Blogtoberfest DEBATE - Blog Fabulous v. MyCrimeSpace

by Trench Reynolds on October 10th, 2008

Tracee Sioux from Blog Fabulous is
supporting Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Trench Reynolds from My Crime Space supporting John McCain and Sarah Palin.

This is a Blogtoberfest Debate Post.

The blog with the most comments on this debate post is declared the WINNER.

If you leave a comment you will be entered to win a very cool Blogtoberfest Surprise. The
prizes will be drawn at random on Oct. 17.

National Security

Tracee Sioux: I just read both candidates
biographies.

John McCain loves war. He writes so romantically of war and fighting that I believe he’s looking to be a great war general. He doesn’t think there’s anything heroic or honorable about making peace. He’s an old-school foreign policy thinker - old school hasn’t been effective. If he’s president, chances are, he’ll get what he wants and what he wants is war.

Barack Obama loves peace. He will go to war - but only if he MUST. He speaks heroically of diplomacy and has a skill in taking two opposite sides and finding middle ground. He’s a fresh thinker and I’m into giving new perspectives a try. If he’s president, chances are, he’ll get what he wants and what he wants is peace.

War is expensive and should be avoided if at all possible. In the debates I’ve heard both candidates foreshadow war with Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan (not to mention Iraq). I’m not a pacifist, but I’ll cast my lot with a man who’s made a study of how to achieve peace, diplomacy and compromise rather than a man who has made his life’s work a study of war.

Trench Reynolds:

Unfortunately war is a necessary evil. It has been throughout the course of history. There has never been at any time the pie in the sky dream of ‘world peace’ only global stability. I hate to pull a Rudy Guiliani here but since 9/11 the world has been unstable and will continue to be so unless military action is taken. Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan started there have been no more terror attacks on U.S. soil. I’m not one of those people who believe that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11 but Saddam Hussein needed to be eliminated. The UN wasn’t doing anything about it even when Hussein blatantly ignored their requests. My point being that Sen. Obama would rather negotiate with rogue countries like Iran when history has proven that some countries, especially Iran, are beyond negotiations and diplomacy. Having served our country down in the trenches I believe that Sen. McCain knows full well the consequences of war and military strength.

Health Care

Tracee Sioux:

From a purely Economic perspective Universal Healthcare is the way we should go. When people are uninsured they don’t seek preventative medicine and then we end up paying for their catastrophes through Medicare and Medicaid in our taxes AND in increased costs at the providers AND increases in our premiums in our insurance policies. I’ve done the math - if everyone in the United States is adequately insured it will save my family tax dollars, lower the cost of premiums and copays, and put a stop to the inflation we’re experiencing right now. Barack Obama’s plan is just smart economics.

From a moral perspective it’s barbaric to watch people be sick and not able to see a doctor or receive treatment because they can’t afford it. With health care inflation the way it is the average family can’t afford it. The way we do it now is short-term expensive thinking. Let’s be let America be better than that. A civilized nation takes care of her people. John McCain’s plan will leave more people uninsured and does
nothing to force insurance companies to stop discriminating against people with diagnosis’s so we’ll still be picking up the tab in taxes. Who can insure their family for $5,000 a year? I spend $11,000 in 2007 and we couldn’t afford recommended health care.

Trench Reynolds:

While Universal Healthcare is a great idea in theory the reality is that it would become another bloated and corrupt program like Medicaid and Welfare have become. Combine that with the red tape that most people have to go through with any government program in my estimation Universal Haelthcare would make the system worse rather than better. Sure everyone would be covered but then you’d have the problems that Canada is experiencing with long waits for critical procedures. And if
you think that will lower taxes at all I believe that you are
mistaken.

I agree that insurance premiums have become too exorbitant. I myself can’t even afford to cover my own wife who has a chronic condition that needs constant attention. Both candidates have proposed similar healthcare initiatives but where I think Sen. McCain edges out Sen. Obama is that Sen McCain wants to put a stop to friviolous lawsuits against medical practices and hospitals that have really driven up the cost of healthcare in this country. Working in the medical field myself
I have seen many a doctor close their private practice because they couldn’t afford the malpractice insurance anymore. I’ve also seen physican rates skyrocket to cover costs of their insurance.

Crime

Tracee Sioux:

When I saw the head of the FBI say he couldn’t afford to arrest 300,000 known child rapists who are passing photos of their crimes around to their organized group of pedophile buddies because the Republican priorities have been solely about international terrorism . .. well, as a parent if you think THAT isn’t worth paying taxes for then we have nothing in common. Parents are afraid to allow their children normal friendships, sleepovers, relationships with relatives. Over the last 8 years parents have begun to build bubbles of isolation around childhood. American kids used to be entitled to a carefree safe childhood. Parents have lost trust the government will arrest criminals. This will have long-term devastating effects on society.

Domestic Violence, teen relationship violence, and rape statistics are unacceptable. I won’t even go into the fact that Sarah Palin’s Chief of Police was charging rape victims for the rape kits that provide evidence for finding the perpetrator.

Trench Reynolds:

First let me start off by saying I found it interesting that I couldn’t even find the topic of crime as an issue on Sen. Obama’s website.

That bubble around children that you speak of didn’t just happen the day that President Bush took office. It goes as far back as the crimes that were perpetrated on Adam Walsh and Megan Kanaka. Might I also add that President Bush signed the Adam Walsh act into law but I digress.

While I am as disappointed as you that Sen. McCain has not addressed the issue of domestic violence he has sworn to increase penalties for repeat criminal offenders and to strengthen laws against sexual predators. Something else I find appealing about Sen. McCain’s stance on crime is that he will appoint judges that would follow the letter of the law rather than what I like call criminal sympathizing judges.

Abortion

Tracee Sioux:

If Americans are serious about reducing the abortion rate they will provide women with the healthcare necessary to prevent pregnancy.Universal Health Care will prevent abortion. Universal Health Care will lower the abortion rate.

When we started giving access to family planning we prevented an estimated 9 million abortions. In this country men are entitled to viagra by insurance companies, but women have a hell of a time getting their insurance company to pay for the pill.

I personally, and many like me, would become a lot less attached to Roe v. Wade when women have equal and affordable access to the ability to prevent pregnancy and manage their reproductive lives. When women have the ability to take responsibility for their reproductive lives I believe they will do so. As it stands, I won’t convict women who have limited choices due to their limited access to health care.

Trench Reynolds:

Women have never had more access to sexual and reproductive education than they do today. I would even say they have more access to it than men. Abortion is just a way for men and women to shirk the responsibility of having to care for a child by terminating its life. I have no problem with abortion being used in cases of rape, incest, and endangerment to the mother.However when it’s used as a form of retroactive birth control I definitely have a problem.

In a legal sense alone Roe v. Wade was a legal abomination. The Supreme Court is supposed to interpert the law not create them. And if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned, which I support, it would not make abortions illegal per se but would return that option to the indvidual states.

Sen. McCain endorses programs that would encourage adoption rather than abortion and as someone who was adopted he would get my vote on that alone.

Economy

Tracee Sioux:

Deregulation caused this economic crash. John McCain is a “deregulator.” In every speech before the stock market crashed he touted the sacrosanct “Market” as the holy grail and said he would reduce corporate taxes and reduce regulation.

I have ZERO respect for someone who can’t admit their beliefs and economic policies have failed the American people. Now he wants to buy the mortgages of those who overextended themselves so they can stay in their homes? The bankers who extended those loans and the people who took them artificially inflated the price of homes out of the reach of middle class families on a budget. And now those middle class families who respected their budgets should shoulder the tax burden of those
homes so people with large appetites and no self-control can stay in their $500,000 homes they could never afford? I got news for them -there’s a $100,000 house on my street in my less desirable neighborhood- come buy that. Take your loss and learn your lesson.

In 2008 Barack Obama is the Fiscal Conservative - PAY AS YOU GO. That’s what my family does and that’s what the government should be doing. They are throwing around 700 Billion like it means nothing so now it means nothing. Cut the credit card in half America. Republicans and their deregulation of the market have cost us all enough already.

Trench Reynolds:

The Democrat’s had a hand in our recent economy woes as well. They are the ones who are in control of congress as we speak. They are the ones who put pressure on banks to make home loans more accessible. What has that gotten us? More foreclosures then we know what to do with. Personally I think the current economic woes fall squarely on the American people for not doing a better job of managing their own money. I don’t feel empathy for people who have had their home foreclosed on.
If you can’t afford a mortgage you have no business buying a home.

The one point of Sen. MCain’s economic plan that I find most appealing is lowering the taxes on employers. That will produce more jobs since employers will be paying their employees rather than the federal government.

The only points on Sen. Obama’s economic plan I strongly disagree with are unions and raising the minimum wage. Unions have become bloated and corrupt relics of the past that have outlived their usefulness. We have things like OSHA and other government channels to address work complaints. Minimum wage was not meant for supporting entire families. It was designed as additional income or income for teens just entering the workplace. If you’re trying to support a family on minimum wage then maybe you would better off gaining some more education to make your worth in the workplace more valuable.

Women’s Issues

Tracee Sioux: Women make up 51% of this country. If America wants to stimulate her economy invite the women back to work.

We don’t have to go overseas for talent, experience, brains, ingenuity, passion, or innovation. Women have that right here. Women are leaving their jobs because the workplace is hostel and uninviting to their motherhood. We will not choose work OVER our children, but we will passionately pursue any professional ambition along-side raising our children.

Women are the number one starters of small businesses in this country. We want to work and we are the fresh ideas you’re looking for. But, we’re going to need a few things to help us do both - flexible work hours, virtual work environments, family medical leave insurance, sick days for us and for our kids, and equal pay.

You haven’t seen nothing yet. You think the economy was good before? Add women change everything! We’ll have better science, better laws, better businesses, better education, better products, better everything.Because women are better? No. Because two minds are better than one.

Barack Obama is going to get women what they need to go back to work.

John McCain is going to hang tight with the status quo. The status quo is causing great companies to see workers overseas rather than invite the women back.

Trench Reynolds:

I think workplaces have been increibly accomodating to women in the work places. At least the ones that I have worked for in the past 20 years. Every employer I’ve worked for has had maternity leave for its female employes and have allowed them to come back to the same position they were wroking before. Also in that interim they have hired female temps that in a lot of cases ended up being hired bu the company. Take that for what it’s worth since I work in a female domintaed field.

I believe there should be equal pay as I feel the best pay should go to the best candidiate for the position regardless of race or sex. I would love to see employers offer more flexibility and more options to its female employers that choose to have children. What I don’t want to see is government handouts to achieve this. I would hope that as an incentive to get better employees that companies and businesses would offer this flexibility and a lot do. I feel that the market should dictate that desire not the government.

This is a Blogtoberfest Debate Post.

The blog with the most comments on this
debate post is declared the WINNER.

If you leave a comment you will be entered
to win a Barack Obama Action Figure if you win the Blog Fabulous Prize or a John McCain Action Figure if you win the My Crime Space Prize. The
prizes will be drawn at random on Oct. 17.

Tags: b5media, barack obama, blog fabulous, blogtoberfest, debate, john-mccain, MCS

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