Since I haven't talked about politics in months, I'll start off with that. First and foremost, I never did approve of Obama, and surprise surprise, that has not changed one bit. He's still pretentious, arrogant, ignorant, and, most importantly, wrong on just about everything. The only things that I do agree with him on (being some social liberties) are things that he has simply put on the back-burners. I would be able to respect him if I thought he actually gives a damn about people rather than his own, reckless agendas. He's not really all that different from Bush, as he attacked McCain on. It's the pot calling the kettle African-American. To further my point that he's no different than Bush, what has he done in Iraq and Afghanistan? Last I heard, Obama was planning on sending MORE troops to Afghanistan. And here I thought that he campaigned on the ideas that he was going to try to LESSEN our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Right about now I feel it's the right moment to say, "I told you so" to all of the people that thought he was actually going to follow through with those sorts of promises. He's managed to push his reckless economic stimulus packages through (Bush did the same, though), and he has started the dismantling of Capitalism in healthcare which is bound to help improve things. Hahahaha. Sorry, I thought I could keep a straight face on the last one. So nearly one year later, and I'm still just as cynical towards this fraud.

In other news, I have been given a new position at Anesthesia Business Consultants. After about 7 months of working as a Customer Service representative, I was given a position that I had applied for. I moved out of Customer Service to become the assistant head of a different department. It's now full-time with benefits, a nice increase in pay, and I'm able to prove myself capable of thriving in not just Customer Service but potentially any department, as well as showing that I can lead. If I don't screw this up, then the company will really see me as an asset, and I can't imagine they'd want to lose me. Not to stroke my own ego, but I am far more than just someone's who's easily replaceable. I have substance, loyalty, and ambition. It doesn't hurt that I'm male in a largely female-dominated workplace.

Even though I'm working full-time, I've been getting the itch to start designing a little more. I haven't touched things in almost 3 months, and it's probably time that I hop back in. I could always use some extra cash, and if I could score some freelance work, it'd be nice to have. I just need to get my name out there and convince people that they need my services. This would include actually finishing my website to the point that it's respectable to show, and I really could use my new business cards. As of right now, they're just sitting in an .ai file and not doing anything productive for me. I should probably go out and mingle with people more, too. It's kind of a tall order, but it's completely doable.

Oh! I got a new phone, too. It is the HTC Hero through Sprint. Once I discovered this phone, I immediately fell in love. I got it the day that it was released, and there really isn't much to complain about. At times, it can be a bit sluggish, but I am not in such a hurry that I need everything to load immediately. Though, it's not even that significant to begin with. The battery life is probably my biggest gripe, but I'm never too far away from somewhere that I can charge it, and it usually lasts me 12-24 hours depending on how heavy the usage is. I, definitely, feel that I made the right choice in phones. Even my brother likes my phone. He's due to get a new one and switch to Sprint, as well. As I've become kind of an Android fanboy, I've been pushing him towards the Hero or the Samsung Moment. He says he doesn't want to get the Hero because I already have it, otherwise he would. While I think it's a ridiculous reason to not get a phone that you like, it's probably smart that he doesn't. The Hero is probably too complicated for what he would really use it for. Realistically, then, it's the Moment that I'm going to push him toward. He has been planning on getting the Pre, but I think it really depends on what keyboard he's going to, ultimately, want more. Will he want a full-touchscreen (Hero) or which physical keyboard he'd prefer, the Moment's (with the bigger keys) or the Pre's (tiny ass keys that annoy the piss out of you). We shall see. You know I'll be rooting for Android!

Also, you may have noticed a change in the layout of the blog. No, I didn't create this new theme. I just have gotten so sick and tired of the thin content column that I needed to change it. I do have a new design that needs to be sliced and coded, but with WordPress themes, they can be more of a hassle than they're worth. For right now, I'm content on using a solid design that others have created for me to use, royalty free.

On a final note, I will see about doing more music recommendations. Of course, I cannot stop finding new music to listen to, so I have plenty to share with everyone. I'll have to think of the format of how I want to do this. I don't know. I could just end up being far too lazy to do it, period. We'll have to see what happens.

I’m not entirely sure what I think is going to happen. What I do know is that whatever these Obamaniacs expect from the Messiah, they’re not going to get in its entirety. There’s just no possible way that Obama can deliver what people want him to achieve in two terms, let alone one term.  It’s just not going to happen, and I am glad that it won’t.

I, absolutely, hate the campaigning for community service. It’s not that I hate community service. In fact, I love the idea of it. People working together to create a better society. However, I hate it being done under the banner of a Marxist attitude. I do have a slight optimism when it comes to the community service, though. I have hopes that the attitude changes from a Socialist to a liberty-driven attitude. Perhaps people will see that it’s not the government that can make the biggest impact, but the people themselves. It could potentially fuel the drive for privatization. Yeah, it’s a long shot, but it’s one of the few things I’m actually optimistic about, so don’t ruin it for me!

I chose to wear my ‘Obamunism’ t-shirt today. It’s not so much for making a statement against Obama as it is making a statement against the whole Obamessiah worship of Obama and this inauguration day. Obama is just the 44th man to take his place at the helm of the federal government. This inauguration is no more special than the ones preceding it. Yes, this inauguration comes with the “hope” of a new era of progressive politics, but all of this progress still has yet to be seen. All we have is the word of a politician. Call me crazy, but I just can’t see any justification on believing a politician simply on his words.

Well, I needed to post a new blog, so there it is. I know it’s a bit rambly, and it jumps from subject to subject with no sense of direction. I’m tired, I’m chatting with a friend, and I didn’t really think this through prior to opening up Windows Live Writer (I’m trying this out instead of logging into WP every time just to post). I guess my parting words for this entry is that though I’m not a big fan of Obama’s politics, I do wish him luck, and as always, I want the best for my country and individual liberty. I’m willing to be proven wrong for the sake of prosperity, as long as that prosperity isn’t the result of others being screwed over. May we be able to look back in 4 years and say that America did itself some good by electing Obama.

Perhaps it's not just the bitching and the battle that is getting to me right now. Perhaps it's mostly the fact that I loathe utilitarianism of any kind. Sure, I will agree with utilitarians on a lot of issues, but the thought process leading to our views are completely different. My mind operates on the idea that people should be left to their own virtues and vices in everything and anything as long as they don't impede on someone else's rights to do the same thing. Obviously, there is the exception of needing government to protect its people from threats such as criminals and warmongering nations.

Liberals don't tend to take very well to my idea of individual rights. Instead, they base their ideas off of everybody living as equally as they can. I'm not against trying to help level the playing field some, but I don't want my government doing it. Liberals don't want the government to prevent them from doing things, they just want it to hold their hands while they do the things they want to. I immensely disagree.

In their altruistic nature, liberals seem to think that if we can eradicate suffering, that we should do that at all costs. You know, the whole "maximize benefit, minimize harm" principle of Utilitarianism. That sounds good, right? Sure, until you realize just how much that costs us. We'd lose private property, disposable income, favoritism towards those we are close to, and just about every liberty that we've come to cherish, as Americans. The biggest problem is that you can't get rid of human nature. You can get rid of the income divisions, but you can't get rid of the desire to have more and to play favorites with people and animals.

I'm not against altruism as a whole. I do think that we, as moral agents, have a responsibility to help those in need. I just don't like the idea of being forced by these liberals into giving money to people who I deem too irresponsible because these liberals think that they have a moral duty to save the world. Which, to me, is quite funny when they bitch about conservatives being moral crusaders. It's the same principle, but the shoe's on the other foot, and they don't like it. Hmm, I wonder why.

Basically, I just want liberals to wake up and realize that the world isn't a nice place, and equality is a bunch of fantastical bs that should be ignored. We should all have the same rights and the same opportunities, and I'm sure most of us will agree except some moronic conservatives. However, that doesn't mean we should all have the same outcomes in our ventures. I don't envy those with more things than I do. I see no reason why someone should be punished for their fortunes because others have suffered in their misfortunes. Yes, it's tragic, and we should be willing to give to those deserving of our empathy and altruism, but not to the point where the government has to divide the wealth. Leave the government out of things. Stop being such altruistic morons, and leave me to my own vices.