Yesterday,on innagural luncheon,Edward M.Kennedy,76,a senior senator of Massachussetts(Since 1962)and Robert C.Byrd,91,the most senior senator on senate,former Majority/Minority Leader and Whip and Incumbent president pro-tempore,suffered a collapse on U.S Capitol.
Well...we know all about the curse of kennedy family and his tragedys,The assassination of JFK(By Lee Harvey Oswald :Not Comproved),The assassination of RFK(By Sirhan Sirhan),the incident involving Ted and Mary Jo Kopeckne on Hyannis Port,the case of his son(who lose members of body),what happens with John-John in July,16 of 99´.
Robert Byrd too,is the older,trade more preocupation.
Well,lets pray to God to nothing kill our president,Barack Obama,neither our V.P,Joe Biden.
So,you can talk about what your waiting to obama governorship,and talk about our dear Hillary Clinton,who acept a few minutes the office of Secretary of State
Don´t Shame,you can talk all here,say what you think about my blog
Thank You!
José(Joe)Ribamar
On January,21th
Speaking as a psychologist, when I hear the angry gossip about Barack Obama's muslim, terrorist, marxist, socialist takeover of the real America, I am reminded of the people with whom I work. Their parents might have died when they were very young, or they might have been forced from their homes or countries by poverty, genocide or environmental calamities. They are ordinary Americans who have been traumatized by some of life's most unfortunate events. These are people who become experts at predicting dark outcomes in order to avoid ever feeling loss, hurt or disappoint again.
Many of my generation witnessed the assassinations of inspirational leaders. John F. Kennedy was killed on November 22, 1963. Aren't the tears and fears of that day still part of us? On April 4, 1968, didn't the shot that fell Martin Luther King tear into all of our hearts? Most of us were just beginning to believe that his mountaintop could be all of our homeplates. And who didn't love Bobby Kennedy? Just two months later, he was assassinated on June 5, 1968. He led with the promise that no matter who we were and what were facing in the tumult of the times framed by an increasingly painful Vietnam war, we could all end up in that better world for which we all hoped.
Have we recovered from traumas some forty years old? I don't think so. We buried our pain and learned to expect less from ourselves and others. We got used to a kind of dull apathy. It just didn't make sense to have too many expectations. My generation has been haunted by the ghosts who aggressed upon our idealism. We became calculating, pragmatic and cold - a quite cynical group used to the abuses of living in a country perched high upon aggressive materialism.
And then Barack Obama showed up, asking us to believe again. "Yes, we can," he said. "Yes we can."
Some of the gossip and anxious sputtering about the two kinds of America and and the symbolic use of a radical student from 1968 remind me of what happens to trauma victims when they have a chance to recover and to live again. They resist. They make excuses. They conjure up old imagery to keep from taking the risk of trust. Nobody in the real or not-real America wants to feel pain again.
When a people experiences great losses it is easier to subdue living. And most of us have become the widows of our dreams. We have a chance on November 4th to risk falling in love again with our faith, values and highest estimations of our own humanity. It will hurt, and it won't be easy. But there is life on the other side.
In her acceptance speech, Sarah Palin approvingly quoted Westbrook Pegler, who among other things was a racist, an anti-semite and a fascist who advocated killing Robert F. Kennedy.
In Spanish, there is a phrase, "To s/he who understands, few words are needed."
Palin's literary choice speaks volumes about why her ignorance does not portend bliss for the American people and their ideals.
In this time of economic turndown, a moment when the search for scapegoats may be just around the corner, it might be wise to remember the words of author Sinclair Lewis, which hopefully will not turn out to be prophetic:
“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.”
Fascist writer Westbrook Pegler, an avowed racist who Sarah Palin approvingly quoted in her acceptance speech for the moral superiority of small town values, expressed his fervent hope about my father, Robert F. Kennedy, as he contemplated his own run for the presidency in 1965, that "some white patriot of the Southern tier will spatter his spoonful of brains in public premises before the snow flies."
It might be worth asking Governor Palin for a tally of the other favorites from her reading list.
The following are just a FEW of my objections to Sarah Palin as nominee for VP:
Achem.
Sorry.
Kinda went off the rails there ... mixing flames, broken back metaphors w/ white supremists. I'm a little worked up over this stuff in case you couldn't tell.
Whew, so, moving on ...
But in Palin's meager defense, she did give taxpayers quite a chunk of change--$1200/every man woman and child in the state. You can do that when you're oil rich. So maybe she has high approval ratings in her state, but how hard was that to accomplish in a mostly white, conservative, evangelical population that got an extra $1200 in their pockets? What's not for them to like? But does anyone really think she has anything to contribute to reducing a $10 Trillion debt in a $14 Trillion economy [or dealing w/ the worst Financial crisis in our economy since the Great Depression}? You think she can fix that by cutting taxes? [of course, I’m speaking in the ghastly case of a Palin-McCain administration]. Not only that she has a history of secretiveness and NOT reaching across the aisle. All you have to do is google and dig a little. And trust me, if I can get this, that means it's not rocket science.
But in Palin's meager defense, she did give taxpayers quite a chunk of change--$1200/every man woman and child in the state. You can do that when you're oil rich. So maybe she has high approval ratings in her state, but how hard was that to accomplish in a mostly white, conservative, evangelical population that got an extra $1200 in their pockets? What's not for them to like?
But does anyone really think she has anything to contribute to reducing a $10 Trillion debt in a $14 Trillion economy [or dealing w/ the worst Financial crisis in our economy since the Great Depression}? You think she can fix that by cutting taxes? [of course, I’m speaking in the ghastly case of a Palin-McCain administration]. Not only that she has a history of secretiveness and NOT reaching across the aisle. All you have to do is google and dig a little.
And trust me, if I can get this, that means it's not rocket science.
"Fascist writer Westbrook Pegler, an avowed racist who Sarah Palin approvingly quoted in her acceptance speech for the moral superiority of small town values, expressed his fervent hope about my father, Robert F. Kennedy, as he contemplated his own run for the presidency in 1965, that "some white patriot of the Southern tier will spatter his spoonful of brains in pubic premises before the snow flies."It might be worth asking Governor Palin for a tally of the other favorites from her reading list."
"Fascist writer Westbrook Pegler, an avowed racist who Sarah Palin approvingly quoted in her acceptance speech for the moral superiority of small town values, expressed his fervent hope about my father, Robert F. Kennedy, as he contemplated his own run for the presidency in 1965, that "some white patriot of the Southern tier will spatter his spoonful of brains in pubic premises before the snow flies."
It might be worth asking Governor Palin for a tally of the other favorites from her reading list."
I recently stumbled upon this RFK quote that I found especially relevant today:
"Our answer is the world's hope; it is to rely on youth. The cruelties and the obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. It cannot be moved by those who cling to a present which is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger which comes with even the most peaceful progress. This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.""Day of Affirmation" speech, University of Capetown, South AfricaJune 6th, 1966
"Our answer is the world's hope; it is to rely on youth. The cruelties and the obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. It cannot be moved by those who cling to a present which is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger which comes with even the most peaceful progress. This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease."
"Day of Affirmation" speech, University of Capetown, South Africa
June 6th, 1966
Something to keep in mind these days.
The "life" of Robert F. Kennedy is far more important than his "assassination" in terms of what history can teach us. A peek in to his political career shows an establishment, pro-war politician transformed in to the progressive, anti-war candidate by the enormous power of the people. The parallel between RFK and Obama is from their progressive leanings. Unlike RFK, Obama started out as a progressive, anti-war politician, being pulled towards the establishment in the process of this election. History underscores the need for continued public pressure on a politician. Irrespective of a leader's inner convictions, he/she will be helpless without the pressure from the people in the right direction.
Democracy Now! Special: Robert F. Kennedy's Life and Legacy 40 Years After His Assassination
To some degree it matters who's in office, but it matters more how much pressure they're under from the public - Chomsky
This week, we observe a solemn anniversary in which 40 years have passed since the hopes and dreams of a generation were suspended. With his very real relevancy to the remarkable candidacy of Barack Obama, I wish to recall Robert F. Kennedy, his legacy, and the promise, 40 years after his life was so tragically cut short, of a return to ideals he believed in with the Movement for Change Barack Obama inspires.
In this 40th anniversary year of the tragic end to RFK’s life, I’m sure many will remember the eulogy given by his brother, Senator Ted Kennedy, on June 8, 1968 in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, which is surely one of the finest and most touching public addresses in American history (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ekennedytributetorfk.html). In speaking about RFK’s ideals, his surviving brother said, “[he] saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, and saw war and tried to stop it.” These words provide a context to consider the life and legacy of Robert F. Kennedy and the potential we have now in this watershed year of 2008 for making true progress in returning to and reaching towards RFK’s ideals.
He Saw Wrong and Tried to Right It
Robert F. Kennedy became a champion for civil rights in the administration of his brother John F. Kennedy, and beyond. As Attorney General of the United States, Bobby Kennedy saw that desegregation laws correcting wrongs of the past were enforced. As Attorney General, U.S. Senator for the state of New York, and candidate for President of the United States, Kennedy worked tirelessly to see the enactment of legislation further advancing the cause of guaranteeing that all Americans be given equal rights and that human rights be recognized and respected elsewhere around the world, such as when he called for an end to apartheid with his visit to South Africa in 1966.
He Saw Suffering and Tried to Heal It
In the mid-1960s, the United States was supposed to be fighting a “War on Poverty”, but as a member of the Senate committee reviewing this effort, Robert Kennedy was disappointed by what he saw in urban areas across the country and in rural Appalachia. He made addressing poverty a focal point of his 1968 presidential campaign. Funds which could have been going to address the needs of the “disaffected”, “the impoverished” and “the excluded” Americans in Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” had been increasingly consumed by an unpopular war of the traditional kind in a far-away land.
He Saw War and Tried to Stop It
One of the prime motivations for Robert F. Kennedy to enter the 1968 presidential race was the “perilous course” he saw the country on by persisting in fighting a far-away foreign war which was taking American lives by the thousands and draining resources from the growing needs of the country at home. The Vietnam War would cost more than 50,000 American lives and without John F. Kennedy to prevent from sending ground troops in the first place and Robert F. Kennedy to stop it, the war dragged on and was even expanded to Laos and Cambodia with little to show for it, apart from the higher death toll on all sides and a weakened America which had effectively abandoned its war on poverty and other promising initiatives.
The RFK Legacy in Barack Obama
The cause of Civil Rights which Robert F. Kennedy championed so vigorously in the 1960s has resulted in the opportunity for a Barack Obama to be on his way to being the first African-American President in American history. Obama’s very success up to now and in the months to come will take the Civil Rights Movement to the highest office in the land. Imagine how pleased RFK would be. We indeed appear to be on our way to creating “a more perfect union”, not only as represented by Barack Obama’s candidacy, but Hillary Clinton’s, too. However, issues raised by their candidacies also show the work yet to be done to assure that race and gender and the other categories for dividing people are overcome and that all Americans truly have equal rights as one people.
As Obama has traveled the country in his historic campaign, he has seen the suffering of many Americans and proposed common-sense solutions to alleviate it. Contrary to his Republican opponent, he proposes action to help Americans keep their homes in the wake of a crisis caused by lax regulation allowing lending which concealed the dangers hidden in the fine print of mortgages. He calls on supporting innovative companies which create “green jobs”, and rewarding them for tapping into American ingenuity. With a united Democratic Party which no longer depends on money from lobbyists and the influence it buys, Obama will also finally be able to deliver on the promise of health care coverage for all Americans by responding directly to that long-standing need.
Part of the cost of these initiatives will be paid for by ending “a war which should have never been authorized and should never have been waged”. Getting out of Iraq won’t be so quick and easy as the blunder that getting in was, but Obama’s very commitment to do so will allow the U.S. to refocus it’s foreign policy priorities and be the agent for peace in the world Robert F. Kennedy wanted it to be as he campaigned for the presidency in 1968 and that his brother John F. Kennedy toiled to achieve in his all-too-brief presidency with RFK at his side. Ending the war in Iraq and making the U.S. a force for peace in our increasingly complex world with tough, principled diplomacy will restore America’s moral standing in the world and also restore the kind of courage RFK demanded of himself and believed in for his country.
Barack Obama gives our nation the best chance to restore the ideals Robert F. Kennedy had 40 years ago – to end unnecessary war, to constructively address the serious economic issues of our time, and to see a commitment to a common purpose in which all Americans have the same opportunity to live the American Dream. Perhaps more like RFK than on any one issue, however, Obama inspires American people to believe in themselves and in the great potential of Americans as individuals and as a nation to create a better country and contribute to a making better world.
By his very candidacy, but more importantly, by the vision he presents now as a candidate and will provide as President, Barack Obama calls upon us all to live out the promise contained in one of Robert F. Kennedy’s favorite philosophies, as originally stated by George Bernard Shaw: some people see things as they are and ask ‘why’; I dream of things that never were and say, ‘why not’.
(This article solely reflects the opinion of its author as a supporter of the candidacy of Barack Obama. In no way does it purport to represent the official position taken by Barack Obama, the Democratic Party or the Obama campaign organization. As a blog article, I welcome any and all comments.)
We stand here in the name of freedom. At the heart of that Western freedom and democracy is the belief that the individual man, the child of God, is the touchstone of value, and all society, all groups and states exist for that person's benefit. Therefore, the enlargement of liberty for individual human beings must be the supreme goal and the abiding practice of any Western society. - Robert F. Kennedy
I'm sure you didn't hear it here first today, but June 6 marks the 40th anniversary of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination.
Kennedy was shot on June 5, 1968 at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, shortly after winning the California Democratic Primary. He died the next morning.
To say that his death was a tragedy is an understatement. Apart from depriving the world of a gifted and charismatic political leader, RFK was a father, husband, son and brother and we often overlook things like that when discussing the deaths of public figures.
RFK's death was just one of many events that took place in 1968 that young convinced young Mark Elrod that the world was falling apart - the Tet Offensive in Viet Nam, the Pueblo crisis, the death of Martin Luther King and subsequent riots in America's cities, the Biafra War in Nigeria, riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
It was a really bad year but RFK's death stands out to me more than most of these other events.
I think it was because that event though I was only 11 years old, I still understood that Bobby Kennedy was young, happy and energetic and liked that. I also knew that his brother had been president and I wanted him to be president too. Even at the time, it seemed crazy to me that so much sadness could be associated with one family.
There's no way to know for sure but I've always felt that if Kennedy had not died at the hand of Sirhan Sirhan forty years ago today, he would have been elected president in 1968, and the war in Vietnam would have ended sooner. So, there's your macro-tragedy.
So for those you who aren't old enough to have even a fleeting memory of RFK, you may be wondering what kind of man he was.
The quotation above is from Kennedy's "Day of Affirmation", speech at the University of Capetown, South Africa on June 6, 1966.
Consider the fact that it was delivered to an all-white audience at an all-white school in apartheid South Africa.
If you've never heard it or read it you should. It's probably the best thing you'll read all day.
Senator Hillary Clinton considers herself a political history buff. However, she must not have remembered President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s admonition: “Never mention rope in the house of a man who has been hanged.” The Hillary Clinton who started this campaign would never have breached that cardinal rule. But the Sen. Clinton we have witnessed over the course of this campaign did just that when, two days after Sen. Edward Kennedy left a Boston hospital after learning that he has a malignant brain tumor, she raised the specter of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination while discussing her ongoing Presidential race. When word spread about the comment, made to the Argus Leader newspaper in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, millions of Americans collectively gasped and asked, “She said what?” Let’s be clear: Most people agree that Sen. Clinton does not desire physical harm to befall Sen. Barack Obama, and I agree with them -- “to the best of my knowledge” (to borrow a Clinton phrase in response to a question about whether Sen. Obama is a Christian -- which he is). But those of us keeping score at home also agree that she would be overjoyed if a “Jeremiah Wright on Kryptonite” type of misadventure happened to Sen. Obama sometime before the Democratic Convention. It did not require membership in the Washington “punditocracy” to recognize that her comment was bound to raise eyebrows -- and blood pressures. After all, the word “assassination” is akin to a political dog whistle: everyone sits up and pays attention. “My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it.” And what most people do not understand is how Sen. Clinton’s “apology” did not -- or could not -- mention Sen. Obama (or his wife and children). “I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation, and particularly for the Kennedy family, was in any way offensive,” Clinton said. Yet, her comment was made with awful awareness that Sen. Obama began receiving Secret Service protection earlier than any candidate in presidential history due to concerns for his safety. When asked why the Senator from Illinois was not included in her apology, Sen. Clinton’s surrogates claimed that her comment was not directed at Sen. Obama, and besides that, she never mentioned his name during the controversial remark. She must have had this response dog-eared in her copy of the Bush/Rove playbook because it is precisely what the White House claimed in denying that President Bush’s “appeasement” remarks were directed at Sen. Obama, and -- here it comes -- that the President did not even mention Sen. Obama by name. Not only is the Clinton campaign’s response unoriginal, it appears fair to say that it is a response “you can Xerox.” But the hippopotamus in the bath tub is how this lady, the former First Lady, the Senator from New York, the champion of Democratic causes -- how could she have made so many apology-tethered comments during the course of this campaign. After all, these comments are so distinctly at odds with our expectations of her. Yet, it is this very reason that any blowback she receives for this (and other poor comments) is justly deserved because for so long we have been in awe of her talent as a political linguist, delighted in her mastery of Democratic values and vernacular (remember “vast right-wing conspiracy”), and sat in prayer-like silence as we witnessed this graceful, adroit, and accomplished lady push -- no, fight -- for the Democratic Holy Grails of CHIP, S-CHIP, and Universal Health Care. She is someone many of us imagined would one day be mentioned in the same breath as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. And for all the right reasons. But whatever disappointment we have in her, she came by it honestly. Sen. Clinton started her campaign with an announcement stating that she wanted to have “a conversation” with America. Instead of a conversation, the Clinton campaign has spent much of the time using the Reagan-esque “cupped hand-to-the-ear” routine, and ignoring news or facts it did not want to hear. And all the while, giving the electorate a full dose of uncut intellectual dishonesty. This was exemplified when her campaign failed to recognize the source of the massive displeasure and the enormous pain evoked by her comment. Our hurt was only worsened when her campaign pretended not to understand why (even if they disagree with the reason) so many Americans believe that Sen. Obama was the indirect object of the RFK portrait she painted. Instead, her surrogates asserted that the firestorm in response to her comment was the result of efforts by the media and the Obama campaign to distort her remarks. For the record, millions of Americans were upset before they got home to watch Keith Olbermann (and other cable anchors who are regularly pilloried by the Clinton campaign). Strangely, I was first informed about her comment by a co-worker -– and Clinton supporter -– who told me, “I don’t know where she’s going with this.” And millions of others don’t, either. Sen. Clinton claims that her comment was only in reference to the timing of primaries that lasted into June, but this argument rings hollow. First, Sen. Robert Kennedy did not enter the presidential race until March 1968, when primaries were much shorter. Next, Bill Clinton’s main opponent was former Sen. Paul Tsongas. Once Sen. Tsongas dropped out of the race in March 1992, Clinton had the nomination virtually assured because he had an insurmountable delegate lead over his closest competitor, former California Gov. Jerry Brown. Unfortunately, her comparison of June 2008 to its 1968 and 1992 counterparts is replete with logical and factual errors that are only illuminated when spoken by Sen. Clinton, primarily because we know that she understands Democratic politics and history better than almost anyone alive. To think otherwise would be to admit that she is now but a shadow of her former self, or that we thought too highly of her to start. For better or worse, her comment was likely the coup de grâce for any political marriage with Sen. Obama to serve as his Vice-President because the comment was made: (1) six weeks after the 40th anniversary after the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., (2) one week after Sen. Obama appeared in the cross hairs of a rifle on the cover of the Georgia newspaper The Roswell Beacon; (3) one week after former Arkansas Governor and former Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee joked that an offstage noise was Sen. Obama looking to avoid a gunman; and (4) two weeks before the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Sen. Robert Kennedy. To Gov. Huckabee’s credit, he later apologized to Sen. Obama. Regrettably, Sen. Clinton -- as of this writing -- still has not apologized to Sen. Obama -- or his wife -- or his children. Unless we thought too highly of her to start, the Hillary Clinton who started this campaign would not want this fact to be one of the things scribbled onto the crib notes of future political history buffs.
About the author: Frederick Barrow, Esq., can be reached at frederickbarrow@verizon.net. Mr. Barrow is a Dallas-area attorney, specializing in management-side Employment & Labor. He is licensed in Louisiana and Texas.
Keith Olbermann goes off on Hillary Clinton!http://youtube.com/watch?v=J8CsQyr6vlc
http://youtube.com/watch?v=q9VEeZ1CL50
Barack Obama’s message to Hillary… “It’s Over Now… Sorry.”http://youtube.com/watch?v=b7--cBpWnJs
Anyone that follows this campaign would have to admit that Hillary Clinton has done some bizarre things during her Presidential bid. Her comments have become even more offensive and the May 24th comments about Robert F. Kennedy take the cake.
But after hearing a local commentator I think I now understand what's really going on. Hillary Clinton is a Republican!! We all know she was raised a Republican, but became a Democrat in her young adult life. Yet her willingness to go to the dark side(Fox News) shows us just how comfortable she is with the enemy. She's even quoting Carl Rove for heaven's sake !! I think the real Manchurian Candidate is Hillary. She was raised a Republican - told to go out and infiltrate the Democratic Party - and after successfully doing so - bring it to it's knees. What other explanation is there?? Who else would work so hard to bring the Party down? She says she is determined to take this all the way to the convention. If she does, we will most certainly lose this election. It will take us years to recouperate.
The Super Delegates must step in, take a stand and pledge for Obama. They must bring this thing to a halt! This woman must be shut down on June 1, 2008 That's the only way the Democratic party can be saved.
Huckabee and Hillary make a nice, rhythmic rhyme, but they sure don't have any reason. After all, who in their right mind would even think to make assassination references in regards to a Presidential candidate -- the first one of color, no less -- unless they had some deep-down fantasy that's better left unexpressed?
GREETINGS OBAMITES!Some of you know that I lead an ongoing "charge" against the insidious journalism practiced by FOX NEWS and SHAWN HANNITY. I have taken it personally, as have many of you, when these Neoconservatives apply these dangerous, misleading and offensive practices to our candidate. While the attached letter was sent to over 80 newspapers, Editors and pundits, I took the liberty of forwarding it, separately, to Mr. Keith Olbermann and COUNTDOWN at MSNBC. I did so, because I know NO OTHER PUNDIT who could vocalize the feeling of indignation that so many of you have told me that you have felt. It warranted, I felt, the castigating tone that is one of Mr. Olbermann's "to the point" hallmarks. I was honored in that he conveyed my message "loud and clear." This, my friends, was beyond imperrative, because Mr Hannity's incidiary tone could have reasonably been expected to incite radicals who, in an a "John Wilkes Booth-like" show of mutated patriotic bigotry, could very well attempt to do PHYSICAL harm to Senator Barack Obama or to members of his family. Keith, however, took it ONE STEP FURTHER, and exposed the expressions of SANCTIONED HATE that have come forth from FOX owner, RUPERT MURDOCH and the patrons of his public-opinion boards and blogs. I have posted the TWO relevant links in the "boxed" section immediately following this one, as well as at the points of relevance in the main body of this piece for easy reader correlation. It may interest you to know that, yesterday, it was made clear, that Democratic Governor, and staunch Clinton supporter, Governor Ed Rendell, of Pennsylvania, has endorsed…FOX NEWS! (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23889508#23889508). The Governor described it as "a fair and balance"news service. Keith immediately bestowed upon him the same "testimonial" earned only by the members of that most "exclusive of exclusive," "members only" order; THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD! Subsequent letter: Shawn Hannity: STOP the anti-OBAMA “FOX-VIRUS” NOW (http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/rickbasora/gGBnpb)
GREETINGS OBAMITES!
Some of you know that I lead an ongoing "charge" against the insidious journalism practiced by FOX NEWS and SHAWN HANNITY. I have taken it personally, as have many of you, when these Neoconservatives apply these dangerous, misleading and offensive practices to our candidate. While the attached letter was sent to over 80 newspapers, Editors and pundits, I took the liberty of forwarding it, separately, to Mr. Keith Olbermann and COUNTDOWN at MSNBC. I did so, because I know NO OTHER PUNDIT who could vocalize the feeling of indignation that so many of you have told me that you have felt. It warranted, I felt, the castigating tone that is one of Mr. Olbermann's "to the point" hallmarks. I was honored in that he conveyed my message "loud and clear." This, my friends, was beyond imperrative, because Mr Hannity's incidiary tone could have reasonably been expected to incite radicals who, in an a "John Wilkes Booth-like" show of mutated patriotic bigotry, could very well attempt to do PHYSICAL harm to Senator Barack Obama or to members of his family. Keith, however, took it ONE STEP FURTHER, and exposed the expressions of SANCTIONED HATE that have come forth from FOX owner, RUPERT MURDOCH and the patrons of his public-opinion boards and blogs. I have posted the TWO relevant links in the "boxed" section immediately following this one, as well as at the points of relevance in the main body of this piece for easy reader correlation. It may interest you to know that, yesterday, it was made clear, that Democratic Governor, and staunch Clinton supporter, Governor Ed Rendell, of Pennsylvania, has endorsed…FOX NEWS! (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23889508#23889508). The Governor described it as "a fair and balance"news service. Keith immediately bestowed upon him the same "testimonial" earned only by the members of that most "exclusive of exclusive," "members only" order; THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD!
Subsequent letter: Shawn Hannity: STOP the anti-OBAMA “FOX-VIRUS” NOW (http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/rickbasora/gGBnpb)
KEITH OLBERMANN presents: THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
March 19, 2008 - Hannity's Site Features Outrageous Obama Posts http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23716643#23716643 March 21, 2008 - FoxNews.com HATE SPEECH http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23716643#23750779
March 19, 2008 - Hannity's Site Features Outrageous Obama Posts
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23716643#23716643
March 21, 2008 - FoxNews.com HATE SPEECH
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23716643#23750779
From: Rick Basora [the_dragonwolf@comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 11:23 AM
To: KEITH OLBERMANN & COUNTDOWN [countdown@msnbc.com]
Subject: FW: SHAWN HANNITY - THE PINNACLE OF IRRESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM AT ITS WORST
The very “worstest” person in the world
Keith, You are my absolute “bestest PUNDITARIAN hero.” I’ve circulated this “modestly” but my deepest hope is that it gets to you. Kindly note the “Olbermannisms.”
SIC’EM!
Nothing can excuse the extremes of irresponsible journalism exhibited by Shawn Hannity and FOX on the 3/9/08 edition of Hannity's America. There, he deliberately attempted to vilify a Presidential candidate with tabloid-worthy disinformation. This is how tyranny is raised; by feeding it. I wrote this letter and sent it to the journalistic world in order to expose this un-American "jester". I am forwarding it to the respectable and credible Keith Olbermann, in hopes that he may use it as a "belt" with which to "spank" this buffoon for discrediting your legitimate profession of "informers of the world." If this “Roman Circus” of an election campaign succeeds in its apparent objective of robbing America of its “popular” will, let all Americans know, that Shawn Hannity stands charged and convicted of complicity.
From: Rick Basora Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 11:26 PM
To: Hannity@foxnews.com; Feedback@foxnews.com; yourcomments@foxnews.com
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Subject: SHAWN HANNITY - THE PINNACLE OF IRRESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM AT ITS WORST
To Shawn Hannity and to the Management of Fox Broadcasting;
Last night, as I watched Shawn Hannity, on Hannity’s America, corrupt the minds of “the corruptible” with a program that tendered accusations of “terrorist” affiliations between Barack Obama and William Ayers of the former Weathermen, I was reminded of the collective “brainwashing” that, as a child, I was taught to believe was a characteristic only of “evil” nations like the former Soviet Union and of former Nazi Germany. As a child, I recall being assured by my 6th grade teacher that such a robbery of the human “will” would never be tolerated in America. FREEDOM, she said, could only be achieved by a people who were empowered with TRUTH as the element that, along with a sense of identity, made valid their RIGHT to CHOOSE it. Last night, your Shawn Hannity usurped that right from those Americans susceptible to the inflammatory; from those vulnerable to the politics of FEAR and from those ignorant BY CHOICE to the REALITIES of the Presidential candidates at large.
Mr, Hannity, I am compelled to remind you that, despite your reluctance, we still reside in a country where the rule of law prescribes that a person is innocent, and not by association, until proven guilty. I feel further obligated to engage your cynical racial and religious bigotry by reminding you that, if African Americans find refuge in institutions and churches whose very names herald a predictable WELCOME, it is because the sins of our fathers have forced them, however subconsciously, to find refuge in an identity. (Keith Olbermann's observations - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23716643#23750779) No, Mr. Hannity, a church with a name that speaks to a black congregation is not a racist statement; it is a statement of fraternity that you and our forefathers insisted on disallowing white America from fully participating in…and yet…they welcome us. Further, you “mouth” the word “Muslim” as if it were the very “sound” of social and religious leprosy. You might recall that legitimate Muslims are a peaceful people in non-complicity with the fanatics that did us and still wish us harm. Your message, sir, is one that has a history of inciting lynch mobs and, just in case Jenna, LA taught you nothing, ALL OF AMERICA will put that mob DOWN. While I am certain that Senator Obama would strongly sensor my statement, I will ask you that, if you must hate the mutations of religious principal, then, Sir, hate the religion of The Crusades, of the THOUSAND YEARS of European Inquisition, of Waco, Texas and of The Salem Witch Trials. Hate whatever fed the narcissism of Reverends Jim Baker and Jim Jones and you can start by hating the perversion of 10,000 pedophile priests, the Institutions that fed them our children. Hate those who sanctioned their rape and that, in doing so, stripped many of us of the comfort that one should find in the words “In God We Trust.”
As it has become commonplace with radical Conservatives, last night Mr Hannity invoked the late President Reagan and his anecdote of a father who, back in the days of the “cold war”, declared that he would prefer to see his two little daughters dead…rather than to see them live under a faithless and godless Communist regime. With that story, Mr. Hannity attempted to rouse his audience to a “pitch” of nationalistic outrage. It appeared to me that he was IMPLICIT LY charging Senator Obama of practicing a communist-like godlessness. Allow me to remind FOX and Mr. Hannity that it was Mrs. Hillary Clinton’s Wellsley College thesis honoring her ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT mentor, Saul Alinsky and his MARXIST teachings, that earned her the appellative “Alinsky’s daughter.” The document necessitated its being SEALED to the public by a 1993 special Presidential order issued by her husband who considered it a political liability because of its “radical” content. This document was “unsealed” in 2001 after the Republicans took office and is currently available for your scrutiny and review. What happens to human convictions after 40 years have passed is known only to those minds that contain them and to God Himself who made them; not to Shawn Hannity.
He went on to showcase President Reagan in a clip from his “Star Wars” speech, where he indicated that America was “a country that did not start wars.” Gentlemen, if this was Shawn Hannity’s way of weaving “illusions of war-mongering” with which to surround a Presidential candidate who stands on a platform of DIALOGUE as his preferred weapon of pre-emption of war, you may want to advise him about the fact that we ARE, in fact, in a war unjustly started; a war that he endorsed and that he is a member of the political party that started it. Senator Obama was the legislator who attempted unsuccessfully to galvanize an effective movement to avoid it. History has proven him to have been STRATEGICALLY CORRECT and no degree of Mr. Hannity’s resenting him for it will grant him access to that elite minority reserved solely for the JUDGEMENTALLY SOUND.
As the pariah of last nights “Hannity’s America” unfolded, it was clear that Mr. Hannity extended warm and humane concern for the life and wellbeing of one Britney Spears. In stark contrast, was his misguided and malicious presentation of the character, principals, religion and persona of one Barack Obama; a legitimate Senator of the United States, respected by what most polls reflect as the majority of our country’s electorate. In doing so, this contemporary carpetbagger has insulted the MILLIONS whose voices are the mandate that drives his candidacy. Hannity has slapped the essential face of Democracy; of the decent journalists and pundits of FOX and of our media. He attempted a coupe on the people’s right for TRUTH to be allowed to guide the American Electoral process. Most of all, Mr. Hannity has provided the most educated minds in America, described by Frank Newport of the Gallup Organization as being the core of Senator Obama’s support, with irrefutable evidence that any legitimate opposition to Senator Obama’s Presidential bid can only find momentum in feeble minds inspired by synthesized realities delivered by “tabloid” journalists beholden to tyrants who, regardless of their party affiliation, are certainly worthy of the descriptive, “MONSTERS.” It is no wonder, gentlemen that we are referred to in Europe as “hypocritical contradictions of ourselves.”
Perhaps, Mr. Hannity, you may want to discuss issues that are current and of legitimate concern to America. I might suggest that you begin with programming devoted to the more than TEN MILLION DOLLARS in Saudi, Middle Eastern and Taiwan contributions received by the Clintons and disclosed by The Washington Post, The NY Times, Jihad Watch and more. Some good questions to begin with would be; how will this impact “President” Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy decisions regarding the war on terror if she and her husbands personal interests are funded by the world’s largest supporters of it? How will this Saudi endorsement affect her right to speak to women’s rights? How will Taiwan’s “offering” temper her engagement of China as the possible new “owner” of America? There are REAL issues, I assure you, that scream for addressing; issues of far greater nobility than your need for tabloid ratings. If, however, that is all that we can expect from you, you might consider a piece on the story that just broke on New York’s Governor Spitzer admitting to involvement in a prostitution ring. It is, as you know, yet another scandal from a State plagued by the seemingly polar opposites of unspeakable hardship and of chronic corruption by its politicians. That should be sordid enough to satisfy your personal and/or political libations, Sir.
Take heed of these, my closing words. The irresponsibility of Shawn Hannity’s “rabble rousing journalism” could very well inspire right wing radical extremists to commit acts in PATENT SUPPORT of his bastardized rant. Because you, Mr. Hannity, are in contempt of the most basic of professional standards and of the ethics of personal decency, we, the majority of America’s electorate hold you and The Fox Network personally responsible for any such actions and further hold you accountable for promoting them and for inspiring them. (KEITH OLBERMANN'S observations - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23716643#23716643)
If we are to learn the lessons willed to us by the American “giant” that was Robert F. Kennedy, it behooves us to recognize that YOU, Mr Hannity, are THE EXTREMIST.
“What is objectionable, what is dangerous, about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.” Robert Francis Kennedy
Rick Basora
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 11:26 PM
To: 'Hannity@foxnews.com'; 'Feedback@foxnews.com'; 'yourcomments@foxnews.com'
Mr, Hannity, I am compelled to remind you that, despite your reluctance, we still reside in a country where the rule of law prescribes that a person is innocent, and not by association, until proven guilty. I feel further obligated to engage your cynical racial and religious bigotry by reminding you that if African Americans find refuge in institutions and churches whose very names herald a predictable WELCOME, it is because the sins of our fathers have forced them, however subconsciously, to find comfort in an identity. No, Mr. Hannity, a church with a name that speaks to a black congregation is not a racist statement; it is a statement of fraternity that you and our forefathers insisted on disallowing white America from fully participating in…and yet…they welcome us. Further, you “mouth” the word “Muslim” as if it were the very “sound” of social and religious leprosy. You might recall that legitimate Muslims are a peaceful people in non-complicity with the fanatics that did us and still wish us harm. Your message, sir, is one that has a history of inciting lynch mobs and, just in case Jenna, LA taught you nothing, ALL OF AMERICA will put that mob DOWN. While I am certain that Senator Obama would strongly sensor my statement, I will ask you that, if you must hate the mutations of religious principal, then, Sir, hate the religion of The Crusades, of the THOUSAND YEARS of European Inquisition, of Waco, Texas and of The Salem Witch Trials. Hate whatever fed the narcissism of Reverends Jim Baker and Jim Jones and you can start by hating the perversion of 10,000 pedophile priests, the Institutions that fed them our children. Hate those who sanctioned their rape and that, in doing so, stripped many of us of the comfort that one should find in the words “In God We Trust.”
Take heed of these, my closing words. The irresponsibility of Shawn Hannity’s “rabble rousing journalism” could very well inspire right wing radical extremists to commit acts in PATENT SUPPORT of his bastardized rant. Because you, Mr. Hannity, are in contempt of the most basic of professional standards and of the ethics of personal decency, we, the majority of America’s electorate hold you and The Fox Network personally responsible for any such actions and further hold you accountable for promoting them and for inspiring them. If we are to learn the lessons willed to us by the American “giant” that was Robert F. Kennedy, it behooves us to recognize that YOU, Mr Hannity, are THE EXTREMIST.
“What is objectionable, what is dangerous, about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents." Robert F. Kennedy
Based on the comments to my blog, the comments by Senator Obama's former -- retired -- pastor have upset quite a few people. I can't defend (or even analyze) these comments as I have not read the speeches from which they came. On the face, they are problematic. What I think is important is to see how Senator Obama responds and consider that in light of how Senator Clinton has responded in similar situations.
Below is the text of Senator Obama's speech yesterday where he addresses this issue. I encourage you to read it and the accompanying speech from Bobby Kennedy; then ask yourself: "Can we move past these divisions, heal some of the anger and is Senator Obama the best candidate to do that?"
