A recent articled titled "If the system made sense, Clinton would be far ahead" from Salon.com is so biased and un-nuanced - to the point that the article is essentially worthless - that I’ve deciced write my first blog post here in over a year (and create a new username because I can't get into my old account) to point it out. As an Obama supporter, it kind of drove me up the wall, but hopefully I can turn that frustration into something more conciliating than the article itself.
Senator Obama spoke yesterday as the Texas and Ohio primary results were coming in. In the midst of the usual inspirational plea to change America, he said something that caught my attention (video: 00:25 seconds in):
We believe that a child born tonight should have the same chances whether she arrives in the barrios of San Antonio or the suburbs of St. Louis, on the streets of Chicago or the hills of Appalachia.
The beginning of the presidential race was extremely exciting for climate change fanatics, with all the democratic contenders trying to one-up each other and McCain taking back the Republican lead despite his calls for higher fuel efficiency and climate protection.
But my enthusiasm gave way to frustration as I looked into each candidate's platforms. Edwards was the only candidate calling for moratorium on coal and no nuclear. Barrack Obama and Hillary continue touting the 'clean coal' bandwagon while McCain claims that nuclear, and nuclear alone, will solve the climate crisis. Just in case you have been giving in to the brainwashing by the cutzie 'clean coal' commercials on CNN, or McCain's rhetoric on nuclear, let me explain why, as youth, we should be up in arms about these solutions... that are not.
Fantasy encircles the U.S. presidential race. We have an urgent responsibility to address climate change and other environmental problems that imperil the 6.6 billion people on the planet. Anyone hear about that from the candidates? We have a health care crisis in the United States with over 40 million uninsured and premium rates skyrocketing for those with insurance. Any real solutions for that problem? Our economic system is on its last legs and our infrastructure, bridges, etc., crumbles as you read this. Zero real solutions, right, other than solutions that line the pockets of political donor's.
This is a time for intense focus, serious discussions, and open debate on policies and programs. It's the entire human species at risk. Have we heard anything about that in the presidential primaries? Not even close.
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