This week I thought I felt a shift. The blustering voice of fear is starting to die down. Opposition voices to healthcare reform are proving that they have no substantive answers, just knee-jerk reactions. There is no alternative plan or agenda from people opposing reform. It seems to be a scary combination of "I've got mine, you get yours", and a gamble that maybe status quo will last just long enough for me. The media is tiring of the narrative of angry protest against reform. They need a new byline.
I think the opportunity is now. Make time to attend a rally, like the September 3rd rally in downtown Houston. Let us offer educated, thoughtful reform. Let us show greater support. Now friends. Now.
Friends,
Thank you so much for sending in your notes to Senator Cornyn regarding health care issues.
I have just printed 34 beautiful notes to carry with me to the meeting today.
Including DJ Mark Anthony’s request for the Senator to report the lies on TV commercials and the colorful picture of Pat Boone.
It is not enough to write President Barack Obama, we have to contact our elected officials, in particular the ones that are not supporting our Prez.
It is not too late, send in your notes to me anytime, John Cornyn's office is 5 minutes from my front door.
Also attend the town hall meetings being organized by our reps.
Yesterday Julie and I attended the one in the Fifth Ward, it was an interesting experienced actually being there vs. watching on TV.
Our Madam Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee did a fabulous job! She came prepared with presentation boards and handouts of the bill.
SJL was very clear and to the point on issues. She was kind and listen to the speakers and promised to take back to Congress our views and concerns.
She kept control of the meeting beautifully! The folks that spoke out without being called on were not addressed and ended up looking disrespectful and foolish.
Congresswoman Jackson Lee clearly sorted thru some of the creative fabrications, lies, and misconceptions floating out there. It was difficult for me to keep a straight face listening to some of the comments from confused and angry audience.
I think some folks are just extremely disappointed we have a Democratic government in place now. They display anger and frustration using the usual rhetoric.
I posted the pictures from the meeting on http://www.facebook.com/maria.isabel and will add to Flickr later after my meeting today.
Here is the town hall for today with SJL:
For your protection and the protection of our elected officials you need to RSVP to be admitted in the room:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpfcqh
It’s not just about me and my family, I care for you too, Mom says it’s a sign of being a Democrat!
Maria Isabel
Now that our national obsession with guns is linked to our national love for the great outdoors, with Congress voting to allow loaded and concealed weapons in our national parks, I began thinking what the summer might hold in terms of fun with guns.
Imagine how we could market this new recreational combo.Looking for a summer thrill? We have parks that really kill.Do you need a place to stay? Call your local N.R.A.Pack a pistol in your pack, U.S. law has got your back.
On the trail it’s really fun, scaring strangers with your gun.If the neighbors make a noise, silence them with big boy toys.Go ahead, give all a fright, it’s your constitutional right.
Bring the sutures, bandage rolls, iodine for bullet holes.Bug spray, sunscreen, snakebite kit won’t protect you from a hit.
Okay, campers, you get the idea? Now, let’s consider the possibilities if the all-powerful gun lobby, the Great Horned Shooters of America, given their triumph over common sense, decide to flex their muscle even more and push to make firearms legal in all the other places Americans go to rest and recreate.Do you need one in your car? Would you take one to a bar?Would you reload at the mall? Or in a museum hall?Going to an outdoor theater? Don’t forget to take your heater.
Would you pack one at the pool? How about at summer school?Draw your gun at seventh inning if you hate the team a’winning.
When you’re sunning at the beach, keep an Uzi within reach.Summer dances on the green viewed through cross-hairs can be keen.
Love that holster on your bike. Do they make one for a trike?Stash a sidearm in your basket, bring home Grandpa in a casket.
I know this sounds as sing-song silly as a Dr. Seuss rhyme. But who would have thought that the grown-ups who are leading our country, with our epidemic of murder rampages, would agree to make it legal to take a loaded firearm to Yosemite or the Grand Canyon or your favorite national seashore.
We go to our parks for fun, not so we can scream and run.Outdoor’s made for peace and quiet, not for those who cause a riot.
Mother Nature’s hit the floor since the sniper moved next door.Smokey Bear is worried too. He’d feel safer at the zoo.
Do Our Liberal Gun Laws Make you Feel Safer?
We all see it in the news everyday. We grow numb to the violence that we’ve become accustomed to. With the latest mass shooting in Binghamton NY, mass shootings since the beginning of the year have resulted in 53 dead in 7 separate shootings. And the fear doesn’t stop with some random act of a deranged murderer starting a rampage of revenge. The Mexican drug wars are spilling their violence in the U.S., using guns legally purchased here in America by straw purchasers hard up on their luck. And now Obama is feeling the heat from 62 Congressional Democrats who have told Obama they can't back him on his campaign promise to renew the assault weapons ban. And the Federal Credit Card bill? Be careful on your next trip to a National Park because the tourists may be packing heat!
What do we do about it? There are plenty of places to start. And public officials need to stand up to the powerful gun lobby that keeps meaningful and reasonable policies from reigning in our liberal gun laws that provide no retribution to those selling guns and ammunition to others with no right to bear them. It’s time to get more conservative and preserve the 2nd amendment right for those entitled to exercise it properly. (Note: Although there is still much debate on the interpretation of the Second Amendment, I am working under the assumption that it does exist because of the recent Supreme Court Decision striking down the gun ban in Washington, DC. John Massaro, NY, is coming out with a book this July that further challenges this premise).
And what do our state and federal legislatures propose? Gun-toting everywhere! Guns-on-demand advocates snuck through an amendment to the National Credit Card overhaul bill to allow guns in National Parks, and states like mine (TX) are close to passing legislation allowing guns on college campuses. More proliferation of guns without more responsibility of owners AND sellers will only breed more violence. I grew up in Lubbock, Texas, and there’s no doubt that guns are part of our heritage and way of life. My husband and I own guns, both for self defense and sport. Many in the southern states have an inherent mistrust of the federal government, as some of their cities endured Martial Law and other atrocities during the War between the States. The western states have a frontier culture that has relied on vigilante protection for simple justice during the last 2 centuries. Relinquishing some of your and your family’s protection to others isn’t always easy for some people, but there’s got to be a better way to protect legitimate ownership and use of deadly weapons and ensuring to the public that those acquiring the weapons are legally entitled to do so. So here’s my take on the situation and ways that we can make our gun policies more conservative by tightening up on the illegal acquisition of guns many times purchased legally.
In my opinion, guns have one of three purposes: 1) Sustenance (hunting our dinner!), 2) Sport (hunting and gun collecting is a way of life for many), and 3) Self-Defense (the right to protect ourselves from harm’s way). But regardless of what I think, the 2nd amendment protects our right to bear arms, but owning street sweepers and AK 47’s crosses the line for an individual purpose. But one thing I do get tired of is that lack of open dialogue regarding gun responsibility and accountability and intolerant opinions that stifle true debate on the many issues confronting our communities to date: such as the proliferation of “mass weapons of destruction” and the pervasive degree of violence plaguing most of our cities. Below you’ll find 5 myths about guns that I’d like to dispel, as I’m sure these are all arguments that you’ve heard over and over again:
1) Myth # 1: Guns have played a large part in American history outside of war, as settlers of the frontier had to rely on them for a rudimentary form of vigilante justice.Reality: That role has been exaggerated. Robert Spitzer, Professor of Political Science, SUNY Cortland, comments in a book review of Alexander DeConde’s “Gun Violence in America,” that ….strict gun laws existed even in colonial America…and….were quickly enacted in newly established frontier towns during the nineteenth century, and they were widely debated in the 1920s and 1930s during Prohibition and the meteoric rise in gangster activity. DeConde notes in his book that the number of guns during colonial times was far less than legend would have it. "English colonists did bring firearms with them for self-defense as well as for offense," but they "also brought the practice of restricting gun keeping, usually to selected upper-class males" (p. 17) The scarcity of firearms in America was attributable to some obvious facts, including that they were expensive (guns were either made by hand in America, or imported from abroad), were made of materials that deteriorated rapidly, meaning that they had to be constantly serviced and maintained; required considerable skill to master; required maintenance after relatively few firings; and required firing materials that were also difficult to come by and that had short shelf lives. During the Revolutionary War, 80 percent of all firearms and 90 percent of the needed powder had to be imported from France and Holland. In the early 1790s, Secretary of War Henry Knox concluded that only about 20 percent of the nation's 450,000 militiamen carried firearms. Of the government-owned stock of 44,000 muskets, half were didn’t even work. The difficulty in affording and obtaining firearms during the 18th and 19th centuries contrasts sharply with the ability to obtain cheap firearms made in China like they were toys.
Myth # 2: We need the 2nd Amendment’s Right to Bear Arms to protect our freedoms and the rest of the Constitution. Reality: Why isn’t it working?Contemporary times have seen many of our constitutional rights erode, and none of our Bill of Rights should individually be upheld in a vacuum. 9-11 has seen a drastic emphasis on National Security, sometimes at the expense of our individual rights. Over half of our Bill of Rights relates to due process, and the following amendments in my opinion are in dire jeopardy of further erosion:
First Amendment – freedom of speech is abridged every day with school censorship, and workers trying to organize unions are denied their constitutional rights to free assembly.
Fourth Amendment – illegal searches and seizures are now commonplace! Congress just overwhelmingly passed the FISA bill allowing for warrant less wiretapping of our phone conversations (yes, “ours”), and the Supreme Court recently ruled that the long-standing “knock and announce” practice by police before searching a home is no longer necessary. I recently had a headlight out on my car that may have been out for weeks, and my husband pointed out to me that a non-working headlight is actually probable cause for a police search of a vehicle without a warrant. Probable cause? How can a missing headlight prompt and invasive search of me and my vehicle?
Sixth Amendment – better hope you’re a US citizen if you end up in Guantanamo Bay, as people rot in jail for years without formal charges being filed! It’s a shame that what applies to us as citizens, like basic human rights, gets denied to those who can’t call themselves an “American.” I hate double standards.
Seventh Amendment – the right to a trial by jury by your peers in civil matters is almost non-existent in some states, thanks to “conservative” efforts commonly known as “tort reform.” The saying “he’ll have is day in court” is becoming a euphemism, as more and more people are being shoved into “binding arbitration” as a way of settling disputes, with little recourse if you’ve been wronged. The courts were meant to be an avenue to seek justice, but our access to the courts is being denied every day by those who see “litigation” as a nuisance. The threat of a lawsuit has long been a deterrent to keep individuals and corporations from doing the wrong thing, which they can now do with impunity.Yes, we’ve all heard that the Second Amendment protects “freedom” and our “way of life,” but where is the Second Amendment in protecting these rights disappearing before our eyes? During the 2000 elections in Florida when thousands of Floridians were denied the right to vote, can you imagine if they had whipped out guns to protect their right to vote? Riots could have gotten pretty bloody, especially with racial tensions at an all-time high during this large-scale voting rights controversy.
Myth # 3: We already have enough gun laws, we just need to enforce the ones on the books. Reality: Illegal “possession” is meaningless without illegal “acquisition.” It’s kind of ironic to me that guns-on-demand advocates use as a defense existing gun laws, when they fought what laws we have every step of the way! But aside from that hypocrisy, let’s look at what’s wrong with it being perfectly legal for you to sale your gun to someone without the legal right to carry a firearm, namely the mentally ill, a convicted felon, or a minor. Some people in our society don’t possess the right to bear arms if they meet one of these 3 conditions, and our liberal gun laws allow them to access guns on a daily basis through perfectly legal means. For every 10 people in this country, there is a gun for 9 of them. Maybe I’m just traveling in the wrong circles, but it seems to me that more than 10 % of the people in this country are under 18, mentally ill, or a convicted felon. In fact, one out of 5 Texans possesses a criminal record, but that’s a story for another debate. More conservative gun laws would attach a level of financial and/or criminal responsibility to those who sold their guns to someone without the legal right to bear them. The NRA has studies that show the average homicide is committed with a gun that is 6 years old. Registration at point of purchase is meaningless, since most guns are sold in the secondary market. Back to the illegal “possession” and the fourth amendment. Now, for law enforcement to get someone on an illegal weapons charge, they sometimes have to “bend” the fourth amendment right against illegal searches and seizures to find “probable cause” for a warrantless search. It’s even happened to a family member of mine (who had a chain in the back of his pickup truck characterized as a “weapon”). I’d rather keep my fourth amendment and tighten up on people legally purchasing a gun if they don’t have the legal right to bear it.
Myth # 4: The Government will confiscate your guns if you register them. Reality: Watch out for the politicians undermining your 4th Amendment, NOT your 2nd Amendment!It seems ironic to me that, the politicians that ostensibly claim to want to protect your 2nd Amendment Right to Bear Arms give such little regard for this OTHER Bill of Right to so critical guard against exactly what most gun rights advocates fear about registration: Confiscation. Yes, Hitler confiscated guns that were registered in Germany, and no, they didn’t have a Bill of Rights. But pick the right one to protect here! If we want to instill true responsibility with gun ownership and ensure that guns aren’t sold to those with no legal right to carry them, then transferring legal “title” to the gun upon transfer, much like transferring title to your car, which can also be a deadly weapon, will help protect you from liability upon sale as well as the public. Sure registration carries risks. But so does sex. Does that stop people from risky behavior?
Myth # 5: Only criminals will possess guns of you require registration and law abiding citizens won’t have access!Reality: Criminals legally acquire guns now, and why is that? Criminals SHOULD only get guns through criminal means if they’re going to get them at all! Franklin D. Roosevelt's attorney general, Homer Cummings, said in 1937, "Show me the man who does not want his gun registered, and I will show you a man who should not have a gun." Being from the South, I do understand an inherent distrust with an autocratic, overreaching government. Southern cities were put under Marshall Law, and we in the South value states rights to avoid an overzealous Federal Government. But we don’t have anywhere close to a balance. If a criminal gets a gun, it SHOULD be done illegally and not through legal channels as they do now. The status quo is anarchy, and yes transferring title might seem bureaucratic, but I want the assurance that those acquiring guns have the legal right to do so. That’s NOT too much to expect, and counties could charge an at-cost fee of $ 15 or so to cover the background check when transferring title. Besides helping assure the public that only law-abiding citizens are acquiring guns, gun title will attach a level of financial responsibility as well as the criminal responsibility to gun ownership that to date has been lacking. If a gun you own is used in the commission of a crime whether you pulled the trigger or not, then taxpayers can seek restitution from irresponsible gun owners who can’t keep track of their possessions that are dangerous in the wrong hands. Gun violence costs taxpayers billions of dollars in the form of police costs, court costs, and incarceration costs. Taxpayers should be able to place a lien on property to reimburse taxpayers for irresponsible gun ownership (any relatives living in a homestead could be protected as long as they’re living in the house). If your gun(s) is/are stolen, you can be given a window to report your weapons missing for protection from liability. Also, without legal title to the guns, burglars and drug addicts won’t be able to sell the weapons to pawn shops, etc. Will taxpayers recoup that much money? Probably not, but John Hinckley, attempted assassin of Ronald Reagan, comes from a family perfectly capable of footing at least part of the taxpayers’ bill incarcerating him. It can be a feature exercised in instances such as these to at least recoup part of the billions we spend each year incarcerating the guilty, insane, and irresponsibles in our midst. Gun title will also attach a level of responsibility to the seller, who to date has been able to skirt out of any culpability in selling to ill-fit individuals.This leads us to a discussion about the mentally ill, a serious problem with their ready access to firearms and ammunition. States should send data of the mentally ill to the federal database to keep them from passing background checks on purchases. States such as Texas are flat-out wrong to not participate in providing that data, even after we’ve seen our own university massacre resulting from a deranged individual’s legal access to weapons.
Myth No. 6: The threat of a lifetime in jail or the electric chair will deter enraged individuals from committing mass murder.Reality: These deranged individuals usually commit suicide when they’re done with their rampage anyway, so there’s no deterrent incentive.This takes us back to carrying gun title and the taxpayer’s right to attach liens on any existing assets the murderer may own to reimburse the public for the tremendous societal costs. Maybe there’s nothing we can do about a dead gunman. But the public CAN do something about the person or store equipping an ill-fit individual with the instruments that can cause so much damage in the wrong hands.
No one has all the answers to help us address these serious questions of public safety and their relation to balancing our individual rights, but thoughtful dialogue free from rote, rehearsed responses is the only way for us to come together and tackle this serious issue. Gun violence in this country does NOT have to be tolerated to the level it’s at, and we can still give people their guns if they want them. Just make them criminally AND financially responsible when they’re used irresponsibly and/or criminally, even when they cross the border, and we’ll see serious changes that save thousands of lives and millions of taxpayers’ dollars.
I did not write but very important email sent to me plus a few links I will add. About friend. www.DNC.org Democrat head quarters, whitehouse.gov, www.TED.com Great info, www.clintonglobalinitiative.org read, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page about 80-90% factual great information resource if you can evaluate validity of information. http://fora.tv good info, www.google.com well know for research and studies. www.drugs.com is a pretty good site for begginer to intermeiate to professoinal help on medications and ideifcation of medication and medication interactions not everything is listed that is not even possiable but you should always research your medication before you take it.THIS IS NOT A SUBSTITUE FOR YOUR M.D.'s ADVICE but it can help also another site you can check is www.drugdigest.org excat same things applies DO NOT SELF MEDICATE YOURSELF BUT STAY INFORMED. OFFICAL WEBSITE http://www.ama-assn.org/ THIS IS GOV ONE SAME RULES APPLY LISTEN TO YOUT M.D. Any problems with links are questions contact me I will get back as soon as possible. As well as add more good places to collect information. Friend -- http://my.barackobama.com/OrganizingforHealthcare at bottomMonday morning, an unlikely gathering of health care industry and union leaders emerged from the White House, announcing a historic agreement to lower medical costs and save the average family up to $2,500. This kind of broad coalition would have been unthinkable in the past, when the old politics of division and short-term self interest held sway. But this is a new day.Yesterday afternoon, President Obama announced the three bedrock principles that any comprehensive health care reform must achieve: (1) reduce costs, (2) guarantee choice, and (3) ensure all Americans have quality, affordable health care. And he set a hard goal for getting it done by the end of this year.For those determined to oppose reform, the President's announcement means lobbyists are already scrambling across D.C. For the rest of us, it means there's no time to lose. As we speak, Congress is negotiating the details for health care reform, so the first step is showing where the American people stand.Please click below to sign a declaration of support urging Congress to follow President Obama's three core principles for health care reform -- and to enact them before the end of this year:(The more signatures we have, the more powerful our message will be, so please add your name and then forward this note on to family and friends.)The health care crisis is not new, but it's getting worse. For decades, real health care reform has been blocked by special interest lobbying and political point-scoring. We simply cannot go any further down this dangerous road of delay and denial. But we don't have to.Yesterday's agreement marks only the beginning of the broad coalition we need. The most important reason this round of health care reform will be different is you. Last fall millions of regular people came together and did the impossible. Now, we've got to roll up our sleeves, join hands with those new to our movement, and do it again.Congress is already hammering out the details of the health care package, and it could still go any number of ways. Our representatives need to understand that when the President lays out these three bedrock principles, Americans of every stripe are standing with him. Yesterday's diverse gathering was a powerful start -- and now it's up to us.It's time to stand up. Please sign the declaration of support today:http://my.barackobama.com/OrganizingforHealthcare
Give time and $$$$ to the DCCC,DNC and your local House Rep candidates.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0409/Memo_Dems_target_29_House_GOPers_in_10.html
I don't watch FOX news or listen to Rush Limbaugh, so I am glad that Jon Stewart keeps and eyes on them for us. My blood pressure goes up everytime I hear anything come out of their hateful mouths and the other day I went looking for some facts and want to post them somewhere I can get a hold of them when I need to! and spread them around too!
Under the Bush Administration:
The Obama budget increases defense spending but all you hear about is the cuts to projects that have been wasting billions of dollars every year.
Please feel free to add more important facts to this blog - we need ammunition!
Organizing for America Pledge Project
President Obama needs our support and help to prove to Washington DC that we are still supporting his "Change" campaign.
If you still believe he has the right ideas and plans, and want to be part of our own recovery please fill out this pledge note and sign it. You can return to me or send directly to the Pledge Project.
Pledge Project Page:http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/pledgeprojectcanvassguide/This site has all the information and forms you need to be clear about the issues.
Pledge Card:http://obama.3cdn.net/f33182f2a60434cfcf_olm6b1dtc.pdf
We are all busy with our families, businesses, and local campaigns, and to support this project is easy. You do not have to knock on doors or make phone calls if you do not have the time. Just send the card in!
Standing for our President Obama!
Maria Isabel713.542.0721713.547.0681 Fax
Hello fellow voters,
Call your insurance agent and change your policy form AIG to another carrier (Probably better to pick a respectable mutual insurance company, ex.. Guardian, Mass Mutual, Northwestern Mutual, New York Life). AIG is not going to apologize or correct their misuse of our tax dollars, unless we lower their amount of the policies in force dollars. So, if you are really upset change your policy, I don't care if its life, long-term care, short and long term disability, auto, or health insurance. Just hit them where it works and let’s ask the President to put a special tax on AIG and or request for all our money back. Let’s make an example out of AIG, to set a standard for all other financial and non-financial firms.
Please people lets use common sense when changing your policy, make sure you apply, get the underwriters acceptance, and the in-force policy with the final policy letter, then cancel your AIG policy. This process should take 20 to 30 days.
Sincerely,
A disgruntle taxpayer.
Hey! Look! This place is still here! My youngest sister wants to be my friend (awww), so I had to log in to accept. I've lost all my focus, now that Obama is in office. I want to volunteer and make America a better place, but I can't decide where to start! I have to tend to my fragile health first, then take care of my family, but after that, what's next? I was going to learn to garden and install solar panels, trying to be less dependent on society, but that seems so... isolationist? Fearful? Now I'm thinking I'll get a bicycle and learn to sew, instead. Maybe once all the kids are gone (4 more years!) I'll start spending whole days or weekends volunteering with Habitat For Humanity, Engineers Without Borders (is there such a thing?), and whatever else seems to need doing. Where do I register my antique skill set to be part of the New Green Economy? Does that come with Universal Health Care? I need a mission!
Haven't been in here for a while. A week or so after the election I thought this site was going to close...I see that it hasn't. Here is hoping all of you have a great Holiday season, as we get closer and closer to the reality of Barack Obama in the Oval Office as the President of the United States. What in the world is Sean Hannity going to do on January 20th? My guess is he will barricade himself in his office, don his gestapo outfit, and listen to old Third Reich music, as the tears roll down his face.
Another thing, that shoe throwing incident in Baghdad. I actually felt some sorrow for our President, as he deftly dodged that pair of size 10 shoes coming his way. After all, he is our President, for the next 30+ days. But the thing that made me chuckle(over and over), was hearing the news people explaining (over and over) that the throwing of one's shoes is a sign of exreme disrespect in the Iraqi culture. Is that to say that in some cultures, you know, cultures not yet discovered by National Geographic, the throwing of shoes is a sign of affection ? Oh well, live and learn.
I read on HuffingtonPost.com that the Obama campaign is sending an emailer to his [3M] donors' list to help retire Hillary Clinton's debt. Heck no Jose! I will not contribute a penny towards here debt. She and Bubba are millionaires; they should pony up the $7.5M owed to vendors.
Moreso, $5.3M of this debt is towards her obnoxious strategist, Mark Penn who said a lot of nasty things about Barack in the course of the campaign. I cannot and will not donate to millionaires and refuse to let my money go to paying off Mark Penn's consulting firm. In fact, I am dissapointed in the Obama campaign for soliciting this request from us.
Afterall, she, Bubba and their wussies (Howard Wolfson, Terry McCaulif, etc) kept claiming that she has 18M cracks in the ceiling. So why can't those so-called 18M supporters pony up the $7.5M. If each of them gave 50Cents, that is $9M. And their is also the Obama-phobic group called PUMA, they should help her in retiring the debt.
Based on commentaries from the article on HuffingtonPost, I am not the only one that feels this way; some of us are not simply going to forget what happened in the primary and the nasty, negative campaigning from Mark Penn et al. I can't forget this statement Hillary made in Washington DC during the primaries: "[John McCain's] never been the president, but he will put forth his lifetime of experience. I will put forth my lifetime of experience. Senator Obama will put forth a speech he made in 2002." That did it for me; a democrat putting down another democrat while praising a rethuglican?
I find it even hard to swallow being SOS; now pay up her debt? Sorry, its not gonna happen for me.Regards,
Tolu
Richmond, TX
Quick question about the bailout of the auto industry.
Since we gave Wall Street and big banks a huge bailout why doesn't the Government instruct the banks who receive a portion of the bailout to loan a percentage of that money to the auto industry with the interest accrued on that loan to be paid back to the Government and the principle applied back to the bank?
That way the banks would begin lending money, the auto industry would get the money they need saving thousands if not millions of jobs, and not just one bank is responsible for carrying the loan. (I think it would be a small percentage of the money the banks received if it was equally distributed among all the banks receiving bailout money from the government.) Further the money is still coming from the Government through the banks; therefore, tax payers will not have to support yet another bailout. Of course we would still need Congressional and Treasury oversight on the banks and the big 3 but at least we would know where the money we gave the banks went and how it was used.
I'm not an expert by any means but from watching news, I think we want the banks lending money, the auto industry needs a loan, and the Government should try to recover the money as quickly as possible to pay for programs and provide middle class tax relief. I believe that if the Government has enough assurance to consider giving more tax payer money to the big 3, then banks should also have assurance to use a portion of their bailout money to loan money to the auto industry. Does this make sense?
Hi ~ Barry and I just got back from a moveon.org gathering aimed at keeping the momentum of the campaign moving.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25714894@N08/
We have accomplished so much by getting Obama elected, but like Barack told us, the job is not done. We need to continue to pressure our elected representatives to support the changes that we aspire to. MoveOn is organizing a campaign to send 100's of thousands of photos of real Americans holding signs declaring "I Stand with Obama for" ... (Clean Energy, Health Care, Ending the War in Iraq, Diplomacy, or your own issue). The plan is to send thousands of photos to Congress, etc. and to plaster DC with select photos to let people know that this movement is not going to lay down. Let me know if you want to get involved in this effort.
mariaobama@gmail.com
Today in reading a review of Andrew J. Bacevich’s “Limits to Power: The End of American Exceptionalism” on the Daily Kos, The End of American Exceptionalism, I was confronted again with my own personal conflict in bridging the gap between my desire for individual freedom and my need for being a responsible family or group member. Allowing the personal introspection to guide me in the political discovery process I’ve been pursuing (Finding my own Voice), I came to a more enlightened understanding of the purpose behind the system of checks and balances our founders built into the Constitution.
It's very basic: Individual freedom is a desired state of being which 'should' only be limited by social responsibility. Social responsibility necessarily limits the expression of individual freedom under certain conditions, the condition of needs for the social good--the "common good” or “commonwealth".
All the ills being discussed in the book and in the review about America, as a Power, and Presidents/Chief Executives, as Powers, originate in this one conflict. Power can and will be misused in human systems. Individual, executive, imperial power will/can be used to dominate and control others for private advantage. At the same time, concerns for the good of the whole can suppress and smother individual freedom and excellence by giving undue focus to the need for preserving the social order, which results in bringing the full range of individual differences down to the lowest common denominator.
Both these principles, these characteristics of human nature are necessary for our survival--human survival--the survival of life on earth. Yes, Life.on.Earth! These are the principles of competition and cooperation, of opportunism and altruism. Humans are the only species on earth who have the power of discernment and choice--and the ability to misuse that power in such a way as to upset the balance of life on our planet.
When individual excellence/achievement/ambition, or imperial exceptionalism/dominance/avarice get out of hand, the social order, the living system of nature is put at risk. When a repressive social order, such as that of Lenin and Stalin is over-built and forced onto the people--when all individual freedom and opportunity are squelched in lieu of the so-called good of the state (whole), then the 'living system' is also out of balance. It is the first imbalance mentioned here, that of individual/national exceptionalism vs the survival of the whole/planet, that plagues us today and is the premise of this discussion.
Systems growing out of balance become dysfunctional at greater degrees until they push past the "tipping point" and collapse into chaos and disorder. It's up for grabs then who or what controls the next form of order and rule--and the results of the collapse limit the conditions under which that new order is established.
The "middle way", was the advice of Daedalus to his son, Icarus, upon gifting him with the wings he'd fashioned for him. Held together with wax, they would not be sustainable soaring at great heights (too near the heat of the Sun). Father cautioned son not to fly too high, but to go the "middle way" across the tumultuous waters or be at risk of falling into their grasp to be tossed and torn apart.
We all know Icarus, in his hubris, in his greedy desire for exceptionalism, did fly too high and so fell to his fate.
Aristotle, too, cautioned us that "the secret of happiness is in the moderation of all things." I'm thinking he meant a functioning system has checks and balances that allow it to run homeostatically. Alas, systems do wear out and lose energy--they fall into collapse and restructure themselves according to a new and more efficient and effective order. Different principles come into play during such a first order change as that.
We are going through such a first order change. I’m not sure we have learned which principles will guide us through. Perhaps they will be new ones--a challenge for the next step in our evolution of knowledge and ability to govern ourselves sustainably.
