Want to know what Cuban president Fidel Castro thinks about the 2008 American presidential race?  Take a peak here.  The article didn’t hold too many surprises for me as a reader, but it was intriguing to learn what Castro thinks of American politics, past and present; it may not be what you’d expect.

Spoiler Alert:  Guess who Castro’s favorite American president is?  Jimmy Carter!  Like I said, not too many surprises in this article.  But check it out anyway.

I was at the Angel game Tuesday evening against the Boston Red Sox.  The Sox fans were out in full effect.  I had no idea there were so many Boston fans in Southern California.  The Angel fans did their best to feign diehard dedication by yelling amusingly angry epithets at the opposition.  It turned out to be a great game, but I’m a Dodger fan, so I don’t care too much about the Angeles, Red Sox, or American League baseball in general.

It’s a dark time right now for the Dodgers, coming off a 6-game losing streak, 4 of which were shut outs, and falling 5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks (or, “D’Backs”, as the team’s uniforms have been gangsta-fied to read).  As the Dodgers struggle to stay above .500, the Angels are soaring in the American Leage, 2 1/2 games ahead of Seattle.  As I lament the slow descent of my team, I’ve come up with an impromptu list of reasons why the Dodgers are better* than the Angels.  In no particular order, it is as follows:

1. Dodger Stadium’s All-You-Can-Eat Right Field Pavilion

2. OC fans + Disney-owned baseball team = rally monkeys

3. “The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim”?  Come on.

4. Angel Stadium has a minor rat problem.  And by “minor” I mean it’s been cited for vermin violations more than 100 times over the past two years (some perspective:  Dodger Stadium and Petco Park have had 9 citations combined over the same period).

5. If I’m going to choose between the upper-middle-class white guy talking on his Bluetooth in the front row at Angels Stadium, or the slightly intoxicated, but ever-so enthusiastic Mexican guy in the nose bleeds at Dodger Stadium, I’ll take the latter every time, hands down.

6. Angel Stadium parking: $8.  Dodger Stadium park: $15.  You know that extra $7 is paying the best damn parking attendants in the city.  You can’t put a price on vigilance.

*The word “better”, in this sense, in no way reflects the teams’ actual records.

It is puzzling to me how politicians are among the first to cry foul when they feel the First Amendment rights of Americans are being infringed upon, yet candidates on both the Left and the Right have been quick to toss around religious rhetoric during these dawning days of the 2008 presidential race.  

Should American voters take pause when virtually every candidate claims Jesus Christ as his or her personal Savior?  Is there reason to be slightly disconcerted at the idea of an entire pool of religiously like-minded individuals? 

I don’t believe there is any danger in 16+ people have the same faith; this is America after all, and something like 80% of our population claims to be Christian.  I do, however, believe there is reason to be weary of who these like-minded individuals are; not on a personal level, but on a professional one.  These individuals are professional politicians; most of whom have been in politics longer than I have been alive.  A career in which rhetoric reigns supreme is bound to produce individuals who are willing to say anything in order to succeed.

Beyond my personal cynicism toward politicians, there still remains the fact that religious beliefs are a decidedly private matter.  What John McCain, Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee believe about God, Jehovah or Allah matters little to me as a voter, so long as they sincerely demonstrate integrity, courage, intellect, and the like.  

Maybe Jesus’ newly-found popularity is a fad that, like the tide, will ebb and flow.  A person’s beliefs will always be present, but the extent to which said beliefs are made public knowledge seems to vary by (election) season.

I’m at work on my lunch break, so I don’t have time to write anything of substance. Instead, I’m going to post some interviews of congressman and presidential candiate Dr. Ron Paul (R – Texas). He should, at the very least, cause you to rethink the current state of the American political system.

I do implore you, the reader, to not pass judgement on Ron Paul based solely on the fact he is a Republican from Texas. I am well aware that America’s presidential track record of men with such credentials has ranged from less than stellar (see GHWB) to complete and utter incompetency (though no parenthetical statement is needed, here’s one for nostalgia’s sake).

Does Ron Paul have what it takes to beat the front runners? That would depend on what it takes to beat the front runners. Presidential campaigns have always been about pleasing the masses. If you want to become president, you make as many politically correct statements as possible, side-step controversy, and memorize your lines so you’re never caught off guard. In my objective observations of Ron Paul, I don’t see him as a traditional candidate. After his well-publicized altercation with Frmr. Mayor Rudy Guiliani during June’s Republican debate, it’s clear Paul is not afraid to go against the grain in his political views or in the fights he chooses.

Though it is unlikely political pundits will include Ron Paul in the “top tier” of candidates any time soon, it is clear Dr. Paul is making a name for himself. At present, still 5 1/2 months before the first primary election, Ron Paul has twice as many viewers and subscribers on YouTube.com as any other candidate (yes, more than Obama, Clinton, Guilliani, etc.). And while YouTube subcriptions don’t translate into votes, this phenomenon could be an indicator as to how Americans will vote, come primary season.

Let me know what you think of Ron Paul. Until next time, this has been my own personal detour.