Barack Obama, and what they have voted for

Barack Obama's positions:

I wrote this little blog because I think a lot of people in this country wanted the charming Obama to win mainly because the alternative sucked, rather than what Obama actually wanted. Well, here's my look, for those who might be interested, at what we might see from Obama during the next four years...And since he has a Democrat-friendly Senate, quite a lot of his ideas might become law.

* Immigration - You may be surprised to know that:

1) Obama is in favour of increasing border security to prevent illegal immigration.
2) Will hope to fine employers who hire illegal immigrants.
3) Illegal immigrants pay a fine if discovered, but if they agree to learn English and some skills they can be put in line for citizenship.

This will no doubt appeal to the patriots of the USA. But I doubt if they know he endorses such an idea. My source: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/immigration/

* Foreign Aid - Obama would double foreign aid to $50 billion by 2012. Nice sentiment, but can the US really afford such extravagant charity in a time of recession?

* Healthcare - Similar to the last one - Barack is in favour of extending healthcare to all American citizens, affordable healthcare mark you. The number of uninsured persons would lower significantly, and yet it would add a very hefty sum to the already burgeoning national debt and an already unstable Medicare and Medicaid institutions. Again the question is, can the US afford such gestures?

* Habeas Corpus - For those in the no rather than the know as regards this weird latin phrase, habeas corpus is a legal writ through which a person cannot be unlawfully detained by a state. It does not determine a man's guilt or innocence, only whether his detention is legal. If the charge is valid, then the person must submit to trial, but if not, they are free to...walk free. Of course, Bush's terroristic laws allow people to be held unlawfully and indefinitely without charge (in Cuba at Guantanamo). This is what the disgusting Tony Blair said was 'understandable'. It is not understandable at all. Cutting to the chase, Obama plans to bring back this important writ and I hope he will.

* Abortion/Contraception: Obama is in favour of abortion in accordance with Roe vs. Wade (a supreme court decision) which basically means, abortion is a legal availability for all mothers-to-be until the fetus becomes 'viable' at seven months. He voted for an initative (100 million to be spent on providing contraceptives and reducing teen pregnancy) which will hopefully stop such decisions having to be made...

* Marriage - Obama has supported laws which give the same legal status to same-sex couples as opposite ones. I can't see any good reason for preventing such laws, aside from crypto-religious ones, which have no standing in law regardless.

* Guantanamo Bay - Obama is in favour of shutting this hellhole down, but on two occasions has not voted in favour of propositions which could have decisively shut the place down. That is interesting, which leads to my next point.

* PATRIOT ACT - Not too keen on this. Obama voted in favour of the draconian USA PATRIOT Act, which equated patriotism with giving the CIA, FBI, and god knows what else increased power to search telephone, emails, medical, and financial records (Yes, so much for the confidentiality of a doctor and a patient). In addition to this the government now has the ability to break into American's homes without prior warning or warrant, all of which smashes through basic checks on government's power. This is a shocking mistake by a supposed liberal. I hope he will repeal it.

* Supports the separation of church/state - This is good. The Bible has no say in the laws that govern a country. At the same time the state has no business in how its citizens conduct their religion (so long as it doesn't harm others).

* Marijuana decriminalization - Obama does not support this. All he supports is not giving users such long sentences. Prohibition does not work, it criminalizes a drug problem and thus fills up the prisons with people who have only done harm to themselves, and what is worse is when really violent offenders are let out just so the the 'awful druggies' can fit in.

* That bailout - My own view is that this doesn't make economic sense: It subsidizes wasteful industry and Wall Street greed at taxpayers expense. If you invested in something, you must bear the losses as well as the fruits - that is the risk of investing! If anything, investors will splash the cash even more wildly in future if they know that a government will bail them out when the going gets tough. Also, unprofitable industries will not have the incentive to increase productivity if they are kept afloat by money that they simply have not done anything to generate. Responsibility for one's actions in the world of finance would not be condoned by such a bill.

* Death Penalty - An issue I haven't made up my mind after being here 21 years, nor has Obama really: It is used 'too frequently' but then he still believes it is justified for certain crimes, or in his words in situations where 'the community is justified in expressing the full measure of its outrage'.

* Iraq - Withdrawal from Iraq but at a pace which the commanders are happy with...A lot of have used this to say that Barack 'hates America' and loves extreme 'Islam'. Ok, so if I pull out of a squash tournament because I have a serious enough injury, does that mean I hate racquetsports? Hmmmm....

Some really good ideas, some blotches. The problem is that the noble ideas cost a lot of money. And don't get me wrong - I had more at issue with the uneasy hybrid of McCalin than I did with Obama.

To finish, I must say the election reflects well on America...race seems to be becoming not so important in the election of a President. It's a big step forward in that respect alone.