U.S.publishers and authors supporting Barack Obama for President.
Founder: Robert M Blevins from Adventure Books of Seattle.
I know that most - if not all - of the people who choose to read this are well aware of the recent ABC interview with Dick Cheney during which the sitting Vice President of the United States admitted to, among other crimes, the knowledge and facilitation of torture during the course of the current war. I am astonished at the deafening silence with which this admission has been met in the MSM, and among the people of our country generally. More astonishing yet is the silence of democrats on the Hill.
Regarding the larger case against the Bush Administration - that of an illegal war of aggression against a sovereign nation - Benjamin Ferencz, a former chief prosecutor of the Nuremberg Trials, stated in a recent interview from his home, that "humanity isn't yet civilized enough to prevent this type of illegal behavior."
Ferencz further stated that he does believe the United States is guilty of war crimes, however, "the international community is not sufficiently organized to prosecute such a case. … There is no court at the moment that is competent to try that crime." Sadly, I believe Ferencz is correct.
Cheney's words concerning the decision to invade Iraq (whether WMD were present or not) are open to a certain amount of interpretation. Those with sharper scalpels than mine are already parsing them. Cheney's unapologetic confession to 'enhanced interrogation', however, crosses a bright line.
Justice Anthony Kennedy's ruling in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld indicates that the current administration's attempt to ignore the Geneva Conventions in its treatment of terror suspects may leave it open to prosecution for war crimes.
Water boarding, and other 'enhanced interrogation techniques', must certainly be considered violations of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions: "cruel treatment and torture [and] outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment." Such violations, as Justice Kennedy wrote, "are considered 'war crimes' punishable as federal offenses."
The silence of representatives of the Democratic Party in the face of Cheney's recent admissions is tantamount to tacit approval of the conduct of the war. I am thankful for Justice Kennedy's voice, speaking, though it seems, in the wilderness.
Where are the voices of our Democratic leaders? Focus on the economy is not an excuse to ignore such an outrage upon our own democracy - a democracy that claims to adhere to the rule of law. Cries of corruption - in the Blegojevich matter; concerning SEC failures; concerning Bernard Madoff's alleged investment fraud; - surely must pale in comparison.
I hope President Obama will hold those who ordered the violations discussed above accountable, and foster an atmosphere of general accountability and transparency within our nation, and with respect to the rest of the world.
THAT is Change We Need.
An open invitation to join : President Barack Obama Inauguration Day 2009 - Washington, DC Group!!!
http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/InaugurationDay2009
Make plans to be in DC on this historical day!
Make plans to be tuned in with TV and/or the Internet.
Be out in public with friends and fellow citizens.
A Grand and Wonderful Celebration!
There is a new spirit of change in this country - a time to throw off the chains of cynicism and apathy that have strangled our great nation for the last eight years. With the election of Barack Obama as our President, we stand poised to usher in a new era of prosperity, peace, and progress. We've been in this fight together and last night our efforts were fully realized as Barack Obama became the nation's choice for the presidency.
I know there is already an organization developing so that we may continue onward to change this nation for the better, but I also wanted to reach out to all of you that I've enjoyed being alongside on this road to victory. On a personal level, I hope that I will one day meet many of you. To that end, I'd like to extend an invitation to get to know me better, to connect, and network (if I may be of service to you in that regard) and embrace the vision that we are all each other's keeper.
If you are interested, I invite you to connect with me at the following places online. I'm looking forward to expanding my own circle of friends and new allies in the push for a better tomorrow. I hope you'll consider saying hello and reaching out as well.
Where I'm at online:
http://www.twitter.com/jonfmerz
http://jonfmerz.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=709881835
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonfmerz
http://jonfmerz.myplaxo.com
http://www.thefixer.tv
I hope to hear from lots of new friends! I'm still on cloud nine that victory was achieved and am filled with boundless enthusiasm, hope, and commitment toward a brighter, better future.
Be well!
-Jon
***
Jon F. Merz
Sweet celebration to all. Goal #1 (check). Onward.
Hope we can continue to network here to brainstorm, gather information, share information, set new goals, and implement new policies--for the good of all.
Okay, I live in a decidedly "Blue" state ... not just leaning Blue, but a full-fledged, bright, technicolor solid Blue. So it should not have come as a surprise that when I went shopping for an Obama t-shirt to wear to a recent event (an online order would've taken too long) - I couldn't find ANY! There were plenty of McCain/Palin shirts - but no Obama.
I asked the store clerks (and I went to half a dozen stores!) and was informed that they had sold out of them WEEKs ago! I guess, on the one hand, that's good, but it didn't serve my purpose at all since I needed one fairly soon! The various Democratic field offices (there are three in my county) had run out even weeks before that.
Then I got to thinking: are t-shirts a viable representation of a dem- or GOP- leaning community? It would certainly eliminate the "Bradley Effect" where verbal affirmation for a person-of-color is favored over a white candidate, only to vote for the white candidate at the last second after all. In purchasing a t-shirt a person is, as the saying goes, "puting their money where their mouth is" and making a definite statement who it is they are supporting. If my ascertion is true, then retail sales in my community absolutely favor Senator Obama for President!
What did I do for a t-shirt to wear to my event? I plastered a bumper sticker to a bright blue t-shirt instead. It worked.
I just posted the following remarks on Congressman Michele Bachmann's website - in case anyone missed today's horrifying edition of Hardball - before I post it, let me raise my voice as one of those wanting to mend our America, not tear Her apart.
Congressman Michele Bachmann (R., Minnesota) has just uttered the single most loathsome and disgusting thing I have EVER heard in my 45 years, live on MSNBC. Yes, MSNBC is far left, however I heard her remarks in their entirety and thus cannot be said to have taken them out of context.
Congressman Bachmann has just called for a full investigation and media "expose" by the media of the United States Congress, further specifying that "liberals" should be vetted to determine whether they are "anti-American."
This is McCarthyism in its sickest form. At a time when all Americans are struggling to save and serve the country we love, this strain of putrid hate and toxicity that arises from the darkest ignorance of our collective political unconscious is a stark reminder of darker times - of who we once were as a nation. Ms. Bachmann clearly has neither knowledge nor sense of history, and should hold her tongue until she learns better. Does the acronym HUAC fail to sound a note in Ms. Bachmann's belfry?
Another familiar note was sounded, cautioning that our institutions of higher learning are suspect, and perhaps fraught with "anti-Americans." Why does this sound familiar? Has Ms. Bachmann, perhaps, heard of Chairman Mao?
What's next, Ms. Bachmann? Shall we institute a purge? Set up re-education camps for our professors? Develop a loyalty battalion to root out left-leaning Americans?
Left of Center and well-educated DOES NOT EQUAL anti-American. Ms. Bachmann, I am deeply ashamed that a fellow American should utter such filth, and you should be ashamed of yourself.
Earlier this week at a Republican rally, a Palin supporter was photographed waving around a sock doll with big ears - a rendition of Barack Obama. This writer wondered who the heck would actually create and sell such a doll, trying to pass it off as a harmless toy instead of what it really is: a racist relic of days gone by. The folks who make and sell these things obviously still hold to concepts like Jim Crow, Separate but Equal, Stepin Fetchet, and believe that George Wallace would have made a great President.
Actually, the dolls are sold by a couple in Utah and on their website they call Obama an 'empty suit' and a few of the usual pithy arguments. I'm not posting up the link to their website. If you want to buy one of their dolls you'll have to find them yourself, although I hear they are now out of stock.
I did send them a letter, though.
'Hi, My name is Robert Blevins and I'm the founder and director of Publishers and Authors for Obama. First, I'm not going to harass you concerning your product. I'm sure you've had enough of that from others. However, I want to thank you for helping to drive undecided voters over to Barack Obama. Your doll serves only one political purpose. It is purchased by people who were going to vote for John McCain anyway - no matter what. You may not realize it, but the negative reaction to your obviously racist product has helped the Obama effort to a small degree, and I wish you the best of luck making money on it. Two days after it was reported that a woman was waving one of your dolls around at a Palin rally - Obama went up substantially in most polls, including a ten-point lead on the Gallup Daily. I can't say for sure if it was the doll, but it's funny how a majority of people often respond negatively to these things, rather than having the desired effect. So again, thanks for your support to the Obama campaign. Of course, in three weeks if Obama becomes your next President, demand for your sock doll may drop off a bit. It will have served its purpose and run its course. That's to be expected. Sincerely, Robert'
'Hi,
My name is Robert Blevins and I'm the founder and director of Publishers and Authors for Obama. First, I'm not going to harass you concerning your product. I'm sure you've had enough of that from others. However, I want to thank you for helping to drive undecided voters over to Barack Obama. Your doll serves only one political purpose. It is purchased by people who were going to vote for John McCain anyway - no matter what.
You may not realize it, but the negative reaction to your obviously racist product has helped the Obama effort to a small degree, and I wish you the best of luck making money on it. Two days after it was reported that a woman was waving one of your dolls around at a Palin rally - Obama went up substantially in most polls, including a ten-point lead on the Gallup Daily. I can't say for sure if it was the doll, but it's funny how a majority of people often respond negatively to these things, rather than having the desired effect. So again, thanks for your support to the Obama campaign.
Of course, in three weeks if Obama becomes your next President, demand for your sock doll may drop off a bit. It will have served its purpose and run its course. That's to be expected.
Sincerely, Robert'
Although this writer supports Barack Obama for President, and the polls do favor him right now, it is by no means a done deal. And whether it is John McCain or Barack Obama who ends up winning the presidency, that man is going to inherit the job at a most difficult time in our history.
Talk about a bait-and-switch for the highest office in the land. In his wildest dreams, our next President had no clue he would enter office at the worst possible financial moment for Americans in almost eighty years. Both the U.S. and the world are teetering on the edge of another Great Depression. Any citizen with a 401K is either losing money, or is at risk. Any citizen with a house now wonders if it's worth less than he paid for it. Working families worry whether they will have a job next spring. Due to the Wall Street fiasco, government-sponsored bailouts are running through Congress, and those have a poor track record. Don't count on them alone to save us from financial meltdown. Herbert Hoover tried them in 1931. So did the Japanese in 1998. In Hoover's case, it only staved off collapse for a few months. The Japanese bailouts lasted a bit longer, but with the same result.
This is the third go-around for 'The Sarah Show' and although the ratings have been pretty good, the writer is about to go on strike. Admittedly, I'm running out of ideas. You never know though. Maybe Palin will stick her foot in her mouth enough over the next month to provide sufficient fodder for a final series.
I'd like to thank all of you who sent the supporting emails and to the womens' sites who picked up on the previous articles. Sarah Palin's actions make her an easy target for cartoons, although I try to keep them mostly above board.
'Just the facts, ma'am'.Sometimes I think John McCain and Sarah Palin are the victims of bad advice. This is what happens when you hire too many lobbyists to work on your campaign staff. The Republican campaign has now officially spun out of control. You almost want to yell, 'Bail out!' or something. Announcing they were dumping Michigan was a dumb move. As I said in a previous article, the smarter idea would have been to just cut back quietly and not make a big deal out of it. And telling everyone you are officially going into negative mode for the remainder of the campaign is also dumb. When voters know the negative campaign is born out of desperation, it often has the opposite effect - it drives voters to the other candidate. (That would be OUR candidate - Barack Obama.)
'Just the facts, ma'am'.
Sometimes I think John McCain and Sarah Palin are the victims of bad advice. This is what happens when you hire too many lobbyists to work on your campaign staff. The Republican campaign has now officially spun out of control. You almost want to yell, 'Bail out!' or something.
Announcing they were dumping Michigan was a dumb move. As I said in a previous article, the smarter idea would have been to just cut back quietly and not make a big deal out of it. And telling everyone you are officially going into negative mode for the remainder of the campaign is also dumb. When voters know the negative campaign is born out of desperation, it often has the opposite effect - it drives voters to the other candidate. (That would be OUR candidate - Barack Obama.)
A great article on the "real" McCain from the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone magazine - it's long, but woirth reading:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain/page/1
From the Column at MSNBC/Newsvine: 'Vacation? Vacation's when you leave - and you don't NEVER come back...' Sally Field - 'Forrest Gump'. No doubt you've heard by now that because our bickering representatives in Washington couldn't come to an agreement, that almost DOUBLE the amount of the bailout was lost on the stock market today. Seven hundred billion dollars doesn't sound like so much anymore after the market tanked 1.2 TRILLION in a single day.And then there's TOMORROW of course. And the next day. Congress won't be meeting for a second go-around until Thursday morning, and even then it will take days to run up another version of the bailout bill. That gives our free-falling financial markets at least three more days to crash-and-burn. Before long, even a bailout would be a waste of time, because there won't be anything left that needs bailing out. Instead of shoring up the economy and restoring confidence, our lawmakers talked about a bad speech by Pelosi, pointed fingers at each other - and then went on vacation. Within a few days, Americans could be left with an economy in a complete shambles. To see the rest of this article and it's accompanying illustrations, CLICK HERE.
From the Column at MSNBC/Newsvine:
'Vacation? Vacation's when you leave - and you don't NEVER come back...'
Sally Field - 'Forrest Gump'.
No doubt you've heard by now that because our bickering representatives in Washington couldn't come to an agreement, that almost DOUBLE the amount of the bailout was lost on the stock market today. Seven hundred billion dollars doesn't sound like so much anymore after the market tanked 1.2 TRILLION in a single day.
And then there's TOMORROW of course. And the next day. Congress won't be meeting for a second go-around until Thursday morning, and even then it will take days to run up another version of the bailout bill. That gives our free-falling financial markets at least three more days to crash-and-burn. Before long, even a bailout would be a waste of time, because there won't be anything left that needs bailing out. Instead of shoring up the economy and restoring confidence, our lawmakers talked about a bad speech by Pelosi, pointed fingers at each other - and then went on vacation. Within a few days, Americans could be left with an economy in a complete shambles.
To see the rest of this article and it's accompanying illustrations, CLICK HERE.
Well, leave it to the Republican zealots to come up with yet another demeaning website. This time it's Obamawaffles.com, where the site owners are ostensibly trying to paint Senator Obama as someone who "waffles" on the issues, when in reality it is a thinly-veiled attack on his ethnicity. Note the over-the-top caricatures of Both Barack and Michelle. And yes, while they also have John Kerrry out there, there are several snide attempts to dredge up a bit of racism as well.
Another disgusting portrayal of idiocy at its worst. Reportedly, Mitt Romney and John McCain both accepted boxes of this when they were presented at the RNC. Not very surprising.
BTW, if you've got a few extra dollars burning a hole in your pocket and feel like donating to my first fundraising effort, please click the following link and make a donation. Thanks very much! http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/dashboard/main/jonfmerz
Thanks for reading!
Jon
Just received this great email and it's fantastic: Eve Ensler is most notably recognized for her award-winning play "The Vagina Monologues". To follow is a writing of hers, published this month on Sarah Palin... to be read, and to be thoughtfully considered. Where is the future headed?
"Drill, Drill, Drill"
I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.
I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.
But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war. I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover.
But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.
Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."
Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not. She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.
Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States . She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.
Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.
Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.
I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S. , but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression.
If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.
Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?
-Eve Ensler
September 5, 2008
Since Sarah Palin has a high approval rating among Wal-Mart moms, what is the best way to combat this? Obviously, the majority of them support her because they feel that she is "one of them," which hearkens back to the '04 campaign when people thought they could sit and "have a beer" with Bush. So how can we help to ensure that this particular demographic knows more about the woman they would see be VP?
While actively holding signs in the Wal-Mart parking lot would probably be considered trespassing, what about a significant presence at nearby traffic lights and entrances to these stores? On any given day, night, or weekend, Wal-Mart stores do a brisk business. A small group of women with Obama signs at these locations might make an impact. It might also be useful to have small talking point cards that outline the economic differences between McCain and Obama - showing how a Wal-Mart mom will stay just that if she votes for McCain because he doesn't care about the middle class.
Another option might be to choreograph a "park-in" at Wal-Mart parking lots whereby a half dozen cars (or more) all sporting Obama bumper sticks park in a row in the lot, creating a visual cue that draws the eye. This is not illegal at all, but more of a subtle attempt to inject doubt into the minds of Palin supporters. Provided those who park actually go into the Wal-Mart (perhaps wearing Obama T-shirts), there shouldn't be an issue.
What other ways can we work to disrupt the personality appeal of Palin and bring this election back to where it needs to be: on the issues?
Thanks for reading,
Hi All, As you know, tomorrow night, Charles Gibson of ABC World News Tonight will broadcast his interview with Sarah Palin. I hope you'll join me by registering out on the ABC World News site (http://abcnews.go.com/wn) and leaving your comment for Gibson in the "Talk Box" section of the page (located down and to the right), urging him to ask Palin the tough questions she needs to be asked - without her having access to a Republican coach nearby as is rumored to be occurring. Thanks,Jon****http://www.thefixer.tv
Sarah Palin's addition to the Republican ticket has surely achieved at least an immediate boost to McCain's numbers. Whether or not that boost remains in place is now a challenge that must be addressed and neutralized. Here's how to reduce her impact immediately.
Instead of dispatching Hillary Clinton to various towns and cities, she needs to make a speech of the same magnitude that Barack Obama made shortly after the Reverend Wright controversy. This speech should be held at a location of tremendous importance to women in terms of their civil rights (perhaps the birthplace of Susan B. Anthony or something similar). At that time, Hillary should make her speech and have behind her an astonishing array of the most powerful women in the nation who support the Obama/Biden ticket (be they Democrats, Republicans, or Independent) *as well as* women who have not yet achieved everything they might be capable of (be they WalMart moms, teen mothers, college students, retired workers, etc.)
This huge throng should then be entirely visible as Hillary delivers an earthshaking speech on exactly why Sarah Palin does not do a thing to advance the rights of women, and that a vote for the McCain/Palin ticket is actually regressing the things that women hold most dear: the right to have control over their own bodies, equal pay, equal rights, etc. etc.
This speech cannot and should not be delivered by anyone else. It is absolutely vital that Hillary make this speech. She is the only one who can be guaranteed to not only attract the media (and now is the perfect time since Palin has bashed them) but also influence the many women who have apparently lost their minds by swinging over to Palin.
In the weeks following this speech, Hillary should be seen everywhere - both with Barack and without - repeating what she spoke about in the speech, over and over again. Hillary needs to be the attack dog now, not Joe. Joe and Barack can go back to concentrating on McCain while Hillary handles the Palin problem.
When this writer published the first series of cartoons on Sarah Palin, the response was overwhelming. Not the votes and comments from Newsvine users so much, but the emails from people who read the originals on other sites. The email messages ran about 4 to 1 in favor of the article. However, some of the negative emails were vitriolic indeed. But I'm used to that stuff. You should hear what some authors tell me if I reject their story for the magazine, or decline to do their book. That's a lot worse.
I don't pick on Palin's family. Like Barack Obama, I think they are off-limits. You have to deal with the candidate and try to stick to the issues, the facts.
Some of the facts about Sarah Palin are disturbing. The New York Times said in their recent article that she inquired with the City Librarian in Wasilla about the possibility of banning some books from the library. The idea of banning books does two things at the same time. It tries to control what people can read, and it makes librarians feel dumb.
To see the rest of this article and its accompanying cartoons on the author's column at MSNBC/Newsvine, click HERE.
The national conventions are over, the platforms established, and the homestretch run for your vote on November 4th has begun. But one thing that became obvious to Americans who tuned in to the conventions was the nature of the opponents. It is a struggle between White Affluent America, the people who have had their way for the last eight years, and Everyone Else.
The Republicans ask Americans to trust them with a third straight term in the White House, even though they have failed abysmally for the first two. This time, they say, we have someone you can trust, a war hero, a man with a solid record of integrity. So vote for John McCain...
You can read the remainder of this inspiring article, along with its images and photographs, at the author's column at MSNBC/Newsvine.
