Serious Discussion Group

Within a brief moment of time

i am rasa — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:22:15 EST

I have been focusing on the greatest journey of my life.

That most amazing miraculous dream of one tiny little sperm carrying the worlds most heaviest load, the genetic information of generations and generations and generations....in order to enter into the dream world of a small egg awaiting for that wondrous moment to arrive. The greatest journey of my life. The greatest journey of my life, happening throughout the ages.

Here i am, the dream of a tiny minuscule sperm who has touched, entered and combined into the amazing dream of an egg. Generations of dreams combining in ONE brief moment of time. Two different distinctive dreams combining everything together to co-create a dream dreaming.

Within that brief small moment of synchronization of time and space. The combined wholeness of my dream was unified. Then began the second most amazing adventure of my life. From one miraculous cell to 100 trillion cells playing and dancing in a unified field of utopian nature.

Then from being focused inside the womb to looking outward to this.

We are all energy. Within a brief moment of time. The possibility of combining and integrating our individual unique miraculous creative genius energy TOGETHER to realize a totally new dream coming from the heart of reality seems so simple so easy.

The Mass Group. E=MC2. Peace, love, freedom...pelodom.

Within a brief moment of time is our ability to integrate our consciousness to form an amazing new creative dream unfolding. Within the empty space is the ability to integrate ALL our dreams simultaneously. By coming to the O table, by giving freely of our geniusness, our dreams shared, our consciousness expands. Our reality expands. Abundance is the dance.

Within a brief moment of time, creation of a new life.. a new dream is owakened.

Dream Big Dreams

"Dream BIG Dreams" ...Take ONE...scene one, act one

i am rasa — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:38:47 EST

WE...We the people, in order to form a more perfect union ....decided to make a movie.

So, "Dream Big Dreams" was conceived as a process of WE creating community for the ultimate well being of the i within the we and the we within the i .

So, here i sit within the echoing silence of Kelly's Room of the First Street Community Center Mount Vernon Iowa.....LISTENING.....Listening to the deep subtle depths of the heart of reality. Within THE SPACE where the Masters gather, a small flame of a winter green flame coats the twenty foot square empty space ....a warm rich glow of peaceful solitude.

Our community seeks a strong sound foundation in which to reach out in play of our game of forming a more perfect union. A warm, secure, peaceful, creative, healthy, engaging, blissful playing field suitable for meeting each and every individual unique relationship in pure possibilities of play.

THE SPACE of the room, of infinite and eternal playing field of Kelly's Room is suitably framed by the words, "Beautiful Pure Perfect Love" for the integral informative conceptual magical Utopian ways of growing and sustaining communities through the ages.

"Dream BIG Dreams" is a movie about a process WE all co-create and co-design. A simple easy blueprint of economic development taken seed within the heart of oneself and being connected and networked, shared and danced into the heart of family, community, state and nation and the heart of reality.

A time to remember, Black Hawk, and all our ancestors that brought US to this point in time, this magical miraculous perspective with the heart of the sweat lodge within the heart of Kelly's Room.

WE all bring our "Dream Big Dreams" of our individual unique miraculous creative genius to the O table of Michelle's Tea House.

From the magic of Craig Wilson's "Chalk the Walk" appearing on Main Street Mount Vernon, George Washington appears through a worm hole of time, heading homeward, he appeared in Mount Vernon where he befriended Makiah Miller and all his friends of the small Iowa town of Mount Vernon. Here during the process unfolding, George shares his 33 insightful ways of forming a more perfect union....in sharing his magical utopian vision of manifesting everyone's "Dream Big Dreams"

So, the process of WE...We the people making a movie to co-create a more perfect union is born. ...OUR vision OUR goal of playing the game whole heatedly together...to act as a blueprint integrating the nation, integrating the systems of dancing the ultimate health of oneself into the heart of reality.

The process of making the movie is beginning. Til Thanksgiving Day the process of you..."Dreaming Big Dreams" is unfolding....is being shared with all the friends manifesting for one another each and every dream coming home to the heart of reality.

Which character do you play?

CUT..........

Health Care Reform - Selling False Dreams to America

z0rr0 — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:44:34 EDT

We Americans seem to live in a dream world ! There is no such things as "preventable death".

In the real world, the operative phrases are "inevitable death" and "prolonged life".

In the real world, those who insist on prolonging life need to be ready to pay for it too. If they think they can impose life syles on others, then they should be ready to foot the bill for those others as well.

It is simple, in the dream world, immortality comes free. In the real world longevity cost more.

The Labor Day Pledge

i am rasa — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:45:05 EDT

Labor Day contemplation of how to be of ultimate service to oneself.....

The I pledge video is going around and around and around....I pledge to be oneself.

Concerning my recent visit to The White House to http://chalkthewhitehouse.com and all things concerning 'Dream Big Dreams' ....

I haven't had health insurance forever....so i've had to learn the secrets of healing thyself. I've had to learn many new perspectives to live in poverty my entire life while living in a land of plenty. I am a workaholic. Yet my labor has no value. My life has been to study, know, and experience the creative life of an artist in pursuit of the ultimate health of oneself.

Peace is the key. Balance. When I saw the unfinished building of the Institute of Peace near the Kennedy Center for the Arts, I knew I wanted to work there...as artist in residence...sharing my perspective and vision on happiness, sharing my masterpeaces of the ultimate health of oneself.

WE have everything. EVERYTHING. What we need is to co-create systems of utopia...integrating the individual unique miraculous creative geniuses WE were all born as into systems that reflect our geniusness.

Today is Labor Day. Being artist in residence at the Institute of Peace is my way of being the ultimate service to the nation. Can anyone grant me that position. Can anyone deny me that position. It is my place in the world. As all that I have ever been and all that I will ever be is reflected in the need of that postion being full filled by being oneself.

I pledge to be oneself....to form relationships in forming a more perfect union..in co-creating and co-designing systems reflecting the ultimate health of oneself. The Key to knowing oneself is Peace. Is Balance. Is the ultimate health of oneself.

As Artist in Residence of the Institute of Peace. I Pledge to BE, DO and have....as oneself.

My "Dream Big Dreams" is that WE all find the perfect manifestation of our true Labor of Love, and each and every act of BEING ONESELF is an act of service to oneself, family, community, state and nation.

p.s. And my ten year old son Makiah wants to remind his friend Barack Obama to "Dream Big Dreams" as he plays basketball with ALL his Dream Team Players with the most passionate happy Labor of Love he knows.

DREAM BIG DREAMS

i am rasa — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:16:09 EDT

WE came to Washington DC for http://chalkthewhitehouse.com, to celebrate the Presidents Birthday and to express our individual unique miraculous creative genius with the President in forming a more perfect union. The participants in this years events are planning on amazing things for celebrating 2010. We learned so much this trip. Thank YOU ALL for participating.

Makiah was hoping to realize his "Dream BIG Dreams" of playing some basketball hoops on the White House Basketball Court but was threatened by the secret service to have him talken away by child custody and have his father experience some very very unpleasant times. Still totally puzzeled how a ten year old special needs boy who adores the secret service can be a threat to them or anyone.... or me, who claims to be one of the most peaceful experts on peace on the planet...interesting learning experiences.

I am currnetly working on the book "dream big dreams" the summation of our celebrational journey to DC and the first annual ChalkTheWhiteHouse event. WE learned alot about national archetypes concerning the male and female counterparts ..thank you Mary Mother of God and all things Michelle Obama. We are looking forward to being SIM orchestrators with the Institue of Peace. Balancing all aspects of forming a more perfect union with "happy hands, happy feet, happy heart...happyplanetindex.org" ....WE feel that the simple easy educational and health shifts of experiencing the ultimate health of oneself is here and now...an integral part of our history and future coming together to cross paths on that most rewarding road of being oneself.

Hoping to share more with everyone when the book "Dream Big Dreams" is completed. Until then giving all your focus and support to Michelle Obama in all she does for the ultimate goal of THE CHILDREN is absolutely appreciated by ALL of us who are "Dreaming Big Dreams" .....

Health care number you can NOT believe in!

z0rr0 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:06:15 EDT

Many people state health care costs as 2.2 trillion, and 16% of GDP, including the Kaiser Foundation. However, when I go to Table 3A of http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm

health care in 2008 accounts for 1.5 trillion out of a GDP 14.4 trillion or about 11% (not too far off from other nations).

Where do people get their data from?

I went to the http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/ web site, and while I can reconstruct the popular numbers from their site, they leave me even more puzzled. The GDP numbers for 2007 do not match the BEA. Off by at least a trillion, depending on Net or Gross DP. In addition, the BEA makes it clear that it is not counting Social Security or Medicare/Medicaid under Government consumption. So they must include it all under personal consumption.

The BEA percentage of health care over GDP has been pretty constant over the last decade, around 11%. The HHS data shows it jumping 3 point, to 16% during the same stretch. What's more, it made me realize that 50 years ago it supposedly was at 5% mark(HHS). Made me wonder why we don't hear an explanation of how we did it back then (forget the Canadians).

In other words, it seems very much like whoever counts gets whatever results they desire. Now I have double the evidence that all the numbers are suspect.

Disappointing. Especially since I used Kaiser Foundation numbers from an age stratified cost per year chart, and figured out that "prevention" was bullshit. Excuse my language. Healthy living adds costs to the flat part of the bathtub curve, merely deferring the end-of-life costs. So "whole life cost" goes up with longer lives. There will be no bending of the cost curve as long as longevity increases.

I suppose politicizing numbers shouldn't surprise me. But better orchestration would help.

Real health care reform !

z0rr0 — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:44:27 EDT

Mr. President

Congress and the Administration are busy tweaking the existing system, and calling it reform. They are crowing about 47 million uninsured as evidence of a crisis, when a huge number of them are prime of life people who do not need health care. Republicans are attacking costs, increased taxes proposed by Democrats, while claiming that the for profit insurance system is great, begging the question if they’ve woken up from the Bush years yet. All of it is in a crisis mode – must be reformed this summer. Or what? I think we’ll just have another summer next year.

Now I do have some ideas for real health care reform. It starts with the simple premise of a single payer. I don’t care if it is the Social Security Administration or Halliburton. Stop wasting billions on multiple billings, useless accountants, claim processors, rate negotiators, and of course, CBO, GAO and untold other studies. The Government should simply open it up for bids. Companies could partner, agencies and companies could partner, agencies and agencies could partner. I would not care. Just two basic criteria: single payer, meaning single book-keeping, and lowest operating bid. Health insurance is not brain surgery – it is just moving money from the left hand to the right hand. So the winner should do it cheaply. That would take care of my health insurance claim processing reform.

Now for actual health care reform? Well we are in a pickle, one that neither Democrats, Republicans, AMA or BCBS want to admit. The baby boomers are going to clog the are demographics arteries. The number of Americans over the age 64 will double for the next 40 years, and these old codgers consume 6 times the health care that a young person does. Our infrastructure, you know the one with Indian immigrant doctors, Philipino immigrant nurses, and hundreds of closed hospitals, cannot serve their numbers. So we will have metered health care. The rich will go to through the side doors while the rest of America will queue up at the front desk. Inevitable. How can Congress ignore this? Perhaps because most will be dead and gone by the time it becomes obvious.

The way to get out of the pickle is to resort to the great American ideal of self determination and self reliance. My suggestion is that every American be endowed with a voucher of $1,000,000, for life time health care. Each time they go to a doctor, the single payer will pay the doc, and reduce the balance of the voucher. Once a person runs out, they are on their own. If they live right, maybe the voucher can last a long time. If they live smart, they won’t rush to the doctor for every sprain and strain, much less for Viagra. If at the end of life, they only have enough for a hospice, rather than the inhuman cruelty of being kept alive on tubes for months, who is to judge which represents better quality of care. How do I suppose to pay for this. Well, the startup cost is minimal. Even old people only average $8-10,000 in annual costs. That’s the only part of the voucher that has to be covered initially. The full million is like life insurance – you pay, perhaps into Medicaid (what a novel idea) to build up the “future value” of you endowment. The younger you are when you start, the lower your monthly payments. I think it is doable.

Now to complete my tour de reform, I would allow the unused balance of a voucher to be transferred to heirs, as part of the estate. I know, it sounds odd, but it really makes sense. The genetics will ensure that in the long run, the healthiest of the breed will end up getting the best of care.

Sorry folks, but when one is looking to reform reform, one has to strain the gene pool to achieve real savings in health care.

Health Insurance Reform - what's the rush?

z0rr0 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:03:49 EDT

The President finally called the reform by its proper name: Insurance reform!

Let's be honest. The entire discussion has very little to do with health care reform for 250 million Americans. It consists of Medicaid offering wall-to-wall coverage for families making under $29,000 per year, and about $2 grand in government subsidies to those making less than $88,000 per year (with yet to be stated levels of coverage. The rest of Americans will retain the same crappy insurance, but pay more in taxes.

The likely beneficiaries will be the insurance companies, who will get another 40-50 million subscribers.

That is not something I want to help with!

Transparency: Senate will delay action on bonuses tax

z0rr0 — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:52:56 EDT

Senate will delay action on bonuses tax , not to mention Geithner and the President himself are backtracking on the House action.

The arguments about breaking contracts between employers and employees is bogus. If it had meaning, my real estate tax increases could not cut my raise in half. The retroactive tax argument is bogus. A bonus paid in 2009 is current year taxable earning. The argument that it is not constitutional is the biggest crock of them all. Cigarette taxes, liquor taxes, skims from lotteries are all punitive taxes, and legit. And lets just wait until carbon credits roll, which will be the biggest social engineering tax of them all. These are all Wall Street arguments floated to save their bonuses!

Are we finally seeing tranparency? Is it transparent now the Congress and the Administration listen to and work for Wall Street, first and foremost? If they work for all Americans, then they should act on all our behalf. The House did, this time!

are you LISTENING????

i am rasa — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:01:33 EDT

My top priority in life is LISTENING to my son Makiah Miller and acting accordingly.

Sometimes, hearing him, getting outside the box of my own perceptions...to listen to what HE is teaching me...is difficult.

Go HERE, inside the box labeled Nate Hutcheson...inside that box is THE ISSUE, click on it ...see if you can hear what lessons HE has to teach...

May your day be perfect and may you act on it accordingly...or....." Be the love. Share the love." as Makiah tells me.....

--
rasa
Robert Allan Schueler Artist
Peace City, Utopia.

Fiscal Responsibility in Government

z0rr0 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:59:49 EST

Mr. President, your call for fiscal responsibility in spending the Recovery Act tax dollars has the agreement of every American. It won't be an easy job. But, it would seem to me, there is at least one, simple driving function that you can use, namely the performance standards of every Government manager.

Performing the mission under budget is NOT, and never has been a job standard in government. In fact, the whole Executive Branch operates on the premise that turning money back to the Treasury is a sin. "Year End Obligations" is what the annual September ritual is known as. I believe you can issue and Executive Order that makes "fiscal performance against budget" a mandatory performance standard for all Government managers. A standard that clearly states that coming in under budget will be rewarded. In fact, I think, it needs to be the standard with the most weight, to motivate the behavior you are expecting from your workforce.

Congress, historically, also sees the appropriations as "must spend" amounts, where wasting tax dollars to meet obligation goals is inherent. Perhaps you'd need bi-Partisan agreement and support for the Executive Order to change their mindset. But which representative of the tax payers will oppose budgets as maximums, and instead, publicly support fiscal irresponsibility? I think you can drive this through.

Mr. President, you promised us change. Turning the Federal Government into an organization that puts primary value on conserving the tax payer's money would be a huge , and welcome change. One that perhaps all levels of government could adopt.

Start Fiscal Responsibility in Government - all it would take is your Executive Order !

Homeowner Stability Initiative - Rules

z0rr0 — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:24:29 EST

I really would like to see two rules implemented in the Administration's Homeowner Stability Initiative procedures, in addition to payments lowered to 31% of income.

First, no tax deductions for interest on bailed out mortgages. That would make the rest of us cover the sin twice.

Second, if and when a bailed out property gets sold for more than the mortgage principal, the "profit" gets taxed at 100%, until the incentives are paid back. Those incentives, of a thousand dollars here and there, are our tax dollars! They need to be paid back to the Treasury, not end up as "somebody's slick move".

The implementation rules must contain assurances that the $75 billion gets paid back by those who got bailed out, not by our children.

Mr. Geithner has several months for developing the implementation rules. The money comes out of TARP, which means he can do pretty much whatever he wants. Such rules should not be a problem for him, and it would be very reassuring, and FAIR, for those of us with the "responsible gene".

Homeowner Stability Initiative - BULL

z0rr0 — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:38:01 EST

There is no constitutional right to homeownership! If you borrowed above your means, you've got no right to stability of ownership! The fact that the value of a house dropped below your purchase price is not relevant unless you want to sell - and if you can't afford to sell, then stay put - that is stability!

If you want rules for dealing with this mess, and keep 4 million families from being thrown out on the street (who, by the way, are not all hopelessly helpless to start with), here is a suggestion to Mr. Geithner:

Make the banks take their houses back (let them foreclose) and make them rent to the occupants (for minimum of 1 year, or pick your time frame)!

Then the dumb bankers will have their "fair market equity" and the dumb buyers will have a roof over their heads at "fair market rates"

I do not want my children to pay for all these gifts!

Whose Recovery Act, Mr. President?

z0rr0 — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:16:32 EST

I had worked for nearly 50 years, starting with pumping gas when I was 14. I paid my way through engineering school. Worked my way up to what you'd call middle management, before I semi-retired this year. My wife and I raised our children, put them through college, and they are productive, good citizens now. While we scrimped early on, going pay check to paycheck, other than a mortgage, we never carried debt. Paying off the mortgage was one of my pre-retirement goals, and we managed to do so. Mind you, we've lived in our house since 1980, the only thing flipping since then were hamburgers on the backyard barbeque. My pension is reasonable, we have no debts, we've done all the right and responsible things, and now I am starting to feel like a sucker! You might ask why?

Because I will be paying off the debts of irresponsible consumers and the salaries of high paid financiers. I will be getting no tax breaks, while Washington is creating them for those who want to borrow, and live beyond their means once again. My biggest uncertainty is not about the Dow Jones, not about housing prices. It is about taxes and inflation.

What is currently going on is eventually going to have to be paid for, either by more taxes or by inflation. Maybe it will be creatively deferred until past my time. But we have also gifted our children with the "responsible gene". If Washington doesn't get me, then it will make suckers of our children. Social conscience is OK by me. Helping those in need is also. But throwing my tax dollars at greedy crooks, greedy idiots (lenders and borrowers) and adding more pork to wasteful programs and pet rocks is not.

President Obama, perhaps this is not the story you wanted to hear, but it is a real, true, and American story. Thank you for your time.

ontwikkelingslanden

Unknown user — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:12:57 EST

This is in Dutch, use online translator to translate or email me

Oxfam novib en het onzincomplex

Wanneer oxfam novib in staat de helft van het geld op te brengen voor de oplossing van het wereldarmoede probleem lijkt het mij een peuleschil de andere helft ook ergens weg te toveren. Wanneer dit niet mogelijk schijnt te zijn is er volgens mij maar een conclusie mogelijk en dat is dat er nog steeds onwil in de wereld bestaat de echte problemen op te lossen. De helft van het geld wordt hier een synoniem voor de echte intenties van multinationals en G20.
De andere helft van het geld is ook de andere kant van het verhaal!
Er wordt zoveel onzin de wereld in gegooid over de krediet crisis dat het bijna onmogelijk is echte essentiele problemen te doorzien.

Naar mijn mening zijn die:

1. De wereld is toe aan een crisis omdat men dat wil.

Geld speelt nog steeds de hoofdrol in de oplossing van de credietcrisis. Is dit niet in strijd met elkaar?
Wanneer de oorzaak van de problemen in geld ligt lijkt het me voor de hand liggen daar de problemen aan te pakken.
Maar integendeel met dezelfde middelen wordt het probleem aangepakt. Dit leidt onherroepelijk tot conflictstof die er in de praktijk op neer komt dat men water met vuur wil bestrijden!
Het lijkt me nu al duidelijk wat de gevolgen hiervan zullen zijn.

Dit complot is de oorzaak van de echte spanningen in de wereld waar het om draait. Oorlog wordt op die manier gelegitimeerd en de zaak is rond.

2. Ontwikkelingslanden blijven de dupe van geld en multinationals

Alhoewel het lijkt of multinationals geld pompen in de armoede bestrijding wordt deze op het eerte gezicht menslievende actie weerlegt door onzinnige informatie te verstrekken over percentages e.d.
De ontwikkelingslanden staan eigenlijk gewoon met lege handen en dat zal voorlopig ook wel zo blijven.
De norm van 0,7% respectievelijk 50% zijn gewoon zoethoudertjes om de wereld er van te overtuigen dat men ergens mee bezig is, in werkelijkheid wrijft men zich in de handen en blijven multinationals grof incasseren.
Corruptie regeert de wereld waarmee de crisis zijn werkelijke gezicht laat zien.

Oxfam novib predendeert hiermee een voorloper te zijn in het proces om de wereld vrede een kans te bieden echter zij bewerktstelligt juist de oorlog.

Conclusie

De werkelijke oplossing van het probleem ligt in het stoppen met onzinverhalen en keiharde maatregelen te treffen tegen de corruptie die op het ogenblik een ingeburgerd begrip is geworden waarmee al duidelijk wordt hoe vreselijk de wereld er aan toe is.

Stop met de waanzin om de wereld bewust kapot te maken en wees een vent en trek je eigen conclusies.
Uiteindelijk zal het goede overwinnen, dit kan tijdens of na mijn leven zijn maar het is de wet van Murfy!
Daarom speel open kaart nu het nog kan, wanneer de koppigheid zich doorzet zal aan de vrede een vreselijk bloedbad voorafgaan.
Dit doemscenario lijkt ons te zijn weggelegt.
Protesteer, provoceer, gebruik je verstand. WE ZULLEN UITEINDELIJK OVERWINNEN!!!!!!!

Janjakob Koning
007tx1@live.de

White House Dream Team .US

i am rasa — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:45:43 EST

I have applied to be in charge of the White House Basketball Court where the Dream Team will be meeting for the next four years or more. Join the Dream Team as play begings January 20th 2009.

And when the Dream Team isn't meeting I have applied to be on the board of the Peace Institute, time we make a real peace with the natives, and work our way outward from the heart of reality.

mobile phone corruption

Unknown user — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 07:01:49 EST

When one quarter of the computers are invectid by a virus the problems are so big you can't solve them without beeing angry!

When you get angry people will react in a way which is very predictable and will make mistakes again!

Thisis a way you can solve new corruption because corruption per defenition goes with terror, this is right wing terror!!

When you underestimate the terror you can't win this war against computercorruption!

It's gigantic and will go into history as a total human madness, sorry if you see me laughing.

Universal Health Care

FREEFLYR — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 11:28:38 EST

I'm sure this idea will go nowhere but here it is anyway.

I was thinking about paying for UHC and since I do not like the insurance companies running the health care system I looked at my auto insurnce of which I buy the minimum to be on the road, all of the premium is related to health care related expenses. ALL of the premium is for bodily injury.

So I got to thinking if there was UHC why would a person have to pay those premiums to the auto insurance industry? If a person were in a car accident and there was UHC the expenses would be paid anyway. Why not just pay a portion of the auto insurance directly to a UHC program by an amount reduced by the profits if the auto industry and lawyer fees for accidents, I mean the only way a person can be sure to NEVER be in a accident is to never get in a car.

This would raise billions of dollars for a UHC program.

Just an idea to think upon.

ok. bye.

Makiah's Bill

i am rasa — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:49:30 EST

Makiah's Bill

NOW, that WE have children in the White House, let's make 'the children' the nation's TOP PRIORITY, as they are in Barack and Michelle's life.

Let's be a part of the integral age, while surfing the agriculture, industrial, information, conceptual, integral, magic and utopian ages. Let's ALL be part of the Dream Team, of playing the ultimate game of life.

Let's get Makiah's Bill on every desktop of every congressman, senator and the President of the United States of America. This is a TOP PRIORITY bill coming from the bottom UP...Let's start the NEW Year, January 20th 2009 with the world's highest priority, the children.

makiah.com

Re: Robin the Nurse

Robin Laurain — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:46:17 EST

My name is Robin the Nurse. Unlike Joe the Plumber, I want Barack Obama to be President of the United States. Joe the Plumber and I have something in common besides both being Americans. We have a fan by the name of Rhonda from Fresno.

Rhonda from Fresno has become my biggest fan/stalker as she has commented on several of my blogs. She talks about Joe the Plumber on one of them. She tells me I am ignorant and in the dark because I support Obama/Biden.

How did I get so lucky to get such a fan? How many profiles are there on MyBo? After reading several of her rants about how great Palin is, I maintained my cool and didn't tell her what an ignorant **** I thought she was ala Dan Akroyd's-"Jane, you ignorant ****!" Oh, but I wanted to. I thought-"wwod, since he is my Messiah",( according to Ms. Fresno).

She even inspired me to write a little prayer which I posted in a reply to one of her rants. What is it about some Christians where they feel they can judge who a real Christian is? I have been told many times what I am because I support Barack Obama. Good Christian isn't usually what comes out of thier mouth's.

Another thing, I love about the Rhonda from Fresno types are when they ask me, "How would you like it if your mother got an abortion and you couldn't be born?" I guess I wouldn't care much, since I wouldn't know that she had one, since I wasn't born." But, if I did know it out of mental telepathy or osmosis or something, this is what I would think: "Wow, my mommy feels so trapped that she wants to abort me. Where is her support system? Didn't they teach her sex education ?Why does she feel she is so alone? Where are all the Christians to help her through this? I feel great comapssion for my Mommy. I wish there was someone to help her." That, Rhonda from Fresno, is how I would feel.

Also, before you start judging who a good Christian is, I want to see your credentials. Did God deputize you to go forth and identify the good Christians? What's that? No, you answered. Oh, I didn't think so. You just took upon your self to cast stones at my morals and that of Barack Obama. Those who live in glass trailors shouldn't throw stones.

I personally abhor abortion. I worked in a clinic that performed them as a counselor. When the clinic realized I was also a nurse, they put me in the room where they performed the abortions. I found myself praying for the soul of the aborted fetus. Never did I feel anything but compassion towards the mother. I realized that I could not do that kind of nursing and left.

I still am pro-choice and I never would vote for a candidate because of one issue. Abortion is a serious decision that a woman needs to make for herself. It should not be made by the Goverment, Rhonda from Fresno, or the good Christians.

So in closing, Rhonda and your followers, keep reading my blogs. Visit my site http:/r.yuwie.com/robin1. Visit Michigan Nurses and Advocates for Obama.

Who knows? You may actually learn something about tolerance, compassion, and love instead of spewing your hate-mongering, bigoted view points. Feel free to bring your good friend, Joe the Plumber with you!

Saxby Chambliss go home

Mike — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:46:41 EDT

To all folks of color living in the state of Georgia, Saxby Chambliss is in my opinion a racist and judging by his recent statement he proves my point. As the Huffington Post reports:

Chambliss: "The Other Folks Are Voting"

Now we all know what he means by the other folks. Chambliss as you remember totally destroyed a true war hero in Max Cleland. I would urge all people of color to turn out and vote in such numbers that Saxby will wonder what hit him. Make Jim Martin your next Senator.

This man does not deserve to represent the state of Georgia. The population in Georgia is not all white and Mr. Chambliss was not sent to Washington to represent just white folks.

On November 4th send Saxby Chambliss a clear message that Georgia is made up of many colors and his services are no longer needed.

Makiah is Voting Today!

i am rasa — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:07:54 EDT

I am fifty seven years old, registered to vote for the first time ever. My nine year old son, Makiah is passionate about Barack being president. I am giving up my first time ever vote to Makiah and his first vote ever...makiah.com

Trick and treat!

Change Must Happen

Mike — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:34:23 EDT

McCain's Last Ditch Effort: Tying Obama To Muslim WorldThis article is from today’s Huffington Post. First let me say to all Muslim’s and Arab’s and anyone else from the Middle East that I am truly discussed with this assault on your faith and loyalty to this nation. McCain is saying that if you’re from the Middle East then you’re not to be trusted and that somehow you must be a terrorist.

The McCain campaign has sunk to a new low in politics, who’s next the Irish, the Italians, the Germens, how about those of Asian decent. This man is truly a racist and he has proven it with this recent attack.

Mr. McCain I work with folks of Muslim decent, does that make me a terrorist? You are clearly stating that just because Barack Obama has associations with Muslim’s then he is to be feared. Shame on you, and shame on your running mate.

Speaking of your running mate lets talk about her connection to the Alaska Independence Party. In March of this year she addressed their convention and gave them words of encouragement and told them to keep up the good work. Her husband was and may still be a member of this party. This is the group that advocates seceding from the United States. So I guess we could say the Sarah Palin doesn’t want to be an American. Why should we elect someone to the second highest job in this country who doesn’t even want to be a part of American?

I would have to say that her actions and those of her husband should be considered acts of treason. What I just said sounds stupid and insane and that’s my point. The fact that they had a relationship with this political party doesn’t make them believers in that party. It doesn’t mean they approve of what this party stands for.

McCain is asking us to assume we know the thoughts of Barack Obama and his motives without knowing anything, just a simple assumption will do. That is in his mind, should be good enough to put him in the White House. That’s not good enough Mr. McCain and judging from your actions neither are you sir. You have not only divided this country to a level that may take generations to reunite you have also managed to destroy your legacy and any honor you have left.

I am sick and tired of fear mongering as a reason to re-elect Republicans. Looks like the only thing we have to fear are Republicans. Mr. McCain go back to Arizona slip quietly into retirement and leave the rest of us alone. We are tired of living in fear.

Even if McCain is elected the question remains, how will he deal with a volatile Middle East now that he has insulted everyone living in that region? He has painted all Muslim’s and Arab’s as terrorists. He has put this country in jeopardy. From one side of his mouth he talks about winning the peace from the other we hear only fear of a people that with the exception of a few are peaceful and want to remain that way. I doubt our future holds that reality now that Mr. McCain has spoken.

John McCain and Sarah Palin attract only those who hate and fear all around them. These are people who see the world through a narrow peep hole. Everything else that is good is out of their field of vision. We all live in a world where not all aspects of it are agreeable. But we live in it anyway and do the best we can. Their fear is so deep, they find it hard to cope with day to day life unless it fits into their mold of what life should be.

Life is not a sure thing, we only get one chance at it. Yet some take their chance and squander it by invoking their vision of reality on the rest of use. I for one don’t have the time I have left on this planet to worry about how others live. My life and time is precious to me and how I live it is my business.

A McCain/Palin administration to me represents a dramatic change in the time I have left. They leave out words such as Choice, Privacy and in my opinion Freedom. We cannot allow this change to happen on November 4th. I urge everyone to get out and vote in numbers so strong that no one can deny us our future. I truly worry for my country, let’s all join together and end this worry next Tuesday.

It's Not OVER!!!!!!!!!!

Mike — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:45:26 EDT

Not to be a broken record but it's not over until the last vote has been counted. Even though the Poll's show Barack with a nice lead, I still feel and act as if McCain could pull this thing off. I have to believe and think like that so I don't become complacent. And I urge all of you to think the same way.

Don't believe Poll's, don't listen to pundits and don't believe those who say we've got this election won, because we don't. We must continue to knock on doors, make phone calls, talk to our neighbors, give time at your local campaign office and show up to monitor polling places on Election Day.

Believe it, if this election can be stolen the Republicans will find a way. Remember 2000 and 2004. It's our responsibility to change this country and we can't do it if we don't vote. Vote early if you can, if not, make sure you get to the polls on November 4th. If you need a ride call your local campaign office and they will provide transportation for you. If that is not an option, ask a neighbor to drive you or drop off your ballot.

If you know of someone who needs help getting to the polls then step up and provide that service. This fight will go until the end. The end is at 8:00 pm west coast time on November Fourth and not a moment sooner. The only reason we have to lose this election is that we stopped working. Our future and our kid's future rely on the outcome of this election. Don't get complacent, keep working hard and we will win.

I know it sound obsessive, but our path to victory is to live and breathe this campaign for the next seven days. Focus on nothing but the outcome we want and that is the outcome we will have. WORK,WORK,WORK,VOTE,VOTE,VOTE!!!!!!

McCain's Terrorist Friend

Mike — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:36:21 EDT

An Artical From the Chicago Tribune.

It points out that maybe McCain pals around with a terrorist. A good read for what it's worth.

With friends like these ...McCain finds his own radical friend

See photos of Bill Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground who in 1995 hosted a campaign event for ObamaSteve Chapman May 4, 2008 Can a presidential candidate justify a long and friendly relationship with someone who, back in the 1970s, extolled violence and committed crimes in the name of a radical ideology -- and who has never shown remorse or admitted error? When the candidate in question is Barack Obama, John McCain says no. But when the candidate in question is John McCain, he's not so sure.

Obama has been justly criticized for his ties to former Weather Underground member Bill Ayers, who in 1995 hosted a campaign event for Obama and in 2001 gave him a $200 contribution. The two have also served together on the board of a foundation. When their connection became known, McCain minced no words: "I think not only a repudiation but an apology for ever having anything to do with an unrepentant terrorist is due the American people."What McCain didn't mention is that he has his own Bill Ayers -- in the form of G. Gordon Liddy. Now a conservative radio talk-show host, Liddy spent more than 4 years in prison for his role in the 1972 Watergate burglary. That was just one element of what Liddy did, and proposed to do, in a secret White House effort to subvert the Constitution. Far from repudiating him, McCain has embraced him.

How close are McCain and Liddy? At least as close as Obama and Ayers appear to be. In 1998, Liddy's home was the site of a McCain fundraiser. Over the years, he has made at least four contributions totaling $5,000 to the senator's campaigns -- including $1,000 this year.

Last November, McCain went on his radio show. Liddy greeted him as "an old friend," and McCain sounded like one. "I'm proud of you, I'm proud of your family," he gushed. "It's always a pleasure for me to come on your program, Gordon, and congratulations on your continued success and adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great."Which principles would those be? The ones that told Liddy it was fine to break into the office of the Democratic National Committee to plant bugs and photograph documents? The ones that made him propose to kidnap anti-war activists so they couldn't disrupt the 1972 Republican National Convention? The ones that inspired him to plan the murder (never carried out) of an unfriendly newspaper columnist?

Liddy was in the thick of the biggest political scandal in American history -- and one of the greatest threats to the rule of law. He has said he has no regrets about what he did, insisting that he went to jail as "a prisoner of war."

All this may sound like ancient history. But it's from the same era as the bombings Ayers helped carry out as a member of the Weather Underground. And Liddy's penchant for extreme solutions has not abated.

In 1994, after the disastrous federal raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, he gave some advice to his listeners: "Now if the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms comes to disarm you and they are bearing arms, resist them with arms. Go for a head shot; they're going to be wearing bulletproof vests. ... Kill the sons of bitches."

He later backed off, saying he meant merely that people should defend themselves if federal agents came with guns blazing. But his amended guidance was not exactly conciliatory: Liddy also said he should have recommended shots to the groin instead of the head. If that wasn't enough to inflame any nut cases, he mentioned labeling targets "Bill" and "Hillary" when he practiced shooting.

Given Liddy's record, it's hard to see why McCain would touch him with a 10-foot pole. On the contrary, he should be returning his donations and shunning his show. Yet the senator shows no qualms about associating with Liddy -- or celebrating his service to their common cause.

How does McCain explain his howling hypocrisy on the subject? He doesn't. I made repeated inquiries to his campaign aides, which they refused to acknowledge, much less answer. On this topic, the pilot of the Straight Talk Express would rather stay parked in the garage.

That's an odd policy for someone who is so forthright about his rival's responsibility. McCain thinks Obama should apologize for associating with a criminal extremist. To which Obama might reply: After you.

A friendly reminder

Mike — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:01:22 EDT

Just want to remind everyone the election is not over until the polls close all across America on November 4th. We need to fight for vote over the next 11 days. There's no letting up until the last vote has been counted.

The pressure is on and the only way to relieve it is to win. So get out get off your couch and vote early, volunteer, donate and do whatever you can to ensure victory. On November 5th we'll all feel better if our efforts are successful.

We must vote in numbers that not even the Republican suppression machine can handle.

Come to The O Party

i am rasa — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:44:39 EDT

Online event registration

John Bush, George McCain it hard to tell twins apart.

Mike — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:55:22 EDT

When John McCain ran for President in 2000 the Bush Campaign eviscerated him will negative ads and Robocalls. Some of the calls were out and out racist and were key in the destruction of McCain's candidacy. Now we find John McCain using the same tactics.

He is behaving exactly as George Bush was in 2000. And yet he tries to separate himself from George Bush. John McCain has chosen to use the Karl Rove playbook in a last ditch attempt to win this election.

In 2000 I seriously considered voting for John McCain because I saw him as someone I could trust and a man of great integrity. I 'm let wondering where that man went. It is sad that his career might end with such disgrace and dishonor it's almost too hard to watch.

America is experiencing one of the worst financial disasters since the great depression and must come together in order to solve it. The McCain campaign has spent the last month dividing the country with their incessant attacks against their opponent. Their explanation as too how to fix the economy has been nonexistent.

No matter who wins this election, the damage has been done and the country will be divided which will only make our efforts to correct our financial woes and even harder task. I just wish John McCain would have considered actually putting Country First.

Local Man Dying Works to Live to see Obama Elected.

Mike — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:06:00 EDT

Last night I was doing some volunteer work at my local precinct office. Around 9:30 PM a conference call came in from all the precinct offices in the state. This call was to discuss the day's events and to plan strategy. When the question was asked, how the calling went today, one person relayed this story. His office had called a gentleman that day and found the man was as he put it, on his death bed. Upon hearing this, the person making the call sought to end it. The man then spoke up and said I love Obama so much that I am trying to stay alive until Election Day to see him become President.

At this point the office I was at went silent. We couldn't believe what we just heard. This man even though he is dying is working so hard to live so he could see Barack Obama take back the White House. It made me think, we who are healthy must be willing to work just as hard over the next two weeks to elect Barack Obama, we owe it to this elderly gentleman to make sure that at the end of his life his dream has been fulfilled.

I urge everyone to go out and sign up at your local precinct office, volunteer to canvass, make phone calls or anything else required to ensure Democrats win on November 4th. We only have two weeks left and just as the man I spoke of, each remaining day is precious and we must use this time to ensure his hard work pays off and has meaning.

In some ways all of our lives depend on the outcome of the election. I want to wake up on November 5th knowing that my life has changed for the better and that hope is alive and well in this great country.

Michele "McCarthy" Bachmann

Mike — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:38:46 EDT

It would appear that Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann longs for those good ole McCarthy days. This was a shameful time in our countries history when hundreds of lives were destroyed. In some cases it took those targeted a couple of generation to recover from a witch hunt that should have never happened. It was fear mongering then and its fear mongering now and it must stop.

Ms. Bachmann is not someone we want or need to represent the great state of Minnesota. She is an embarrassment to the state and all those she represents. She has called for an investigation into Congressional Patriotism. The only thing that needs to be investigated is Ms. Bachmann’s sanity.

I just wonder who the real threat to this country is. History shows us what can happen when we allow a bunch of paranoid individuals, with little capacity to think and live in reality, engage in witch hunts with their only intention being to make secure the world they live in. This world is a small one with very little room for the rest of us.

The good news, just as with a star that burns out and its twinkle no longer visible, this is what await Ms. Bachmann on November 4th. A star that once shined brightly is now nothing more than a Black Hole sucking the life out of everything and anything that crosses her path. Even this Black Hole will eventually collapse into itself and never more affect the mass that is this great country.

Spreading the Wealth

Doug Robinson — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:01:49 EDT

John McCain recently ridiculed Barack Obama for telling “Joe the Plumber” – in reality “Sam the contractor,” behind on paying his taxes – he wanted to “spread the wealth.” McCain said he wanted “Joe” to keep his wealth – actually much less than reported – to himself. McCain insisted that Obama’s tax plan would hurt Joe’s plan of buying his employer’s plumbing business when all indications are that Sam would actually benefit from Obama’s plan. Such is the continued misrepresentation that has become a hallmark of the McCain campaign. Obama’s desire to “spread the wealth” deserves more consideration.

Sarah Palin to Depressed to lead?

Mike — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:58:12 EDT

A recent Huffington Post article states, Palin's Staffers Keep Her Away From The News To Avoid Being "Depressed". So she apparently is depressed over reports questioning her ability to lead. I can't help but wonder how depressed will she be when faced with another terrorist attack.

Imagine that John McCain is no longer able to fulfill his duties as President and Sarah Palin is now our new President. She finds herself in the situation room with her joint chiefs looking to her for leadership as we find this country under attack. There might be a reason she is depressed over these reports on her inability to lead because maybe Sarah Palin herself has run this scenario over in her mind and realizes she isn't qualified.

I think most Americans would be petrified at the thought of having to make decisions that determine the safety of this country. There's nothing wrong with that and it doesn't make Sarah Palin less of an American, it just makes her less qualified to lead. One of the greatest strengths of a leader is having fear but never showing it.

The next President will face many difficult challenges and must be up for the task, Sarah Palin is not.

Can't take grandpa anywhere!!

Mike — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:38:15 EDT

A scene from last night’s debate

Don't believe the Polls

Mike — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:44:21 EDT

A new CBS poll has Obama with a 14 point lead. Being of a very suspicious nature I can't help but wonder if this is a manufactured result. Is the media which I believe is controlled by conservatives, producing a number with the hope that Democrats will get complacent and not vote assuming the election is over. Let's face it, there will be those who will see this large margin and figure Obama's got it in the bag and simply not show up to vote.

I want everyone to have the mindset that this election is tied and the fight must continue right up to when the polls close on November fourth. We need to assume that an assault on our Democracy will come from every corner of the Republican play book on stealing elections. And this includes the media. If we understand that polls mean nothing and its only votes that count, then on Election Day Barrack Obama will become the 44th President of the United States.

I can't stress enough that every day counts and every vote counts and the countdown begins right now with 20 days to go. Our future is too important to let this slip away and more importantly to let this election be stolen from use yet again. The only numbers that count are the number of voters who show up to elect Barrack Obama our next President.

Please spread the word to everyone you know, we must win.

Mr. Ayers can stop the assult on Barrack Obama

Mike — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:20:59 EDT

I don't support those things Bill Ayers did during the late 60's and early 70's but I do recall back then we didn't call folks like Mr. Ayers terrorist, we called them radicals.

Now it seems that we attach the label of terrorist to anyone who doesn’t agree with the government or especially Republicans.

The fact that the McCain campaign continues to call Mr. Ayers a domestic terrorist I think would be grounds for a defamation of character lawsuit. Bill Ayers has for at least the last 30 years been a model citizen and he was never convicted of any crimes. Yet they continue to label him.

The statements coming from John McCain and Sarah Palin have the potential to put Mr. Ayers and his family in great danger given the current climate. This I think gives Mr. Ayers even more grounds for legal action.

Presidents often pardon individuals before they leave office and often we disagree with those decisions. Life it not always fare and it may not be fare to forgive Bill Ayers but it is fare to say we need to move past what happened 40 years ago and let this man and his family live their lives in peace. Bill Ayres knows what he did or didn’t do and he is the only one who must live with that knowledge. I’m sure we all have more important things to think about.

We tend to latch on to certain words and give them meanings that define evil. Terrorist is one of those words. I imagine the British viewed the founders as terrorist and yet we applaud those brave men and women whose resistance to an oppressive government spawned a new country. Just as food for thought, had Mr. Ayers live back then he would have been seen as a hero. Times change our perception.

We can continue to throw around words that really have no meaning since we all seem to define them differently or we can start using words we do understand like Respect, Honor and Integrity to move us into the future.

Bill Ayers certainly has a right to insist that his accusers face him and defend their claims. He is still an American citizen and retains all rights afforded to Americans, he cannot be denied those basic rights. I think the attacks on Barrack Obama could be resolved with an attack from Mr. Ayers aimed at the McCain campaign and the RNC in the form an legal action in a court of law.

McCain's own ties to Terrorist.

Mike — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:03:39 EDT

Check out the Huffington Post latest artical. Watch out for guilt by association.

EXCLUSIVE... MCCAIN'S TRANSITION CHIEF AIDED SADDAM HUSSEIN

The new dirty words

Mike — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:57:00 EDT

The Republican Party has been very successful at defining Arabs and Muslims as someone you can’t trust and should be very afraid of, shame on them. A recent CNN article points out that there are 1.2 million Arab Americans and 7 million Muslim Americans in this country. They have affectively insulted and isolated 8.2 million honest hard working Americans.

Every Arab and Muslim American should be outraged and should send a clear message this November that they will not stand by and allow the Republicans to dismiss there contribution to what makes this country great. This is quickly becoming one of America’s darkest moments as we see a group of good people being used for political gain. Great leaders bring people together, Republicans have chosen to divide this nation. They are not fit to lead.

Obama’s No Muslim

Mike — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:40:40 EDT

First let me say that being a Muslim is not a sin and there are many good people that happen to be Muslims. The same applies to Christianity as well as all other religions.

It’s not religion that is bad it is the people who use religion to further a cause that is often destructive. Should society hate all Christians because a few have seen fit to kill doctors and blow up clinics in the name of God to further their cause of life? We must stop using religious beliefs to paint those we disagree with as evil. Real evil is not religious based it is based in human desire.

Islam requires all believers to pray several times a day. No matter where they are they must stop and pray at certain times of the day. Believers must also attend Mosk. Where’s the evidence that Barrack Obama has ever attended a Mosk let alone while campaigning stopping to pray. Don’t you think if he was truly a Muslim the McCain campaign would have this evidence to prove what they have been saying and what their supporters now believe?

The fact is that Barrack Obama is a Christian and there is evidence to prove that. He was baptized in and regularly attends a Christian church. Now I don’t know how versed McCain supporters are in the ways of Islam, but I would bet you that if a Muslim were to attend a Christian church and received baptism from that church they would no longer be a Muslim in the eyes of Islam. I would also bet you that the Muslim community would have made comments about that. They have not and he is not a Muslim the evidence clearly proves that.

My challenge to all McCain supporters is to stop believing what the campaign and those who tell you what to think and start thinking for yourselves. Take time to verify statements you hear. Knowing the truth makes us all better Americans.

Was Congress told about the collapse in March 2008?

omega — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:11:38 EDT

Here is the original information received. It appeared first, not in the U.S., but in Brisbane, Australia.

Not only were members of Congress told of information on the new surveillance provisions, as was the publicly stated reason for the closed door session, they were also informed of:

1. the imminent collapse of the U.S. economy to occur by September 2008,

2. the imminent collapse of US federal government finances by February 2009,

3. the possibility of Civil War inside the USA as a result of the collapse,

4. advance round-ups of "insurgent U.S. citizens" likely to move against the government,

5. the detention of those rounded-up at "REX 84" camps constructed throughout the USA,

6. the possibility of retaliation against members of Congress for the collapses,

7. the location of "safe facilities" for members of Congress and their families to reside during expected massive civil unrest,

8. the necessary and unavoidable merger of the United States with Canada (for its natural resources) and with Mexico (for its cheap labor pool),

9. the issuance of a new currency - The Amero - for all three nations as the proposed solution to the coming economic disaster.

Members of Congress were FORBIDDEN to reveal what was discussed. Several are so furious and concerned about the future of the country, they have begun leaking info, believing their oath to the Constitution over-rides their confidentiality oath.

To see a thorough analysis of the validity to these claims - including video of two Congressmen, one Republican and one Democrat, announcing on C-Span that they were either told martial law was in effect or threatened with martial law (during the first House vote on the Bailout Bill), see TennTimes the News at TennTimes.org. There are more than 20 videos on the martial law question and the Secret Meeting of March 13, 2008..

The REAL John McCain/Sarah Palin in their own words

omega — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:00:05 EDT

A number of new videos have been posted at TennTimes.org revealing in his own words, John McCain's contradictory and, yes, "erratic" positions on a growing number of issues, as well as new video - all in one spot - about Sarah Palin and the extent of her so-called "experience."

Apparently, her husband has as much or more experience as Alaskan governor since it was he, not her, who was sitting behind the governor's desk at least 50% of the time, according to the devastating investigative report issued last week by a bipartisan vote of the Alaskan legislature.

Perhaps she was on that tiny, bedtroom-sized island watching Russia "from her house."

Actuarial studies of American POWs' lifespans indicate that it is almost a certainty that Sarah Palin would become president if the McCain-Palin team were elected.

The new material is in the McCain section of Election 2008 on the TennTimes site. It contains far more than could possibly be posted here - and, of course, it's not possible (to my knowledge) to post the videos here.

Was Congress warned of the economic collapse in March?

omega — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:50:55 EDT

It was just before 6 pm on a blustery cold night in Washington, D.C. on March 13, 2008 when a bomb was dropped on the floor of the United States House of Representatives by Democrat House Majority Leader Steny Hoyes. The announcement left House members stunned, confused and, in some cases, angry and suspicious.

Republican Minority Whip Roy Blunt was requesting a secret session, supposedly to see new evidence on the controversial FISA (Federal Intelligence Security Act) that was supposed to grant retroactive immunity to Verizon, America Online and other telecommunication and Internet provider companies that had been illegally spying on the conversations and communications of hundreds of millions of American citizens without a warrant.

Just a short time before, a federal judge that ruled that there was conclusive evidence that President George W. Bush had committed at least 30 felonies by violating the Constitution in such spying. The President was desperately trying to go back in time and make those acts legal to avoid impeachment.

The members of the House were confused and uncertain, even fearful, because this was only the third time since 1925 that such a session had been called. There were only a few members who had ever experienced anything like this.

The House met frequently in secret session until the end of the War of 1812. The House had previously met in closed session only 5 times since 1825. The following is a full list of those sessions, along with their dates and the reasons they were called (Source - Wikipedia.org):

Reason Dates

Electronic Surveillance of Terror Suspects March 13, 2008 (10:11pm-11:09pm)

U.S. support for paramilitary operations in Nicaragua July 19, 1983

Involvement of Cuba and communist countries in Nicaragua February 25, 1980

Implementing the Panama Canal Act of 1979 June 20, 1979

Trade between the U.S. and Great Britain May 27, 1830

Relations with Indian tribes December 27, 1825

Half of the Country First

Mike — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:26:41 EDT

The scenes from recent McCain-Palin rallies remind me of something from the buildup of Nazi Germany. Hitler held many rallies trying to convince the crowd that anyone that was not of Aryan blood was inferior and should be destroyed. The crowds believed him, no one said anything and many died. John McCain and Sarah Palin have to date said nothing about the vicious comments coming from many of their supporters. In fact they have encouraged them to make those comments.

In the last two weeks the McCain Campaign has managed to further divide this country using hatred, bigotry and racism. And still they have said nothing to change this destructive course. Now we hear from McCain himself he plans to bring this dialog to the next Presidential debate. Hitler had one objective, Germany First. McCain's idea of Country First involves only one half of this country and judging from the comments of his supporters, the rest of us are inferior and should be destroyed.

It's not my intent to compare McCain to Hitler, it is my intent to point out just how fast a society can degrade into mob rule when encouraged by their leaders. Great leaders bring people together, those who divide are not fit to lead.

Heads up: As of 10/1, 1st Brigade, 3rd ID, deployed in the U.S.

Tresa {utah4obama.org} — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:11:26 EDT

IS THIS REALLY TRUE?The First Brigade, Third Infantry Division has been deployed in the
U.S. for so called "crowd control."

Naomi Watts wrote about this event in AlterNet this morning. She may
be overreacting, maybe not. It's worth considering. It appears to me
that W is backing up his fear-mongering with a pretty good sized
stick. If, in the future, martial law is declared, you might want to
be prepared with food and water storage. I am. I hope you will get
prepared. You may want to alert your friends and family about this
story as a precaution. Here's the story in its entirety so you can
judge for yourself if this troop deployment by itself or in
combination with other events is a threat to ordinary citizens:
--John

ALTERNET STORY BEGINS: (www.AlterNet.org)

Background: the First Brigade of the Third Infantry Division, three to
four thousand soldiers, has been deployed in the United States as of
October 1. Their stated mission is the form of crowd control they
practiced in Iraq, subduing "unruly individuals," and the management
of a national emergency. I am in Seattle and heard from the brother of
one of the soldiers that they are engaged in exercises now. Amy
Goodman reported that an Army spokesperson confirmed that they will
have access to lethal and non lethal crowd control technologies and
tanks.

George Bush struck down Posse Comitatus, thus making it legal for
military to patrol the U.S. He has also legally established that in
the "War on Terror," the U.S. is at war around the globe and thus the
whole world is a battlefield. Thus the U.S. is also a battlefield.

He also led change to the 1807 Insurrection Act to give him far
broader powers in the event of a loosely defined "insurrection" or
many other "conditions" he has the power to identify. The Constitution
allows the suspension of habeas corpus -- habeas corpus prevents us
from being seized by the state and held without trial -- in the event
of an "insurrection." With his own army force now, his power to call a
group of protesters or angry voters "insurgents" staging an
"insurrection" is strengthened.

U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman of California said to Congress, captured on
C-Span and viewable on YouTube, that individual members of the House
were threatened with martial law within a week if they did not pass
the bailout bill:

"The only way they can pass this bill is by creating and sustaining a
panic atmosphere. … Many of us were told in private conversations that
if we voted against this bill on Monday that the sky would fall, the
market would drop two or three thousand points the first day and a
couple of thousand on the second day, and a few members were even told
that there would be martial law in America if we voted no."

If this is true and Rep. Sherman is not delusional, I ask you to
consider that if they are willing to threaten martial law now, it is
foolish to assume they will never use that threat again. It is also
foolish to trust in an orderly election process to resolve this
threat. And why deploy the First Brigade? One thing the deployment
accomplishes is to put teeth into such a threat.

I interviewed Vietnam veteran, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and
patriot David Antoon for clarification:

"If the President directed the First Brigade to arrest Congress, what
could stop him?"

"Nothing. Their only recourse is to cut off funding. The Congress
would be at the mercy of military leaders to go to them and ask them
not to obey illegal orders."

"But these orders are now legal?'"

"Correct."

"If the President directs the First Brigade to arrest a bunch of
voters, what would stop him?"

"Nothing. It would end up in courts but the action would have been taken."

"If the President directs the First Brigade to kill civilians, what
would stop him?"

"Nothing."

"What would prevent him from sending the First Brigade to arrest the
editor of the Washington Post?"

"Nothing. He could do what he did in Iraq -- send a tank down a street
in Washington and fire a shell into the Washington Post as they did
into Al Jazeera, and claim they were firing at something else."

"What happens to members of the First Brigade who refuse to take up
arms against U.S. citizens?"

"They'd probably be treated as deserters as in Iraq: arrested,
detained and facing five years in prison. In Iraq a study by Ann
Wright shows that deserters -- reservists who refused to go back to
Iraq -- got longer sentences than war criminals."

"Does Congress have any military of their own?"

"No. Congress has no direct control of any military units. The
Governors have the National Guard but they report to the President in
an emergency that he declares."

"Who can arrest the President?"

"The Attorney General can arrest the President after he leaves or
after impeachment."

[Note: Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi has asserted it is possible for
District Attorneys around the country to charge President Bush with
murder if they represent districts where one or more military members
who have been killed in Iraq formerly resided.]

"Given the danger do you advocate impeachment?"

"Yes. President Bush struck down Posse Comitatus -- which has
prevented, with a penalty of two years in prison, U.S. leaders since
after the Civil War from sending military forces into our streets --
with a 'signing statement.' He should be impeached immediately in a
bipartisan process to prevent the use of military forces and mercenary
forces against U.S. citizens"

"Should Americans call on senior leaders in the Military to break
publicly with this action and call on their own men and women to
disobey these orders?"

"Every senior military officer's loyalty should ultimately be to the
Constitution. Every officer should publicly break with any illegal
order, even from the President."

"But if these are now legal. If they say, 'Don't obey the Commander in
Chief,' what happens to the military?"

"Perhaps they would be arrested and prosecuted as those who refuse to
participate in the current illegal war. That's what would be
considered a coup."

"But it's a coup already."

"Yes."

Be glad when it is over

Robin Laurain — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:29:51 EDT

I don't know if any of you feel the same, but I will be happy when this election is over and John heads back to Arizonia. The negativity of this campaign and the lies the McCain camp spread about Obama is maddening.

When Obama is in office, we can get down to the daunting, but not impossible task of getting this country back on the right track. McCain's desperate attempts to disparage Barack Obama have diminished him. Sarah Palin is a laughing stock. She is being used and reduced to a cartoon.

We have serious issues facing this country. I for one, will be happy to get on with it.

A Plan for Home Foreclosures

omega — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:45:01 EDT

While both Democrats and Republicans promised relief for homeowners in the bailout plan, when it was finally passed, it provided nothing whatsoever - just more bailouts for AIG's $500,000 parties and Lehman Brother's $10 billion in bonuses.

Americans understandably feel betrayed!

Here's a simple plan that could be enacted immediately - for Main Street.

American homeowners are expected to lose 22 million homes to foreclosure in the next two years. Because consumer financial security is the engine of national economic security, addressing this issue is of prime importance.

Distractions, Disfunctions

Stephen — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:44:58 EDT

It seems to have taken awhile, but we have finally entered the phase of the general election cycle where get to know the real timbre of the candidates. I, of course, am refering to the character attack ad portion of this season. At this point, I am sure everyone and their dog has heard Sarah Palin trying to tie Barack Obama to terrorism, or to racism against whites. We've heard John McCain say Barack Obama only wants to raise taxes, and that he is somehow to blame for the current economic. The best instance of this is when a surrogate for McCain mentioned Barack Obama helping pass a deregulation bill involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The claim had two major problems. First off, the bill was attributed to a Democratic majority of congress, but passed in 2003, when Republicans still controlled both houses. This leads right into the second problem, the bill passed 18 months before Barack Obama took office as a Senator. For the record, John McCain voted for the bill.

Now that we've gotten the distactions on the tables, let's move to disfunctions. They are abound in the McCain campiagn. After accusing Obama of not knowing the difference between strategy and tatics, McCain unveiled his "strategy" for winning against Obama. Unfortunatley for him, his strategy is little more than the same campaign tatics that have brought down campagins in the past. That is, smear attacks, some of which border on defamation are being unleashed. Accusing Obama of consorting with terrorists, veiled accusations of racism, as well as sexism. Unfrotunately for McCain, these tatics are almost always the last resort before total defeat. Even though this has been around since before the RNC, the picking of Sarah Palin is another symptom of disfunction. She was not vetted, her background was not fully explored, her past associations were not discussed, and most of all, whether she is qualified to be president. It seems she was only picked because she might swipe some women votes from Obama. The plan backfired, and not McCain looks like a fool with a bimbo running mate.

There is more, but since I am somewhat absorbed by the debate, I will finish with this. One measure of whether or not a candidate is ready for the office of president is to look at the campaign they run. Obama has run a highly organized, grassroots, and fiscally reponsible campaign. One that has taken him from fringe candidate status to being on the cusp of the presidency. By that standard, Obama is more than ready for the white house. McCain, on the other hand, has been disorganized, disjointed, and erractic. He had to use taxpayer money to finance his campaign. He has lobbyists running his campaign with little of his own apparent imput. He has failed this presidential test miserably, and as such, should never be elected.

My parting thought. Desperate times call for desperate measures. i never really understood that little nugget, until I looked at the situation we as a country are in. We are in desperate times, and we require desperate measures. Would we panic and elect John McCain, or dive into new territory, and elect Barack Obama. It is a desperate measure to elect Obama, but desperate measures are measures that come because nothing else will work. We're taking a chance, and maybe even taking our futures into our hands. However, considering how bad things have gotten, the chance we are taking has a good chance for success. Barack Obama may be the right person at the right place at the right time. It's our future, so let's make it.

Mixed Feelings

Stephen — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:38:41 EDT

Like many in this country right now, I have mixed feelings about all this bailout stuff. A part of me wanted to leave these banks out to dry, and another part feared the economy would collapse if that were the outcome. Like many, I've been worrying that any money that I had tucked away would be there by years end. I already figured my 401k was doomed, and now I even fear for my bank accounts. Now that the bailout is passed, I still wonder if it was a good thing or a necessary thing. I pride myself on my serenity, but it almost seems that it is failing me even now. I'm angry over the whole situation, and still wonder if I, like so many others, am about to be financially ruined. Oddly enough, I know Obama voted for the bailout, but I'm not holding it against him. I believe he voted yea, because he thought it was the right thing to do. I don't really agree with that sentiment, but then again, I have more socialist tendacies than Obama. I think this current crisis proves that capitalism doesn't work, and it's time to try something new. Obama offers that much at least, as opposed to John McCain, who seems to believe that the same people who caused this mess, can clean it up. I'm done for today. Hopefully an hour of Tai Chi will clear my head.

250 Years of Warnings on Wall Street Bailout

omega — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:04:13 EDT

Important Quotes About Money and Courage

We were warned about the present economic collapse for some 250 years, but chose to ignore the warnings. Here are 38 pages of quotes from leading presidents, economists, bankers, Congressmen and others that show how we got to the Wall Street Crisis of 2008.

This is only a small sampling of the 38 pages (printed) that warned us about this day. For more, see www.tenntimes.org/important_quotes_about_money.htm

October Surprise: The Wall Street Bailout Facts

omega — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:13:47 EDT

October Surprise: The Wall Street Bailout Facts
By Jim Moore, Editor, TennTimes.org

Virtually no one likes the bailout proposal being crammed down our throats by President Bush, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Secretary, who insist on calling it a "rescue plan."

Is it truly necessary to avoid a sudden and catastrophic world economic collapse ... or is it a bailout for millionaires who have stolen billions from the American shareholders, homeowners and taxpayers?

In truth, it is both. Frighteningly, it also appears to be the dreaded "October Surprise" in this year's election (unless we get the double-blow with an attack on Iran, as other governments such as Denmark have announced within the past few weeks).

The economic crisis gives George Bush the excuse he needs to declare a national emergency and suspend the elections without the input of Congress or the American people, thanks to the so-called "War on Terror" legislation.

Find more at www.tenntimes.org.

No Bailout!

Mike — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:34:28 EDT

Don’t ask me to bail you out.

Let’s not fool ourselves, the government has stated that this bailout will cost about $2300 for every man, woman and child. The reality is that children don’t write checks and they don’t pay taxes. There are approximately 120 million tax payers in the United States which translates to roughly $5800 per tax payer. That’s the real amount you’re being asked to pony up to bail out corporations that created this situation out of pure greed.

It’s inexcusable to accept the notion that they didn’t see this coming. Even someone like me a middle class working stiff realized some time ago that if you loan money to those who cannot afford it you’re likely not to see a return. This is exactly what has happened. There was a time in this country when you couldn’t buy a house if you couldn’t afford it, banks simply would not give you a loan.

George Bush wanted everyone in this country to have a house and for a short period of time he was getting his wish. All that’s let is a house of cards and now we find ourselves one card away from complete collapse. It is not fair to ask those who played fair to pay $5800 to those who did not.

Rather then a government bailout, banks might be better off restructuring these loans to a principle and interest loan for a period of say 60 years. With a review every 5 to 10 years to determine if the barrower’s income has increased and if so then fix the loan to a 15 or 30 year period. The only hit the banks will see is the decreased value of the house. They made loans grater then the homes current value at the time of the loans and that they’ll have to eat. They don’t need to foreclose on anyone, they just need to make adjustments.

This bailout is foolish in that the $5800 the government wants from us is money that will not be available to simulate this economy. This is money that will be used to pay off debt and debt is not a commodity. Banks created this problem and now they must feel the pain of solving it.

Principles before Personalities

Robin Laurain — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:38:55 EDT

Issues before glitz. This is a high class beauty pagent for Palin. The media is focused on her lip stick shade and her updos. It is an insult to someone vying to be second-in-command, but Palin buys into it,, smiling her lipstick smile to the crowd and playing every-woman.

Palin is no Sen. Clinton. Clinton is a shark in a pantsuit, but she at least has had a passport for more than a year and actually has been to Russia. Clinton wasn't the right woman for the job. Palin doesn't even deserve to carry Hill's umbrella.

We need women in executive goverment, but only if they deserve to be there. I would rather wait another ten years for the right woman, than settle for any woman.

I can imagine Hill staring Putin down, but I can't imagine Palin and the first dude pulling it off. Comments and feedback appreciated.

I'm Mad as Hell!

Raymond W. Johnson Esq. AICP — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:11:27 EDT

We have endured 28 years of trickle down economics with the result being that productivity has gone up and real wages have gone down. During this period, the has been a massive concentration of wealth in the hands of the few.

Because real wages were falling, middle class America had to increase credit card debt and rely upon refinancing real estate to survive.

As a Nation, we followed Wal-Marts suggestion and went for the cheapest commodities and imported substandard goods from China and other low wage countries. The Administration set up union busting policies to further drive down wages. We provided tax incentives to ship jobs overseas. We ran our own manufacturers out of business.

We subsidized gas guzzling cars and imported hundreds of billions of dollars worth of oil from middle eastern countries. We entered into a stupid war that costs us twelve billion dollars a month to prosecute to help out the administration's oil buddies.

We allowed speculators to artificially drive up the price of oil and gave ourselves $4.00 a gallon gas and $5.00 a gallon diesel fuel. The increased cost of deliveries, combined with the diversion of corn for ethanol hasdriven up grocery prices.

We have a financial industry that was unregulated and maximized their profits. When the underlying economic weakness led to foreclosures, the financial institutions started failing. While their CEO's will take billions of dollars in bonuses, the American people, in order to prevent the total collapse of the economy, we are being forced into saving their butts to prevent a total meltdown of the economy.

The GOP (grease our palms), theoretically the party of financial responsibility, is now the author of the greatest corporate give away in the history of the world. We can't afford to provide health care, or decently fund education, or fund alternative energy but by God we can provide a trillion dollars to bail out corporate America. Wall street was positively giddy about the impact of this massive corporate welfare, with the Dow soaring.

I am a small business owner, really small, payroll of only about 300,000 per year. I bust my butt to make a profit and keep my people employed and provide health care for them. I guess I don't make enough money to get in on this massive corporate giveaway.

The companies we will bail out will make a good profit. Their CEO's will get hundred of millions of dollars in salaries and bonuses and middle class america, what little there is left of it, will be forced to subsidize these companies and their investors.

I for one say ENOUGH! Let them pay for their own salvation. Place heavy taxes on all salaries over $1,000,000 per year and bonuses over $200,000 per year.

Wall street seems to be enjoying the benefits of this bailout, let them help finance it. Place a transaction charge on all stock transactions. Make the transaction charge much greater for short sales. Stop the index funds, and derivitives that are nothing more than legalized gambling that leads to speculation and market distortion.

I'm sure that there are those that will describe this as class warfare, but what have we been going through for the past 28 years of trickle down economics but class warfare.

I AM TOTALLY FED UP WITH THIS CORRUPT SYSTEM I AM ALSO TOTALLY FED UP WITH THE GOP WHO FEELS THAT THEY ARE ENTITLED TO LIE ABOUT WHATEVER THEY WANT TO GET ELECTED AND BY REPEATING THE LIE OFTEN ENOUGH, CONVINCE THOSE IN THIS COUNTRY WHO CANNOT THINK FOR THEMSELVES THAT BLACK IS WHITE AND UP IS DOWN.

HOW ELSE CAN THE CANDIDATEWHO OWNS EIGHT HOUSES AND WHO'S WIFE WEARS A $300,000 OUTFIT TO THE CONVENTION GET THE PUBLIC TO BELIEVE THAT THE CANDIDATE WHO HAD A SINGLE MOTHER WHO DEPENDED UPON FOOD STAMPS, WHO HAD THE TEMENDOUS DISADVANTAGE OF BEING BLACK IN AMERICA, WHO BY HIS OWN EFFORTS GOT AN EXCELLENT COLLEGE EDUCATION AND EXCELLED IN LAW SCHOOL, IS THE ELITEST.

I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THE LIES AND THE DISTORTION AND THE ME FIRST PARTY.

Laws what Laws?

Mike — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:41:05 EDT

I wish that both the Obama and McCain folks would talk about the fact that with all those in Washington and now Alaska ignoring the law and getting away with it, why should anyone in American feel that they must obey the law. Our leaders set the standards and make the laws and the current standard is to now say we don't need to respond to a congressional subpoena and we don't need to respond to a state subpoena and answer questions about ethics.

Sadly we have no power to change the status quo or at least it feels that way. Everyday we hear yet another report of a government official refusing to tell the truth and everyday they get away with it. I need answers, what can we do? Does anyone know?

Are the American people stupid not to see through the McCain attempt to stall the investigation in Alaska. The amount of lawyers they have sent to Alaska alone should tell you there is something to hide. This goes to those who support McCain, if you have nothing to hide then you don't need a lawyer let alone over 30 lawyers to prove you have nothing to hide. It's that simple. Stop drinking the kool-aid open you minds and think for yourselves. There's something here and you can't tell me you don't see it. You may still want to support McCain and that's ok, just demand that he and Palin tell the truth for once. And those who support Obama demand the same. We can't accept no less.

We have laws for a reason and we have jails because some act outside of reason. It's simple, if you fail to respond to a subpoena then you are fined and you go to jail until such time you are willing to cooperate. If we fail to act then we fail the truth and without truth we live a lie.

Demand accountability from those who represent us. Call your Congressman, and Senators and tell them to act. Let's see if we have any power left to change how government works, we may not but at least we can make the call.

Small Town Values vs City Values

Stephen — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:08:16 EDT

While watching the RNC as well as the coverage on it, mainly the Daily Show, I noticed that the Republican party is trying to potrait itself as the party of small town values. I found this somewhat odd, especially since the majority of Americans now live in cities and their suburban satallites. Other than that, I began to wonder what exactly small town values are. It became obvious that many of those espousing those values didn't really know what they were. The best example is when asked by a Daily Show (John Oliver I think) correspondent what those values were, only a generic answer was giving, to which the correspondent humorously replied, "Can you be more generic?" After the convention, I began to mull it over in my head, and came up with a comparison between the small town values of the Republican party and the "city values" (I use this to display the contrast, not necessarily asserting these are city vlaues) of the rest of America. I based this on the known platforms and beliefs of both parties, as well as those of ordinary Americans who have no interest in politics.

First off, small town values that Republican party believes in. Since the Republican platform is authoritarian when it somes to the personal lives of people, I'll start by saying that a rigid class structure is a small town value. In the small town (Republican) mindset, everyone knows their place and doesn't try to move up. This is evidences by policies that are desgined to make the rich richer, and the poor into servants of the rich. Things like no bid contracts for Haliburton, anti Union policies, large tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans, severe criminal penalties for the poor with slaps on the wrist for the wealthy. Closely related to this first value is the value is the value of the monolithic cultural force, namely religion. Because of it's large evangelical base, Republicans have attempted and are attempting to wrap the flag around a cross. By tying their vision of the American social structure to religion, they are trying to set it in stone so that changing it is next to impossible. There are examples of this all over. A recent example involves a Buddhist groups with ties to the Dali Lama being denied federal funding because of its religious affliation, while similar organized Christian groups are granted funding. Many Republicans also feel that the 10 Commandments should be displayed in government buildings, citing it as the basis of the laws of this country (an untrue assertion since most of the ideas behind the Constitution are drawn directly from Enlightenment philosopher John Locke, a known atheist. Even other Christain sects aren't safe from this mindset. Liberation Theology, Catholicism, mainstream Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity, and Liberal Christianity are often met with considerable hositlity from Evangelicals. A note here, not all Evangelicals act this way. There are many who are very faithful to their beliefs, but practice tolerance towards the beliefs of others as a Gospel value. Perhaps the two groups who receive the most hostility from conservative Evangelicals are secularists (atheists, agnostics, and the like) and the devotees of neo-Pagan beliefs (Odinists, Wicca, Druids, etc.). Evangelicals often accuse secularists of having no moral base and only believing in their own selfish ends (oddly enough, this accusation applies best to many in the Republican power structure). Neo-Pagan are usually accused of being devil worshipers outright, though many hold the same moral values as Chritians. Ultimately, these two values seek to undo the entire American Democratic experiment, since this nation was founded by many different religious and social groups who wished to abandon the rigid religious and social structure imposed by the English at the time.

Another small town value based on Republican beliefs is that no one should have a private life. Whether it be the Patriot Act or just the average Republican being nosey towards the personal life of others, Republicans seem to believe that our business is their business. I come from Oklahoma, one of the reddest of red states, and I can vouch for that behavior based on my own personal experience with being told I need to go to church, and then being ostricized and villified when I decline (again, I must note that this is not the case with everyone here, I have many friends who are of the Evangelical irk who are just as accpeting and tolerant of my beliefs as anyone else). Another Republican small town value I have seen is the idea that everyone must fend for him or herself. The veto of SCHIP, the rising cost of health care and energy with no real relief from them, Right to Work, cuts in education budgets, the housing/mortgage crisis, and lack of aid and oppurtunities for criminals who are sincerely seeking to reform are evidence of this. The bottom line, in small town values, if a person falls through the cracks, the that person is on his or her own.

Moving to the so called city values. First and foremost, people should mind their own business. A person's personal life is just that, personal. No one has any right to inquire into it unless invited to do so. This is seen often in large cities where people will say hello and then move on. If either person wishes to share more, then they will. Second is the idea of helping out when needed. We learned in 9/11 that New Yorkers do a wonderful job of pulling together for a common cause when the situation warrents it. Besides that, the vast majority of community centers, outreaches, and charitable organization reside in cities. Most of them will take in anyone who comes without question or screening. The idea of moving up in the world also seems to be a city value. With enough effort, anyone can do anything in this mindset. As a result, many have come from dire poverty and moved on to do great things. Tolerance is another important aspect of city life. In most cities, one is likely to find a mulitude of ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. As a result, people generally have a greater tolerance for different ideas. This ideas sound familiar, since they make up the core of Barack Obama's platform, so we must ask ourselves, do we need 4 more years of "small town values"?

A closing thought, the death of civilizations is stagnation. This happens when the beliefs and social structure of a civilization becomes stale and unmovable. The only cure is to shake things up every once in a while in order to keep the dialog open and make sure change is poosible. Some of the oldest civilizations in history have practiced this for millenia, and even now are rising to superpower status. To make sure our star continues to ascend, we need to adopt a similar mindset. We must be willing to shake up the status quo every once in awhile. By doing this, history will remember us in the same vain as the great civilizations that have lasted till now.

Republican Shell game

Raymond W. Johnson Esq. AICP — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:57:05 EDT

The Obama campaign is letting the Republicans get away with a shell game! They fail to see the forest for the trees.

The Republicans are getting away with running on reforming government based solely upon congressional earmarks. THis is a minor side issue.

The total earmarks are less than one tenth of one percent of the total budget and less than ten days of the Iraq war.

This is only tinkering at the very edges. It will do nothing to solve the basic problems.

There is no policy change that will address the economy, outsourcing, jobs, concentration of wealth destruction of the middle class.

There is no policy change to address the issues of alternative fuels.

There is no positive policy to improve health care.

There is nothing to eliminate the impact of lobbyists most of whom are on the McCain campaign team.

Step back and take the broader view and then expose the republicans for what they are trying to do, hoodwink the people by false argument.

Clarity

Stephen — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:17:56 EDT

The Rupublican spin machine is at it again. In a desperate attempt to confuse Americans into voting for 4 more years of the same failed policies and corrupt leadership, the RNC is trying to present its candidates as agents of change. Unfortunately for them, the best they could muster was a half baked attack on Barack Obama's credentials as a candidate. Ultimately, they said nothing that hasn't been said before, so they are not worth a retort. The facts still remain set against John McCain and Sarah Palin's claims of being for change.

John McCain has often called himself a maverick in the past, but as is often the case with people who give themselves a nickname, John McCain doesn't live up to his at all. Going back to his earliest days in the Senate, John McCain has proven that his loyalties lie with the highest bidder and not the American people. The Keating 5 scandal was the first instance of this, but not the end. Whether he's staffing his campaign with lobbyists, including one who created a natiional interest conflict by lobbying for a foreign government while working on McCain's campaign. After finding out that his much lauded McCain/Feingold bill would cut him off from large amounts of funding, John McCain has been quoted (full disclosure: this quote is apochyphal and not confirmed to have been said by McCain) as saying that he would vote against his own bill if it was up for vote now. There is evidence that McCain has broken the law he helped create by taking more than the maximum allowed donation from PACs. It has been confirmed that John McCain has used a private jet provided by his wife's company for official government business (a blatant violation of the provisions of the McCain/Feingold bill).

On to Sarah Palin. After researching her time as a mayor and as governor of Alaska, I have found that her corruption runs deeper than John McCain. While mayor of Wasilla, AK, Palin tried to force the resignation of most of the city's support staff because they didn't support her during the election. As governor, she helped force through a no bid contract for several energy companies to build a gas pipeline from Prudhoe Bay into Canada. She allowed for larger lines of credit for energy companies in a time when they don't need it. Of course, there is also the attempted firing of a state trooper that was married to Palin's sister and divorced her. I have tried to find if Palin's explantion of spousal abuse was legitimate, but was unable to find any more than an allegation, no evidence is out there.

Does behavior like this seem familiar? We've watched it happen for the last 8 years. Is that change? Can we afford more coruption, more ignoring the rules of proper goverance, more loyalty to corporations and PACs than to the American people? I know my answer to that question.

Another parting thought, a man who only looks out for himself lives in fear of others. A man who only looks out for his wealth fears the poor we has taken the wealth from. A man who only cares about power fears losing it. However, a man who devotes himself to the service and care of those around him has no fear, because he has already left a postive mark on the world.

In solidarity and appreciation for community organizers

jennie — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:44:20 EDT

Tonight I listened to "leaders" and "would be" leaders of the Republican Party mock community organizers.

This was profoundly offensive on so many levels, but none more so than going after the very folks who pitched in and engaged in community organization to offer help and aid to New Orleans following Katrina; while this party did nothing.

Mocking the people who work hardest to address the needs of disaster victims, victims of various forms of suffering (like, for example Down's Syndrome children and their families) is just repugnant and obscene.

For a secessionist candidate to go after this profession, which over our long history as U.S,. citizens has resulted in the betterment our nation and the improvement in people's lives, this was obscene. Many community organizers work hard for others and live very modestly. This used to be thought of as praiseworthy by folks who professed faith.

I felt nauseous listening to this invective and profoundly sad for my nation.

Gender Politics

Stephen — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:37:34 EDT

I've noticed the emrgence of a disturbing trend in the last few days involving Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin. Many in the media are suggesting that the Obama campaign should treat her with kid gloves based on the fact that she is a woman. Some are worried that if you are too tough on a woman candidate, then you will alienate women voters. Others just think it's unfair to be tough on a woman. In both instances, a fair amount of underlying sexism comes to the surface, and it's not fair to any of the involved parties from Sarah Palin to all of the electorate.

To start the things off, the sexism of those who think women will be offended by a tough critique of Sarah Palin are missing the point completely. Over the years, many feminists and other women's rights advocates have been fighting very hard for the equal rights and oppurtunities of women in this country and around the world. This includes asking tough questions when there are problems with the positions, judgement, and credentials of female candidates. Those who would suggest otherwise are doing a great disservice to women. They base their claims on a belief that women are too sensitive to handle criticism, which is very sexist.

The next group claims that Palin should not be criticized because she is a woman, and it would be unfair to do so because of that. That is a blatantly sexist attitude that has no place in the media or politics. It implies that women are somehow deserving of special treatment as opposed to men. I believe that most women just want to be treated as equals to men, which is a position that I fully support. As such, treating women differently, regardless of the motivation behind doing so, is wrong, and those who do should be dealt with no differently than those who advocate preferential treatment based on race, religion, lifestyle, orientation, etc.

What are we to do? As good Americans, we need to ask tough questions about Sarah Palin. It is the only way we can ensure that we get the best governace possible. We have to ask what makes her qualified. We have to ask whether or not she follows her positions. We have to ask whether her values reflect ours. We have to ask whether or not she would be a good VP or president. Most important of all, we have to ask whether or not we want John McCain and Sarah Palin running the show for the next four years. I know the answer for myself, and I am confident that the majority of people in this country will find their answer as well.

And now for a parting thought. A famous cliche, parapharsed, states that we learn everything we need to know about life in Kindergarden. This is true, since we learn how to work in groups, share, know when to lead, and know when to follow. Everything after that is based on what our interests are. As Americans, it's time we apply those elementry lessons to the way we conduct ourselves in the world, and use those skills we learned afterwards for the benefit of our brothers and sisters in this nation, and all the nations of the world.

Palin as VP? No Way!!!

! Jim Chap — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:41:35 EDT

from our friends at moveon:

Huh?

Who is Sarah Palin? Here's some basic background:

She was elected Alaska's governor a little over a year and a half ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside Anchorage. She has no foreign policy experience.1
Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of rape or incest.2
She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in 2000. 3
Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.4
She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.5
She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for listing polar bears as an endangered species—she was worried it would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.6
How closely did John McCain vet this choice? He met Sarah Palin once at a meeting. They spoke a second time, last Sunday, when he called her about being vice-president. Then he offered her the position.7

This is information the American people need to see. Please take a moment to forward this email to your friends and family.

We also asked Alaska MoveOn members what the rest of us should know about their governor. The response was striking. Here's a sample:

She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international scene that exists today. —Rose M., Fairbanks, AK

She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience beyond Alaska. —Christine B., Denali Park, AK

As an Alaskan and a feminist, I am beyond words at this announcement. Palin is not a feminist, and she is not the reformer she claims to be. —Karen L., Anchorage, AK

Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems, republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the V.P. position.—Sherry C., Anchorage, AK

She's vehemently anti-choice and doesn't care about protecting our natural resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. —Marina L., Juneau, AK

I think she's far too inexperienced to be in this position. I'm all for a woman in the White House, but not one who hasn't done anything to deserve it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a patronizing decision on John McCain's part- and insulting to females everywhere that he would assume he'll get our vote by putting "A Woman" in that position.—Jennifer M., Anchorage, AK

So Governor Palin is a staunch anti-choice religious conservative. She's a global warming denier who shares John McCain's commitment to Big Oil. And she's dramatically inexperienced.

In picking Sarah Palin, John McCain has made the religious right very happy. And he's made a very dangerous decision for our country.

In the next few days, many Americans will be wondering what McCain's vice-presidential choice means. Please pass this information along to your friends and family.

Thanks for all you do.

–Ilyse, Noah, Justin, Karin and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Sarah Palin," Wikipedia, Accessed August 29, 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin

2. "McCain Selects Anti-Choice Sarah Palin as Running Mate," NARAL Pro-Choice America, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17515&id=13661-3388030-onSZRfx&t=1

3. "Sarah Palin, Buchananite," The Nation, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17736&id=13661-3388030-onSZRfx&t=2

4. "'Creation science' enters the race," Anchorage Daily News, October 27, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17737&id=13661-3388030-onSZRfx&t=3

5. "Palin buys climate denial PR spin—ignores science," Huffington Post, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17517&id=13661-3388030-onSZRfx&t=4

6. "McCain VP Pick Completes Shift to Bush Energy Policy," Sierra Club, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17518&id=13661-3388030-onSZRfx&t=5

"Choice of Palin Promises Failed Energy Policies of the Past," League of Conservation Voters, August 29, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17519&id=13661-3388030-onSZRfx&t=6

"Protecting polar bears gets in way of drilling for oil, says governor," The Times of London, May 23, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=17520&id=13661-3388030-onSZRfx&t=7

7 "McCain met Palin once before yesterday," MSNBC, August 29, 2008

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=21119&id=13661-3388030-onSZRfx&t=8

Back In The Groove

Stephen — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 03:29:54 EDT

It's been some time since I have posted here. I must admit that after the primaries ended that I was a bit burned out on politics. As the primaries were coming to an end, I found that I was only watching political coverage. I decided that I was going to take a mni vacation from it all and simply spend my summer enjoying my life. As I look back, I think it's the best thing I could have done for myself. As summer is coming to a close, I am ready to get back in the groove.

Now I can offer a few thoughts. First off, the convention was everything it needed to be. It was inspirational, diverse, and had plenty of thrilling moments. With Obama as the nominee, the DNC didn't have to do much to make the covention as successful as it was. In the end, it was a great start to the general election cycle.

Second, Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate. I didn't know much about her when she was first announced as McCain's VP pick, so I naturally looked her up. After reading what I read, I'm convinced McCain picked her because she is young and female. Picking her kills McCain's argument that Obama is not experienced enough for running the USA, since she is even less experienced than Sen. Obama. She has only been in state level politics for 2 years in Alaska, but has already shown a willingness to abuse her power. She has strong ties to big oil and is a known hard right idealogue. Her canidacy is likely to be a disaster for McCain.

On a more personal note. I would like to ask all Oklahoma readers to get involved locally. Andrew Rice is running a tough campaign to unseat incumbent Republican Jim Inhoff, and he needs all of our support. He has strong positions in health care reform and dealing with poverty both in America and abroad. He doesn't fit the normal Democratic mold and may have great crossover appeal among Republicans and Evangelicals. It's up to all of us to get the message out.

Signing out now. One last parting message, change is inevitable, whether that change is good or bad, creative or destructive, or however one looks at it, is purely the result of those making change. We have the good intentions and the moral high ground. If we stick to our guns, we truly can make change we can believe in.

Serious Women

Raymond W. Johnson Esq. AICP — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:23:31 EDT

How does the selection of Sarah Palin help advance the cause of women? Hillary was an immensely qualified candidate. Do they really think that women will support a woman candidate just because she is a woman? How does placing such an unqualified person on the ballot advance the american opinoion of women? Does it just emphasize an erroneous prejudice by many that women are unqualified?

In all, I think it was a bad move for the McCain campaign as well as for the interests of women.

WOW

Raymond W. Johnson Esq. AICP — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:28:23 EDT

Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech

WOW

What more can you say?

Sara Palin?

WOW

What does this say about McCain's judgment?

Complaint department.

! Jim Chap — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:00:06 EDT

Ok, the new website format does not work for me. Nuff said.

There is no reason on this planet that McCain should poll anywhere close to Obama/Biden.

It's time for this campaign to define the opposition for what they are - war mongering, jingoistic, out of touch.

dirty playing, lying, rich, power hungry creeps.

Obama can define himself too but time's a wastin'' and McCreep is gaining on us.

Go!!

The real concern about Saddleback

Raymond W. Johnson Esq. AICP — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:27:41 EDT

Come on people, look at the obvious. The reason McCain was able to answer so quickly and decisively was not because he was tipped off about the questions! What he did was to memorize stock answers, mainly from his stump speeches. When he heard word A he responded with answer A-1.

What concerns me is how shallow he is. Is he capable of independent thought. Could he answer a question without just parroting canned responses. Could he actually speak on any matter for three minutes without looking like a fool. I have often thought that one of the rules of the debates is that no answer is allowed to be shorter than 3 minutes. Does the responder actually know anything beyond pre-programmed canned responses? Can he speak coherently about any subject for three minutes?

It would be interesting to see how many of McCain's responses were actually new and what percentage of the answers came directly from previous stump speeches. A real tip off is the repeated use of "My friends," this is not the type of response that comes out in a response to a question, it was falling back to his previous campaign speeches. I am concerned about the possibility that we might have a president who is incapable of thought, and merely parrots propaganda. We've already had eight years of that.

I am also concerned about those who compliment him on being unwilling to compromise his beliefs. We have sure had eight years of a pigheaded fool who was going to do what he thought was right, regardless of the consequences and regardless of how outrageous it was..

The Art of Knowing When Enough is Enough

Michel — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:45:02 EDT

The Art of Knowing When Enough is Enough

I can imagine sitting on McCain’s plane waiting to peruse copies of Obama’s energy plan, looking bewildered when the tire gages start being passed out and getting a good chuckle over the intended humor in the effort. I, too, can imagine sitting around the tech table pulling together the now infamous Obama Celebrity video, laughing and smirking and being very pleased with the project and it’s irony. I mean, let’s be honest- the ideas were both funny, thought out and well done.

In fact, I can remember and will hesitantly admit to pulling pranks like that myself in my lifetime. Making funny videos and faux advertisements poking fun at, let’s see…classmates and rival clubs in what was it--college? Yea. That was it- college. Ironic, isn’t it that the McCain camp pushes the idea that Obama is too young and immature to lead the country but I haven’t seen any sophomoric pranks in comparison coming from Obama.

Interesting. It begs the question: Is McCain purposely going for a ‘look at me I really am young, hip and comical’ thing to offset his age? It’s a confusing message, for sure. Words saying ‘my age and experience helps me be a better leader, Obama is too young,’ offset with actual action sending a much different picture. Should we be more seriously considering that despite McCain’s age and years he’s spent in the senate…perhaps he is too immature to lead himself? Which goes all the way back to the original argument from the Obama camp- it’s not the time you’ve spent on earth or in office---but the history of your judgment.

Publicly approving and advocating even messages and ads should be telling of ones judgment. McCain himself defended the celebrity ad feeling it was the right thing to do. McCain defends it by saying it was just humorous and meant to poke fun…inject a little humor in the situation. So let’s recap the jokes…we’ve made fun of Obama-check. Made fun of Obama's supporters (including republican and veterans who are supporters)- check. Made fun of McCain’s own supporters and their kids-check. And with the dawn of the Moses Ad, made fun of all our religious Americans, as well- check. That’s pretty much the majority of voters…. and leaves…well…not much.

I’m not in any way trying to be a spoilsport or put a damper on all things funny. I watch Comedy Central and maybe a late night talk show now and again. I laugh. I tell jokes. I understand that sometimes injecting a little humor in things and lightening up intense situations can have its benefits on many levels. I understand the positive effects humor has on situations. I mean-I crack jokes at the worst times, myself –funerals, for example, because I can’t help it. It’s my nature to want to take a dour situation and find the positive light switch hiding within it. But, also as a mom skilled in the art of the guilt trip, I aknow backwards and forwards the “know when enough is enough” speech that I give my kids. There is a time for laughter…and a time for seriousness. John, enough was more than enough before the Moses Ad. It's time to put on the serious face and focus on showing us WHY your maturity is supposed to help strengthen our country.

In the words of my best friend- a retired US Navy Captain- with whom I regularly crack up with while watching political comedy shows, “all this stuff, the talk shows, the talking heads, the ads, the jokes---the country is on fire and all this “injected humor” McCain defends, well, it’s just not funny anymore.” I agree.

The Jokes On You

Michel — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:41:31 EDT

The Jokes on You

(or The Beauty of Tire Gage Environmentalism)

I read about those comical McCain guys passing out tire gages with “Obama’s Energy Plan,” written on them. Ah, those pranksters, God love ‘em.

Then, I read the recent efficiency reports about the tire gage and car maintenance suggestions included in Obama’s energy documents. Wow. Offshore drilling- a 1% help . Proper car maintenance offsetting personal oil costs- a 3% help! Whoa.

And then, I remembered my husband’s fourteen years worth of lectures about getting my oil changed and checking my tires…not just for safety purposes but so that my car would run more efficiently. Stuff he learned in the military. THEN, I thought, wait, wasn’t McCain in the military, too? He flew jets, right? Why hadn’t he learned the economics and efficiency numbers my guy learned?

Of course, my husband beamed when I addressed the issue with him, “You really do listen to me!”

I do.

Here’s the thing, though--I believe that the funny guys in the McCain camp have hit on something brilliant! The tire gage and ideas surrounding it might have gotten completely lost within the report had the comic geniuses on McCain’s plane not brought it to light. Highlighting the issue of tire pressure and car maintenance is just one of hundreds of little things we all can do to rescue the environment and help with the energy crisis. Everyday I hear someone ask “but what can I do?” The problems of the world always seem so much bigger than one lone human. Thinking about what we can do to save the planet- or help our country- often seems overwhelming. I have long advocated the idea that starting small and concentrating on your little corner of the world has an intense ripple effect—even if you never see it or really feel it. Change starts small. If everyone does small things….big, big things will happen.

So I’d like to suggest that the Tire Gage gag go BIG. Be a new symbol for all Americans- as a reminder of the little things that can make a difference. A reminder to turn the water off when brushing your teeth, buy powdered laundry detergent instead of liquid (saves water!), go paperless with your bank, check the pressure in your tires, change your oil often and yadda, yadda, yadda... all the hundreds of tiny little things that compounded by millions of people—well, BIG.

Ironically, a heartfelt thank you goes out to the McCain camp- and the opportunity in highlighting this issue to millions of American people. The seriousness of Obama’s suggestion might have gone unnoticed or not as publicized without your quirky antics.

Sorry to say guys, the jokes on you.

The Whispering Campaign Insulting to ALL AMERICANS

David H. Stern, M.D. — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:54:48 EDT

There has been some progress on this front recently, as Senator Obama has taken a somewhat stronger tack in his response to this rumor. But in my opinion, it could be much stronger.

Here are the talking points I would like to see emphasized.

The "Obama is a Muslim" Rumor Campaign is Insulting to ALL AMERICANS:
It insults Obama by insinuating that he is lying about his background
It insults Muslim Americans by implying they are somehow less worthy as Citizens than others.
It insults non-Muslim voters by implying they are ignorant, bigoted, rubes who are easily fooled.
It insults the instigators, by revealing themselves to be unprincipled lying hacks who lack any respect for the voters they are trying to influence, and lack confidence in their ability to persuade with honest appeals. This is the politics we will change together this November, when you elect me President of the United States.

This is the type of response that changes the playing field. It would destroy the perception of Democrats as "soft" and unable to get down and dirty, while simultaneously elevating the level of discourse AND discrediting the opposition.

Can you get any better than that?

Great Contrast Between Candidates to Use Recruiting

David H. Stern, M.D. — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:03:19 EDT

I'm sure many here are still engaged in the arduous task of recruiting fence sitters and soft supporters of both candidates into being strong Obama supporters. The recent FISAsco has Obama "taking his lumps," (and rightfully so, I might add) and the MSM seem to be engaged in a coordinated campaign to minimize the actual differences between candidates.

Well, for Americans of nearly every stripe, Civil Rights is a major issue - particularly in the wake of the unprecedented assualt on Constitutional principles this nation has weathered over the past eight years.

For anyone doubting the significance of the differences between the two candidates in this area, take a look at this compilation of vote-rating for Barack Obama, and compare it to the same ratings for John McCain. These compliations come, courtesey of Project VoteSmart, and as you can see they have numerous tools for drawing comparisons on a wide variety of issues. So, if this is your first exposure to this tool, I hope you will find it useful in the coming weeks. Time is getting short!

In order to make use of this tool easier, I've prepared a one-page side-by-side two-year comparison sheet on Civil Rights Group Rankings for both candidates. Please feel free to copy, print, and distribute it as much as you like. (I prefer that you copy, rather than link to it, as my server's bandwith is limited. Thanks.)

Let's get out there, and get out the vote! (And make sure it is the right vote!)

Stop Underestimating Your Supporters Against FISA

David H. Stern, M.D. — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:08:51 EDT

Dear Sen. Obama, Around here, we call "misrepresenting the truth" a LIE. We also refer to utterances of deliberate half-truths as LIES. Your own nonsensical rationalizations for supporting this unconstitutional and Law-nullifying FISA Amendment were bad enough. Now we have your Washington Lawyer and adviser, Greg Craig trying to snow us with this:

"This was a deliberative process, and not something that was shooting from the hip," Mr. Craig said. "Obviously, there was an element of what’s possible here. But he concluded that with FISA expiring, that it was better to get a compromise than letting the law expire.

Senator, with all due respect, that kind of dissembling may work on the lethargic Washington Press corps, but your most active supporters know better. You know the FISA law does not expire, and you MUST know WE know the FISA law does not expire -- EVER!

PLEASE STOP TREATING US LIKE CHILDREN or television-addled passive junk-news consumers of whatever the Beltway Bandits want to feed us! We worked and scraped and gave our hard earned money to get you nominated so we could elect you to end that kind of dishonest and destructive political gamesmanship.

If you are going to insist on ignoring our principled dedication to our inherent and constitutionally defined rights and our insistence on equal protection under the laws for those who violate and those who are harmed by violations of the law - no matter how rich or powerful - then you need to explain yourself honestly. We will know when you are being honest, because you will make sense.

On this issue, so far you haven't come close. With every tired and cliched attempt at "spin control" you simply dig a bigger rut, and further sully your well-earned reputation, while throwing water on the fires of our enthusiasm for your campaign.

Does this really alter the political calculus in ways significant enough to more than counter the harm it is doing to both the nation and your core of support? Please explain how - we're all adults here!

Maybe you've miscalculated, and need to reconsider. Doing so now is far better than knowingly making this terrible mistake before it is too late.

Senator Obama, during the primary season, you publicly acknowledged that you lost momentum every time you started trying to "play it safe" by "going conventional". I fear you do not trust your own experience, or you have entrusted your strategies to advisers who will not even consider the obvious truth in that observation.

We didn't nominate you because we thought you'd be the best "politics as usual" candidate. 70,000 people did not gather along the riverbank in Portland because they wanted to hear you "spin" the issues. Nobody outside the beltway and the major media believes the garbage they throw out there, and we haven't for a long time. (Why do you think the major media news ratings have been plummeting for over a decade across the board?)

Before you became a front runner, you didn't offer the same old song and dance. You spoke to our real concerns and expressed commitment to real change. THAT is why we nominated you, and why we are committed to getting you elected. You need to remember that, and remind your advisers of it. And you need to demote or dismiss any of them who are not on board with that essential plank in your campaign.

Senator Obama, please end this charade, and return to your commitment to Us- the people we have been waiting for - the people you promised to represent.

Thank you.

David H. Stern, M.D.

FISA FLIP still disturbing.

David H. Stern, M.D. — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 04:34:48 EDT

Until now, I've refrained from posting on this topic, because I didn't feel like I had anything to add. However, this new quote from Senator Obama has pressed me into action:

"FISA, wasn't a shift in position, but the best compromise, that was available at the moment".

I remain a strong Obama supporter, as well as an admirer, but that does not make this comment or his position acceptable. Senator Obama can word it any way he wants, but his attempts to spin away from perceptions of a a "shift" amount to nothing more than the standard "white lies" that every politician uses regularly. Contrast the above quote with the one below from just a few months ago.

"I will support a filibuster against any FISA bill that contains retroactive immunity."

(sorry, I couldn't find the exact quote and date quickly enough - the expression of intent and certainty is completely accurate.)

There is absolutely no way to reconcile that unequivocal promise with his current position.

The problems with FISA go beyond Telecom Amnesty, but the latter is an easily digested and identifiable place to start. However, the other (more important) flaws in the law mean Obama's cooperation with the effort to strip immunity from the bill is more symbolic than substantive. By promising to work to strip the bill of its telecom amnesty provisions immediately after destroying his leverage for that fight with his unconditional vow to vote for passage of the bill, he managed to convert even this anemic gesture into an insulting charade.

This is not some minor and negotiable issue - or cannot be if one views the viability, integrity, and primacy of the constitution of the United States as the defining core principle that binds us as a nation.

There are plenty of areas for compromise and give and take. His "faith based initiatives" may be one example. But the Constitution is not a bargaining chip.

That is true, no matter what position you assume on the "political spectrum."

Senator Obama may think he can spin this issue away, or defuse it with non-sequiter disclaimers, but if that is the case, I'm afraid he is sorely mistaken.

The vote from people like me is secure. He may already have adequate funding in place. But we are not the Democrats in Congress, and we will not just lay down and allow our representativeswho are there cooperate with the continued destruction of the Constitution and the Rule of Law in this country.

If Obama wants to start his administration on an adversarial basis with his core supporters, that is his prerogative. But I fail to see the wisdom or courage in that path.

Thank you for allowing me a forum to express my sentiments, even when they are in conflict with the campaign.

Money Honey

! Jim Chap — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:49:07 EDT

In the past few weeks I've been called to the carpet because 'my man', Obama. 'flip flopped'.
While technically he didn't, I don't care. It's politics and he needs to get elected to do the job.

Sound crass? Too bad. We've been dealing with the kiss off for 8 years. Obama has found a better way
to raise money - us. We do it because we need to and want to. McCain cannot compete because there is no groundswell of support. There is no galvanizing center to a movement. He has no political gravity
and his supporters are a mish mash of causes cobbled together to look conservative. The tables have turned. We are them and they are what we used to be. Reagan energized a lot of people into a movement when the Dems were flopping around. Now it's McCain and Co. turn to flop while we have the vision and motivation to restore a moral center to our country, to stop torture, make corrections in foreign policy, energy policy and education policy. Now, it's OUR time. McCain has a life time of flip flops both personal and professional. Our man has one and it doesn't bother me a whit.
Go drop some money in the bucket.
Jim

E=Bay

Raymond W. Johnson Esq. AICP — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 02:24:19 EDT

E-Bay is continuing to sell the infamous curious george T-Shirts in spite of their being in violation of e-bay seller policies.

I would suggest that people contact E-Bay to voice thei dismay and demand the items be pulled and the seller, DixieTradingCo. be banned as provided in the E-Bay rules.

Johnathan Alter

Raymond W. Johnson Esq. AICP — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 02:17:06 EDT

For the first time in my adult life I am really proud of a journalist. Johnathan alter is my hero, finally a journalist who is willing to call a slime merchant what he is.

Check it out. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25274602#25274602

Campaign Idea

Raymond W. Johnson Esq. AICP — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:53:13 EDT

Why not have groups of 3 or more people at entrances to Gas Stations with signs:

"Had Enough? Vote Democratiic!";

"Obama for Change";

"Register to vote here"

THis is a perfect place to capitalize on the frustration of the people and to regiser unhappy voters.

Campaign Idea

Raymond W. Johnson Esq. AICP — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:27:19 EDT

Why not have groups of 3 or more people at entrances to Gas Stations with signs:

"Had Enough? Vote Democratiic!";

"Obama for Change";

"Register to vote here"

THis is a perfect place to capitalize on the frustration of the people and to regiser unhappy voters.

Just Words

Raymond W. Johnson Esq. AICP — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:49:39 EDT

What I find interesting is the comment that Obama's comments are just words. Whoever says that obviously does not understand economics. Words drive the market and the economy. When consumer confidence is in the dumps, so is the economy. We need some good words, but I guess that won't happen until November.

"Yes We Can...And Here's How!"

Stephen — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 04:37:45 EDT

The title of this blog comes from a soundbyte from a man who thinks in soundbytes, Tom Brokaw. Truer words could not have been said about Senator Obama's speech in Minnesota on Tuesday evening. Senator Obama was sharp, concise, and most imprtantly, on point. He was quick to draw on strong contrast between himself and John McCain. He was generous to Hillary Clinton, even though her speech boardered on childish. Rather than bask in her demise, Obama thanked her for a hard fought campaign, said (truthfully I believe) that running against her made him a stronger candidate. Now that the final counts are in, all the states and territories have voted, the superdelegates have decided whom to back, and the punidits and news outlets have stated the obvious, it seems that Hillary has finallly decided to do the right thing, and bow out.

I have to admit that I have been a very harsh critic of Hillary Clinton. From the very start, I believed that she has a bad choice for the next president. Now that this is all over, my attitude towards her has shifted somewhat. I am still suspicious of her, but I also, more than ever, believe that she is necessary for success in November. For the record, I am not saying she should be on the ticket as the vice-president. I do, however, believe that she should go back to the Senate and continue to rally Democrates around Obama. Combine that with Obama's natural tendacy to attract independents and disillusioned Republicans, and the Obama has a strong coalition for change in November. Also, even though some of Hillary's tatics in this primary have been questionable, the have served a positive role. She has indeed strengthened Obama as a candidate by forcing him to endure baseless and negative attacks on his character, associations, and qualification as a presidential candidate. The result now is that Senator Obama is battle tested and can confront and nullify any similar attacks that John McCain and the Republican party.

That brings us to John McCain. He is already trying to throw Obama challenges that are meant to trhow him off. He wants a series of town hall debates this summer. Lucky for us and the rest of America that Obama thrives in this kind of environments. Senator Obama has already done an excellent job of showing John McCain's similarties to Geroge Bush. McCain is trying to do the same, but in the process is making himself look like a hypocrite and a liar. The months leading to the party conventions in August are key for Obama and for us. Now that the primary season is over, it is time for us all to organize and untie the Democratic coalition.

Senator Obama has already said how we will bring about change. Now it's our turn to get the ball rolling. I urge anyone who reads this to get out there spread the word. Donate money, talk to your friends, volunteer locally for Obama and you favorite local candidates, make calls, send emails, and engage your communities in the dialogue of change. I have been accpeted as an Obama Organzing Fellow and I am going to work my heart out this summer to make this campaign historic, not only because of the candidate, but also because of the people working to make real change a reality. Women, minorites, the youth of America, the educated, the hard working middle class, the tenacious working class, and anyone else who sincerely wants to see change brought about. We are all in this together. Let's get on it!

Really. When was the last time McCain was in Iraq, WITHOUT A Flak Jacket...

Ken R — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:40:33 EDT

...and a contingent of soldiers providing him protection? I really would like to know that... Is protecting a US Senator, in a conflict zone--who is simply a visitor NOT a fellow combatant--really the most effective way to use our armed forces?

The AMERICAN President AMERICANS Have Been Waiting For

David H. Stern, M.D. — Thu, 15 May 2008 02:05:24 EDT

Usually, when I post links to or quotes from other stories on the Internet, those links only serve as a launching point for interjecting my own commentary. This one is an exception, and for good reason: I have nothing to add that would further advance or enhance the argument.

This article by Harold Meyerson in the Washington Post, accompanied by

this commentary and analysis from Chris’ Inside-Out the Beltway

offer something far closer to perfection than anything I could possibly assemble.

Please read both of these fine articles, and pass them along to others.

Thank you.

DHSmd

The Rev. Wright part 2 (in which our hero is Wrong)

! Jim Chap — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:22:43 EDT

I have thought about this a lot. I tossed and turned on it all night. yesterday, I blogged at how impressed I was with Rev. Wright's NAACP speech. I still am impressed but the climate has changed.

I knew that people would pull out every soundbite available (the Kennedy thing in particular) but I felt that he had a right to defend himself and present himself asa whole human being. Unfortunately, he has pressed on and I'm not going to judge the content of his press corp. speech but he has chosen to seize the spotlight. He is damaging Obama. It would be a tragic irony if the words of one African American man were to cost another African American man the Presidency. The Rev. Wright has made his case and now, for everyone's sake, needs to go away and finish his book.
Obama has to act in a swift and decisive manner. He can no longer stand by while the media continues to feast on Rev. Wright. Obama needs to clarify his position now.The very Government that Wright is disparaging (rightly or wrongly) is the Government that Obama is trying to lead. The Obama campaign needs for Wright to rethink his timing on this.Is it about selling books?He has made this about 'him' and is not seeing the larger picture. The picture in which an African American/White person can make history. This is death by a thousand cuts. Both Obama and his staffneed to end this now before opportunistic media hounds make this bigger than it is.
The Obama staff then needs to go on the offensive with the Hagee remarks. While this might seem negative, WE need to make the Hagee comments go viral.I have very mixed feelings about going negative but I have worked on many political TV ads only to have the candidate take the 'high road' and lose.In each case, my candidate had the moral high ground but failed to take their opponent to the mat. As a result, we now have Joe Lieberman in office and the CT governor who won against my high minded candidate, ended up in prison. The Clinton's are masters of manipulation. Do not succumb to the notion that fighting back is 'negative', that doing the right thing is 'being just like them'.Unless we act swiftly and decisively, we will all wake up soon with that horrible feeling that some of us remember when Bush won. Don't let it happen again.Do not let Rev. Wright make you feel guilty! He is a smart, full grown man. He has taken a stand that I do not understand and he has a right to that. We have a right to get our candidate elected so that in the future, Rev. Wright will not have to make a stand. Write to Obama and his staff to make the distinction between these two men. Write to your papers and media outlets.This will take an avalanche of energy but that's what we have in our corner.
jim chap

NAACP Transcipt of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's speech

Tresa {utah4obama.org} — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:51:09 EDT

This is the transcript of a speech given by Sen. Barack Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, at an NAACP dinner on Sunday night.

(CNN) -- The NAACP has an incomparable record. It has the longest list of achievements in the history of this country as being the undisputed champion in the fight against discrimination, racial prejudice, and unjust public policies, which have caused people made in the image of God to be treated as less than human or treated as second-class citizens.

Jeremiah Wright speaks at an NAACP dinner on Sunday night.

In its early days, the NAACP and the black church in the United States of America were seemingly joined at the hip in the fight against injustice and the fight for equality on behalf of all people of color.

Many local chapters of the NAACP were started in black churches. Hundreds of black churches. The NAACP's fight for justice and freedom, however, is not limited to the concerns of the black church, historically or contemporaneously. And when the truth is told, as Paula

Giddings does so powerfully in her book "When and Where I Enter," there were times when the NAACP had to drag some timid black preachers along kicking and screaming as in the Montgomery bus boycott designed by the NAACP, not the SCLC.

Throughout its 99-year history, the NAACP has been built by people of all races, all nationalities, and all faiths on one primary premise, which is that all men and women are created equal. The nation's oldest civil rights organization has changed America's history. Despite violence, intimidation, and hostile government policies, the NAACP and its grassroots membership have persevered.

Now, somebody please tell the Oakland county executive that that sentence starting with the words "despite violence, intimidation, and hostile government policies" is a direct quote from the NAACP's profile in courage. It didn't come from Jeremiah Wright.

Otherwise, he will attribute the quote to me and continue to say that I and am one of the most divisive people he has ever of heard speak. When he has never heard me speak. And just to help him out, I am not one of the most divisive. Tell him the word is descriptive.

I describe the conditions in this country. Conditions divide, not my descriptions. Somebody say "Amen." If you can't say "Amen," you're too mad, just say "Ouch."

The NAACP is nonpartisan. The NAACP is not beholden to, controlled by, or partial to any one faith tradition. The NAACP says proudly that it is a compound of people of all races, all nationalities and all faiths.

And it is for that reason that I am especially grateful to Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony and the Detroit branch of the NAACP for honoring me by having me address their 2008 theme "A Change is Going to Come."

One of your cities' political analysts says in print that first just my appearance here in Detroit will be polarizing. Well, I'm not here for political reasons. I am not a politician. I know that fact will surprise many of you because many in the corporate-owned media have made it seem as if I had announced that I'm running to for the Oval Office. I am not running for the Oval Office. I've been running for Jesus a long, long time, and I'm not tired yet.

I am sorry your local political analysts and your neighboring county executives think my being here is polarizing and my sermons are divisive, but I'm not here to address an analyst's opinion or a county executive's point of view. I am here to address your 2008 theme, and I stand here as one representative of the African American religious tradition which works in concert with other faith traditions, believing as we work together that a change is going to come.

On that point, about other faith traditions, in addition to Pastor Anthony, Pastor Nicholas Hood, Pastor Charles Adams, Pastor William Revelli, Pastor James Perkins, Pastor Wilma Rudolph, Pastor Holly who is suffering from a stroke, Father Michael Flager, Father Jeremy Tobin, Pastor Dee Dee Coleman, Dr. Georgia Hill and Rev. Lonnie Peek. I would also like to thank Sister Melanie Maron, the former executive director of the Chicago chapter of the American Jewish Committee and the current executive director of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the American Jewish committee. I would like to thank my good friend and Jewish author Tim Wise for his support, and I would like to offer a special "shookran" to Imam Muhammad Ali Elahi of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights for his courage, his conviction and his support.

The support of the Jewish community, the Muslim community, and the Christian community, Protestant and Catholic, is in concert with the credo of the NAACP and a definite sign that a change is definitely going to come. An additional special thank you is offered to Soledad O'Brien for CNN's outstanding "Black in America" and my long-term friend Roland Martin.

I believe that a change is going to come because many of us are committing to changing how we see others who are different.

In the past, we were taught to see others who are different as somehow being deficient. Christians saw Jews as being deficient. Catholics saw Protestants as being deficient. Presbyterians saw Pentecostals as being deficient.

Folks who like to holler in worship saw folk who like to be quiet as deficient. And vice versa.

Whites saw black as being deficient. It was none other than Rudyard Kipling who saw the "White Man's Burden" as a mandate to lift brown, black, yellow people up to the level of white people as if whites were the norm and black, brown and yellow people were abnormal subspecies on a lower level or deficient.

Europeans saw Africans as deficient. Lovers of George Friedrich Handel and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart saw lovers of B.B. King and Frankie Beverly and Maze as deficient. Lovers of Marian Anderson saw lovers of Lady Day and Anita Baker as deficient. Lovers of European cantatas -- Comfort ye in the glory, the glory of the Lord -- Lovers of European cantatas saw lovers of common meter -- I love the Lord, He heard my cry -- they saw them as deficient.

In the past, we were taught to see others who are different as being deficient. We established arbitrary norms and then determined that anybody not like us was abnormal. But a change is coming because we no longer see others who are different as being deficient. We just see them as different. Over the past 50 years, thanks to the scholarship of dozens of expert in many different disciplines, we have come to see just how skewed, prejudiced and dangerous our miseducation has been.

Miseducation. Miseducation incidentally is not a Jeremiah Wright term. It's a word coined by Dr. Carter G. Woodson over 80 years ago. Sounds like he talked a hate speech, doesn't it? Now, analyze that. Two brilliant scholars and two beautiful sisters, both of whom hail from Detroit in the fields of education and linguistics, Dr. Janice Hale right here at Wayne State University, founder of the Institute for the study of the African-American child. and Dr. Geneva Smitherman formerly of Wayne State University now at Michigan State University in Lansing. Hail in education and Smitherman in linguistics. Both demonstrated 40 years ago that different does not mean deficient. Somebody is going to miss that.

Turn to your neighbor and say different does not mean deficient. It simply means different. In fact, Dr. Janice Hale was the first writer whom I read who used that phrase. Different does not mean deficient. Different is not synonymous with deficient. It was in Dr. Hale's first book, "Black Children their Roots, Culture and Learning Style." Is Dr. Hale here tonight? We owe her a debt of gratitude. Dr. Hale showed us that in comparing African-American children and European-American children in the field of education, we were comparing apples and rocks.

And in so doing, we kept coming up with meaningless labels like EMH, educable mentally handicapped, TMH, trainable mentally handicapped, ADD, attention deficit disorder.

And we were coming up with more meaningless solutions like reading, writing and Ritalin. Dr. Hale's research led her to stop comparing African-American children with European-American children and she started comparing the pedagogical methodologies of African-American children to African children and European-American children to European children. And bingo, she discovered that the two different worlds have two different ways of learning. European and European-American children have a left brained cognitive object oriented learning style and the entire educational learning system in the United States of America. Back in the early '70s, when Dr. Hale did her research was based on left brained cognitive object oriented learning style. Let me help you with fifty cent words.

Left brain is logical and analytical. Object oriented means the student learns from an object. From the solitude of the cradle with objects being hung over his or her head to help them determine colors and shape to the solitude in a carol in a PhD program stuffed off somewhere in a corner in absolute quietness to absorb from the object. From a block to a book, an object. That is one way of learning, but it is only one way of learning.

African and African-American children have a different way of learning.

They are right brained, subject oriented in their learning style. Right brain that means creative and intuitive. Subject oriented means they learn from a subject, not an object. They learn from a person. Some of you are old enough, I see your hair color, to remember when the NAACP won that tremendous desegregation case back in 1954 and when the schools were desegregated. They were never integrated. When they were desegregated in Philadelphia, several of the white teachers in my school freaked out. Why? Because black kids wouldn't stay in their place. Over there behind the desk, black kids climbed up all on them.

Because they learn from a subject, not from an object. Tell me a story. They have a different way of learning. Those same children who have difficulty reading from an object and who are labeled EMH, DMH and ADD. Those children can say every word from every song on every hip hop radio station half of who's words the average adult here tonight cannot understand. Why? Because they come from a right-brained creative oral culture like the (greos) in Africa who can go for two or three days as oral repositories of a people's history and like the oral tradition which passed down the first five book in our Jewish bible, our Christian Bible, our Hebrew bible long before there was a written Hebrew script or alphabet. And repeat incredulously long passages like Psalm 119 using mnemonic devices using eight line stanzas. Each stanza starting with a different letter of the alphabet. That is a different way of learning. It's not deficient, it is just different. Somebody say different. I believe that a change is going to come because many of us are committed to changing how we see other people who are different.

What Dr. Janice Hale did in the field of education, Dr. Geneva Smitherman did in the field of linguistics. Almost 25 years ago now, Dr. Smitherman's book published by Wayne State University talking and testifying the language of black America taught us the same thing. Different does not mean deficient. Linguists have known since the mid 20th century that number one, nobody in Detroit, with the exception of citizens born and raised in the United Kingdom, nobody in Detroit speaks English. We all speak different varieties of American. If you don't believe me, go to the United Kingdom. As soon as you open your mouth in the United Kingdom, they'll say oh you're from America. Because they hear you speak in American. Linguists knew that nobody in here speaks English, but only black children 50 years ago were singled out as speaking bad English.

In the 1961, it's been all over the Internet now, John Kennedy could stand at the inauguration in January and say, "ask not what your country can do for you, it's rather what you can do for your country." How do you spell is? Nobody ever said to John Kennedy that's not English "is". Only to a black child would they say you speak bad English. Kennedy got killed. Johnson stepped up to the podium and love feel, we just left love feel. And Johnson, said my fellow Americans. How do you spell fellow? How do you spell American? Nobody says to Johnson you speak bad English.

Ed Kennedy, today, those of you in the Congress, you know Kilpatrick. You know, Ed Kennedy today cannot pronounce cluster consonants. Very few people from Boston can. They pronounce park like it's p-o-c-k. Where did you "pock" the car? They pronounce f-o-r-t like it's f-o-u-g-h-t. We fought a good battle. And nobody says to a Kennedy you speak bad English. Only to a black child was that said. Linguists knew that 50 years ago and they also knew number two that every language, including the language of Jesus, Aramaic, was made up of five subsets, pragmatic, grammar, syntax, semantics and phonics and that African speakers of English and African speakers of French and African speakers of Portuguese and African speakers of Spanish in the new world had created languages, not dialect all with five different subsets.

Languages, not Creole or Patois, languages. And Dr. Smitherman compiled the findings of an interdisciplinary research along with her own brilliant findings to show us that the language of black Americans was different, not deficient. She combined the findings of early childhood education, linguistics, socio-linguistics and the pedagogy of the oppressed to demonstrate most powerfully that different does not mean deficient. It simply means what? Different. I believe a change is going to come because many of us are committed to changing the way we see others who are different.

What Dr. Janice Hale did in the field of education and what Dr. Geneva Smitherman did in the field of linguistics, Dr. (Eldon) did in the field of ethnomusicology, the field of music. He showed us 40 years ago what Wintley [Phipps] is teaching you for the first time 40 years later. African music is different from European piano music. It is not deficient, it is different. In most school systems today, the way most of us over 40 years of age were taught is still being taught. We were taught a European paradigm as if Europe had the only music that there was in the world. As a matter of fact, if you just say the term, classical music.

Today, most here, use of that term will automatically refer to Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and already cited Mozart and Handel. European musicians. From grammar school to graduate school, we are taught in four, four time. That the dominant beat is on one and three. Our band directors, our choir directors, our orchestra director start us off how?

And One, two, three, four. One, two, three. Now, that's the European dominant beat. For African and African-Americans, it is not one and three, it is two and four. I don't have to teach you. Listen to black people clap to this song. Glory, glory hallelujah, you are clapping on beats two and four. If you got some white friends, they'll be clapping like this. You say they can't clap. Yes, they can. They clap in a different way. It's the same fact holds true with six eight time. Europeans stress one, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. Dum dum, dum, dum, dum. The stress is on one and four. Not for black people. When you got six eight time, blacks stress two three and five six.

Listen to this -- blessed assurance, Jesus is mine two, three for, five, six - oh, why are you clapping on the wrong beat? Africans have a different meter and Africans have a different tonality. European music is diatonic, seven tones. Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do. That's Italian. Europe. In west Africa and south Africa, it is not diatonic, seven tones, it is pentatonic with five tones. Wintley [Phipps] points out that if you want to know black music, just look at the black keys on the piano. Do, re, fa, so, la. Just those five tunes. Those are the only five notes you'll hear and somebody knows the trouble I've seen.

It only uses five notes the same with the river it also uses five notes. That's all. I believe a change is coming. It's not deficient, it's just different.

Many of us are committed to changing how we see others who are different. When you look at and listen to - I'm in Michigan. OK. Here in Michigan, look at and listen to the University of Michigan and Michigan State University bands at halftime. Their bands hit the field with excellent European precision. Da, da, da, da, da, ta, ra, ra.

Now go to a Florida A&M and Gramling Band. It's different. And you can't put that in no book. I believe change is going to come because many of us are committed to changing how we see others who are different. One is not superior to the other. One is not normal with the other being abnormal. One is not deficient because it doesn't follow the same methodology of the other. It is just different. Different does not mean deficient. Tell your neighbor one more time.

Now, what is true in the field of education, linguistics, ethnomusicology, marching bands, psychology and culture is also true in the field of homiletics, hermeneutics, biblical studies, black sacred music and black worship. We just do it different and some of our haters can't get their heads around that. I come from a religious tradition that does not divorce the world we live in from the world we are heading to. I come from a religious tradition that does not separate the kingdom of heaven that we pray for from the devious kingdoms of humans that keep people in bondage on earth.

I come from a religious tradition that did not hold slaves, but preached against slavery and worked to end slavery. I come from a religious tradition that fought against Lansing like the NAACP, fought against discrimination like the NAACP and fought against skin privilege, fought against apartheid, fought again unfair labor practices, fought against segregation, fought against Plessy versus Ferguson.

I come from a religious tradition that fought for desegregation like NAACP. Fought for equality, fought for human dignity, fought for civil rights, fought for equal protection into the law and fought for the right of every citizen to have quality education regardless of the color of their skin. I also come from a religious tradition that say if you feel excited about something, be excited about it. Don't stand there he has hate speech. Listen to how bombastic he is. Isn't he bombastic? He's stirring up hate.

You love somebody? Yes. Oh how I love Jesus because he first loved me. No. No. No. If you feel it - I come from a religious tradition where we shout in the sanctuary and march on the picket line. I come from a religious tradition where we give God the glory and we give the devil the blues. The black religious tradition is different. We do it a different way. 40 years ago, Dr. Anthony (inaudible) quoted in '68 the Kerner report stated that they were two different Americas. And for

40 years one of those Americas has acted as if they were the only America. But all of that now is in the past. I believe a change is coming. Because many of us are going to change how we see others who are different. I've got to hurry on. I'm taking too much of your time. So let me give you the outline of the rest of this message. You can either fill in the blanks for yourselves or you could wait for my book that will be out later this year.

I believe addressing your theme. I believe a change is going to come because many of us here tonight, at least 11,900 out of 12,000. Many of us are committed to changing how we see others who are different. Number one, many of us are committed to changing how we see ourselves. Number two, not inferior or superior to, just different from others. Embracing our own histories. Embracing our own cultures. Embracing our own languages as we embrace others who are also made in the image of god. That has been the credo of the NAACP for 99 years. When we see ourselves as members of the human race, I believe a change is on the way. When we see ourselves as people of faith who shared this planet with people of other faiths, I believe a change is on the way.

Many of us are committed to changing how we see others who are different. Number one, many of us are committed to changing how we see ourselves, not stepchildren, number two but God's children. Many of us are committed to changing, number three, the way we treat each other. The way black men treat black women. The way black parents treat black children. The way black youth treat black elders and the way black elders treat black youth. We are committed to changing the way we treat each other. The way the so called haves and have mores, to use Bush's speech writers term. Don't you all think he made that up? The way the have and have mores treat the have notes. The way the educated treat the uneducated. The way those with degrees treat those who never made it through high school. The way those of us who never got caught treat those of us who are incarcerated. Making rehabilitation a priority over incarceration.

We are committed to changing the way we treat each other. The way we treat the latest immigrants because everybody in here who's not an Indian do be an immigrant. Some of you all came on a decks of ship and some of us came on the bows and hauls of the ship, but we all are immigrants. The way we treat non Christians and folks who don't believe what we believe, we're committed to changing the way we treat each other. The way Sunis treat Shiites, the way Orthodox Jews treat reformed Jews. The way church folk treat other church folk. The way speakers of English treat speakers of Arabic -- Maasalam al hal.

Please run and tell my stuck on stupid friends that Arabic is a language, it's not a religion. Barack Hussein Obama. Barack Hussein Obama. Barack Hussein Obama. They are Arabic-speaking Christians, Arabic-speaking Jews and Arabic speaking atheists. Arabic is a language, it's not a religion. Stop trying to scare folks by giving them an Arabic name as if it's some sort of a disease.

Same people thought that the Irish had a disease. When the Irish came here. Did you hear my me O'Malley? O'Reilly? They thought you were - well they might have been might, the way we treat each other, many of us are committed to changing the way we treat each other. The way Christians treat you. The way straights treat gays. We are committed to changing the way we treat each other. And we are committing number four to changing the way we mistreat each other. We can do better, you all. There is a higher standard, you all. We know that and we are stretching to reach that standard. I believe a change is going to come because many of us are committed to changing how we see others who are different.

Many of us are committed to changing how we see ourselves. Many of us are committed to changing the way we treat each other. Many of us are committed to changing the way we mistreat each other. And many of us finally are committed to changing this world that we live in so our children and our grandchildren will have a world in which to live in to grow in, to learn in, to love in and to pass on to their children. We are committed to changing this world that's God's world, in the first place. Not ours. And I believe we can do it. It's going to take hard work, but we can do it.

It's going to take people of all faiths including the nation of Islam, but we can do it. It's going to take people of all races, but we can do it. It's going to take Republicans and Democrats, but we can do it. It's going to take the wisdom of the old and the energy of the young, but we can do it. It's going to take politicians and preachers, the government and NGOs, but we can do it. It's going to take educators and legislatures, but we can do it. If I were in a Christian Church, I would say we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. If I were in a Jewish synagogue, I would say is anything too hard for Elohim. If I were in a Muslim mosque, I would say Sha Allah we can do it. If I were pushing one particular candidate, I would say yes, we can.

But, since this is a nonpartisan gathering and since this is neither a mosque, a synagogue or a sanctuary, just let me say, we can do it. We can make it if we try. We can make the change if we try. We will make a change if we try. A change is going to come. Can you feel it? Can you see it? Can you imagine it? Then come on, let's claim it. Give yourselves a standing ovation while the transformation that's about to jump off. A change is going to come.

THE SUPERDELEGATE SITUATION

Ken R — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 10:19:46 EDT

So...
I'm a member of a group here--Cheltenham for Obama (PA)--that has recently advocated direct action to influence superdelegates.

Chairman Dean, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid have been making public statements to superdelegates, encouraging them to declare support of a candidate.

The Cheltenham for Obama group recommended sending letters to newspapers urging superdelegates to declare support of a candidate, and even involving MoveOn.org.

I tell anyone that reads this, as i told them...
This is a great idea!
THIS IS A FANTASTIC IDEA!

I added that they could also consider coordinating that action with other groups here on My.BarackObama.com.

My suggestion was:
If a bunch of groups here got together, agreed on a letter, then organized some sort of action...
Like...
Each group's members going to the post office, on the same day, to have their letters postmarked.

I think it would make a pretty impressive--and newsworthy--statement if, say, 100 people showed up at, oh, 100's of post offices around the country, at the same time (a Saturday morning at 9am, perhaps), to mail their letters to superdelegates.

Impressive indeed, I think.

If people are concerned about finding an accurate list of uncommitted superdelegates, one of the members found a list here. I'm also providing the address to Senator Obama's Campaign HQ:
Obama for America
P.O. Box 8102
Chicago, IL 60680
Phone: (866) 675-2008
Web contact form

I imagine they would have a pretty accurate list.

I definitely agree there needs to be some sort of mobilization that overcomes superdelegate resistance. I wonder if some of the superdelegates--perhaps House Democrats up for election/reelection this November--think it's safer to wait before making a decision. Maybe they have a perception that waiting will bring along a more stable environment. If so, maybe they need some other incentives.
Perhaps threat of a write-in vote?

And, as I've written before, I think it would be instructive and a clear example of strong leadership, if Chairman Dean, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid would take their own advice--AS SUPERDELEGATES--and also declare a candidate. Chairman Dean will appear on "Meet The Press", Sunday, April 27, 2008, 10:30am ET. Perhaps Mr. Russert might ask him which candidate he supports. And, if he declines to answer, Mr. Russert might ask why. Here's the link to the "Meet the Press" Contact Form.

____________________________________________

Governor Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (The Democratic Party)
Democratic National Committee (web contact page)
430 S. Capitol St. SE
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 863-8000

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representative
Office of the Speaker (web contact form)
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-0100

Senator Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader
528 Hart Senate Office Building (web contact form)
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3542
Fax: (202) 224-7327
Toll Free for Nevadans: (866) SEN-REID (736-7343) - Restricted to calls originating from area codes 775 and 702

Brush It Off

Tresa {utah4obama.org} — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:13:24 EDT

It had to be the first time in history that a presidential candidate had a hip-hop moment.

Barack Obama, who says he listens to Jay-Z along with his “old school guy” favorites like Earth, Wind & Fire and the Temptations, alluded to the rapper’s 2003 hit “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” on Thursday to sweep away concerns about his pugnacity.

After conceding that the Philly debate was tough, he brushed the imaginary lint of Hillary, George and Charlie from his shoulders, in a wordless reference to Jay-Z’s lyrics in his anthem about not letting anyone crimp your ride as you cruise from the bottom to the top: “Got some, dirt on my shoulder, could you brush it off for me.”

There’s no doubt the cat is cool. It’s easy to imagine the wild reception many parts of the world would give a President Obama as he loped down the stairs of Air Force One in his aviator glasses, the chic and chiseled Michelle on his arm.

The imagery of the 2008 race is all about cool and hot.

Obama is cool in a good way. He continues to look to the stars as the Clintons drag him down to the gutter, even when Hillary suggests he should scamper out of the kitchen since he’s so obviously sensitive to heat.

The Clintons are still scalded over the cool new kid in school precociously usurping the dream of Hillary, granddaughter of a Scranton lace mill worker and wife of a man who thinks he owes her the presidency.

This spurred the delicious spectacle of Bill Clinton, king of self-pity, suggesting that Obama was whining too much about the tone of the debate.

Like Bill, John McCain has his hot-headed flashes and struggles to stay cool.

But before it’s signed, sealed and delivered, as his campaign song goes, Obama will have to balance his cool with some heat, as J.F.K. did. He seems too imperious about the power of hot-button values issues that have proved so potent for most of his lifetime.

Sometimes when he answered questions at the ABC debate, you could see white letters on a black background scrawling across the screen of a Republican attack ad.

He can create an uplifting new kind of politics if he becomes president, but first he’s going to have to get past the shallow and vicious old politics he says he disdains (even if his campaign knows how to dip into the Clinton toolbox).

The thorny questions Obama got in the debate were absolutely predictable, yet he seemed utterly unprepared and annoyed by them. He did not do well for the same reason he failed to outmaneuver Hillary in a year’s worth of debates: he disdains the convention, the need for sound bites and witty flick-offs and game-changing jabs.

He needs to be less philosophical and abstract, and more visceral and personal. Some of the topics he acted dismissive about are real things on the minds of many Americans.

Obama does not need to wear a flag pin. By the time NBC colored its peacock logo with the Stars and Stripes after 9/11, it was clear that patriotism had been co-opted by commercialism. And he’s right that W. and Cheney used patriotism in a corrosive way to goad Americans into going along with their trumped-up war.

But when a voter from Latrobe asked in the debate why he doesn’t wear a flag pin, he high-hatted it as a “manufactured issue,” then, backing in tepidly, added, “I could not help but love this country for all that it’s given me.”

Asked about his friendly relationship with the former Weather Underground anarchist William Ayers — an association that The Wall Street Journal suggests could turn into the Swift Boat of 2008 given Ayers’s statement that “I don’t regret setting bombs; I feel we didn’t do enough” — Obama defended him with a line that only the eggheads orbiting his campaign could appreciate. Ayers, he said, is “a professor of English in Chicago.”

Obama has to prove to Americans that, despite his exotic background and multicultural looks, he shares or at least respects their values and understands why they would be upset about his associations with the Rev. Wright and an ex-Weatherman.

Even though his supporters raised Cain about ABC, Obama is smart enough to know he will need a better game against a canny war hero. Campaigning in Pennsylvania on Friday, he seemed eager to show he was not highfalutin. He said he and Michelle weren’t born with silver spoons; he shared how “burned up” he was when his sick mother could not get health insurance; he hugged a disabled veteran who thanked him for getting into the race, and he left a rally with a lusty “God Bless America.”

He’s trying, as Jay-Z says, to get flow.

By MAUREEN DOWD Published: April 20, 2008

The Crucible ABC Debate and Beyond

Doug Robinson — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:26:01 EDT

The lesson for Obama and all of us here is to stand firmly and positively beside our convictions and those we befriend despite all criticism designed to bring us down. Then, and only then, can we all be united in this new community of hope.

CLINTON WON, OBAMA LOST, Part 1: Is Losing A Single Vote Worth $7.80 - Buy 1, Get 1 Free?

Ken R — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:24:02 EDT

(EDIT: Vendor reference removed)

This post is really meant for Senator Obama's campaign staff, and this is the only direct mechanism I know for contacting them...
(And I will have a bit more to say about the debate later.)

However, for now...
Flag pins are selling online for as little as $3.95 + $3.85 S/H...

TOTAL
$7.80...
Delivered.

* And they're cheaper in quantity!

I completely support the statement Senator Obama is trying to make by not wearing a flag pin (Summary of why Senator Obama Chooses Not to Wear Flag Pin As Statement of True Patriotism/Iraq War Statement); however...

A flag pin is not worth the loss of a single vote.

I will say it again:
A...
Flag...
Pin...
IS NOT...
Worth...
The Loss...
Of...
A...
SINGLE...
VOTE.

For the staff, I also recommend someone get online and reserve...
flagpinwatch
.com;
.net &;
.org.

I checked before I posted this entry and those domain names were still available.

Then you can post pictures of Senator Obama wearing his flag pins. You can take pictures of him wearing the pins that active duty personnel, veterans and others gave to him to wear. And...
You can keep track of every, single, day he wears a flag pin from now...
Until his last day in office...
January 20th...
2017.

This simple act will net the campaign more positive publicity--more pervasive, far-reaching publicity--and remove this as an issue of controversy far more persuasively than a month of speeches.

(And, while you're at it, you might consider snatching up...
notamuslim
.com;
.net &;
.org.)

the 'Debate'

! Jim Chap — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:22:26 EDT

Last night my blood boiled. I'm sure that yours did too. I watched a supposed legitimate news organization

spend most of it's time running a school yard hazing. It was embarrassing and shockingly one sided.

A former Clinton employee ( vetting anyone?) lobbing softballs and a wannabe Peter Jennings floundering in the roll of 'mac daddy, I have the conch here', trying to exert authority on every 'gotcha' question. Obama was clearly frustrated by the lack of substance based questions and surprised to find himself on the set of a cartoon show with Bobble Head and Snarky.

Waking up this morning, I know Obama will address this and make a statement that restores dignity to this campaign. Hillary was more than eager to pile on to the Hannity questions and ABC should come clean about it's duplicitous role. It was shameful. Help Obama keep the high road. It's where he lives and where he's trying to take this country.

PENNSYLVANIA DEBATE CONSIDERATIONS & TACTICS: Obama, The Garbage Man--Taking Away 'The Trash'.

Ken R — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:13:33 EDT

POINT #1:
In contrast to previous debates, there are some technical issues Senator Obama needs to address. Now, ABC has already committed to more aggressive moderating and Senator Obama needs to make sure they follow through. Senator Clinton has previously attempted to monopolize the discussion of issues.

This behavior has to be halted.

If she starts to undermine the proceedings, Senator Obama needs to intervene and explain...
The debate is NOT a Clinton Campaign Commercial.

Voters/viewers think many of the issues are equally important. Health care is important if an economy exists where people can feed themselves and their families. The economy is important if people feel secure about their jobs; their homes; and a sense of fairness in who is taxed--who contributes to the operation of their government--and how.. National security is important if people feel like they have a government that values their priorities and concerns.

POINT #2:
The issue of Credibility is paramount in this dialogue...
There's a clear and qualitative distinction between making a mistake and/or poorly chosen words versus...
Fabricating a falsehood into a truth.

The point here would be to allude to Bosnia but--Really, Actually--the focus would be on...
The characterization of Senator Obama as an elitist.
Yes.
Bait and switch.
Regardless, whichever she assumes, she will have to address one, if not both, issues.

And in this component of character there is a clear contrast between himself, and Senators Clinton and McCain and President Bush.

Senator Obama has been forthcoming and earnest about not only his own mistakes but those of his staff, surrogates and personal allies/friends that are not involved in campaign policy/decision making. He has not lied about Senator Clinton. He has not tried to portray her inaccurately. Accuracy actually serves to better highlight their differences--and he could even say her deficiencies (even though he's probably too diplomatic to do so)--well enough that he has no need to resort to...
The underhanded tactics she's chosen.

And to clarify, those tactics are--at least--framing Senator McCain as more qualified than another Democrat, and trying to define Senator Obama as an elitist.

POINT #3:
When he speaks about his San Francisco/Pennsylvania comments, he should--once again--apologize for the mistake in choice of words, then...
He should make his central theme very clear...
That...
Without hope...
Without change...
Without feeling like what they do contributes to a better America for all...
People who don't feel disenfranchised...
Choose either...
1) Apathy, disinterest and non-participation...
OR...
2) Cast their votes in support of things that are familiar to them.

Things such as:
* Who best represents the tenets of their religion...
* Who sounds/looks most like I do...
* Who protects their jobs from illegal immigrants...
* Who protects their tangible rights, like their right to keep their gun...

Because, if that candidate wins, they will feel they accomplished something...
Despite...
* The investment in corporate interests/special interests/lobbyists they feel control Congress...
* The escalating corporate profits concomitant with the increase in food prices & gas prices, and the sacrifices those entail in how people feed their families, the activities available to them...
* The loss of home values while the government invests tens of billions to rescue financial institutions in which they have no investment...
* The loss of jobs across all sectors...
* The horrendous debt that college entails, while those financing that debt bask in, once again, record profits...
* The consent of those that have been serving in Congress, who've done nothing with their power except enable these conditions...

Because...
* They have no hope that they can change those things...
* They have no hope that anyone in any branch of government cares about changing those things.

Senator Obama's campaign is solely about everyone working together to...
Create Hope And Change.

And, once again, I reiterate that Senator Obama should explain that while he was interpreting the words, feelings, substance of what he heard in Pennsylvania--and also how he thinks HE would feel if he were in their position (he should Emphasize His Empathy); he should also apologize for not asking Those Pennsylvanians how they would like to be described.

POINT #4
Senator Obama can make a strong and bold case that he isn't running as an opportunity to, possibly, amass...
Another...
$100+ million after his time in office.
He can make a strong and bold case that the only elitism he practices...
That which is incontrovertibly distinct from his opponents...
Is that which betters all of America.
Not just the Americans he knows.

POINT #5:
Senator Obama also needs to reinforce that he is a parent. A parent of young children. Not children who can fight and fend for themselves. That he has the concerns of a parent. About what type of economic, environmental and global citizenship/national security landscape awaits them. As a parent he thinks about the little girls whose parents are fighting, all over the world, for the security of our nation. And is that a noble and honorable endeavor. You can call him elitist all you'd like but he's thinking about the daughters that, like his own, did not grow up in mansions--governor's mansions or the White Houses or otherwise--and how to make their lives better.

POINT #6:
Senator Clinton stated that she was concerned about the Democratic Party but she's already proven she has no compunctions about eviscerating it, in allying herself with Republican Party interests (and even now with Senator Obama's San Francisco comments, she and Senator McCain sound eerily similar), to win the nomination.

MINOR CONCERNS:
* He can address the 'Duck Blind' and 'Annie Oakley' comments and state they were not connected. My interpretation was Senator Obama was referring to hunting in the former; and Senator Clinton as a 2nd Amendment affirming, gun carrying proponent in the latter. This is logical and sensible which, as he's proven, fits Senator Obama's character.

HUMOR
* I wish one of the moderators would come out with a penny, flip it into the air, and invite Senator Clinton to shoot it out of the air.
* Senator Obama could also tell Senator Clinton he feels safer sitting next to her, given her marksmanship skills, but hopes she hasn't had to many to drink before coming to the debate.
* Senator Obama could give Senator Clinton a gift prior to the debate: A bottle of Crown Royal.

That's my 'Armchair Strategist's' view.

Response to the current Bitterness Debate

Doug Robinson — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 18:02:31 EDT

I live in a community of 60,000 people in Montana. Many people here have no faith that government will help them: They’ve given that hope up long ago. Many will vote Republican purely because they have no faith that government will even lift a finger to address their issues. Many feel they would do better on their own if they could just fend for themselves. They’ve felt pushed down far too long to even think of “the audacity of hope.” Many can only look to outlets other than positive political or social expression as a means of identity or self-expression.

My Reasons for supporting Barack Obama for President

Doug Robinson — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:47:10 EDT

These are my personal reasons for supporting Barack Obama. They are written right out of my heart and soul. I'm sure you have other great reasons. Please add them in response and/or use these however you wish for the good of this cause.

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' & 3 MILE ISLAND: How to Manage the California Gaffe

Ken R — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:45:21 EDT

And make no mistake...
It was a mistake.

People can rant and rail that his statements were taken out of context. And, indeed, I read the transcript and would agree...
Senator Obama is being framed.
HOWEVER...
I also think he should've...
Chosen his words Much more carefully.
But what's done is now done.

It was a grievous error and is now a potential meltdown site for Senator Obama's Pennsylvania Primary hopes...
But...
It is also...
Fixable.

I suggest 2 things:
1) This issue stabs straight into the heart of credibility matter. And Senator Clinton decided to speak out against Senator Obama, amplifying a message that was centrally placed into an absolutely wrong context. This makes it an issue for...
Debate.

Senator Obama can challenge Senator Clinton to prove--show the substance of--her disparaging remarks at the debate.

Senator Clinton, once again, is put into a position to compare her statements--where she 'misspoke', and its context--versus Senator Obama and what he has said and its context. Both she and President Clinton are quick to condemn and judge the unfairness of the media--it's 'double standard--when it works to their advantage. But they seem even more eager to leverage that same 'unfairness' when it benefits them.

She should be made to take a stand on her opportunism.

Obviously...
This is a point she CANNOT win.

Also, Pennsylvanians--and all good people--value justice. They value fairness. If they see Senator Obama fighting for his words--For Truth--that will have profound meaning in their impression of him.

2) Senator Obama should apologize to the Pennsylvania voters.

Not because of the substance of his remarks but because...
He took that message out of the state and, in essence, spoke behind the backs of Pennsylvanians.

He spoke for them and, seemingly...
Without their consent or assent.

They probably appreciate his sentiment but would probably have used different words to characterize themselves.
He should acknowledge that.

Senator Obama was simply a bit insensitive but...
Seeking only to do good not harm.
Ultimately, this is admirable.

This box for their son?

Madama Ambi — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:20:11 EDT

I watched the big ceremony yesterday when Bush gave a box containing a blue ribbon with a gold star to the mother & father of their dead, heroic son (Monsoor)...in my inner voice I was screaming YOU SENT HIM INTO THIS WAR OF YOUR MAKING!!!...the mother and the father stood in grief-filled dignity while Bush blinked & squirmed and his face went red...the soldier's parents held the box with the blue ribbon and the gold star hesitantly, awkwardly, as if they could not grasp, literally could not grasp the tradeoff...this?...this box for their son???...

China Olympics

FREEFLYR — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:23:35 EDT

I thnik it's too bad people are protesting so heavily against the Olympics, isn't this supposed to be an event to bring people together about something other than politics? Where were all these people 20-10-5-1 year ago? I read a lot on this site about bringing people together. I do not think the way to do it is to embarass a country during one of the most celebrated world events that should have nothing to do with politics. It's really sad, I say let them have their moment and keep up diplomatic pressures. We should share in the exitement of the Olympics and make China feel a part of the world communinty. By letting the citizens of China feel some pride with other people from all over the world I think would do more to make human rights issues a dull spot than trying to embarass them will.

Mark Penn has resigned but not really

jennie — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 19:18:17 EDT

The news of Mark Penn's resignation from Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign should come as no surprise. Neither should the continued presence of Mr. Penn in her campaign which this announcement is attempting to minimize in time to persuade voters in Pennsylvania that she doesn't really endorse union busting and doesn't really endorse the disastrous NAFTA legislation that Mr. Penn feeds on.

Senator Clinton assumed that she would sweep Super Tuesday and emerge with the nomination. In the longer primary season than she anticipated, the nature and character of Mark Penn's contacts, role, tactics and business interests has become increasingly clear to voters. What is surprising is that she hired him in the first place, given his contacts and the amoral nature of his business.

His hiring as a campaign strategist in the first place calls into question the judegment of Senator Clinton, and her values as a Democratic candidate, given Mr. Penn's representation of repressive regimes, union busting activities in Columbia, and involvement with Blackwater. Simply put, Mr. Penn's role in any activity is to manipulate public opinion and, as his website at BKSH states, enact government policy. He does this by the exact tactics we have witnessed in this campaign; race bating, fueling ethnic divisions, smear campaigns, and character assassination, as well as well timed false reporting in the media. These tactics are the ones he also uses abroad to foster vioilations of human rights around the globe. He has been using them on Senator Clinton's behalf.

A particularly insidious aspect of this is Mr. Penn's tentacles which can be cross referenced among his client list. He has contacts with a number of industries, most especially telecommunications, so his ability to reach the media by back door arrangements is concerning.

Mark Penn's presence in a Presidential primary is a huge red flag, and a blot on Senator Clinton's judgement and values. It confirms her support and endorsement of NAFTA , lobby cartels ,as well as efforts to dupe voters, rather than campaign in a thoughtful and honest manner.

I for one lost respect for her as a candidate as soon as I learned that this firm was involved and as soon as I learned that both she and Senator McCain have contact with this one firm owned by Mark Penn.

Well, she has finally made a gesture of letting him go while keeping him thoroughly involved in her campaign: she can't fire him; he represents her constituency, even after outcry a year ago by labor unions, and human rights activists begged her not to involve him in her campaign.

Senator Obama is 100% free of lobby entanglements in his campaign. And that is the real meaning of hope: that we can return our nation to a Democracy and not devovle into a corporate fiefdom.

This is further evidence of the power of this people powered campaign, time and again Senator Clinton is being asked to do the right thing, and time after time she makes a meaningless gesture to placate the voting public while following the lobby handlers who are running her campaign for their agenda; not ours. I wish she had thought of this on her own, on principle, when she first considered who should lead her campaign.

ALL OBAMA ALL THE TIME: ObamaVision?

Ken R — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:08:37 EDT

I know this event--an Obama Campaign Foreign Policy Forum at Arcadia University--happened today.

Does anyone know if it's anywhere online yet? Here? YouTube? I didn't see it posted on the Arcadia University site.

I would think all these types of events--forums, notable surrogate appearances, town hall meetings, etc--would be recorded, if not streamed live, and posted online in some sort of central repository. An ObamaVision channel of sorts...

It's gotta' be around so...
Anybody know where it is?

More on Hillary's early ethics

! Jim Chap — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:58:36 EDT

A story surfaced yesterday citing Hillary's firing as a 27 year old lawyer for lying and lack of ethics.

If it's not true, discard it, if it is true, this is a huge story and needs to be told.

Proceed with caution. Here are some links.

http://www.northstarwriters.com/dc163.htm

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/hillary_rodham_clinton/index.html?query=WATERGATE%20AFFAIR&field=des&match=exact

http://www.jzeifman.com

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5331610

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/925684/posts

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1719879.ece

http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Hillary_s_Watergate_gate_More_lies_and_unethical_behavior

INFANCY TO INSPIRATION: IF I WERE A COLLEGE STUDENT NOW, I MIGHT BE THINKING ABOUT - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 & 11,12,13,14,15,16,17; Student Loans & Mrs. Klein

Ken R — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:22:29 EDT

In 1991, Americans led a UN-sanctioned, armed and determined, coalition of nations to liberate the State of Kuwait from the clutches of an invading, occupying Republic of Iraq. This operation--Desert Storm--served as rallying point for global citizenship, international collaboration, and a statement of worldwide opposition to tyranny. Historians, economists & social scientists of many nations will examine the impact of that operation for decades to come. But today, in this time of change in our nation, a change that will help shape our future in a time of multitudinous crisis, something more important, more vital, seems apparent...
The American...
1-year olds, 2-year olds, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7-year olds of that time...
Grew to be...
The...
11-year olds, 12-year olds, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17-year olds...
The American pre-teens and teenagers of...
2001.
And of September 11th of 2001.

Many of us have lived our entire lives in the shadows of actual wars; substantive military conflicts; and the threat of epic, cataclysmic military destruction. For me, it has been the Cold War, Vietnam, Iranian Hostage Crisis, the Gulf War, the War on Terrorism as well as a number of other conflicts and skirmishes.

And now those children, they are the American...
Late Teenaged Years; Young Adults; High School Graduates; College Students...
The...
18-year olds, 19-year olds, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24-year olds...
And Newest Voters.

Innocents when the tragedies of 9/11/2001 occurred, they've spent their formative years living beneath a shroud of fear and mistrust--both inward and out. They've watched their government contort the living symbol of liberty--the revered Constitution--behind shadows of lies and deceit. In ways few previous generations were able, they've witnessed blood and treasure sacrificed before their eyes--in real time. Their future becoming collateral for a monetary, historical and cultural loan, with no path for its replayment. Left to them. A loan they had no choice or voice in making...
And now...
They can have their say.

How have those events informed and impacted their lives and experiences? What will be their vision for a new world? How will they express their consent or dissent with what their government has done? Is force the antidote to hate? When the Berlin Wall fell did our generation see opportunity and optimism? Did we embrace the chance to leave fear behind? Or did we witness a vacuum, emptiness and lack of opposition? Did we need to fill that space with new adversaries? Did we need more arenas in which to prove our dominance? Our greatness? New ways to establish and extend our victory? The world become fields of most fertile ground, hungry for the seeds of democracy, and we the only qualified farmers?

In the spirit of motivation, we give our youth messages that oftentimes portend violence:
'Progress and growth are the products of power and conflict.';
'Victory no matter the cost.';
'Survival of the fittest.';
'Competition not cooperation.'...

We continue to live in a language of enemies...
Not friends.

I think the record participation of these young people are saying...
'We're going to say something different. We're going to speak WITH the world, not dictate to it.'

We know many of these young people disagree with how our country approaches conflict--how we wage war, how we continue to interact with our international neighbors. (We demand, we sanction, we warn, we threaten.) We know they're uncomfortable with how we shepherd their natural resources, what we waste and squander. (We pollute, we waste, we ravage, we burn the earth.) We know they're fearful about how we broker their future, the way we not merely profit but plunder. (We have a student loan debacle that ranks as even more odious than oil companies pocketing tax incentives.) I imagine they're confused about why--with so many other growing, expanding and emerging nations...
Why did we leave so many of the most urgent problems for them to solve?

Regardless, they're striving to help themselves...
We need to give them some assistance.

This is what makes Senator Obama's candidacy so meaningful. So relevant. And what distinguishes him from his opponents. He is a man looking past personal achievement, and into the greatness we all can share, to which we all aspire...
A great nation of even greater people.

Senator Clinton, in one of her misguided attempts to mock him, spoke of 'celestial choirs'. I say to you that Senator Obama is not a celestial body, but he is a lens. And he seeks to focus the brilliance, the radiance, that is this nation, America, embodied by this Republic, for which we all stand, indivisible, with generous liberty and justice for all. He speaks to an immediacy of action--that things need to change, now; a world that values and strives for inclusion--and that should be our righteous fight, not exclusion; and inspiration that our future will indeed be different--better, historic, in stellar not pedestrian ways.

Things, for profit's sake, we've made more difficult...
We need to remake them easier.

Since Senator Obama is the first participant in this incarnation of the Hardball College Tour, I hope we can do something for those looking to serve the future via a better education...

From the New York Times:

"Tuition has gone up twice the rate of per capita income. If the cost of milk had risen as fast as college since 1980, as Grassley has noted, a gallon would be $15." (link)

And...

"In a fierce contest to control the student loan market, the nation's banks and lenders have for years waged a successful campaign to limit a federal program that was intended to make borrowing less costly by having the government provide loans directly to students."

"President Bush's budget reports that in 2006 for every $100 lent by private lenders, the cost to the government of subsidies, defaults and other items was $13.81, while the same amount lent through the direct loan program cost the government $3.85. The battle for dominance in the loan market has escalated as tuitions have soared and students have borrowed more. This is the context for many of the payments to universities and financial aid officials that have come to light as a result of recent investigations into student loan practices." (link)

To finish...
A corollary:
Last evening, I received an email from one of the groups on Senator Obama's website. It was about...
Mrs. Klein.
"...Mrs. Klein of Glenside. She is 93 yrs old, cannot walk very well nor drive, but she contacted me to see if she could volunteer, somehow, for Senator Obama. Apparently, how she got involved, was from her granddaughter, who lives in South Carolina. Mrs. Klein is very eager to help out in some form. She said to me, "I just want to feel as if I contributed something"."

Here is a person who, with her voice, her vote, has helped shaped this current nation. And like others I've heard, she's listening. Listening and helping her granddaughter create our future nation. In a noble and honorable way, she's contributing even more fully to the legacy of her children, grandchildren and future generations. We all hope to live fully, to benefit, from our existence, here, in these United States. But, ultimately, isn't everything we do meant to benefit the future?
Ours and those that follow?

And certainly...
I hope someone from the Obama Campaign thanks her directly.

HOWARD DEAN Still STATES He Would Like SUPERDELEGATES to DECLARE THEIR CANDIDATE by JULY 1, HOWEVER...HE, Still, DOES NOT DECLARE HIS CANDIDATE!

Ken R — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:31:05 EDT

In an interview today (April 1, 2008 - 12:50pm ET), on MSNBC Live with Norah O'Donnell, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean continued to advance his preference for un-pledged/undeclared Superdelegates to choose a candidate by July 1, 2008.

Howard Dean stated: "We also have these un-pledged delegates that have been part of the rules for 25 years. There's about 800 of them, about 470 of them have voted. I'd like the other 330 to say who they're for between now and the 1st of July. If they do, we get this wrapped up by the 1st of July, and i think we go on to win."

Continuing...
Norah O'Donnell: "...but you're the Chairman of the Party what assurances do you have for the rest of the Democratic Party, and Americans, that you--as The Chairman--are doing something to make sure that this is settled so that the focus can be on John McCain and not on the fighting between the two democrats?"

HD: "That's actually why I'm talking to you right now. I think that these 330 folks, who have not yet said who they are, could do the country and The Party an enormous service by saying who they're for before July 1st. 470 have already done so, so we'd like the last 330 to say so as these votes are continuing to come in from the public, that way we'll have a unified party by the time we have a convention, and we'll beat John McCain."

And yet...
Ms. O'Donnell did not ask, and Chairman Dean still did not offer...
A STATEMENT ON WHICH CANDIDATE HE IS SUPPORTING.

He put it on the table...
He should show his cards.

In doing this he would demonstrate...
Leadership by Example.

WHY HILLARY NEEDS TO STAY IN THE RACE: It's For HER Own Good, the Good of the Party, and the Benefit of the Obama Campaign

Ken R — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:31:23 EDT

Despite Senator Obama's statements to the contrary, many supporters and surrogates are calling for Senator Clinton to leave the campaign. I cannot align myself with that position. Furthermore, in my estimation...
There will never be an appropriate time for Senator Clinton to abandon her campaign.

There's a road ahead that she has to travel and SHE--Most Urgently--needs Senator Obama's help to complete that journey.

Polling and statements from party leaders indicate many of her recent actions have served to tear the Democratic Party asunder. In attempting to eviscerate Senator Obama--not just his campaign, but the man himself, she lent legitimacy and credence to Senator McCain's campaign (The Republican Party) at Senator Obama's expense. She cannot return to the Senate--WE cannot allow her to return to the Senate--with that bleak pall cast around either her or the Democratic Party.

It has always been my belief and it is now my contention, that each losing candidate needs to return from whence they came, Whole and Complete, if not better than when they set forth in their campaigns. The Clinton campaign has set Senator Clinton at a disadvantage in that regard.

However...
Senator Obama can restore to Senator Clinton what she has lost.

Senator Obama is in a position to aid both Senator Clinton and the Democratic Party and heal this division in very substantive ways. That was a measure of humanity and compassion that was lacking in some of the Clinton attacks. Senator Obama can provide her with opportunities to retract and repair some of her statements. He can provide her with forums to unify party members--people with a vested interest in ending that which is now less a presidential administration and more regime. However...
There needs to be time for this process to develop, evolve and bring people back together.

Senator Clinton needs to start--and I think she has indeed started!--cultivating a vision and a path toward Senator Obama. One her supporters find not merely palatable; or one to which, as Democrats, they are simply resigned; but a path they can feel passionate about. One that inspires them.

On the issues, she needs the ability to lead and create alliance for/between all of us. In implementing policy and initiatives, a President Obama needs to feel he can rely on Senator Clinton to work with him, not to contend against him, and/or spawn adversarial/counter proposals. Examine her convictions toward her healthcare proposal. Would she only support her plan, be open to compromise, or willing to side with Republicans in opposition to President Obama's plan? These are questions that I have no interest in posing beyond the hypothetical. January 20th, 2009 should be a date to affirm solidarity not doubt. So now, right now, is the time for coalition building, a time of healing.

Senator Clinton's departure at this point could represent a breeding ground of distrust, opposition and diminished influence for our party.

"Yes, we can!" is a statement of inclusion.
Not exclusion.
We're past these particular drills and exercises...
So we cannot simply 'practice' what we preach...
We must embody it.

I would love for the first commercial of the general election campaign to be President and Senator Clinton, sincerely and earnestly endorsing...
Barack Obama for President.

A response to the news of the day!

jennie — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:16:19 EDT

Senator Obama is campaigning hard for us. He went bowlling and scored a 37 (!) . . . fortunately we are hiring him for the many other skills he demonstrates (like running a great campaign, leading our nation to a new place, and representing us all with dignity and grace, to name a few). But since he is such a good sport, a bunch of folks are ponying up $37.00, or $3.70, (whatever works for you) to send love and wings to our candidate and our campaign. So, if you can, this would be a great time- before midnight tonight, right before the FEC report.

You may also have seen information in the news today that indicates unpaid bills in the hundred thousands to small vendors as well as a reported two month delay in covering employee health insurance by the other candidate. This says something both about a committment to economic management and the importance of health care. On the heels of Tuzla, it just makes me want to be sure that we have REAL change in Washington next year. Senator Obama is financially savvy and has done an excellent job of squaring with vendors in a timely manner. Actions speak louder than words.

So I'm feeling especially motivated to make a donation this week to reinforce that gallup hike; to support Senator Obama, and to take back our Democracy.

Jennie

Obviously, the Next BIG FUNDRAISING EVENT: Bowling, and every pin over 37...

Ken R — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:17:34 EDT

...is a $1 donation.

The senator is shrewd...
Very Shrewd.