Video - US Citizenship Ceremony

This is the video I took this afternoon of Christy's citizenship oath in San Antonio.  The video runs about 3 minutes long.  It wouldn't be that interesting if it wasn't for the wacko shouting after the country "Sudan" was read.  Listen carefully and you can hear Taiwan right after.

First Day of School

Today was the first day back to school for the kids.  Just as I thought, Sara was excited to be going back.  She loves school, and I can easily see her becoming a school nerd in the future.  Kyle, on the other hand, was a bit scared.  This was his first day ever at school, having skipped Pre-K and spending most of his time at home with me.  I have to say, I think I was more excited for him than he was.  Now I'll finally have some peace in the mornings.

Why Mitt Romney Will (and Should) Lose in November

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."  - Franklin D. Roosevelt

I saw this quote on the FDR memorial in Washington D.C. last month, and those words really resonated with me.  I took a picture of it, which you can see on my blog from last month.

It seems like never have those words meant so much as they do now, as we have a man running for president who wants to raise taxes on about 95% of Americans to fund a tax cut for the remaining 5%.  For me personally, using the Romney "tax calculator" found online, I'll be paying approximately $641 more under Romney.  Now, using the same calculator, once my annual income hits $200,000, suddenly I'm saving $4,016.  Under Romney, it literally pays to be rich.

I don't particularly mind paying more in taxes, if those taxes were going to something like...say...universal health care for all, or building high speed trains, or making college more affordable for everyone.  But...it seems my tax increase is going to fund their tax decrease.  It's like Robin Hood in reverse.  It's not fair.

The right will respond: But 47% of Americans pay no taxes at all!  They pay nothing, and they even get a big refund!

Well...yeah, but those 47% are POOR.  Is it so wrong for the poor to not have a tax burden?  I guess I must be poor too, because I don't pay any taxes either (mainly because I have two kids, and their tax credit eats away most of the taxes we owe), but I don't get any big refund.  I haven't received a big refund since we got the "New Homebuyers Credit" a few years ago.  I don't get the "Earned Income Credit" like the very poor get, but I do get the "Child Tax Deduction" and the "Mortgage Interest Deduction", which would both be on the chopping block under Romney.

So...whether I think Obama is doing a good job or not, I have to vote for what's in my best interest, and the candidate that is most likely to hurt me in the pocketbook will be Romney, hands down.

Okay...so you're probably saying "Well, you were going to vote for Obama anyway!"  Well..true...but here's a little story.  About ten years ago in California, Gray Davis (a democrat) was running against Arnold Schwarzenegger (republican) for Governor.  The economy was in terrible shape at the time (and still is).  Gray Davis was planning to raise the "Vehicle Registration Fee" at the DMV to an outrageous fee, something like $600 for my car alone.  Arnold promised he wouldn't do that, and he would revert the fee back to it's original rate (which was less than $100).  On that one issue alone, I voted for Arnold.  I didn't want to pay freakin' six hundred dollars!  Maybe he screwed the state up in the long run, I don't know.  I left California shortly after that and never went back.  So..the point is, I'll occasionally vote against my own party if I feel it's in my best interest.

My initial feelings about Romney weren't as bad as they are now.  As I've gotten to know more and more about him, the more I dislike and distrust him.  He's the epitome of the snake oil salesman.  The issue with his taxes isn't helping that image either.  The right hounded Obama like crazy for his birth certificate, which he eventually released.  Now Romney is getting hounded for his tax returns for the past ten years, which the guy refuses to release.  Not that he he's required to, but he should do it just to shut up the democrats.  But, I doubt he will.  John McCain saw 23 years of Romney's tax returns when he was vetting him for the VP position in 2008.  He didn't like what he saw, and went with Sarah Palin instead.  That should tell you something.  Either it's true that he paid no taxes during those ten years, or there's something else that is equally bad.

I've predicted (more than once), that Obama will likely win in November.  Even the media is saying it will be a landslide victory for Obama.  I hope it turns out to be true.  My bank account just can't afford a Romney victory.