October 22, 2008
edgeblog Goes Political
After 2 years of focusing exclusively on technology, I’ve decided to add politics to the menu of this blog. The reasons are simple. This country is headed down a dangerous path. The likely victory of Obama is a hard turn to the left. The next 4 years will be rocky, and there will be much that outrages me. I feel the need to rant, and this is my place to do it. As usual, all posts here will be my personal opinions. Feel free to disagree.
André L. said,
October 23, 2008 @ 5:02 am
Hi,
I’m from Sweden – a country that has been led mainly by a social democratic party for about fifty years. Our politics has been and still is far to the left compared to the US, but we are still lightyears away from communism. We do have big companies (SAAB, Ericson, Volvo, …), rich people, and lots of possibilities. We have free education all the way to a Ph.d. if you want to, and some of our universities rank among the best in the world. We also have free health care and subsidized dental care. If you are born in a low income family in Sweden, you can still work your way up, getting a great education and a good job.
Although everything is not ideal in Sweden (of course), the “Swedish model” is really a really nice thing – so I think that you might be pleasantly surprised if your country’s politics took a turn to the left. I don’t know much about Obama and I’m not going to tell you whom to vote for but if the day comes when you have your first colored president – please give him a chance.
bill said,
October 23, 2008 @ 8:49 am
Andre from Sweden! That is so cool. Thanks for stopping by. While I appreciate you reading my blog, I’m going to disagree with you on several points. First, you may have free health care and dental care, but I have GOOD health and dental. There is a reason why the US has the best doctors in the world, and why people come here from around the world to get treated. Our doctors are allowed to make a profit. I’m glad you like your system, but I don’t want it. Second, the companies you mentioned (SAAB, Ericson, and Volvo) are all good companies, but they have built their businesses on products invented in the US. Freedom, not socialism, breeds innovation. Third, you can afford a higher level of social programs, because your country is protected from the evils of this world by my military. Lastly, Obama’s race has nothing to do with my objections. It is his socialist policies. I would feel the same if he were white (he is 1/2 white anyway), and I will not “give him a chance.”
Thanks for reading. Come back again. Maybe I’ll convince you that freedom is the better way.
Seth said,
October 23, 2008 @ 4:33 pm
Bill, I would prefer that the politics be posted under a new blog created specifically for that purpose. Mixing the tech and politics dilutes the value of your tech blog, from my standpoint.
bill said,
October 23, 2008 @ 9:53 pm
Seth,
I appreciate the comment. I wish I had the time and energy to spin up another blog, but I don’t. My goal when I created edgeblog 2 years ago was to give myself an outlet for discussing things that interest me. I work hard to only publish original content, rather than just linking to the thoughts of others. Since this is just a hobbie of mine, it limits the # of articles I can produce. I love discussing technology issues, and try to write about technologies I am currently working with. Often, that is not possible due to confidentiality requirements. Lately, politics interests me more than technology and I have more to say. Hopefully, you’ll endulge me and still read my tech articles. Also, my RSS feeds support subscribing to specific categories, such as http://www.edgeblog.net/category/security/feed so you can filter out the political articles. Thanks!