Talking points. Anyone who has been following the Presidential election has surely heard many of the talking points, from both candidates. I am going to lower your taxes! I am going to raise your taxes! I am going to keep taxes the same! I like nuclear power! I like alternative power! We need change! We need the right kind of change! Sound familiar? Well, Buttonfield Thinks that we don’t need more of the same talking points during the debates too. The questions that we have heard so far ultimately devolve into rounds of boring, stale talking points. I am personally sick and tired of hearing the same talking points day in and day out.

Can’t we hear a real debate? Can’t the moderator pick a topic or perhaps two, and let the candidates defend and debate the pros and cons of issues surrounding those topics? The fact that both candidates can regurgitate their talking points and the talking points of each other is hardly impressive. We get it. We have heard them. We want to know that these candidates can think critically, and on their feet. Let’s have a real debate people. We deserve it.

Regards,

Thomas Buttonfield

What exactly are gay rights?

During a round of golf this weekend an impromptu conversation about who is voting for who came up. My friend Phil is a life long Republican and is decidedly voting for McCain this year but, Bill has not quite made up his mind. Phil and I asked Bill why he would consider voting for Obama and he responded that he was a social liberal and issues such as gay rights were important to him. Otherwise, he was a fiscal conservative and was trying hard to like McCain even though J.S. was making it difficult. This got me thinking; exactly what are gay rights and why do the Democrats tend to hold such an edge with voters when it comes to gay rights? I argued that gays, by constitutional default, should have the same rights as anyone else in our society and thus need not worry that their rights would be violated regardless of which party held office. Since Bill stopped talking about it at that point we dropped the conversation and continued to hole out our double bogeys.

Hmmm. Bill was willing to risk higher corporate taxes, higher capital gains taxes and higher taxes in general via an Obama Presidency rather than go with the Republicans over the gay rights issue? I am not even sure what the gay rights issue really is other than the fact that Democratic pundits often site gay rights as an issue that is important. I have never even heard anything in the mainstream media that explains which rights gays would “gain” and which rights gays might “lose” regardless of which party wins the Presidency. Wouldn’t McCain also support gay rights? Maybe not, but maybe I just don’t know enough about this issue.

I never considered gay rights much before my conversation with Bill as a reason not to vote for a Republican. But, regardless of this fact is it altogether fair for Democrats to leverage the rights of gay persons in order to solicit votes? Buttonfield Thinks this issue deserves more research.

To be continued…

Regards,

Thomas Buttonfield

Trying to buy a home? If you have worked hard, saved your pennies for a down payment, paid your bills on time to establish excellent credit and then wondered why you couldn’t get a great rate or a lender to take a chance on you; Buttonfield Thinks this says it all…

“Sources of Income: In addition to primary employment income,

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will accept the following as valid income

sources: overtime and part–time work, second jobs (including seasonal

Have a great weekend.

Thomas Buttonfield

 We should not forget that throughout the Republican primary season John McCain was not a candidate who played well to the Republican base. He was considered too far left for many Republicans who considered themself real conservatives. In fact, quite a few real conservative voters eluded they would not support McCain in this election even if the alternative were a Democrat President. Go Hillary! Go Obama! This is your election to win baby. Enter Sarah Palin…

Now that Sarah Palin has invigorated the base of real conservatives those same voters are going to be out in force trying to get her, and McCain, elected to the White House. Of course the left, raising concern that now McCain might possibly get elected; Palin has been targeted as a right-wing wacko, religious zealot, pro-war, gun-toting lunatic; and of course a real conservative. How dare she!

So, if my parents are voting for the McCain/Palin ticket this year. Are they wackos too? My kind yet elder folks? How could this be? Sarah Palin is a right-wing, fringe American from a right-wing, fringe state. My parents are from the bluest of the blue Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Thus, it would be impossible for them to reach this conclusion unless; of course, they were wackos too! McCain must be on to something with this Sarah Palin experiment. Who would have thought that putting a wacko on the ticket would entice my parents to vote for him after they voted against him in favor of Romney? Nobody ever called my parents wacko when they pulled the trigger for our boy Mitt.

Buttonfield Thinks it seems like yesterday when Mitt was the real conservative alternative to McCain. Sorry Mitt, I guess you weren’t enough of a wacko to be taken seriously.

We are led to believe that Mr. Matt Damon actually did the research and checked the actuarial tables to figure out the likely life expectancy of John McCain? Buttonfield Thinks there is a better than a one-out-of-three chance that Mr. Damon did no such thing. In fact, the movie star did not bother to research that an actuary is a person or profession and that a review of actuarial tables are what he should have conducted instead.

According to Mr. Damon in a recent interview and what can only be described as an anti-Palin rant …“You do the actuary tables and there’s a one-out-of-three chance, if not more, that McCain doesn’t survive his first term and it will be President Palin . . . “ Buttonfield Thinks  that sounds like a really bad movie if you asked him. Of course there is a three-out-of -eleven chance, if not more, that Mr. Damon plays the role of Ms. Palin’s son Track in that movie. I can’t wait for the dvd!

Buttonfield Thinks there might be a better than 50-50 chance that Mr. Damon does not know what an actuary is or how to interpret an actuarial table; I will check with my actuary on that one.  

Regards,

Mr. Thomas Buttonfield