Alright so as of late, I've been surprisingly into two things: LOST and politics :P

Well, LOST is a show I've been moderately obsessed with ever since I first got into it. The fourth season was in jeopardy because of the writer's strike. However, this strike has since ended. That means that they're cooking up a few more episodes to keep this season rolling along. Let me just say that the first five episodes have completely blown my mind.

Let's start off with the season premiere:

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD FOR SEASON 4




We lost our boy Charlie at the end of season 3. Boo hoo, so sad. It was time for him to go, but at least they did it in a way that made you appreciate his character again. He didn't die in vain, but instead died to give the survivors free airwave access and also telling Desmond that the freighter was not from Penelope's people (oh, we shall touch on this one later). The moment when Hurley had to tell Claire that Charlie was dead was well done and was a moment we all knew was coming, ever since his death the previous season.

Welcome to LOST, flash forwards. In the next few episodes, we see a multitude of flash forward events, revealing the existence of the 'Oceanic Six' that we know at first includes Jack, Kate and Hurley. What is the deal with the Oceanic Six? Beats me. They do make it clear, though, that there is a secret they're all keeping and they allude to there being others who are on the island still.

Back on the island, we see the further split of the survivors as one group follows Jack and another splits off to the old Others' compound with John Locke. Locke's communion with the island seems to be tested and we see some great conflict between he and Ben. I must say, Ben is absolutely my favorite character in this show. You hate him 90% of the time, but he is by far the most complex guy and he is so completely captivating, it is amazing.

And I must say, the first major blowing of my mind occurred when I it is revealed that Sayid's work as an assassin in his flash forward is all at the command of none other than Ben. How did they get off the island? Who are they going after? I think it may be the operatives of the character Michael Abbadon, who is revealed in Hurley's flash forward.

I don't want to dwell on LOST forever. Real quick, though, why is Aaron in Kate's care? What happened to Claire (Oh, please tell me you're okay, my Aussie love)? Why would Jack be uneasy about seeing the baby, since it is obviously not Sawyer's kid? Does he know that Claire is his half-sister? Surely not.

Desmond's episode, The Constant, was probably one of my favorite episodes of the series. The final segment where he was able to communicate briefly with Penny was fantasticly done. So emotional. A little thing to notice, though, in that episode, is that her father is bidding on the diary of a crew member of the Black Rock. You'll remember, this is the slave ship that the survivors and Danielle use to procure the dynamite. He's buying it from the Hanso family, which you will recognize if you really delve deep into the LOST mythology. Good times.

Politics.

Yikes. Well, some of you may know that I've been roughly supporting Ron Paul in his unsuccessful bid to become the Republican nominee. I've begun to embrace the Libertarian ideals that he is associated with and am fairly sad to see Dr. Paul is no longer a factor in the race.

The big thing is, what role should the government play in our lives? I don't think the government should be our parent. I don't think it should tell us what we can or cannot do. These are the ideals that the Republican party once stood firmly on. Small federal government, preference on State's rights, low taxes, low government spending, limited involvement in foreign affairs, personal freedoms for citizens.

I think the idea of conservatism has been corrupted over the recent years however. Now, we want the government to stay out of our business when it comes to gun ownership, but not when it comes to religious freedom? I know some people that would love to see Christianity become the national religion officially or to see things amended into the Constitution to that end. Sure, it sounds like this is a good thing and is for the benefit of Christians, but think about it. As Christians, we enjoy the same religious freedoms that other people do. It works both ways. If Christianity was to become more official in our government, whose Christianity would it be? Would it be that of the Mormons, who claim to be but a sect of Christianity, but have vastly different views from, say, a Baptist. Would it be that of the Methodists or the Presbyterians? Catholicism is the largest 'denomination' in the US, does that mean it would be the one preached to our public schools? I think you can see where I'm going here. The right to choose how and where and when and what you worship isn't just something that's put in there for the Muslims and the Hindus. We enjoy it every day as Christians as well.

To that end, I personally don't think that support for institutionalizing Christianity in any way is a good idea. That doesn't make me a bad person or a bad Christian, as some would like to spin it. I have come to this realization recently.

Now, I've always liked John McCain. He is more moderate than most Republicans and I think he stands a good chance to win in November. People say, 'McCain needs to sure up his conservative base' and things like that. I disagree. He's already got the nomination. No need to pander to the far right wing any longer. Bush recently came out and backed McCain. I think, so long as he keeps himself separated from GWB, he's going to clean up with moderates. McCain should adopt the Arnold strategy. Assume the base, go after the undecided. McCain should have great appeal to the average person, the moderate who doesn't like the partisan bickering you usually see. He will draw heavily from independents and undecided voters. I think he will compete very well in California as he does very well with Hispanics.

Right now I'm torn. I like McCain, but I sort of fear he is too much of the same. I'm not so sure we're heading in the right direction with Iraq. McCain will keep us there. This is the Ron Paul in me. While I disagree with much of what he says, part of me thinks that Obama would be better for us right now. I don't know :P Because of this, I am torn. I absolutely do not want to see Hilary Clinton in the White House. I think, though, that McCain would have a much better chance against her in a general election. She is way too divisive and i think a lot of people would vote against her just because of her last name. On the other hand, if McCain wasn't elected, I would prefer Obama over Clinton. For that reason, I wouldn't mind seeing an Obama ticket in the fall. Would be a close election I think. Obama would compete well in the South, particularly.

Anyway, I had better put an end to my long diatribe on politics for now. I need to go research more about LOST :D

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