One

In the year twenty-aut-11, the YOM was created. And it is on this day the twenty-eighth of September in the year twenty 11 that the YOM decided to start Chronicling his thoughts.

Just for the record, that's the end of me referring to myself in the third person.

I created this today after I read my friend Juneau's latest blog, and I was just thinking to myself that I have all these thoughts and ideas I want to discuss... but I can't discuss them with everyone at once. Hence, blog. Hopefully this ends up panning out like I want it to.

A couple of ground rules... first of all, I read a number of articles discussing how hyperlinks are distracting in articles. I bet you got a little lost after you checked all those out and just got back here 15 minutes later? I'm not going to put links directly in my posts, I'll append them to end and you can peruse them later if you so choose.

Second, to any prospective employers, this is just a forum for my thoughts. Just because I may say crazy shit (and oh my god I just cursed and didn't capitalize "god") on here doesn't shine any light on my ability to perform a task at work. I went to fucking Northwestern, allright, please allow me the right to bleed out my nerd-brain-juices in a forum that isn't your office. Judge me on my interview.

And third, there is going to be nothing regular or predictable about this blog. That doesn't mean it's gonna be a whole bunch of crazy shit, but it's going to cover whatever it is I'm thinking about at the time (which can really be anything) (but I promise to do my best to keep it at an R rating and below) (even though the societal impacts of the Internet porn culture can be pretty interesting to investigate) (not that I have).

Oh and lastly, I am NOT formally trained in writing. Have you noticed this stream of consciousness that's going on? Good luck. More ground rules to come in the future, as will an explanation of what "YOM" means. Stay tuned.

Today's music: Maniac, by The Knux (we're not in the middle of a diatribe so the link is acceptable here!!)

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Today, I'm going to briefly tackle politics. I know this is an incredibly divisive issue for pretty much everyone these days, but hopefully you read this is as me just discussing my thoughts rather than me trying to change your mind.

Obviously the big thing these days is the Republican presidential primaries. This has to be one of the most apopleptic election cycles we've ever been through, and it will probably only continue like this until we as a country finally decide to find the middle again. Anger isn't going to solve anything, it's just going to put an ineffective, highly biased executive in position to be the Most Powerful (Wo)Man in the World.

Let's take a look at one of the Republican candidates today, Rick Perry. First of all, this guy stands for nothing and plays to a loud, far-right wing voting bloc. He proudly toutes states rights, wants to reduce the size of government, and bring down taxes while simultaneously reducing the deficit. All three of those points are kind of called into question by his record, something every candidate really enjoys exclaiming about these days... "My record speaks for itself" ... "Only I have shown that I can perform in situations like these, just look at my record" ... Shit like that.

The man was governor of Texas. TEXAS. The people in that state still think they live in their own fucking country.

Perry championed the Texas portion of a NAFTA Superhighway project, dubbed the Trans-Texas Corridor. This project was supposed to build a two-mile wide connection between Texas and Oklahoma (kind of like the Keystone XL Pipeline, except this would burn oil instead of spill it). This project would be a $145 billion private-public project for "multi-lane highways, rail lines and data lines" basically through Texas, running roughshod over people's property via eminent domain so a toll road could be installed. I'm not going to get into my opinion of the project right now (basically, I think infrastructure and transit is the most important work that American can do right now in this recession, and I will cover these topics in many, many, many more posts in the future), but suffice it to say that bleeding heart red-staters really don't like the idea.

For a guy who says he's a fiscal conservative who wants to put the power back in the states, this portion of his record shows that he's willing to spend a ton of money that doesn't exist on projects that aren't within the control of the municipalities that are affected. It was only extreme outrage . At some point, he's going to have to defend his decisions to back this project to his Tea Party base. What he says will be interesting, but this is just an example of posturing by Perry to appease voters without really telling us anything about what his true policies would be if he were elected. Also take a look at the fiscal budget of Texas over his tenure... when he became Governor of Texas in 2000, the annual budget was ~$49 billion. In 2010? $90 billion. Texas' state debt has increased accordingly as well over that timeframe. I don't see a lot of reduction in the size of government there, Mr. Perry.

<sidebar> Look. I'm not dumb. I know it's political suicide to actually tell the truth about what you'd like to do in office. Every candidate wants to essentially stay the course, not ruffle too many feathers, and wield power in the country to benefit him/herself behind the scenes. I just think we're getting too complacent by being told what we want to hear without any real substance to prove that a candidate's ideas are feasible. </end sidebar>

How about one of the Tea Party's pet babies, ObamaCare? Back in 1993, Rick Perry wrote a letter to Hillary Clinton praising her for her work on reforming the nation's healthcare system. And I quote, "I think your efforts in trying to reform the nation's health care system are most commendable." I have no problem with this, but again what are conservatives going to say? Or will his political machine vomit platitudes that make it look like Perry was lying back then and wants nothing more than to allow millions of Americans to go uninsured?

Oh and let's not forget that debate where everyone cheered about the death penalty. I know Perry didn't cheer, but he didn't necessarily chastise the audience for their cheering, either, did he?

Rick Perry created jobs in Texas. Jobs that have expanded the use of controversial oil and natural gas harvesting techniques, while paying a ton of workers an unlivable minimum wage. In case you didn't know, Texas is tied with Mississippi for the largest percentage of that state's workers having minimum wage jobs. That is not a sustainable lifestyle that still requires support from the government in the form of food stamps and other support programs for low income families. And many of the state jobs that Perry's administration created were funded via federal stimulus dollars that are now going to be axed when funding runs out.

What's my point? Perry has no fucking idea how to run a state, much less an entire country. This guy is all over the map, and not in a good way. His policies vary from incredibly blue to red and everywhere in between, but now that he and his perfectly kept hair has been put up on CNN and Fox News every day for the country to see as a potential presidential candidate, he has moved firmly to right regardless of his record. I see the latest Florida straw poll as a good sign that maybe this country can see through a terrible candidate and get rid of them (hey, look at Michele Bachmann).

The real problem is that it's not just Perry. There are numerous candidates (on BOTH sides) that pathetically pander to their respective bases when they should really be pandering to the moderates. Honestly, I personally hope someone like Perry or Bachmann gets the nomination because the Republicans would get trampled in 2012 like Mufasa in The Lion King (too soon?). I just can't stand how politicians are forced into a corner by the 24 hour news cycle and the most vocal (read: craziest) people in the country. Rick Perry is not a good choice for president. A ton of Republican candidates are not a good choice for president. Even Obama isn't a great choice on an absolute scale, but I think he's got the right long term idea if he can get around political gridlock. This was essentially just my rant against the tiny micromutherfuckingscopic attention span this country has.

And really, this is what you want for your next president?

Letter to Hillary Clinton in 1993

Fracking is bad

Some of Rick Perry's hypocrisy and craziness

Go 'Cats!
-YOM

P.S. I hope that as I read and write more, my stream of consciousness will back off a bit and the articles will have a little more structure and substance. Good night!