Adam J. Choit

With the 2012 Presidential Election upon us,  and with Barack Obama and Mitt Romney about to have their first debate, I began wondering what a conversation between them might be like pre-debate, behind closed doors.  I figured it might be something like this video I put together –  essentially a friendly meeting and a rehearsal.

Originally I was hoping to keep the video shorter, around three to five minutes, but found it quite difficult to do so.  I wanted to be sure to hit on what the candidates might prefer to talk about during a debate, but also hit on those topics that both Obama and Romney would want to avoid.  I also thought it important to hit on a few other important topics, such as the (counterproductive-to-the-American-people) role the Commission on Presidential Debates has in the election process.  In addition, the NDAA and Federal Reserve are also important issues that I thought needed to be brought up, both of which will probably be ignored or purposely misconstrued by the moderators and candidates during actual debates.

The goal was to go after both candidates equally, highlighting their flawed, and often common viewpoints on important issues.  In some ways, the goal was a condemnation of our two-party system, not necessarily just personal attacks on Obama and Romney.  In their personal lives, they might be very nice guys — even family men, or whatever.  But when it comes to being politicians, and understanding, protecting, and defending our Constitution, they’re both terrible.

It’s been a while since I posted my last rhyme, and as promised, my latest piece is about the N.D.A.A. (the National Defense Authorization Act). Specifically, I wanted to address really only a couple of sentences (provisions) within this bill, that was signed into law by President Obama right around New Years Eve, 2011.

In a nutshell, in the name of protecting this country from terrorists and terrorism, the President now has the right to order the military to arrest ANYONE, including American citizens, merely on the suspicion of a connection to terrorism. The language in the bill is vague, and potentially dangerous to the future of this country. And not only can the military now arrest any American citizen without just cause, you can be detained without seeing a judge, lawyer, or trial. Detained indefinitely that is.

This is all being done “to protect us” says the President and our politicians who support this heinous legislation (that violates our Constitution). Let me remind you that pretty much all fascist governments throughout history practiced similar policies as this provision in the N.D.A.A. In fact, Adolf Hitler passed similar legislation, legally. This all sets a very dangerous precedent for the future of the country….and the scary part is this legislation overwhelmingly has the support of BOTH the Democratic and Republican parties in this country.

I don’t know if you people know much about Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, but I’ll tell you one thing, I sure don’t know all that much about him.  However, last night on the Colbert Report, I learned that, well, he exists.

Beyond that, I also learned that he’s an apparent Republican Presidential candidate — and as a devout Christian, feels much of his career aspirations are god’s aspirations as well.  In fact, on August 6th, he’ll be holding an event called “The Response: a call to prayer for a nation in crisis” — an event where he may officially announce his candidacy for President in 2012.

Here’s an excerpt from the event’s official site, “I sincerely hope you’ll join me in Houston on August 6th and take your place in Reliant Stadium with praying people asking God’s forgiveness, wisdom and provision for our state and nation. There is hope for America. It lies in heaven, and we will find it on our knees.”

As easy as it might be to make a fellatio joke, or to point out that praying will fix absolutely none of America’s problems, I have other issues with Mr. Perry’s event.  For one thing, it’s extremely exclusionary.  It’s fine if these Evangelicals want to fill a football stadium, but as a governor of one of our states — what ever happened to separation of church and state?

And what is the deal with the fasting?  People sitting in a football stadium not eating is going to fix this country?  You’re probably thinking who am I as a Jewish person to criticize fasting, but there are major differences between fasting for Yom Kippur or Ramadan — compared to fasting for the purposes of Perry’s political gain.  For Jews and Muslims, fasting is personal act, and one that is based in ritual.  Perry’s urge for a fast is arbitrary and pointless, in my opinion.

Now, as disgusting as it is that Rick Perry is deceiving (ignorant) people into thinking that praying and fasting is going to fix our economy, foreign relations, etc etc — it’s even worse that this event can be considered a wasted opportunity for real philanthropy.

I mean, if tens of thousands of people are gathering together, at least request that they bring canned foods with them to donate to charity.  At least set up booths at the venue where people can donate money to good causes.  And by good causes, I DON’T mean to religious organizations or to Rick Perry’s campaign.  Yes, many churches often do great charity work, but hey, I don’t need any middle man.  There are plenty of charities out there without religious affiliations.

Perhaps this event will have those opportunities I talked about above for the people.  Perhaps there will be some tangible benefits from this event — but as of now, I don’t see anything about that stuff on the website.  All I see is nonsense, fluff, and religious jargon that is going to get our country nowhere fast.

Not that I claim to be any sort of expert political analyst, but as far as McCain’s selection of this woman as his running mate is concerned, it baffles me.  It’s not so much that choosing a woman is the issue, it’s just that she is the governor of Alaska.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but a lot of what the Republicans have been pushing is that Obama isn’t “experienced” enough to run our country.  What about Sarah Palin?  McCain is not exactly a youngster.  This country could be one old-man heart attack away from having a woman who’s never even worked in Washington before running the show.

ICE FISHING AND AMATEUR MODELING ARE NOT PRESIDENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS.