My first post

In my first post I would like to state some opinions that have been on my mind of late. They are as follows:

Politics.
So what's the deal with this Obama guy, anyway? He promises change, to the point of sounding Utopian-esque, and has thus far not done anything to affect a positive change for the average American. And yet his popularity and clout amongst his constituents remain unharmed, nay even undaunted by his apparent lack of progress. I read one article that stated that insurance companies project that the Obama health bill will not relieve costs, but actually increase the average health insurance premiums for families and individuals by $1500-$4000 a year! Is that change I can believe in? In my opinion, it is not. If real change is going to be brought about it will need to be in a way that does not increase the cost of living for people with incomes of less than $200,000 a year. In spite of his apparent lack of ability to do so, school children are taught to sing his praises! He even won a nobel peace prize! What did he do to deserve that? Say some inspiring words into a microphone? Make astounding promises without any actual resources to back them? Have his picture taken while he looks nobly into the sky as if looking into a brighter tomorrow? Sheesh, anyone can do that! It seems like the word "Premature" is the adjective du jour for this administration. Hopefully, Obama will live up to his promises and America will be better for it. Time will tell. But is it OK if I don't hold my breath?

Cost of living:
So. Rent is up, mortgage payments are up, the cost of food is up, sales taxes are up, property taxes are up, energy costs are up, and starting salaries are down. Does this make sense to ANYONE?! It used to be that a couple just starting out could find good honest jobs with decent pay and live comfortably enough to save up so that after a year or so they could start having children. But these days, my wife and I are worried about having a child. Is it because of the crime rate or doubts about our marriage or fears about what a baby will do to the relationship? No. It's money. Pure and simple. Health care, food, clothes, diapers... I read that it costs over $150,000 to raise a child to college age. That's not including tuition, people. That's money that a couple made of a barrista at starbucks and a security officer at a shipping company can't afford. We are looking for better work but apparently none exists in the Chicago area. And it's not like we aren't educated. I am just 6 credit hours (and about $16,000) shy of a bachelors degree, and my wife has a Masters! And even SHE is having trouble finding something better than STARBUCKS!

Jobs and the Economy
Companies need to stop outsourcing jobs and resources and start rebuilding our economy from the inside out. This means not only offering salaries that are updated with the cost of living, but offering affordable, reliable products to the American people! Stop overpricing useless crap! It's not helping anyone but YOU Mr. Big Salary CEO. In my opinion, international free trade should be capped and Americans should deal in-house until we can rebuild our infrastructure. Outsourcing jobs to pay workers pennies on the dollar should be illegal. You should either be made to pay American wages for work overseas or not allowed to outsource jobs to foreign countries period. We have the resources and the man power to accomplish anything! But we are creating such a vacuum due to inflation and outsourcing that an economic implosion is imminent.

Gun control:
Let me be perfectly clear how I stand on this issue: I believe that we need legislature that will allow law-abiding citizens the right to own, carry, and use firearms while regulating who gets them and when and for what purpose they can be used. I believe in Carry and concealment of firearms by tax paying, law respecting, peace preserving citizens. Any legislature that outright bans conceal and carry practices only strips law abiding citizens of their weapons while doing virtually nothing to those who have no regard for the law. A murderer and a rapist will both carry their hand cannons regardless of what legislature is passed by John C Mayor. However, the girl who was raped, or the man who was killed could have had the means to defend themselves had the law been on their side. In this case, the perpetrators got away with what they did because the man and the girl were defenseless, because they obey the law, which states that they can't carry guns. Statistics prove that when conceal and carry laws allow citizens to carry guns, crime rates plummit. The reason for this is that criminals become aware that normal everyday people could be carrying guns too, and this notion prevents them from taking the risk of being shot. It's simple logic. Why normal people with the power to make laws in places like Chicago (who's laws don't even allow retired police officers with perfect records to carry their weapons with them) wouldn't realize this and change the laws in place to allow its citizens to protect themselves from bad guys is beyond me. It baffles the mind to the point of lunacy. My father in-law, a retired police officer of the will county sheriff's office, should be allowed to carry his service revolver with him in the seedy places of Chicago for the protection of himself, his loved ones, and even the people around him. But the law of the land states that he could be arrested and imprisoned for doing so. What is wrong with this picture?

DH out