Our super-charged holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, are upon us once again. More than at any other time of the year, we sense our souls awakening. Our hearts turn in equal part to dreams and memories; to miracles and despair.
In America, we have developed a habit of measuring our seasonal goodwill by the thickness of our wallets. This season will test equally our generosity, our spirit and our audacity.
Will we summon the wisdom to lift ourselves up and accept the challenges that push at every door? Will we choose to recognize ourselves in our neighbors? Will we take pride in our accomplishments and work harder to improve our short-comings? Will we acknowledge that sharing success is equally important to individual achievement?
It is no illusion that this holiday season will have gravely dark clouds hanging over it. But let all of us also see that a new dawn is just over the horizon. As our souls awaken now, let us reflect on the kind of America we seek and pledge to work to make it happen. May your blessings be large and may peace be with you.
It is a glorious new day. A day to celebrate and give thanks. Once again we can stand tall and be proud. Bask in the promise and the opportunities. And, then, we must remember to roll up your sleeves, for much remains to be done and hard work lies ahead. This is the Obama Imperative.
More than 60 million voters, Democrats, Independents and Republicans have created a mandate for fundamental change in how America is governed. This is a mandate that demands an end to grid lock and mindless partisanship and a beginning of cooperative politics that puts country before party and solutions before slogans.
The Obama Imperative is to govern as if average Americans matter. Nowhere is the urgency greater than with us and our neighbors all across the country. Millions of average Americans are "upside-down" in their homes and buried in credit card debt. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the government is on the hook for more than TWO TRILLION DOLLARS to bail out banks, financial institutions and Wall Street. A relief package for average Americans deserves as much.
The Obama Imperative is to NOT ACCEPT the argument that the explosion of the deficit and the national debt (caused by the Wall Street bail-out) means we cannot afford to help our neighbors. We cannot afford not to. No issue confronting President-elect Obama is more important than helping neighbors get back on their feet.
Yesterday Americans took responsibility for electing their President; tomorrow Americans must take responsibility for helping him govern.
I became a supporter of Barack for President in February 2007 and have worked to help that happen. Whether it was 21 months ago when it was "Obama who?" or just yesterday, people ask me the same thing. "Why do I support him?" My answer has always been, "Because he is just like me."
It matters not that I am white and he is black. Or I am old and he is young. Or he is physically fit and I have Parkinsons. What does matter is we share the same essential American values of equal justice and opportunity for each and everyone of us.These values are what make America unique. Throughout our history as a nation, they have been fought for and now constitute the basic inheritance of every American.
What ever the differences among us, be it our economic circumstance, our faith, our ethnicity or the details that differ between myself and Obama, equal justice and opportunity our the right of every American.
I believe that these values are at the core of Barack Obama. He believes, as I do, that we are our brother's keeper. That equal justice denied to one is justice denied to all. He believes, as do I, that it is up to all of us to be peace keepers. He believes, as I do, that all children are the supreme gift of the Almighty. And that all children have, as their birth-right, the opportunity to pursue their own impossible dreams.
I support Obama for President because he has demonstrated, by his choice to follow his own path, a steadfast commitment to working to protect and promote these essentially American values. His choice of vocation and commitment to family, to me, speaks volumns as to the kind of values he holds dear.
I believe in turning points that determine history. Over the great waves of history, people and leaders have found in each other the power to alter course. This is one of those times. As one people, we know that now is such a time. As a leader, Barack Obama has made us aware that this our time. With hope, prayers, hard work and our enduring commitment to equal justice and opportunity for all, we will again see greatness in the making.
Although listed as a Democrat on the ballot, Obama will be, more accurately, elected as an independent with Democratic backing. And, for the country as a whole, this is, indeed, a very good thing.
As an independent with backing from Democrats, Obama will not be stuck with rubber-stamping the "wish-list" of any particular special interest group, whatever their political party affiliation. Instead, Barack will be able to bring together new coalitions with new approaches to address those matters that most urgently need new answers.
This independence will be re-inforced by the size of Obama's mandate. By capturing the vast majority of Democrats, the bulk of the independents, and even moderate Republicans, Barack is likely to receive more than 50% of the popular vote, something that Bill Clinton was unable to do in either of his winning elections.
With the historic low favorability ratings of the current congress, members of the new congress will likely give a "honey-moon" to the popular new President.
Expect Obama to have many "cross-over" faces to also reinforce that this is a "non-partisan", put the country before politics type of administration.
Look for the point person on the most crucial of all issues, dealing with the economy, to be Paul Volker, 81, former FED chairman under Reagan. Not exactly, a young, radical type. Just another, well-informed, deliberate and strong at the helm kind of guy. Seems that Barack favors this type of dedicated public servant; no matter their age or party affiliation. I think that, once again, that's a good thing.
I'll will repeat what I said three weeks ago. Providing immediate liquidity to families across America will do more good, more quickly and more fairly than anything now being considered.
It is more and more understood that the world economies, including our own, teater at the edge of financial meltdown and global depression. And yet, official attention from world leaders remains fixated on trying to push a string. They keep trying to do more of the same that has already proven to be ineffective. Attention is locked, lazer-like on financial markets; yet those markets are not responding to the various incentives being proferred. Why?
Because there are two potentially devastating problems and the proposed remedies are directed to only one of them. The potential global depression has been, and continues to be under recogized. It is now ready to overwhelm any financial meltdown prevention move attempted. Lenders will continue to be unresponsive to moves to give them more ability to lend without action that also makes potential borrowers more credit worthy. Therein lies the trouble with trying to push a string. As the real economy worsens, the average borrower is likely to become more risky.
Households need to be RELIEVED of their debt obligations in order to make the purchases that will fuel economic activity. The most immediate, effective and needed relief would be to stop foreclosures prosecutions, place a moratorium on mortgage payments and begin re-negotiating interest rate reductions.
Failure to provide immediate debt relief to households will not only make financial remedies impotent but wil almost certainly lead to a global depression. And, as was witnessed this week, the clock is ticking.
Politics has indeed gotten in the way of real leadership. Both parties are choosing to avoid our real problems by hiding behind empty claims that no bail-out will cause economic calamity. Nothing could be further from the truth. A bail-out is about the only action that will guarantee the calamity that is warned about.
The bail-out will be a trillion dollar demonstration of just how unrepresentative the major political parties have become. Both Republicans and Democrats are hostage to big money interests and, folks, that does not include us. Clever deception about how a bail-out will rescue Main Street is the just the latest chapter in an on-going attack on true participatory democracy.
The passage of the bail-out will insure that there will be insufficient resources left to combat the free fall in the real economy where you and I live.
The real economy and the Wall Street economy could not be more different. The Wall Street economy deals in paper assets NOT tied to anything in the real economy. The paper assets of Wall Street are NOT tied to mortgages that are backed by houses. That link was severed. This created two assets out of one; one was still connected to mortgages backed by houses and the other asset was not. It is this second paper "asset" that was bundles, sold and inflated in "value". This non-backed asset was sold to foreigners and home grown speculators. This non-backed asset is the one that Americans will be saddled with by the bail-out.
In the real economy, four million real homes that once housed real people are foreclosed or in foreclosure. The bail-out plan provides an "opportunity" to adjust the terms of some mortgages but no help for those already out of their former homes.
In the real economy, unemployment is high and growing in every new report. This growth is due to falling sales that will not be addressed at all by the bail-out. Retail sales drive our consumer driven economy. There will be no seasonal sales rescue this year because the economy is in a growing recession.
A bail-out of any kind is actually pouring water INTO a sinking ship; this is not a useful strategy.
Ask your local congress person and your local congress wanna be person if they favor this torpedo?
This Wall Street bail-out has become bipartisan but that's the problem.
Dear Senator Obama,
Please do not be stampeeded and don't be bamboozeled either. The financial sky over Wall Street is not falling and let those who caused this mess stew in their own mess.
You did not allow scare tactics, false information and rush to act pressures to fool you into supporting the move into Iraq.
Lead the way again in bringing real solutions to the real financial crisis; the one that is, and has been, festering on Main Streets across the entire country.
Take the hundreds of billions of tax payer dollars and put them to work in towns and cities that desperately need the help.
Average American families have a liquidity problem; they need cash and they need it now.
Urge your congressional colleagues to take a deep breath, and point out the dangers of once again being railroaded to act too hastily.
Get them focused on coming up with common sense solutions for the common good.
The crisis began in housing and the solutions will be found there as well.
If a bail-out is appropriate, let it be a bail-out of my street, your street and our neighbors street, too.
We've all seen variations in this dance before. Find out what voters are thinking and then cast yourself in that image.
Voters support the right to choose, never mind your voting record of 100% in favor of right to life, you too can say you support a woman's right to choose.
Voters support pulling troops out of Iraq, and you are on record, over and over again, of deploying more troops into Irag, no matter, just say you too are in favor of pulling troops out sometime in the future.
Now that Wall Street, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, AIG, Banks, the stock market and the whole financial industry is in full collapse because of de-regulation efforts spear headed by your old and still crony, just say, the fundamentals of the economy are strong and say how you have always been for selective regulation of cheats and worse on Wall Street.
Then cross your fingers and hope that the media continues to ignore your record and instead continue your free ride because of your POW days.
Then, to close the deal, lie like hell.
Someone needs to remind "Keating-Five" McCain not to mix his meds with his evening cocktails; it causes him to say things that are just plain stupid.
Among business people, economists and others who talk about economic fundamentals, no one, I repeat, no one would be talking about the hard-working nature of the American labor force because that is a given.
What they would be examining is things like the balance of trade, the rate of inflation, the level of unemployment, the national debt, etc.
So on the day that all of these economic fundamentals are falling off a cliff for someone to say they are "sound" is outrageous and foolish and wrong.
About the only thing that I would believe from "Keating-Five" McCain is when he says he knows absolutely nothing about the economy. He doesn't know how many homes he owns for that matter. Who do you think does his tax return? His wife Cindy?
He is now going to throw that de-regulator buddy of his Phil Gramm under-the-train and claim that we need to "regulate" what friend Phil "de-regulated". If you can believe this you can probably believe that Palin would make a great quarterback in the NFL because she has been known to throw a football around with her kids.
With the Fat Cats of the Grand Old Party staying away and sitting on their check books, the group that is left to carry on the convention does not look like the rest of the country. Those in attendance do not look hopeful, do not look optimistic, do not look enthusiastic and do not look like winners.
They do look like the party's over. They look tired. They look defeated. They look befuddled. Dare I say, they look old. They are deflated.
Before the Democrats start dancing in the streets of New Orleans, they may want to do their own reality check. Last I looked, Obama was not bringing out the old Clinton gang and playbook.
Obama, McCain, Palen are hardly the products of party politics. Alaska has more independents than either the Democrats or Republicans. The role of independents is the sleeping giant of this election cycle. It will not go away. More and more, independents will drastically change the face of electoral politics in America. You want to be part of it? Go independent.
What have political parties done for you lately?
Did you know that the little box you checked on your federal income tax return is providing 4,000 of your unknown Democratic friends a $17,000,000 party in Denver this week. Don't worry, another 4,000 unkown Republicans will get their own $17,000,000 from the same taxpayer wallet.
With that kind of money, you would think they must have done something special for us taxpayers. But they haven't.
You see, everything the parties do these days is for their own pockets.
They do want to choose the next President for you. They want to promote platforms that promote their interests.
They want to restrict having more than two choices for most offices on your election ballot.
Have you been feeling that the two major parties are not looking out for you. You are not alone. Registered voters are fleeing the two parties in ever increasing numbers.
You want to know the real change voters want to see? They want to get rid of the strangle-hold that parties have on who we can pick to be President.
The Parties have succeeded in bringing grid-lock so nothing gets done in Washington.
The parties offer no differences on economic problems because they both feed at the same trough.
The parties should really enjoy their parties this year; these binges are about to become things of the past. And, justly so, in my opinion.
post script
POST PARTY POLITICS – The 2008 Presidential Election
The winner will be determined, not by party politics, but by independent voters who will measure the candidates against a new measuring stick. No longer will party platforms and promises be decisive. It will be the collective judgment of all Americans, not just Democrats or Republicans, as to character, perspective, judgment and values of the candidates that will produce our choice to be the next President. In a participatory democracy, it should not be otherwise.
After years of locking out non-Party folks from meaningful participation in choosing our Presidents, the shoe is definitely on the other foot this year.
Stalwarts from both parties had the wrong horse in the primaries and now are facing the reality that they are not the key players this time around
The election this time is between a non-Republican, Republican nominee and a non-Democrat, Democratic nominee.
Old guard Party types are left with empty threats of voting for the other Party's nominee or staying home. Traditionally, this type of grumbling came from Independents. And, except for an occasional spoiler role, the rantings of Independents never effected the outcome.
So, to, will the attempts by Party regulars to influence the outcome. They can keep someone from winning but they can not call the shots on selecting the winner.
Forget the polls showing a close race. The non-sense by the old time Party regulars on both sides will cancel each other out. The non-Democrat, Democrats are too disciplined and too organized to come up short. The non-Republican, Republicans are nothing but talk.
Outcome: land-slide in favor of the non-Democrat, Democrat, Barack Obama.
You can stop reading right now unless the minutia of politics is your addiction of choice. Because only political-holics would find this the least bit interesting.
I still feel like their is still going to be a surprize cat jumping out of the bag on the VP choice.
Money on Joe B. of course. But the long shot winner will be...drum roll please...Jack Reed.
Take that and a $5 bill to Starbucks and you get a latte of your choice.
If Hillary gets the nod...call me an ambulance!
Latitude with Platitudes
Now that Joe Biden is starting to be “unwrapped” as Obama’s VP still un-announced, but anointed running mate, select media types will dredge up speech pilfering charges against him.To get out in front of this story, I observe the following.
No politician with national name recognition (or wants such recognition) writes everything they say. (I know Agnes, I was shocked to here that, too.)So, let’s not try to establish the parentage of an idea. It is hard enough trying to discern if they believe what they are reading.Here are some words that someone would like to see Obama speak. I agree with the sentiment expressed by these words. If Barack wants to speak them, fine; if not, that’s is also okay, because I have already repeated them myself.
The best expressed words, no matter by whom, will always be repeated; so forget about who said what first.
"Over the past year, Barack Obama has called emphatically for "change" in the United States, and on a range of issues he has offered (especially on his website) detailed analyses of the specific policies he would pursue as president. But many Americans still need to hear what would be the most enduring values of Obama's America. As one who confidently believes Barack Obama is the best choice for our nation, here is part of what I would like to hear him say in his acceptance speech:
It is time for change in America. But what do I mean by change? I mean a change back to "the better angels of our nature." I mean a change back to an America in which citizens once again ask "what they can do for their country." I mean a change back to an America that once again stands for the highest ideals of human civilization. I mean a change back to an America that inspires our own citizens and our friends throughout the world with our national purpose, our national values, and our national conduct. It is time for change in America. It is time to reaffirm once again that in our nation the government "shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech," "the right of the people to be secure . . . against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated," no person shall "be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law," "no person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws," and the government does not inflict "cruel and unusual punishments" upon any person.
These are the fundamental truths, the elemental commitments, of our American constitutional system. They define the essential core of our society and our history. It is to attain these liberties that huddled masses yearn to be free; it was to guarantee these freedoms that the Framers of the Declaration of Independence pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor; it was to protect these rights that Americans have fought and died to free the slave, make the world safe for democracy, and unyoke the world from the tyrannies of fascism, communism, and radical Islam.Sadly, in the last eight years we have lost sight of these freedoms, as we have fallen into an abyss of unrestrained government surveillance, brutal methods of interrogation, secret detentions, and secret prisons.
We have lost our way as the world's beacon of justice. We must change in order to relight that beacon for ourselves, for the international community, and for our posterity. We must also change in order to reaffirm that we are one nation. We are not red states and blue states, we are not blacks and whites, we are not Christians and Muslims, we are not the rich and the poor, we are not the straights and the gays -- we are Americans all. Each of us is precious, each of us is a valued member of our American family.
And we are a family, a family that cares for -- that must care for -- one another. Our most fundamental responsibility is to treat others as we would have them treat us. Because we are a great nation and a great people, we must be a family in which we cherish every American's worth and nurture every American's potential. That is not a Democratic idea. That is not a Republican idea. That is the American idea. It is the idea that informed the leadership of Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, John Kennedy, and Franklin Roosevelt. It demands that our government not only protect the interests of the rich and powerful, but also care for the meek, the oppressed, and the disadvantaged.
That is what a family is, and that is what America is, and must be once again.This principle of a national American community, with justice for all, will drive my economic policies, my health care policies, my environmental policies, my foreign policies, my tax policies and my judicial appointments.
We must change in order to recapture the best of our nation, the best of our history -- a history that freed the slaves, granted women the right to vote, ended racial segregation, guaranteed religious liberty, and enacted laws to protect the rights of children, the elderly, and the disabled. Ours is a nation built on a spirit of empathy - on a capacity to see into the hearts of our fellow citizens and to understand what drives them, what sustains them, what makes them different, and ultimately what makes them human. We need to change in order once again to be the America that aspires for what is best for all Americans, that reaches out a hand to those in need, that respects our most fundamental freedoms. As the descendents of those bold and optimistic men who mutually pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to one another more than two centuries ago, we can do no less today.
See the thing is, Mr. Clinton ... it is not about you. This is what you cannot seem to grasp. This is about a country in turmoil ... a country in real danger of losing its way. This is about us plain old Americans ... we the little people, (who do not think you are a racist). We are working here. We are trying to elect a leader who can chart a new course, a way out of this national hell. We are coming together we pesky little people, Yellow dogs, Blue Dogs and Indies are linking arms with Obamacans. Folks of every color, creed, and religious persuasion are standing together in this election because we know the jig is up, because we know that our very survival may depend upon it. We are prepared to compromise and most of us are willing to sacrifice time, money, and even our beloved identity politics.
And where are you in all of this? Bill Clinton the once great leader of the free world is whining about being misunderstood. You are sitting on the pity pot and pitching a big ol' pout. You are standing up for yourself and yourself alone when so many are down. Do you really want to be the guy who put his ego before the good of the people he once cared deeply about? The guy who blocked the light because it did not shine brightly enough in his direction?
Mr. President, you are missing the point. You are not the problem, nor are you the solution. Your hurt feelings are not a matter of national concern. There are folks out there who cannot afford to take their kid to a doctor. There are folks out there who are being forced to choose between gas and food. There are folks out there who are heartsick about our government's actions both at home and abroad. People are suffering, people are outraged, and this person is sick of you behaving like a petulant child.
Excerpted from post by Beth Broderick at Huffington Post today.
“By putting her name in nomination, you're putting people on the spot,” said former delegate counter Matt Seyfang, adding a second potential drawback: “Having a roll call ... just chews into your broadcast time.”
But hey, anything to keep the Hillbillies happy. Never mind that this distracting circus in the side ring is taking it's toll and is allowing McCain to find his footing and pulling closer to Obama. Just have to keep the lil' women of the party happy.
One hopes that after the partying ends and the hang-overs last past November that they won't have to face their regrets. Will they then wake up and realize they never could hold their liqour.
Right u[ to election night I will continue to travel through-out the 45th CD (Riverside to Salton Sea and all in between) on behalf of Barack.
I have begun contacting schools, service clubs and other organizations that meet on a regular basis to advise them of my multi-media speaking engagement tour.
Titled, Participatory Democracy and the 2008 Presidential Election.
Although I am a volunteer for Barack Obama, and will gladly answer questions about him, his campaign and his position on issues, the focus of the presentation is on the importance of being part of this historic election and the equally important need to engage in “participatory democracy”.
If you know of a Group that might be interested in a guest speaker, contact me at: psgkservelle@earthink.net for additional information including an out-line for my presentation.
According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions than has Republican John McCain, and the fiercely anti-war Ron Paul, though he suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination months ago, has received more than four times McCain's haul.
For many of you, I am a familar name from other Obama Groups. I am among the most active bloggers nation-wide among Obama Groups. There is a limit of 10 Groups you can be a member of at one time.
Today I revised my Group of ten. I have posted 225 blogs since February 2007. I hope you find them to be timely and engaging.
If not already a friend, please request me to be your; I have 300 mostly in the 45th Congressional District; from Riverside - to the west; to Salton Sea - on the east; and all in between; add Temecula, Murrieta, Hemet etc)
We now want Barack to have a mandate to govern; we want not just to win; we want to win big?
Is there anything that is agreed to more than "in politics, money talks; and lots of money, shouts"? I stand with the majority on this one. But even here, I am beginning to see the dawning of a new day.
Let me begin with a rhetorical question (are there any other kind).
Does it make any difference in the final analysis, if 2,000,000 give $100 (equals $200,000,000) or if 100 give $2,000,000 (equals $200,000,000)?
I say that influence is being purchased in either case; but I would much rather take my chances with the 2,000,000 folks who forked over $100 each.
That is a major reason why I support Barack Obama.
Yesterday, the Obama campaign announced that it had reached this mind-boggling mile-stone. 2,000,000 registered Americans have given on average $100 to be major share holders in America's future. I like, no, I really like the sound of that!
