I'm deeply disappointed by the administration's backing off from the public option. The only health now assured by the plan is that of the insurance companies.
How about this, whenever the right-wing parrots complain about govenrment bureaucrats standing between them and their doctors, we reply that there are already nameless, faceless corporate bureaucrats standing there now. The difference is that these corporate bureeaucrats have a financial incentive to restrict or refuse care.
We need to go forward with the public option, if for no other reason than to find out which bureaucrats can do a better job of assuring our health care services.
There will at the least be cost savings, since the public plan won't need to pay hyper-inflated CEO salaries and provide profits and dividends for analysts and trust-funders.
Well...why am I disappointed?'Cause I wanted to ask a question to You,Mr. Pres,but as far I don't have an American zip code,I couldn't.It's enough to subscribe for International Herald Tribune,it's enough for writing a blog here,but it's not enough for asking an important question about Hungary's economic crisis.
Is anyone reading this at all?When I wrote emails about my problem,I got only machine-emails.When I wanted to make a phone call to solve my problem,the line was always engaged.However I was so proud to get an email from Mitch Stewart about 'Open for questions',I thought ,perhaps someone has read my post and invites me to share my thoughts with the president but no.It was only a letter sent to everyone and I can't use it for nothing because of my invalid zip-code.I could have written another zip-code in,but I don't want to cheat.I'm waiting for the appropriate moment to communicate with the president of the United States.It will come one day,I'm sure.
And what was my planned ouestion?The next one:
Dear Mr. President,what would you do at first,in five steps,if you were Hungary's new Prime Minister?I ask it because all the Hungarians are eager to know your opinion,and we do need your advices.
Barack, I caught wind of some news that you are wanting to bail out the big 3 car manufacturers? This cannot be correct? Can it?
Let me start out by saying that I donated to your campaign and talked some of my Republican family members, in Nebraska, to vote for you. I raised $190.00 for your campaign, which is not a lot of money but it is $190.00 more than I have ever helped raise for any campaign.
Now that this is out of way lets begin...
Tonight my husband and I went out for less than 2 hours to celebrate halloween.
We returned at dark but I still noticed our Obama sign was shredded.
I immediatly pulled out a back-up sign from my truck (which I got from our local campaign office) and replaced it. I understand this is going on around the town right now, but I took it for granted that since the sign was so close to our home that no one would mess with it... I WAS WRONG.
I am mad and very disappointed in the actions taking place in America right now!
Help me deal with this...I am getting tired of the hateful and ignorant actions!
I feel that if the sign is in my yard...it is my property!!!!
Isn't it a crime to destroy something that is considered my property????
I believe I shall Quit posting on this Blog because, it doesn't appear that anyone else is willing to participate in discussion. I thought Sen Obama's campaign was all about inclusion and working from the bottom up. I guess I was wrong !
I've posted many articles on this website and received a total of two comments.
It's rather sad that a community which praises active engagement, doesn't engage or is active.
Take care and I do hope Obama/Biden are able to be elected in November yet, with this as a sign of participation, it leaves me worried that the Democrat Party is complacent and not willing to take action.
Richard Owl Mirror @ http://richardowlmirror.gather.com/
http://blogs.uptownlife.net/sonyarose/
Author: Admin | Filed under: Politics
Black folks seem to have their own barometer in gauging right from wrong in the realm of politics, and this particularly holds true when the subject is one of their own. Across communities and even within families, African descendants now here in America always seem to hold our own to higher standards, even when those standards may not be humanly possible.
Barack Obama has rejuvenated a hope in Black America that has not been uttered nor felt since the days of legendary Civil Rights martyr Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. That distinction carries heightened meaning nowadays as poverty has taken a front seat in the homes of most minority citizens, Black men continue to make up an unprecedented number of the incarcerated and affordable healthcare becomes more of a faded reality.
Thus, as he runs for the coveted Oval Office, Obama must be careful not to offend his core-Black supporters, many of whom are already far beyond being simply disenchanted. And, thus, the tightrope act, fairly or Not begins, as he attempts to appease this base,while simultaneously advocating a national agenda for all citizens. You see, the Democratic incumbent is running for commander-in-chief of all America, and not just Blacks. This puts Obama in a precarious position. And, how he will face this tremendous balancing act before him is something only he and his closest aides know at this point.
For instance, Obama was heckled during a recent campaign speech in St. Petersburg, Florida, when a group of Black men held up a banner that read “What about the Black community, Obama?” After finally being handed a mic during the question-and-answer period that followed, an unidentified protester asked: “Why is it that you have not had the ability to not one time speak to the interests and even speak on behalf of the oppressed and exploited African-American community or Black community in this country?”
And, even in the neighborhoods of NYC, African Americans express some concern that Obama is not addressing the needs of the darker class. “I know he’s [Obama] running for president…but he’s got to remember us, he can’t forget about us,” said a middle-aged Black man, who claimed he was a pastor, riding the A train Uptown recently.
Even Deloris, a 41-year-old home-health aide, expressed fear. “I’m going to vote for Barack Obama, but I don’t really know if anything will change. I don’t know…” Deloris said.
Perhaps no other leader in history has had to face such a delicate set of circumstances. Barack has to bring the two Americas together without offending or dismissing either. So far, he seems to have the honesty and integrity to face this issue head on. And for that, we can all agree THE MAN’S GOT COURAGE.
Photo: Courtesy Willie J. Allen, Jr. /St. Petersburg Times
Dear Barack,
You know I love you. Your voice and message has given me actual real hope in a presidential candidate for basically the first time in my life. That's why it pains me to unsubscribe from your mailing list today and suspend my ongoing giving of time and money to your campaign.
On July 9, 2008 you used your power as a U.S. Senator to vote for giving telecoms retroactive immunity for actions that they KNEW were illegal. I'm just...baffled by your action on this issue. Perhaps you're playing some kind of election chess or something. Maybe you have some masterful plan that you're just waiting to execute. This was a pretty big disappointment for me, and many of my friends. Whatever your reasons, it comes across as being very uncharacteristic of your previous strong stances for freedom, the rule of law, accountability, etc.
I want you to know that today I joined the ACLU and donated $50 to their efforts to defend American civil rights that I would have gladly given you instead.
So far, I've contributed $700 of my own money to you to help you win, because I believed in you. That you were intelligent (finally!), understood sensible and subtle approaches to policy, war, and other issues. Lately, however, with your seeming backsliding on a number of issues that you previously strongly stated support for, well, it's been harder and harder for me to consider clicking the nice red Donate button that you include in each of your emails.
I hope you win the election. I have zero desire to see McCain in the White House. Don't be like Kerry, where in the end, it was like, oh well, guess he just wasn't strong enough or good enough or tough enough to win it. Against Bush for God's sake.
Have fun at your 'open' convention in Denver. I still hope that you really do, in fact, mean all the things that you said when you were busy drumming up support by delivering your inspiring messages. You had me inspired. Now you have me disappointed, and wondering if you're actually real, if you really and truly have the integrity you promised. Your well-developed brand of authentic leadership has just taken a major, major hit.
Be the strong leader we want, that we need. Being strong means taking a principled stand, and not backing down, watering down, or standing down.
I still want you to win. With your recent vote, however, I've been 'inspired' to take my own action, to go ahead and donate future contributions and time to other people and parties who have demonstrated their willingness to stand up against the errors of our day.
Thanks for the ride. Good luck, and peace out.
Unsubscribed.
--
GabrielSt. Louis, MO
Video of Olberman's commentary on Barack's opportunity to do the right thing on FISA, before the vote.
More info: Barack+Obama+FISA
First and last post.
I'm very disappointed in Obama's stance on FISA.
I'll still vote for Obama, mainly because I feel like I have no other choice.
Just wonderful.
I read on newsday.com that Obama said that FISA was "not an easy call for me" and that "going forward, some of you may decide that my FISA position is a deal-breaker. That's OK. But I think it is worth pointing out that our agreement on the vast majority of issues that matter outweighs the differences we may have." But it's more than that. It's bigger than this one (important) issue. When I was in school we were taught that there is two ways to think about the role of a politician. Some people think that they are elected because of their ideas and should push their own agenda once they get into office. The other philosophy is that a politician should represent the opinions of their constituents and should vote their way even if it goes against what they personally believe. The trend lately is for candidates to have their opinions and keep to them religiously over their career. Each "wrong" vote or quote in the media must be thought about, planned for, and defended against so it's not considered a "flip-flop". But I'm tired of politicians in office thinking it's their way or the highway. That kind of thinking breeds the kind of people seeking tyranny. Bush's thinking this way landed us in Iraq searching for WMD's, and it's eroded our freedoms with the passing of the Patriot Act. When do our opinions as the "people" get heard in Washington. What happened to "Yes WE can!"? When did it turn into "Yes *I* can!"? When the Democratic Convention win was under Obama's belt I suspect. But it's disappointing. I guess Diesel Sweeties is right...
Oh, and irony...
http://www.barackobama.com/images/temp_flashheader.jpg
...he'd be called an "extremist" or "unpatriotic" --
The Founding Fathers would be disappointed with the way America has turned out overall.
Barack, Hillary, John (OK, forget John).
Frankly, I'm not impressed with the choices. I wonder if it's even possible to be impressed by a politician. Depressed, definitely, but impressed?
I expect my country to be run by people smarter and better behaved than me. As it is, we have two democratic candidates that are acting like children. If they were my children, they'd be grounded until after the election.
These two people, a black man and a woman, both of whom are set to write a new chapter in American History, have a serious chance of becoming the first of their genre to become President of the United States. So are they spending their campaign dollars boosting the excitement of making history, or even talking about the most important issues facing their constituency? No, they are spending their time in front of the world acting like plaintiffs on Judge Judy, and making Americans look even more like a bunch of over-privileged brats.
I really enjoyed the prosperity and sanity of the Clinton years, and as a result, I was fully prepared to vote for Hillary. Then she started slingin' the mud. Now, don't get me wrong, Barack's hands aren't clean either, but when it comes to dishin' dirt, Hillary has him out gunned. This is not an admirable trait in my book. Witness the debates of last evening. Barack did a respectable job of trying to re-focus the topic back to the issues, but Hill and the media mob just wouldn't let go. Barack back-slid into the mud with the rest of them, but Hillary was like a dog with a bone. And last night, as far as I'm concerned, that dog stopped hunting.
