[Stingy Jack]

I'm voting for Kerry. When Bush was elected into office, my friend turned to me and said: "You know, this is the beginning of a long road to hell." And he was right.

As a teacher, Bush's decisions have affected my life personally. His "No Child Left Behind Act" has put more accountability on the teachers for a child's learning. If you spend one day in the classroom, you will know that a teacher will work his/her heart out to get these children to learn ... and they will sit and stare or mouth-off. They will refuse to do the work, never do the homework, and when the parents are called, the teacher gets chewed out by the parent for their child's performance (at least, the parent's who care somewhat about it will chew the teacher out. The other parents who don't care will hardly listen and hang up without saying a word.) Yet, if a child does not pass the state test (which anyone with an iota of knowledge on educational theory will tell you that high-stakes testing is NOTHING but bad), the teacher is called on the carpet and his or her job is in serious jeopardy.

The fact that Bush has put a ban on stem-cell research proves that he his letting his religious views affect his decisions. Because he thinks it is "immoral" according to his faith, Bush will not allow science to advance in an area that could be of GREAT benefit to humankind.

Banning same-sex marriage is equally ridiculous -- and to imply that officially recognizing the union of two people in love will open a Pandora's Box of sexual evils is ridiculous as well. Who's to say that allowing to men or two women to form a legal bond will allow people to begin marrying their sisters, cousins, pets, etc? I don't see it going that way, and you can't come to that conclusion logically. Not if you take into account the genetic dangers involved with inbreeding (dangers that do not exist between a gay couple). As for marriage being a Christian term --- it may have been at one time, but the usage has changed. It has not been a Christian term for a LONG time. It is a generic term used to describe a close union between two things (As in "a marriage of minds"). I mean, if you want to get picky, Christmas isn't REALLY a Christian holiday. It was usurped by the christians in an effort to convert more pagans (who were simply celebrating the coming of winter).

So, it seems to me that Bush has waged just as big a war on the American people as he has against terror. I can't think of ONE good thing that Bush has done for us here at home that is not related to his stupid war. Not one.

So, I'm voting for Kerry. Anything has to be better than Bush.