History was made yesterday but, beyond all that we have finally decided who the next leader of this country will be.

Given the fact that like any sports event, race, or competition there is always a winner and a looser many are upset at the outcome of this race.

I don’t blame you, you stand for a certain set of ideals and principals and you would like to see them spread. Unfortunately for you the folks who voted for the winning side decided they’d like to see their ideals and principals spread even more. Does this mean that those ideals and principals will work? Not necessarily, but as we’ve done in this country for many, many years we have to give them a chance.

On my way home this morning I was listening to Coast to Coast AM, and one of the guests (a highly conservative guest at that) said that the presidency in many ways is like a new job. There is a 90 to 100 day period where the new president must acclimate himself, where his team must get in and start making the necessary changes for the bigger change, where things are “shaken up.” Just like we did with George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Regan and all the presidents before him we have to allow President Obama the same time frame.

There is little doubt in my mind that this presidency is going to face many challenges. Not just foreign but, if the amount of nasty e-mails, bumper stickers being scratched off my car, times I’ve been called a baby killing communistic socialist and had doors slammed in my face and told by people they’re not voting for a nigger are any indication, this presidency is going to face great challenges on the home front. President Obama has many fans, but he has just as many folks in this country who are not fans. I’ve read countless blog entries, facebook notes, e-mails, myspace bulletins and more indicating why the country is headed to hell in a hand basket if Barack Obama is elected president. I’ve been shunned on numerous times in the church setting, have had close friends call me a complete idiot, all for supporting this administration.
The reality is simple: THIS IS THE NEW AMERICA. We now have to rally together and support our administration, I have supported the Bush administration despite an extreme distaste for many of their policies…because I’m an American. Please consider doing the same for this administration.

It is also important to remember that there is no instant fix to all of our problems. Things are going to take time to take their course. The changes that President Obama has proposed are radical, and something this country has never seen. They will undoubtedly fail at first shot, but we’ve got to work together to make them work on the second go around, just like we did with the recent bailout.

Our government is now working for us, I know for many of you that is hard to believe but, for me, it is plain to see. Gone are the days of greed, not just by corporations, but by the same Americas who are pissed that they may actually have to pay more taxes simply because they make more money. The reality is this, I’ve worked my ass off everyday of my life since I was 14 years old and have NOTHING to show for it, and that’s the case with many Americans. Now, times are tough, politicians now have to step in and do what they swore they’d do when they took the oath of office: To Serve and protect the citizens of this country rich or poor. Trust me both sides will win in one way or the other. This presidency is the first major sign of the government doing what they swore to do.

I’m with them and I hope you’ll join me too.

If you’re not willing to join right now that is understandable but, at least pass along the same grace that John McCain did when he conceded. Division is the last thing this country needs, we’ve been divided for far too long.

Tomorrow, November 4th, 2008 history will be made (or at least the start of a historical event will occur).

If you have not already done so and you are registered it is imperative that you get out and vote tomorrow. Do not let the lines scare you, do not let the polls keep you back, you must make your voice heard.

A lot of folks will be trying to convince you to vote this way or that way, but in the end you MUST vote for the candidate you believe is the right person to move this country forward. Times are tough, there is no denying that. We need change and whether that change comes in the form of a Obama/Biden administration or a McCain/Palin administration, we must have a change!

I’ve heard a lot of talk lately, especially since I am involved in the arena of Christianity about voting along your convictions. Listen, when you are making the decision ultimately your convictions are going to play a roll in who you choose to vote. HOWEVER, it is important to remember that when it comes to the greater good of your country your convictions may not always be appropriate. Jesus, NEVER forced His views on anyone. If you favor one candidate over the other for moral reasons (i.e. abortion, homosexual marriage, war, etc.) then you’re doing this country and injustice. Yes, your morals are a guiding light in YOUR life, and you should take head to them but, at the end of the day, you have to vote for what the country as a whole needs.

I’ve made no attempt to hide the fact that I believe the country needs an Obama/Biden administration and we need the policies that administration will bring about. I’ve taken flack from the right, and particularly the Christian right because of Obama’s views on abortion. At the end of the day though, abortion is ONE issue of MANY that need to be dealt with and while I may not be in 100% agreement with the Obama/Biden view on abortion, I am in agreement with the vast majority of their policies on other issues.

The God I serve would one, not be involved in politics and two, has ALWAYS placed the greater good of mankind in front of everything else. I truly feel by lodging my vote I have done just that. I voted last Thursday, if you haven’t voted yet, tomorrow is your turn.

Make your voice be heard.

Get out and vote! History and this country is depending on you.

Tuesday, you have the opportunity to let your voice be heard.
Don’t sit back and let someone tell you that you do not have a voice. Don’t let a jacked up system keep you down.

Get out Tuesday and VOTE.

(RSS READERS: Video above, check out http://www.willyoungband.com/2008/11/do-whatever-you-feel-is-rightdo-whatever-you-feel-is-right/ to view it)

I couldn’t resist.

1.) I love pugs.
2.) I love Barely Political.
3.) You probably needed a laugh.

I stumbled upon ill doctrine through a video on racism that Carlos posted on his blog.

This guy Jay Smooth, is pretty intelligent, and is definitely going to be a blog I check out regularly. Take a gander at this video he recently posted, then head over to ill doctrine and show him some love.

(RSS Readers: Video attached, visit http://www.willyoungband.com/2008/10/a-poem-for-the-young-voter/ to watch)

So there are a significant number of folks out there who would say to you that race plays a very small roll in this years election. I would beg to differ.

My indifference on the subject comes from months of campaigning and listening to people. It comes from the media coverage, it comes from spending a significant amount of time in an area full of racial tension.

Here’s an e-mail that is circulating the internet and for the first time I’m forwarding it along, as it makes a lot of sense. I’m leaving comments on, feel free to comment, but do not expect anything in return. It is no secret that I have been a fairly avid supporter of Barack Obama for quite some time, so I have an obligation to share this.

What if things were switched around? Think about it. Would the country’s collective point of view be different? Could racism be the culprit? [this most certainly must be a rhetorical question!]

What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, following the debate, including a three month-old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?

What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?

What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his college graduating class?

What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?

What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?

What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?

What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?

What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five? (The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)

What if Obama couldn’t read from a teleprompter?

What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?

What if Obama was the one who was known to publicly display a serious anger management problem?

What if Michelle Obama’s family had made their money from beer distribution?

You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected a reality, if the tables were turned, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative characteristics in another when there is a color difference.

And, think of this - the candidates’ educational backgrounds:

Barack Obama:
Columbia University
B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in
International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Joseph Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in
Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

John McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Sarah Palin: Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

Education isn’t everything, but this is about the two highest
offices in the land as well as our standing in the world.

Someone posted this video on someone’s facebook note and it’s good.

Ladies and gentlemen…Craig Ferguson:

Coming up in November along with obviously the presidential election and a whole slew of other offices up for bid my fellow Floridians have the joy of voting on a rather controversial constitutional amendment.

It’s called Amendment 2, and in my opinion it is DANGEROUS. I would suffice to say it is actually going to be far more detrimental to the families of Florida than the group sponsoring the amendment seem to think.

When I initially wrote this entry it was intended to be a balanced report of both sides of this amendment. Then I got to thinking about SEO, and how I need this entry to receive hits because, so far everyone I’ve talked to about this amendment seems to be focused on the fact that it is a gay marriage ban. As a result, as you can tell from the title, this entry will be far from balanced. If that pisses you off, leave.

FLORIDIANS NEED TO KNOW THAT AMENDMENT 2 IS NOT JUST A BAN ON GAY MARRIAGE!

It is actually a ban on any sort of relationship or partnership that is NOT a marriage between a man and a woman.

The exact wording that you will read on your ballet in November is:
“Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.”

What does that mean?

Well quite simply it means that if you are involved in a homosexual relationship you will loose all the rights and benefits currently afforded/awarded to you.

It means that if you are in a heterosexual relationship that is NOT a legally recognized marriage, then you too will loose all the rights and benefits currently afforded/awarded to you.

It means that any benefits (medical, banking, etc) that the partners share between themselves or their children will no longer be recognized in the State of Florida.

It means that the religious ceremony known as marriage that was taken over by the government as a means of profit (because lets face it, why else would the government busy themselves with a religious ceremony) will now be the only recognized form of a relationship or partnership in the state of Florida. Furthermore, it will only be recognized if it is a marriage between a male and a female.

It means a great deal of trouble for the many families in our state that are families through partnership be it heterosexual or homosexual.

It means broken families and a crap load of hurt.

Now, let it be known that I am not in favor of any ban on any sort of relationship. Yes, for all my Christian readers out there…even homosexual marriages (or as the media likes to refer to them “gay marriages”). However, the point that Yes2Marriage, the group that has sponsored the amendment is trying to make is that gay marriage should be banned. Now they’ll tell you that “A yes vote on 2 will do one thing and one thing only – protect the definition of marriage between a man and a woman.” They’ll have you believe based on the wording on the ballet that you are doing nothing more than banning gay marriage. What they won’t tell you is that you are actually banning any form of relationship within the State of Florida that ISN’T a marriage between one man and one woman. I say if it’s a gay marriage ban they want, then write an anti-gay marriage amendment. Don’t write an amendment that ruins the lives of many already fully-functioning happy Floridians involved in relationships that aren’t a marriage. Another thing that Yes2Marriage isn’t telling you is that Florida already has multiple laws banning same-sex marriage.

Look, the groups sponsoring Amendment 2 have every right to pursue their ideals and philosophies. However, in this case those ideals, those “morals” are going to have drastic affects on an entire states population.

So do yourself a favor visit Yes2Marriage’s website. Educate yourself on the amendment. Then head over to Say No to 2’s website and educate yourself on the consequences the State of Florida faces if this amendment is passed in November.

Amendment 2 is dangerous and is threatening the healthy, fully-functioning relationships and lives of many Floridians.

Vote NO on 2!

I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaack! Sorry for the delay in posting a new episode. I’ve been getting some stuff straightened out, but (and I always say this) things are good now!
Episode 15 of the Will Young show on the Unobjective Intelligence podcast is now live.

This week:

• I’ll tell you why I think that the legal age of consent in the US should be lowered.
• Lowering the age of consent is a great segway into why I believe that we should start educating about sex and the body at a much younger age than we currently do.
• Finally, for all my Floridians out there I’ll talk about the (un)Constitutional Amendment 2 that we’ll be voting on in November.

---

Links I mentioned during the show:
Florida Department of State: Division of Elections Initiative information
Yes to Marriage (The folks sponsoring the Amendment)
SayNo2
Vote No on 2
Yahoo! Search results for Amendment 2

---

If there is something you’d like to hear on an upcoming episode of the Will Young show please shoot me an e-mail.

You can download the UI podcast by using iTunes with the link on the right, or for those who don’t use itunes, simply click the button that says ‘RSS Podcast’ and download the latest episode to your computer to play in whatever MP3 player it is you use. You can also listen to it using the player located directly above this paragraph.

Enjoy!

Episode 14 of the Will Young show on the Unobjective Intelligence podcast is now live.

This week:

• I’m explaining exactly what “innocent until proved guilty” means.
• I also dive into why politics in the USA are a joke and why I’ve had enough of it!
• And, I debunk the myth that says you’re not responsible for the problems in your community.

If there is something you’d like to hear on an upcoming episode of the Will Young show please shoot me an e-mail.

You can download the UI podcast by using iTunes with the link on the right, or for those who don’t use itunes, simply click the button that says ‘RSS Podcast’ and download the latest episode to your computer to play in whatever MP3 player it is you use. Sometimes it will show up in a player on this post. If it does, feel free to listen to it there.