You Can't Make Mistakes.

An open letter to the state of Indiana

This blog has not yet endorsed a presidential candidate from the Democrat Party, and this blog will not endorse a presidential candidate from the Republican Party. Sorry, Republican readers. Some of my best friends are Republicans, I just can’t vote for one. Maybe we will discuss that one day, but for now, I will leave it at that.

Back to the point, no endorsements have been made. Here is why:

Today I was watching the American news on the satellite and saw coverage of Senator Clinton’s victory in Pennsylvania yesterday and then her move directly to Indiana to campaign like crazy there. During this coverage, there was an out-of-context segment show in which Senator Clinton was shown with hands raised emphatically punctuating her words, “… because I LOVE Indiana.”

I, frankly, find this hard to believe. And don’t you believe it either, Indiana. She is probably just buttering you up like all the others. I mean, how many states can you really love. Where is the loyalty, the devotion, the dedication? I am a one-state guy myself. Don’t get burned, Indiana. Don’t feel pressured to do something that you are not ready to do, just because she says she loves you.

The same goes for that Senator Obama as well. I know that this is a time of experimentation and alternative choices, and if you feel like you really want to swing toward the Obama camp, don’t worry: I won’t judge you and I won’t love you any less. I just want you to keep your options open and not be too hasty in making decisions when it comes to doing something that will have such a profound effect upon you. Also, don’t worry about what other people say about you, Indiana. They are just mean and unfulfilled because they got burned by Senator Clinton.

On the other hand, Sentaor Clinton may have seen something in you that changed her. She may be ready to settle down and love only you. It’s a tough one.

Just take your time, think about it, and remember that no matter what you decide, I will still support you.

One last thing, I want to thank you again, Indiana, for always being there for me when I need to take a pee-break before getting on the Skyway into that unreasonable neighbor of yours. You have always been there for me and never let me down.

Yours truly,

John Martin

Is there anything he can’t do?

Thanks to Michael Fountain for bringing this gem to my attention. It is superb.

What will Obama do?

What would you like Barack Obama to do if he is elected President?

I am not going to write about what is going on in Gaza right now, except to say that I believe it to be unjust. It would be considered unjust by the world community if it were happening anywhere else, to anyone else.

Rather, here are some of the thoughts of the people whose commentary I read. Perhaps they will be of interest to you.

In Two Hours All of the Gaza Strip Will Sink into Darkness Completely – Mona Elfarra

Israeli Atrocity on Gaza Citizens – Juan Cole

I hope that we all stop to ponder this in those ephemeral moments when we stop worrying about which talking-puppet might or might not be elected president in more than half a year.

Clap your hands for the President?

Earlier, I was explaining to Jeff the differences between the caucus system and the primary election system. His comment: “They need an applause-o-meter to count the size of the group.”

I think he is right. Modern technology shouldn’t replace systems like this: it should augment them. So, now that we have sophisticated noise-level monitoring devices, we should put them to good use and deploy them in the selection of out elected officials.

Imagine the possibilities. Someday, we can have a 100% voter turn out rate by simply having the entire nation clap their hands in response to the TV. We can monitor the noise of clapping hands in the same way that we already monitor people through covert domestic surveillance methods, et voila: presidential election.

Any suggestions for how we can streamline the electoral process in the United States?

It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about anything anymore.

Though Benazir Bhutto came under a great deal of scrutiny during and after her two stints as Prime Minister of Pakistan, for corruption and for not fulfilling campaign promises, the fact still remains that she was the first woman to serve as Prime Minister in a Muslim country. As a resident of a country which prides itself on being modern and on the forefront of democratic systems of government, and yet has still not had a woman president, I find this to be a pretty decent accomplishment.

At the end of the day, it is really tragic. Her father was assassinated. She herself was imprisoned previously. None of the pro-women reforms that she attempted to make as Prime Minister were ever implemented because of political pressure from the rest of the government. Juan Cole likened the Bhutto family to the Kennedys in his article yesterday. It is a decent analogy. They Kennedys, for all their foibles, were symbols to Americans. In the same way, Benazir Bhutto was a symbol not just to Pakistanis, but to women, Muslims, and people living in politically and socially restrictive states the world over.

Unfortunately, Bhutto will not be remembered for anything that she did: good or ill. She will now only be remembered for having been killed by extremists, ironically as she once supported the advancement of another group of extremists in Afghanistan: the Taliban.

Whether you agree or disagree with Bhutto’s policy decisions 15 years ago, before a self-imposed exile from Pakistan, it is difficult to see her death as anything but tragic. Her untimely demise will be this month’s placard for the pigeon-holing of Muslims as extremists and terrorists. This is as bad as simply forgetting about the murder entirely. There is, however, little chance of this. Now, and for the immediate foreseeable future, her death will be used and abused by everyone from United States politicians to Pakistani party leaders to the men who plotted her murder for their own spin and manipulative plotting.