First alerted by Patty [ http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/pattysc ] in the post titled; 'Independent Ad Knocks Obama' [ http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/pattysc/gGx4DK ] I decided to do a little checking on just who is behind this smear campaign...
[ http://www.bothwaysbarack.com/index.html ]
This is a project of "Let Freedom Ring, Inc."See: [ http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Let_Freedom_Ring ]
Let Freedom Ring is a new, conservative "grassroots" 501c4 group set up by a one million dollar from Dr. Jack Templeton, son of John Templeton, Jr., an influencial money changer who created a prize for innovation in religion and science.[1]. The principles behind the new organization begin with not participating in "negative personal or partisan political attacks", as stated by the group's president, Colin Hanna. "We want to reach out to patriotic, especially people of faith, and encourage them not to let mud-slinging by the left turn them off to our political process." [2]LFR has other projects to get them started. One is a documentary about the faith of George W. Bush, Sen. Rick Santorum and Sen. Zell Miller. Hanna believes this will help get a vote out of the four million evangelical Christians who did not vote in 2000, apparently due to disillusionment. This upcoming movie could change that.They are also looking to organize a thousand volunteers to get out the vote in the following states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Iowa, and Wisconsin. They "also want to build coaltions of existing organizations whose membership is likely to encompass some of the values that we have." Perhaps this will give them the grassroots title they already claim.They are also having a contest like MoveOn.org did as a search for the best commercials. However they will not "be simply a conservative version of Moveon.org and The Media Fund.[3]Although Colin uses the words "we" and "us" quite a bit, who exactly "we" and "us" are is not expanded on. On The Washington Journal, July 5, 2004, Colin was able to get himself a half hour spot of time to talk to America about who they were.Their website has the Statue of Liberty, the Constitution, the Liberty Bell, Flag and Sunsets invoking a pure feeling of America. The points they claim they are devoted to promoting are:Constitutional Government Economic Freedom Traditional Values [edit]ContactLet Freedom Ring603 Fairway DriveWest Chester, PA 19382610-793-1800Retrieved from: [ http://www.sourcewatch.org/in dex.php?title=Let_Freedom_Ring ]
Looks to me like they just violated their stated principles of not participating in "negative personal or partisan political attacks." So much for their integrity!
Let Freedom Ring, Inc. does not list "Both Way Barack" as a project on their Web Page [ http://www.letfreedomringusa.com/home ] which does list:
'We Need A Fence' [ http://weneedafence.com/ ]
'In Their Own Words' [ http://theirownwords.com/ ]
'Pennsylvanis Pastors Network' [ http://www.pennsylvaniapastors.com/ ]
But "Both Ways Barack" does say at the bottom of its Web Page that it is a project of Let Freedom Ring...
John M. Templeton, Jr. the creator of Let Freedom Ring also is the current president of the John Templeton Foundation which was established in 1978 by the late investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton and is usually referred to simply as the Templeton Foundation.
See: [ http://www.templeton.org/ ]
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templeton_Foundation ]
I am sure there is more that can be dug up on the principles behind "Both Ways Barack"
Barry Blitt the artist responsible for the July 21, 2008 cover illustration titled: called ‘The Politics of Fear’ says that; “I think the idea that the Obamas are branded as unpatriotic [let alone as terrorists] in certain sectors is preposterous. It seemed to me that depicting the concept would show it as the fear-mongering ridiculousness that it is.”
See: ‘Barry Blitt Defends His New Yorker Cover Art Of Obama’
[ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/13/barry-blitt-addresses-his_n_112432.html ]
[ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/13/yikes-controversial-emnew_n_112429.html ]
I would point out a couple of things…First, in offering his defense he displays other cover illustrations with unflattering caricatures of political figures (e.g. the Bush administration) as seen on the Huffington Post Web Page. None of these covers were done during an election period. Nor do any depict a burning United States of America Flag or reference stereotypical religious or terrorist themes.
Second, the issue is accompanied by a Commentary by Hendrik Hertzberg titled ‘Flip-Flop Flap’ which says among other things that; “Obama has been providing plenty of plastic for the flip-flop factories with the adjustments he’s been making as he retools his campaign for the general election.” And contains only one paragraph leading off with; “Meanwhile, McCain has been busily reversing his views in highly consequential ways.”
Third, another article by Ryan Lizza titled ‘Making It, How Chicago Shaped Obama’ states; “…the greatest misconception about Barack Obama is that he is some sort of anti-establishment revolutionary. Rather, every stage of his political career has been marked by an eagerness to accommodate himself to existing institutions rather than tear them down or replace them....he has always played politics by the rules as they exist, not as he would like them to exist. He runs as an outsider, but he has succeeded by mastering the inside game.”
I think that the only Illustrations here are the definite bias on display against Obama.
The New Yorker Magazine (David Remnick, Editor) is owned by Conde Nast Publications (Charles H. Townsend, Chief Executive Officer) which in turn is owned by Advance Publications, Inc. (Samuel I. Newhouse, Jr., Chief Executive Officer).
See:
[ http://www.mediaowners.com/company/condenast.html ]
[ http://www.mediaowners.com/company/advance.html ]
What I can and cannot get over and do…
NOTE: Please read all of this post before you dismiss it out-of-hand.
Because of his deliberate actions my solid vote for Barack Obama in November has gone from a sure thing to a maybe…
Ok, let’s get one thing straight… I am not going to get over how Barack Obama or any other members of Congress voted on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act of 2008 {a.k.a. H.R. 6304}
I am not getting over it. Understand? (See my other posts for detailed specific reasons)
"It" -- being exactly how we got to the point where it is perfectly ok, understandable, and almost expected of even, for a political candidate to: break their word (e.g. lie to their base supporters); violate their pledged Oath of Office (i.e. to support and defend the Constitution); and sanction and become an accessory to the cover-up and disappearance of Felony crimes against the Constitution and American citizens in order to win an election... After all the ends justify any means right?
It’s not beating a “dead horse.” It’s not over. Yada yada yada… It is something I intend to never forget as a lesson!
A lesson that I should have known better than believe that any member of Congress could be a candidate of "CHANGE" given their current corporate payroll dependency and lack of understanding of exactly where most of the American people are at this moment in time -- regardless of what they and their campaign may say…
And yes, it really is my fault, see I can blame the victim just as well as the rest, since I wanted to believe and put Barack Obama up on the holy pedestal of “CHANGE” for something completely different in politics and suffered all the accompanying emotions when he fell off of my self-deluded alter of “HOPE.”
What I can do is attempt to change my expectations and direction of thought. Develop a new paradigm. I t would be better for me to focus on the horrors of the Bush administration, or the potential horrors of a McCain administration rather than focus on the shortcomings of Barack Obama’s recent actions and statements. That perhaps would be a more positive endeavor.
Some would say without question that a Obama presidency will be vastly different from a McCain one. I would like to believe that. But in reality the fact is that increasingly the American public’s perceptions and our elected officials are managed through the Media and vast Moneyed Interests like Multinational Corporations, etc. as a cost of doing business… Whether that “business” is actually in your best interest is for you to decide!
So I go back to the reality of political cynicism: “a distrust of politicians and the influence of their corporate campaign contributions.” And I try to work on areas where I can actually make things better and/or help people understand what facts are closest to the truth.
Things like this:
[ http://www.pbs.org/now/election-2008/question11.html ];
[ http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/242/index.html ] (See Video);
[ http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript_cleanelections.html ] and;
[ http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/cleanelections.html ]
You are attempting to be the consummate Troll on this Forum (Senator Obama - Please Vote NO on Telecom Immunity - Get FISA Right )...
A complete review of your recent posts and personal profile reveals the truth of this matter.
I will not continue to feed you after this post!
DNFTT = “Do Not Feed The Trolls”
How can troll posts be recognised?
No Imagination - Most are frighteningly obvious; sexist comments on nurses' groups, blasphemy on religious groups .. I kid you not.
Pedantic in the Extreme - Many trolls' preparation is so thorough, that while they waste time, they appear so ludicrous from the start that they elicit sympathetic mail - the danger is that once the group takes sides, the damage is done.
False Identity - Because they are cowards, trolls virtually never write over their own name, and often reveal their trolliness (and lack of imagination) in the chosen ID. As so many folk these days use false ID, this is not a strong indicator on its own!
Crossposting - Any post that is crossposted to several groups should be viewed as suspicious, particularly if unrelated or of opposing perspective. Why would someone do that?
Off-topic posting - Often genuine errors, but, if from an 'outsider' they deserve matter-of-fact response; if genuine, a brief apposite response is simply netiquette; if it's a troll post, you have denied it its reward.
Repetition of a question or statement is either a troll - or a pedant; either way, treatment as a troll is effective.
Missing The Point - Trolls rarely answer a direct question - they cannot, if asked to justify their twaddle - so they develop a fine line in missing the point.
George W. Bush wastes no Time!
I believe that it's very telling that President Bush wasted absolutely no time in signing H.R. 6304 the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act of 2008...
H.R. 6304 was signed by George W. Bush at: 1:22 p.m. EST on July 10, 2008. The legislation was signed into law less than 24 hours after the United States Senate passed the legislation at: 2:47 p.m. EST on July 9, 2008.
Photograph: [ http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/07/images/20080710-2_d-0098-5-515h.jpg ]
“I thank all the other members of the House and Senate who have joined us. I appreciate your very good work.” - George W. Bush, President of the United States of America
I might add:
1. Work that joins President Bush in violating your Oath of Office to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” by ignoring the requirements thereof and legislatively gutting portions of our Constitution’s Fourth Amendment;
2. Work that joins President Bush in violating the Separation of Powers between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of our government as set up under our Constitution; and,
3. Work that joins President Bush in the cover-up and disappearance of crimes, illegal and/or criminal acts, against our Constitution and citizens of the United States which has already been ruled on by Federal Judges as a clear violation of federal law and unconstitutional…
Just in case you're too inquisitive like me and had to find some kind of explanation in order to better understand the events of July 9, 2008...
I made the mistake of looking up some information on the Telephone Utilities’ Top Money Recipients in 2004 and 2008 and comparing it to the Votes on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act of 2008 {H.R. 6304}
NOTE: The numbers on this page are based on contributions from Political Action Committees and individuals giving $200 or more. All donations took place during the 2003-2004 and 2007-2008 election cycles and were released by the Federal Election Commission on Monday, May 16, 2005 and Monday, June 30, 2008 respectively.
Telephone Utilities’ Top 20 Money Recipients in 2008:
1. Senator John McCain -- $365,955 --- Did not Vote on H.R. 6304.
2. Senator Hillary Clinton -- $246,747 -- Voted Against Passage of H.R. 6304.
3. Senator Barack Obama -- $220,789 -- Voted for Passage of H.R. 6304.
4. Senator Jay Rockefeller -- $51,500 -- Voted for Passage of H.R. 6304.
5. Rudolph W. Giuliani -- $50,800
6. Representative Rahm Emanuel-- $49,950 -- Voted for Passage of H.R. 6304.
7. Representative Ron Paul -- $47,122 -- Did not Vote on H.R. 6304.
8. Mitt Romney -- $43,200
9. Senator Ted Stevens -- $41,400 -- Voted for Passage of H.R. 6304.
10. Mark Warner -- $40,950
11. Representative Rick Boucher -- $36,700 -- Voted for Passage of H.R. 6304.
12. Representative Lee Terry-- $36,650 -- Voted for Passage of H.R. 6304.
13. Senator Susan M. Collins -- $35,850 -- Voted for Passage of H.R. 6304.
14. Representative Greg Walden -- $34,000 -- Voted for Passage of H.R. 6304.
15. Senator Mark Pryor -- $32,350 -- Voted for Passage of H.R. 6304.
16. Fred Thompson -- $31,570
17. Representative Cliff Steams -- $31,000 -- Voted for Passage of H.R. 6304.
18. Representative Edward J. Markey - $30,500 -- Voted Against Passage of H.R. 6304.
19. Representative Eric Cantor -- $30,200 -- Voted for Passage of H.R. 6304.
20. Representative Baron Hill -- $28,900 -- Voted Against Passage of H.R. 6304.
Source: [ http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?ind=B08&cycle=2008&recipdetail=A&mem=Y&sortorder=U ]
“This above all: to thine own self be true,And it must follow, as the night the day,Thou canst not then be false to any man.” - William Shakespeare
So, as I sit and watch C-SPAN 2 play out the Senate votes on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act of 2008 {H.R. 6304} it occurs to me that that the world will not end tomorrow because this unconstitutional legislation has passed… But all in all it’s a sad day!
As a result of these actions today; Americans are less free from intrusive invasion of their Privacy by our Executive branch of government, our Constitution has been yet further weakened, numerous members of Congress have forgone their Oaths of Office to support and protect our Constitution, and the illegal and/or criminal actions of those individuals responsible will most likely go uninvestigated, undiscovered, and most importantly -- will not be adjudicated and will go unpunished.
It occurs to me that one sensible course of action would be to work together in a coalition of people, regardless of political affiliation, to unseat and replace those members of Congress who have deliberately broken their sworn pledge to; “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” with ones that actually can keep that promise to the American people…
Just to be clear here, I am saying that the members of Congress who made the decision to value their political contributions from telecommunication companies (over $6,249,940 in 2008 so far) more than their duty and sworn Oath to support and defend the Constitution and effectively sanction the disappearance of crimes against the Constitution and American citizens must go! We must see that they are unelected and replaced.
If you need further justification of this, go to the C-SPAN Archives and watch Senator Jay Rockefeller -- Democrat from West Virginia who has taken tens of thousands of dollars of telecommunication companies’ money debate Senator Arlen Specter -- Republican from Pennsylvania on this legislation. How ironic is it to see a Republican debate a Democrat about our ability to redress illegal and/or criminal acts by the Bush administration which has said that it is above the law!
Even though I desperately want to actively support Barack Obama for President, I will not blindly support any candidate because other choices are even worse! It is up to Barack now to keep his word...
It's plain and simple... Our founding fathers of the United States required one simple thing of members of Congress; that is to take an oath to protect and defend our Constitution.
Specifically to; "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic..."
Since the FISA compromise's retroactive immunity will also apply to violations of the law and citizens' constitutional rights prior to the attacks on 9-11, I have to conclude that this isn't about "keeping America safe" but rather about making crimes disappear!
So it's simple:
Don't cave to "Fear Politics" on national security issues.
Do keep your pledge and Oath of Office intact and do your duty to; "protect and defend our Constitution" and not weaken it.
Don't let crimes against the Constitution and citizens of the United States go uninvestigated and unpunished.
Don’t compromise your base of most active supporters on this matter of law and your integrity.
I want to actively support and contribute to your campaign to become the next President of the United States of America. However, exactly what you do on the FISA Compromise legislation will directly determine the level of my involvement. Here is your chance to put your words on Change and Ethics into action!
In Solidarity;
