Senator Barack Obama,
When I was a young man, I had faith in things. Simple things like the gift of the American Constitution, that I can feel proud of my country, and that if I was scared of something, I would be safe at home. My teachers and civic leaders told me these things, and I felt free to prove it to myself. I was told that I had a say, that I had a vote, that my opinion mattered, and that my government was my protector. For 28 years of my life, I believed these things, and they made me feel proud, and safe, and free. It took 6 years to lose my faith, but I never expected to loose my fears.
The old fears I held were enough for anybody. They were healthy fears, held by many people. They weren’t overbearing, they just sat on the periphery of my mind. They were not eminent fears; they rarely came to the surface. My faith in America, and the leaders we were given the right to choose, kept those fears in perspective; at bay, but no longer. Today, my up is down, my black is white, and I don’t know what to fear, for my faith is almost gone.
The Obama campaign set up shop in Philadelphia today. After a briefing on canvassing tactics and breaking up into neighborhood working groups, it was time to hit the streets in earnest.
Here are a collection of photos from the Center City office and the article from The Philadelphia Inquirer covering today's launch of PA for Obama.
Pics and more at Daily Kos.
Philly is Obamaville!
Question: Why did Christian broadcaster Paxson Communications (aka ION) provide a charter plane to hustle Saudis out of the US after 9/11, and did John McCain get to use it too?
(NOT 9/11 CONSPIRACY)As per the official 9/11 commission report, the Saudi's were give permission to leave the US on charter flights while the rest of US airspace was closed. The second plane, leaving Las Vegas carried a Saudi Prince and his party on September 20th 2001. This plane, has been identified in the report as Chartered Flight B 727-21, Tail Number N727PX. This plane is a private Boeing 727 owned by Paxson Communication a.k.a. ION Broadcasting. Paxson Communications (as it was known during the time period concerned) owned this plane; a private corporate jet. Curiously, this tail (N-number) ID does not exist, and is available according to the FAA.
Chartered Flight B 727-21, Tail Number N727PXOn September 20, 2001, 18 members of the party of Saudi Prince Abdulmajeed BinAbdulaziz departed from Las Vegas, Nevada, for Stanstead, England.84 Theyunderwent the same vetting process as the 69 people on the flight the day before.
http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/911_TerrTrav_App.pdf
Now, the question is, was John McCain given access to this plane through his relationship (professional or otherwise) with lobbyist Vicki Iseman?If anyone has a picture of John McCain debarking or embarking from a plane with this tail number (N727PX) please post. Possiable time periods would surround his letters to the FCC and his 2000 Presidential bid.
This latest photo from airliners.net has given many a creepy feeling.
For more imformation click democraticunderground.com.
A blog posted by Empty Wheel at Firedoglake.com ponders the confluence of media consolidation, and the Swift Boating of John Kerry in 2004. Vicki Iseman's unexplained metoric journey from receptionist to partner seems to have taken a short cut right through Senator John "Straight Talk" McCain's office. Curiously, it seems that the Presidential aspirations of Senator John Kerry may have been a "hit and run" victim of of Ms. Iseman's pedel to the metal ride to the top of the lobbying world.
-snip-Stolen Honor, you'll recall, was a 45-long propaganda piece, repeating the allegations the Swift Boaters made against John Kerry. It came out in September 2004 (as Republicans have promised a smear against Hillary or Obama will come out at precisely the same time this cycle). Shortly thereafter, Sinclair Broadcasting ordered its stations to pre-empt normal broadcasting to play the "documentary." Sinclair also fired one employee who complained about the order.After a blogswarm in response, Sinclair's advertisers started pulling their advertising, which eventually led Sinclair to cut back its plans for the "documentary," showing clips of it as part of a program on Vietnam POWs on just 40 of its stations. -snip-In the same time frame, Paxson Communications aired the entire "documentary" a number of times in the days leading up to the election, supported by NewsMax. As FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein described, the two companies were two disturbing examples of politicized broadcast policies. -snip-These two companies (which in 1999, when Iseman's relationship with McCain was in question, accounted for two of just 15 companies she represented) happen to be the two that aired right wing propaganda combating Kerry's election.Incidentally, McCain condemned Sinclair's refusal to air the Nightline tribute. -snip-But he resisted appeals for him to condemn Stolen Honor, in spite of its arguable violation of campaign finance issues. When finally asked formally about it, he declined to make any statement about the "documentary" itself. Though in a statement that is height of hypocrisy, McCain stated that it was a problem of media consolidation.
-snip-
Stolen Honor, you'll recall, was a 45-long propaganda piece, repeating the allegations the Swift Boaters made against John Kerry. It came out in September 2004 (as Republicans have promised a smear against Hillary or Obama will come out at precisely the same time this cycle). Shortly thereafter, Sinclair Broadcasting ordered its stations to pre-empt normal broadcasting to play the "documentary." Sinclair also fired one employee who complained about the order.
After a blogswarm in response, Sinclair's advertisers started pulling their advertising, which eventually led Sinclair to cut back its plans for the "documentary," showing clips of it as part of a program on Vietnam POWs on just 40 of its stations.
In the same time frame, Paxson Communications aired the entire "documentary" a number of times in the days leading up to the election, supported by NewsMax.
As FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein described, the two companies were two disturbing examples of politicized broadcast policies.
These two companies (which in 1999, when Iseman's relationship with McCain was in question, accounted for two of just 15 companies she represented) happen to be the two that aired right wing propaganda combating Kerry's election.
Incidentally, McCain condemned Sinclair's refusal to air the Nightline tribute.
But he resisted appeals for him to condemn Stolen Honor, in spite of its arguable violation of campaign finance issues. When finally asked formally about it, he declined to make any statement about the "documentary" itself. Though in a statement that is height of hypocrisy, McCain stated that it was a problem of media consolidation.
It seems to me, allegations of sexual misconduct may be the least of John McCain's ethically questionable headaches he's going to get from paling around with Vicki Iseman.
Tisk tisk just doesn't do it.
Today I came across a post by a Hillary supporter on DU titled "My admiration and thanks to the numerous Obama supporters here”. I can’t say equivocally that we deserve the credit, and I don’t think it healthy to proclaim credit ourselves. But I can say that our contribution has played a part. If you get the chance, recomment this post.
There is something that we can take away from this post though, what we are trying to do is not a thankless job!
Just remember, being the moderating voice, does not exclude you from participating in the debate. I just means that we won’t be goated into reactionary responses. We don’t need to fight from the gutters; we have the high-ground when we take a breath.
Keep up the fight!
Yes we can!
In the heat of the primaries, DemocraticUnderground has shown signs of stress. Threads filled with tit for tat wars between supporters of all of the democratic candidates. Disagreements between two people elicit slick comebacks, or down right insulting remarks, that in turn are taken by others as pigeon-holing of entire advocacy groups: A downward spiral that is seen by those outside of GD-P as destructive, and disruptive.
Now I understand, as many here do, that far from an accurate snapshot of the brick and mortar world at large, DU does represent a hyperbolic (if not in essence) version of the Democratic body-politic. We may eventually have to find a way to reconstitute the party due to this emerging acrimony from within. And I am sure that DU is not the only Democratic online community that suffers this affliction.
Now many will say, DU, or Kos, or Democrats.com is not like the real world. But I believe that while this is technically correct, we cannot overlook how the views conceived online is injected into the discourse of the Democratic general population. For example:
You just stepped away from a 300 post flame-war between 20 or 25 avatars where you believe you and your candidate was unfairly misrepresented, or even ridiculed. You leave your house and go to your local watering hole to watch the big game, or even the debates. You tell all of your friends how you were treated and BLAMMM!!! 20 people, may who probably don’t even own a computer now carry this message out to the brick.
Or some flame-war is sparked by some perceived indignation between the candidates. All of the sudden a back and forth between you and some one on the opposite side of the issue, is sited by some MSM lackey to make their point on division within the party.
It is my hope that this would be one of the issues we could tackle; formulate tactics to mediate the flame-wars in the name of our candidate. I’m under no illusion to believe that we can actually stop the masses from engagement. But I believe that if others see a proclaimed Obama supporter weigh in with a single mediating post, it would go a long way to temper the meme that Obama supporters are creating the divisions within the party. This could win votes that may be lost due to disillusion.
If anyone has lines that have worked, or might work as single post’s that could be interjected (including catchy titles) share them in an open thread that I will start on DU4O tonight.
I’m off to a viewing part with Philly for Obama, so grab your popcorn and enjoy!
Erik.
Your fearless, uh, equal?
P.S. Yall might want to set your group e-mail subscription to "daily digest" so your box don't go BOOM! We can com thru DU PM to reduce clutter..
I have the highest respect for my Floridian friends. I've spent a lot of time in Kissimmee, Daytona, and Ebor City. No blame should be sat on the doorsteps of the rank and file Sunshine State voters. They've been through enough ridicule and electoral repression. It is my hope that Florida can show it's political prowess in the GE with the help of the entire National Democratic Party. But the primaries have been fouled up. If we deny your delegates, Florida is disenfranchised, but if they are counted as they are, the country itself will be disenfranchised. It's a catch 22, and the only remedy that I see is either a caucus (money and time) or a proportional division using the national popular vote. Beyond that, all I can say is that I am truly sorry for the situation that Florida, as well as Michigan, has found it selves in.That being said...This is the unfortunate by-product of Alcee Hastings and Bill Nelson, be it spiteful or inadvertant. Both supported moving up the primary, both knew what the rules were, and both are early endorsers of the Clinton Campaign.
(Quote) "In his speech to the convention, Nelson said the DNC edict violates voting rights of Florida Democrats. He also said it was wrong for candidates to raise money in the state while refusing to publicly campaign at rallies or conventions."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007...
The way things are shaping up, PA will be a battleground state. This is a title that we have not held in half a century in my recollection. But you wouldn't know this if you look for the Obama operation in Philly. It's not Philly's fault, we're just not used to being so critical so early.
On Super Tuesday, our neighbor, New Jersey will hold a pivotal contest. I see this as a testing ground for our ground opps when it's Pennsylvania's turn. I am hoping that I can find a crew that has contacts in NJ's Delaware Valley that needs some help. But I have more in mind.
Who is running street opps in Philly? Who’s running the phones for the GOTV? Do we have lawyers making ward calls? Are they on rapid response? Do we have enough rovers to GOTV, feed poll watchers, and shuffle watchers so they can vote?I would like to speak to the person with answers to these questions. The person with supporter lists broken down by ward, delegating responsibilities, the office between the national and the local operations. Just leave a comment, e-mail, what ever.
I would also like to give a shout out to Josh and the gang who watched the debate at The Mill Creek Tavern. GOBAMA!
I catered the 3rd annual Martin Luther King Tribute Concert organized by PA State Representative Dwight Evans (D) at MLK high school in Philadelphia tonight. Unfortunately, I was unable to catch the Philadelphia Orchestra’s performance, but I learned something that caught me off-guard and warmed my heart.
I was talking to my family about the Nevada debate today while we were watching the results come in from the caucus. It occurred to us, as the pundits began to attribute reasons for the projected outcome that the “strength and weakness” question that Senator Obama has been repeated whacked with portrays a greater flaw embedded in Hillary’s so-called answer.
The following is my first post to my offical "Obama '08" Blog. It is actual something that I posted to Democratic Underground as an answer to a civil Clinton supporter's question of how I feel about Former President Reagan in light of Senator Obama's Comment regarding him.
Note: I've actually met President Reagan's son Ron.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=7518799&albumID=0&imageID=2072044
I grew up to witness the crack epidemic on my doorstep in the "Bad Lands" of North Philadelphia. My mom took me to Washington to march for school lunches, to chant "HELL NO, WE WON'T GO, WE WON'T FIGHT FOR TEXACO", and defend public education.I remember my Grandma telling me how she used to like Reagan, and rued the day she voted for him. After years of addiction, my Mom helped to clean up the mess left by his administration's AIDS policies as a graduate from the first "AmeriCore" class and an AIDS hotline operator.What informed me about Reagan the most was when my Grandma told me during the Iran/Contra hearings that "I bet you it was that "Bush" guy who did this, that dumb look on Reagan’s face should tell you all you need to know.Remember that Reagan really didn't care much for Bush.
During the 1980 presidential campaign, for example, the History Channel reports that Ronald Reagan repeatedly expressed a distrust of secret societies and promised that Skull and Bonesman, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) member and Trilateral Commission alumni George Bush would not be offered a position in his administration. Yet during the Republican Convention, Reagan broke tradition by making a late-night dash from his hotel room to the convention floor and declaring George Bush his running mate. The Iran hostage situation was miraculously resolved the day Reagan was sworn in.BuzzflashWhy did Reagan pick George I to be his running mate when he obviously couldn't stand him? He was set up. Remember that George Bush was the CIA director for Ford. Reagan wanted Ford to be his VP, so much that he didn't look for anyone else. Ford delayed the negotiations while Bush operatives (CIA people) leaked the negotiation information to the press in order to embarass Reagan. Ford continued to delay until the very last minute when he told Reagan no. There had already been pressure on Reagan to pick Bush, at the very last minute, he basically had no choice. Ford later admitted that he had stalled in the negotiations in order to set up the situation to assist Bush in becoming the Vice President.DU circa 2001You can always tell the Bushites apart from the Reagan Republicans. They always try to ride his coat tails with stuff like "he won the Cold War". I'll tell you one thing, There are many rank-and-file Reagan Republicans that think that the Bush administration are heiretics. These are the Republicans that will vote for a Democrat that they feel truly respects the historical significance of their hero. I'm not talking about a %51/%49 victory for the Democratic nominee, I'm talking a landslide of historic perportions; a true mandate.Off all the things that Reagan fucked up during his two terms, he did manage to pull off two things. He got Democrats to vote for him, at least the first time. And together with people like Lec Walesa, and Pope John Paul II, the Soviet threat was neutralized. But Bush and his cronies have undone all of it. We now have a new Cold War brewing, at home and abroad.Think about why Putin has backed off the Glasnost policy, he sees America as a threat. It's my opinion that when he saw the SALT treat broken, our aggressive moves in the Mideast for oil which started with the first Gulf War, continued thru the Clinton years, and culminated in a massive move under Bush Jr, and the Missile Shield push in Eastern Europe, he decided to revert and consolidate to offset a perceived American Imperialistic agenda. And Al-Qaeda didn't just get its hands dirty during the Soviet/Afghan war; they were in Bosnia as well.Don't get it twisted, I love Bill Clinton, and voted for him twice, but I believe that the American Presidency is more than just an "Executive Officer". The President is the face of America. The person in the office needs to be an iconic figure, transcending the office itself. If we can not present a unified face to the world in the form of a President that transcends simple party, or special interest, and that the world sees as an honest representative of the people, how can we continue to call the person we sent to the Oval Office "the leader of the free world?"So if Obama want's to give props to Reagan, I got his back. And I wouldn't be surprised if Ron Reagan Jr. decides to endorse him.
P.S. You've got to try my Chilli.
