consistency of quality and quality of consistency

They work hand in hand, you see?

If you're consistently bad, like Nickelback, you know to shy away from it. But when it's consistently good, like ranch dressing, it's cool. I can deal. You can.

In looking at the presidential candidates for the 2008 election, this idea of quality and consistency should be the most important factor in your decision-making process.

When you look at all the candidates, look at the quality. With Giuliani, you get enough ignorance to raise red flags. Romney can't decide until the market or the base does. Hillary bends like tall grass in the wind over anything and then tries to stand strong for the single moment she's asked to defend it. Edwards has a certain amount of cow-towing in his history but is more able to admit, "hey, I was wrong here."

We need that.

We need someone who can bring principled, consistent decision-making to the office. We need someone who can adapt and admit, "hey, I was wrong."

The world changes so fast anymore. Old law and rule will only last if we recognize tat the same universal virtues and truths hold true now, as they always have. But as more technology and ideas begin to saturate the culture, we as a free people need to be able to allow for those while maintaining a consistency of quality. Fads come and go. Gadgets come and go and are always replaced by new things.

What has always been true about the core of the American ideal is that we allow for that. But we can not sacrifice our virtues or quality.

On a tangent, I want to talk about the socialization of health care. There is an overwhelming amount of support for the idea of "free universal health care." This scares me. Why should it be free. I am writing this, between jobs, with a cold and lacking health care. Still, I don't want to be able to walk into a doctors office and say "fix me." I had insurance. I lost it. I never prepared. I wasn't responsible and I should not ask you or the doctor to make me nto the charity case. I shouldn't ask my goverment to make that possible.

That's what I hope SiCKO, the Micheal Moore movie does not do. know he wants that though. He wants us all to be able to walk into the doctor and ay "fix me" and it all get covered by your wallet, my wallet, the doctor's wallet.

As a designer, and new media producer, I wonder if we ever get to a point where we're so healthy or wealthy or whatever, will we all be entitled to free universal website design? I went to school for 4 years. Doctors double that at minimum. Why should we ask them to stop competing? Capitalism is not a bad thing. The free market is not a bad thing.

What is bad is the hand that's been in this jar. The giant jar of medical money-making. Once the government and the AMA and the insurance companies started meddling in all of this, that's when things went south. We don't need more government intervention in our lives.

That's not what free people should want!

The declaration of independence was signed leading to a revolutionary war that was fought to be rid of government intervention. Government intervention catalyzed our yearning for real freedom.

And now that our world changes all the time, every day, we need to consider the ideas that brought our forefathers to the point they were drive to, to make the hard decisions that led to this country being born. Those were not easy decisions for our forefathers to make. A lot of people were terrified to stand on the ground that brought this country into existence. Ben Franklin's only son sided with Britain and they never mended that relationship.

Don't confuse the American Dream for the American Fantasy. The American Fantasy, as seen on TV, where we all win the lotto, or become pop stars, or get away with murder, or become the hero in an unprecedented character arc, or get free health care at any hospital. Those are fantasies.

The real American Dream can be realized the same way it always has. It takes hard work- working for quality, consistently. Consistently reaching for higher quality in any and all the work we do. Sometimes the cards are stacked against us. Look at the civil rights movement or gay rights today. The fantasy America has become the new tyranny. So, recognize when you're being manipulated by the old media. Television and newspapers are old media, bought and sold, controlling the mindsets of our American brothering, like our brains are bowling balls in a bumper bowling tournement. Sure it looks like we're doing it. But sooner or later, we all end up at the pins, an end they have defined for us.

No, real freedom lies online. That's why the government keeps looking for ways to control it. Controlling the press became key in American policy-making. This is not a recent development. It was key in changing the hearts and minds in the swing toward bringing freedom toward the states. Publishing anti-british material was treasonous before the revolutionary war.

The government today is quietly more polite about it, but don't kid yourself. They want you lock-step with the policy. And with all the money and politicizing of real issues, it's hard to see how any of this became an issue to begin with.

Ron Paul is a hit on the internet because he speaks of freedom. His message is heard and droves of people are responding. You look at the consistency of his political decision-making and you can see, he's easily the most conservative, principled candidate there is.

Our country, as a constitutional government is the oldest in human history. Like all great giants, we might fall. I don't think we'll go down easy though which leads me to believe there will be jail time, oppression, and death, on a massive scale.

But I believe if we can sort of, reset all of this. If we can go back to what made us free in the first place, we have a chance to last a lot longer.

Our Iraqi invasion has lead us as Americans to look at ourselves and our country in some sort of mass introspection. We need that. We meddled with others before taking a good long look at ourselves.

Let's look at ourselves. Let's fix what's going on inside before presenting ourselves on the worlds' stage the next time. For the sake of consistency and quality, and the quality of consistency, let's elect Ron Paul to help repair our American freedom.