Americans showed their creativity and passion for health care reform ...but the WINNING video all Americans should see is longer than 30 seconds, and so would be disqualified:
http://vodpod.com/watch/2367112-american-sickos-will-the-current-bills-help
http://blip.tv/play/gdElgajBUQI
My parents provided me with health care 33 years ago when my dad's job brought us to Canada. It has never failed me, and Canada's nowhere near the top of the list of countries that do better for their citizens than the U.S.
This is the raw video I am going to use as a basis for the video I will submit to Organizing for America. In it, you see Addison watching Obama talk about healthcare. She claps when he mentions pre-existing conditions among other things.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R_jqASaJYM
President Barack Obama's Sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, Kauai from Jeff Fishman on Vimeo.
I just watched an inspiring video posted on HealthReform.gov that showed President Obama reading a few of the letters he gets every day. Most of the letters the President reads on this video are about health care.
The President reads ten letters every day of about 65,000 that arrive every week. He makes a handwritten reply to three or four per day. (The White House staff replies to all of them.) The video also gives us a peak at how those letters arrive at the White House and how they are selected to go to the President.
If you ever feel your energy for the health care reform fight flagging, watch this six-minute video at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/video/Inside-the-White-House-Letters-to-the-President/
Larry Sinclair has claimed to have given Obama, “Special Treatment”, LoL lets keep it PG but its spelled with a J and B if you get my drift; back in 1999. Now he has been given a polygraph test and failed!! Hes a big fat openly gay liar. He still did a good job smearing Obama and bringing up a lot of issues from the gay community. So maybe it was a good thing that he did it. Still Obama has dodged any type of political pressure about answering to the issues of gay america. Larry Sinclair failed both tests so watch the video. Whitehouse.com would have given them $100k in cash if he passed. Now there is accusations of fraud against Whitehouse.com because one of the guys got his PHD IN THE MAIL! Still the drug accusations he PASSED with flying colors. Watch the video.Read more: http://politicalpete.com/larry-sinclair-took-a-polygraph-test-to-prove-his-accusations-of-being-obamas-gay-lover/#ixzz0H841R4fP&B
http://politicalpete.com/
Organizing for America - Have you seen This Video Yet? More then ever, you need it now to re-kindle the spirit that lived in us all prior to the election.
We need to get this video out in the public eye in a big way to re-kindle the spirit of optimism that existed prior to the election of President Obama.
Yes We Can (Change our Destiny) that is what we need to understand.
Post the inaugural, post the election, post the optimism fading, post the Republican's battle of the wills, it's sad to see our country slowly slipping back to the bad ol' days when the President is simply a news curiosity, just some guy in the White House. Barack Obama is more then that. He is the change we all voted for.
When I get pessimistic that such talk as the above is simply the talk of a dreamer, I hear President Obama speak. For instance, his speech at Notre Dame. It was historic, incredible, inspiring. it reminded me why I was so filled with hope on November 4th, 2008. When I hear him speak, I still get uplifted and remember who is in the White House.
But let us not forget the obvious, he's a human being, he can't correct everything at once, he has information now as President about our country we will never know and he is, I am confident, desperately trying to balance it all. I have not agreed with every move, espeically preventitive detention, but should we need or expect to agree with everything that anyone does? I agree with most and that's good enough for me to be a great supporter of his. I speak out when I don't agree with President Obama or anyone, but that doesn't mean I don't ardently support President Obama. In the past, I agreed with very little our Presidents have done, so this is an extremely refreshing change, especially at a time in our history which is unparalleled in it's complexity and danger to our society, our country and our world.
My only personal regret is that the video I directed and produced to keep the dreams alive, Yes We Can (Change our Destiny) has not been endorsed by Organizing for America and posted on its home page (or endorsed by Oprah or some such celebrity that can bring instant distribution to this cause, this quest to make optimsm and involvement the norm). This video should be endorsed by someone or some organization of such stature. It should be the rallying cry that we all remember to say to ourselves every day, that "YES WE CAN CHANGE OUR DESTINY." If we realize that simple truth, that we are in control of our destinies, we will work hard for change. We will become involved. Pessimism occurs when we believe we aren't in control, when we believe that hope is lost, when we believe that we can't make a difference. But the election proved how much we can change the world, how much we can accomplish when we act in unity with hope and optimism, when our world collectively believes that YES WE CAN CHANGE OUR DESTINY.
I have tried to move on, to concentrate on other causes, problems and issues in our world and my life, to not continue to push so actively to get this video "out there" more. But every time I lose hope and become pessimistic about our world, I listen to my own words in that video and I realize that Yes I can Change My Destiny and the world's destiny, that I can be part of that, that I'm not just a weak individual without a voice. I'm just as capable of changing our world as anyone. Ghandi, Rosa Parks, Mother Theresea, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Maria Montessori, Jonas Salk, Orville & Wilbur Wright, Barack Obama, yes, these are great people, but they are people, regular individuals that began with simply a dream, to change our world. When you look back through history, it's not countries or corporations that created transformative change, it was individuals. The power of the individual is stunning.
If anyone out there in the administration of Organizing for America listening please take a moment to watch this video. It's only 5 minutes. I'm a professional filmmaker, I promise you, it will be worth your time. This video was made as my service to America. But with "only" 130,000 + views (which is teeny tiny in the world of YouTube) which occurred mostly around January 20, 2008, this video is not inspiring anyone anymore. It could be inspiring millions right now to stand up and be part of the solution, not the problem, to realize one's own civic opportunity and responsibility, if Organizing for America would simply endorse this video and place it on their home page as a permanent fixture of inspiration.
Do not think I do this for any fame. I don't even want credit for this film. This project was entirely pro-bono and continues to be so. I simply want to help before my time on this Earth is over.
If you want to see more of what I do with film to try to help, please visit my "political activist" site (e.g. where i try to make a difference) My "MBMPRO" YouTube Channel
and the YouTube channel for My Production Company, MBM Productions International
Sincerely,
Steve Sulkin - Director & Activist...simply trying to make a difference
CEO, MBM PRODUCTIONS INT'L
ALL FOOTAGE IN THIS VIDEO WAS EITHER CREATED BY MYSELF AND MY PRODUCTION COMPANY, MBM, OR, AS IN THE CASE OF THE BARACK OBAMA FOOTAGE, WAS LICENSED THROUGH A STOCK HOUSE AND I HAVE FULL RIGHTS TO USE IT IN PERPETUITY.
Film and video documentaries are beginning to roll out regarding the Bush years of echoing continuous threats to our livelihoods if we didn’t adhere, allow and fellow our vice assistant leader Dick Cheney and his chief adviser on torture assistant Mr. John Yoo, (John can recalled here and here to refresh your memories).
The latest and most popular is entitled “Torturing Democracy” and has been awarded the RFK Journalism Award, where the awards committee calls the film “The definitive broadcast account of a deeply troubling chapter in recent American history”.
National Security Archive Update, April 14, 2009:
Washington, DC - Today, the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights announced that “Torturing Democracy” has won a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for domestic television and is a finalist for the grand prize. Produced and written by eight-time Emmy winner and National Security Archive fellow Sherry Jones, the RFK Center called the documentary film on the Bush administration’s interrogation and detention policies “the definitive broadcast account of a deeply troubling chapter in recent American history.”
From the RFK Center’s Web site:
“Domestic Television Winner: “Torturing Democracy”, Sherry Jones, Washington Media Associates: Meticulous reporting unravels the inside story of how torture was adopted by the U.S. government as official policy in the aftermath of 9/11. With exclusive interviews, explosive documents and rare archival footage, the documentary has been called the definitive broadcast account of a deeply troubling chapter in recent American history.”The entire film can be viewed at the companion Web site, www.torturingdemocracy.org, along with key documents, a detailed timeline, the full annotated transcript of the show, and lengthy transcripts of major interviews carried out for the film. Hosted by the National Security Archive at George Washington University, the Web site will ultimately include a complete “Torture Archive” of primary sources.
“Domestic Television Winner: “Torturing Democracy”, Sherry Jones, Washington Media Associates: Meticulous reporting unravels the inside story of how torture was adopted by the U.S. government as official policy in the aftermath of 9/11. With exclusive interviews, explosive documents and rare archival footage, the documentary has been called the definitive broadcast account of a deeply troubling chapter in recent American history.”
The entire film can be viewed at the companion Web site, www.torturingdemocracy.org, along with key documents, a detailed timeline, the full annotated transcript of the show, and lengthy transcripts of major interviews carried out for the film. Hosted by the National Security Archive at George Washington University, the Web site will ultimately include a complete “Torture Archive” of primary sources.
Please consider giving the website a visit and reviewing this timely and informative film, it’s definitely worth a “watch”.
Prior to the just released nine memos of Bush Administration regarding torture, the following seven highly censored documents were released in the fall of 2008. All furnished documents are in pdf format:
Memo from John Yoo to Tim Flanigan - September 25 2001
Memo John Yoo to William Haynes - January 9, 2002
Letter from John Yoo to Alberto Gonzales - August 1 2002
Action Memo to Secretary Rumsfeld - November 27 2002
Memo from Alberto Gonzales to President Bush - January 25 2002
Colin Powell Memo to Alberto Gonzales - January 26 2002
Memo from Jay Bybee to Alberto Gonzales - February 7 2002
The following uploaded documents were just released by the Justice Department on the 16 of April 09:
Memorandum Regarding Applicability of 18 USC - 4001-a to Military Detention of United States Citizens 06-27-2002
Memorandum Regarding Authority for Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activities within the United States 10-23-2001at-terrorist-activities-within-the-united-states-10-23-2001
Memorandum Regarding Authority of the President to Suspend Certain Provisions of the ABM Treaty 11-15-2001
Memorandum Regarding Constitutionality of Amending Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to Change the -Purpose- Standard for Searches 09-25-2001gence-surveillance-act-to-change-the-purpose-standard-for-searches-09-25-2001
Memorandum Regarding Determination of Enemy Belligerency and Military Detention 06-08-2002
Memorandum Regarding October 23 2001 OLC Opinion Addressing the Domestic Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activities 10-06-2008
Memorandum Regarding Status of Certain OLC Opinions Issued in the Aftermath of the Terrorist Attacks of September 11 2001 - 01-15-2009
Memorandum Regarding Swift Justice Authorization Act 04-08-2002
Memorandum Regarding the President’s Power as Commander in Chief to Transfer Captured Terrorists to the Control and Custody of Foreign Nations 03-13-2002
Update 16 Apr 09:
Richard Armitage On Torture: I Should Have Resigned From Bush Administration (Video) Ryan Grim | HuffPost Reporting From DC
Richard Armitage, the second in command at the State Department under President Bush, told Al Jazeera English in an interview to be aired Thursday that had he known then what he knows now about the torture of detainees, the right thing to do would have been to resign. “I hope, had I known about it at the time I was serving, I would’ve had the courage to resign,” Armitage said in an interview, according to a transcript provided to the Huffington Post.
Richard Armitage, the second in command at the State Department under President Bush, told Al Jazeera English in an interview to be aired Thursday that had he known then what he knows now about the torture of detainees, the right thing to do would have been to resign.
“I hope, had I known about it at the time I was serving, I would’ve had the courage to resign,” Armitage said in an interview, according to a transcript provided to the Huffington Post.
Armitage: ‘Maybe I should have quit’ Richard Armitage, the former US Deputy Secretary of State, tells Avi Lewis on Al Jazeera’s Fault Lines why he should have resigned from the Bush administration over its lack of respect for the Geneva conventions. From Fault Lines, a new show on Al Jazeera English hosted by Avi Lewis and Josh Rushing. The first episode examines the Obama administration’s emerging policies on detention, rendition and torture.
Armitage: ‘Maybe I should have quit’
Richard Armitage, the former US Deputy Secretary of State, tells Avi Lewis on Al Jazeera’s Fault Lines why he should have resigned from the Bush administration over its lack of respect for the Geneva conventions.
From Fault Lines, a new show on Al Jazeera English hosted by Avi Lewis and Josh Rushing.
The first episode examines the Obama administration’s emerging policies on detention, rendition and torture.
Will Obama Block Release of Key Bush-era Torture Memos?
Huffington Post | Jeremy Scahill
On several occasions, Obama has invoked the “state secrets” doctrine, including to argue that a lawsuit filed against the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping should be thrown out.
Updates 16 & 17 April:
Statement of President Barack Obama on Release of OLC Memos The White House | Office of the Press Secretary
The Department of Justice will today release certain memos issued by the Office of Legal Counsel between 2002 and 2005 as part of an ongoing court case. These memos speak to techniques that were used in the interrogation of terrorism suspects during that period, and their release is required by the rule of law.
Obama To Release CIA Interrogation Memos, Defends State Secrets TIME | Posted by michaelscherer
The big news is that at any moment now, the world should know the contents of the once-secret memos that governed President Bush’s harsh interrogation program. The smaller news is that President Obama is further embracing his invocation of “states secrets” to attempt to derail lawsuits over the potentially illegal acts of the Bush Administration. According to a just-released statement.
CIA Off The Hook For Past Waterboarding from CBSNews.com
The Obama administration on Thursday informed CIA officials who used waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics on terror suspects that they will not be prosecuted, senior administration officials told The Associated Press.
Obama: Memo release a weighty decision from Politico by Josh Gerstein,Mike Allen
Obama consulted officials from the Justice Department, the CIA, the director of National Intelligence and the DHS.
Obama consulted widely on memos from Politico by Mike Allen
Axelrod says Obama considered it “a weighty decision.”
Annals of Torture: End Of The Story? from CBSNews.com
It was a great day for Alberto Gonzales, John Yoo, and Jay Bybee. Those ignominious men and dozens more learned that they would be spared from prosecution either here in the United States, where they formulated our odious torture policies.
Update 18 Apr 09:
Harsh Interrogation Tactics Revealed in Torture Memos from ABC News: Home Page
Memos detail use of insects, confinement boxes and waterboards under Bush.
Ex-CIA Chiefs Slowed Torture Memos Release from Huffington Post | PAMELA HESS | April 17, 2009 04:48 PM EST
The Obama administration’s release of classified Bush-era memos on harsh CIA interrogations was delayed for nearly a month in part because of strenuous objections from four former intelligence directors.
Expedience and the Torture Amnesty from Huffington Post | David Bromwich | Professor of Literature at Yale
President Obama’s statement on releasing the Bush-era torture memos is a curious and depressing document, but it bears the marks of having been revised with care by the president himself. He takes the occasion to assure the country that a dark age has passed. At the same time he assures the agents of that darkness that they will be exempt from prosecution. The statement betrays an odd mixture of frankness and caution; the appearance of resolution, with a good deal of actual equivocation; a wish to channel the conspicuous truth to one’s own cause without revealing a disadvantageous quantity of truth.
Bush Torture Memos: Commercial Diets Used As Justification Sam Stein | Huffingtonpost.com
In an effort to rationalize the use of dietary manipulation on detainees, Bush administration officials turned to Slim Fast and Jenny Craig. In a footnote to a May 10, 2005, memorandum from the Office of Legal Council, the Bush attorney general’s office argued that restricting the caloric intake of terrorist suspects to 1000 calories a day was medically safe because people in the United States were dieting along those lines voluntarily.
In an effort to rationalize the use of dietary manipulation on detainees, Bush administration officials turned to Slim Fast and Jenny Craig.
In a footnote to a May 10, 2005, memorandum from the Office of Legal Council, the Bush attorney general’s office argued that restricting the caloric intake of terrorist suspects to 1000 calories a day was medically safe because people in the United States were dieting along those lines voluntarily.
U.N. Official: No Pass For Torturers from CBSNews.com
President Barack Obama’s decision not to prosecute CIA operatives who used questionable interrogation practices violates international law, the U.N.’s top torture investigator said.
Additional postings regarding this topic and others may be found here:
Click here to visit my Barack Obama gallery
I tried to post some photo art on the blog but it doesn't work. So kindly click on the links to view these entertaining OB works of art.
Check out my Obama Easter Greets for you *here*
Click here for my Cranial Brain Drain vdo a crazy fun vdo re-mix and mashup of how my speedo mind works (included my week's visuals and audio stimuli.) Yes BO is on the vdo...YES INDEED.
BObama Commander
If you aren't overloaded yet. Check out the cute song Digger does with Dianah Washington. "Relax Max" With BObama on the cover art.
E N J O Y Increase the Peace and AmAzE yOUR world
Good song: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1098034535572&ref=nf
Henry M
KCUF, 128 Kb/s on Shoutcast Unlimited: http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-shoutcast-limited/ to play, http://www.urdomain.us/playing.html to see what's playing, and now available on RECIVA Internet-Radio receivers, http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-reciva
KCUF can now be listened to using a Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget:
http://gallery.live.com/results.aspx?bt=1&q=KCUF
It may be one of the most impressive speeches ever. The New Hampshire Primary.
See the video at YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe751kMBwms
The title refers to the stimulus package recently passed by Congress. Sung to the music of “Celebration”, by Kool and the Gang. Watch it here.
This is the title of a video I have posted on You Tube.
The title refers to the stimulus package now before Congress. To be sung to the music of “Celebration”, by Kool and the Gang. Karaoke style.
Hey there!
There are 3 new videos on my blog.
1st video is about Obama's Supreme Court http://obama-videos.blogspot.com/2009/02/obamas-supreme-court.html
2nd video is about the Republicans who support Obama's plans http://obama-videos.blogspot.com/2009/02/gop-mayor-for-obama-plan.html
3rd video is an old one, but it reminds of the grassroots movement http://obama-videos.blogspot.com/2009/02/barack-obama-on-60-minutes.html
Hi everyone!
This is my initial blog post. I'm from Germany and track Barack Obamas presidency with European eyes and yes I support the change by Obama as good as it gets. I'm 26 y.o. and student of "Economic and Organizational Science" in Munich. Yes, the same Munich vice president Biden visited :-) and also the same Munich known from the Oktoberfest.
Okay here we go! In my blog http://obama-videos.blogspot.com (opens in a new window) I collect videos by and about Barack Obama and his politics. For me it is very interesting and exciting to experience the change that just has begun. Take part on my journey through U.S. politics and write me comments on my videos and even write video/transcript requests or advocacies for new or old videos.
I try to offer the European and esp. the German reactions on the new kind of politics in the United States.
Thanks so far and support my "political journey" by visiting my blog Click here to open the blog in a new window
The Pickens Plan: For those who would like to become an active participant in a solution for our nations energy needs I urge you to join with T.Boone Pickens in his quest for a cleaner planet through alternative energy.
Also see Green Wave Energy: Green Wave was founded by Mark Holmes and was formulated for viable alternative energy solutions. Green Wave Energy is promoting state-of-the-art energy-saving products and services throughout the country.
Green Wave Energy understands alternative energy technology will become “main stream” when
Call 949.645.1701 for information on how Green Wave Energy can help you save the planet.
Alternative EnergySource: David Apperson
url: http://veterans.barackobama.com/page/community/tag/alternative-energy
