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! ! Leonel Picun (Hollywood, FL)

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Barack Obama, a different and revolutionary view of OUR Nation sensible to the real needs of its people; whom revives our hopes and dreams

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Celebration day!!

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Jun 4th, 2008 at 10:05 am EDT

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Celebration day!!

Yes finally after all these months Obama has clinched the nomination, setting one of the most important icons in the history of our country.

I feel enormously proud today of the outcome of these primaries, where finally we can see that there are indeed strong signs of change in our culture, we are evolving for the better.

Let’s take this day to celebrate and breathe the fresh air of positive change, let’s take a little break before starting for the second part of this epic journey.

Now the real campaign starts, it won’t be easy but we have proven that TOGETHER WE CAN ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING WE WANT.

Recharge your batteries, be alert and ready, it is for real now; we need to start working twice hard, we need to stand behind our hopes and our believes, today more than ever before.

Our personal future and the future of America are in our hands.

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RNC WELCOMING COMMITTEE ORDERS TASERS FOR EVERY PROTESTOR

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Mar 27th, 2008 at 11:03 am EDT

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RNC WELCOMING COMMITTEE ORDERS TASERS FOR EVERY PROTESTOR I was reading this article from the RNC Welcoming Committee and I could not believe my eyes; I thought it would be very instructional for us, since is yet another demonstration of what these people is capable of. I cannot think of any valid reason for these measures but I’m sure it makes a lot of sense for their mentality. The most basic right have been broken and like if this was not enough; this sort of private militias of course are starting to arise under our own noses while we conveniently ignore the facts. You don’t believe it? … well just read this paragraph extracted from the link shown below: O’ Nymmity concluded, “Convention delegates and attendees should feel free to enjoy their five-star hotels, three-course meals, and “gentleman’s clubs” without fear of protest or disruption. After all, if they follow the law and don’t start any illegal wars or anything, what should they have to worry about?” Can you imagine what is coming if we don’t elect a Democrat President and Congress? … I can guarantee that our country as we once knew it; will no longer be possible. Read the article you will be amazed!!!

http://www.rncwelcomingcommittee.org/2008/03/14/rnc-welcoming-committee-orders-tasers-for-every-protestor

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Clinton Exaggerating Foreign Policy Track Record

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Mar 25th, 2008 at 3:37 pm EDT

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Clinton Exaggerating Foreign Policy Track Record

As we all knew, the overstatements of Hillary Clinton were so obvious that it was a matter of time before she would be exposed.

In an unprecedented effort for smearing Senator Barack Obama short but brilliant record, they felt in their own trap, they have miss quoted themselves.

It is awfully shameful to me; after all the respect I withheld for President Clinton and his wife; to end up witnessing all these low class series of attacks coming from them, and what is even worse; having them exposed as they are being done in the last couple of days.

Her own campaign now days acknowledges that there is no way she will finish ahead in the number of pledge delegates, meaning that the only way she can win is with the support of the Super Delegates.

Source: AP updated 4:59 a.m. ET, Tues., March. 25, 2008

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23789011

Source: Politico.com By JIM VANDEHEI & MIKE ALLEN | 3/21/08 1:32 PM EST

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9149.html

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Barack Obama’s speech in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Constitution Center

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Mar 21st, 2008 at 2:45 pm EDT

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Barack Obama’s speech in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Constitution Center MARCH 18, 2008"We the people, in order to form a more perfect union"

Audio: http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=88478467&m=88484093

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWe7wTVbLUU

Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787. The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations. Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution - a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time. And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part - through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk - to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign - to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren. This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story. I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I've gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world's poorest nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners - an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible. It's a story that hasn't made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts - that out of many, we are truly one. Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans. This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either "too black" or "not black enough." We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well.And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn. On one end of the spectrum, we've heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it's based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we've heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike. I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed. But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam. As such, Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way But the truth is, that isn't all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's work here on Earth - by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at Trinity:"People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend's voice up into the rafters....And in that single note - hope! - I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion's den, Ezekiel's field of dry bones. Those stories - of survival, and freedom, and hope - became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn't need to feel shame about...memories that all people might study and cherish - and with which we could start to rebuild."That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety - the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity's services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias. But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America - to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality. The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through - a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American. Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today's black and white students.Legalized discrimination - where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments - meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today's urban and rural communities.A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of black families - a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods - parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement - all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us. This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What's remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it - those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations - those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician's own failings.And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning. That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience - as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time. Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze - a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding. This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy - particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.But I have asserted a firm conviction - a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people - that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union. For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances - for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives - by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.Ironically, this quintessentially American - and yes, conservative - notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright's sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change. The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country - a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen - is that America can change. That is true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope - the audacity to hope - for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds - by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper. In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well. For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle - as we did in the OJ trial - or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.We can do that.But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change. That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time. This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together. This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit. This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned. I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation - the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election. There is one story in particularly that I'd like to leave you with today - a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King's birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta. There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there. And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother's problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn't. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley." "I'm here because of Ashley." By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.

But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins.

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Barack Obama Speech on Racism

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Mar 18th, 2008 at 11:49 am EDT

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Barack Obama Speech on Racism
After listening to Senator Barack Obama speech I realize why I am a passionate supporter of his campaign and absolutely without a doubt I understand why my inner instinct tells me that he is the leader I want for my country.
The clarity and assertiveness shown by him during the course of his discourse are all it was needed to fully understand the whys for all the issues still remaining in our society.
His exposition of the issues and reference to personal experiences in his very own life, clearly expose the issues; the issues nobody openly talks about but recognizes in private.
Why? why we continue to live this sort of double life?. We have acquired a hypocritical behavior that has denied us from advancing to a higher stage in life;
A behavior that impairs our ability to grow richer in a pluralist society; where contribution from all sides of the cultural and racial spectrum will enhance all community members lives.
We keep talking about how great our country is; we brag about all the big things we have accomplished and God knows about how many other things we talk. The fact is still we haven’t been able to resolve the most crucial issue of all which is Coexistence! Respecting our neighbor and accepting him/her for what he/she is.
What most people does not realize that probably this is one of the last opportunities we have to grow rich, not in money but culturally and spiritually; we can reclaim our divine right do coexist in peace and harmony with each other; as long as we have the fortitude to work towards a common goal …
Harmony and Respect for each other.

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Bill Clinton has damaged his image due to campaign role

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Mar 17th, 2008 at 12:47 pm EDT

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Bill Clinton has damaged his image due to campaign role

It is a petty that Bill Clinton has gotten involved in his wife campaign in such a negative note; his role in it has taken a toll in the image that most Democrats harbored of him for many years.

See article for Politico.com http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0308/9066.html

He should it realize that getting partisan again was a mistake, it is understandable giving support specially if your spouse is in the race, but as a former President you need to maintain an image that he earned during his two terms and we all remembered with happiness.

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Hillary will run for President as Independent

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Mar 13th, 2008 at 11:06 am EDT

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Hillary will run for President as Independent

The more I look into this primary, the more I realize the incommensurable thirst for power the Clinton Camp has and in particular Hillary and Bill.

The rhetoric adopted by her campaign in the last month, added to vile comments and attacks towards Senator Barack Obama, are a clear indicator of that.

They are showing a complete disregard for rules (in the case of delegates in Florida and Michigan), then the attempts to manipulate the Super Delegates votes, then the comments from members in her campaign that are completely out of line.

Of course is not her who is making the comments and conveniently she dismisses the person in question from her campaign and moves on.

All this is obviously tailored to send a subliminal message to the unaware, what is really happening here, is that her lust for power is moving her away from the party lines.

The maneuvers to have the Florida Delegates sited at the convention or even the Michigan Delegates we Barack Obama was not even on the ballot, lead me to believe STRONGLY that she is going to pull the “Joe Lieberman CARD”; she is going to run INDEPENDENT.

She knows she will lose the primaries but as I mentioned she will do anything and everything to keep the Clinton Political Dynasty going in Washington, she will run independent outside of the party lines, contradicting one of the most proverbial sayings of Bill Clinton “During the primaries you fall in love and at the Convention you fall in line”.

Most definitely she will not fall in line and when it comes down to it she will split and run INDEPENDENT.

So we better get ready to battle not one but two Republicans on the next general election.

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I’m glad we are getting a break!! (Big Mistake)

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Mar 12th, 2008 at 3:27 pm EDT

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I’m glad we are getting a break!! (Big Mistake)

I’m sure that Senator Barack Obama is glad of having a break from the campaign trail; specially with the next primary 40 days away.

Nevertheless, this is the time when we have to organize the most and prepare for what is coming; Barack’s opponents and detractors will take this time to regroup and launch an attack as we haven’t seen before, therefore WE NEED TO BE ALERT and organizing ourselves.

We are a few states away from getting the nomination, talking to people, phoning, making friends, talking to the youth is crucial; we know that we will win this election if we involved the young people in the process.

Now more than ever we need to regroup, reorganize, improve and contribute with this campaign; recruiting people, registering them to vote, gathering more and more people so we can conclusively say Barack is the nominee of the Democratic Party and the next President of the United States of America for all the Americans and not for just a few.

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Pitiful declarations from Geraldine Ferraro

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Mar 11th, 2008 at 1:53 pm EDT

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Pitiful declarations from Geraldine Ferraro

If these declarations were coming from a regular citizen I would be more tolerant about the disgraceful comments, coming for the former vice presidential candidate for the Democratic ticket in 1984.

I will let you to elaborate your own opinion just by presenting you with the facts.

Personally, I’m really tired of these kinds of arguments they do not make any sense to me.

Source : Dailybreeze.com 3/7/2008

http://www.dailybreeze.com/lifeandculture/ci_8489268

Source: John Gibson Radio program

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqL_sm0J8jc

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Hillary’s words disgust me

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Mar 7th, 2008 at 3:51 pm EST

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Hillary’s words disgust me I saw this interview in a morning show where Hillary once again attacks Obama in a viral form, showing the lowest a human being can go to obtain something. She said “I have a life time experience to bring to the White House; Senator McCain has a lifetime experience to bring to the White House; Senator Obama has a 2002 speech”. How low can you go?, is this the person that I’m supposed to entrust my vote in by any remote chance she gets the nomination? I have great concerns about Hillary and her claims about having so much experience in Foreign Politics and her auto proclamation of best suited for Commander in Chief. As far as I’m concerned the best I know is that she was the First Lady and obviously participated in some meetings (NOT ALL OF THEM), where decision were made BY HER HUSBAND, not her. The truth is NOBODY is suited to be the president first day because unless you have been the president before, there is not way you can have the experience required. What it counts in the humility and the willingness to the job done the right way, and when it comes to that there is only one person that can do it that way his name Barack Obama

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Interesting facts about Hillary and Bill

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Mar 7th, 2008 at 3:13 pm EST

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Take a little time to see this video about the Clinton and some INTERESTING contributors they have had in the past.

Very iluminating

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7007109937779036019

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The Other Super Tuesday

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Mar 5th, 2008 at 10:21 am EST

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The Other Super Tuesday.

It is clear now for all of us that we cannot take anything for granted, regardless of all the effort we all have put into this campaign.

We can clearly see how easily people can fluctuate to one side or the other. We have seen the positive results that Sen. Clinton has gain by using NEGATIVE Attacks and successfully using sound bites at the best Republic style and clearly appealing to the use of fear mongering with tactics extracted from Carl’s Rove dark book.

We are now down to a mathematical game that still has Sen. Obama at from on the count down, but Clinton has way more super delegates than Barack and believe me she is going to use them, also many of these delegates can switch lines at any time which can be critical to secure the nomination.

Don’t forget Bill Clinton is still behind this campaign and there are lots of strings that he can pull to get the results Hillary needs, and of course we must recognize the strength and character of Hillary she is pulling it off so far.

We are the only responsible for our future, NOW we need to decide if we want more of the same or new COMPLETELY new and refreshing, we need to regain the momentum and strength that this campaign had a week ago and make it happen otherwise expect more of the same.

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New video from Will.I.am

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Feb 29th, 2008 at 2:58 pm EST

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See the new video from Will.I.am

Beautiful video full of hope, very refreshing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghSJsEVf0pU

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More tricks from the right wingers

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Feb 28th, 2008 at 1:05 pm EST

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More tricks from the right wingers

It is very curious to me how the Right Wing operates even if they have to create some rumors against themselves.

In the link provided below they are referring to the potential non-eligibility of Senator McCain to be president of the US, due to the fact that he was born in the Panama Canal Zone.

They undergo to a series of citations of articles and verbiage that defines when and when not you are consider an American by merit of birth.

Coming from a Politically Conservative corner it is really odd to read an article like this, nobody in his/her right mind will try to discredit a candidate from your neck of the woods; especially when it is the only viable candidate left.

But … if you pay close attention to the right of the article you will see the real reason for this publication, THERE WE GO AGAIN, another picture of Barack Obama wearing a traditional African attire, and furthermore they CONVINIENTLY present a link to the Freedom’s Enemies web site showing more pictures of Senator Obama in different occasions.

For the unaware, this will result in a terrible shock, thinking that this guy might be some sort of Manchurian candidate whose only agenda is to converting the entire nation into Islamism; Believe me more than one person will think so if confronted with garbage publications of this nature.

We need to be aware of scenarios like this during the presidential campaign they will try everything on the book of dirty tricks to change people’s mind.

Unfortunately we must recognize that we are not a very well informed nation in many cases, with the additional issue of manipulated information where we a fed what the main stream media feeds us not usually the most accurate information.

Remain alert, investigate, look for the facts and most importantly inform people don’t allow people to remain ignorant about other cultures and traditions, diversity is what makes nations bigger and better; there is so much to learn and we have so very little time.

Links:

http://forthardknox.com/2008/02/09/mccain-not-eligible-to-be-president/

http://sweetness-light.com/archive/another-photo-of-obama-in-muslim-garb

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20th debate with no surprises

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Feb 27th, 2008 at 1:07 pm EST

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20th debate with no surprises

As I said yesterday on this blog there was no much that Barack had to do to win once again the debate.

Clinton needed to deliver a KO but she fall short again due to the lack or arguments against Barack Obama.

The continues emphasis on Health Care as the main point of the debate showed her as short of ideas in all the other aspects of our National Needs; jobs, affordable housing, better education, civilized foreign politics, the “War” in Iraq, Veterans benefits, green energy.

The list goes on and on and on, to put her on her words it takes a fighter to solve this problems and YES I do agree; but it also takes an organizer; somebody to whom the people will respond willingly with hope; somebody the people trust; inevitably the answer is BARACK OBAMA.

He didn’t need to do much just defend his position without being too aggressive and he accomplished that perfectly; I have no doubts that the coming primaries in Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island will be very close, specially Texas; but Hillary will have to win by a landslide in order to keep her on the competition.

The race is over Barack will be the nominee let’s start thinking in McCain.

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Crucial debate tonight in Ohio

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Feb 26th, 2008 at 10:14 am EST

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Debate will be crucial for our campaign, I do anticipate a very agitated Hillary trying really hard to nail Obama’s with any excuse possible on the book of dirty politics.

All Obama has to do is keep talking on the same fashion he has been doing it, do not engage in the game she will be bringing on.

We can expect one of the toughest debates ever between this two, I have complete confidence that Barack will handle the discussion according to the circumstances and with no doubt emerge victorious once again.

All he has to do is keep doing what he has been doing up until now.

What tonight’s debate from 9:00 pm to 10:30 pm eastern time.

Leonel

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Dear Friends this demands URGENT ATTENTION

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Feb 25th, 2008 at 5:18 pm EST

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Dear Friends,

The race for the Democratic nomination is still extremely close, and upcoming primaries will demand resources on an unprecedented scale.

It's more important than ever that Obama supporters across the country step up and make a commitment to help Barack finish strongly.

I hope you'll join me in supporting Barack by making a donation to my personal fundraising page:

My Fundraising Page

I'm supporting Barack because it's time to put an end to the say-anything-to-win politics of the past.

Together, we can face the challenges of the future with a new kind of politics and a new kind of leadership.

If you're ready to take the next step and own a piece of this campaign, make a donation to my page now:

My Fundraising Page

I'm standing up for the politics of hope. I hope you will too.

Thanks

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Last Night Debate in Texas 02-21-2008

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Feb 22nd, 2008 at 12:15 pm EST

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Last Night Debate

Regardless of all the media analysis and the looking into the minutia about last night Debate in Texas; we can clearly recognize that Barack has taken the lead and against all odds he will take Texas primaries.

Hillary showed her abilities as a politician in many respects but certainly failed in connecting with the people. At least that was my take.

We need a leader that can finally bring us together, that makes possible collaboration and supporting one another. We cannot expect that one president; one person will change our current events. It clearly demands a collective effort that only an inspirational leader can produce; day after day I’m more and more convinced that that person is Barack.

Last Night Debate

Regardless of all the media analysis and the looking into the minutia about last night Debate in Texas; we can clearly recognize that Barack has taken the lead and against all odds he will take Texas primaries.

Hillary showed her abilities as a politician in many respects but certainly failed in connecting with the people. At least that was my take.

We need a leader that can finally bring us together, that makes possible collaboration and supporting one another. We cannot expect that one president; one person will change our current events. It clearly demands a collective effort that only an inspirational leader can produce; day after day I’m more and more convinced that that person is Barack.
I’ve seen the change in people, I talk to more and more people every day; in the supermarket, at the mechanic shop, at work anywhere you can see the people is awakening to a call that they never heard before.

That call is the call of our country needing us today more than ever; and only one man among all the contenders have been able to made us listing, his name Barack Obama in my opinion the next President of the United States of America.

I’ve seen the change in people, I talk to more and more people every day; in the supermarket, at the mechanic shop, at work anywhere you can see the people is awakening to a call that they never heard before.

That call is the call of our country needing us today more than ever; and only one man among all the contenders have been able to made us listing, his name Barack Obama in my opinion the next President of the United States of America.

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Bill O'Reilly's Violent, Racist Comment: Must be Stopped

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Feb 21st, 2008 at 10:48 am EST

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We need to address this type of behavior from news anchors/reporters etc quickly, as an organized society we cannot tolerate this insults any more.

Leonel

Source MyDD Direct Democracy http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/2/20/193642/018
by drjk, Wed Feb 20, 2008 at 07:36:42 PM EST

Whatever you think about Barack Obama or Michelle Obama, we as Americans cannot put up with violent, racist comments. Take a look at the diary about what Bill O'Reilly Said on DailyKos.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/20/ 145745/886/64/460631

This is what he said:

"I don't want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there's evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels."

I see lots of diaries about how you're upset about Obama winning. About how you think the world is coming to an end. But now is a time we need to come together. If not about who you support for president, at least about what people should and shouldn't say. Everyone that got so upset about David Shuster shouldn't be a hypocrite. Lets unite and make sure that O'Reilly can't get away with this language. Not now. Not ever again.

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Obama win sets stage for showdown

By ! ! Leonel Picun - Feb 20th, 2008 at 10:02 am EST

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BE ALERT!!!!!!!!!!
Source: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8596.html
Obama win sets stage for showdown
By: Ben Smith
Feb 20, 2008 12:01 AM EST

Obama beat Clinton among men and nearly tied her among women, winning in every income bracket, and among white voters and black. Photo: APSAVEDigg del.icio.usTechnoratireddit SHARECOMMENT PRINTEMAILRECOMMEND
Senator Barack Obama picked up steam with ninth straight victory in Wisconsin, beating Senator Hillary Clinton in a state where she had no clear excuse for defeat, and leaving her no leeway at all for further major losses.

His win sets the stage for showdowns in Texas and Ohio on March 4, two states Clinton's supporters acknowledge she must win.

The timing of the two candidates' evening speeches indicated that both are readying for a bruising two weeks. In a small breakdown of political etiquette, Clinton stepped to the podium in Youngstown, Ohio, soon after polls closed in Wisconsin, to open what her campaign billed as a major new front against Obama. And Obama began his own speech in the middle of hers, causing cable networks to interrupt her talk and cut to his.

"The American people have spoken out and they are saying we need to move in a new direction," he told an overflow crowd at the 18,500 seat Toyota Center in Houston. "We have a unique moment that we have to seize."

Clinton's speech broke little new ground after a month of largely ineffective attacks on her rival.

Wisc. exit polls spell trouble for Clinton
Obama turns tables on Clinton
In presidential campaign, life imitates TV
She said she would be "a president who relies not just on words but on work." And she questioned Obama's readiness to lead the American military.

"One of us is ready to be commander in chief in a dangerous world," she said.

Those have been the themes of Clinton's steady assault since her defeat last month in Iowa jarred her onto offense. But she also launched a new attack on Obama in the days before her Wisconsin defeat: Her chief spokesman, Howard Wolfson, charged Obama with "plagiarism" for using whole phrases from a political ally, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.

"Both Deval Patrick and Senator Obama have the same consultant and adviser, who is apparently putting words in both of their mouths," she said, referring to consultant David Axelrod in an interview with the Honolulu CBS affiliate. "And I think that's a serious question to be raised because, obviously, we're asking the people of Hawaii to hire us for the toughest job in the world."

Her campaign's focus on the question was an attempt to attack Obama on what is perhaps his greatest strength - a perception of authenticity and freshness that has eluded Clinton.

Obama's aides said they viewed the Wisconsin win as a specific rejection of Clinton's attacks.

Axelrod called Obama's strength among late-deciding voters "a repudiation of the negative campaign we saw in Wisconsin."

Clinton's campaign, however, is unlikely to back down. She needs to stop Obama's momentum now, and Wolfson rejected Axelrod's contention.

"They predicted they would win two weeks ago," he said. "They did. On to Ohio and Texas."

The results in Wisconsin, like those in Virginia, suggest that the next two states are an uncertain firewall for Clinton. Wisconsin has only half the African-American population of Ohio, and shares some of its characteristics, with a large white working class, and broad disenchantment with trade and globalization.

And Obama won a broad mandate in Wisconsin, according to exit polls.

He won among every age group of voters, except those over 60. He tied Clinton among voters who had only a high school education. He beat her among men and nearly tied her among women, winning in every income bracket, and among white voters and black.

It was African-Americans who, again, widened his margin by giving him the vast bulk of their support. He won 90 percent of the black vote, according to exit polls, which found that African-Americans made up 8 percent of primary voters - up from 6 percent in the 2004 presidential primaries. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that some polling places in that city ran out of ballots because of unexpectedly high turnout.

Obama's frontrunner status was solidified in the moments after polls closed when John McCain, declared the Republican victor, attacked him as "inexperienced" and his words as "empty" — without even mentioning Clinton. And after Obama interrupted Clinton's speech - which mixed attacks on Obama's allegedly empty rhetoric with her own policy proposals - he gave a comfortable, loose, and policy-heavy speech of his own, breaking little ground and running an unusually long time, about 45 minutes.

"We have lift-off," he told the Houston crowd.

Kenneth P. Vogel and Carrie Budoff Brown contributed to this report.

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