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.

Ways You Might be Ruining Your Credit Score

Although this isn't about Seattle, I thought I'd share what I consider the most simple, straightforward, and informative article I've found in regards to creating a good credit score. While I was purusing the internet today, I came across this article about how you might be ruining your credit score.

I'm a twenty-something and deathly afraid that I'm trashing my credit and that when it comes time to purchase a house or car or a boat (in my fantasies!) I won't be able to.

I have credit card debit and I want to know how to best handle it in order to improve my credit. So whenever I see links to articles about credit, I always click.

Then I read it and feel more lost than ever. I get lost in the garagon or there is a disclaimer stating, "well, there are differing views on . . . " Which doesn't help me.

That's why I was so excited about this article- it made perfect sense to me!

My quick intrepretation of the article (to keep it brief):

1.Be willing to try to change what the credit card company's rules. An example from the article- Had one late payment? If your record is squeaky clean, ask them nicely to remove the blemish from your credit history (which, remember, could cost you up to 100 points on your credit score).

2.If the company ups your limit beware of spending more.

3.Don't transfer balances! Lower debts look better for you.

And here's more on the author's Marie Clare blog.

Hope this helps!