John McCain - The Nuclear Pioneer

''Great nations don't leave the lifeblood of their economy in the hands of foreign cartels or bet their future on a commodity located in countries where authoritarians repress their people and terrorists find their main support.'' -John McCain

Nuclear power is the redheaded stepchild of the energy crisis. Fear of nuclear power has been fueled by movies and comic books and real-life events that are not well understood. (For example, the name 'Three Mile Island' conjures up images of death and evil radiation, even though it harmed about as many people as Y2K. None.)

In the early 1970s when I helped found Greenpeace, I believed that nuclear energy was synonymous with nuclear holocaust, as did most of my compatriots...[t]hirty years on, my views have changed, and the rest of the environmental movement needs to update its views, too, because nuclear energy may just be the energy source that can save our planet from another possible disaster: catastrophic climate change. Patrick Moore, founder of Greenpeace

Nuclear power is an easily misunderstood thing. On television, if it is not exploding it is giving people super powers. (It's important to note that in the event of a nuclear meltdown an explosion will not occur, the core will simply sink into the Earth.)

Let's look at how dangerous this stuff is. France is currently getting 75% of their energy from nuclear power and no harm seems to be coming of it. On nuclear submarines, sailors sleep with their heads a few feet from a nuclear reactor and suffer no ill effects for it. This stuff is pretty safe.

But, given the current climate of fear concerning nuclear power, which politician can be bold enough to recommend using more nuclear power? Hardly any, except for an independent maverick like John McCain who is proposing 45 new nuclear reactors. This is clean and dependable energy that will reduce our dependency on oil and clean up our environment. I've been waiting for a president who would do something like this. Maybe, now, we can have one.

10 Reasons to Vote for John McCain

(If anyone cares to write a list of reasons to vote for Hillary or Obama, send it to me and I'll link to the first good ones I get, just to keep things open minded.)

1 - Tax cuts. McCain supports the current tax cuts and only opposed them at times because they lacked certain measures to keep people from abusing them. These tax cuts have made a noticeable impact on the amount of money I have on April 14th and I want to see more of this.

2 - He is against abortion and has been for some time. "According to NARAL, McCain has voted pro-life 123 times out of 128 votes, for a 96 percent pro-life voting record." Don't buy the lie that he has recently changed his mind on this issue, it is not true. McCain understands that murder is murder, no matter how small you are.

3 - He's the most outspoken opponent of government waste I can think of. I first heard about government spending abuses from listening to him and he has been consistent on this message. I can think of very few people in Washington who oppose these loopholes that congress exploits to give themselves payoffs, and that worries me. John McCain wants to put an end to it and put that money back in our pockets where it belongs.

4- We can trust him with our soldiers. John McCain shows great concern for soldiers and veterans, for obvious reasons. He has opposed military actions that put our troops in unnecessary danger and I believe we can trust him to use the military responsibly.

5 - He is already active in international politics. He seems to be able to go anywhere and meet with anyone on good terms. While he opposes terror groups in the Middle East, he does not seem to do so in an inflammatory way. Remember, Obama's comments about invading Pakistan caused anti-America riots in that country. (Hopefully, one of Obama's staffers reminded him that Pakistan is on our list of allies.) John McCain has a good handle on foreign affairs.

6 - He is actively seeking solutions to the energy crisis. This is an area where I find myself disagreeing with McCain, quite often. However, while some senators/congresspeople are rubber stamping every energy related bill that comes along, McCain has shown initiative numerous times to find and propose solutions himself. It's better than just filling a seat and I really like what he is saying about nuclear power.

7 - He takes care of veterans. He has expressed a desire to reform VA hospitals and I can't imagine anyone questioning his integrity on this issue. And, unlike Obama, he hasn't had to apologize for insulting our soldiers. (more here)

8 - He seeks plausible solutions to border problems. Open borders won't work and don't make sense. On the other end of the spectrum, trying to kick millions of illegals out of our country isn't possible. The answer lies in the middle, somewhere. McCain is one of the most vocal advocates of finding a solution that is realistic. (Which means that it may not be perfect, but at least it can accomplish something.)

9 - We know what he plans to do. Some candidates say they want to take the country in a 'new direction', others say it's 'time for change'. McCain, on the other hand, has told us many specific things he plans to do and has not been shy about outlining his plans rather than recycling sentences from inspirational posters.

10 - He loves his country, not his party. McCain will be the first one to tell the GOP when he thinks they are wrong and will do the same for the Democrats. He can't be counted on to vote along party lines and that is great. He's a real independent thinker and not a political automaton. He votes his conscience.

Making Fun of Election Commercials with Mike Nelson

Mike Nelson is one of favorite comedians. He's mostly known for his work on Mystery Science Theater 3000 (the show that made fun of old movies) and lately he has become known for RiffTrax.com (which sells audio clips that make fun of movies.) Apparently, he has been making fun of presidential candidates, too, because I stumbled onto these on YouTube.

So, here's Mike Nelson on the candidacy of John McCain, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton.