What is $9.5 Trillion and growing rapidly? The national debt of course. This equals over $30,000 for every man, woman and child in America.
Who is responsible for the debt? We all know who, but rather than point fingers, simply look at this chart.
Note that after being more or less flat from the 40s-80s, the debt began to rise in the early 1980's. The debt leveled off in the 1990s and actually declined slightly in the late 90s. From early 2000's the debt shot up skywards. Here are the presidents by year:
1981-1989: Reagan
1989-1993: Bush Sr
1993-2001: Clinton
2001- Present: Bush Jr
So, the next time a republican tells you that democrats like to tax and spend, show them this chart and ask them who is responsible for the National Debt.
Why Vote For Obama:
Why are YOU voting for Obama?
If you have read this blog, you will see that I am an American living in Europe. I can not knock on doors (well, I can, but they are going to think that I am nuts since no one here can vote in a US election), I can not make calls (Skype maybe?).
So, I thought about one way I can help out and perhaps get a few votes for Obama. I have registered for a Political Discussion Forum. I am trying to help others understand WHY they must vote for Obama. I am trying to change a few minds.
If you are knocking on doors or making phone calls, well you have my appreciation. I am proud of you! Now, stop reading this blog and get out there and keep knocking! If you are NOT knocking on doors or making phone calls, why not help me out in some political discussion forums? You will find me active here in this forum, this is the string where I have started (start on page 2). My screen name is GEmmer:
Come and give me a hand. But lets have a few guidelines:
Obama must now choose who his running mate will be. There is alot of pressure to select Hillary. Hillary will help reach out to the female vote. But Hillary comes with a ton of baggage. Why not Dianne Feinstein?
Feinstein will help to assure the HUGE vote from California. Finestine will bring in the female voters. Finestein has the experience that both Hillary and Barack lack. The one drawback? Perhaps some will think that her jewish background might further alienate some voters. But Barack is all about unifying the country. Maybe this is too big of a step to take all at once. But Feinstein would be a major benefit to the ticket.
If you are currently undecided about who you should support for president, this may help you to make your decision:
Why Democrat and not Republican?
After eight years of Bush, the USA desperately needs a change. Bush has driven the US into a bad war. Bush has put the USA into massive debt. Oil prices are at records highs; the dollar is at record lows. The economy is in the worst shape it has been for years. Bush has destroyed the image of the USA abroad. Bush is terribly unpopular even in friendly countries. By association, Americans are unpopular. I know this all too well. I live abroad.
The USA needs a change. McCain is not a change. McCain, while not as bad as Bush, more or less supports Bush’s bad decisions. McCain like Bush believes that not meeting with our enemies is good diplomacy. This makes no sense at all. McCain supports the war in Iraq. McCain will continue the destruction of the US economy. Voting for McCain is simply dangerous.
Why Obama and not Clinton?
While both are smart people, Obama is smarter. Obama had the courage to speak out against the war in Iraq even when no one else was doing that. In the days just before the USA invaded Iraq, I was thinking “our leaders must know something I don’t know”. The fact is that they did not. Obama saw this and Clinton did not. Clinton is more of a political animal, less inclined to swim against the tide. Obama is clearly his own man. Obama will make the right tough decisions.
Has Obama made mistakes?
Yes, in my opinion, Obama did not react quickly enough to distance himself from Reverend Write. He chose loyalty over politics. This is admirable, but it is worrisome. I want my president to be thinking about his job first and everything else second. I am praying that Obama learned from this mistake. As mentioned Obama is a smart man.
Can Obama stand up to the Republican Mean Machine?
The Republican Party is famous for basing campaigns on lies and innuendo. For example, they took a minor issue like when Dukakis wore a military uniform when riding in a tank and used it to deride him to make him look foolish. They played the video over and over again in order to destroy his image. Does this have anything to do with the policies of the candidate? None whatsoever. They simply made him look “unpresidential”.
However, Obama has shown that he is more intelligent than Dukakis. By simply telling the Republicans “lay off my wife” recently, Obama spoke words that ALL Americans can respect and showed Republicans that he will not stand for these kinds of foolish games.
Does Obama have what it takes to beat McCain?
This is what worries me most. While Obama is clearly the best person for the job, I wonder if enough of my fellow voters have the courage to vote for him? I am worried that there are too many Americans who will vote purely based on skin color and not based on who can do the best job for the country. I am praying that as voters get to know Obama, they will see the person he is. They will stop focusing on his middle name, the color of his skin, and innuendos and lies coming from the Bush Administration, the Republican Party and the McCain campaign. I am hoping that my fellow voters will have the courage and good sense to vote for the best candidate.
I enjoyed reading about how Barack took the offensive against Bush and McCain. The Republican Mean Machine loves to use lies and exaggerations to build fear naive voters. Bush is a fear monger supreme. He is trying to make us believe that Barack will make the USA less safe by criticizing Barack'w willingness to talk to our enemies.
But Obama is right on by saying that McCain and Bush have to answer for "Iran's benefiting from the invasion of Iraq, Hamas' gaining control of Gaza and Iran's continued funding of terrorist organizations".
Bush's failed policies have made the world and the USA much, much less safe. Barack is the only person capable of repairing the damage that Bush has done to the USA and the world.
Barak:
I am a fan and I do really hope with all of my heart that you are going to make it in November. But how are you going to beat the Republican Mean Machine???? The Republican Mean Machine is formidable!
They are cruel. They are tough. And the crap that they can deliver is so effective that they got Bush elected. TWICE! If they can be so effective with someone as pathetic as Bush, imagine what they will do with a war hero!
I am behind you all of the way. But, oh man, have you got your work cut out for you!
Dear Barack Obama
I would like to write to you about the ‘Celtic Tiger’ and what this could mean for peace in the Middle East . As you know, the Celtic Tiger was a period of rapid economic growth in Ireland . In just one decade, from the early 1990s to early 2000, Ireland was transformed from being one of the poorest countries in Europe to one of the richest. During exactly that time, the IRA announced a cessation of military operations. As a result, Ireland went from being a poor and violent country to a rich and peaceful country. It is not a big surprise that poverty brings violence and wealth brings peace. What is a surprise is that no one seems to be learning from this lesson. What caused the Celtic Tiger? This is debated but probably was a result low corporate tax rate and financial investment from the EU. The combination of these two factors increased the number of jobs and the income levels of the Irish population. What I would like to see is a similar program put into place to increase the economic environment of instable countries of the mid-East. This should start with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a territory with population of approximately 4 million, very similar to the population of Ireland . Programs that I would like to see would include: * Give businesses incentive to create jobs in Palestine.* Turn Palestine into a tax free industry zone. Offer Products produced in Palestine tax free import into Europe and the USA. * Offer US and European businesses that start companies and create jobs tax breaks on their US and European corporate taxes. Train Palestinians* Create grants to advance education in Palestine * Encourage US and European universities to offer low cost or free positions to qualified Palestinian students. * Encourage US and European universities to build academic centers in the area. Build the infrastructure* Make Palestine an IT hub. Improve internet, satellite and telecommunication infrastructure.* Build a center of excellence for regional IT experts to come to Palestine and create a Palestinian Silicone Valley".
By creating an economic hub in Palestine and improving the business and economic opportunities, the west could turn Palestine from a training ground for Hamas to a traning ground for Microsoft, Google and other IT giants. Let's turn Palestine into an Arabic Tiger.
I am one of millions of American's living abroad. We are a very large group, yet we often feel ignored. Here is why:
Remember the Boston Tea Party? These legendary colonists got famous because they resisted taxation without representation. Well guess what? Americans living abroad today have ZERO representation and we are taxed. How is that fair? We are offered virtually no services by the US government. We get no roads built for us, we are not even offered special treatment at US embassies. It is estimated that around 7 million US citizens live and work abroad. If you put us all together into one state, US citizens living abroad would be the 13 largest state in the USA!! There are more of us than in New Hampshire, Maine and Idaho COMBINED! But who represents us in congress? Who can we appeal to about the tax policies? The answer is no one.
We make up a very large voting contingency. But which candidate traveled abroad so we could hear them speak on issues important to us? Which candidate even makes us feel like we matter? No one. Where is the discussion in Obama's website about us? I did not find it, did you?
Being that we are so cut off from the US, we must reach out to get better informed. With the internet and with international news channels such as CNN and MSNBC, this is getting easier these days. Yet we are still under-informed.
My suggestion to the Obama team is not to forget about us, neither before nor after the election. We are very poorly organized, this is true. But there are a lot of us. We are highly educated and often influential. A little communication in this direction could go a very long way.
