Kolby’s Place

“House Democrats covered themselves in shame today, joining with Republicans to pass a bill granting amnesty to the cowardly telephone companies who helped the President’s office with its illegal bulk-wiretapping campaign that spied on every American call and email without any judicial oversight. What’s more, the bill also allows this to continue going on in the future. Who needs the fourth amendment?” -BoingBoing

“To summarize: it appears quite likely that various telcos broke a very clear law in providing wiretaps to the government without a warrant (as required under FISA). Despite what you might hear, this has nothing to do with emergency wiretaps where there wasn’t time to go the warrants. Under existing law, in such cases, it’s possible to get the wiretap and get the warrant within a few days. However, in many cases, it appears no warrant was ever sought. The fact that the telcos approved these wiretaps is almost certainly against the law — and it seems that it should obviously be tried in a court of law to determine that specifically. –More @ TechDirt 

I am a conservative when it comes to  politics.  However, I am getting sick of the laws, the ideology, and the lack of concern in our government.

I love the United States, the idea of democracy, and the power of our people. However, there are some serious issues within our government. Our leadership is weak and by weak I mean completely overpowering the American people and operating on an ideology of fear. Our government is too big which has created un-needed debt, redtape, and corruption. On top of all this is this continuing chipping away of our civil liberties. Just take the http://www.eff.org/  website. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a civil liberty group based around technology. Read a few articles on this site and you get a better picture of just how much chipping away is actually taking place. That scary thing is that is just on a digital perspective.

I don’t want this to seem like a “I don’t like Bush” article because honestly I am disappointed with our entire government as a whole for their handling of our country and I have no real vendetta against Bush directly. Although much of the issues I have with current legislation might have been brought forth by President Bush, it is still our congress and senate that is either to dumb or to scared to stand up for what is right and intelligent.  I am upset with our entire government all the way down to our local representatives and senators I meet on the road everyday. Unfortunately, some of my frustration might be misdirected at President Bush due to the fact that in the end, he is the President, and in the end our country looks to him for leadership. “[seven] years ago, with the ruins of the Twin Towers still smoking, many Americans—I should own that I was one of them—looked at Bush and thought they saw a Churchill, or at least a Truman: a leader fortuitously equipped for a difficult job at a critical moment.” -Jonathan Rauch

When discussing the issues of our country today, I am sick of hearing the scapegoat “At least we have not had another terrorist attack.” The fact of the matter is kids, our country is not doing so well. At this rate our economy is going to go from it’s knees to flat on it’s back. I really don’t think it’s all about the terrorist going around blowing up buildings and such. I think anyone who thinks “At least we have not had another terrorist” attack is being shortsighted and not looking at the bigger picture here. Do you really think the goal of the terrorist is to blow up buildings every once in a while, instill some fear in us, make our lives a little more complicated? No, it’s to destroy America completely and how better to do that then demolish our economy which in turn destroys our position in the global marketplace and eventually our status as the world’s number one superpower.

“Here’s a thought: OPEC, al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations are in collusion, with the goal of reducing our economy to the status of a Third World country.” -Wally Slate

Through the original 9-11 attacks on a symbol of America’s power in the world market, our growing cost of the “War on Terror”, the overall financial uncertainty created by the current laws and regulations, our economy has already been cut at the knees. We as the citizens of this great country need to rise up and let our government know we want change.

I ask you all to listen to each of the presidential candidates this year and take some time to genuinely think about who will do the better job. If your a democrat, I would ask that you really think about what John Mcain has to offer. If you are a Republican, I would ask you do the same for Obama. This election should not be about political groups. This election should be focused on who can bring the United States back to where it should be. Don’t let this stop on the presidential level either. Evaluate our senators and representatives, let them know what you think, and care about your country!

During my travel in Malaysia, Vietnam, and Singapore a  few weeks ago I was able to do a lot of thinking about how good things are in the United States comparatively. We still have a great country with many freedoms and opportunities. I was able to see just how great the United States is. However, it is with this appreciation and love for our country that I want change. We cannot continue down this path of a failing economy, rising energy cost, and problems of unemployment and outsourcing.

The fact is, I am proud to be an American and I want that feeling to continue. The only way to bring our country back to the top is through us, the American citizens. We honestly do have power and it’s time to use it by voting for officials that can get the job done.