BENGARLAND!com

In no particular order, here is my list of things that Obama understands, but that McCain (and the entire GOP) seem to either not understand, or just conveniently ignore:

I believe in the separation of church and state and the principles that this country was founded upon. Religion has no place in government or education. The world is not 6,000 years old. There is no such thing as intelligent design or creationism. You’re a fucking idiot if you think that, because science has proven you wrong using 1,000 different metrics (fossils, radiocarbon dating, ice cores, Gregor Mendel, just to name a few). Also, what’s the deal with opposition to stem cell research? They are CELLS. Not babies. Stop being a neanderthal idiot, these things can help save lives!

I believe in the separation of power for the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The president is not a king or “the decider”. It is his job to listen to congress because they represent the will of the people. He should pick the best and most qualified persons to lead government agencies — not an unqualified friend, family, or business partner to whom he owes a favor (hello, Bush administration). [See: Michael Brown, longtime chairman of the International Arabian Horse Association, whom Bush appointed to lead FEMA. Like I said… WHAT? And that’s just one example.]

I don’t think the government has a right to tell me or my friends what we can and can’t do, within reason. This includes smoking marijuana, gay marriage, abortion. If it makes me happy and doesn’t negatively impact your life, who are you to tell me I can’t do it? Isn’t that what true freedom is anyway? It infuriates me how Republicans say “I don’t want the government to tell me what doctor to go to!” when discussing healthcare, yet it’s ok in their eyes for the government to tell a gay couple that they can’t enjoy the same rights as everyone else. If it doesn’t affect YOU, why the hell do you care?

I believe in the middle class, workers’ rights, and a fair wage. It is a travesty that most of our manufacturing capacity and untold billions of dollars have gone overseas to China and elsewhere instead of investing at home in American hard work and ingenuity. Don’t you just love the Republican hypocrisy that says Cuba is such an evil communist dictatorship, but hey, China? Let’s send them all of our money, no problem. It’s not like they aren’t building one of the fucking biggest, most well-disciplined, militaries in the world, right? I fear that this will bite us in the ass sooner than later.

I believe that everyone, no matter what their status, has the right to affordable healthcare. It’s no different than the right to an education, yet nobody complains that the government taxes us to pay for schools. Just because you aren’t a millionaire, or aren’t lucky enough to have a job with good benefits, doesn’t mean you don’t deserve the chance to fight cancer. My mom died of cancer, after being able to give it a good fight… thankfully she had good healthcare because she was a teacher — but what if her situation was different?

I believe that the the United States is in a perilous position with its addiction to oil. We needed to have most of our energy come from alternative sources yesterday, but nobody listened to Jimmy Carter. Now we’re in trouble. The last thing we need to do is waste more time drilling for the tiny few drops that are out there, that wouldn’t be in the marketplace for 10-15 years anyway (you can’t build oil wells and infrastructure overnight). The writing is already on the wall. We are running out of oil, whether it is in 5, 10, or 15 years. Conservation and alternative energy sources are the future, so why not make the future, today?

I believe in public transportation, New Urbanism, biking, and train rides. Cause it all beats living in a desolate, cookie-cutter, suburban neighborhood and being dependent on driving dozens of miles to work everyday. Cars are loud, traffic sucks, you’re polluting the air that you breathe, and you’re not exercising or being productive. Trains are quiet, you can work, read, walk around, sit down to eat, and talk to strangers. Bikes are nonpolluting, good exercise, and fun. Living in a place where you have your school, grocery store, movie theater, restaurants, bars, greenway trails, and a nature park and lake within walking distance RULES — and I don’t even live downtown. I seriously fail to understand why so many people just choose to accept the crummy places where they live instead of insisting that their city or federal government do something about it.

I believe the environment and planet Earth is not here for us to treat like a garbage bin. Unless you’re just a backwards nutjob who doesn’t believe in science, you know something must be done about global warming. But what steps have YOU personally taken to mitigate your contribution to it? Laura and I are doing all we can. We recycle everything and even petitioned our apartment complex to install bins, we bought a Prius (50 MPG) and drive it only once or twice per week, we ride our bikes to the farmer’s market and grocery store, we ride Amtrak when possible, we installed a shut-off valve on our shower so we don’t waste water while shaving, we do the “if it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down” the toilet, to name a few. These are SIMPLE things to do and they DO add up. You just have to decide to do it and not look back. I took the Earthday Carbon Footprint Calculator and scored a 3.1, the lowest score in my Permaculture class. What are you doing and what’s your score?

I believe the military is a necessity but primarily as a defense measure only. We must openly communicate with those whom we have disputes, and those that threaten us directly, using military action as a last resort. We used to be the most revered nation in the world. Now we’re a disgrace. There’s a reason that the Middle East hates us, and it’s not “freedom” it’s “imperialism”. Look it up. Honestly though? I can’t say for sure, but it seems to me that if Al Gore were president we would have found bin Laden and gotten it done with in less than a year. Iraq was a diversion by the Bush administration. The Republicans don’t really care about the terrorists. They just want to scare the shit out of you so you’ll vote for them. They want to start wars that reward their buddies at KBR and Halliburton with billion dollar contracts. They want to flush our national treasury down the drain, instead of keeping our money here at home where we can invest it in education, health care, alternative energy, and public transportation — things that matter (or will soon) to most Americans. I guess if you’re the party for the rich, by the rich, you don’t care, because after all when you’re filthy rich you can buy all of the gas, health insurance, and college education that you want.

I believe in organic food, permaculture, small family farms, and sustainable farming practices. Conventional farming wastes unbelievable amounts of energy and water, gives us sub-par quality food, destroys our health, and pollutes the environment. Organic farmers have the right to be on a level playing field with the large megafarms. We should be able to buy unprocessed, unpasteurized, fresh milk and cheese (there goes the government telling me what I can and can’t do, ostensibly for my health, but really to promote megafarms who can afford to send milk through a factory).

I believe everyone deserves a chance at a good education, not just those who live in affluent areas of the country or who are fortunate enough to afford it. That kid in the ghetto, she might be the next Einstein — but you won’t know if you don’t give her a chance. College tuition has gotten out of hand as well. The government should provide college education for free to those that deserve it (good grades, community service, etc) because in the end, a smarter citizen will get a better job, make more money, contribute more to society, and eventually pay it all back in taxes anyway.

I believe that the Democrats fight for the middle class — people, not corporations. The Republican motto seems to be “If you’re rich, you’re with us. If you’re not: Fuck you.”

Like McCain said during his acceptance speech:

I fight for Americans. I fight for you. I fight for Bill and Sue Nebe from Farmington Hills, Michigan, who lost… (APPLAUSE) … lost their real estate investments in the bad housing market.

That’s right, John McCain fights for people who lost their real estate INVESTMENTS. Not for people who, you know, actually lost their home.