Obama's energy plan

Obama: New Energy for America

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050
• Eliminate the need for Middle-Eastern and Venezuelan oil in ten years
• Get 25% of electricity from renewable sources by 2025

These are the goals of Democratic nominee for president Barack Obama. They are lofty and some say they are impossible. They forget, though, what can happen when a strong president commits his country to a goal. In 1961, John F. Kennedy announced that America would attempt to land on the moon in less than ten years. Just eight years later his impossible goal was realized.

Let's forget the loftyness of Senator Obama's energy goals. In America, anything is possible. Instead, let's focus on some of the most exciting parts of Obama's energy plan.

Advanced Vehicles

Obama's plan is very strong on advanced, fuel-efficient vehicles. As part of his goal to eliminate the need for foreign oil, Obama will attempt to make hybrid cars a reality for the typical American. He will create a $7,000 tax credit for purchasing advanced vehicles. The starting price for a Toyota prius is $21,500. After this tax credit, the effective price of a Prius would be $14,500. Undoubtedly, this will boost sales of advanced vehicles. He also plans to stimulate the development of plug-in hyrbrid cars by converting the entire White House car fleet to plug-in hybrids, as well as dedicating half of federal car purchases to plug-in hybrids. Obama also promises to increase fuel economy standards nationwide.

Cap and Trade

Cap and trade systems are seen as one of the best solutions to lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Cap and trade worked for acid rain, and now Obama wants to make it work for energy. Under such a system, the government caps the amount that all companies collectively are allowed to emit. Then, each company is given a proportionate amount of credits. Companies can trade emission credits, so companies who are cleaner benefit because they can sell more of their emissions credits. This system is prooven, and it is exciting that Obama wants to implement it. This is how Obama plans to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050.

Job Training Programs

If the economy is going to grow along with new technologies, our workers need to be trained in these technologies. Barack Obama will provide federal funding for programs which train workers in clean technologies. Not only this, the programs will also teach energy efficiency to youth.

Domestic Oil and Natural Gas

Barack Obama pledges that his administration would persue oil drilling in Montana and North Dakota. He also supports natural gas pipelines in Texas and Arkansas, as well as prioritizing construction of a natural gas pipeline in Alaska. Such a pipeline could provide up to seven percent of America's natural gas consumption.

Energy Efficiency

Barack Obama promises to make all new federal buildings zero-emissions by 2025. His plan is strong on energy efficiency throughout the country. He also wants to weatherize one million low-income homes every year, a move that would reduce the energy consumption of all those homes. He believes that investing in Americas infrastructure will also increase efficiency, such as investing in new grid technologies and fixing roads and bridges.

Energy synergy

Today I am going to focus on energy. Much like immigration, energy is one issue that McCain and Obama both agree on in many ways. Both candidates believe in expanding domestic natural gas and oil. Both candidates believe in researching clean coal, and both plan incentives and funding for newer, cleaner technologies.

(Opinion alert)

No matter who gets elected, America will begin an energy makeover which will last throughout the century. This is something that every American can be excited about. So, I will be taking a different approach today while I look at each candidate's energy plan. Rather than comparing and contrasting the plans or looking for the pros and cons on each plan, I will praise both. I want to look at both plans and point out the parts of each that excite me the most.

First I will look at Barack Obama's plan, then John McCain's. I think they both have great things to offer, and I plan to emphasize their strengths.

I decided to do this for two reasons. For one, Barack Obama needs a break. As John McCain said in his political ad last night, it is all too often that the accomplishments of our opponents go unrecognized. Just because I think that McCain is a better candidate than Obama doesn't mean that I think Obama is all bad! I'm excited to give a focused, positive look at his energy plan.

The second reason is that energy is important. I think that energy is the greatest issue facing the nation today. The two candidates' plans do have differences. Each plan has its weaknesses. I believe we need to set aside those inevitable imperfections and focus on supporting their strengths. How can we support an energy plan once it is enacted if we did nothing but criticize it during the campaign season?

Let's continue to rally around our favorite candidates and get excited about energy!

(Posts to follow)

McCain's VP Pick

Sarah Palin is McCain's VP pick. CNN just broke the story.

Obama debate challenge

If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next commander in chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have

-Barack Obama, Democratic National Convention Acceptance Speech

(Opinion alert)

I just wanted to note how clever this was. For months, John McCain has been asking Obama to join him in ten town hall meetings, a one-on-one format of discussion and debate. And yet last night, Barack Obama did a great job of convincing us that he is the initiator of a debate event.

In fact, John McCain has kept time in his schedule every week since early June in case Mr. Obama decides to accept his offer. He says that he got the idea from the Kennedy/Goldwater campaigns, which flew around the country together to debate. McCain even offered to fly to the events with Obama so as to save energy and encourage political civility.

Of course, Mr. Obama did not meet McCain in any of those town meetings. Now he wants us all to think that he is the enthusiastic one when it comes to debating. Guess again!

New York Times link

Immigration harmonization

There is little difference between Barack Obama's position on immigration and John McCain's. However, there are some subtle differences which I will try to point out here.

Their Plans

Surprisingly enough, the two plans are almost exactly the same. You could accurately describe each plan as follows:

• Secure the borders
• Crack down on companies that employ illegal immigrants
• Improve the immigration system
• Create a fair system to allow current illegals to become citizens

Difference #1: How we secure the borders

John McCain's plan is more strict on securing the borders. While both plans support additional infrastructure and personnel on the border, McCain's plan additionally proposes funding for US Attorney's offices in border states, homeland security software, and unmanned aerial vehicles. McCain also wants to hold border-state governors accountable to border security standards.

Difference #2: Addressing illegals

According to his web site, "Barack Obama supports a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, not violate the law, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens."

John McCain's plan includes expedited treatment for individuals brought here illegally as minors.

McCain's plan also requires illegals to take a citizen course and be subjected to background checks before they are admitted as citizens.

Obama's unique idea

Obama has one item in his immigration plan that John McCain does not. He believes that we need to work with Mexico and promote Mexican economic development. His idea is that if Mexico's economy grows, fewer immigrants will attempt to enter America illegally.

McCain's unique idea

McCain plans to implement a temporary workers program which will allow important workers in all sectors of the economy to stay and maintain the workforce. His philosophy is that if large amounts of illegal workers are forced to leave the country, our economy will suffer.

Summary of Major Election Issues

This is my fair, balanced summary of where the candidates stand on most major election issues. This summary is based solely on the information provided on the candidates' web sites. I made this choice because I wanted to be as fair and balanced as is humanly possible. If a candidate doesn't provide accurate information on his web site, only he can be accountable for that. If I had scoured the news, speeches, videos, and sound bites there is a better chance that I would have come upon some form of slant or misinformation.

Therefore, this summary is the most balanced that you could possibly find.

Barack Obama's web site: http://www.barackobama.com/

John McCain's web site: http://www.johnmccain.com/


Abortion

The basics:

• Barack Obama is pro-choice. He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in Roe vs. Wade. He believes abortion should be legal on a federal level.
  
  
• John McCain is pro-life. He will nominate judges who believe in overturning Roe vs. Wade in an attempt to bring the issue of abortion to the states. He believes that states should be able to chose whether or not abortion is legal in their state.

Further information on abortion:

• John McCain does and will support adoption both in his personal life and in government. For example, he and his wife adopted a child from Bangladesh. He supports government policy that gives tax credit for adoption costs.
  
• Barack Obama does and will support government funding for better sex education and family planning. For example, he was an original co-sponsor of the Prevention First Act, which is aimed at preventing unplanned pregnancies in America.

Gay Marriage

• Barack Obama's web site does not provide any information about gay marriage.*
  
  
• John McCain believes that same-sex marriage should be decided by the states. In other words, he believes a state should have the right to chose whether gay marriage should be legal in their state or not.
  

* PLEASE! If anyone finds information about gay marriage on Barack Obama's web site, let me know! I looked under Civil Rights, Ethics, Faith, Family, and Additional Issues, but found nothing.


Economy

Note: Both candidates' economic plans are extremely complicated and they involve every other issue on the board, including health care, energy, government reform, and foreign policy. I have tried my best here to fairly summarize each candidates basic economic philosophy. I strongly encourage all readers of this blog post to visit each candidate's web site for more information.

• Barack Obama believes in creating large-scale government stimulus worth at least $50 billion, as well as investing in American technology and industrial sectors. He also believes in lowering taxes for the middle class, as well as regulating large financial instutiutions such as mortgage and credit card companies. Finally, he wants to tax the rich more and give that money to families to provide for rising energy costs.
  
  
• John McCain believes in lowering taxes, including those for the middle class, small business, and large corporations. He also believes that the government should focus on balancing the budget within four years. Finally, he believes that investing in domestic energy and subsidizing individuals with $2,500 towards healthcare will bolster the economy.
  

Iraq

• Barack Obama says that if he takes office, he will immediately begin a withdrawal plan. He purports that a 16-month withdrawal plan is feasable.
  
  
• John McCain says that he will not consider withdrawal until Iraq appears to be stable. He purports that American troops are needed to ensure the fairness of important upcoming votes in Iraq.

Health Care

• Barack Obama plans to create a government-owned health care plan that can cover everyone. He wants to create a National Health Insurance Exchange which will impose rules and regulations on participating health care plans. He also wants to require employers to participate in funding their employees' health care. Finally, he wants to invest in biomedical and other scientific fields.
  
  
• John McCain plans to give a $2,500 tax credit to every individual to offset the cost of insurance. Money left over from this credit could be put directly into a personal health savings account. McCain also wants the government to work on strategies that will lower health care costs. Finally, he wants to invest in chronic illness research, as well as the development of medical information technologies.

Energy and Environment

• Barack Obama wants to federally mandate higher fuel economy standards and create tax credits for advanced automobiles. He also proposes a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions. He also believes in prioritizing a pipepline to Alaskan natural gas.
  
  
• John McCain proposes monetary incentives for the development of new technologies and improvements on existing technologies like hybrid vehicles. He also believes the government should invest in the rapid development of clean coal technologies and the construction of more nuclear power.

Education

• Barack Obama wants to reform No Child Left Behind and give more money to the public school system.
  
  
• John McCain thinks schools should be forced to compete to be the best. He believes that parents should be given greater control over where their children are educated.

Note: These summaries are purposefully breif. I don't know enough about education to write well-rounded descriptions of each plan. Although Obama's plan provides a detailed listing of new spending, I characterize it above by saying he wants to give more money to the public school system. Likewise, McCain's web site provides plentiful information on how he will give benefits to higher-performing teachers and will provide federal funding towards alternative educational methods such as online education. You should visit the candidates' web sites to get a more detailed description of their plans. I won't pretend to fully understand them!


Immigration

• Barack Obama believes that we need to secure the borders, simplify and improve the immigration process, crack down on companies that hire illegal immigrants, and create a fair system that allows current illegal immigrants to eventually gain citizenship.
  
  
• John McCain believes that we need to secure the borders, crack down on companies that hire illegal immigrants, create a fair system that allows current illegal immigrants to eventually gain citizenship, and improve the immigration process and attempt to eliminate the immigration backlog.

My B.O.

If you want to join the BO group, just visit BarackObama.com. This is an actual image from Obama's web site.

Do you smell something?

The republicans are wrong on gay marriage

Today, the republican party officially released its 2008 platform. This document describes in detail what the party is for and against, and which solutions and policies it supports.

The document includes support for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, in opposition to senator McCain's viewpoint.

McCain does not believe in banning gay marriage on a federal level. McCain believes that the issue of gay marriage should be a states issue. According to McCain, it should be up to each individual state to decide whether or not they will adopt legal gay marriage. McCain promises to elect judges who will recognize the right of the states to decide on this issue.

Washington Times link

(Opinion alert)

I cannot say this strongly enough: THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS WRONG!

John McCain's viewpoint on gay marriage is the right one. Banning gay marriage is NOT a conservative way of going about things!

Obviously, there are some parts of the country that want gay marriage to be legal, and some parts that do not. The people who want it to be legal are not the majority, but since legalizing gay marriage is not a violation of anybody's basic civil rights it should be legal for states to adopt it if they want to.

This is the way conservative government works: if there is an undecided issue, we let the states decide what they think. We do not go creating laws and restrictions, modifying the constitution, and banning something just because we think it is icky!!

COME ON REPUBLICANS! GROW UP!

Also, it is stupid of the republican party to draft a platform which is in such disagreement with what their candidate wants. John McCain won the primaries for a reason--because more republicans wanted him than anyone else. Why draft a platform which may force him to flip-flop and change his views under political pressure? That is insanity!

I hope that John McCain will stand his ground and keep his current policy on gay marriage.

I am reading that there are other splinters between John McCain and this republican platform. However, gay marriage came to my attention first. Being a life-long theatre geek, I have lots of gay friends. So, these things tend to percolate their way to my ears. One of my gay friends called me and told me that he had heard that the republican party put a ban on gay marriage in its platform. I was very embarrassed when I found out that he was right, after arguing to him for fifteen minutes that this was not McCain's viewpoint.

Please, McCain, please! Don't let those scared fools on the platform commitee turn you around!

John McCain is out of touch? What about Obama?

The argument: McCain is out of touch with the typical middle-class American, and is therefore unfit to be president.

My refutation: Obama is just as "out of touch" as McCain or any big-time politician. Therefore, McCain being out of touch is just a media game.

Introduction

(Opinion alert)

A few days go (I believe it was about Thursday through Saturday?) the news started covering a story about John McCain's houses. In case you didn't know, he was asked how many houses he owned and couldn't remember, telling a news reporter that he would have to have his staff look into it. Also, he was asked how much money you have to make per year in order to be considered "rich". His response was five million dollars.

The argument from the Obama camp is that these responses show McCain is "out of touch" with the typical middle-class American.

In this post, I will prove that Obama is equally "out of touch". I stoop to this level not because I think it matters, but to prove the point that both sides are equally slimy. We need to forget about this mud fight and get to the issues, since both candidates are slimy jerks anyways!!

To Begin

The left has already done a fine job of bringing out McCain's slimyness. Let's assume that we already know McCain is a slimeball. I admit it! Now we can focus on Obama. Instead of just saying he is a slimeball, we will prove it.

Proof that Obama is "Out of Touch"

(Facts)

1. How many states? Barack Obama said: "I've now been in 57 states, I think one left to go". That would mean that he thinks there are 58 states. Don't believe me? It's on video. Just search for "Obama 57 states" on any search engine or video site. Video link
   
   
2. Above his pay grade. Speaking on abortion is above Obama's pay grade--in his own words! No spin on this. In an interview he was asked, "At what point does a baby get human rights, in your opinion?". After stumbling for a few seconds he responded, "I think that whether you're looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity is above my pay grade." Video link
   
   
3. Typical white people. This quote explains itself. Speaking about his grandmother, Senator Obama said, "She is a typical white person. If she sees somebody on the street that she doesn't know there's a reaction that's been bred into our experiences that don't go away and that sometimes come out in the wrong way. And that's just the nature of race in our society." Audio link
   
   
4. Friendly with terrorists. During Obama's first campaign for senate, William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, two terrorists, hosted a dinner for Barack Obama at their home. William Ayers was quoted in the New York Times saying, "I don't regret setting bombs" and "I don't feel we did enough". He was talking, of course, about the numerous bombings that he participated in (he admits it in his book). New York City Police Headquarters in 1970, the Capitol building in Washington D.C. in 1971, and the Pentagon in 1972. AP Link
   
   
5. Prevent fresh educational practices. The Associated Press reviewed documents released by the University of Illinois at Chicago which pertained to the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, an educational initiative that Barack Obama was a part of. The minutes of some meetings revealed that Obama wanted to know if the Chicago Annenberg Challenge was raising enough money, and if money was being used “to prop up existing organizations as opposed to creating fresh educational practices in the schools?”. He was also paraphrased as saying that "not much seems to be bubbling up that is inspiring or substantive". Chicago Sun Times link
   
   
6. God is against white people. Barack Obama attended church and listened to sermons by Reverend Jeremiah Wright for over twenty years before officially distancing himself from the Reverend under political pressure. Reverend Wright was recorded quoting a book by James H. Cone:
   
   If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill Him. Black Theology accepts only the love of a God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy.
   
   -A Black Theology of Liberation By James H. Cone 1990 ISBN-10: 0883446855 Page 27
   (I am working on the audio link!)
   
   Reverend Wright also has the famous quote, "God damn America". Video Link
   
   
7. Million-dollar mansion. Actually, Obama's is a 1.65 million-dollar mansion. That's right. In 2005, Mr. Obama bought a $1.65 million dollar home. He also spent $14,000 on a fence seperating his house from the one next to it. I couldn't find any copyright-free photos of the home, but it is quite large and I have provided a link for you to see it. Chicago Tribune link, Images of Obama's house
   
   
8. Show us the money. In 2006, the Obamas had a joint income of $991,296. Barack made $551,240 from his books alone. The Obamas donated $60,307 or 6% of their income to charity that year. John McCain had $358,414 of individual income and he donated $64,695 or 19% to charity. Obama 2006 tax return, MSNBC Obama income article, McCain 2006 tax return, McCain income/charity information.
   

That is what I could come up with off the top of my head and verify in less than thirty minutes. I'm sure there is more.

In Defense of Mr. Obama

(Opinion alert)

If you think the above listing of facts is unfair, you are right and you finally understand my point!

All of the facts in that list are true. However, it is unfair to put them all together in an argument and then claim them as proof that Obama is unfit to be president. It is just as unfair to claim that McCain is unfit to be president for similar reasons.

In my opinion, Barack Obama is unfit to be president but it is because his governmental policies are not the best ones for the country. It has nothing to do with his slimyness!

My point is that Obama is slimy! McCain is slimy! They are politicians, that is their job. They do one thing one day that they think will be a good idea or will go unnoticed, and then it rears its head and comes back at them later.

Therefore, we need to drop this ridiculous mudslinging and get to the issues.

My Friend Sparky

Before I said that the reason I created this blog is because I like to think about government, society, politics, and the media. That was a lie.

I really created this blog because I have a liberal friend named Sparky who I love to debate with. My problem is that, when I debate, I cannot spout off facts, numbers, and well-formed ideas from the top of my head like I wish I could (not that Sparky can, either). I figured that a blog would be a good place to present a case. A blog allows me to gather my facts, numbers, and well-formed ideas over time as I find them. Once it is full of juicy information I can simply direct Sparky to my blog for a big whamming.

Sparky is very, very liberal. His main, driving belief is that religion dominates conservatism and that voting for conservative policies only forces religion on the country. Although he denies it now, he has told me more than once that he thinks religious people should not be allowed to participate in government. (Please don't get confused. I am not religious at ALL. I'm just truthfully describing Sparky's views).

Mind you, Sparky is not a Democrat. Although I make fun of him for claiming he is an 'independent', I shouldn't. I do it too. I am a conservative but I don't call myself a Republican. Anyways, you get the point. With us, it is liberal versus conservative. Somehow, we still remain best friends when we are not talking about government and politics.

Of course, his real name is not Sparky. I do wish to apologize in advance to him, because I am sure I will mistype his nickname as "Spanky" a few times in this blog (just watch!). I figured I would give him a nickname so as not to disclose his real identity. Not that he should be embarrassed about any of his opinions, ideas, or lifestyle choices. I just figured it would be a good thing to do.

Watch out sparky! This one's for you!

Peace

Associated Peace

"Associated Peace" is a play on words. Like "Associated Press". Get it?

I created this blog because I like to think about government, society, politics, and the media.

In this blog, I will be very explicit as to which sentences and paragraphs are information and which are opinion.

Please correct my spelling and grammar. I am terrible with both. Nobody should ever take offense if someone comments on their blog and corrects their grammar. Even if it is added as an insult, as in, "and by the way, it's RECEIVE. I before E except AFTER C! FOOL!", that still helps!

You should know from the beginning that I lean towards conservatism when it comes to government. Therefore, I tend to look at things from the 'right' side. However, I am only a youngster and my mind is still open to different viewpoints. I could even be a liberal someday.

That said, please read my blog. Disagree with me when you can. Disagreements are what make me think the most.

Peace.