I have concluded of late that I could only consider myself a political independent if there is such a thing. I do not think I should be labeled Republican or Democrat, on the Left or on the Right or any other affiliation except to be a proud citizen of this United States and live by the principles on which this great nation was founded.As far as I am concerned, our government, as it stands today, is in great need of an overhaul and a wake up call. I firmly believe that if our founding fathers could see the way our government and institutions run today, they would be greatly disturbed and dismayed on how far We The People have strayed from the principles that our republic was built on.There was a time long ago and at the beginning of our republic and our experiment in democracy, that to serve in public office was considered a privilege and not a right. To serve in public office often meant financial sacrifice to those who gladly served the people and this great country, sacrifice or not.Today most who serve in public office expect a windfall financially and are mainly interested in the influence they can gain to increase their wealth in office and for when they leave office. Where is the personal and financial sacrifice to serve? They look at their title as a possession and not a privilege. They pontificate to attempt to bend the will of the people to their ways of thinking instead of deriving their actions from the will of the people to whom they profess to serve. Some politicians become so entrenched in their governmental powers; they often feel themselves above the law.Today's politicians are a washed in a tsunami of lobbyists, who bend the ears of those in government in order to influence the politicians' vote that will most benefit the interests of the lobby they represent. How often do we see politicians, who when they leave office, become pawns; working for one lobby interest or the other? Elected federal government officials need to be banned by law from working for a lobby for at least 5 to 10 years after they leave office in order to stop the habit of influence peddling after they in fact leave public office. I dare say, I lay a good part of the guilt for the perversion of public office on We The People themselves whom have absolved their responsibility to impose and elect officials on their merit and desire to serve the people. They have abdicated their rights by allowing so-called public servants to make their own decisions of policy and directions for the public servants own benefit. "To hell what the people want!" they say. "We know what is best for them. Where would they be without us?" they say as they puff up their chests and proudly strut.I always thought that there should be some sort of term limitations for all federal elected positions, not just for the presidency. Change is good, as it allows the government to refresh itself on a regular basis by bringing new ideas and approaches to work for the people.When will We The People ever wake up and demand that the government of the people, for the people, by the people be truly put into the hands of the people and not political demigods'? I see the slow demise of our republic if We The People are not brought to our senses. Will we follow the demise that history has shown us be-felled other once great nations and peoples? I would say, it is likely, considering the current state of affairs of government and the distance we have traveled from our roots of our democracy and our republic.
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Bill Wallmuller aka Mr. Merokee is the founder of Merokee Enterprises: www.merokee-enterprises.com
Oh what a forum indeed....
At first glance the Saddleback Forum on the Presidency had every hint at being a quality event, unprecedented in recent American history. As a result, Barack Obama saw a genuine opportunity to address a section of the population that, without a doubt, has had little exposure to Obama's messages. The political calculations of the Obama campaign were astute enough to correctly identify that for Obama, attending this event was win-win. Chances are most people in the audience that night weren't going to vote for Obama to begin with, so in effect, Obama had nothing to lose that evening. On the other hand, John McCain III had everything to lose. McCain III had to perform and perform well, for the audience expectations were quite high. Whether he personally prefers it or not, the evangelical audience at the Saddleback is his base in the 2008 election. McCain had to speak the words the audience wanted, even needed, to hear. He had to energize them. McCain III had to have a good night or risk dampening the enthusiasm of the evangelicals, perhaps ultimately spelling doom for his candidacy. As a result, McCain III felt the pressure that night. Perhaps this is the reason why the McCain III campaign felt the need to cheat or at a minimum gain an unfair advantage. Saddleback carried the highest stakes of any event of his candidacy so far, and it was an event that they simply could not lose. A majority of Americans were shocked to hear that McCain III was not actually in the "cone of silence" that he was billed to be, however, I for one was not. McCain's history is dubious at best, and some would argue that throughout McCain III's political career dishonesty and misdirection have been the hallmarks on which his career is based. The cloud surrounding the Saddleback Forum is beginning to overshadow McCain III's performance that night, perhaps to his regret. But the fact now remains, that the "cone of silence" in which McCain III was suppose to be in was a lie. His campaign has now admitted that he was, in fact, en route to the Saddleback megachurch arriving a full 30 minutes into Obama's discussion. The McCain campaign has asked the public to "trust him" as McCain was not listening to the questions nor did he receive any coaching or advanced warning of what was to be asked. Nevermind the fact that it would have been all too easy for McCain III to get this unfair advantage, for all he would have had to do is turn on the radio in his motorcade vehicle. However, if he wanted plausible deniability, which I believe was the case, all he would have needed was a staffer to listen to Obama's discussion with pastor Warren and then coach him prior to taking the stage. This line of rationale is supported by the fact that McCain III perpetuated the "cone of silence" statement in one of his first comments of the night, by saying "I was trying to listen through the wall." McCain III specifically knew that he wasn't backstage as he was billed to be, yet he supported this myth to his benefit. Throughout the night McCain III also appeared to be answering pastor Warren’s questions prior to them being asked. Go back and watch, specifically at 1 hour 19 minutes. This is where McCain III asked to get back to Supreme Court Justices before he was ever asked a question about Supreme Court Justices. McCain III immediately went into damage control, by saying that the issue of Supreme Court Justices was important to the issue being discussed and that is why he so weirdly brought it up. Even pastor Warren joked, that McCain III knew his questions before they were asked. Regardless of the attempted damage control McCain III went into, he still let the cat out of the bag right there, for there was no reason for him to mention Supreme Court Justices at that specific moment. Coincidentally, McCain III slipped up again further into the discussion when he responded to a merit based pay for teachers question. Actually, Pastor Warren asked three (3) questions in immediate succession on this issue. Prior to asking the set of questions to McCain III, he immediately gave 3 answers, saying “Yes, Yes, and find bad teachers another line of work.” Coincidentally, the answers McCain III gave happen to appropriately answer the questions which were soon to be asked. The McCain campaign brushed this off by saying that McCain III was joking on stage and what he did say matches perfectly with what he has been saying on the campaign trail. This very well might be the case, but McCain screwed up by specifically answering 3 questions. How did McCain III know to answer 3 questions and not 2, 4, or 5? He incriminated himself by specifically answering 3 questions. There is no other way to have known that unless he knew the questions before hand or was coached before hand.
I’m somewhat convinced that there are even more examples of McCain III accidentally demonstrating that he had prior knowledge of the questions being asked while he was on stage at Saddleback. I challenge anyone and everyone to go back a review the tapes and/or transcripts with a fine-tooth comb. The evidence is there. Lets not let this issue die, because McCain III’s actions surrounding this event shows his true character and intentions as being a man that is willing to lie, cheat, and steal if it will help his chances of winning the White House. In his mind, such behavior is justified because McCain III and his campaign staffers feel they are the “True” Americans, the “Real” Americans. Lets demonstrate to them once and for all that this is NOT the case. Lying, cheating, and stealing are not “middle-class American family values,” the same family values that the Republican party so loudly champions as their own. Lets break the monopoly the Republican party holds on family values, because if McCain III is weak on any character issue, its family values…..
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iaS-DXrJlDbZmumSOot3J01sN5Mw
Hi Everyone,
We, here in Columbus, are holding our first big grassroots-generated fundraiser. It's being hosted by Buckeyes for Obama and we need help promoting it. If you know anyone that might be interested, please copy this post and email it to them. LET'S WIN OHIO FOR SENATOR OBAMA!
Breaking news from the conference call with Campaign Manager David Plouffe: A new online fundraising contest is being launched that will grant the members of the My.BarackObama.com groups that raise the most money through the end of the week the opportunity to participate in a personal conference call with Senator Barack Obama and Campaign Manager David Plouffe. Be on the lookout for more information from the My.BarackObama.com team.
State of the Campaign
Barack Obama's Schedule: On Monday, Barack Obama received the endorsement of the New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association. Tuesday, he’s speaking at Change to Win in Chicago. Wednesday, he can be seen live on the NBC/NECN/New Hampshire Public Radio/New Hampshire Democratic Party debate, which will be broadcast live on MSNBC at 9pm EST. Following the debate he’ll head to New York, where he’ll participate in a live interview on ABC’s The View at 11am EST on Thursday before leading a major rally in Washington Square Park. On Friday, he speaks at Howard University’s Convocation and participates in the CBC Issues Forum in Washington, DC.
I just returned from a community picnic at Linden Park put on by Michelle Dolgos and our group of about ten or so dedicated volunteers. (I'm not sure how many people were involved but the core group was around 10.) The group first held a garage sale to fund the picnic and then canvassed the neighborhood last week. Today we held a Walk for Change event in the area around the park. The picnic followed the Walk for Change canvas and was attended by about 75-100 people (it seemed like more to me- no one counted). Obama books and audiotapes were raffled off. The books and tapes were to be read and passed on. It looks like a book club is going to be started as well. Not only that, but we now have many new friends who want to help us work to get Barack elected!
A group from "Black Box". These guys have a phenomenally strong committment to Barack. Watch for more from them!
Cops love us!
More pics in the extended post
