Posts with the tag barackobama

Equal Rights for GLBTQ (gay) and atheist (agnostics, humanists, naturalists, Brights, etc,

Freethinker — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:23:25 EST

Candidate and President Barack Obama is the first leader of the free world to champion equal rights regardless of sexual orientation or belief (or absence thereof). In future posts, I hope to explore the progress (or lack thereof) of these issues, along with whatever comes up as you read and respond to my writings and comments of others. - Freethinker

INAUGURAL KICK OFF

WEBMASTER — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:04:01 EST

Inaugural Kick Off to be Held on the Steps of the Lincoln Memorial
Inaugural Eve to Feature Concert for America's Children

Washington, D.C. -- The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) will host a welcome event to kick off the 56th Presidential Inauguration at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, January 18th.

The PIC also plans to hold a youth concert on the evening of Monday, January 19th, at the Verizon Center in downtown Washington.

Sunday's welcome event and Monday's concert will continue President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden's commitment to hold an Inauguration that is open, accessible and reflects a spirit of unity for Americans of all ages.

The afternoon welcome event, to be held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the west end of the National Mall, will be free and open to the public.

Dedicated to the memory of America's 16th President, the Lincoln Memorial has been the site of many Presidential Inauguration activities in recent years.

President Clinton held a free concert on the grounds in 1993 that included performances by Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, and Bob Dylan. In 2001, President-elect Bush kicked off his inaugural festivities at the site with performances by Ricky Martin, Charlotte Church, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The PIC is also pleased to announce that a concert for America's children will be held the night before the Inauguration, Monday, January 19th.

The concert will be free, but tickets will be required. Further details of the welcome event, concert and other inaugural activities will be made available in the coming weeks.

For the latest information on the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, please visit www.pic2009.org.

Non-partisan Presidential Inaugural hoodies available through LIFE CLOUD.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

WEBMASTER — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 02:26:14 EST

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

individuals and organizations understand that alternative energy technology exists and
when people see the economic benefits of using alternative energy technologies

Call 949.645.1701 for information on how Green Wave Energy can help you save the planet.

Alternative Energy
Source: David Apperson

url: http://veterans.barackobama.com/page/community/tag/alternative-energy

For Now: SHenley10

Shannon Henley — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:42:36 EST

http://SHenley10.synthasite.com
Given a chance of a Lifetime, will we, an American People, rise to the challenges we are faced with and help a rare human being, a good and righteous man, sent to us as a chance for a reprieve; A chance to rectify all of our mistakes; A chance to justify our very existence on this Earth; An opportunity to leave an expression and legacy of peace and Love to our children? Or should we continue on the path to destruction that most of us realize is the one we've been on; Continue on the wrong path by remaining jaded and hard hearted towards our brothers and sisters, whatever race, creed, religious conviction, political affiliation or physical manifestation we fear, fail to recognize, accept or agree with or choose to admonish today? This is the chance Americans cannot afford to through away, discourage or belittle the significance of being THE CHANCE (MAYBE OUR LAST) OF A LIFETIME FOR A NATION!
Barack Obama is here to help us re-organize ourselves so we all can start feeding the Good Dog & not the Bad Dog anymore.
Let's keep it as simple as we can; Free of all the smoke and mirrors, confusion and misdirection being created everyday to rob us of this chance to prove that Freedom is the most valuable entity on Earth.
Let's help Barack and Michelle Obama keep things simple and doable by making lists that are separated only once down the middle of the page, vertically ... One side of the list is the good side; Let's say the left for the sake of argument, and on the right side of the page, the bad shall be listed.
Which side of the list do you suppose we need to follow; If there is a question as to which side of the list something belongs on, that's what we probably need to vote on and mandate laws backing up the majority decision with the mandates.
WHO WANTS TO START THE LIST? SLANTS ~ S.L.Henley

TRANSPARENT ADMINISTRATION

WEBMASTER — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 17:29:02 EST

Dear Obamanation,

Everyday, we meet with organizations that present ideas for the Transition and the incoming Obama-Biden Administration. In past transitions, meetings like this have been held behind closed doors.

Not anymore. Today, every Obama-Biden Transition staff member received a MEMO outlining the "Seat at the Table" Transparency Policy.

The policy is pretty simple: the people and groups we're meeting with, the subjects of the meetings, and any documents shared in the meetings will now be made available on CHANGE.GOV. Most importantly, the American public can weigh in with comments or their own materials.

WATCH YOUR 'SEAT AT THE TABLE' VIDEO

This is our latest step toward a more transparent and accessible Transition. We look forward to benefitting from the many more voices that will now be a part of the decision-making process.

Thank you,

John D Podesta, Co-chair
The Obama-Biden Transition Project

TRANSPARENT ADMINISTRATION
- EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY

delivery method: my.barackobama.com

Pray for the USA

Mary from Clifton Park, NY — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:01:32 EST

It's been a long time coming, and a change is gonna come! We must, as Americans, continue to pray for this great nation, and our current President as well as President Elect Barack Obama and his family. We must remember to continue doing our part in making and keeping this country a great nation.

The voters stated profoundly that we, as Americans, will no longer stand for the same old same old. We have a voice in our vote and we will stand together to bring about a change in this Nation. Therefore, if there are "repeat offenders" in your legislative, senate, or congressional seats, VOTE THEM OUT! We will not get anywhere with the same people in office. We hear it everyday...if you think you're going to get a different outcome doing the same thing with the same people in control, you're fooling yourself, wasting your time, and remaining stagnant.

It's time to stir the waters, take a leap of faith, and exercise that FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD! Get involved! Your little bit counts - even if it's just helping to feed a neighbor's child; making sure your neighbors are safe and warm; helping the children in your neighborhood complete their homework; lending a hand to the senior citizen in your community; etc. At least participatie and not stand idly by watching things get worse - that is no longer an option.

This crisis is real and WE BELIEVE that YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! YES WE CAN!

We will continue to pray and remain involved in whatever needs to be accomplished to bring Americans together, change the economy, and educate our children - the future leaders of this great Nation.

Take care and GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Mary

barackobama

Brian from Ithaca, NY — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 02:30:45 EST

barackobama

WWJD Evangelicals?

Laurie Foston — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 23:41:36 EDT

Today I received this cruel and hateful email which I should not post on a blog but to make a point, I must. I didn't bother to edit it. It reads:

Notice to all employees.

As of November 5, 2008, when President Obama is officially elected into office, our company will instill a few new policies which are in keeping with his new, inspiring issues of change and fairness:

1. All salespeople will be pooling their sales and bonuses into a common pool that will be divided equally between all of you. This will serve to give those of you who are under-achieving a "fair shake".
2. All low level workers will be pooling their wages, including overtime, into a common pool, dividing it equally amongst you. This will help those who are "too busy for overti me" to reap the rewards from those who have more spare time and can work extra hours.
3. All top management will now be referred to as "the government." We will not participate in this "pooling" experience because the law doesn't apply to us.
4. The "government" will give eloquent speeches to all employees every week, encouraging its workers to continue to work hard "for the good of all".
5. The employees will be thrilled with these new policies because it's "good to spread the wealth aroun d". Those of you who have underachieved will finally get an opportunity; those of you who have worked hard and had success will feel more "patriotic".
6. The last few people who were hired should clean out their desks. Don't feel bad, though, because President Obama will give you free healthcare, free handouts, free oil for heating your home, free food stamps, and he'll let you stay in your home for as long as you want even if you can't pay your mortgage. If you appeal directly to our democratic congress, you might even get a free flat screen TV and a coupon for free haircuts (shouldn't all Americans be entitled to nice looking hair?)!!!

If for any reason you are not happy with the new policies, you may want to rethink your vote on November 4th.

________________________________________________________________________________

I have a tendency to act irrational when I see garbage like the above in my email or anywhere. Patience and tolerance is not my virtue and I certainly have no tolerance nor eloquence or logic in answering to something like this because it is so pathetic and illogical in its content.

Per IRS Publication 15, bonuses are wages. They are to be treated like other payroll, with the exception that withholding for federal income tax can be limited to 25%. This is not considered income when you go to purchase a home because you cannot assure the lender that this bonus will be steady income.

Bonuses are taxable...if you use a payroll company they can add it in as a separate line item to show employees that the extra funds were a bonus. If you use QB (quick books) solely, you can still break it out as a separate line item. Bonuses are still considered wages so there won't be anything special to add to W2's either.

Men who have talked employers into hiring them to work three jobs at a time in order to pay for a yacht will have to pay more taxes, much to their disdain if their income meets that criteria, should Obama be elected. He has taken an extra job that another man could have taken to feed his hungry children just so he can buy his yacht. Is this not greed? What person of good conscience is going to obsess over buying luxuries to the point where he would lay claim to three jobs, and starve out someone else's children?

If a man has to have three jobs to make $42,000 a year then there's something wrong with the economy that we don't know about. I see nothing unusual in this day and time with working two jobs to barely make ends meet on $42,000 a year. Both man and wife have to work sometimes for this salary. However, it should be easier for them to do this if the jobs are available. Obviously, if John Doe feels obsessed to have his yacht to the point that he has to take a job from someone else to do it, then we are not living in a fair society at all.

Now, anyone who earns over $250,000 a year will pay more taxes than those who do not according to Obama should he be elected. This is a plan that he believes will help everyone in morale and economy. I share this belief.

If you have a bonus, the bonus will not be taxed more than any other income. It will remain at the lower tax rate according to the IRS code. The Democratic presidential candidate has not carved that figure into stone because he hasn't seen what is sitting on the desk in the Oval Office. He has made this very clear.

The joke that originated from McCain/Palin supporters (who surely cannot be a part of those who claim they are conservatives and evangelicals as well) arguing that higher taxes applied to those earning in excess of over $250,000 is not getting us anywhere. Why are we not trying to help one another?

Does this meet up to the conservative standards? No, but this may come as a surprise to some of you right wingers who link your politics with your church, that Jesus Christ gave a parable in which he expressed the true rewards in this world came through sharing...not by owning a yacht. He tried to show the people how jealousy and lack of concern for one another was not going to be tolerated in the Kingdom of Heaven. You may as well learn right here on earth.

To make my case I will refer to Matthew 20: 1-16.

Remember the Gore/Bush debate where Al Gore tried to use this same doctrine and Bush smirked and called it something that he should not have. See where the Bush administration policies have lead us?

The parable of the vineyard goes something like this:

A man is hired at 9:00 am to work all day in a vineyard for a penny, Then one is hired to work at noon and then 3:00 PM and so on until the end of the day. Then the employer paid them all a penny each for their labor. Then came the complaints.

We had to work longer than these others and yet you have given us all the same pay.

Some pastors have gone so far as to have a ladder on the pulpit and climb that ladder to try to make the point that Jesus tried so hard to get across to the people. We are all equal. It was written in the Word and in our country's constitution that we all have rights to the pursuit of happiness. It is greed that pushes us toward having so much that we can outshine our neighbors.

The Kingdom of Heaven will not be like that according to Christ.

Do you think God will reward you for whining about sharing? Or will he reward you for sharing?

Do you resent your fellow man who has searched for work but due to the lack of jobs, has no money to feed his children and has received food stamps while you work your three jobs to own that yacht?

WWJD?

Our motivation should be to get a reward out of doing things to help our fellow man. "I AM my brother's keeper." says Barack Obama. More importantly, Jesus said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me."

This quote came from a pastor of a First United Church of Christ, but all churches should be teaching this same doctrine because it is the doctrine set down by Christ.

"Good works are not done to earn something, but as an act of gratitude for what God has done for us. God has done all for us, so why not do for others in the same spirit of generosity? This truly frees us. When we are working for a reward, we are always wondering if we are good enough, looking for clues to see if God accepts us, looking for human approval and praise when we can’t hear from God. We are perpetually trapped. But when we do good works out of thanksgiving, for the sheer love of doing it for someone, we are free. We already know we are accepted by God. We don’t have any reason to feel taken for granted, resentful or self-righteous. Better to do one act out of love and gratitude to God than to do three good deeds with grim striving for God’s approval."

Why send around hateful emails, encouraging people to despise those who cannot do for themselves.

The system Bush used did not work. Someone else will be in charge of the vineyard on January 20, 2009. Let's pray that we are sent the right caretaker for the vineyard. We know as long as we are in this world, in our own flesh, there is no perfection, but some aspire more than others to reach that perfection. Let's all strive to be a part of that race...to reach the finish line to get to perfection.

List Unite4Change Events in Your Area!

! Unite4Change� — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:16:00 EDT

Did you encounter Barriers to Host any of your Events?

Did you attempt to setup an Obama Online Group and were Denied by the My.BarackObama IT webmasters?

Please Feel FREE to Post your G Rated Student Family Friendly Input listing who, what, when and where ANY barriers were imposed on your Right of Assembly or problems on the Format of this My.BarackObama website!

Your More than Warmly WELCOME to POST at our Primary Interactive Online Groups

http://groups.YAHOO.com/group/OBAMA_

http://groups.YAHOO.com/group/PresidentPALIN

http://groups.YAHOO.com/group/Unite4Change

http://groups.YAHOO.com/group/WHITE_HOUSE

http://groups.YAHOO.com/group/AmericansDiscuss

Etc. Just Type In what-ever Topic is Most Vital to You!

What's Wrong With Sarah Palin?

To the left of liberals — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:34:48 EDT

Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feminist and
activist best known for "The Vagina Monologues", wrote the following
about Sarah Palin.

Drill, Drill, Drill
I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she
was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the
claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have
a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness
or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I
have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact
that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the
polar bears.

I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life
trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence
against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the
Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people
who made this choice count on the goodne ss and solidarity of
Feminists.

But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical
to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving
the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls
options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence
and war.

I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous
choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those
candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in
so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally
disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the
world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have
seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the
presidency with regularity.

Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor.
In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets
better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The
melting of the arctic , the storms that are destroying our cities, the
pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is
fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The
earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves
and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to
be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As
she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."

Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women
who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should
have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or
not.

She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I
imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many
babies that makes.

Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she
has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense
with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an
environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who coul d
and might very well be the next president of the United States. She
would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.

Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting
rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot
hundreds of wolves from the air.

Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private
right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when
war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in
his name, t hat is the end of separation of church and state and the
undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.

I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this
election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the
future not just of the U.S., but of the planet. It will determine
whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever
uninh abitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards
dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence
through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether
we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in
alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It
will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or
whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine
whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of
fear, fundamentalism and aggression.

If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your
power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the
hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of
teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of
destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises
that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis,
doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.

Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the
floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between
nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing
we call life?

Eve Ensler

Video: Sen. Clinton in Tampa

Victor Zapanta — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:02:22 EDT

Thanks to everybody who made it to Hillary's event on Monday.

Here's some highlights from her speech in Tampa:

Democrats and the Hard Middle

kavips — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:50:56 EDT

Historically Democrats have always had trouble during the early fall months... The leads they aspired to, that once looked possible, have slowly closed as the Republican Convention wraps up and now their democratic presidental campaigns, just seem to run out of steam...

It happened to Carter; it happened to Mondale; it happened to Dukakas; it happened to Clinton; it happened to Clinton during his second term; it happened to Gore; it happened to Kerry; and we should certainly expect it to happen to Obama-Biden....

I will be blunt here. The Democrats peak at the cnnvention...where as Republicans who have always struggled since Iowa, finally just get it together at the convention... There is little you as a Democrat can do. You can visit a town, say the same things, smile and wave alot, try wearing sweaters, slamming beers, and the tiny little tricks the marketing advisers try to reccomend you follow, but against hard hitting Republicans, you just look stale...And your tricks look fake. Hell, we heard the same damn message for 19 whole months now... It's boring.

Looking back over the historical litany above, there is one exception that stands out.... That was Clinton in 92. His campaign was stuck in the doldrums until it got some unexpected help from Ross Perot.... Suddenly we were discussing the budget.... Other things were mentioned, like NAFTA and it's gian sucking sound...., but the budget captured the imagination of America... Clinton seized on that topic, and out performed Herbert Walker, winning the election while still giving up 20% of the vote to Perot....

I remember Clinton rolling into my town just days before the 92's General.. He said the right things, but it was the fact that we believed he would tackle the deficit, we really believed it then, that gave him stature...

This week's convention tipped the Republican's hand... They will drive a rural/ urban split... Pitting the Toby Keith crowd against those loving the Dixie Chicks... Those working with their hands, against those making their living with their ideas....

Face it, Democrats are vulnerable on that front... Those in charge of advising the candidates, know little of this broad segment of rural America... That vast segment is the Republican's target and now with Sarah Palin, they have a real shot at winning it.... a real shot...

So how do Barack and Joe combat this weakness they seems to posess all Democrats? (In truth, McCain has it also)? Please, don't go on a fake hunting trip, that opens you to ridicule...(like riding in a tank)....

Let's go back to Iowa.... What made candidates Barack and Joe Biden both successful in that rural community? You were both there... you know what you did right, and by now, you ceretainly know what you should have done better.... That is who you need to become again... Forget the pundits call to stay on message... everyone who takes the day off to come see you, already has seen your debates, already has read your news stories, they came to see you...

Here's a fake address of what I would recommend, say in Oklahoma.... "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm not going to lie to you... I'm not much of a cowboy, a farmer, or an oilman... I live in a bubble... a bubble they call Washington....

Most of you will no doubt vote for my opponent... If that is what is in your heart, then its ok...I do understand and won't hold it against you... But there are those who have crunched the numbers and told me that I and Joe have a good chance of running this country. As soon as the election is over, I start that job...in fact without the pay until January 20th (smile).... I hope to become commander in chief of the United States.... Obviously, Oklahoma is a part ot that great country, the United States of America.....

I will need to represent you to the best of my ability... That means I need to understand you... What I propose is not giving you a great speech, one you will forget tomorrow because it says so little.... What I propose to you is giving you something more important... Time.. time to ask the next president of the United States (smile) I hope... those questions that are really on your mind...

I don't know. You may not like my answers, and that's ok... But at the end of our conversations, you will know where I stand... And the motivation behind as to why I stand for that....

So lets get started.... First of all, how is the economy going in this town... How are you surviving the housing bubble burst, How many of you are out of work... Are jobs hard to find... And what could I do, as the next president of the United States, to make your lives better....Yes you ...you go first.......

Having watched you, I know both of you listen very well.... As you get hooked back into rural America's values, just as you both did in Iowa, you automatically protect your flank form the gun toting, hip swinging, political version of Paris Hilton... (Joe is so lucky. I wish I was debating her....)

You don't win rural America by persuasive speeches... You win rural America by letting them know you are an ok guy after all. They've all heard the horror stories, they get 5 emails about you each day.....They need to leave reassured 1) that you really care about them, and 2) that their life will go on if you get elected... just as it was, if not perhaps a tiny bit better....

In todays world, what goes on in Oklahoma, instantly gets back to rural Pennsylvania, rural Virginia, rural Colorado, as well as the rural towns across all 50 states....

Forget the bubble..Forget the politicos,.. Forget the television bits....

Its all about people...Its all... about people....In the end, bubbles, politicos, and televisions sets won't step into a voting booth... People will....

I shudder to think of this country again choosing the wrong person to lead, a Republican,... simply because rural America was not comfortable enough with the "right" person to lead this nation.....

Background for Worst Vice Presidential Nominee in US History by Robert J. Elisberg

Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 23:51:22 EDT

RushLimbaugh.com, by Transcript

Original Article
<http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_082908/content/01125111.guest.html>
RUSH: This is Sarah Palin and her accomplishments. Obama cannot make a
speech like this. PALIN: In serving as the team mom and coaching some
basketball on the side, I got involved in the PTA and then was elected
to the city council and then elected mayor of my hometown where my
agenda was to stop wasteful spending and cut property taxes and put the
people first! (cheers and applause) .............................

___________________

I highly recommend that everyone watch an episode of PBS Frontline done in 2004. THIS is what we are up against. McBush's pick was a very calculated one. It will turn out ALL the Evangelicals.PBS Frontline The Jesus Factorhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jesus/view/If given the choice between WWIII and another Great Depression OR overturning Roe vs. Wade, removing ALL the gains made by the LGBT community and ALL of Roosevelt's "New Deal" they would GLADLY vote for the former not the latter. ___________________

John McCutchen, Esq700 Laguna #104SFCA 94102------------------Sarah Palin on Iraq

SARAH PALIN ON IRAQ....I thought that maybe if I transcribed this podcast it would make more sense, but no dice. Here is Sarah Palin a couple of weeks ago talking about energy supplies and the war in Iraq:

The GOP agenda to ramp up domestic supplies of energy is the only way that we're going to become energy independent, the only way that we are going to become a more secure nation â€” and I say this, of course, looking at the situation we are in right now, at war, not knowing what the plan is to ever end the war that we're engaged in, understanding that Americans are seeking solutions, and they are seeking resolution in this war effort, so energy supplies, being able to produce and supply domestically, is going to be a big part of that.
....I have a 19 year old who's getting ready to be deployed to Iraq. His Stryker brigade will leave on September 11th of this year. He's 19, he'll be gone for a year. [And so] kind of on a personal level, when I talk about, umm, the plan for the war, you know, let's make sure we have a plan here, and respecting McCain's position on that.

So it turns out that not only does John McCain's running mate not have even the slightest background in foreign policy, but that she can't even talk about it coherently. McCain's handlers really have their work cut out for them.

And here, Matt Yglesias confirms that McCain had apparently met Palin exactly twice before today: once a few months ago when she came to Washington to talk about oil drilling and once more for five minutes via phone last Sunday. [UPDATE: Nope, three times! He also met with her briefly on Thursday morning before offering her the VP slot at 11 am.]

This is all part of what I was talking about the other day when I noted that McCain is running such a palpably unserious campaign. Steve Schmidt seems solely interested in winning the daily news cycle; his staff spends its time gleefully churning out juvenile attack videos; McCain himself has retreated into robotic incantations of simpleminded talking points; and now he's chosen a manifestly unqualified VP that he knows nothing about. I've honestly never seen anything like it.

But hey â€” as long as we're on the subject of unseriousness, I have to say that humorists sure do work fast these days. Within a couple of hours of Palin's announcement, we got Palin on the cover of Vogue (the real Vogue pictures are here) and Sarah Palin's blog. For more, ThinkProgress and Andrew Sullivan have both become 24/7 Palin trivia machines.

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2008/08/sarah_palin_on_iraq.html

___________

Palin Around
The eco-rundown on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain's VP pick

In a surprise move this morning, John McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Palin, a conservative Republican, was the ethics commissioner of the Alaska Gas and Oil Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004 and has a reputation for integrity and fighting corruption. She has pushed to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and to build a natural-gas pipeline from Alaska's North Slope, and earlier this year she sued the Interior Department over its decision to list the polar bear as a threatened species.*
<http://www.grist.org/news/2008/05/22/alaska/?source=daily>

Palin recently proposed eliminating Alaska's gas tax and got the state legislature to pass a bill to provide each Alaskan $1,200 to help with energy bills. She also recently opposed a statewide ballot initiative to prohibit or restrict new mining operations that could affect salmon in the state's streams and rivers, even though she's an avid angler and hunter herself. She has created a committee to forge Alaska's climate-change strategy, and has made Alaska an observer (but not a member) of the Western Climate Initiative* <http://lists.grist.org/t?r=2&c=3574&l=16&ctl=2FECB:665ED9E2FFB0BA9F72C55D73F4FEAD2B> .
But that doesn't mean she has any sort of beef with Big Oil (in fact, her husband is an oil production operator for BP on Alaska's North Slope). She said earlier this week, "When I look every day, the big oil company's building is right out there next to me, and it's quite a reminder that we should have mutually beneficial relationships with the oil industry."

________

Rhonda Davis......> What a insult to women. She is not qualified to be a heartbeat
> away from the most important job in the world. I guess we should go
> to the local PTA and grab one of the mom's and pick her as a VP
> pick. Why not just pull a name out of a hat. This is a very crazy
> move on his part. Very imature of you McDesperate, I expected better.

___________

Scrubbed: Palin Ad Featuring Ted Stevens Disappears

That was quick. This morning, an ad from Sarah Palin's 2006 gubernatorial campaign featuring an endorsement from scandal-plagued Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was available on Palin's campaign Web site.

...but now the Stevens ad has already been scrubbed. The link is no longer on her campaign site.

Luckily, the ad featuring Stevens and Palin is still available for your viewing pleasure!

Read the whole story here.

__________

Worst Vice-Presidential Nominee in U.S. History

Robert J. Elisberg

Posted August 29, 2008 | 04:30 PM (EST)

There was a TV ad for deodorant that said, "Never let them see you sweat." The John McCain campaign has just showed the world that it is drenched.

Selecting Sarah Palin as its choice for a vice presidential candidate is perhaps the worst such choice in American History. To be fair, maybe there are worse choices, but I don't know how bad William O. Butler was when he ran with Lewis Cass against Zachary Taylor.

But it's far worse than Dan Quayle, who was a sitting senator. Worse even than Geraldine Ferraro, who at least served in Congress for three-terms. And Far worse than William Miller, a choice so obscure when selected by Barry Goldwater that he (honestly) later did an American Express commercial asking, "Do you know me?" And that was ad was after the election. But even Miller had been a Congressman for 12 years. And been a prosecutor during the Nuremberg War trials against Nazis. Sarah Palin lists her credits as a hockey mom.

There was a point during the Republican primaries when I was trying to figure out who I hoped got the nomination. Someone so weak he'd be easy for the Democrats to beat, or someone more challenging who at least wouldn't be a disaster for America. I decided on the latter because America has to resolve its serious problems and can't afford risking some glitch where another George Bush got elected. And so I felt that John McCain, for all his weaknesses, was the lesser of all evils and was glad he got the nomination. Throw that out the window. McCain-Palin is an unthinkable disaster.

I completely understand the reasoning behind the decision for John McCain to select Sarah Palin. Absolutely. It's the thinking that settled on Sarah Palin that's missing.

No doubt John McCain will get some women to vote for him who wouldn't have otherwise, and even some independents. But he will also probably lose as many Republicans uncomfortable with a woman on the ticket - let alone a woman with so little experience as Sarah Palin. Not to mention that the choice will cause many undecided Democratic women to be aghast and push them back to following their Democratic beliefs. And further, it will lose all the independents who look at the GOP ticket and say "This is who I'm supposed to give my vote for the next four years to lead and protect America??" It may even appeal to right-wing evangelicals for her strong pro-life stance and get some to vote - but that position and others related to it are specifically what loses even more women voters. And men. And it will probably lose some Republicans who are cringing and now unable to get themselves to check "McCain/Palin" in the voting booth. Ultimately, the nomination will lose far, far more votes than it gains.

But this is not the reason the decision is so terrible.

It's always said that the most important decision a presidential candidate makes is their pick for vice president. It shows their thinking and judgment. John McCain, in his first decision, has just told the world that he believes Sarah Palin is the most qualified person to be a heartbeat from the presidency. Forgetting all the available men for a moment, if John McCain felt it critical to select a woman in an effort to somehow grab the Hillary Clinton supporters, look at his choice of women he had available: Christine Todd Whitman, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Elizabeth Dole, Susan Collins, even - for goodness sake - Condoleezza Rice. Or Carly Fiorina. Each of these have marks against them, and perhaps some might not have wanted to run, but it's near-impossible to look at the list and suggest to the American public that Sarah Palin is the best choice of Republican women to be vice president. And again, this is ignoring the men he who could have been chosen.

It's not that Sarah Palin is inexperienced. It's that this is gross political misconduct.

Sarah Palin has been governor of Alaska for just a bit over 18 months. Alaska has a population of 683,000. (Though that doesn't include moose.) This would only make it the 17th most populous city in the United States. Just ahead of Fort Worth.

Before that, she was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. Population 9,000. I know Republicans like to promote "small town values," but this is taking things to ridiculous extremes, don't you think? I'm from Glencoe, Illinois, population 8,762. It so small it doesn't even have a mayor, it has an appointed village manager. I'm sure that Paul Harlow is doing wonderfully in the job there - but I don't expect that he sees himself as even wanting to be a heartbeat from U.S. President in 18 months. You know what the top news story is on the Glencoe website? "Fire Hydrant Painting Underway." (To be fair, it's the #2 story. The top news is a clarification about displaying political signage.)

Do you know what the first two "powers and duties" are for the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska? Check their municipal code:

1. Preside at council meetings. The mayor may take part in the discussion of matters before the council, but may not vote, except that the mayor may vote in the case of a tie;

2. Act as ceremonial head of the city;

Swell.

If you live in small town America (and I mean really, really small), look around you and be honest - do you see your mayor (or village manager) as a heartbeat from the presidency in 18 months?

But that's not the reason either that the decision to make Sarah Palin the VP nominee is so terrible.

It's one thing to discuss how unqualified Sarah Palin is. That's a national matter and huge. But on a grassroots political level, her nomination takes away the Republicans' ONLY weapon in the campaign - calling Barack Obama inexperienced. They haven't even been trying to run on the issues, or on the eight-year record of George Bush, which John McCain has supported almost 95% of the time. They've only been running on the faux-issue of Barack Obama's experience of 14 years in federal and state government. Yes, Sarah Palin is merely running for VP, not president, but with a 72 year-old candidate with a history of some medical issues, this is who they're saying is able to step in as president in a heart-beat. She has so little experience that she makes Sen. Obama look like FDR, Winston Churchill and Julius Caesar combined. So, the Republicans pulled the rug out from under themselves. They have no issues. The economy? Housing? The national debt? Education? The Environment? Iraq? Afghanistan? Nothing. All they have is "Dear Democratic women: please pretend our VP candidate is Hillary Clinton. Just forget that she's pro-life. And against most things Democrats stand for."

But that's not the reason the decision is so terrible.

Because if the hope for John McCain is to get women to vote for him who otherwise supported Hillary Clinton - if anything could get Hillary Clinton campaigning in full force and fury...this is it. She likely would have campaigned hard, but it's in Hillary Clinton's best interest to be the leading voice for women, and the leading woman candidate for president in the future, so having another woman as the potential Vice President (and potential President) is a significant challenge to that. The Republicans just opened Pandora's Box and brought Hillary Clinton roaring to Barack Obama's side on the Democratic train. And Bill Clinton, too.

Yet even that's not the reason the decision is so terrible.

What this does in the most profound and grandiose way possible is give lie to John McCain's pompous posturing that he Always Puts America First. And that undercuts the most prominent campaign issue of his entire career, that of everything he does is for reasons of honor. There is nothing honorable about making Sarah Palin your vice presidential nominee. Nothing. Unless you define honor as "blatantly pandering."

But that's not the reason either that this decision is so terrible.

But before we get to that, let's look at the actual announcement to make Gov. Sarah Palin (AK - pop. 683,000) the Republican nominee for president, and put the horrible decision in perspective.

First, John McCain stood at the podium, looking up-and-down reading his speech. It's impossible not to compare that to Barack Obama giving his a majestic speech the night before that even conservative analysts were admiring in awe.

Second, the cameras were polite enough to avoid it, but there were empty seats in the gym. It's impossible not to compare that to a stadium of 75,000 people that Barack Obama spoke to the night before.

Third, when people around the nation were waiting to hear about Sarah Palin's qualifications and gravitas to be President of the United States, the first five minutes of her speech were spent talking about her husband being a champion snowmobiler.

Fourth, when she finally got around to her qualifications, pretty much all we discovered was that she fought to cut property taxes. And then, she basically stopped there.

She did, however, mention becoming energy self-sufficient - by talking about how she supported drilling in Alaska!!! Perhaps to Republicans this is being an environmentalist, but to most of America, not so much. Then again, she's also against putting polar bears on the endangered species act (which the government did), so maybe her environmental qualifications are more lax than she thinks..

And then, finally, she spent the rest of her time praising John McCain. Fine, that's very supportive of her...except that the one question on everyone's mind was not -- "can you say John McCain is a swell guy and tell us that he was a POW", the question on everyone's mind was - "Who in God's name are you, and please tell us why you should be a heart-beat from the presidency."

In the end, the only case she herself made for being on the ticket was praising Hillary Clinton! That's it, period. Now, it might be enough to attract some women -- but it doesn't make a case for the ticket. Why? Hint: some women did vote for Hillary Clinton solely because she was a woman. But most women voted for Hillary Clinton because she was a Democrat, as well as a woman, who stood for important Democratic values they seriously believed in. If Sarah Palin wants to praise Hillary Clinton, go for it. But at least understand what you're praising. Because it will likely come back and bite you.

It was a thin, nothing, empty speech. It was a speech to be head of the Chamber of Commerce. Compare that to the speech by Joe Biden when Barack Obama introduced him. Eloquent, soaring and explaining in blunt detail why John McCain should not be president. Joe Biden must have been watching Sarah Palin's speech, in order to take notes in preparation for his debate with Sarah Palin and thought, "This isn't fair."

And all that's not even the reason the decision is so terrible.

The reason is because the election is not about Sarah Palin. Or about Joe Biden. As much as TV analysts want to be excited by the balloons and hoopla, tomorrow the air will be let out, and there are still over two months to go for the campaign.

The campaign is about Barack Obama and John McCain.

Sarah Palin's nomination doesn't change that. In fact, it reinforces it. Nothing about putting Sarah Palin on the GOP ticket changes a word that Barack Obama said in his vibrant acceptance speech - about himself, about his issues, and about John McCain's repeatedly faulty judgment on the critical issues facing America.

What Sarah Palin's nomination does do is focus attention on John McCain's age. Indeed, the nomination was made on his birthday, when he turned 72, the oldest man ever to run for president. As the crowd sang "Happy Birthday to You," you almost sensed that through John McCain's clenched smile, saying, "Thanks for reminding me," that what he was thinking underneath was "Please, oh, please, don't sing the "How old are you now?" part." And how good a message was it that he's saying he supposedly forgot it was his birthday?

Vice presidents are usually selected as people who are adept at blasting the other side's presidential candidate, because it's only the presidential candidate that matters. Joe Biden has already done that - twice - at length, spoken as someone who knows John McCain well and likes him. Sarah Palin had her first chance...and whiffed. Didn't even try. And it's hard to imagine what she has in her arsenal that will remotely allow her to do so in the future.

The election is about the presidential candidates. And the selection of Sarah Palin now allows Barack Obama to campaign untouched by the Republican ticket. John McCain's only other option is for himself to personally become negative for two months - which is disaster in presidential politics.

Now add on all the problems expressed above. Sarah Palin's inexplicably laughable lack of substance, most-especially on the foreign policy stage. Her taking away the one issue Republicans were even attempting. Her pushing away voters who might otherwise be willing to vote for a senator with 26-years in the Senate. Her bringing Hillary Clinton aggressively back into the campaign. Her inability to offer anything to off-set Joe Biden. Her standing as supposedly the most-qualified Republican woman as John McCain's first decision.

And, in the end, it all focuses back on Barack Obama, with his indictment of eight years of the Bush Administration and of John McCain's flawed judgment - and John McCain's defense of all that.

Republicans might be dancing earlier today, because there was a lot of fun music playing. But the music has stopped. The actual campaign has now started. For Republicans, it might have ended.

Barack Obama –Presumptive No More!

Amy from Atlanta, GA — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:46:19 EDT

-This election has never been about me. It has been about you-

- It is time that they own their failures, its time for a change in America, that is why I am running for America -

I made sure that tonight everything will be put on hold in my home, dishes will just have to wait until later - my daughter will get her bath and will be tucked in earlier than usual. I was going to get myself ready with my notepad, my husband's laptop and zapped between, CNN, MSNBC and TVONE with anticipation of the culmination of the Democratic National Convention with the speech of the presumptive nominee Barack Obama.

Leading to this historical moment not only for the DNC but for all Americans - was a series of speeches, endorsements from Senator Edward Kennedy, Michelle Obama, Senator Hillary Clinton, and President Clinton. The roll-call drama on day 3, with the "official handing over" of delegates by Senator Clinton and officially "acclamation" of Obama and later that evening "sealed the deal" speech of President Clinton, assuring the "worrisome" Obama campaign and supporters with the fear that the former president won't "go all the way" with his support.

Denver, Colorado, 8:56 p.m. Mile High Field - And under the cool, clear Denver skies with the 76273 seat INVESCO Field filled to the rafters of the democrats from all of the country, Barack Obama became the America's promise!

On the 45th year anniversary of the "I have a Dream " speech of Reverend Martin Luther King, the junior United States Senator from Illinois Barack Obama accepted the Democratic National Party's nomination for the President of the United States.

The speech described by Reverend Jesse Jackson as a "liberating speech" or MSNBC Political Analyst and Republican Strategist Pat Buchanan, described Obama's speech "genuinely outstanding speech - the greatest convention speech ever made" Buchanan added, "a speech came out of the heart of America and went to the American Heart".

For the past four days in Denver, Colorado speculated whether America’s first African American Presidential Candidate what kind of a speech will he delivering on the final day. How much "meat" will he throw towards the Republican presumptive nominee, John McCain. Obama whose message of hope and change - reminded the Americans "we are the party of Roosevelt, the party of Kennedy's". He called on to the "reclaiming the American dream". Or whether he will be able "out do" his keynote speech during the 2004 in Boston, Massachusetts.

"This election is not about me - it's about you" he told the over seventy thousand supporters. "The change doesn't come from Washington - it comes TO Washington"

Barack Obama in the past few months, who has been questioned, criticized for not being so "specifics" of his own platform - intelligently, explicitly, reiterate, clearly stated his 29 specific points when he will be president.

Political pundits and television commentators were completely awed and were lost for words for the well written - "you" oriented speech.

Tonight, I believe that if you are one of the eight million cracks in the glass ceiling Hillary supporters - you would have fallen down the ground and will be one of the obamatics chanting "Yes We Can" or if you are one of the independents who have not really decided whether Obama is ready for president on Day 1 or if you are one of those skeptics questioning his patriotism - well I guess after the fifty minute speech your questions have been answer and doubts have been reassured.

As the excitement dies down, cheers are silenced - the Democrats real work starts with the Obaiden (Obama-Biden) tandem taking the bus tour the battle states starting with Pennsylvania.

Last Night Was Super, Super Amazing

Madama Ambi — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:26:12 EDT

What it's like to be in your 20's and at the Democratic National Convention...highlights from Danielle...

click here to listen...16:51 min.

Sen. Clinton's Florida Visit

Victor Zapanta — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:40:06 EDT

"If you care about raising the minimum wage, improving the quality of our schools, rebuilding the economy, opening the doors to college for more young people, ending the war in Iraq, and restoring our image around the world, then Barack Obama is your candidate!" —Sen. Hillary Clinton in Tamarac, FL

Tonight, Sen. Hillary Clinton will be speaking at the Democratic National Convention on why it is absolutely necessary to elect Barack Obama to the presidency.

Just last week, Sen. Clinton toured the state of Florida on behalf of Barack. At Florida Atlantic University, Hillary spoke to a packed house on women's issues from equal pay to a woman's right to choose. In Tamarac, Hillary talked about why Barack is the only choice for voters who care about issues that face seniors today. All over the country, Democrats are uniting around Barack Obama.

**Be sure to join one of our Convention watch parties in your neighborhood or even host your own and watch Sen. Clinton's message of unity tonight!**

Blogging for Barack, Caroline Kennedy,Michael Moore, Dr. Howard Dean, the failed FDA, and Victory in November

Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 22:37:02 EDT

I sure like Michael Moore's idea of Caroline Kennedy running as
Obama's Vice President, and tomorrow, Howard Dean III, M.D., is coming to
Santa Fe, and I will have a chance to ask him about my deepest concern,
overhauling the FDA with a true consumer protectionist as Commissioner, not
the corporate-serving lackey we have right now.

I decided to join 112 Obama groups, some at the official website, and
some interesting sounding Obama Yahoo! and one Google group located in
Colorado. I get 1200-2000 emails a day, and it is an amazing flow of
information. Recently, the news about Musharraf “resigning”appeared on the
Net at least 36 hours before it came out in the New Mexican, the "oldest
paper in the West."

On the other hand, my wise friend who graduated from St. John’s College
believes the “cool” or “cold” media, in which he included newspaper,
magazines, and books, ultimately had a much greater effect on the recipient
than the jillions of bits of information pouring in off the Internet.

At times, with 112 groups’ membership, including some strange ones
(LasVegasAgnosticsAtheistsforObama), Secular Humanist (my favorite), some
funny ones (PoliticallyNCorrectisOK), and the high-powered Action Teams in
all of the key states, the flow of information at times resembles looking
up at Niagara Falls, from that little boat below, the Maid of the Mist. At
other times, I notice a real self-congratulatory narcissistic attitude in
the groups, as if to say, “Aren’t we cool?” and not nearly enough of the
real mechanics of politics, the door to door, the articles to hang from the
door, getting the people to the Polls, etc., all of which may be boring to
many, but is the pulse of not only who is in the White House for the next 4
to 8 years, but whether the Senate has a filibuster-proof 60 Democrats. The
people who like that and are good at that are out doing just that, not
yakking it up on the Internet, basking in the ill-founded Kaffee Klatch
milieu that seems to be the result of useless Liberal Arts Degrees from many
years ago.

     It will be a very tight election, because of that supposed 16% of
American voters who are outright or secret BIGOTS, who will vote against
Obama above all, even with all of the bloggers, the right TV ads, the
Unions, the traditional Democrat alliance between Jews, Negroes, Minorities,
Intellectuals, Indians, etc., the victorious debates, as so on. Some say it
is always decided in the last 4 days anyway, which I don’t think is true
with this election. Such a large percentage of Americans recognize the
absolutely calamitous disastrous economic effects of 8 years of
Bushies/Neocons/Cheney/Blackwater/Kellogg Brown and Root/the Pentagon and
the Industrialists, etc.: I don’t see how any thinking American could not
vote for Obama, but, have I been wrong before? Yes.

     The bloggers will get out in due course and eventually Pound the
Pavement; at least, I know for sure that Obama's Campaign Manager, a few
others, and me, will ask them to do that, and I will be sending at least
400,000 people emails with encouragement to get strategic and cut the
yakking till after the Election.

But the observations about the effects of the Internet on Society (more
than Politics) are very compelling and very interesting. Marshall McLuhan
posited many years ago that all of this electronic communication and related
advances would eventually create The Global Village, but obviously, the
cohesion is very thin, if it there at all, eh?

Rather than any advanced form of communication, some see serious
Blogging as a new form of Insanity, recognized by the Medical Profession as
a brand new syndrome, and others see it as just plain old Lemming-like
behavior, especially in the political context. I have a keener perception of
how the Internet has requited at least 50% of the compulsion to read several
daily newspapers, and let me tell you in conclusion: there sure are a lot of
really smart people Blogging for Obama, and I am sure we are going to win.

Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor, Santa Fe Sun News

ObamaTube

Wizzdom-Information� — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:47:41 EDT

To all Barack Obama supporters, did you know? You can now add regulary updated videos to your iGoogle page. You can also help promote the Barack Obama cause by adding a widget to your website, Blogger, Typepad, WordPress, Ning or even your Facebook pages.

You Are Not President Yet

harobamason — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 19:38:23 EDT

It now appears that the Democratic candidate Sen. Obama may travel the world this summer.

Traveling the world before winning the White House is not a good idea. Voters know that a quick trip to somewhere cannot make one an expert in that country. Obama has enough going for him already. Americans are suffering so badly and they will not appreciate seeing Mr. Obama traveling the world when they cannot take summer vacation because of high gas prices, the economy or both. I say he needs to keep introducing himself and his message to the voters and win their votes.

Obama's Iraq visit is dubious one. This is a country America occupies illegally. A country which is now asking the US to leave their country. Obama will not meet the Iraq people who will welcome him with sweets and flowers. This will be, at best, a photo opportunity with the troops! Isn’t this just what Bush and the neocons have been doing the last 6 years?

Obama's foreign advisory, Susan Rice, needs to be more creative than this! Obama needs the American voters to vote for him because of changing the way things are done including ending the Iraq war.

McCain is campaigning on the promise of a long term American occupation of Iraq, but the Iraqis wants American troops to leave their country. A long term presence of American troops in Iraq means more war and more deaths of Americans troops and Iraqis. McCain is offering more war for Americans. Obama is offering ending the war. Susan Rice and other advisors to Obama must make these differences and distinctions between Obama and McCain policies plainly clear to the American people and let them vote on the facts.

There are only 139 precious days remaining for this Presidential campaign. That means Obama and his campaign team should continue campaigning in the heartland of America. After winning the White House, Obama can travel the EU and the rest of the world with authority as the President of the United States. The Bush administration is currently negotiating a long term American military occupation of Iraq. Now it appears not only do the Iraqis reject this plan but that Prime Mister Al-Malaki made it clear he wishes American troops to leave Iraq at the end of the this year when the UN mandate ends. What is Obama position on the permanent American presence in Iraq? I think Obama needs additional critical advice before making major international travels that will appear nothing more than international campaign of his candidacy.

Or am I must be missing something here?

Blind Passion

no one — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:40:59 EDT

I spent the last two days browsing hillaryclinton.com and reading over her issues (again) and I also checked out the blog section. Two words regarding the blog: "oh my."

Obviously, I am not naive enough to expect that HRC supporters would immediately jump over to support Obama after he clenched the delegate count. But the comments on her site are just so divisive, cold, and (I hate to say it) blindly ignorant.

When I first joined the BarackObama.com site, one of my earlier blog posts stated that I would vote for a democrat this November, no matter what. Yes, I have major issues with Hillary: her policies, attack-based campaign, initial approval of the war in Iraq - I could go on. But I would have MUCH rather voted for her than John McCain.

When I wrote that in my blog, the comments came in immediately "sorry, but I could never vote for her." Perhaps a few other remarks that, to me, translated into saying "I'm a Barack Obama supporter, not a democrat." ?? Huh?

I realize that HRC supporters might very well vote for McCain. The bloggers on her site are very misinformed. "Obama stole votes." They really believe that. They really believe that Florida and Michigan should have been handled differently (even though the outcome would have not affected the delegate count). They use "new math" to show she has the popular count. These things are SIMPLY NOT TRUE. They think that Rush Limbaugh encouraged people to vote for Obama.

Well, let's take a look (I know it's wiki, but these citations are accurate for this section):

On March 27, 2008, Limbaugh said "The dream end of this [of Operation Chaos] is that this keeps up to the convention, and that we have a recreation of Chicago 1968 with burning cars, protests, fire, and literal riots and all of that, that is the objective here [of Operation Chaos]."[14]

On April 29, 2008 Limbaugh declared an "operational pause" in Operation Chaos, saying that Obama's defeat in the 2008 Pennsylvania primary and fallout from statements from Obama ally Reverend Jeremiah Wright could have damaged his campaign to the extent superdelegates would shift to Clinton's side.[15] Determining Obama had weathered that storm, Limbaugh lifted the pause the next day and renewed his call for his listeners to vote for Clinton in the upcoming Indiana and North Carolina primaries.[16] Obama won the North Carolina primary[17] but was narrowly defeated in Indiana, where Clinton won decisively in rural counties that normally vote Republican in presidential elections.[18]

I realize I'm preaching to the choir right now, but we have a major task on our hands. We can't be rude to HRC supporters. As much as you want to say "it's idiotic to vote for McCain," we need to remind ourselves that it could have been the other way around. I wouldn't have wanted someone calling me an idiot if HRC had won.

Yes, I know that HRC's campaign was a mud-slinging and name-calling event. It was what it was, and nevertheless we are left with millions who are hurt and gravely disappointed. It isn't about winning them over. It's about unity, and what's best for our country. I can't imagine any true Democrat will find that in John McCain. But I really need to try hard to bite my tongue around HRC supporters.

RELIGION AND POLITICS DO NOT MIX!!!

Deborah — Sat, 31 May 2008 18:36:10 EDT

If the mainstream media wants to truly analyze congregations they should systematically look at all candidates. They should have completed the analysis before the final curtain.

If the MSM includes Barack Obama's congregations as a part of his campaign rhetoric, they must also include Hillary Rodham Clinton's religious efforts

HILLARY CLINTON HEAVY INTO RIGHTWING RELIGIOUS POWER CULT

in the rhetoric, as well as John McCain's religious affairs in their observations.

What most Obama supporters will notice is the discrepancy in the fair analysis of religious connections and participation of everyone else, which unfortunately is racist, misogynistic, divisive and systemically set up to fail Americans.

An important historical review of Hillary Clinton details her dark past which has yet to be analyzed in MSM to her supporters.

http://prorev.com/hillary.htm

Unless this information is properly vetted there will be an unfair advantage used against Obama due to his religious participation. I for one believe Obama to be a partial participant in Religion. Michelle is one reason I am sure Obama chose to attend church, for he grew up outside of this social circle which is evident. Ususally, politics, where one goes to church is not an issue in the political arena. An article listed below by Jesse Jackson will list the target of Michelle who as an African American can play the game they wish to play and win. Obama and his close circle of friends, I hope can heed the call.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/27/9210/

Obama's connection to religion is due to Michelle Robinson, and her historical place in this America. They have a young family and historically in the black community, families attend a church where there is a community of inclusive social connections which privately thwarts the public anger from erupting on the racist America we live in. It keeps one aligned on the straight; out of trouble, gives direction to make something out of a life; even when the odds are against the African-American. Does Hillary choose to destroy the success of the Obama campaign that Jesse Jackson reflects in this attached link?

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/20/9074/

As this election moves forward, note that the historical participation of African Americans in politics reaches back to the 1870's when the right to vote was an issue. AS someone said in an article discussing this issue in detail, Hillary is using this in her fight to the death of the Democratic Party.

The fight between the African American male and the white female, became an issue in the 1870's and must be understood to really grasp the context Hillary will use to destroy by whatever means necessary.

As Zillah Eisenstein notes in her analysis the historical ugly face of racism, misogyny and a given right which historically has worked to the favor of the majority may no longer work, for it is a new day, a new time, and there are people who do not care for such rhetoric.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/18/9031/

Lastly, read this article written by a great mind; Alton Maddox who made his mistakes but speaks of the same truth as Ms. Eisenstein.

http://www.amsterdamnews.org/news/Article/Article.asp?NewsID=88967&sID=34

Lastly, this Dawn Turner Trice from Chicago is asking the question, is the Black Church bad for Obama in so many words? Please also read her article.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/race/2008/05/do-plegers-anti.html

i sent this out to a couple of groups andi included .pdf's of the articles, but everyone supporting Obama in his/her quest for a new America should read these articles for the days ahead and become prepared for the false assumption that Hillary is the victim woman, for she is not.

Clinton, Hillary: Way Damaging, Way Wrong, Way Out!

Civil Rights Enforcers For Obama — Sat, 24 May 2008 08:25:59 EDT

This proves how she is engulfed and is aiding this country towards a divisive road. This shows how low she is willing to get just to win and not ruin the Clinton's legacy. This shows how inconsiderate and unpresidential she could be. This shows that another democratic female would be best as vice-presidential runner with Obama. This shows how the Status-Quo lives on and will effectively should Hillary be elected. I'm sure you've all heard what remarks she had made recently-and especially inconsiderably so, right after senator comes out of the hospital with some devastating news. It is to say that she could even be behind killing or attempting to fire at Obama if needs be-with the despair and illusions now visibly present in her state of mind. THE DNC and Howard Dean have one thing to do and say: a few months back, when the Obama campaign was getting a tad more agitated and concerned about the Michigan and Florida ballots, no one was really willing to make a big deal out of it. As a matter of fact they were all in a sense ready to brush it all off. Now it seems that they were strategically planning for times like the now. I remember volunteering for a democratic agency for the dnc in Boston, and that was almost a year ago, when people we called in Michigan were already disenchanted and feeling left out of this whole thing: because first of all their state's reps had decided to move to voting dates around, and number two, Obama's name was not on any of the ballot. They were fearing a repeat of the AL GORE "Recount"scenario of Florida '00. Now the Hillary Campaign in the effort to sabottage a righteous and meaningful win by senator Obama, is doing anythingto show belated concerns over those votes, as though even if won, they could assure her decreasing popularity and lack of support from the real democratic fellows of this country. Too late, too bad, too wrong! Check what Keith had to say on that one: http://youtube.com/watch?v=S_DHGZJD8SI <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/S_DHGZJD8SI&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/S_DHGZJD8SI&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

Obama crushing Hilary on web [a survey report]

Social Activist/Writer — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:37:04 EDT

n the Race for Online Eyes, Obama Crushing Clinton

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Apr 14th 2008 at 2:14PM

We've discussed the presidential candidates and their different Web strategies, and came to the conclusion that -- at least on the Democratic side of the race -- Barack Obama had a leg up on his opponents. Well, if you questioned our judgment, then here is numerical proof.

Compete, a Web analytics firm, posted an article to its blog today revealing that when it comes to online voter share, Obama is crushing Hillary Clinton. Just look at the chart above: In overall Face Time (a composite measure of online interactions with a candidate, including MySpace page views, visits to campaign sites, YouTube views, etc.), Obama has Clinton beat by a 4:1 margin. Based on the strength of his speech on race relations, Obama's dominance on YouTube was particularly striking, racking up 539,000 hours of viewing time, roughly ten times as much as Hillary's 53,100 hours.

Unfortunately for Obama, votes aren't cast by the Web savvy alone, and, as we've learned, Ms. Clinton doesn't seem to care about things like mathematical impossibilities.

From Machinist http://www.switched.com/2008/04/14/in-the-race-for-online-eyes-obama-crushing-clinton/

Free Barack Obama Desktop Wallpaper

Kevin Keating — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:21:47 EST

Download this free Barack Obama desktop wallpaper in all its 1920x1200 pixel glory and save the world with a single click!

Originally posted on Frivolous Motion

Ainsi parlait Obama…

Lyonel Kaufmann — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 02:49:32 EST

This post was first publish here on my blog.

Ainsi donc mon décodage des derniers sondages relatifs aux primaires de l'Iowa était correct avec le tiercé dans l'ordre : 1. Obama; 2. Edwards; 3. Clinton. Il est vrai pour un cheveux cependant concernant la deuxième place d'Edwards. En route donc pour la deuxième étape : le New Hampshire. Avec une question : quel sera l'effet

a) de la gifle reçue par Hillary Clinton lors de cette première étape sur les votants du New Hampshire

b) de la dynamique de la victoire pour Barack Obama sur son score et l'écart avec Hillary Clinton. Mais avant ce nouvel épisode du thriller du moment

je vous propose une petite analyse en image de la manière dont les candidat-e-s démocrates et républicains se sont adressés à leurs partisans une fois les résultats connus. Ou l'on verra que l'image du changement que tente d'imposer Barack Obama se travaille y compris dans ces moments-là.

Classique : entourés de sa famille ou de «stars»

La première série d'images concernent les principaux candidats. Les équipes de tournages filment le/la candidat-e de manière très resserrée et de manière à ce que les principaux personnages de l'arrière-plan ressortent bien. Il s'agit de montrer soit une/des personnalités qui apportent leur soutien au candidat-e, soit les membres de sa famille, soit les deux.

Mike Huckabee : le vainqueur du jour dans le camp républicain

A gauche de l'image, on distingue clairement l'inénarrable Chuck Norris qui ne quittera pas des yeux et quasiment pas les images tv. Ici Huckabee joue la carte «people» et une carte très conservatrice avec cet acteur. A droite, c'est très probablement la femme de Huckabee (on la voit moins que Chuck Norris).

Hillary Clinton : la «défaite» du jour

Vous pouvez distinguer à la gauche d'Hilary Clinton d'abord le général à la retraite Wesley Clark et Madeleine Albright l'ancienne secrétaire d'Etat de Bill Clinton. Très clairement, c'est la carte de expérience politique tant relativement aux Affaires étrangères qu'aux questions militaires qu'Hillary Clinton et son équipe de campagne mettent en avant. C'est d'ailleurs son credo actuel pour tenter de faire passer Barack Obama pour un «blanc»-bec pas sec derrière les oreilles. Une stratégie qui n'a pas du tout fonctionné en Iowa… Une deuxième photo (Reuters) prise sous un autre angle permet de visualiser, à gauche d'Hillary Clinton, son mari Bill et sa fille Chelsea:

John Edwards : l'autre outsider

Pour sa part, John Edwards joue à plein la carte familiale avec notamment sa femme (en rouge), puis ses trois enfants. A première vue, il n'y a pas de VIP du monde politique ou du show biz. A noter que l'intervention de John Edwards se termine sur du Bruce Springsteen et que durant les derniers jours de sa campagne, il a sillonné l'Iowa en compagnie de John «Cougar»Mellencamp. De quoi satisfaire Pierre-Yves Maillard et moi-même!

Barack Obama : une (tout?) autre scénographie télévisuelle Scénographie en trois temps.

Un plan relativement serré, mais déjà plus large que pour les candidat-e-s précédent-e-s. Je remarque déjà que les personnes derrière Obama sont à relative distance contrairement aussi aux autres images de candidat-e-s. Aucune personnalité, aucun membre de la famille ne figurent à ses côtés ou à distance. Il n'y a «que» des gens «ordinaires», mais bien drillés qui vont agiter leurs pancartes à chaque moment-clé du discours. Ma première impression, c'est que cette distance entre lui et la foule tente de l'installer déjà dans la posture du président et non pas dans celle d'un candidat à l'investiture de son parti.:"(C'est aussi la posture du pasteur guidant son troupeau…)": Alors qu'Obama conclut une première partie de son intervention où il affirme sa recherche de l'unité,

But on this January night - at this defining moment in history - you have done what the cynics said we couldn't do. You have done what the state of New Hampshire can do in five days. You have done what America can do in this New Year, 2008. In lines that stretched around schools and churches; in small towns and big cities; you came together as Democrats, Republicans and Independents to stand up and say that we are one nation; we are one people; and our time for change has come. You said the time has come to move beyond the bitterness and pettiness and anger that's consumed Washington; to end the political strategy that's been all about division and instead make it about addition - to build a coalition for change that stretches through Red States and Blue States. Because that's how we'll win in November, and that's how we'll finally meet the challenges that we face as a nation. We are choosing hope over fear. We're choosing unity over division, and sending a powerful message that change is coming to America. Lien vers le discours en entier

la caméra élargit le champ et renforce ainsi la «taille patron» du candidat. Dans le même temps, il apparaît au milieu de ses partisans, métaphore possible du peuple américain tout entier désormais coalisé autour de son «guide».

Dans un troisième temps, la caméra élargit encore le champ pour renforcer l'image de la multitude entourant le candidat:

Les pancartes bleues et rouges s'agitent un maximum et se «coalisent» alors que le slogan de campagne apparaît désormais en entier et se détache du fond de la scène.

La suite du feuilleton dans quatre jours…

Harlemsix(b3)

Harlem Six/Wu-Tang — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:20:23 EST

Debate Statement: "Love is the only emotion of which its' force cannot be stopped; thus, it will always exist. The human brain cannot be trained to stop love only the intensity of the feeling that defines its' existence. The human brain cannot remove love from the source the love penetrates. Pain can be stopped. A person can train their mind to stop the emotion of anger...!" ~Wizdom

Harlemsix(b2)

Harlem Six/Wu-Tang — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:14:20 EST

"When you strip a man of everything, what does he have left? His files, his data? Nothing else? No food, no clothes, but perhaps a willingness to fight for values and ethics… If it was a musician, wouldn't he be the one on the streets holding his black tided sack. Within that sack would be 50 CDs. His masters.. nothing else. It is the music he has created over the past 15 years. His poems, his stories, his life. Keeping it dear to his heart, so close to it, willing to die for it, he turns to a hope... A hope that others do believe… It's not just him who believes, but others around him… possibility the world. Who knows!"~B.B.

Shiny Happy Obama People

Wilcoy803 — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 11:20:18 EST

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone and Have a blessed and Safe Holidays!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0sLh9JTeWc

The Racial Reliability Of Obama: An Unworthy And Contradictory Conversation

Sheldon from Doylestown — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 22:28:37 EDT

The Racial Reliability Of Obama: An Unworthy And Contradictory Conversation

Dr. Maulana Karenga

There is an unworthy and contradictory conversation going on in a few unseemly places about the racial reliability of Barack Obama as an adequate representative of Black interests in the presidential process. This revolves around a test of racial wholeness not normally used. For we used to hold that Black blood was like the blood of Jesus; one drop makes you whole. The origins of this contrived issue are, on one level, suspect and at first appear as an attempt to cover up or justify support for favorite White candidates. After all, it seems odd, irrational and morally untenable to question racial representation by a mixed Black man, Obama, and holler hallelujahs for a completely White woman, Hillary Clinton; not to mention the contorted silliness and suspect naming of Bill Clinton as "soul brother" and John Edwards as "homeboy". It also represents a dance of desperation by Black conservatives to appear concerned about a history they don't really discuss and a people they constantly counsel to forget their concepts of race and the racial realities of oppression.

But this questioning also comes from a mistaken posing of a legitimate concern for support of issues and policies important to Black people. Clearly, we have the right and responsibility to be concerned about our interests being effectively and rightfully represented. But our criteria must not include unworthy and contradictory ideas of racial reliability based on questions of "pure" parentage and imagined experience, rather than on African ethical ideals of social justice and human good in the world. other sources seem to be more out of unawareness and an insecure identity and rootedness in one's own culture and history. Indeed, we have always recognized mixtures, usually accepted a person's self-definition as Black, and respected those who chose to be Black even when they could have passed.

These arguments about racial reliability revolve around several unsupportable and contradictory notions. First, there is a question about whether Obama's being born in Hawaii and traveling around the world makes him less sensitive to Black heartland or mainland thinking, needs and aspirations. But Hawaii, like Wyoming, is a part of a racialized U.S., hardly exempt from racist practices and lessons from this. Also, African Americans in the military take their children around the country and world regularly and until now such a world experience was considered an asset rather than a liability.

Secondly, there is the question of whether Obama's so-called lack of an enslaved past makes him different than other African Americans? But some of us are descendants of free and unenslaved Blacks and we've never raised any questions about their difference or ability to represent us. Moreover, having a direct or indirect relationship to the Holocaust of enslavement does not guarantee a sensitivity to this history, the ancestors who experienced it or the struggles we've waged to free ourselves from its horror and continuing legacy. After all, Clarence Thomas and Condi Rice could hardly be called representative of the social consciousness and social justice commitment such a history invites and encourages.

Also, any narrow notion of the Holocaust of enslavement or conquest of the Continent itself undermines our real link with our ancestral families and people in Africa whose historically enslaved relatives and descendants we are and who have suffered also in the global oppression Europe imposed on African people. Clearly, the African Holocaust of enslavement is a shared heritage and history of all African people. We easily understand and accept this about the Jewish Holocaust for Jewish people. We only become forgetful or confused when it comes to us.

Furthermore, it is said that if Whites embrace him, we should have a healthy concern about his sense of obligation to them and how this will affect his understanding of his relationship and obligation to his community and the social justice and human good issues they hold dear. Whites are said to like Obama for several reasons: because he doesn't hate or have a grievance against them or make them feel guilty for what they have done and do; and offers them a chance for redemption and recovery in the bloodied and offended eyes of the world. But one of the paralyzing aspects of Black politics is the continuous efforts to show care and concern for Whites and reassure them of our commitment to them and society.

Moreover, what Whites call grievances are actually our just demands which should have been met centuries ago in any society claiming liberty and justice for all. So, if there is any feeling of white guilt, it's self-inflicted and my sense is, if Oprah and a meaningful commitment to justice do not help them deal with their racial demons and dilemmas, there is little hope Obama will either. Our need is thus not to alienate Obama and turn him toward Whites as a savior from his own people, but embrace him in his progressiveness and the promise this offers for us, society and the world.

Finally, the problematic conversation is reduced to questions about Obama's parentage and the political and moral nature of our concern about his candidacy and his commitment to social justice is lost. However, it is not Obama's parentage but his political views and practice that are critical. He has announced a commitment to diversity, but whom has he chosen as advisors and assistants in the highest places? And where does he stand on issues vital to us as a people, the country and the world: on poverty, civil rights, hunger, homelessness, health care; on the oppressed, vulnerable and struggling peoples of the world, especially the peoples of Africa, Haiti and Palestine; on war, global warming, education, immigration, employment, economic initiative, energy and urban renewal as distinct from urban removal of us in New Orleans and elsewhere? And where does he stand on privatization, the prison-industrial complex, prisoner's rights and the legal bloodletting called capital punishment?

There are signs Obama understands the ethical meaning of his mission, in both the campaign and the office. He has said that his thought and work are rooted in the African American spiritual and ethical tradition which calls on us to care for the vulnerable, support social change and continue the "historical struggles for freedom and the rights of man." But Obama cannot save us or salvage whatever is good and meaningful in this country by himself. This is the task of a rebuilt Movement, broad in its inclusiveness of peoples, deep in its commitment to social justice and human good, and actively committed to achieving and sustaining these.

Dr. Maulana Karenga, Professor of Black Studies, California State University-Long Beach, Chair of The Organization Us, Creator of Kwanzaa, and author of Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture, [www.Us-Organization.org and www.OfficialKwanzaaWebsite.org].

http://www.us-organization.org/position/documents/TheRacialReliabilityofObama.pdf

New Barack Obama Video Posted on Youtube! This is going to really rear the Young crowd in! Come in and take a look!!

DIGIDOO (pronounced DIGGIE-DO) & LADYFI (My sister) New Obama Song! — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 01:55:34 EDT

Hi Obama Supporters!
Check out Why I feel like He can win in this Nation! We (me and my sister.rapper LADYFI) have come a with a Master Plan for him to win (New Obama SOng)! I'm an R&B singer by the name of "DIGIDOO" (pronounced DIGGIE-DO) who is doing some really big things in Montgomery Alabama! Me and LADYFI have put together a song and a Video for Barack Obama called "Representin' Obama". You can go to see it at the link below! So in the meantime, check out this video! We are going to send it everywhere so that we can get the Young people to Vote! And whats the Best way the rear the young in? Through Music, and that is what we are about to do!
Thanks for reading this Blog and God Bless!
If you all would like to check out more of what we are doing as artist go to www.myspace.com/DIGIDOO7 and
www.myspace.com/LADYFI7
This will be the Hottest Obama Video that has ever hit YOUTUBE! Go Now and check it out!!!
Also if you would like to get in contact with us or our Manager, email Alverene Dixon at Lilangl44777@aol.com or call (334) 652-8846.

(LADYFI at the Essence Music Festival)

(DIGIDOO @ the Essence Music Festival 2007)

(DIGIDOO & LADYFI together)

Check out the New Barack Obama Video when you Copy and Paste the link below)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9IHM4XL_Ws

Iraq

Sam Graham-Felsen — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 14:35:41 EDT

Barack Obama not only calls for a clear way out of Iraq, but strongly opposed the war from the beginning. Click here for more on Obama's bold stance and to learn how you can take action and help Barack in his mission to bring the troops home. And if you haven't seen this video highlighting Obama's consistent pre-war opposition yet, drop whatever else you're doing and watch it now:

Continue reading for Obama's statement on the fourth anniversary of the war.

Barack Obama would be the greatest President

SiliconValley For Obama — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 17:58:21 EST

Barack Obama would be the best President to lead this country for several reasons.

1. He hasn't been in politics very long and therefore there is far less chance that he has made the associations with big business that other long term politicians have been corrupted by such as John McCain, Juliani, etc..

2. Being an African American, he knows more about social injustice and equality than any white candidate could possibly know.

3. He did NOT vote for the war in Iraq, suspecting that it might be a phoney baloney fraud by the Bush Administration. He was one of the few Senators to be smart enough to figure that out. Hillary Clinton didn't figure it out and fell for the B.A.B. (Bush Administration Bullshit.)

4. Fresh out of Harvard Law School, he went to work for $13,000 per year to help underprivileged people even though he could have gotten a job like John Edwards that paid several million dollars per year. So, we know his heart is with the people.

5. Just listen to him talk. He's mesmerizing.

GOTO: www.1stfamily.com To See How You Can Contribute to the Obama Campaign without spending a dime of your own money. We will give 50% of your monthly Telephone or Internet Access bill to the Obama Campaign.

NYC4Obama Grassroots Organizing

Jon Jones — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 17:00:57 EST

A few days ago, we showed you photographs of the tremendous grassroots support we saw in Los Angeles. Well, just take a look at what's happening in New York City!

If you'd like to join NYC4Obama, click here.

We just happened to come across this event and thought it was great - another perfect example of people taking this campaign into their own hands. What are other folks up to out there?

Exposing Hillary! Exposing the Truth!

Anthony for Obama — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 22:45:45 EST

I find it very disappointing the Hillary Clinton is flip flopping or flat out lying to the American people about her intention and vote on authorizing the Iraq war. A war that has cost thousands of American lives and still climbing. In addition to the hundred of thousands of Iraqi lives. What's more disappointing is the press and media outlets. They have when without reporting the information thats been public, that I am about to reveal to you, so the American people can know the truth. After Clinton voted for the war authorization and her statements on the Senate floor, she met with a group called Code Pink in march of 2003. I believe this meeting to place weeks before the war began. Here is where she reveals what here true intentions of the war and why she voted for the war. The war that she now denies and tells the American people something different. Her comments reported by By JOHN DISTASO
Senior Political Reporter of www.UnionLeader.com, shows what we can expect from a Hillary Clinton's Presidency and Administrationn. Lies,deceit, and dishonest.

Even if she made a mistake in voting for the war, she does not have enough respect, dignity, courage, to come clean to the very people who have been supporting her. The American People! I know this is not what I want in a leader? Is this what we want in a President or should a I say Representive of the United States to the world? I feel betrayed as do 2/3 of the nation does when it comes to Iraq. And when it& ;nbs p;come to Hillary Clinton denial and flip flopping to the American people. She stated that she followed the issues on Iraq more than a decade prior to her vote... A DECADE AGO!!! And she still got it wrong when it came to Iraq. Or should I say when it came to thousands American lives that is now lost and bog down in the middle of another country civil war. She stated " I ended up voting for the resolution after carefully reviewing the information and intelingence I had available, talking with peoples opinions I trusted, trying to discount political and other factors, that I didn't believe in any way should be apart of this decision" After she stated it was not her preference to go to war, on a war she voted for, she was than challenge by the group spokes women for Code Pink. She went on the defensive and contradicteded and/or lied about it wasn't her preference, and thats when she began to really show she is misleading. she began by stating, " wit h res pect to whos responsibility it is to disarm Saddam Heissan, I... I just do not believe given the attitudes of many people in the world community today, there would be a willingness to take on very difficult problems, if it was not for the United Sates. And I am talking about specifically what had to be done in Bosnia and Kosavo. Where my husband could not get a security council resolution to save the Kosavain albanian from ethnic cleansing. And we did it alone as the United States! We had to do it alone! It would have been far preferable if the Russian and other had agree to do it through the United Nations. They would not! I'm happy that we did act. So, I see it some what differently, so forgive for my experience and perspective." and then she change the subject to economic policys from the Bush Administration. Then she had the very group that was opposing her decision on Iraq, support her by clapping for her as she attacked bush. Sound familiar right ! Its what she does to day to day as she go around the country campaigning. She only gains support from attacking bush and then the American people get distracted from the truth. This is her tatic she uses tp get people to support her... it goes back to people supporting the less of two evils. thats why she diverts the attention on Bush. This is the only thing that drives heecampaign and distracts the people from the truth about her. She asked the group to forgive her for her experiencene and perspective, the same experience and perspective that have us still in Iraq 4 years later. And she goes around the country campaigningn heavily on her EXPERIENCE and PERSPECTIVES!!! And we suppose to vote for her because she's experience. I think not! If this is what we get for he experience, she can keep it. Give me somebody who is not expierenced or is heavly influince by Washington politics. Give me somebody that is for the people and by the people. This is what the constuition that we vow to defend states.
So heres the real truth. If she wasn't in favor of the war why didnt she have the courage to stand up and vote against it? If she wanted to give the inspectors a chance, that she now proclaims that she wanted to do, why was she on the defensive in justifying the Clinton administration policy of going it alone in Kosavo and Bosnia? This is from her very own words... She sighted that her husband couldn'tnt get support from the United Nations. But then she lies and mislead us stating it was a vote to support weapons inspectors in 2003! What she said in 2003was, it was to DISARM SADDAM HIESSAN!!! Guess what American she was wrong!!! There was no weapons of mass destruction. But I'll tell you what there was, an opportunityty to destablize the whole region, send our sons and daughters to war, an enforce the will of the fat Washington bureaucrats on the wo rld. Fa t, as they get fatter off the wealth and now blood of the American people. She blames President Bush! Now let me say i am no republican. I am ndemocratat, and I am definetly not a supporter of Bush policys. I am a American! I'll tell you why she blames President Bush now to the American people because, it an opportunity for her to run from her responsibly on the war, and to lie her warmongering way back into the White House in 08. After she clearly stated in the meeting in 2003 defending her war vote, that she followed the issue more than a decade. This was prior to Bush Administration! Shes been saying it was the misleading Bush administration on intelligence, that she now blames for the war and her voting for it??? While in the same breath she saids she take responsibiltyty for it, and we stand up and applaude her. My God!!! If she wins and we give her the Presidents may God help us all... No I'll tell you why she voted for the war from her very own words, " I ended up voting for the resolution after carefully reviewing the information and inteligencece I had available, talking with peoples opinion I trusted, trying to discount political and other factors" Do you think the peoples opinions she had trusted, that help influenced her decision, and vote for the war, was the Bush Administration. don'tnt think so! But she will tells you this is Bush War. Lies! Lies! Lies! No this is also Hillary war! Let me say it again, she said, After carefully reviewing the information and intelligences. She didnt say after consulting with Bush. Remind you this is the same intelligentigents that Bush based his decision on, And look where that got us American. If she gets the Democratic nomination the republicans will tear her apart on the issues and the truth. She no different than Bush. For the exception as a leader Bush always stand by his convictions. Can say that for Hi llary.&n bsp;And I am tired of the rhetoric and the lack of truth from our elected leaders... Hillary said, it was people opinions she trusted, the same peoples opinion she will be trusting if she becomes President. The fact of the matter is Clinton is dishonest when it comes to the most important issue facing this Nation. The war. Heres my point if she cannt be honest about the war, what about future wars. What about health care, education, and the other issues she speaks about. Hillary Clinton dances around the issues to hid the truth, but as you can see I am a good dancer. Because I know the truth. And I hope and pray the American people realize the truth. The only one that seems to have had it write was Barack Obama. He has been honest when it comes to his past. I think we can say he would be honest when it comes to his future and the future if this nation. WHO WILL YOU VOTE FOR!!! I WILL BE VOTING FOR BARACK OBAMA!!! Hes honest, a ma n of intellec t, and integrity. but thats a story for another time. I didnt intend to write a essay tonight, but i had to speak out! What happened to our democracy America? The same democracy that made way for all Americans to vote. Including black Americans, and Americans form other race and ethnicitys, and women!!! The same democracy that allows a women to run for President, leading the Democracy or should I say Democratic Party. Do we want her even if she lies, mislead and misrepresent the American people... misrepresents the America to the world. One last thing... This is the democracy that gave us freedom of the press. It saddens me that this is the same press and media that have been bias and have allow the truth tp gp unheard. Now is the time! Now is the time to tell the truth! And now is the time to regain of Democracy! Now is the time to take back our county! Take it back by standing up, reporting, and telling the truth. I provide a link to the clip that exposes the truth about Hillary Clinton and the Truth!!! See link below
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYATbsu2cP8

I will be mailing this to all the major news outlets, political website, and blogs I can. I choose you to be the first to recieve this because I respect the Union and Labor in this country. The same Union and Labor that help transformed this great nation. I like Clinton, especially love Bill, but the stakes in this election couldn't be higher and couldn't be more important. thank you for your time. And may God continue to bless America. The lord knows we are going to need it. Especially if American remains blind... blind to the truth and remains asleep, and Hillary Clinton is elected. THE WEBSITE FOR REFERENCE TO HILLARYS MEETING IS Link Respectfully,AnthonyIndependent Voter for the Awakening America

Voting on the Internet for Obama and other stuff

SiliconValley For Obama — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 21:31:17 EST

In the election of 2008, we will NOT be allowed to Vote on the Internet because there has never been a candidate or an elected official in this great nation of ours who truly supports our great democracy.

Oh sure, they give speeches about the greatness of democracy, but they will not ALLOW their own people to vote on the Internet for ISSUES, due to their great fear that the people will be able to create the rules and policies and laws of society FASTER, MORE EFFICIENTLY and with NO UNDUE INFLUENCE FROM THE LOBBYISTS who now number over 200,000 with offices in Washington attached to the halls of CONGRESS.

BUT, in the candidate of Barack Obama, we have a man who is different. He is Of the People, and For the People, and therefore, he will be convinced to work For the People by using the Internet in its highest and best use, as the tool of democracy.

Voting On The Internet.com

Barack Obama on Flickr

Steve Garfield — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 08:01:09 EST

Sen. Obama,
I know you are pretty busy, but I asked you to be my contact on flickr yesterday morning and you still haven't approved my request.

You are also using a lame default image as your picture on flickr, try uploading something more fun!

You have your photos © All rights reserved. Please change that to a Creative Commons license so we can post them to our blogs without having to ask permission.

Note: This blog post would have had pictures in in but the HTML IMG tags from flickr were not evaluated correctly.

Worked fine on my blogger blog.

Thanks, --Steve