Over the last month I have read books written by a few Republican politicians. I read Sarah Palin's-America By Heart, Sean Hannity's-Conservative Victory, Mitt Romney's-No Apology, and Mike Huckabee's-Do the Right Thing.
I learned something from each book and took many notes as I read. Each candidate quoted Reagan a number of times, and as I focus my next block of books on Democratic politicians- I feel it's safe to say FDR will be quoted equally as much.
I enjoy reading the two books written by Sarah Palin. They are easy to read and the content mixes her life with her beliefs for American greatness. I think I enjoy reading her books more for enjoyment than for getting knowledge about issues we face. I am not discounting her knowledge nor am I saying I don't learn something from her books. What I am trying to say is she writes her book from the heart where the other authors use experts in many areas to supplement their thoughts and opinions; therefore, they are more in depth.
Hannity's book was hard for me to get through because it bashed President Obama quite a bit. Although I have my problems with the Obama administration, I feel like we can display our differences without bashing one another. I liked the second half of Hannity's book where he talked about the legacy of Ronald Reagan. Because I wasn't alive for his presidency, it is great to hear the stories and impact this great president had on so many political figures today.
Mike Huckabee- I felt like his book was a good memoir of his run at the GOP's candidate for president, but he bashed Mitt Romney way too much. Despite his bashing, Mike was very clear on his proposals for a better America and to restore her to her natural greatness. One idea he proposed that I strongly support is the idea of a fair tax. If you aren't familiar with it I encourage you to research the idea. In a nutshell it would do away with income tax, property tax, capital gains tax and much more. Instead there would be higher taxes on consumer goods. Any new item would be subject to a tax-- but the money you earn at your job will remain your money- all of it. My beef with Huckabee is his bashing of Mitt Romney and his over dramatization of how much money Mitt and the other candidates spent compared to him. Mentioning it once or twice or even five times I could bear-- but throughout each chapter I began to feel less sympathy for him and more annoyance towards him. Sorry but I'm big on honesty.
Mitt Romney's book was also very informative, he used some experts on many issues to help him write his book. I love that he is an unapologetic believer in American exceptionalism--I am too. His book was interesting to read because of the many areas he covered. The problem I had with his book is that he doesn't seem to be as dominant in his stances on certain things, and I am not clear which path he would take this nation if he were to be president. One proposal of his that I agree on is the requirement that the federal government produce a balance sheet each year. This would give some transparency to the way government spends our money, and also help us understand the assets and liabilities our country has. I like the idea of a successful businessman with good morals running our country, but I need to know he'll stand firm for the issues I support; as of now I am confused what his opinions are.
While I gained knowledge from all four books, I was bothered by the fact that they are all still campaigning!! Some of the pages were difficult to get through because of the bashing and complaining that went on. In my opinion Americans don't care how much money you spent on your campaign, no one cares what damage former leaders have caused, what Americans care about it is how you are going to fix the problems, balance the budget and make this nation a "shining city on a hill" once more.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Don't Ask Don't Tell
For my first post I'll discuss my views of repealing DADT because it is the hot topic in the media today. I believe in equal rights for all, and I do not think it is fair for gay and lesbian service men and women to be discharged because of their sexual orientation. In any other business in America it would be discrimination to fire someone for their sexual orientation. At this present time the focus of American news is whether or not to repeal the current policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell with our military. It has passed the House but has not been passed by the Senate.
From what I understand Senator John McCain is facing opposition from all sides on his opinion of keeping DADT, at least for now. I respect and value his opinion because of his hands on experience serving in our military; however, if there is significant proof that a repeal of DADT would be widely accepted throughout all branches of the United States Military then I am all for it. As far as I understand, there have been studies that polled men and women in the service and a majority said the repeal would not affect them significantly. In my opinion, the major leaders of each branch appear to have mixed opinions whether the military is ready for such a change, especially during a time of war.
The question I have regarding the studies of DADT is whether this question has been asked of the servicemen and women, "If the DADT policy were to remain in place would that be okay with you?" or something along those lines. I ask this because I have not been convinced that a repeal is what the large majority of those fighting for our country really want. I heard there were about 60% were indifferent to the repeal. I admit that is a majority, but I am curious if the same soldiers were polled on the question I posed, what the results would be.
I was able to locate a voice recording, and text of the briefing of DADT by the Department of Defense here and here. They said that the overall military were willing to repeal the policy; although, in the high combat groups there was much more opposition. Nearly 40-60% of the troops who face physical battle the most, were not comfortable with the repeal; yet the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, has urged Congress to pass the repeal, and as soon as possible.
The real problem I see is that our government is not willing to release the questions asked, nor the results of the survey. How are we supposed to form an unbiased opinion when we don't have any thing to base it on? I believe whatever the majority of our military members think would be best is what our government should do regarding DADT, including those who face physical battle on a daily basis. Their opinion, to me, should hold the most weight on deciding this issue; however, I would like to know what questions were included on the survey to form my own opinion on this policy.
From what I understand Senator John McCain is facing opposition from all sides on his opinion of keeping DADT, at least for now. I respect and value his opinion because of his hands on experience serving in our military; however, if there is significant proof that a repeal of DADT would be widely accepted throughout all branches of the United States Military then I am all for it. As far as I understand, there have been studies that polled men and women in the service and a majority said the repeal would not affect them significantly. In my opinion, the major leaders of each branch appear to have mixed opinions whether the military is ready for such a change, especially during a time of war.
The question I have regarding the studies of DADT is whether this question has been asked of the servicemen and women, "If the DADT policy were to remain in place would that be okay with you?" or something along those lines. I ask this because I have not been convinced that a repeal is what the large majority of those fighting for our country really want. I heard there were about 60% were indifferent to the repeal. I admit that is a majority, but I am curious if the same soldiers were polled on the question I posed, what the results would be.
I was able to locate a voice recording, and text of the briefing of DADT by the Department of Defense here and here. They said that the overall military were willing to repeal the policy; although, in the high combat groups there was much more opposition. Nearly 40-60% of the troops who face physical battle the most, were not comfortable with the repeal; yet the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, has urged Congress to pass the repeal, and as soon as possible.
The real problem I see is that our government is not willing to release the questions asked, nor the results of the survey. How are we supposed to form an unbiased opinion when we don't have any thing to base it on? I believe whatever the majority of our military members think would be best is what our government should do regarding DADT, including those who face physical battle on a daily basis. Their opinion, to me, should hold the most weight on deciding this issue; however, I would like to know what questions were included on the survey to form my own opinion on this policy.
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