India’s Attacks Reminds
Us Of Terror War

As India is in a literal grip of horror, their living nightmare should be a reminder to us all that we are still at war with terrorists.

Just because the death toll is currently not as high as it was on Sept. 11 or the destruction is not as devastating, this heinous act by alleged extremist Muslim terrorists should not be brushed aside.

While these coordinated attacks are centered on areas populated by foreign tourists, especially Americans, according to CNN, it is a grim reminder that no one is safe from these heathens.

President-Elect Barack Obama must make the terrorist threat his highest priority, in addition to a crippling economy. Just because America has been bless with no further grand terror attacks on its soil does not mean that the threat has quietly gone away. That type of ignorance can be very deadly.

Increased military action against terrorists and those who harbor or aid them and better communications and open dialogue with some extremist Islamic governments, but are seeking peaceful relationships with the West, are just some of the methods that can be used to combat the danger that has gripped the world.

Tomorrow, many Americans will celebrate Thanksgiving and be grateful for what they have in their lives. Let our prayers also be with those suffering in India and pray for a peaceful resolution.

Great News For The Times Observer

As many have read, there was a slight battle between The Times Observer and Google bots over whether or not this blog is spam.

Although no e-mail has been sent by Blogger or Google, the issue appears to have been resolved. As I was updating an editorial this afternoon, I discovered that the Word Verification code has been removed. So now I can freely post or edit editorials and columns again with ease.

Thank you Blogger or Google for realizing what many readers have already discovered: That The Times Observer is not spam.

Gays Acting Like Sore Losers
Over Marriage Ban

Thousands of gays and their supporters have taken to the streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco in the past few days to demonstrate their discontent over the gay-marriage ban.

Many are upset that Californians on Election Day voted 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent for Proposition 8, which would have made gay-marriage illegal in the Golden State, according to CNN.

While many can understand the frustrations that gays feel, taking to the streets and blocking traffic and demonstrating outside religious institutions, as it’s been reported, is not the way to go.

In this country, the majority win. Crying in your beer and whining like a child because you did not get your way, while stopping traffic for thousands of irritated Californian drivers, is self-indulgent and pitiful. Our government is built upon a very simple system that the majority wins and the minority loses.

Of course, it’s only fair to point out that if Proposition 8 failed on Election Day, religious leaders and supporters of the ban would be the ones wallowing.

But there are better ways of getting the laws you want passed without massive protests and national media coverage, which is creating an embarrassing spectacle of the issue in the process.

Sure, many will complain that no state needs its court and legislature systems clogged with proposal laws that the majority of the people voted against. However, it is the only way of getting things done and the right way of doing them. It would make far more sense to use every possible legal maneuver than to continuously protests in the streets and creating unneeded resentment from Proposition 8 supporters and citizens.

But it’s important to note that while some religious leaders and their followers have said that gay marriage would destroy society, let’s remember that these are the same people who predicted that Rock-and-Roll was supposed to corrupt Americans. It certainly did not happen, but if the people of the 1950’s were forced to listen to today’s rap and heavy metal, then they might have been more receptive of Elvis “The Pelvis” Presley.

Gay marriage is too big to be a government issue and it is best left up to the states. But all those involved must accept the will of the voting majority in a responsible, respectful way. By not doing so, it is going against the very nature of our system of government: a democratic one, where everyone’s vote is equal.

Showing Respect For
The New President

Maybe it’s a generational thing. The previous generation was fighting two unpopular wars: a combative one in Vietnam and a civil rights one on the home front.

More than 40 years ago, that young generation was split into two groups: one showing respect for the establishment and the other spitting in its eye.

And as time went by, it seems as if each new generation grew bolder in showing disrespect with elected leaders to the point where it went beyond petty remarks to downright nasty comments.

These new attitudes have become increasingly brazen and shameful towards the president in recent years.

Many Americans, sadly, were atrocious and downright belligerent to President George W. Bush these last eight years, as a recent example.

Many have allowed their political bias to take over, causing them to call Bush stupid, a murderer and a warmonger, with little regard to the fact that he is the President of the United States of America.

A lot of these same people have childishly said that he is not their president because they did not elect him.

And sadly, this same immature demeanor has unjustly been aimed at President-Elect Barack Obama. Because certain people cannot see beyond either his skin color or simply his political beliefs, they have already said that he is not their president.

This type of ignorance is being spread far and wide, from liberals to conservatives, from politicians to voters. It’s the increasing political bias of the people that is creating this near socially accepted disrespect for any elected official.

Believe it or not, there was once a time in this country when saying a discouraging word about any U.S. president would result in a bloody nose by anyone, despite his party affiliation.

But where is that respect now? We must respect whoever is in office, whether we have voted for that person or not. Yes, we can disagree with the president. We would not be called Americans if we ignored our First Amendment rights and kept silent about things we do not agree with. It was not what our forefathers fought for.

However, there is a strong, bold line between disagreeing and being disrespectful. We must bring back that level of respect to our elected officials, especially the ones we disagree with most. If not, it just furthers hateful feelings and severely slows the healing process this country desperately needs.

So I welcome, respect and honor Barack Obama as my new president. But I will also respectfully disagree with any of his policies and decisions with which I may take issue.

Hopefully, all of my fellow Americans will do the same in welcoming Barack Obama into the White House as commander-in-chief. After all, it’s the respectful thing to do.

(Editor's Note: This editorial has been edited for clarification.)

Not Sure Who To Vote For?

This editorial is dedicated to Violet Pinto, my grandmother. She suffered a major heart attack and stroke last week, but according to her doctor yesterday, she’s making very good progress. My 88-year-old grandmother is a Democrat, but it’s from her long conversations about politics with me that have shaped my objectivity of America’s political parties. While a lifelong Democrat, she has always been the first one to call them on any political gaffes, shenanigans, or any other dirty handed deed that they have done. And she’s certainly has given an equal blasting at Republicans for doing the same things. This country would be in far better shape if we had more people like her.


Get well soon Grandmum.

The 2008 presidential election is coming to a close and there is much anticipation about the voting results.

And while many voters have already decided which major candidate they will be voting for, many undecided voters are still scratching their heads over which one to choose: Republican Presidential Candidate Sen. John McCain or his political rival, Democratic Presidential Candidate Sen. Barack Obama.

The die-hard staff of these candidates have been working hard to cater to undecided voters by giving them pamphlets of information about the candidates and telling them which pro-candidate Web sites they should go to for more information.

And while their intentions are honorable, the information that the supporters are giving out about their candidates are biased, dishonest and/or deceitful.

Most of the information and Web sites do not go into great detail about how the candidates plan to get the money to help fund a lot of the spending that they plan on doing, as one example. And let’s not go into how both Obama and McCain have been less than honest with the American public in their attack ads against each other.

Thankfully, there are many Web sites out there that give unbiased information on McCain and Obama. Hopefully, undecided voters will find the following Web sites useful in deciding which candidate will be the best one to lead our great nation.

And always remember this: An informed voter who gets his or her information from objective sources is far more powerful than the voter who only relies on political bias and sound bytes from the candidates.

www.ontheissues.org

www.factcheck.org

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/

www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/candidate-match-game.htm

www.vajoe.com/candidate_calculator.html

www.votebyissue.org/election2008/