Does Obama have a drinking problem?

Obama is constantly stating that he is going to have a beer. It has reached the point that having a beer is almost  part of his stump speech.

The Huffington Post recently ran a story entitled "President Obama Makes Bid For Beer-Drinker-In-Chief (PHOTOS)" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/11/obama-beer_n_1874440.html. The article had a number of photos of Obama drinking beer.

Obama has used beer to smooth over rough patches, when his comments on the police handling of the Professor Gates incident caused an uproar, his solution was to have a beer summit in the Rose garden with the policeman and Professor Gates.

He has instituted several microbrew flavors at the White House. There is White House Honey Ale, White House Honey Blonde Ale and White House Honey Porter. He recently released the formulas for these flavors to allow people to brew the same beer at home.

Some of this love of beer is probably genuine and some of it would appear to be a political calculation to appeal to the every man. Most Americans enjoy a beer and it is a way to connect with them. Obama makes a similar calculation in mentioning his love of playing basketball all the time, while remaining silent on his enjoyment of golf. He does not mention golf, because golf is regarded as a game for the wealthy while basketball is for the common man.

Obama understands that he needs to better connect with the average voter. In his speeches, he often adopts the manner of a professor lecturing a student rather than a person discussing a subject with equals. This style runs the risk of the alienating voters. His enjoyment of basketball and beer provides common bonds with voters.

In this election, there is another reason to mention his beer drinking.  His opponent Mitt Romney does not drink because of his religious convictions. An important part of campaigning is to draw distinctions between yourself and your opponent. Obama is able to subtly do this by mentioning he had a beer.

Expect to hear Obama say I had a beer many more times in the election campaign. You could turn this into a drinking game, every time Obama mentions that he had a beer you have one too. Then you could have a drinking problem as well.

No voter fraud equals no fraud in the financial crash?

A constant refrain has been there is no voter fraud because prosecutions are very rare. Basing whether a crime has been committed on the number of prosecutions is problematic. Using this logic there was no fraud in the financial crash since very few people were prosecuted. The amount of prosecution is more closely correlated with how hard you are looking for something rather than how much of it is happening.

Voter fraud lessens each of our right to vote. It will destroy a democracy, because people will lose confidence in their vote. Even a small amount of voter fraud can determine the winner in a close election. It also can lead to electing politicians that will feel no responsibility to represent to the people since the people did not elect them.

One of the precursors to voter fraud is fraudulent registrations. If people are registered who don't know it or do not exist, the perpetrator avoids one of the major risks of voter fraud. This is the risk of someone showing up to vote after you have already fraudulently cast their ballot. This is one of the only ways voter fraud will come to light. If the voter does not exist, they will not show up to vote.

The only way to determine the extent of fraudulent registrations would be to contact every registered voter and determine if they indeed registered themselves. The only way to determine if voter fraud was taking place would be to contact all the people who voted and determine if they actually cast a vote.

Beware of anyone telling you that there is no voter fraud who has not undertaken these steps. They are expressing their opinion.

Is Mitt Romney Hispanic?

Mitt Romney has a chance to be the first Hispanic president. This may be surprising. He does not look Hispanic. He doesn't even speak Spanish, but neither do a large number of people considered Hispanic.

In fact, what exactly makes you Hispanic is nebulous. There is no number of generations or years spent in a Hispanic county. The 2010 census defined Hispanic as the following.

The terms "Hispanic" or "Latino" refer to persons who trace their origin or descent to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Spanish speaking Central and South America countries, and other Spanish cultures. Origin can be considered as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.

http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hispanic/about.html

Mitt Romney's great grandfather Helaman Pratt lived in Mexico for approximately 40 years, died in Mexico, and is buried there. Helaman Pratt was on of the first Mormon missionaries to arrive in Mexico and later served as the president of the Mexican Mission.

Mitt Romney's grandfather Rey Lucero Pratt grew up in Mexico and spent much of his life there. He was responsible for translating many of the Mormon hymns to Spanish and adapted Mormon teachings to Mexican culture. He spent 23 years as president of the Mexican Mission.

Mitt Romney's father George Wilcken Romney was born in Galeana, Chihuahua, Mexico. George Romney's immediate family immigrated to the United States during the Mexican Revolution. There are many members of Mitt Romney's family that still live in Mexico.




These facts provide a compelling case that Mitt Romney is in fact Hispanic. Mitt Romney appears to meet the requirement set out by the US census to be considered Hispanic.

http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/06/10005266-mitt-romneys-family-in-mexico-reveals-candidates-heritage-south-of-border?google_editors_picks=true

Misuse of office to win reelection

It is a temptation for an elected politician to use their office in an effort to get reelected. They have many resources that their challengers do not have at their disposal. Elected officials can use the public's money to advertise to the voters and they can travel using taxpayers funds. The temptation to use the tax payers' money to get reelected must be resisted by our elected officials. If our elected officials are abusing their office it is up to voters to replace them.

Between January and November of this year, President Barack Obama had 56 events in presidential battleground states. These events were paid for by tax payers. The events had the feel of reelection events. He has even taken several bus tours through battle ground states. It appears that he is using his current position to gain an advantage in the upcoming election. Obama's opponents will have to use campaign funds for equivalent events.  This will allow Obama to buy more ads, have more paid staff, and have more events then the people running to replace him.

Jim Ford, Brevard's property appraiser, uses the property appraiser's web site to advertise what a great job he is doing. There is a testimonial on top of the front page on how well the office is being run by Mr. Ford. This is not what I would expect from a tax payer funded property appraiser web site.

There is also the ongoing dispute of Lori Halbert's home appraisal. Ms. Halbert is the partner of Jason Steele. Jason Steele is challenging Mr. Ford in the 2012 property appraiser race. There was a dispute over her house's appraisal value the last two years.  After independent reviews the appraisal was lowered significantly both times. Even though nothing improper may be going on, it certainly appears that Mr. Ford is using his office to punish one of the people running against him.

Whether or not any of these uses of the office to win reelection gives enough reason to remove the official from office is a decision that is left to the voters. The voters need to be informed of these potential issues and they can use their own judgement.