Saw Michael Moore's Capitalism last night. I recommend it to everyone. Not so much for the horror stories, but for the factual content. Believe me, you will never forget to vote again.
I found out last week that you can call your senator or representative more than once. Why I never thought of that before, I do not know. I encourage everyone to support health care reform.
On my Facebook page I have a link to a new health care reform video.
Sarah and I spent an hour on Sunday afternoon calling folks to encourage them to contact their legislators and get health care reform passed.
14,000 people lose their health care every day.
Well, I am now itching to get involved in the fixing of the world. What next? Who do I contact? When do we start? How can I be of service? I had no clue how contagious this would be.
If anyone has any ideas or if anyone knows if we will be summoned to help, or if we become the summoners, let me know! I am fired up and ready to go.
Hope fulfilled is a gift and for that I am eternally grateful. The air is different, there is a peace today unlike before.
Peace, and always love,
Annie
Hi to all, my family is in Chester PA, my brother Peter Lesser a field organizer there witnessed 30,000 people on a cold and rainy day listening to Barak Obama's promises of a better future. Here in St. Louis, I voted and waited in line for an hour at 7:15 in the morning and wept for the fact that I can vote, that I voted for change and I am ready to help!
For those of you that can vote early, DO!! That way you can help get the vote out and make history!
I really like what I have seen, heard and read of Obama's leadership style. He listens to what people are concerned about and looks for solutions that will meet a majority of needs. Although his solutions may not always result in a positive for me or fix "my" issue, I can understand where he is coming from (he explains it) and makes me feel apart of the solution.
I am a huge responsibility-based leader and feel like that is his approach too!
Have you noticed a difference in how we approach financial crises?
This is the first time a President has stoked fears in the hearts of the country. Every previous crisis, the Presidents told us not to be afraid, to have confidence in our institutions.
Why does Bush want us to be afraid? As usual, he wants to bully us in one direction while making us ignore the real problems.
Here's my take on the situation:
Mortgage Crisis: precipitated by foreclosures: foreclosures precipitated by personal bankruptcy and evil lending instruments. Personal bankruptcy: precipitated by high medical expenses (it's the number one cause of personal bankruptcy). Evil lending instruments: non-amortizing loans, second mortgages, balloon payment mortgages, adjustable rate mortgages that fall into the wrong hands, etc. etc. Previously, banks would not lend money to bad credit risks. That was a central tenent. They protected themselves and the buyer. Buyer beware, sure, but how can the buyer be aware when not given the appropriate information
Why must we bail out the banks???
BIGGEST REASON politically: our 401 K accounts cannot be allowed to tank. We have no national pension plan, so folks are forced to put their money in 401ks and take the losses. We are forced to ignore the first rule of investing--do not invest unless you can afford to lose the money. When folks followed that rule, the only ones who lost money were those who could afford it. We need a national pension.
If it weren;t for the 401K plans we could just say let the banks to sod off!
SECOND REASON: Folks like Phil Gramm (until recently, MCCain's economic advisor) undid all the regulations based on lessons learned from the Great Depression during REAGANOMICS. Before those regulations were abolished, banks and investment companies couldn't merge. Banks are going to take on even more risky investments now that they know the government will pay the bill. That's what happened the last time the FDIC was raised--banks were less cautious and they blew it.
So now, the banks are blowing it bigtime with bad investments and they are holding the economy hostage until the feds bail them out.The fewer in number the banks are, the greater the risk of their blowing it financially. Believe me, if this thing goes through, THEY'LL BE BACK! Nothing has been changed to prevent it.
How is this possible?
We have no central bank in this country. All we have is the Federal Reserve System and it is not a central bank. The European central banks have had to infuse money and temporary loans into their system, but it has not been over $40 million dollars. Inpart this is because they have tougher bank regulations in the EU, so the crisis isn't as big for them. They also have smaller economies. But even if you add all of the money they've used so far it isn't anything near $800,000 (price of the package went up to sweeten the deal).
Once again, unlike almost all industrialized nations, we are suffering because we do not have the following institutions:
National Health Care
National Pensions
National Bank
This is our golden time to make some real changes in our obsolete institutions.
By all means, to not support MCCain--he still wants to privatize social security--even in the face of this melt down.
The problems we are facing are Capitalist problems, just as you can have winners under Capitalism, it is an inherent part of the system that people will lose money. It is INHERENT! 97% of all new businesses fail in the first 5 years. Do most people realize they only have a 3% chance to stay open????The small business people I have consulted aren't aware of this fact.
Years ago, when I was teaching at Earlham College, I would tell my students that what was left unsaid in history books was just as important or even more important that what was said.
Today is no different, what is NOT being said about the bail out is more important than what is being said.
What is the root of the mortgage crisis? What started it all? Foreclosures.
What started the problems with foreclosures?
If personal bankruptcy seems to be a likely cause, then we can blame our lack of national health insurance. The number one cause of bankruptcy is the inability to pay medical bills.
The number one cause is not the wild eyed status seekers who bought more house than they could afford, as the general public tends to believe.
We have to make sure we get the message out on this one.
Sure, there are people who cannot handle credit.
Who structured the loans so people could not handle credit??
The folks who are getting bailed out. A few months ago, I read a small article in the Post-Dispatch--smaller than the weekly Rock Hill Police Report-- that said one of the big banks was ceasing to provide non-amoritizing loans.
A non-amortizing loan is one where you only play the interest on the loan. You can pay that loan for thirty years, forty years, fifty years and never own your home. Here I must insist on calling attention to the Latin (or French) root of the word amortize--morte, death. The loan "dies" if you pay it off. Sort of like Voldemort being alive in any number of incarnations until Harry Potter killed him.
A related point on which both candidates are silent--imposition of usury laws. In the past in this country, we had rules against excess interest charges on things like credit cards. We have had the lowest interest rates in no one knows how long, and yet the interest rates on credit cards have NEVER been reduced to reflect that fact.
I say we tell Barack Obama that he needs to push extra hard on health care for all and improve the usury laws in this country.
I think the undecided voters would be able to decide real fast that Obama-Biden is the way to go.
Prof. Douglas Kmiec--a dyed-in-the-wool conservative Constitutional Law scholar who worked for President Reagan--has written a book about Barack Obama and the Catholic pro-life movement containing some very surprising, yet rational and compelling, conclusions that need to be shared with Catholic voters everywhere.
The book is called Can a Catholic Vote for Him? Asking the Big Question about Barack Obama and it is available right now:
http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Support-Asking-Questions-Barack/dp/159020204X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221139320&sr=8-1
Hi all, It’s another day in politics and watching the McCain campaign ice a smear this great political battle with smear and mud seems a remake of the Bush tactic character assassinations that got him elected twice. One thing of note is that McCain accused Barack Obama of not visiting our ailing soldiers in the hospital, the fact is that Barack Obama (according to the two Senators who went with him did visit military hospitals while there. To the best of my memory, 4 of them (maybe it was three). He did so without publicity or camera’s, unless some news crews have video footage, which is not to me released.
As we know, the pentagon situation had nothing to do with camera's and publicty and the "gym" visit was a golf game FOR the troops, in Kuwait!
Loveya,Duane Kuehn Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed: “I was with Senator Obama last week as we met privately with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Senator Obama listened to their concerns and expressed his gratitude for their service without press or fanfare. He cares for our troops deeply and has worked hard to give them not only the resources they need, but also honor their service with a clearly defined mission and by providing them with the support they have earned when they come home. And just as Senator McCain's support of President Bush's veto of funding for our troops doesn't mean he does not support them, neither does Senator Obama's insistence that we not give George Bush a blank check.”
Hi All,
Covered by the FISA fiasco we weren't watching behind the scenes.
As Barack Obama was taking the big hits for voting "Yes" on the FISA bill (which it was known was already going to pass by a huge majority without his vote), nobody seemed to notice the Medicare bill and the number of Republican Senators that jumped ship and voted, "Yes" on it.
Many of us were wiping the tears from our eyes as if maybe Barack Obama had stood us up for a date. When in fact, as Barack is not President yet but we are very aware of his persusive bipartisan influence; the Medicare bill was being passed with a majority vote that George Bush cannot veto.
A huge victory for the people of this country. What happened? We all know the give and take of Washington politics, the behind the doors goings on which Obama says will Change when he is President. But, Obama is not President yet and still apart of the give and take of Washington Politics.
I would venture to gain that the give and take was a trade off on a FISA bill which was going to pass anyway, for a Medicaid bill which wasn't going to pass. A bill which will now help to pave the way for a badly needed Universal Health Care bill.
Who knows but, I say 3 cheers to mybarackObama!
Loveya,
Duane Kuehn
I stole this link from newday4us's blog.
As we all know, John McCain locked himself into the public funding system before he realized that the Republican Primary would be a "walk in the park" for him. Then he could not get out of public funding without explaining a few million dollars in loans and a few million in corporate jet transport through his wife Cindy.
We know that Barack made the right decision going with us, the people of the United States.
Unfortunately, as Barack said, the McCain campaign will have plenty of misleading advertisement from the "527's". More than that, he is recieving huge donations through the loopholes via the RNC.
Barack will be needing donations and lots of them. I have donated and hope to donate more with every monthly check. Now, I decided to open one of those fundraiser spots and hope some of you might help me out to reach that goal. I can't start donating in my own fundraiser thing until my next rather measly but not complaining check.
I hope that I get the links right and I hope some of you all will help me out with my fundraiser thing, though I know that ya'll already donate elsewhere. 5 or 10 dollars is great and will be very much appreciated by me and the campaign.
The link to the article about McCains funds:
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/07/07/for-mccain-money-talks.aspx
I tried to do a takeoff on the old saying and make it, "Wish in One Hand, Hope in the Other", kind of lame I guess.
The link (hopefully correct) to my fundraiser page:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/WishIn1Hand
