one issue. I think this is good. I think education should be everyone's number one issue, as one of the best ways to uplift a society is through education. On the other hand, I feel like finding quality educators and resources can be difficult. I think I feel dumber after reading half of whatever mainstream media has put out there, and I often think it is not just the inputting of facts and information into a person's head that is important, but also teaching them how to think and question and really get down and dirty with the facts. I do not feel that is done enough.
I also do not feel Obama supporters necessarily have the high ground in the debate. I think Obama is the smarter and better candidate. However, I have trouble viewing him as better or more honest. I have pointed this out before here. I was commenting to my girlfriend last night that I think it would be really awesome if a candidate decided one year to just be completely truthful and honest with the American people and the media about what they did and did not do and what their plans actually were. It would be interesting to see if the media picked up on this and there started to be some sort of contest as to which candidate could be the most honest. Instead of having to rely on factcheck.org to tell us what the truth actually is. The worst part is that I am not sure such services work.
I was listening to a news story recently discussing some scientific studies that have been done over the years and it appears the refutation of erroneous facts does not work. Hence, if someone tells you that the administration knows that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction or that the president's economic plan will save our economy, often the subsequent refutation of those statements with facts will not change the your original opinion. In fact, conservatives end up believing the originally stated erroneous fact more vigorously when it is refuted. This heightened state of belief did not seem to occur with non-conservative participants in the study, but that may have been because the questions involved were hot button conservative questions. It is unclear. What seems to be pretty clear is that once bad facts are out there, it is really hard to unring that bell. Perhaps we should institute fines on any political figures that deliver erroneous facts. It really seems odd to me that we, as voters, do not demand more. We get Obama and we are happy. Somehow it does not seem like enough.
Has Obama lied during the last two presidential debates? Of course. Has John McCain? Absolutely. Yet, we would like to elect one of these liars into our highest public office. Because "everyone does it". It somehow just does not feel right. What, liberals have the moral highground when voting for Obama because he wants to teach children? What does he want to teach them? If you lie well enough and tell enough people what they want to hear, you too can be president? It frustrates me that this is even acceptable. Not only acceptable but there are people so fervent in their support that they will wear buttons and T-shirts promoting their favorite liar. And make no mistake about it - McCain is no better. He cheated on his wife, inflated his accomplishments, omitted important facts and has done all sorts of inappropriate things. However, I wonder if Obama's record would be any cleaner if he had been in office for thirty years.
Sorry, I wandered off the path. I guess it is all of that wisdom still stuck in my head. Don't worry, though. They swear they will take it all away this week. Although, I hear it is very painful.
1 comments:
I've often wondered about a promise-checker. Candidate makes a promise and the database logs whether the promise is kept once the term in office begins.
I hope your face doesn't hurt for too long. Don't shy away from the painkillers they'll be prescribing you.
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