[OFB Cafe] Tech Buzz: Who Deserves the Tech Vote?

[Steven Hatfield]

On Aug 22, 2008, at 5:12 PM, Fred Smith wrote:

> On Fri, Aug 22, 2008 at 4:45 PM, Fred A. Miller  
> <fmiller at lightlink.com> wrote:
>> [snip]
>>
>> I can't imagine anyone involved in opensource supporting both Linux
>> and that Marxist Obama. 'Guess we're even.
>
> Considering the free software movement and ideals are very practically
> communism, your statement is just more proof that you don't understand
> terms like "liberal", "Marxist", or "Communist."
>
> -Fred


I prefer to look at it from a year 2000 perspective.

In 2000, we had the opportunity to elect a very smart democrat or a  
very dumb republican... and I don't mean to say that all republicans  
are dumb, just the ones we get the chance to elect.  Bush could only  
buy his way to a C average in college, for cryin' out loud!

Americans went with "dumb" and look what has happened...

The dumb republican went on to appoint his even dumber friends to  
essential positions (he appointed his friend to be the head of FEMA,  
for instance, who was at least partly responsible for the deaths of  
thousands in the bungled aftermath of Katrina, it took them a week to  
get there!) whose policies have put America into war after war, caused  
us to be trillions of dollars in debt, put the economy in the crapper,  
made houses worth less than what is owed on them, and tanked our  
global reputation as a "shining beacon of freedom"... failed policies  
both foreign and domestic. People in countries that could otherwise  
have democracy look at our feeble attempt to bring democracy to Iraq  
and have said "If that is democracy, you can keep it!".

He is a national shame.

The smart democrat went on to teach at Harvard, win an Oscar and later  
accept a Nobel prize for his work in the Global Warming arena. You can  
bet that had he been allowed to win the election he wouldn't have  
spent the first 8 months of his first term on vacation, and would  
likely have read the memos exposing the attacks that Bin Laden was  
about to make on America. Had the smart democrat been in office, 8000+  
Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis might still be alive  
today.

But we'll never know because we had the dumb republican.

Now we are faced with the same scenario - a dumb senator (he graduated  
894 out of 899 - fifth from the BOTTOM of his class - from the US  
Naval Academy at Annapolis) is going to be the republican nominee and  
a very bright senator is going to be the democratic nominee. The  
democrat taught law at Harvard, the republican can't remember how many  
houses he owns or what his position is on issues from hour to hour in  
any given day. The republican has been caught in lie after lie, was  
proven to have cheated on his wife (where is this different than John  
Edwards, who is being lambasted in the press?) and will literally say  
*anything* to get elected.

What do you think will happen to America if the dumb republican gets  
elected this time? I seriously doubt that we will make it through his  
first term and still be "America". A *republican* economist looked at  
McCain's economic policies and estimates that at least 3.5 TRILLION  
MORE DOLLARS will be added to the national debt in his first term  
alone! McCain has said that he would balance the budget in his first  
term, the economist said that it is simply NOT POSSIBLE, given his  
stances on lowering taxes and increased spending for even more wars.

I think it is time for America to give the smart democrat a chance. He  
can hardly do any worse!