Knew that Google News was "customized" because my friends get a different headline for the same topics than me.. that means you "get what you like" News..
We can call the default Google News... Romney News!
Sundar : What is the news Today?
Google : What do you want it to be Sundar?
Remind you of someone?!
Here is the kicker.. On the top left sidebar, Google gives you a list of Top Stories (they are supposedly trending stories). When pressed for time, I just click those 10 things and see what it is all about. It it interesting because sometimes the names on the list are totally new to me and then I find out it is some sports star for a sport that we don't follow (which is pretty much all of them these days) or a music star who we dont know (and we don't know anyone except Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift by name.. okay we have seen one Katy Perry video called fireworks at Jr.'s insistance and I have seen a Taylor Swift ad for a Sony Camera at the movies.. but that is pretty much it).. as usual I digress!
The point? Mitt Romney somehow ends up in this trending section all the time. Obama does not show up in this list at all. Find that odd as you would expect them both to be in this section equally!
Got an alert on Google news today saying "Congratulations. You are now a Bronze star ... " or some such thing for guess what ?
Reading more than 10 articles about Romney! To take the analogy to the extreme, this is like pulling in a stranger who walked past our driveway 10 times and giving them a ribbon!
Especially someone who doesn't like us much.
Really Google.. Really !!
When it comes to using this blog, I have always written about Foreign Policy and have not done anything in the past, by way of pushing Politics. This election and the way things are going are so polarized because the media has become customized.
So it is my turn to add a line.
If you are an undecided voter, please vote Obama. At least he has been saying the same thing for the last year. It is not that I agree with everything he says but we know what he plans to do or will attempt to do. It is just that we agree with a much higher percentage of things he says compared to Romney.
There comes a time when you feel like you Vote against your own interests on some points on a ballot or other. However, like both the candidates are saying "we have tough choices to make" but as long as those choices are clear and set in stone you can make them.. Yes vs No is a clear choice. Yes vs. "Maybe Yes or No" is not a clear choice.
I have been fortunate enough to live in a time and place when Indian Politics started running Coalition governments. While I have no business talking about Indian Politics (as my desi friends constantly remind me and then start posting things about the American election.. (why is it that I have no right to comment on Indian Politics but my friends can comment on American politics with the logic "what happens in US affects us.. but what happens in India doesn't affect you!").. again, I digress and that is a topic for another day and this post is taking on the makings of a c++ program with mutliple paranthesis).
If you are a Democrat, pelase vote Obama. Why? I am not poor and technically that means, I should have been screwed by Obama policies, right? Not exactly. Last year we switched to Kaiser Permanente from Camino Medical. I was paying a good 2 grand more in insurance and still had a 2k per person deductible. So the year when I broke my arm and San had kidney surgery we spent 4k out of pocket. The follow up surgery at Kaiser did not cost me anything. Their care has gone from one that I critiqued to one that we as a family recommend to everyone.
New Healthcare policies in action! Their service is great, they do preventive care now and there is an attitude change at Kaiser that is commendable. Spoke to a Kaiser doctor, nurse, administrator and a lawyer who sued Kaiser in the past and they all told me the same story. Kaiser does a better job of implementing the policies in the new Healthcare bill and it works! In our old care we paid a premium for our ability to choose our doctor and it was honestly not worth it!
There are no additional wars where our troops are getting slaughtered in exchange for cheaper gas. Which brings me to Google again..
Saw a video on Google plus where Larry Page is talking about self driving cars and how he is worried about his little kid growing up to be a safe driver..
Ever heard of a Public bus Larry? It is a self driving car for everyone on the bus except the driver!
It will create jobs. I know .. I know.. before you jump in and say "if people buy less cars , how will it create more jobs" .. Let me explain. Have learned a thing or two from Romney and Obama.
It will create jobs because as most studies show (there is a study for everything) there will be less cars if the buses move people. Someone has to make those buses! Also most folks who start with the buses will be folks who have gas guzzlers and older cars that need replacement. So they might go for the bus instead of a new car. This will reduce pollution, oil consumption, traffic congestion. The other folks who take the bus will be folks like me who would rather use that time to work or blog instead of sitting on a freeway and getting high on exhaust for 2 hours every day!
Unlike Larry, I wish that by the time my kids grow older we will have a better public transport system that covers suburbia..
Finally, if you are a Republican, chances are you are standing by Romney, no matter what he says. Just listen to what he is saying and then vote.. and if you still vote for him, at least make sure that if he wins and takes on this Presidency he does not do a quarter of the things he says he will do..
Note.. I didn't say half the things for a reason. Half the things Romney has said are the same as Obama, at least recently. Of the other 50%, 25% is extreme right wing stuff.. at least make sure he doesn't go on more wars and tell women what they should and should not do. In my house San tells me what I should and should not do, and I am actually better off with that setup.
If anyone in any house should be doing the choosing.. you are better off if it is the woman as they always end up making harder choices than the men, at least based on personal family experience.
So... go Vote for sure!
The blog will go back to regular topics. Just got irritated when Facebook sends me notices saying "so and so Likes Mitt Romney.. do you want to like him too?" and the "so and so" is someone in India who doesn't get to vote in the US election or when google sends me a ribbon for reading "trending articles on Romney" which seems to be fixed!
Need to start watching Jon Stewart again to laugh this off I guess..
