Sorry for the hot topics miss yesterday...

But I, SamGrace, was sick. In fact, I slept 20 out of the 24 hours of the day.

So in honor of the greatness that is Hot Topics, we will be continuing the topics into next week and merging it with our next topic:Innovation and Personality--Who Do We Need To Lead

If you haven't said anything yet, and want to guest blog or say something, e-mail me now at onlybaggage@gmail.com

The Hot Topics--Race, Gender, Gays, Reproductive Rights and Guns Week

I have been waiting for this week for a LONG time. As most of you know or should have gathered, hot topics are my favorite. Between gays, guns, girls and more, I have so much to say and so little time.

So as we normally do here at OBYCB, here are the candidates' stances:

Here are Barack's views on women's issues, family, faith, and civil rights.

And here are John's views on "the sanctity of life" (I can't make that up), judicial philosophies (strict constructionist....blegh), and the second amendment.

I know people have strong views on this. After seeing the response MarilynJean's Baby Shower for Bristol Palin got on Bust.com last week of all places, I know there are many of you out there who don't agree with me. So speak up!!! Now is your time.

Welcome to The American Worker--Unions, Workers Rights and Wages Week!

Yeah, I know, I'm a bit delayed on this. And there's no real excuse other than my first anniversary and my car getting smashed into. Nevertheless, this issue is too important to ignore.

Let's start off as we usually do, with the candidate's own positions:

Once again, McCain has no exact match for my topics, so I'll point you to his entire economic plan.
For Obama, I'll direct you to his economic plan and his poverty issue page.

SG at the Ballot Box: Welcome to Foreign Policy Week!

I must say, the posts are getting better and better as this little experiment of mine goes forward. We've talked about Education and Health Care. This week, it's foreign policy. While I doubt our talks will be as intricate and detailed as they could be, they'll be a far cry from "I can see Russia from my bedroom."

In that vein, let's begin as we always begin, with the candidates' own words.

You can review Barack Obama's views on foreign policy yourself. Barack Obama's foreign policy views are here.

As for John McCain, oddly enough (and I don't think this is an oversight), his campaign website has no foreign policy section. Instead, the closest thing I could find was national security, homeland security, and Iraq. I know these initial posts usually don't have much commentary, but I'm sorry, when you don't have a foreign policy outside of national/homeland security (which is the same thing) and Iraq, there's a serious problem.

In any event, read up.

SG at the Ballot Box: Welcome to Education Week

I should have done this yesterday, but I'm human and have another job. So I didn't.

In any event, welcome to Education Week. If you have something to say about education--either K-12 or post-secondary education, I want to hear from you.

To start with, I'm posting links to the candidates' platforms on education.

In the red corner from the great desert state of Arizona we have John "The Maverick" McCain and his ideas on education.

And in the blue corner, from the battleground of Southside Chicago we have Barack "Changeman" Obama's ideas on education.

As a first step, I recommend glancing at these two to see the difference--and I'll sum it up in my own words: Obama supports public education, McCain would rather see people who are able to put their kids in private schools do so...and get tax breaks to do it. Which begs the question: what's so great about private school vouchers?

Keep reading for more...

Guest Bloggers Wanted on the Election--Are You In?

I'm going to continue to post this....

For the next six weeks, me and my trained staff of monkeys will be bringing you news and opinions about the election (mostly my opinions). In order to do that in an organized fashion, I've developped topics for each week--six in total (see how this is coming together)--so that we can discuss these issues one by one. Sure they're all interconnected, but let's really dig deep.

So here's what's on deck for the next six weeks:

Week 1, September 22 through September 28, 2008 Education

Week 2, September 29 through October 5, 2008 Healthcare

Week 3, October 6 through October 12, 2008 Foreign Policy and Foreign Relations

Week 4, October 13 through October 19, 2008 The American Worker--Unions, Workers Rights and Wages
Week 5, October 20 through October 26, 2008 The Hot Topics--Race, Gender, Gays, Reproductive Rights and Guns

Week 6, October 27 through November 2, 2008 Innovation and Personality--Who Do We Need To Lead

I am going to start actively seeking guest bloggers on these topics--whether you agree with me or not--to fodder debate. Let's really talk about these issues and shed some light on some dark places. If you want to contribute, e-mail me at onlybaggage@gmail.com.

SG at the Ballot Box: A Six-Week Series

I've done some arithmetic of my own today. There are six available full weeks left before the election. What do I mean by "six available full weeks"? Well, I mean this, my dear friend...there are six weeks available for my next project: SG at the Ballot Box. (I'd like to have a kickass graphic here, but I don't.)

For the next six weeks, me and my trained staff of monkeys will be bringing you news and opinions about the election (mostly my opinions). In order to do that in an organized fashion, I've developped topics for each week--six in total (see how this is coming together)--so that we can discuss these issues one by one. Sure they're all interconnected, but let's really dig deep.

So here's what's on deck for the next six weeks:

Week 1, September 22 through September 28, 2008 Education

Week 2, September 29 through October 5, 2008 Healthcare

Week 3, October 6 through October 12, 2008 Foreign Policy and Foreign Relations

Week 4, October 13 through October 19, 2008 The American Worker--Unions, Workers Rights and Wages
Week 5, October 20 through October 26, 2008 The Hot Topics--Race, Gender, Gays, Reproductive Rights and Guns

Week 6, October 27 through November 2, 2008 Innovation and Personality--Who Do We Need To Lead

I am going to start actively seeking guest bloggers on these topics--whether you agree with me or not--to fodder debate. Let's really talk about these issues and shed some light on some dark places. If you want to contribute, e-mail me at onlybaggage@gmail.com.