Obama vs. McCain

I may not be the most educated voter because I tend to base my decision on the following items:

-Whether or not the candidate is a democrat
-Pro-Choice and supports abortion rights
-Supports gay marriage rights
-Health care

I decided a long time ago that I would be voting for Obama and after reading the following comparisions on the issues, I feel ever more strongly about that choice.


Abortion
McCain: Opposes abortion rights. Has voted for abortion restrictions permissible under Roe v. Wade, and now says he would seek to overturn that guarantee of abortion rights while being open to a running mate who supports abortion rights. Would not seek constitutional amendment to ban abortion.

Obama: Favors abortion rights.

Death penalty
McCain: Has supported expansion of the federal death penalty and limits on appeals.

Obama: Supports death penalty for crimes for which the "community is justified in expressing the full measure of its outrage." As Illinois lawmaker, wrote bill mandating videotaping of interrogations and confessions in capital cases and sought other changes in system that had produced wrongful convictions

Education
McCain: Favors parental choice of schools, including vouchers for private schools when approved by local officials, and right of parents to choose home schooling. More money for community college education.

Obama: Encourage but not require universal pre-kindergarten programs, expand teacher-mentoring programs and reward teachers with higher pay not tied to standardized test scores, in $18 billion plan to be paid for in part by delaying elements of moon and Mars missions. Change No Child Left Behind law "so that we're not just teaching to a test and Crowding out programs like art and music." Tax credit to pay up to $4,000 of college expenses for students who perform 100 hours of community service a year. (Yay for more for teachers!! NOT based on test scores).

Gay marriage
McCain: Opposes constitutional amendment to ban it. Says same-sex couples should be allowed to enter into legal agreements for insurance and similar benefits, and states should decide about marriage.

Obama: Opposes constitutional amendment to ban it. Supports civil unions, says states should decide about marriage.

Health care
McCain: $2,500 refundable tax credit for individuals, $5,000 for families, to make health insurance more affordable. No mandate for universal coverage. In gaining the tax credit, workers could not deduct the portion of their workplace health insurance paid by their employers.

Obama: Mandatory coverage for children, no mandate for adults. Aim for universal coverage by requiring employers to share costs of insuring workers and by offering coverage similar to that in plan for federal employees. Says package would cost up to $65 billion a year after unspecified savings from making system more efficient. Raise taxes on wealthier families to pay the cost.

Iraq
McCain: Opposes scheduling a troop withdrawal, saying latest strategy is succeeding. Supported decision to go to war, but was early critic of the manner in which administration prosecuted it. Was key backer of the troop increase. Willing to have permanent U.S. peacekeeping forces in Iraq.

Obama: Spoke against war at start, opposed troop increase. Voted against one major military spending bill in May 2007; otherwise voted in favor of money to support the war. Says his plan would complete withdrawal of combat troops in 16 months. Initially had said a timetable for completing withdrawal would be irresponsible without knowing what facts he'd face in office.

The Decemberists

I think that every person I date, that I care about, always teaches me something, enlightens me about something I never knew before. In the case of my last Ex, I'll call him D, he introduce me to music I had never heard of before.

Despite, that we're no longer together and he acted like a real jerk in the end, I will always be grateful that he introduced me to The Decemberists. Their sound fits right into my roster of favorite bands- beautiful lyrics, a unique lead voice, and a melody that strikes right to the heart.

That's why I am SO excited that they are coming to The Moore Theater this November.

Deets: November 30th, The Moore Theater, 8 pm, $30 advance, $33 at the door. Click here for tickets.

I subscribe to the fabulous Seattle Weekly and receive two emails from them a week. One for the news and one for music. As I was "working" today, I read through the articles online and I saw this article . I got immediately excited. Of course, the first person I thought of was D and that it would be great to go to the show with him. Then I remembered as much as I wanted to remain friends, I don't think he does (he wrote a pretty bitchy email two days after he dumped me). I'll go to the show anyway because it'll be amazing.

Maybe even with a new beau (I have a little crush on a co-worker).

For another fabulous article on The Decemberists, click here .