The election is over

Congratulations to Obama/Biden in winning the presidency. Also, congrats to John McCain for a truly classy speech while conceding the election.

Now who else is excited to not see another presidential commercial for four years? Now we can watch football in peace, seeing 3,482 Coors Light commercials instead. That I am thankful for.

It's on

Obama is leading, but can McCain pull off the upset?

Tomorrow is Election Day, and it is impossible to argue this point: it's probably the most heated election America has ever seen. With the ascension of the internet and global communication, everyone has a point and everyone wants to share it, and share it they do. This leads to even more dissent amongst voters and an even more clear divide between the left and the right. It has gotten pretty crazy if you ask me.

No less, everyone (assuming you vote) will align themselves with someone tomorrow. I know a lot of people on both sides, and I'm sure a lot of them are wondering which side I'm going for considering I haven't committed to anyone yet (even if, as my boss said, any vote is really a symbolic vote in Alaska, as our two powerful electoral votes are going towards McCain).

A while back I said I was going to stop talking about politics because I felt underinformed and I didn't want to make mistakes and I didn't want to say anything I'd eventually regret (sorry Amanda...). Well, I did my research, I did my time, I talked with a lot of different people, and I ended up just being even more deadlocked than I was before. I see both sides, I like things that each candidate says, it really just comes down to who I believe more.

Some would say I'm just a fence sitter, but I choose to say I find that neither candidate stands out enough to clearly win. Neither won my vote outright, but I have to choose someone. That someone is...blank.

After careful consideration and seeing the passion that comes out of candidate supporters (watch rallies for either candidate - you see people weeping in the audience...seriously), I decided that it is my right to not share who I vote for. It's not that I'm ashamed of who I vote for, I just believe that it's my own business and it beats having one group of people unhappy with me for who I chose.

So there that is. Regardless of what (or whom) you believe in though, you should go vote. It's your right and you should stand up for what you believe in with the one weapon you have - your ballot. Tomorrow is the day. Country first...yes we can.

Happy voting everyone.

The Pursuit of Knowledge

One of my biggest pet peeves are people who claim to know things that they really don't. When people put on a front that indicates that they know far more than they actually do. It bugs the living crap out of me.

Strangely, I recently realized I do this. Not only do I do this, but I do this near constantly. It's almost a perpetual state of being for me - the representation of myself in a way that indicates I know a good amount, but really when you get down to it, I don't think I know that much. In a way, my addiction to trivia is the perfect example of this. Trivia really isn't anything besides very superficial knowledge, it's a collection of glossy facts taken from a far bigger picture.

So really, when you get down to it I know a lot about the trivia behind things. It allows me to talk about it (sometimes at great lengths) but doesn't exactly allow me to really get down to the details.

One of the topics I've come to realize I'm by far the most notorious with this on is when I'm talking about the political world. Because of this realization, I've decided I'm not going to talk about anything related to that until I get a far better grasp on it. Really get into the details and get in depth, particularly when it comes to the Presidential race.

This may come as no surprise to most of you, but I think quite often I like taking the less popular point of view simply because it provides me the opportunity to argue. I love debating, and taking the less popular angle always provides me with the opportunity.

So here I am at the beginning of a journey in the pursuit of knowledge. I'm calling it a restart to my knowledge base and really hope that at the end of it I can figure out which way I'll go on November 4th, and this time it will be based off serious facts and less off conjecture and my beloved trivia. We'll see where I go from there, but this seems like a good starting point in really developing my knowledge base.

McCain/Palin Rally in Anchorage

Sarah Palin and the First Dude (Todd Palin) signing autographs

With Sarah Palin being nominated for Vice President, she went from just the Governor of that giant state to the north to being the most famous person ever to come from Alaska. Quite often when posed with such an escalation in fame in such a short amount of time, people have a tendency to lose touch with who they are, what they stand for, and where they're from. Sarah Palin, as she proved Saturday morning at the Denai'na Civic and Convention Center, lives in direct opposition of that thought.

Sarah Palin speaking to her people

To a crowd that was a bit smaller than I'd imagined it would be (estimated number was around 1,500), Palin gave an at times riotous, thoughtful, and impassioned speech. But with this Palin really showed Alaskans that she'll stand tall for Alaska if the McCain/Palin ticket is elected to the office.

Palin: "Alaska, I'll be doing it for you."

Going in to the event, I was going mostly just because I'm a huge fan of events. I love local happenings, and the Republican Vice Presidential candidate stopping by for a speech was pretty much as big as it's going to get around these parts. I generally lean in the direction towards voting McCain/Palin just because of the economic policy supported by the duo, but I'm not fully in support of everything they have to offer (or even a majority). However, Palin showed us once again (as she had with her introduction and at the Republican National Convention) why she was the ideal person to pair with McCain - someone full of passion, spirit, and the conviction one looks for in a national leader.

The sweet setup at the Denai'na Convention Center

The thing that Palin did during this speech is reinforce the primary reason why I like her more than everyone else in this race - more than McCain, more than Obama, more than Biden. Palin really feels genuine. When she speaks, she really does not feel as if she's giving the company line, like she's just playing the role and like she is really just trying to do this for some sort of malicious plan to force her will upon the nation.

Whether she was speaking about the difference between snow machines and snow mobiles, about economic policy, or about her running mate, it all came out the same - real. I know I'm not going to agree with everything any candidate is going to say. I love a lot of what Obama says, I agree with quite a bit of what McCain comes out with, but when they say these ideas for the country it feels like a means to an end.

When Palin says it, it feels heartfelt. There is a sincerity there that other candidates lack. There is definitely something to be said about that.

Myself and Hannah on the Road to Victory

Quick notes for what I did and didn't like from the rally:

• Palin coming out to Springsteen (even though he's a mega democrat and has stated that he'll just take all royalties and give them to Obama's campaign)
• Playing Van Halen and AC/DC at the rally (Republican party strangely wins the music war, even if the Decemberists are BFF with Obama)
• Even though I know she's very religious, starting the rally with a prayer felt a bit forced upon me (not to mention the prayer didn't exactly sing to me)
• Chants of "Drill Baby, Drill" felt a bit disgusting to me - I believe in a healthy economy but that felt sickly capitalist of everyone
• Palin: Hotter in person. Straight up.
• The Wasilla High School band performing a rendition of the Offspring's "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" that featured the line - "Give it to me Palin, uh huh, uh huh (repeat)." Simultaneously the worst and best thing I've ever heard.
• The DJ pair from KFAT who suggested we start an Obama chant (Give me an O! Give me a B! etc.) to see how long it would take for the crowd to catch on - awesome.

I'm not with them.

Sometimes I'm absolutely shocked that I belong to the same species as other human beings. Especially when they are in the same age group as me, but really overall, I just feel like I'm some sort of anomaly amongst people in general. This really comes up during election times, as I am decidedly in the middle while seemingly every other person I know is extreme in one direction or the other. It's not just that they are liberal or conservative, it's with that comes the resolute, single mindedness that makes politics a field I'm not remotely interested in.

The amazing thing I find is that you have two different sides who honestly believe that this one candidate will lead us to a glorious future while the other will lead us to ruin. There are no other options. That is simply the way it is. Of course both sides believe this, which means in all likelihood both are right and both are wrong to a certain degree.

That doesn't stop them from accepting no alternatives, from belittling candidates for things that they honestly probably don't understand, from saying "candidate A is clearly a liar, but candidate B has the best interest out for the American people." In my opinion, both candidates are liars. It's their nature, and they will say whatever it requires to be elected.

Sadly at this point, the key is finding which candidate fits your ideals the most and then choosing from there. There is no such thing as the perfect candidate (or in my opinion, a good candidate) so your best alternative is choosing the lesser of two evils. Whoever that is happens to be your best fit, but acting like Obama is the second coming of Christ himself or that McCain is the cure to all of our ills is going to be received with a shake of the head and a scrunched face from me.

Also, seriously people, destroying public property and causing riots at the Republican National Convention to show how you feel about the poltical system and war? Is that really necessary? I've been reading people defending those characters in Minneapolis by stating the Constitution allows for people to assemble. Yes it does, but if that coincides with the assembled groups breaking very logical and understandable laws (such as throwing bricks through businesses' windows and forming human chains on off ramps to block traffic) then you're going to get some tear gas thrown at you. Deservedly. Don't drop any "don't tase me bro" lines either, because you've earned it in this case.

I guess the point of all of this is for the first time in my 24 years of existence I want to vote, but the more I get involved with the whole process the more sickened I get. The more I feel disconnected from my age group and everyone around me as a whole. Maybe that's why young people are considered so apathetic when it comes to politics. All I know is every day closer to November 4th is just adding legitimacy to my joke of "I'm voting for Belichick/Brady '08." Better the devil you know, I say.