..... Contact: http://Alex.Karoub@gmail.com
We have made historic headway by together pointing our nation in the right directions. After decades, we have America focused on the issues of fundamental importance. Now, each of us acting in concert can together move our country to lead the world to the fruitfulness of moral goodness. I have no doubts about my abilities and the abilities of fellow Americans to work smart and hard to achieve these goals.Barack Obama has the visions, leadership, and integrity for us to correct and redirect our country to once again lead the world for the fruitions of good. Let's closely listen, learn, and move forward based on that which we know deep inside is good and which we can validate with our hearts. I hope that those who had but a few reasons to support Obama, look further into the other issues more deeply. I found the more I explored, studied, and listened to Obama the more I found us in agreement. The couple of issues that I did not have depth of knowledge of, quickly became obvious in need. This was unusual for me since I have always refused to be any kind of a follower, and still am not. I find Obama to be a deep thinker who is articulate and inspirational; and, of most fundamental importance, Obama makes excellent moral sense.Hopefully, our country has learned lessons from the past of mistakenly following leadership blindly, as was done with Nixon and Bush. There are leaders who are simply in it for themselves and will cater to individuals or groups in order to grab for their own benefit. Corrupt and bad leaders hide at all levels. This is especially true in city government as well as county and state government. The corrupt deals of politicians need to be exposed, and those responsible need to be weeded out in the coming local elections. Others need to be investigated by law enforcement and be prosecuted for illegal dealings; for deals they often make for their hidden personal agendas. Let’s look at the bad experiences of the past as bitter medicines, let’s eliminate the need for such bad medicine in the future. Let us use what we know is good to go forward.I believe we have chosen wisely, not by greed and not by misguided retaliatory anger. I believe this time our country has chosen with open eyes, with each of us listening and examining our choice of leadership closely, driven and validated by our hearts.I hope we can continue to make our efforts even more inclusive (in many more ways than I touch on here). Far right republicans will be stubborn to change, but we will need to include them to change if we are to succeed. Sure a few more will leave our country, but that is not the American way. No, we really don't need their false fronts of power, money, insider knowledge, or other trappings that they have taught many to 'respect?'. Let's recruit as many as we can, that's the American way, evolving and changing together as one nation. Try to be understanding as we move forward; by better understanding each as individuals and people with various desires and needs we will find ways to reach out with friendship and have them join our causes of good.Be on the lookout, and root out bad leadership in government and business. Do not be intimidated by those who use the false fronts of power and give a false sense of security in order to lead. Be extra leery of those who say or imply ‘Trust me’; those who give a sense that they somehow omnipotently know better. No longer will Americans be dazzled by phony displays of brilliance or baffled by baloney. There are government aristocrats and business leaders who still believe in the old adage of: “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle em with bullshit”. We can embrace complexity by demanding true, fundamental, and understandable explanations. We can root out falsehoods by not accepting double speak. We as Americans know how to grow ourselves by first believing in ourselves. Don’t be a follower. Don’t be a follower of followers.However, when we find leaders who are good; a leader that thinks, speaks, and acts from their heart; one that is honest, has integrity, and leads by sincere examples; then we need to in a big way, join them, support them, and promote their causes of good. From much research, investigation, and scrutiny, I believe Barack Obama is such a person. I hope we search for and find many more who are similar, who we can add to service at all levels of government. We need to add/replace leaders in business with ones that have honesty, integrity, and show quality in leadership. We need more people in leadership roles who are moral, like Barack Obama.Remember, we are not fighting a battle, we are the artisans and sculptors of the future for ourselves and generations to come. Rarely do societies have opportunities to make such dramatic moves forward as we now have in this opportunity of today. Take pride and practice in being inclusive as we stride forward. In moving forward, create opportunity not only for yourself, but also for all. Hope is a wonderful thing to behold; but without opportunity, hope can become but a dream never achievable. We can, will, and must, create opportunity.In the coming year I hope that we do not lose our spiritedness, but instead continue to build and make headway. I hope we all continue our campaign for change in government and business. We will succeed in moving forward once again, it will take much effort and good oversight on the part of each of us. We will make great strides in the months and years ahead in order to achieve the fruitions of good. Let's keep our enthusiasm progressing through these coming toughest of times. Let us use the light of goodness and love to motivate us with historic momentum.I have chosen Barack Obama because he best represents my deepest beliefs in America. Please take time to read the issues that Barack Obama has published on this website. Also, give your attention to see how he leads us to move our nation forward in the time ahead. Most importantly, be part of America's great future, participate in the greatness that together we will make. Participate!We will each and all flourish, if we think, speak, and act, by using the love in our hearts.
Your reply is welcome. Contact: Alex.Karoub@gmail.com
Oklahoma Democratic Party, 2009 conventions http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OklahomaDemocrats/message/7853 PRECINCT MEETINGS March 12, 2009 77 COUNTY CONVENTIONS April 4, 2009 5 DISTRICT CONVENTIONS May 2, 2009 STATE CONVENTION Oklahoma City May 16, 2009 Mike W Tulsa+ Who has these dates on his personal calendar
Since January 20th 2009 Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States of America, a very historic inauguration day. Think back to 1963, when Martin Luther King held his famous speech, saying "I have a dream...", and see what a positive change has allready been made since then. With Barack Obama the first African American president in US history is in the White House, Martin Luther King`s dream is about to come true and that´s really great ! - Shop America supports Barack Obama and wishes him all the best for his future, hoping that he can really perform the "Change" for America and the world ! - Visit our Barack Obama section and check out "Yes We Can" and other political designs on t-shirts, buttons, stickers and more: BARACK OBAMA DESIGNS - YES WE CAN
BARACK OBAMA DESIGNS - YES WE CAN
Maybe I'm not understanding... New York State's Governor wants the best for health care and cost of economical crisis, but passing a bill to raise the tax by 18% on regular soda? Little bit ridiculous, don't you think? The Governor hopes to have it so obesed people drink only diet sodas, which half of them arn't really any better that the regulars.
Here are two possible outcomes:
Need all of your opinions. Please let me know what you think ok?
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
A new group in Racine, WI is attracting international attention. After the first week in existence, Yes We Can Racine has already been featured on National Public Radio and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Yes We Can Racine is an organization and an online community for action, information and conversation. We are taking the organizing principles of the Campaign for Change and applying them to local issues. At Yes We Can Racine we take action in four ways:
I have been a Barack supporter the whole way, however, I am completely disappointed with the nomination of Hilary for Secretary of State.Foreign Policy is the one major area they disagree on, and she is wrong. Her vote for the war was wrong, her votes to let Bush continue the war and occupation have been wrong, and her complete denial that she could have ever made a mistake is wrong.
Is the Change Train already off the track?
Sources: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/11/21/1685124.aspx; http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27832013/
Sec. of Treasury: Tim Geithner (Interesting note: DIJA went up 500 points because of that.)
Sec. of Commerce: Bill Richardson
Sec. of State: (NOT FINAL) HRC (Huh?)
(Personal note: I'm not sure that Sec. Treas. & SoS are a good idea.)
EMK
WHO IS THAT GUY BARACK OBAMA? HE IS US.We have made historic headway by together pointing our nation in the right directions. After decades, we have America focused on the issues of fundamental importance. Now, each of us acting in concert can together move our country to lead the world to the fruitfulness of moral goodness. I have no doubts about my abilities and the abilities of fellow Americans to work smart and hard to achieve these goals.Barack Obama has the visions, leadership, and integrity for us to correct and redirect our country to once again lead the world for the fruitions of good. Let's closely listen, learn, and move forward based on that which we know deep inside is good and which we can validate with our hearts. I hope that those who had but a few reasons to support Obama, look further into the other issues more deeply. I found the more I explored, studied, and listened to Obama the more I found us in agreement. The couple of issues that I did not have depth of knowledge of, quickly became obvious in need. This was unusual for me since I have always refused to be any kind of a follower, and still am not. I find Obama to be a deep thinker who is articulate and inspirational; and, of most fundamental importance, Obama makes excellent moral sense.Hopefully, our country has learned lessons from the past of mistakenly following leadership blindly, as was done with Nixon and Bush. There are leaders who are simply in it for themselves and will cater to individuals or groups in order to grab for their own benefit. Corrupt and bad leaders hide at all levels. This is especially true in city government as well as county and state government. The corrupt deals of politicians need to be exposed, and those responsible need to be weeded out in the coming local elections. Others need to be investigated by law enforcement and be prosecuted for illegal dealings; for deals they often make for their hidden personal agendas. Let’s look at the bad experiences of the past as bitter medicines, let’s eliminate the need for such bad medicine in the future. Let us use what we know is good to go forward.I believe we have chosen wisely, not by greed and not by misguided retaliatory anger. I believe this time our country has chosen with open eyes, with each of us listening and examining our choice of leadership closely, driven and validated by our hearts.I hope we can continue to make our efforts even more inclusive (in many more ways than I touch on here). Far right republicans will be stubborn to change, but we will need to include them to change if we are to succeed. Sure a few more will leave our country, but that is not the American way. No, we really don't need their false fronts of power, money, insider knowledge, or other trappings that they have taught many to 'respect?'. Let's recruit as many as we can, that's the American way, evolving and changing together as one nation. Try to be understanding as we move forward; by better understanding each as individuals and people with various desires and needs we will find ways to reach out with friendship and have them join our causes of good.Be on the lookout, and root out bad leadership in government and business. Do not be intimidated by those who use the false fronts of power and give a false sense of security in order to lead. Be extra leery of those who say or imply ‘Trust me’; those who give a sense that they somehow omnipotently know better. No longer will Americans be dazzled by phony displays of brilliance or baffled by baloney. There are government aristocrats and business leaders who still believe in the old adage of: “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle em with bullshit”. We can embrace complexity by demanding true, fundamental, and understandable explanations. We can root out falsehoods by not accepting double speak. We as Americans know how to grow ourselves by first believing in ourselves. Don’t be a follower. Don’t be a follower of followers.However, when we find leaders who are good; a leader that thinks, speaks, and acts from their heart; one that is honest, has integrity, and leads by sincere examples; then we need to in a big way, join them, support them, and promote their causes of good. From much research, investigation, and scrutiny, I believe Barack Obama is such a person. I hope we search for and find many more who are similar, who we can add to service at all levels of government. We need to add/replace leaders in business with ones that have honesty, integrity, and show quality in leadership. We need more people in leadership roles who are moral, like Barack Obama.Remember, we are not fighting a battle, we are the artisans and sculptors of the future for ourselves and generations to come. Rarely do societies have opportunities to make such dramatic moves forward as we now have in this opportunity of today. Take pride and practice in being inclusive as we stride forward. In moving forward, create opportunity not only for yourself, but also for all. Hope is a wonderful thing to behold; but without opportunity, hope can become but a dream never achievable. We can, will, and must, create opportunity.In the coming year I hope that we do not lose our spiritedness, but instead continue to build and make headway. I hope we all continue our campaign for change in government and business. We will succeed in moving forward once again, it will take much effort and good oversight on the part of each of us. We will make great strides in the months and years ahead in order to achieve the fruitions of good. Let's keep our enthusiasm progressing through these coming toughest of times. Let us use the light of goodness and love to motivate us with historic momentum.I have chosen Barack Obama because he best represents my deepest beliefs in America. Please take time to read the issues that Barack Obama has published on this website. Also, give your attention to see how he leads us to move our nation forward in the time ahead. Most importantly, be part of America's great future, participate in the greatness that together we will make. Participate!We will each and all flourish, if we think, speak, and act, by using the love in our hearts.
“The Uncabinet. A guide to key appointments Obama should resist”, was the title of a column by Timothy Noah in today’s Slate. I sent him the following email.
Subject: My predictions for the Cabinet, off the top of my head
State: Richard Holbrooke
Defense: Wesley Clark
AG: Hillary Clinton
Treasury: Hank Paulson (for a short term)
Energy: Al Gore
Education: Henry Gates, Jr.
HHS; Donna Shalala
Transportation: Harold Ford, Jr.
UN Ambassador: Bill Clinton
HUD Jesse Jackson, Jr.
EPA: David Axelrod
Commerce: John McCain
National Security Adviser: Colin Powell
Homeland Security: Joe Lieberman
(end of e-mail)
I didn’t have an Hispanic or an Asian. How about Bill Richardson for International Trade Rep and Tammy Duckworth for Veterans Affairs.
I forgot Labor and Social Security. How about John Sweeney and Robert Reich, respectively.
This is mostly wishful thinking on my part, but you’ve got to admit, it would be a diverse and colorful Cabinet!
so here we are: one day remaining. doesn't seem too long ago that i kept catching glimpses of this obama fellow in 2007 and thought how wonderful would it be... never expecting him to come this far up against edwards and clinton. as i have said before, from a marketing perspective, gaining a significant share of the market (in this case: eligible voters) is complicated in today's environment. any start-up firm would be hard pressed to snatch away a significant portion of p&g or coca cola customers. that same start-up firm would exemplify modern brilliance should it manage to overtake the market and gain control for any period of time. that is, in essence, what obama did in 2008. i recognized his potential. i praised his marketing campaign. yet, until super tuesday, i remained unconvinced that obama would succeed at becoming the nominee and beat the two well-established brands of edwards and clinton. once we knew obama was our nominee, i often joked that the only way mccain stood a chance against obama was by selecting a female running mate. i certainly did not mean "that one." when mccain announced palin in dayton, i first cringed. then i googled her investigation to confirm that she had been exhonerated. to my surprise, his popular governor from alaska was still under investigation for abuse of power and likely guilty as hell. was the crime all that bad? not really. yet, just as getting a blow job or sticking a cigar in your chubby aide's kootch is not that bad... when you lie repeatedly and attempt to disguise your blunder... that is often far worse than the original crime. what people i have met and people like palin do not seem to understand, many of us are forgiving of a mistake or two... just not the pattern of lies or unfaithfulness that accompanies deception. its the compulsiveness, the ease, and the noticeable pattern that deteriorates and ultimately destroys trust.needless to say, prior to the veep picks, i began imagining an electoral map in 2008 that mimics the map ross perot carved out for bill clinton in 1992. while initially i was nervous to see what became of clinton's stalwart supporters of which,in exit polls, many had proudly proclaimed gender as major factor in their support. however, with time, palin did backfire in the sense that she was ineffective at luring independents and former clinton voters. arguably, i assert that palin has been effective in igniting the base to match the sweat behind obama. only tomorrow will we know whether the fire palin lit in the far right-wing nuts of our country is burning strong or whether it turns out to be like a rash between your legs after a good date gone bad.to refresh your memory, review the electoral map in 1992 where clinton pulled out a huge upset against the incumbent thanks to ross perot who remains the only successful third party candidate in modern elections.
first states i would point our are louisiana, kentucky, and tennessee. i knew this summer that those states were outside the realm of possibility. in fact, tennessee turned against gore in 2000 largely due to his environmental convictions. given that bobby jindal is about as far too the right as sarah palin, i assumed louisiana was also outside the realm of possibility despite the outcome in the primary in obama's favor. and kentucky... well that ole kentucky home is a thorn in my side, but i will defend her natural beauty until my dying day... just not the folks' politics. ross perot's impressive 18% popular vote splintered the would-be republican votes and carved out a victory for bill clinton in additional states that stay with mccain: arkansas, montana, and west virgnina. while its true that mccain's lead in arkansas is presently only in single digits, i was always hopeful that with help from bill and hillary, obama would remain more competitive as far south as arkansas. like kentucky, west virginia seems to be very confused as to who has their best interest at heart. and, i might as well say it within this blog since i had to slam a door on my fingers a few weeks ago when i thought about writing a blog strictly targeting the separation of church and state. for those of you who forgot, we are suppose to acknowledge a separation of church and state! separation of church and state is among the founding principles of the united states of america. heads up people! when we fail to pratice our civil duties and vote for the best qualified leader to restore economic and foriegn matters because we want a candidate that agrees with the majority of our religious doctrine... hello... that is how you end up with george w. bush twice and the deteriorated condition of our country today. vote for the best candidate. don't vote based on religious convictions. if we transfer our country's power and wealth to china, russia. or the middle east... you may not have always have the freedom to practice that religion you love so much and wanted to shove down my throat. obama appears to be strongly competing to win with an electoral map much like bill clinton's first win. the difference, and what makes this especially remarkable, obama will accomplish this without a strong third party candidate which means he is winning with a more united country and a greater percentage or the popular vote. a percentage not seen since the eighties. obama's net reduction would be 39 electoral votes after losing these five states which is still enough to make him the victor tomorrow. however, obama will likely and hopefully pick up states that even bill clinton could not win in 1992. according to new sources such as real clear politics, abc and msnbc news, toss up states include: montana, indiana, missouri, north carolina, ohio, georgia, virginia, and florida. the other three that are sometimes considered a toss-up are: nevada, north dakota, and arizona. however, i am relatively confident that nevada will break for obama and north dakota and arizona will break for mccain... albiet narrow victories no matter what the outcome. with that said, my electoral predicions for tomorrow night:
given the nature of a predicion, i have to make a few tough calls and my map is admitedly optimistic in the sense that i really want obama to win in north carolina and georgia and prevent mccain from narrowly squeaking by him. since the beginning of the summer, i have envisioned a 1992 map where obama gave up four or five states and replaced them florida, virginia, and georgia which is a net 51 electoral votes. the end result would be a few less states, but a greater electoral and popular vote win on election day for barack. based on a series of recent polls and early voting results, i feel good about viginia and florida. i may still be overly optimistic about georgia, but it now looks like obama has an equally optimistic chance in north carolina so i moved both to obama's column. if you read my earlier blog during the primaries, i liked to mention obama's performance in north and south carolina. he alone, had more votes cast for him than mccain and his republican counterparts combined. early voting and polls show the margin in the general election tight in south carolina while virtually tied and potentially leaning to obama in north carolina. amazing! as for georgia, a relatively strong third party candidate in georgia, bob barr, could "help" tip that state to obama like ross perot did in 1992. barr polled around 8% this spring, but third party candidates generally poll better early than the final outcome because more and more voters fold into the two major parties. presently, "other" in georgia is at 4% and bob barr, a georgian, is believed to compose the majority of that 4% or better... as he has been gaining in the polls this last few weeks by picking up undecided georgia independents.last week's cnn/time poll revealed that among "likely" georgia voters — presumably those who are both registered and have a proven track record of participating in elections, the race breaks down as follows: mccain: 50%, obama: 46%, barr: 3%
however, if the pool of voters is widened to include simply registered voters — which would include first-time voters or those who rarely participate in general elections — then the georgia vote shifts in obama's favor: mccain: 46%, obama: 49%, barr: 4%
so there you have it, i was dissappointed when the obama for america campaign shifted resourced from georgia last month, but happy to hear that more than half of registered voters have voted early thought to benefit obama. i was also happy when obama shifted resources back to georgia last week and may help see my wish to fruition.
what of my other swing state calls? montana is close. originally, that state looked good for obama, but slipped back to mccain after the palin pick. perhaps montana is the one state that palin helps mccain win. yet, we are squabbling over three electoral votes and i my calculations are that obama will succeed with or without montana. i call montana for mccain because the last month's series of polls generally have mccain leading in spite of that gap closing and now close. the same is true of arizona. i was in arizona in may. i kept asking people i met, and i gathered that if mccain was not from arizona, the state would go blue. yet, i see arizona staying narrowly red. meanwhile, long before the pundits and major shift in the polls, i have felt confident that obama would perform better in florida than ohio which was not the case for bill clinton in 1992. however, like nevada, florida's economy is hurting and unlike mccain who hosted a convention centered around terrorism... i have long thought the economy is the greatest security risk facing our country. i trust that florida agrees and i will take back every sand bar comment i've made since 2000.
ultimately, i call ohio for obama... but i predict ohio to be too close to call until after the west coast polls are closed. additionally, for the same reason i foresee ohio ending close, i also see indiana close. however, i see indiana narrowly red for mccain. unlike missiouri, indiana's popular senator is somewhat a bore and moderate. indiana reminds me of northern kentucky democrats. in order to win, you have to market yourself as a virtual republican. with that said and given that indiana did not break for clinton with perot's help, i call indiana for mccain and i call missiouri for obama... home of the likable, well-known, and early obama activist, senator claire mccaskill. if she ran for governor first, she could be president in 2016, eh?
end game: obama with 379 electoral votes. the greatest victory since the eighties. and incidentally, i alway hinted he would prove to be our next great american president. finally, i win a contest... by virtue of association or vicariously or something like that.
First, these are a few of the most important things you should know, but may not (things she definitely won't tell you):
1) Juneteenth Director wrote, "While meeting with Black leaders concerning the absence of any African Americans on her staff, Gov. Palin responded that she doesn't have to hire any Blacks and was not intending to hire any." All the people on her staff and, not one is Black? How is it possible, in today's world that any of the 50 states would not have any Black employees in the administration of a state?
2) A Director for African American Juneteenth Events in Alaska said that Palin was the first governor not to attend or send a congratulatory letter. She never even responded.
3) Palin cut funding for a transitional home for teen moms in Alaska with a line item veto. (she doesn't support helping teen moms but she is against abortion???)
4) As mayor, Palin raised locals taxes while giving breaks to large companies (remind you of the last 8 years?, it should!!!)
5) "The governor did have a tanning bed put in the Governor's Mansion. It was done shortly after she took office [in early 2007] and moved into the mansion," said Roger Wetherell from Alaska's Department of Transportation and Public Facilities
THE TRUTH ABOUT PALIN'S "EXPERIENCE"
I would love to be able to sit down in front of a camera and ask Sarah Palin a few questions about all that experience and what she did, as mayor, for the town of Wasilla, Alaska. Actually the question would be better phrased as 'What did you DO to the town of Wasilla'.
One of the first things she did was to go in and immediately and illegally terminate people, which resulted in several lawsuits, at least one of which was in Federal Court. They were terminated either completely without cause, because they didn't support her in her campaign or because they crossed her. One of the members of the town council, where she served before running for mayor, said 'that's how Sarah is, her friends get rewarded and everybody else gets cut off at the knees'.
When she campaigned for mayor she ran as a 'budget-cutter'...really!! There was apparently an urgent need to redecorate the mayor's office. She spent more than $50,000 to redecorate her new office, which included red-flocked wallpaper. People described the newly revamped office as 'looking like a bordello'. It was illegal for her to spend that kind of money without getting the authorization of the City Council. She paid for this lavish expenditure using funds from a city highway fund used to plow snow, grade roads and fill potholes. When she was told this, her response was: "I'm the mayor, I can do whatever I want until the courts tell me I can't". Can you imagine? That's why she keeps giving her own interpretation of the duties of the Vice President, even though it is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!! Like she said when she was mayor, she plans on doing whatever she wants until the courts tell her she can't!
Her term as mayor started off so badly, in fact, that people were talking about a recall. It was around this time that she hired a city planner and he is the one who actually ran things from that point forward. She takes credit for running the administration every time she talks about her 'executive experience' and 'Wasilla' or 'being mayor'. What would you call it when you're elected to a position, you can't handle and you are about to get tarred and feathered, so you hire someone else to perform your duties? Terri the Blogger calls that being a figure head or being a mayor in title ONLY!!! As a matter of fact, when asked about her claims that she has all this experience, on of Wasilla's City Council Members said 'executive experience? She doesn't have any!'
Ms. Palin touts all the things she did for Wasilla and how she got rid of the good ol' boy network. According to government officials in the Matanuska Valley, her tenure was actually characterized by waste, cronyism and incompetence. The town of Wasilla consisted of between 5,000 and 7,000 people during her tenure as mayor. They had little to no debt when she was elected. That wasn't the case by the time she left office.
First, there was the Wasilla Sports Complex, which she looks at as her legacy. She okayed them to start building before everything was settled with the land deal so what ended up happening was they had started building on land they didn't even own! The initial cost which had been funded by bonds was approximately $14.7 million. The biggest problem, however, was the process of how the land was acquired. The whole thing was handled with exceptional incompetence and arrogance, ultimately costing the city an extra $1.7 million in settlement and court cost for a piece of land that would have costed only $125k if they had handled it right from the beginning in 1998.
Then there was the huge expense to build Wasilla its own Emergency Dispatch Center even though they were successfully sharing one center and the costs thereof with nearby Palmer. It was, according to officials, strictly her ego that refused to share the center with Palmer because they were Wasilla's town rival, so she got earmark money for her own system. There are now two expensive operations, both are losing money, serving a total of 85,000 people. In comparison Anchorage, a city of over 300,000 people, manages just fine with one center.
Then there are the inproprieties or possible conflicts of interest. She took her kids on trips and had the good people of Alaska pay for it, even though it is expressly forbidden to charge per diem etc. unless the children were for some reason invited. When she found this out she changed the expense reports to indicate the children were invited. The problem with that, when the people at the location of the event were asked, they stated how surprised they were that she had brought her children. OOPS, caught in something else that, at least, appears illegal!!! Of course, by Ms. Palin's intrepretation of others if it appears so, it is so, so it must have been illegal.
Then there's the Palin's $552,000 home. Todd Palin told a reporter that he built it with the help of a few 'contractor buddies'. Everybody should be so lucky to have this guys 'contractor buddies'. Turns out every single one of them were, in some way, either were or were affiliated with the architects, the builders, the suppliers, etc. that ended up getting the contract to build the $15 million Sports Complex. Imagine that!
Then there's the whole pipeline thing that she seems to be so proud of. The whole bidding process for that was questionable. Ms. Palin either had meetings or phone conversations with people from the company that were awarded the contract, prior to the award!!!
Want to know what McCain's own staff & supporters have to say about her:
"She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone," said this McCain advisor, "she does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else."
Senator Joseph Liebermann, a close advisor of McCain said: "Thank God, she's not gonna have to be president from day one."
Former McCain advisor, Charels Fried, voted for Obama because of McCain's "choice of Sarah Palin at a time of deep national crisis."
Alaskan Palin supporters and critics alike have said "the woman they see stumping in swing states and being interviewed on national TV is not the hockey mom-turned politician they once knew."
No matter what you think of John McCain, if you vote for McCain for President, you stand the very real chance of getting Sarah Palin as President. If you still think that would be okay, please go back and reread this blog!!! She is a clear and present danger to this Country. She is an exceptionally divisive person. She most clearly has racist attitudes. Don't risk your Country, your finances, your home, your future, or your children and their future!!!
VOTE OBAMA/BIDEN '08!!!!
October 26, 2008
There are many issues on the ballot in California that concerns life in general.
Among them, the contentious issue has been the Proposition 8.
What is Proposition 8?
http://www.noonprop8.com/about/fact-vs-fiction - Thank you.
“Fact: Prop 8 is simple: it eliminates the rights for same-sex couples to marry. Prop 8 would deny equal protections and write discrimination against one group of people—lesbian and gay people—into our state constitution.”
In simple terms, Proposition 8 is a State Constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
The Separation of Church and State in the Constitution clearly defines the role of State and the jurisdiction within.
Simultaneously, the religious institutions like Church have a specified function as the non-profit organizations with tax-exempt status.
Although, it appears from the news articles… that Church functions beyond its jurisdiction and exercise liberty on moral issues.
By taking advantage of the ambiguity in the IRS code for tax-exempt status, Churches donate money to a ballot initiative like Proposition 8 without endangering status-quo.
However, the IRS restriction applies to any major activities by the Church in the legislation.
Since, the Church is involved in this particular issue, it deems right to highlight the fact that,
“God created all equal.”
Every one of us regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation and socio-economic background are entitled to the same rights, privileges and benefits in a democratic society as well as from the religious standpoint represented by God.
It is presumptuous to perpetrate such inhumane, unethical and undemocratic treatment towards gay and lesbian people, who are also beloved children of God.
The discriminatory practice is a human analogy to enforce one’s own orthodox in the name of religion.
It would be inappropriate to reference God in this equation.
If the reason behind such activities to ban same-sex marriage were from the preconceived notion,
That it would negatively influence young minds then,
All those religious institutions have adequate work to do within their own premise…
As children been the victims of highly immoral conduct by the religious order since the birth of religions.
To quote the article in San Jose Mercury News, October 25, 2008 – Thank you.
The Rev. Rick Mixon, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Palo Alto has eloquently summarized the solution to the vigorously debated issue of Prop 8:
Pastor Mixon said –
“The state should protect civil rights and civil contracts like marriage, while the church should be blessing and supporting all manner of loving relationships and families.
He further added –
“I just said, “Where would Jesus be on this?”
“It’s pretty clear to me where he’d be. He’d be in support of anybody who was trying to create loving, caring, compassionate relationships.”
The Gospel Truth delivered.
Prior to being judgmental, it is important for all human beings to view from the opposite angle for a rational thought, as human tendency is to love thyself before friends and neighbors.
The gay community deserves respect, love and honor.
Please VOTE NO ON PROP 8.
Thank you.
Padmini Arhant
P.S. The article titled “Separation of Church and State” featured under Spiritualism category in www.padminiarhant.com , strictly relates to the theme “references to God in the public square”. The presentation is not for others to misinterpret or distort the message to convey their viewpoint to Vote for Prop 8 or other issues.
According to Mary Jane Stevenson, the California Field Director, she’d like our players to focus their calls when possible on East Coast states- Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Sorry, I don’t have any background info on the reason for this strategy, but it would be great if you could relay this info to your players. Of course, if they really want to call someplace else, that's fine too- just no California calls please.
My father, Louis,has a message for all Jewish voters about why the supports Barack Obama
Please watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylav7dY7SJQ
This video doesn’t give all the details of Americanism Economics, but does go over some necessary things the Congress needs to keep in mind.
http://ameriborn.com/blog/?p=1440
Here is a start for Congress and The Presidential Candidates.
Still a rough draft and not nearly complete. But I am tired and it is late. I spent at least an hour on this.
Americanism Economics
Immediate Relief Plan
Written by
William Landers
1. The creation of a central bank.
CREATION OF UNITED STATES CENTRAL BANK
The following will be the articles of creation of a United States Central Bank.
1) Congress shall have full authority over the United States Central Bank.
a) The Congress will not run the daily activities of the Central Bank.
b) Congress shall have a committee of the members of Congress monitoring the activities of the United States central bank.
2) The United States Central Bank will have thirty members on its board.
a) Each board member will carry one vote.
b) There will be a chairman of the board.
c) The will be one co-chairman of the board.
d) The Board will carry out a meeting once a week.
e) Congress on the creation of United States Central Bank shall appoint the original members and chairman.
f) After a term of four years after the creation of the United States Central Bank there will be held national elections for chairman of United States Central Bank.
g) The elections for chairman will be held on normal elections day with other offices sought throughout the country.
3) The United States central bank will have full authority of the treasury.
2. The United States Central Bank cannot print money that it does not hold at current with-in its collective body.
3. The Congress will not require The United States Central Bank to print money that it does not hold with-in its collective body.
4. Abolishment of the Federal Reserve
a. The Federal Reserve shall no longer be in charge of revenue generated thru taxation of American Citizens.
b. The Federal Reserve shall give all of the gold reserves of United States to a newly created Central Bank of United States.
c. The powers given to the Federal Reserve shall be as of this date be abolished and The Federal Reserve shall no longer control any interests in any business with the United States of America.
d. Any and all wealth gained by The Federal Reserve during its creation to its abolishment shall be handed over to The United States Central Bank.
5. Congress will not bail out any financial institution.
a. All assets of troubled institutions shall hereby be sold off to small businesses owned by American citizens.
b. The reasoning behind this is to promote small business growth and end monopolization’s.
c. Free-market is truly free when monopolization’s are not allowed.
d. Monopolization kills free-market enterprise and causes mass inflation.
e. Competition is the best form of ending mass inflation.
f. Congress will require all salable assets of any trouble Corporation to American citizen owned small businesses of less than 30 employees. This will promote growth within the middle class.
g. Congress will give a loan to these small businesses with a fixed interest of 1%. In return the small businesses will guarantee a restructuring of mortgages with the current homeowners of 4% interest fixed over 30 years. Congress will also require that the new mortgage holders guarantee a 90 day grace period before seeking first payment.
h. Congress shall require that no persons that sold bad mortgages or took part in any of these corporations that are failing to be allowed to take part in this American citizen owned small business relief program.
i. Congress shall loan each American Owned Small Business up to 40 million dollars per Business.
j. No businesses with over 50 employees, Wealth funds of any kind, or foreign National may purchase any of these American Owned Small Businesses that congress loans to.
6. Congress will put forth an aggressive American Citizen Owned Small Business Program that performs the following.
a. Manufactures Products in the United States.
b. Is involved in recycling products with-in the United States.
c. Employs up to 200 persons.
d. Start-up business that does the following.
1. When the person starting the business has made less than two hundred thousand per year in their life time.
e. Congress will fund these businesses with no less than two hundred thousand and no more than ten million.
f. Congress will create a new program called employer relief.
1. This program will ensure that the new business or small business can survive.
2. Congress will have a worker’s compensation fund.
a. Each employer will pay three hundred and fifty dollars for each employee up to two hundred employees for the year.
b. No employers with over two hundred employees can qualify for this program.
3. Congress will have an unemployment insurance program with the employer paying five hundred dollars for the year per employee up to two hundred employees.
a. No employer with over two hundred employees can qualify.
7. Congress will allocate ten billion for purchase of cars that drive forty miles on all electric and then can switch to a flex fuel for driving over forty miles.
a. Congress will have a committee that loans this money to these American Manufactures of cars that get forty miles on all electric and then can drive on flex fuels.
1. The cars have to be mainly manufactured with-in the borders of United States.
2. Congress will charge a fee of one perecnt to the American Manufactures to be paid back as cars are sold.
3.. The Manufactures will make loans to American Citizen Consumers at a rate of two perecnt.
This is a begining had to get this out to stop congress from making a horrible mistake today.
Late this evening I will be releasing the Full Relief Act.
AMERICANISM ECONOMICS RELIEF ACT
PART ONE
THE IMMEDITATE RELIEF ACT
written by
Sec.1
(1) Congress shall not under any circumstance give economic relief to any corporation that is not fully owned by American Citizens.
(2) Congress will be the only institution authorized to spend money generated thru tax revenue.
(3) The Federal Reserve shall no longer be in charge of revenue generated thru taxation of American Citizens.
(3a) The Federal Reserve shall give all of the gold reserves of United States to a newly created Central Bank of United States.
(3b) the powers given to the Federal Reserve shall be as of this date be abolished and The Federal Reserve shall no longer control any interests in any business with the United States of America.
(3c) any and all wealth gained by The Federal Reserve during its creation to its abolishment shall be handed over to The United States Central Bank.
(4) The creation of The United States Central Bank will hereby be the holder of the wealth of United States.
(4a) The United States Central Bank will be regulated thru Congress.
(4b) the United States Central Bank Chairman will be an elected position.
(4c) The Chairman of The United States Central Bank shall be elected thru national vote every 4 years to guarantee the rights of the American Citizens from tyranny or oppression.
(4d) The United States Central Bank cannot print money that it does not hold at current with-in its collective body.
(4e) The Congress will not require The United States Central Bank to print money that it does not hold with-in its collective body.
The immediate creation of The United States Central Bank is hereby written into law.
As of _____________________________2008
Members of Congress
- -2008
Members of Senate
President of the United States
Just as seven years ago the Foundation condemned Pres. George W. Bush's creation of his misguided "faith-based initiative," today the Foundation protests the shortsightedness of candidate Barack Obama in endorsing its continuation.
This is the wrong direction for our country. The next president should have the integrity and courage to back off from Bush's fiasco and abolish the so-called faith-based initiative. It has been a waste of taxpayers' money, has injected religion into politics, deprived needy clients of the best help, and has punched a huge hole in America's vaunted "wall of separation between church and state."
It's lovely to say, as Obama does, that "I believe deeply in the separation of church and state." But actions speak louder than words. There is negligible difference between Obama's and Bush's stated provisos on the faith-based initiative. Like Obama, Bush claimed the faith-based initiative would not allow religious groups to use public grants to proselytize or discriminate against clients, and that public money going to places of worship was only to be used for secular programs. But there is no accountability and no monitoring provisions, as the GAO audit of 2006 documented.
It's also fine for Obama to say the government and its recipients are going to follow the law. But every day at the Freedom From Religion Foundation, we field complaints about violations of the separation between church and state even over established law, such as school prayer. Obama offers no plan for monitoring the constitutional pitfall of a "partnership" between religion and government.
The Foundation has taken and won many court challenges against the faith-based initiative. For instance, a federal judge in our Faith Works case in Milwaukee ruled in 2002 that $800,000 in direct federal subsidy to a ministry that existed to "bring homeless addicts directly to Christ" was unconstitutional. The funds were spent (and wasted) by the time we won the case. In 2005, we halted the final federal grant to MentorKids USA, in which volunteer mentors had to sign a statement that they believed literally in the creation story before they could go on to openly proselytize children of prisoners. We stopped a "parish nursing program" in Montana in 2003, and in 2007 a "chaplaincy" in Indiana set up to minister to state employees. Important and pioneering as our legal cases have been, they are a mere drop in the bucket in terms of the public financing of proselytization under the faith-based scheme.
Obama praises Take Youth Education for Tomorrow, a program run by churches and church schools to teach reading after school and during the summer, largely in church settings. Churches and the offices of religious organizations are innately coercive environments. What about parents who don't want their children to have to go to church in order to get reading help? When taxpayers are footing the bill, such programs should be held in a neutral setting--there is, after all, no shortage of public schools, already tax-supported!
It is not only the 16% of the population who is nonreligious who is offended. Many Muslims are forbidden to enter Christian churches. Jewish children may not feel comfortable entering a Christian church. Even many Christian sects are uneasy about adherents entering churches run by competing denominations. The idea is fraught with practical and constitutional peril.
Weirdly, Obama criticizes Bush for failing to reach out to faith-based groups about how to apply for federal dollars. Yet this was a cornerstone of Bush's faith-based initiative. At countless regional and federal faith-based conferences, hands-on technical support at public expense (including "free lunches") is exactly what the Bush Administration has offered churches and religious agencies for seven expensive years!
Obama says "we all have to work together--Christian and Jew, Hindu and Muslim; believer and nonbeliever alike--to meet the challenges of the 21st century." True, even laudable. But that does not mean "we" should all be taxed to support churches or religious agencies. Many Americans proudly are descended from immigrants who came here to escape mandatory tithes and taxation in support of churches against their consent.
Obama's tone is more balanced than Bush's. But he spoils the effect by criticizing those "who bristle at the notion that faith has a place in the public square." Secularists have never said faith can't be displayed in public. We do insist that faith should not be part of government, subsidized by government or promoted by government. The genius of the founders of our secular republic was to recognize that keeping religion and government separate is the way to prevent religious corruption and coercion.
Obama's reference to needing "people of faith on Capitol Hill"--as if Capitol Hill weren't at the moment dominated by "people of faith"--is both a naive platitude and exclusionary. How would religionists feel if Obama had said: "We need people without faith on Capitol Hill"?
Let's abolish the faith-based initiative and go back to the days before John Ashcroft first proposed so-called "charitable choice." Religious social services have always been free to bid for social service grants, but they were expected to create a secular arm, keep separate books and take their crosses down. A return to the status quo is the simple answer to the mess created by Bush's faith-based initiative.
Obama's Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships is merely a renaming of Bush's Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Ironically, nearly everything Obama criticizes Bush's initiative for ("it was used to promote partisan interests," "it has to be a real partnership--not a photo-op") can be said of Obama's plan and his "photo-op" speech today. Same taxi, different driver. Where's that vaunted "change" that Obama's campaign has been promising?
On a related topic, we are appalled at the arrogant, presumptuous hubris of politicians who claim to know "God's will." Obama joins an unfortunately long line of political candidates and public officials (which includes more than its fair share of despots), who talk about "fulfilling God's will" and "doing the Lord's work." Why are these politicians so special that they possess a direct pipeline to a divinity? The presidential candidates have crossed the line between acknowledging sincere personal faith to wearing faith on their sleeves and unapologetic political pandering. Both John McCain and Obama have been burned by their past close associations with pastors. Why can't they see that religion mixed with politics is always a combustible mixture?
--Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, The Freedom From Religion Foundation.
