Posts with the tag future

RAPTOR

James — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:41:14 EDT

Everywhere I look, everything I read, and just about everything written' confirms that it is a wonderful money-saving thing that that the government has done by canceling production of the new F-22 'Raptor' fighter. I don't see it that way. It is a dumb luddite-based decision. Yes, anti-technology, head-in-the-sand, but seemingly fiscally responsible decision. In reality, it is canceling the future to make believe we are paying for the present. And the amount saved is nonsensical. We could have had the remaining raptors built and operational for years just on the money that was recently distributed to executives at the banks we gave bailout money to. So this aircraft cancellation is all about posturing.

The F-22, it is complained, was designed during the cold war. Somehow that means that the design is mired in that period of strange political unrest. That is like saying that the hammer you have in your basement workshop needs to be thrown out because it was designed at a time when most things were put together with hammer and nail, not nail guns. The F-22 is a tool. Its use capability is amazingly versatile. And God, does it send a message to the rest of the world and to the future. That message is that the United States will dominate the air in any conflict that anyone gets involved in that includes the United States. Anywhere, anytime, when fighting breaks out, you will face the Raptor in the air...and nobody, but nobody, argues that there is a plane, or mix of them, that can match that tool in the air. And oh, do you happen to recall that we have a bomber in the inventory, still very well used, called the B-52? It was designed before the cold war, then dedicated solely to that 'almost' conflict. Amazing the usage we have found for that old 'hammer!' The argument has also been raised that the F-22 costs too much in maintenance to fly. What hogwash. It costs, even at the ridiculous figures presented in the press, about eighteen times less, per plane, than a B-52 to keep in the air!

A lot of people are talking abut retreat today. A lot of people are talking about not planning for future. It seems that the discussions are all about today, even though the hard-clad, cold-bleeding Republicans have supposedly been vanquished, and not tomorrow. From the space program through weapons procurement and even scientific research, we have been in retreat from a proactive plan that takes on the future. Instead we are 'going green' and heading into some 'bong considered' idiocy of pastoral life. The idea that we are somehow going to change this planet into one vast garden of Eden-type delight would be laughable, like Creationism, if there was not a grand, vapidly drooling, segment of our culture buying into it. Our future is in technology. Technology is why you have heat in the winter and air-conditioning in the summer. It is why you can talk to one another all the time, anywhere and at anytime. It is why you have clothing and shoes, and yes, packaged and then cooked food. Technology is simply another word used to replace the word 'better.' Whenever technology is considered something bad, and not better, then you have to go to the additional word 'perspective.' Nuclear weapons are great, if you have them, but terrible if you do not. Great if you are one of the people (in the countries that do have them) who control them, and maybe not so great if you are one of the people who do not, or do not trust the people who do. It is perspective of technology.

We live in a time where people who benefit from the stunning technological gains of the last two thousand years understand, and strive to do better. And we also live in a time wherein people who do not much benefit from the advances, hate them. We have a lot of problems with negative belief systems in the underdeveloped countries of this world. We have radical religion, which, amazingly, thrives in areas where technology does not reach very well! A great advance, also part of this technology, that should be used to combat this, is education, and gifted benefits of other technology. Instead we have gone at this great rift in belief systems with more destructive technology (bombs, mines and combat planes and troops). Hammers can be used to remove nails, and take apart, as well as build.

Yet, here I am proposing that the cancellation of the F-22 raptor is a big mistake. Amazing. But the analytical points of my argument are well founded. The United States is something special. It arose from a nightmare of warring nations intent on supporting the wealth of a few and the deliberate (and forced) slavery of the masses (physical and economical). The United States has pulled itself through and up above that, dragging much of the world with it! And here we sit. "Top of the World, Ma!" A line from an old Jimmy Cagney movie. We are on top of the world and we are having a terrible time figuring out what to do with the position we are in, for ourselves and for everyone else. And, in truth, since the cold war, we have been acting like a horse's ass, to our own people, for the most part, and the people of the world. We have to change all that, for our own survival and for that of the world itself. But we cannot change it from a position of weakness.

We need a six hundred ship Navy. We need a strong well-equipped Army and Marine Corps. We need domination of the air (and that 'for sure' includes the F-22 Raptor). And, with those things in place, we need to then do the hardest thing of all. We need to do the right thing, for us and for everyone else not so blessed. So, yes, I am an Emersonian Imperialist...of the right thing. And how is the 'right thing' decided upon? Therein lies the rub. Bush and Cheney had all the power in the world, and the good will of the planet (following 9/11) and what did they choose to do? The wrong thing. We voted Bush in (arguably), and he delivered very poorly. But we did not vote him in to do the right thing. We just kinda slipped him on by another mediocre candidate...twice. I think, however, we voted Obama in to do the right thing. And I think we were correct in our choice, if he can work through the morass of our Congressional Houses he was handed to deal with.

Obama was at the top of the heap in the cancellation of the F-22. I believe he is trying to do the right thing, but I do not think, or expect, that he is always going to be correct. We may well rue the day, with respect to this cancellation of a fighter contract, and pay a price in that future I write about. I hope not, but, more than that, the cancellation is symptomatic of our flight from science and technological advance. I think about this and I worry.

http://www.jamesstraussauthor.com

http://www.themastodons.com

http://from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com

Energy, our future

Unknown user — Fri, 22 May 2009 09:32:57 EDT

We are in crisis, an energy crisis. We have problems with our present energy providers, and are looking to replace with a new more efficient energy source. Electricity seems to be the energy of choice, but we need to do our homework. The President should also do his homework!

We as a people have a responsibility to follow what are leader suggests, ad try and help our country as much as we can.... "ask not what our country can do for us....but what canwe do for our country!"

Well, now is the time for the President to do for his country something amazing. I have come across a few articles that specifies the extension of battery life 10fold. This means for the same small battery we have 10 times the life.....OR for a battery 10 times smaller, we have the same amount of life.

Take this to practice on car batteries for electrical cars...this means a car with 10 times smallerbattery, means lss weight, and less production costs. Should this not instill a certai urgency, and should this not make the President want to invest some money in this company that cam across this new etchnology? You can read for yourself the findings....but this is a matter of national well being...and when they say 5 years before you see the first publicly available battery....I say, it should be 5 months...not 5 years!

Incentives are what we need, and I find the President is not doing as much as he could or maybe his cabinet or his "peeps" in charge of finding the new technologies that will bring the US out of their current energy dependent situation.

These are the links to the stories related to my findings!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/sciencenews/5353809/Worlds-first-battery-fuelled-by-air.html

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/05/stair-20090518.html

Obama Challenge

Marv from Chula Vista, CA — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:38:41 EDT

Recovery? Restore America to the prosperity of 2006?

Way too small a vision for our time and place in global history.

Please energize your resources to galvanize President Obama and the administration into defining and declaring a BIG EMPOWERING VISION for America. Something with the motivating power of Kennedy’s bold declaration of putting a man on the moon.

The realities of the confluence of global environmental and social issues challenges our ability to prevail with anything resembling our current lifestyle... These realities demand setting a goal of altering our collision course with mega disaster. We confront the probability of environmental changes so dramatic that they are a threat not only for our children’s future, but our own.

This vision, based on unspoken realities, will also shake up the resistant and reactionary from their state of fear and paralysis. They can only profit if we survive.

It’'s simple. We must evolve or perish.

Please light some fires and help motivate your network to help create the future we want for our children... and ourselves, beginning NOW.

I put a 5 part video up on YouTube that amplifies this concern. It is also available on my website: http://web.mac.com/marvlyons/EarthTHRIVE/Challenge_to_Barack.html

I have a DVD with the same videos. if you would like one. I’m proposing public involvement in defining our Empowering Vision.

Marv Lyons

Lost Jobs, Trickle Down Effect, CA Cutbacks

Linda — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 21:03:02 EST

Wow. The news continues to be bleak, yet I don't feel a sense of doom. I'm worried, sans panicked. I believe in this new guy, our President, Barak, in the familiar. Hey, the stimulus package PASSED! Pres Obama is right on target with his timetable, and it's only February! Let's face it, the man rocks.

What concerns I have, like so many of my brethren in these united States: is my job safe? Will I be asked to take an economic hit, when my dollar is already shy of reaching it's full potential? Which way should I lean - spend for the economy, or save for the unknown future?

Deeper down, the nagging worries for those physically and mentally challenged citizens who are our daughters and sons, neighbors and co-workers: will there be enough Medicare to cover their essential health needs? Will the support programs (job coaches, public transportation, independant living counselors, regional centers and resource offices) have enough funding to continue serving this vibrant segment of our population? This mom wants to know...

Faulty Local Proposals may still doom US economy, re: Stimulus

Tomahs Frejnofes — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:02:14 EST

At least in Erie County NY, the powers that be put together a list of 100 proposed projects, that are far in excess of what is needed in dollar amount, projects promote very few jobs in the short term, and almost none for the long term. With very few proposed road and bridge work. Promoting more urban sprawl with little regard for existing buildings or domiciles.

One proposal I know is way over bloated even though I know it well and believe work is required but not to the amount Erie County has proposed to its constituants. For example: http://www.erie.gov/exec/pdfs/stimulus_project.pdf

1)--$3.75 Million-- for
"Chestnut Ridge Park- Heritage Area Restoration: 100 Stone Steps, Bridges(1), Stone Picnic Structures (75), Stone Restroom Facilities (16), Stone and Wood Pump Houses (6); Gateway Improvements: Main Entrance, NewtonRd. Entrance; Maintenance/Storage Yard Reconfiguration: Design, Initial buffer/landscaping; Casino Reuse Feasibility Study; Casino Restoration; Playground Facility Upgrade"

2)--$750,000-- for
"Chestnut Ridge Park Casino:
The historic Chestnut Ridge Casino roof
stucture is severely leaking, causing damage to the building interior, the windows are in poor repair, and the heating system is old and can no longer be repaired"3)--$250,000-- for
"Chestnut Ridge Park Toboggan Towers: Repairs to remediate structural damage and lead paint hazzards, and re-open both towers."

Plus a share of another $25.4 million for amenity upgrades and roads for all parks.

In addition to Double dipping for the Casino proposals which is actualy a park setting main event type building made of stone which is pretty cool but not thats its not worth it, its the fact that someone will pocket probably more than 50% of the sum proposed for these projects to this one park I know so well.

I am sure I can refine the stats better, I am sure I can find more inconsistancies in thier ways or proposals.

But
I warned before on 9/11,
I warned again in before the economic crisis hit
and I have warned on events on varying subjects

Still nobody listens and I don't get paid.

So listen if you care, don't if you won't; but someone has to keep the local politicians in check.

Morality may have one the White House, but it has not beaten back greed and corruption elsewhere.

Thank You for allowing me to at least vent my frustrations with an outlet to someone in power that seems to give a f*&@.

Andre Chernogorec Jr., Tomahs Frejnofes

and PS
Under the 2006 Presidential Budget proposal, you have a lot more autority than you may even know. ;)

Investment into America's Coming Generations

Mark from Indianapolis, IN — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 15:11:04 EST

Greeting all,

We are living in a time of economic certainty. That certainty is, “if we do not move quickly, and with exactness the economy of America will fail, and with it the experiment of democracy as well.”

This is a time that we must overcome the failure of the present system by investing into the Human infrastructure of America.

We must invest “today” in the people for the children of our grandchildren by putting money in the hands of the people, which they can invest in education, and opening businesses, and putting capital in the hands of the people to spend with the companies who are in jeopardy of failing now.

The amounts of spending being discussed in the house and Senate are in the Hundreds of billions and seem insurmountable. In truth the amount that needs to be spent is in the trillions; 33.5 trillion to be clear.
These amounts surely are overwhelming if we continue to try to seek the answer in our lifetime. We must look at the solution in terms of “generations” not in the term of a Presidency or a decade but in the Nation’s lifetime expectancy!

This is an opportunity to strengthen all of the American people, as well as the economy for generations to come.

It is a simple plan. One million dollars, tax free, to every American with a Social-Security Number.
In this model people will spend and save accordingly. There is no question that there will be un-wise spending and waste.

On the other hand, there will also be wise investment and upgrades in the education levels of America as a whole. American Government should invest to build the infrastructures of the country, and also allow the People will build the new infrastructures that are necessary in humanity, as well.

In this model the people will pay off debts and homes and the outcome in two generations is an America where the people are better educated and healthy and house adequately, the economy is better sustained because the wealth is not so unevenly disbursed.

Will there still be poor? Yes. There is a certainty that money will be squandered, but in the overall outlook, the chances that a majority of population of America will be in poverty will be impossible.
This is be reasoned by looking at a two parent home with one child puts three million dollars in the home.
Can that three million dollars be managed to continue to build that family in the education and living for generations to come? Yes, it can. As a matter of fact on this basis, the entirety of American educations will rise because people will go back to school and invest in themselves and each other, and America will see an end to wide spread poverty.

What about inflation?

Inflation is a “conceived inevitability”, not a “real inevitability”. With the disbursement of the monies to the people it should be enacted that the prices for the American economy are set for American goods and services.

It is an uncomfortable statement to make but basically, everything boils down to style and taste. As we level the field on funds we should also on technology, the consumer matters then become and have always been, “the one I like the best is the one I’ll buy” and that is with anything.

If the cost for a car is 15,000 dollars across the board the difference become in the style in the vehicle because the technology is the same. If a company builds a car and the consumer market doesn’t like the company looses the investment in that product. If the company builds a better-styled car and a large percentage of the market gravitates to it then that company gains the consumers dollars.

This insures that the American currency stay relatively strong internationally. Relatively, meaning as prices change around the world the currency changes to reflect said changes.

The argument then becomes, “How do we deal with inflation at home?” As stated, the prices are “set” at the present cost of disbursals. Surely there will be those opportunist who believe “since all have a million dollars lets raise prices to get as much of it as we can.” To this thinking we can generally say these are thieves and traitors to rendering a newer, better republic.

It is not for the good of the nation nor the generations to come to exacerbate the problems cause by greed, of which we are currently seeing the result.

Arguably, a radical solution is necessary to fix the American economy. Is this the one?

I hope so because in actuality a thousand dollar tax cut will do nothing, but a million dollar investment would make a big difference in the future of this nation.

Think about it.

Welcome to Center Channel

Fermin F. Iduate — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:30:25 EST

The objective of this blog, is to establish a forum for our community and enable collaborative interdisciplinary thought and discussion as to how we can all help make it a better place.

Focus areas:

1) Energy Independence: This matter is so strategic that it affects everything we deal with... the price of just about everything. We are being held at bay by the Oil Producing states due to our reluctance stemming from 1979 to change our sources of energy and go the easy way of dependency upon foreign resources thereby choosing the easy way out.....which of course never works.

2) Opportunity via innovation: New ideas for doing old things in a more cost effective and efficient manner, taking into account our impacts on our earth and neighboring ecosystems.

3) Social Consciousness: Striving to bring a social consciousness to "Entities" which are not real human beings such as Government, Corporations, Non-Profits, Institutions, and Utilities, as well as to People since a lot of people just don't really care about anyone else but themselves.

4) Education: Part of the reason we have become so dependent on foreign source labor is because we have left our educational system go "to the dogs". We don't improve education by spending more money on buildings and administrative programs, we do so by building up MINDS via good quality CONTENT, CURRICULUM, EXPERIENCES AND TEAMPLAY. We have a great defecit of US Scientist, Mathematicians, Engineers, and Technical experts and have resorted to outsourcing this to workers who only lease us their time and then take their knowledge and experience back to their countries.

5) Jobs: We can't wait around for the Big Companies to figure out how they're going to move. Small & Medium size companies have the flexibility and mobility to get things done and to approach new technologies and solutions with speed and efficiency. Let's share in opportunities where we can all invest our time and talents to make this a better place.

No Matter What May Be, Life is Good

Garden Owl — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:08:54 EST

There are many people out there with less than me. I live in a very run down home with a hole in the bathroom sink and where both sinks, in the house, leak. The gutters, what gutters ( painted to get the city off my back), like I really want to live this way. However life is good. I have a roof and though I also have no income and contend with my ex daily for support, there are many out there that would prefer my boat. I know I am blessed, even with an "ARM" mortgage it is manageable, due to buying with-in my means, what about those out there that had much nicer homes than mine and with great school systems that they are now verging on or are homeless.

I realize that change is not going to happen overnight, however over the nights to follow I feel that we can actually do it. Thank You, Pres. Obama for believing in us enough to run for the Presidency. I feel that maybe the old system will be fixed and instead of needing to plan to fail in order to succeed the hard work of each individual that is working to reclaim a sense of dignity will be rewarded.

I may not get much time to make calls or with no money I cannot donate, but I do live my life to the happiest that I can and my daughters celebrate each day knowing that tomorrow is not today so always celebrate. I thank God that we finally have a man truly of the people.

My four year old says to say "Hello, Obama-Rama" . She chose the name and it has stuck for now.

Today is a beautiful day

sj52a — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:12:09 EST

The fruits of a Americas once lost and now found hope and democratic fighting spirit is realised today. America lost its pride and forgot its self, it forgot why millions of people spent their life savings, risking their lives to come here, it forgot why America came to the standing it has in the world and why America has always been the hub for change, the driving force behind liberty and justice for all. The principals that found this country, that bathe the constitution, were forgotten, America grew lazy, it grew passive and complacent, it took its self for granted assuming without question or evidence that it was the best country on earth, forgetting why that might have once been true.

Today I am reminded, the world is reminded.

Today those things can be said again. I am proud of my countrymen, I am proud of being an American, a phrase that I would not have ever considered saying with a straight face before in my life, because there was nothing to be proud of. My accent was not something I liked about my self, hoping everyday that it would vanish and I could cut my ties with my former state union.

I lost hope, I lost belief, condoning, frowning upon the beautiful idealism that gave my country life, I did not believe that hope was possible for a better future, I was not sure that it ever was, I did not comprehend the idea that a president could be a force for good, deserving respect, I was never aware of that idea beyond that screen of my television and martin sheen and jimmy smitts. I thought that I knew America and what it was really capable of, not what I was told it was capable of . I thought that that idea was just a television show, more perfect and beautiful then life.

But today I, like so many others are renewed. I, once endlessly cynical. I, who lost belief in a better future. I, who did not believe that I could so proud of my accent and the country that it comes from. I believe that things can be different, I belive that I can change things if I want to. I believe. I hope. I am dripping with the idealism that comes only to a teenager, I know this, but I like this, I feel fine, better then. I know that in the future I may see the world for what it really is again, but I also hope that what I see now can be what the world really is.

Even if President Barack Obama cannot deliver on any of his promises, America will still have gained more from him then we can ever thank him for. He reminded us who we are as a nation, he reminded what we stand for and has shown us that we can dream, that we can imagine and that we can hope.

Future challenges

Emma — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:05:25 EST

Depression, recession, war, disease, famine, global warming and total financial meltdown of all economies worldwide and the list goes on and on…

Surely President Obama will wake up with a considerable headache for many days to come. But the key to all of these problems are one and the same; global cooperation across borders and beliefs. In today’s world everything is so interconnected that simply focusing on one thing, one nation or one solution is futile. We need to start thinking of ourselves as one race together on this one planet. Only with that perspective can any actual solutions be found. Thankfully President Obama seems to understand this very thing.

It won’t be easy of course, but then again nothing worth having comes easy. Perhaps this dive into despair is what’s needed for countries like the United States to begin to redefine themselves and their role in the world. We have changed greatly as a race, the past century. With this new millennium we face challenges never before imagined. To deal with this we need new ways of thinking, feeling and relating to each other.

The internet made the world significantly smaller, airplanes narrowed distances between us and the media forged new bonds across all boundaries. The global warming and diminishing energy resources will soon tie us even closer together, billions of individuals as we are, stuck on this tiny planet in infinite space.

To unite a world, the world needs to be inspired to unite. Bullying never works, people will always find ways to fight it. But to inspire such a complex thing as a world like ours, one must have a clear understanding of the path ahead, knowledge of the path behind us and awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of one’s own heart. Only at the highest peak can you make yourself heard by all, and the climb there is thorny to say the least. But I can’t imagine anyone with more promise than Barack Obama.

Insecurity, distrust and fear have spread like wildfire across the globe in recent years. Wars and painful conflicts seem present or unavoidable everywhere you turn. The US is no longer the guaranteed peacekeeper it once was and President Obama is not a miracle worker. No outsider can ever bring peace. But he can, and must, rebuild mutual respect. This does not mean nations will suddenly become eternal friends, nor will they trust each other blindly. But for diplomacy to work, some degree of trust is essential. This will be President Obama’s greatest challenge; to build bridges, within his own country and between many others.

If President Obama can manage to get people talking again, get them to move forward instead of this stagnated depression, no challenge is too great to overcome. This is a simple fact. There are some six billion of us here, there’s nothing we can’t do.

But making this happen, uniting enemies and reconnecting old allies, will require a very special touch, a fingertip sensitivity to what each and all need to hear. There are keys to unleash every human’s inner creativity. But we each have a different key, so anyone desiring to inspire, has to understand our differences and adapt. A challenge worthy of any hero!!

It’s a good thing our new President is young! He’s got time… I’m looking forward to his eight years in the White House and the subsequent (?!) decades in charge of a new and reformed United Nations!

Inaugural essays

Obama Twin — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:53:05 EST

The future is always waiting for us, despite our missteps and fears.

Although many have predicted a disastrous road ahead (economic and social cataclysms), in this administration I see new hope -- not a wild misguided sense of urgency and false alarms, but deliberate steps towards progress and a brighter future.

There is a new willingness to set aside the old failed ways, and face obstacles with every means available. It is a gathering of the nation's talent and its people under one sky, with common purpose, facing in one direction ... forward.

It reminds me of the Kennedy era -- boundless determination in pursuit of seemingly impossible but worthy goals -- like reaching for the moon, and the wealth of technology and "boundary breaking" that effort rewarded us.

My wife and I have done our part and will continue to do more. I spent 24 years in the military making America safer for our children, and now spend my days teaching at-risk children in public schools. My wife has been a nurse in critical care centers, sick wards, and on medical hotlines most of her adult life.

Now we look forward to the Obama Presidency doing its part to prove our hopes and our trust were justified. With decisive leadership and the support of the American people we cannot fail -- because we must not.

Rochester Youth Means Change

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:24:00 EST

Lets get started.

The Mountain Years

Johannes — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 03:23:23 EST

Mr. President Elect,

It is the last hour of the last day of what already seems to be a very Old Year. People look back, point at the record-low for this and the record-high for that. Most certainly, it has been quite an unusual year.

A global economic crisis has emerged the scope of which the world has never seen before.

Its A New Dawn

Ron Booth Adams County Colorado — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 08:54:44 EST

In a few hours here in Adams County we will have our 'Change is Coming' house meeting. It looks more as if it will be as much a community gathering as anything, with 60 attendees signed up.

While making coffee and watching the sun come up it occurs to me just how much the sunrise looks just as it did on election day November 4th. Full of excitement, full of hope and full of possibilities for the future.

There can be no doubt that indeed we are standing on the threshold of a new era for our nation and for the world.

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

Abandon the Retirees and save todays workers ?

Richard Owl Mirror — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 01:28:41 EST

The Rationale for allowing the US Auto Industry to fail ~ Can it be applied the US Federal Government?

Republicans Kill $14B Rescue Plan in effort to dismantle UAW Union

Within the above article is a discussion and a point of view I find interesting and wish to explore how people feel about it and it's implications.

Stu P., "The only way the Big 3 can compete with Toyota, etc. would be to get out from under the massive pension and related obligations to retired and soon-to-be-retired UAW workers."

Richard, Given the plight of the economy and the Debt incurred by the American Taxpayer, should the US Government rescind the benefits of US Service men and women? Revoke the health benefits and retirement of the millions of individuals in order to make the Federal Government a more financially viable entity ?

Let's start with those costly Survivor benefits
http://www.militarytimes.com/benefits/family_resources/online_hbml06_payandbenefits_otherbenefits1/

Then we can move on to money for housing and Education benefits.
http://www.militarytimes.com/benefits/

Imagine a leaner Federal Government without Military Veteran OBLIGATIONS to burden them.
http://www.militarytimes.com/benefits/health/

~@~

Given the tremendous debt out government is carrying and which the American citizen is libel to repay w/interest, I'm wondering if these Senate Republicans would be prepared to rescind the benefits to each and every Military veteran in an effort to trim the wasteful spending by our Government?

If it works for GM, Ford and Chrysler, wouldn't it also translate into a cost-savings effort by the Federal Government?

I really think these Senate Republicans are on to something, throw out any promises of care for services rendered and allow the former employees to fend for themselves.

After all those 300,000+ Auto Retirees are most likely service members from WWII, Korea, Veitnam who are drawing these Federal Benefits as well as Pensions from working their entire lives in the factories. If America is willing to toss them under the bus, why not go the whole way and assist the Federal Government in relieving itself of this burden?

Tad W. said, That's brilliant! When can we start?!

I'm afraid this measure would be met with resistance, calling it unjust because they earned the rewards of Health and Retirement benefits by their service.
I just wonder why those same people can't apply this measure to the Retirement costs burdening the Big 3?

I don't know the financial answers to these problems but, our entire social fabric was paved by people such as these 300,000+ retirees. People who fought in World War Two, returned and went to work creating the US Middle Class. Others remained behind and worked in those factories building the needed equipment for the war Effort, then continued working their whole life, retiring with dignity and financial security.
They were the pioneers of citizen involvement of the Stock Market. Their pension funds built the vast wealth which makes up the majority of investments.

Why are some so willing to throw them under the bus ?

I find it shameful and appalling. Republicans Kill $14B Rescue Plan in effort to dismantle UAW Union

Failed Bailout Batters Asian Stock Markets
Auto Bailout Bust Fuels Wall St. Anxiety
New Unemployment Claims Reach 26-Year High
White House May Ride To Detroit's Rescue

"The current weakened state of the economy is such that it could not withstand a body blow like a disorderly bankruptcy in the auto industry," White House press secretary Dana Perino said.

The Senate's rejection of the $14 billion rescue plan and further evidence of a deepening global recession made world stock markets plunge. U.S. stock index futures pointed to a big sell-off later on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average was projected to drop 278 points, or 3.2 percent, to 8,292, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index was forecast to fall 33.80 points, or 3.9 percent, to 840.70.

"This is a colossal failure in leadership," Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero said on The Early Show. "It puts the economy closer to the cliff and I think we see that already in the reaction."

"I find it highly ironic to have Congress people lecturing the UAW about cutting their wages," Bernero told the The Early Show. "Why don't we put Congress people and senators on merit pay and see what they would be making. What has their productivity been? Give me a break."
Am I to understand that the approximate "332,000 retirees whose health care is covered by generous benefits negotiated since the end of World War II. " should simply lose those benefits in order to afford the current workers retain their jobs? Eliminating those benefits, would GM be competitive? Is that the solution. Kick all 332,000 retirees to the curb and tell them the promises made are null and void ? Imagine the effect on our economy when these 81,000 active UAW workers and 332,000 retirees default on their mortgages and file bankruptcy ? Add to that all the small businesses that depend on the local economy that these 81,000 active UAW workers and 332,000 retirees and their extended families frequent?
Those who believe they will be untouched by the failure of these three companies are in for a rude awakening. When the supply chain fails, those companies also supply Toyota, Honda and the others. Will Toyota, Honda have a supply problem leading to worker lay-offs in Alabama too ? Given the plight of the economy and the Debt incurred by the American Taxpayer, should the US Government recind the benefits of US Service men and women? Revoke the health benefits and retirement of the millions of individuals in order to make the Federal Government a more financially viable entity ?

Let's start with those costly Survivor benefits

Then we can move on to More money for housing and Education benefits.
http://www.militarytimes.com/benefits/

Imagine a leaner Federal Government without Military Veteran OBLIGATIONS to burden them.
http://www.militarytimes.com/benefits/health/ I think we need to cut off all benefits for every veteran.
After all, they got paid while they were employed, why should the Federal Gov. continue paying them after they quit or retired ?The Federal Government is the largest employer in this Nation, it too operates in a huge and ever expanding deficit. If We, the people were to eliminate this OBLIGATION, wouldn't OUR Company function better? Do US autoworkers really make $70 or more per hour in wages and benefits ?

Contrary to an often-repeated myth, UAW members at GM, Ford and Chrysler are not paid $73 an hour. The truth is, wages for UAW members range from about $14 per hour for newly hired workers to $28 per hour for assemblers. The $73 an hour figure is outdated and inaccurate. It includes not only the costs of health care, pensions and other compensation for current workers, but also includes the costs of pensions and health care for all of the retired workers, spread out over the active workforce. Obviously, active workers do not receive any of this compensation, so it is simply not accurate to describe it as part of their "earnings." Here's a very Partial list of media e-mail addresses.
Use it to contact the media.
http://www.opednews.com/mediacontact.htm

Campaign for Change May Continue as Nonprofit

Jim — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:01:46 EST

From Newsweek 12/1 issue: http://www.newsweek.com/id/170347/page/

"Continuing the Internet efforts of the campaign raises some tricky legal questions. One challenge is figuring out how to keep using the personal data gathered from more than 10 million supporters during the campaign. Federal election rules prohibit President Obama from interacting with supporters in the same way as Candidate Obama did. When he becomes everybody's president, the law says he can't communicate only with the people who voted for him. Like his recent predecessors, he'll have to use the WhiteHouse.gov Web site to make sure everyone's included. Transition officials are looking for ways to sidestep the rules. One maneuver they're considering involves setting up a nonprofit organization that would purchase the Obama supporter lists (names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses) from the campaign, says Steve Hildebrand, former deputy manager of the campaign. The nonprofit would serve as a conduit, letting the administration maintain indirect contact with supporters. The nonprofit, likely to be set up as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, could encourage supporters to push legislators on policy issues by, say, flooding a Senate office with phone calls and e-mails, or arranging demonstrations via Facebook to push for universal health care."

Introductionary Piece Dedicated to the Future.

T M — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:37:49 EST

I was encouraged today to actually post a few words. Encouraged that is by pressure from my family about the general hope I have for this country. We have a long road even now to travel upon, even though Obama has won the election - change will take time. So keeping this in mind, I have to look forward.

With the electrifying victory we must keep in mind that old wounds will take time to heal. And so saying, I present to you a short piece I wrote for someone special to me. After reviewing it, I decided it applies to our country and what I hope will happen in the future. So please enjoy this little piece that I'm going to call "The Ship."

Elegant nature: Why election bliss went global

Angel Garet — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:37:20 EST

No matter for whom or if you voted, a new rung in the ladder of human evolution is beneath your feet. For Americans who have lived long enough, election night 2008 may have produced the first palpable change felt in forty years. The monumental sense of loss that seemed to last forever after the passing of Dr. Martin Luther King has suddenly waned, allowing us to reflect on how we changed during a time when changes were too insignificant to feel or we were too numb to feel them.

In the interim, and not by coincidence, science has observed in nature a self-correcting mechanism responsible for the evolution of all that we know. Breakthroughs in cell biology and fractal geometry and mathematics have revealed a universal pattern of branching toward balance and perfection in a nonlinear yet persistent manner. It is present in galaxies as well as the systems of every living thing, and it tells us we are born stewards of the planet, wired to be receptors and processors of nature’s input.

What are you waiting for?

Jay from Sheldon, IA — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:06:59 EST

There is a song I heard recently that I really like by John Mayer called, “Waiting on the World to Change.” It has a very nice sound to it and the message is one of peace. And although I think Mr. Mayer is basically right about what we can change and we cannot, it is interesting to think about what we can change instead of just waiting. Too often we find ourselves complaining and whining about the way things are and often there is not much we can do to change things. But is there? If you could change one thing in our country, what would it be? Is there any way you can help that positive change become reality? I ran into a quote a few years ago that struck me and is one of the things that has given me some motivation. I want to share this quote with whoever sees this. Note: I did not put a little R or D next to his name because I honestly don’t know and don’t care to know; I just don’t find that relevant when talking about this.

“The future will not belong to those who are content with the present. The future will not belong to cynics and people who sit on the sidelines. The future will belong to people who have passion and are willing to work hard to make this country better.”

-- Former U.S. Senator, Paul Wellstone, Minnesota

HOw to improve the people around you!

Joshua from Ogdensburg, WI — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:09:40 EST

The truth is that when GM finnally announced the Chevy Volt.. the people in the oil and gas indutry couldn't see past thier shorterm profits. So they jacked up the price of oil. Which in turn has effectivly weakend our economy almost to the point of collapse.

We need to expose the greedy, corrupt people that have pulled this shennanigans on thier own brothers and sisters. Is the blame in the Middle East? or since we get most of our oil from Canada and South America. Is the blame squarely on the Fascist Corporations that have been killing our profits for years? It really does not matter who's fault it is. What does matter is that we find a solution ASAP!We can use our our tecnology headstart to bring to the world the wonderful gift that will become the Chevy Volt! We have to save GM, they will save us! This is exactly what is meant by {Treat others as you would be treated.} which sadly has been misinterpreted as treat others as they treat you! THIS IS WRONG We have to help people overcome these afflicting emotions that are clearly keeping us as human beings divided. It is sad that most people in the United States are extremely condesending. Our leadership has created this problem. With the negative and damaging campaign tactics shown in the past. But we can solve it by acknowlegeing and treasuring the good that is happening all around us. We only need to help people to know where to look...

I enjoy reading articles with bad grammar because it makes me think about what I am reading more. Thus helping me remember what I have read! We can all cultivate this behavior throughout our society. We have to lean out of our comfort zones too make this world a place that our children and grand children will be able to exist in. Our minds can be shaped by ourselves to embrace change and love every human being on this planet... If we don't do it now it is going to too late..

What can I do to help my community, my Country, my President ?

Richard Owl Mirror — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:27:58 EST

I would like to begin a conversation among all my fellow Citizens in looking forward to this new day in America. Many of us may have asked ourselves, What can I do to help my community, my Country, my President ?

I will attempt to provide ideas and websites to assist in answering this question but, I'm going to need your help too. Please comment on how you might help your community, your Country, your President in making America's future bright, prosperous and united.

Now, there are many areas that each citizen participates on an individual scale which, when combined with the population as a whole can make a difference.

The largest impact the individual can have is in their purchases, both long term as well as the pack of gum or services we purchase each day. I believe if each citizen would take a more active role in deciding to purchase American, even locally produced good, this would contribute to our economy in a dramatic fashion.

Remember the argument that was used regarding the purchasing of Fur coats?

That for each piece of fur, strung together in making a coat, an animal not only died but, another animal is moved forward on the death row in anticipation of replacing the fur coat that was purchased. The same can be said of the tomato for your salad, the wood furniture for your bedroom, that 12 oz steak, sizzling on your grill.

Every item purchased with that hard-earned dollar in your hand will be replaced with a new one in hopes of further, expanded sales. If that tomato comes from your local farmer, that neighbor will have a dollar in his hand with which to purchase the widget your company manufactures. Or it will be replaced with a Chinese farmers tomato, a Brazilian Lumber company or a New Zealand cattle rancher.

Take the time, expend the effort to purchase products which will lead to a fellow American having a job. That will do more in "all boats rise together" than any other action you as an individual could contribute to society.

An idea I have, which I had hoped the government might consider is designating purchases made between manufacturers tax-free if the product is 100% 'made in america' and being assembled with other 'made in america' produced components.

Say that I make a 3 ft square wooden box. If I use 100% american forest products or an alternative and purchase screws with which to hold the sides together. The purchase of the screws would be tax-free if those screws were 'made in america'.

This could be feasible if 'made in america' products carry a bar code designating it official. In this way we could have a paper trail with which to enforce misuse of the tax code.

You could even expand this concept to the cans of soup and heads of lettuce for the consumer at the grocery store. Therefore the consumer could make the choice of purchasing an imported product and pay tax on that purchase or buy 'made in america' products and save the revenue from the tax-free purchase to pay their employees more per hour, invest in expansion efforts, etc.

~@~

Whether in our homes, our communities or our places of business, all of us can help influence the future of our region through simple choices.

~@~

I was planning on providing a plethora of links which you could use to answer the question: What can I do to help my community, my Country, my President ? but because the question is so wide ranging, search:"what can i do to help", I'll kindly ask each of you to conduct your own search and provide for the community a link we can follow.

Naturally, everyone knows how to use http://www.google.com/

I prefer a website called: http://www.webferret.com/

I'm so happy

Unknown user — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:28:56 EST

Congratulation, M Obama, you give us hope, wherever we live in this world. At last, we have a future. Thank you very much

Changing Bureaucracy to Wikiocracy

Eomaia — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 12:19:30 EST

Last night, I was reading Wikinomics, and thinking about the implications of the news that mybarackobama.com is staying up and active, even though the election is over.

How could the tools and concepts used on sites like wikipedia, livejournal, ravelry knitters, ok cupid, gather, youtube and mybarackobama be used to revolutionize the way the government is run?

OK Cupid lets users create quizzes, take each others' quizzes, and keeps track of the results. Couldn't that tool be used for more meaningful purposes than "Which Star Wars character would you be?"? Ravelry lets users set goals, keep track of their progress, and show off their successes. That could be useful for goals that are completely unrelated to yarn. Wikipedia lets users add and edit information, resulting in the largest compilation of human knowledge ever, with a comparable accuracy rate to printed encyclopedias- the difference being that wiki errors can be caught and corrected. Many sites allow user to rate content and post comments in reaction.

Different branches of government don't even share information freely with each other yet, resulting in redundancies that cost tax money. It's a waste to pay someone to sit in a cubicle and enter information into his computer when the same information is already on file in another county or state, or with another government agency. Why does DHS waste time making people provide proof of income when the IRS and Social Security already know how much money that person has made in their whole life? Why can some people manage to get away with collecting food stamps in several different states when all the agencies involved require documentation and have internet connections? So, government bureaucracies need to evolve, connect with each other, and allow more input from citizens.

Wonderful!

Christine — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:29:17 EST

I am so excited about our President-Elect! In fact, at 35 years old, this is the first polititian I have EVER been excited about. Thank you, Mr. Prseident Elect, for being a person of integrity and vision. You are and will remain in my prayers.

-Christine

America - Together (post election)

Alex Karoub — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 17:44:40 EST

..... Contact: http://Alex.Karoub@gmail.com

WHO IS THAT GUY BARACK OBAMA? HE IS US.

We have made historic headway by together pointing our nation in the right directions. After decades, we have America focused on the issues of fundamental importance. Now, each of us acting in concert can together move our country to lead the world to the fruitfulness of moral goodness. I have no doubts about my abilities and the abilities of fellow Americans to work smart and hard to achieve these goals.

Barack Obama has the visions, leadership, and integrity for us to correct and redirect our country to once again lead the world for the fruitions of good. Let's closely listen, learn, and move forward based on that which we know deep inside is good and which we can validate with our hearts.

I hope that those who had but a few reasons to support Obama, look further into the other issues more deeply. I found the more I explored, studied, and listened to Obama the more I found us in agreement. The couple of issues that I did not have depth of knowledge of, quickly became obvious in need. This was unusual for me since I have always refused to be any kind of a follower, and still am not. I find Obama to be a deep thinker who is articulate and inspirational; and, of most fundamental importance, Obama makes excellent moral sense.

Hopefully, our country has learned lessons from the past of mistakenly following leadership blindly, as was done with Nixon and Bush. There are leaders who are simply in it for themselves and will cater to individuals or groups in order to grab for their own benefit. Corrupt and bad leaders hide at all levels. This is especially true in city government as well as county and state government. The corrupt deals of politicians need to be exposed, and those responsible need to be weeded out in the coming local elections. Others need to be investigated by law enforcement and be prosecuted for illegal dealings; for deals they often make for their hidden personal agendas. Let’s look at the bad experiences of the past as bitter medicines, let’s eliminate the need for such bad medicine in the future. Let us use what we know is good to go forward.

I believe we have chosen wisely, not by greed and not by misguided retaliatory anger. I believe this time our country has chosen with open eyes, with each of us listening and examining our choice of leadership closely, driven and validated by our hearts.

I hope we can continue to make our efforts even more inclusive (in many more ways than I touch on here). Far right republicans will be stubborn to change, but we will need to include them to change if we are to succeed. Sure a few more will leave our country, but that is not the American way. No, we really don't need their false fronts of power, money, insider knowledge, or other trappings that they have taught many to 'respect?'. Let's recruit as many as we can, that's the American way, evolving and changing together as one nation. Try to be understanding as we move forward; by better understanding each as individuals and people with various desires and needs we will find ways to reach out with friendship and have them join our causes of good.

Be on the lookout, and root out bad leadership in government and business. Do not be intimidated by those who use the false fronts of power and give a false sense of security in order to lead. Be extra leery of those who say or imply ‘Trust me’; those who give a sense that they somehow omnipotently know better. No longer will Americans be dazzled by phony displays of brilliance or baffled by baloney. There are government aristocrats and business leaders who still believe in the old adage of: “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle em with bullshit”. We can embrace complexity by demanding true, fundamental, and understandable explanations. We can root out falsehoods by not accepting double speak. We as Americans know how to grow ourselves by first believing in ourselves. Don’t be a follower. Don’t be a follower of followers.

However, when we find leaders who are good; a leader that thinks, speaks, and acts from their heart; one that is honest, has integrity, and leads by sincere examples; then we need to in a big way, join them, support them, and promote their causes of good. From much research, investigation, and scrutiny, I believe Barack Obama is such a person. I hope we search for and find many more who are similar, who we can add to service at all levels of government. We need to add/replace leaders in business with ones that have honesty, integrity, and show quality in leadership. We need more people in leadership roles who are moral, like Barack Obama.

Remember, we are not fighting a battle, we are the artisans and sculptors of the future for ourselves and generations to come. Rarely do societies have opportunities to make such dramatic moves forward as we now have in this opportunity of today. Take pride and practice in being inclusive as we stride forward. In moving forward, create opportunity not only for yourself, but also for all. Hope is a wonderful thing to behold; but without opportunity, hope can become but a dream never achievable. We can, will, and must, create opportunity.

In the coming year I hope that we do not lose our spiritedness, but instead continue to build and make headway. I hope we all continue our campaign for change in government and business. We will succeed in moving forward once again, it will take much effort and good oversight on the part of each of us. We will make great strides in the months and years ahead in order to achieve the fruitions of good. Let's keep our enthusiasm progressing through these coming toughest of times. Let us use the light of goodness and love to motivate us with historic momentum.

I have chosen Barack Obama because he best represents my deepest beliefs in America. Please take time to read the issues that Barack Obama has published on this website. Also, give your attention to see how he leads us to move our nation forward in the time ahead. Most importantly, be part of America's great future, participate in the greatness that together we will make. Participate!

We will each and all flourish, if we think, speak, and act, by using the love in our hearts.

Your reply is welcome. Contact: Alex.Karoub@gmail.com

The future of this movement

Chinni — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 06:02:44 EST

I don't think Obama by himself can keep his promise of an open government. Are the people ready to step up to their non-election citizen responsibilities, demand stuff, and keep pushing him in the right direction so his job gets easier?

Barack on the future of this movement

April 30 2008

"One of the things that I'm really proud about this campaign, is that we've built a structure that can sustain itself after the campaign. It was because of volunteers, they built the campaign. We didn't originally have big plans for Idaho, but people made this structure.. ..I want to open up transparency in government, so that you guys know what is happening. I want to revamp our White House website.. I want people to be able to know, ..today President Obama talked about his proposal for $4000 student college tuition credits, it's going to be going into this congressional committee, these are the key leaders in the House and Senate that are going to be deciding on the bill, here are the groups that are involved that are supporting it, you should contact your Congressman. Just creating the situation that if people want to get involved, it's easy..That's how we are going to counteract the special interests."

Finally PEACE.

Mona Ali — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:09:42 EST

I am so glad I am alive to see this day.

I have traveled around the world.

I have visited and lived in other countries.

I had the Opportunity to meet many different People in other Countries.

I am Grateful to have experienced the Past Opportunities in LIFE.

It made me who I am today. Pragmatic.

We needed this Election more than some people know.

I see PEACE in the Future.

We are going in the right direction.

*One Snow Flake is weak.

**Thousands of Snow Flakes are strong.

(I'm thinking about all those HARD Snowballs Iv'e been HIT with...OUCH!)

An Avalanche is Powerful.

The USA has the Strength of a Blizzard;

...and the Passion as a Blanket of Snow. (Just Beautiful. Protects Plants, too!)

Today I am glad Barack Obama is OUR PRESIDENT-Elect.

"CONGRATULATIONS Barack Obama!"

The World will be a Better Place to live in.

The United States of America will certainly be a better place to VISIT.

PEACE to All,

Finally

Goodnight My Friends,

Mona Ali

NEW IDEAS TO HELP AMERICA NOW

Ed from Fort Lauderdale, FL — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:43:41 EST

Congrats, even my 80 year old mother in Indiana voted for you which was no small feat.
I am a college professor in Fort Lauderdale and I made sure all my students went out and voted but I want to tell you, I admire your managerial skills, more than anything. One of the main things is getting people involved, when a person believes what they are doing is their idea or benefit to them, they always perform much better. Never before have I seen this applied enmasse as you did with our volunteers and donaters, which brings me to my point.

As a professor, I have noted that you already have a majority of the young people in college with you and now feeling part of our success. They are involved in your presidency and a year ago they did not even know who the vice president was. It is a entire new attitude from the young people, I love it. I have never seen this in 25 years of teaching.

My suggestion.. .offer a scholarship competition for the best energy efficient vehicle design,energy use in building and interior design, new energy sources and so on and so forth. Allow it developed at the university level in team effort so cross over skills in various programs can be utilized. Whenever ideas are exchanged between different majors thats when innovative new ideas occur Have a top 3-5 winner range,reward all members of the TEAM , faculty involved and school and do it annually.

You have a fired up base, students as well as educators. The minds are here to help America solve our energy crisis, competition always leads to perfection,drive and purpose. The reward increases all of these.

I am working in holographic technology we have already took 200 dollars worth of equipment and a couple months ago made a HD TV display the objects as holographs in front of you. This technology would decrease the need to travel by virtually putting someone in a conference room with complete interactivity without being there. If you watched CNN on election night they did this with an alternative method of broadcasting a live person.

This is here and it is available now.

Anyway, all America needs is a push in the educational system to develop it cheaply and enmasse.

If new jobs and new energy is what we need, we need new inovations and lets put our young minds in this manhanttan project and become the technology leaders of the world.

America wins the election!

Nanci — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:53:56 EST

I'm certain I will only repeat what has been said hundreds of times since the electoral votes came in proclaiming Barack Obama the next President of the United States. Our Barack Obama! This is a wonderful day for America, and we need to bask in it and congratulate ourselves as well as President-elect Obama for a job well done. We need to do this because there will be hard times ahead calling for faith and sacrifice. Barack has told us that. We have faced hard times before. The difference this time is that we have a real leader to lead us, to encourage us, and to give us hope. We saw that hope last night on the faces of everyone. I hope to see more of that hope in the days ahead. Let us all send our prayers and good wishes and thoughts for strength to President-elect Obama and pray that he knows we are behind him and will follow his lead.

I hope our brothers and sisters of color will allow us to also be elated by the election of the first African-American president, and that we can continue to work together to heal the past and work for the future. Our best thoughts for one another will create the energy that will continue the change that has been too long coming, and spread it to others and future generations. Some of us love them more than they know; mostly it is fear that has come between us. The antidote for fear is love. (I think Jesus said that in some way or another).

I have learned much already from this man and his campaign. I have learned the power of taking the high road regardless of the arrows thrown at us, to be less judgmental, to speak only encouragement and hope, to call on and believe in the best in others, and to hold firm to my beliefs no matter what the cost. This is what won the election, make no mistake. This is a beacon to follow, the beacon continuing from the light of Dr. Martin Luther King, who followed the lead of Gandhi. In all the terrible arrows slung at Dr. King, he never took the lower pathway, but followed his belief and faith and held to his ideals even unto death. That is a man of courage and integrity. They are too few and far betweeen, but they are a standard to which to aspire. Barack Obama is another such a man, and that is why I am SO thrilled at the election of this man to President of the United States.

I am thrilled to have seen this in my lifetime. I am thrilled to believe once again that the future for America can only get brighter. I believe in Barack Obama, and in his ability to make this future possible, and I pledge to support him in the days ahead as well.

Keep the Faith!!

Yes, I Will Times Nine.

Jim from Los Angeles, CA — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:35:19 EST

A personal accounting of my plans to help our country move forward and do the right thing for all.

I will continue to contribute towards the successful leadership of my country.

I will give my time and what little I can afford when it it necessary to help others.

I will continue to give my best ideas to those who can bring them into focus and make them happen.

I will continue what I have started that began with the Obama-Biden campaign.

I will continue to provide optimistic support to those around me in these troubled times.

I will keep an eye out on my government and make it know when I think it's veering off course.

I will communicate my best intentions and ideas to my representatives in Congress and the White House.

I will do my duty to uphold my devotion to liberty, honesty and wisdeom to support Deomcracy.

I will continue to believe.

Yes, I will!

"Change" is only the beginning.

Oh My God! We Did It!

Dr. Sophia — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:07:10 EST

I came home from the polls last evening -- exhausted but knowing that my energy would be revived once I began seeing the results come in...and, WE WON! Oh, my God! WE WON! All the talking, and walking, and calling, hoping and praying...it all paid off. I am just so glad to be alive to see this day and will honor the sacrifices that all my ancestors have made that came before me. Those who were not even counted as human beings -- let alone citizens. Now, their suffering and death has been vindicated. As President-Elect Obama spoke last night, in my spirit, I could feel my parents crying and rejoicing. He stood for every black man who had been beaten down or lynched over the past 200 years. He spoke not just for every black person who had no voice -- but for every sick and homeless child and every refugee who has run for safety in an abandoned stretch of nowhere land, for every heart that had lost hope.

I am grateful that I could hear and the words will ring over and over in my mind. I truly hope that those words will rise up and bless you whenever you need to know that you too, should run on again and again as you too can win. You have what it takes when you have the love and concern for your people at heart.

I am so very happy for Kenya and Kenyans and will work to do all in my power to use Peace Of the World International to bring whatever we can bring to the table. Aside from my personal love for Kenya, POWI is my gift to that segment of the Obama peace campaign.

Hope + work = success! Congratulations to all of us!

To find out more about Peace of the World International, visit http://www.peaceoftheworld.org and write to us if you have questions or would like to join us as we are going to Kenya in February, 2009.

The Global Evolution

GlobalPartnersNetwork — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:04:47 EST

Our Community is a start-up place for all users, who are interested in the latest FranceWeb e-Global developments and would like to share their comments or ideas. Our community forum contributes for the continuous evolvement of the open-FranceWeb e-Global and keeps you well-informed on all important themes. The entire community is interested in your opinion, please contact us.

Social factors play an increasingly important role in the long-term success of any corporation. Our aim is to create an environment-trough actions and not just words-in which we, as part of the community, promote positive development and relationships.

FranceWeb e-Global realiszes this responsability in the form of a broadly-based cultural, scientific and social commitment. As a member of international communit and responsible actor of GlobalNetwork, our goal is to bring people together.

We view our commitment to society as an expressionof our own identity.

We look forward to welcoming you as a partner of the FranceWeb e-Global.

Now the Work Begins

Tim Schram — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:48:55 EST

WE DID IT!!!! What a wonderful feeling, a campaign of unity and acceptance has won. That is what I call a campaign of change. We all need to take a breath and enjoy the victory for awhile.

After this short celebration we need to get to work to fix the problems that manifested in the last 8 years. We won by grassroots efforts that perculated up through the country. BUT, we can not stop now. Barack will need our help and input. Whatever we do, we can not quite our voices. Not now that we found them. Keep up the effort, talk to your representatives, follow the same strategy on the local scale. As Barack has so wonderfully demonstrated, "Yes We Can". Inundate congress with your opinions and ideas. Don't let Halliburton, Exxon, AIG, and the rest influence decisions from behind closed doors. As Barack said "Power doesn't give up without a fight". McCain was not the power Barack was refering to, it is those that backed him.

Stay vigilant.

Congratulations EVERYONE

The will of hope

Dylan from Portland, OR — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:57:38 EST

I thought I would record my feeling of tonight for the world to read. Tonight we elected Obama president of the United States of America. As someone who did odd jobs around my local campaign HQ I feel pride for what we all accomplished here, but I also know that tomorrow the real work begins. Tomorrow I will wake up to a world completely different then the one which I closed my eyes on, but also exactly the same. Obama needs us more then ever I feel. We have inherited his will or maybe he has inherited our collective will. Either way it doesn't matter because the light of hope has been kindled, it has been nurtured, and it now has become a beacon to our wills. Tomorrow when we wake up we have a choice, will we embrace the will of hope and work together as we have to get Obama elected to make the vision of the world he has shown us a reality or will we fall into the trap of complacency now that we feel we have won.

When I was younger I read a greek myth. This myth is was the story of pandora's box. Many of you may have read it, but those who have not I will give a brief summery. After people had been given fire by Promethius the gods gave a woman named pandora a box and she was told not to open it. As you might guess she opened it and the evils of the world were unleashed on man kind, disease, famine, war, every bad thing that we fear in our hearts. After all the darkness in the box had left pandora looked into the box and found a single ray of light. That light was hope. Hope is the light that shines in the deepest of darkness. It's light will over come fear, injustice, and hatred. Even more then love I think Hope defines not only we of the United States, but the people of the world. We are always reaching out into the future with hope in our heart.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

Stephanie Williams — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 02:04:08 EST

Obama and the Ten Year Olds

Joline — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:19:51 EDT

Obama and Ten Year Olds

Today’s 10-year old is likely to live to 100+

That child, the one we already think of as ‘wired ‘because of their astonishing facility with anything purchased at the Apple Store or Circuit City, may well BE wired in 2048. Neuro-technology is at once promising and threatening to blur the lines of what is human and what is not in 20 or 30 years. That 10 year old will be 40 in 2048. What will being human even MEAN in 2048? And which candidate is best prepared to think about that question? The one who distains learning and curiosity as elitist pursuits, or the one who reaches out across disciplines and worldviews to explore the meaning of that question? This is not abstract navel contemplation in regard to our 10 year old. What are the possibilities, policies, realities and opportunities of technology that may well outsmart those children by the time they are 30? McCain barely understands email, how on earth can he grasp the implications of the wireless, nano-world world our ten year olds are growing into?

Assuming we can avoid environmental catastrophe (I’m an optimist—how else does one get out of bed in the morning?), that same 10 year old, in 40 years, may well share a planet with approximately 6.7 BILLION other citizens. Sustainability will no longer be a concept practiced by Al Gore soldiers, it will be a well-enforced way of life, in which ‘stuff’ has become so 20th century and conspicuous stewardship is the new patriotism. Closer in, we know that the deficits built over the last decade—and the losses of the last few weeks—will be felt by those ten year olds over the next two decades. Which candidate is has a vested interest in and is genuinely looking out for his own ten year olds with an eye to what is not just possible, but necessary for all ten year olds? McCain by all accounts was less than enthusiastic about adopting one child from a developing country, why should we think he has any greater concern for our ten year olds?

Developments in agriculture, energy, and genetics are already mind-boggling. Real news often seems closer to Ray Bradbury plot lines than real life: self-destructing, patent protected potatoes that farmers can’t replant without renewing their ‘license’; energy from seaweed and sun, and genetic profiles that come without moral or medical solutions for whatever information emerges. This is the new normal for our ten year old. Can you even imagine Sarah Six-Pack Palin tackling any one of these issues?

Virtual life, that mysterious nether land in cyberspace, will not just be the novelty of having a pet to train on an entertainment site, or even a virtual address in Second Life. Rather it will be a ‘real’ place where millions of tomorrow’s kids spend time and money as casually as their parents (and certainly their grandparents), visited Paris and Bangkok and Santiago. Language, currency, and culture will blend and mutate in ways we cannot imagine today.

McCain won’t be here to experience their suffering, and Palin has told us she ‘has nothing to lose.’ Those ten year olds do.

And if all this seems just too fantastic, lets talk cash. Mom, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa are all living longer too. This recent ‘correction’ has caused many of them to experience a real drop in assets. Our ten year-old will likely shoulder a bigger tax burden not realize a significant enough wealth transfer. Passing on money to the kids, whether it was a modest sum, saved over a lifetime, or a vast fortune, intended to last for generations, was part tax plan, part life plan. When centenarians were fewer, life cycles shorter, and expectations not quite so rich,

So let’s get real. Any parent or grandparent (aunts and uncles, etc.) who votes for McCain instead of Obama is casting a vote against the future of every ten year old. It’s that stark. Really. On the one hand we have an old guy who can barely keep up with current technology, let alone envision the world in 40 years and his anti-intellectual side-kick Sarah for whom learning i

On the other hand we have a guy who knows how to learn.

Think about it.

Harvesting a New Hope - Please!

hamesfarmer — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:46:40 EDT

Listening to all the negativity in the news these days, I look forward to hearing a voice that builds on a unified future. I am so pleased to hear Sen. Obama speak about working together, and helping each other. But I share a concern with a lot of others who live in rural America, or farm in suburbia, or even in the big cities - that we will not be included in that plan.

How I read it.

Rexford360 — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:59:34 EDT

I deeply believe the decision we make on Tuesday next is important to this Planets future.

I see the choice as being between a 20th Century Warrior and a 21th Century Mindset.

Having seen a father and mother sent away to a "camp" for being conscientious objectors in World War 2 (an unpopular option), and having served in the Military in Korea where I watched men die, and feeling deeply about a world where killing one another is simply - "yesterday", I’ve now come to a final conclusion.

I expect the 20th Century Warrior to use his parties traditional try to scare me in their traditional 72 hour rush as a way to try to scare me. I won’t be scared. What scares me more is a Planet with "yesterday" in control.

The future is uncertain, it always is. I will vote for the 21st century Mindset - Barack Obama.

Change We Need

Khaidji — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:46:54 EDT

We kept repeating the same mistakes and believing in the same lame excuses. It seems like we are prone to repeat our failings and although we know that we are headed over a cliff, we walk like proverbial lemmings. Then, a once in a life time opportunity is before us in the likeness of a giant mirror, reflecting an image of ourselves that if foreign to us. Barack Obama shows us how we can see our future selves. He teaches a politic of change and makes clear the Change We Need.

Change We Need

Caught in a war that never should be

Having multiple strains on our economy

And the last 8 years lost in direction

Now Wall Street has the country facing depression

Government corruption with misdirected loyalty

Ear marks and pork barrel spending on frivolities

Washington owned by big business

Every decision controlled by the lobbyist

Now we have this great opportunity

Election Day we can control our destiny

Exercise your part and vote, a single deed

Democrat Barack will ensure the Change We Need!

Get an easy Download or a Hardcopy of
” Path To The White House”
Acrostic Poetry on Barack Obama
By Khaidji
The Bajan Poetry Society

Yes We Can

Khaidji — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:38:11 EDT

Today with so little time left and the top of the hill seeming within reach, yet we can’t seem the grasp that last rock. That rock that would propel us without a doubt the crest of our journey is within reach yet it eludes us. The road is hard but there is no turning back, not after we’ve come this far. The resounding chant of the mob that once mobilized me are now ringing in my head, “Yes We Can!” and all seems well

Yes We Can

You alone can determine what your future will be

End wars abroad and any local polarity

Show your preparedness, just take note

When you go to the polls remember how to vote

Elections Day is your first step up a treacherous hill

Change you can believe in needs your determine will

America your future will be decided with your singular choice

November 4, vote Obama and Yes We Can rejoice

Get an easy Download or a Hardcopy of
” Path To The White House”
Acrostic Poetry on Barack Obama
By Khaidji
The Bajan Poetry Society

Have you voted yet?

TimeForChange — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 11:45:09 EDT

I want to encourage people to vote early and vote for Barack Obama and Joseph Biden. Please reply to this post before November 4th and I hope I see hundreds or more reply stating you voted.

PLEASE VOTE EARLY. Please vote for our future, our economy and show that this is new world of politics where our vote will make a difference.

Obama has inovative curiosity that our country needs to compete in the world!

Frank — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:40:56 EDT

Obama has innovative curiosity that our country needs to compete in the world!

We cannot afford to be held back by old disproven suppositions, we need Obama because he like you and I. believes in he future of this country and that our country must be involved the top technology and science challenges, that we must have a open internet and access to all people in our country, and that education equals more and better job opportunities. No one can give us jobs, or educations, but the right president helps make it available to us, has the same interest in the next developments in technology and innovation, and has a mind burst with the creativity and belief that we can make things happens, that the best of us is when all of us together, are united in the belief that none of us can afford to let our friends and neighbors not make it, that we must take ownership of our future, and this is something we can do when we have the right partners sitting in the Whitehouse an congress! Just one feature is that after Obama is elected he will greatly increase transparency in government as well as simplifying the obtuse government websites! there is no reason why the government should have sites that are full of tremendous information, but which is exhaustingly impossible to navigate for lack of intuitive design and poor search capabilities. our future, our technology, our education and jobs, these are not simply things that one can toss some money at and have someone else "fix it" these things, like most things in our life, work real wonders, captivate us and surprise us and offer up the true bounty when there is something put into from people with great interest, with a thirst for knowledge and in the case of Obama a person who helps inspires us that we can risk dreaming and hoping and we can risk trying, that we can put all of ourselves into something, because we know that we have a common ground, a common interest that drives us to allowing our best energies to spark, that encourages us that we can make the world a better place and make the country something that reflects more what we would hope it can be, of the best of all of us.

No one person can do it alone, and Obama has made it this far by all the people that have helped him, all the supporters, and volunteers and people in his family and life. Obama is doing his part and we are doing ours as well. Now when he is elected there will be another part for all of us. And that is we must not stop dreaming and doing, and being the great creative people that we are. We all want change, and we all want a better country that reflects our best dreams and aspirations. Obama and the congress will do their part and we must do ours. Part of it is to continue to support them as well as s to tell them what we are concerned about it is important to be organized, and to keep in mind how great it feels to be giving, in so many ways to this campaign. How good that feels, to do something for the country and other people. This is something we will need to continue to do to make this country as great as it can be. There is no stopping us! We have seen so much creativity in his campaign, and we need to see it after Obama is in the Whitehouse. People will be given new opportunities to do this during the Obama administration. This election is about us, and we have to take some ownership after Obama is in Office. He can’t do it all. We can not sit back and wait for everything to arrive on our doorstep!

One of the problems in the past has been the slowness of government! We need people that can think, work, and interconnect at today’s speeds, like the speeds of business and the speeds of the internet age. This is the moment we will remember for a long time, this is the moment that we must have, for us to have the future that we all envisioned, but seemed trapped in the past 8 years in some sort of horrible fugue, that time is over! This is now the time that we the people can have the best shot at remaking life and this government with our input, our interests, and our creativity! but for now we MUST GET OUT THE VOTE BROTHERS AND SISTERS!!!

HOPE

Estrela — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:54:28 EDT

H.O.P.E.

My H.eart is O.pen through this P.eaceful E.volution.

The world is shifting. We are ready to do what it takes.

I'm so filled with H.O.P.E. for what our future brings. Shifts afloat that cannot be denied. Change is happening...and we will either grow or be left behind.

What will you do? Where will you be?

I know where I'm heading and I H.O.P.E. to see you there.

YES WE WILL!!!

What Change Means to Me

Drew — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:11:10 EDT

Change---it seems like such a simple word. We use it almost every day, but how often do we stop and reflect upon its meaning? Barack Obama is change; he embodies change. I guess it would help if you understood how I see the world.

I was born on May 20, 1991. Yes, I am only 17. My biological mother was an alcoholic who had no idea who my father even was. Their was a man who raised me though. His name was Tony. Even though he was not my biological father, he loved me like I was his son, and to me, he was my father. Needless to say, my parents (bio. mother and Tony) did not stay together long. The only reason I lived was to see my father, and this became less frequent. In 1996, when I was four-and-a-half, my father died. My mother was so callous, she wouldn't even let me go to his funeral. That was a major turning point in my life. My fathers parents got custody of me and my little half-brother (Tony's son). They later adopted us.

To be blunt, I was so messed up it wasn't even funny. I had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, severely low self esteem, and a horrible stuttering problem. Eventually, through a combination of medicines and therap, I was able to overcome the majority of my problems. I was in Catholic schools, and I loved the idea that when I died I would be in a place full of happiness. Then, 9/11 happened.

10 Things I want for my Children: Why I'm a Mama for Obama

Suburban Obama Mom — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:50:57 EDT

There but for the grace of God go I. I saw myself in a news story about a middle-aged woman who lives in a trailer in a small town in Michigan, works at the Dollar Store and struggles to make it. I’m lucky to be “better off”, but we are about the same age, both with three kids. We both want a better future for our children, and theirs, and plan to vote for Obama.

10 Things I want for My Children OR Why I’m a Mama for Obama

1. Economic stability. This election is about turning around the economy. If any family is not secure, neither is mine. When the underpinnings of our economy fail, debris floats to the surface of the river we all travel. Poverty brings crime. When my local government’s tax base dwindles, so do the services. Foreclosures lead to loss of home value for everyone. For most of my voting life, Republicans in charge have preached the gospel of “supply side” and “trickle down” economics. Those policies simply DO NOT WORK. It’s time to build something new from the ground up. 2. A clean and safe planet. Not a single day goes by that we don’t see scary news: pollutants causing cancer, collapsing fisheries, rainforests disappearing along with the plants that are a pharmaceutical treasure trove, monster hurricanes coming more often, toxins in our water and in water bottles. Republican administrations have denied these problems as too costly to business. But, no amount of wealth will buy my grandchildren clean air, or protect them from wars over dwindling resources and the consequences of global warming. 3. Peace. As a child of the Viet Nam era, I hope we never witness another draft—which would feature no deferments for students or women. I support those who have volunteered for military service, but I want them home, and thanked for their service with excellent medical care and access to education and peaceful jobs. War breeds poverty and fuels the fires of terrorism. In this nuclear age, John McCain’s “ready, fire, aim” impulsiveness fills me with dread. Diplomacy can work. It’s time to give peace a chance. 4. Pride in being an American. I want people in other countries to respect the United States. I want US leadership to bring nations together and to be an agent for good works funded generously. I want the US to have some humility: stop pushing our style of government, our religion, and values. I imagine a future where instead of spending billions on tanks and bombs, we’re spending it on drilling water wells, building schools and hospitals, sharing vaccines, funding micro-loans, initiating projects directed to villages. Building from the bottom up, with tolerance and compassion, we can earn back the global respect we have lost. 5. Good education. I am a proponent of public schools, and a dedicated PTA mom whose family has the good fortune to have access to some of the best schools in the nation. WE KNOW HOW EDUCATE CHILDREN. Put good teachers where they are needed, with enough resources, and then pay them well. I’ll give George Bush credit for the concept of No Child Left Behind, but it needs improvement and full funding. Everyone who has opportunities--and real faith in education --is less likely to turn to drugs, crime, violence, and early pregnancy, and more likely to become a productive citizens and good parent. 6. An inclusive world, where differences are celebrated. Unless your great-great- grandparents were Native Americans, you are a child of immigrants. Few of us have wealth or social position going back more than two or three generations. It defies logic to believe that skin color dictates intelligence or character. Can anyone believe that a person in our homophobic society would “choose a gay lifestyle” instead of simply being who God made them? The great religions of the world have much in common. Look at all the great “imports” that have become central to our food, music, art, and learning. We Americans are GOOD at acceptance and overcoming divisions. Each time we do, we gain far more than we lose. 7. The functioning democracy that our founders created. This requires a balanced Supreme Court forced to grapple with complex issues, a President who leads, guides, and enforces our laws and Constitution, and a working Legislature, that puts problem solving ahead of party. 8. Control over life choices. Abortion should be legal and rare. Children need to be educated about their sexuality so that they can make informed choices. They need access to birth control so that they can determine the time to start a family. I also want to see a world where those who choose to take an unplanned pregnancy to term have every support we can give them. 9. Gun safety and regulation. I learned how to shoot when I was 12, in a family of hunters, and I like eating game. BUT, if we can require licensing for driving a vehicle we should license guns. We should require training to use guns safely and store guns safely. We need reasonable limits to the firepower anyone can wield at home, at the workplace, or on city streets. 10. A social safety net. This takes me back to where I began: There but for the grace of God go I. None of us can say for SURE that we will never be old, or poor, or sick, or addicted, or alone, or homeless, and need help. When we fail to provide the basics: food, shelter, clothing, health care, a decent education, and a chance for dignity and independence through employment, we are no longer a “moral” nation.

Barack Obama represents the best bet I have to give my children and theirs the future I envision.

TABLE SITTING, PHONING, WRITING LETTERS

Barb — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:09:32 EDT

I have ben working with Doug K (who is such a great person) at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market, selling t-shirts, bumper stickers, signs, buttons, etc. I donated some of my original art for the Obama-Rama-Art acution, bought some great art there too. My husband and I have worked phone banks at the Democratic county headquarters and at home, given hundreds of $$ and written many letters. Every night I pray for the safety of Barack and his family, and for the world to become a better place for my children and for everyone's children. So much work to do to clean up the enivronment and corruption from the miliarty industrial complex. We must keep the faith and keep working after Barack wins the election.

Next up on the agenda: Voting reform. There are shinanigans going on with the Republican voting machines already.

News from the Future: Obama Administration Unveils Rebuild America Act

Bryan K. Long — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:10:20 EDT

While browsing around in my crystal ball, I came across the following news article from early next year. Very intriguing!

SARAH PALIN is NOT who you have been led to believe she is !

Richard Owl Mirror — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:39:53 EDT

Sarah Palin advertising at the 1999 AIP State Fair

Investigation ties Palin to 'extreme right-wing fringe'

Sarah Palin Palling with Secessionist

The Palins' Un-American Activities

Palin addresses AIP 2008 convention

The Alaskan Independence Party has historically supported Alaska's secession from the "lower 48" states in the federal union. The AIP continues to support that agenda, even at the time of Palin's address, which was in close approximation to her nomination as a Vice Presidential candidate for the 2008 federal campaign. The AIP also supports other extreme positions on its party agenda.

~@~

What Palin's '90s dalliances tell us now ~ October 13, 2008

I wanted to offer a little deeper detail on the report in Salon that Max Blumenthal and I put together on Sarah Palin's radical-right friends in Wasilla and the extent to which they worked together -- partly because some of the details reveal a good deal about Palin's approach to governance.

As the story explains, when Palin was elected mayor in 1996, one of her first acts was to attempt to fill her former city council seat by appointing one of the leaders of the town's Bircherite faction, Steve Stoll. She was blocked in that effort by a single vote from former councilman Nick Carney.

Here's a PDF of the minutes from that meeting. What's particularly noteworthy is that Palin was on the verge of ramming the appointment through over Carney's head.
~@~
The report is now complete and can be read in its entirety at Salon.com. You can also see above the video Max made of his interview with one of the faction's main leaders, a man named Mark Chryson, who headed up the secessionist Alaskan Independence Party during the same time period. It pretty much speaks for itself.

Essentially here's what we found:
That Gov. Palin, when a Wasilla city council member, formed an alliance with some of the more radical far-right citizens in Wasilla and vicinity, particularly members of the secessionist Alaskan Independence Party who were allied with local John Birch Society activists. These activists played an important role in her election as Wasilla mayor in 1996.
Once mayor, one of Mrs. Palin's first acts was to attempt to appoint one of these extremists (a man named Steve Stoll) to her own seat on the city council. This was a man with a history of disrupting city council meetings with intimidating behavior. She was blocked by a single city council member.
Afterward, Mrs. Palin fired the city's museum director at the behest of this faction.
She fomented an ultimately successful effort to derail a piece of local gun-control legislation which would simply have prohibited the open carry of firearms into schools, liquor stores, libraries, courthouses and the like. The people recruited to shout this ordinance down included these same figures, notably the local AIP representative (who became the AIP's chairman that same year).
She remained associated politically with the local AIP/Birch faction throughout her tenure as mayor on other issues, particularly a successful effort to amend the Alaska Constitution to prohibit local governments from issuing any local gun-control ordinances.

In general, we found that not only did Mrs. Palin have numerous associations with these extremists, she actively sought to empower them locally and to enact their agendas both locally and on a state level.

We sent an e-mail to the McCain/Palin campaign asking for their reaction to these findings, and have so far received no response. If and when we do, we'll update.

We haven't any insight into Palin's accusations that Barack Obama "palled around with terrorists" by associating with William Ayers. But we do know there are serious questions about her own dalliances with the far right during the same time period. We didn't find any evidence that Palin herself subscribed to their "New World Order" conspiracy theories, but it's clear she was comfortable with not only aligning herself with them politically, but putting them in positions of actual political power and influence.

I'll be back tomorrow with some City of Wasilla documents you can peruse on your own substantiating our findings.

UPDATE: Max Blumenthal appeared on Rachel Maddow to discuss this article. Video shortly.
~@~

This is who Senator John McCain has presented to be literally one heart beat away from the Presidency of the United States of America ?

Personally, I believe this selection has been forced upon Senator McCain along with the recent announcement of his Transition Chief, William Timmons.

Who is pulling Presidential Candidate John McCain's strings?

Is America willing to allow these type of people to maintain control over Our Government or will the people rise up and break the cycle of their influence ?

If you love this country and the freedoms we currently enjoy, spread the word about both Sarah Palin and William Timmons.

We can not afford to allow this to take place!

Letters to NEXT President of USA

anatolant — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 03:05:52 EDT

The elections are over in IMHO. Obama is the president.

More important what will be done in 2009...

I continue mynote on my webpages -- filmplus.org/politics

+ my nonfiction project pages -- Theology of Technology

Folks, who signed up to tthis group, you are welcome to my blog @ myspace.com/anatolant [which I plan to keep for my Personal Poltics notes ].

The conflict between Individual and Society of Communism [our future] is very libertarian, and importnat for me no less than for President Obama, who will have the issues with Citizen Barack.

I do not plan to keep up this blog [cpommander-in-chief].

Congradulations and best of luck.

Anatoly

Our America...

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:41:23 EDT

Americans have got to really pay attention to the details in the candidate's responses to issues that are affecting our lives, instead of the fear and smear tactics of the republicans. Sarah Palin is unfit for the office of Vice President of the United States and John McCain is not fit to be the President. These two people are morally bankrupt and would most definitely extend George Bush's unrealistic view of the world and continue the destruction of a sane future in America!

John McCain & Sarah Palin bring terms like these to mind:
Old ideas that have been proven wrong
Old policies that trick the people
Old style of governing like Bush/Cheney
Old stubborness & more gridlock in the Congress
Old thought processes - no new ideas
Old hard line notions against science & technology
Old divisive ideas on women's rights and equality
Old fear tactics & more panicked responses
Old foreign policies & world divisions
Destroyed American respect in the world
Destroyed & unfair economic balance
Destroyed environment & increased global warming
Destroyed promise of a renewed energy policy & increased consumption of foreign oil
Destroyed nation building & the promise of more war-mongering
Etc., etc., etc.
Our fight is for the The Future versus the Past ... Obama - Biden '08, Can't Wait!!!

The speech I wish Barack would make

ProgToddinOregon — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:20:58 EDT

[read the following with Barack's voice and cadence in your head]

While you were listening to the speeches at this summer’s Democratic Convention couldn’t you feel that sense of relief in the air that Republican control over Washington was finally coming to an end? Did you like me get a tangible glimpse of what our future looks like when partisan agendas no longer limit us? Did you like me imagine a government that is finally allowed to pursue things like acquiring living stem cells, currently thrown away by the tens of thousands as bio waste during the in-vitro fertilization process, and instead using them to discover new ways to treat Alzheimer's, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and spinal chord injuries? Aren’t we here to help people?

As Democrats we embrace science. The Republicans under the Bush regime have avoided and even refuted science when the results impinge on the profits of their corporate donors. To Bush global warming didn’t exist because it would cost his friends in big oil profits. Just how much would that change under a McCain/Palin regime? These are the kinds of questions you have to ask yourself this November.

In the areas of government regulation of industries, President Bush has put a fox in every hen house. The EPA and other agencies crucial to the health of individual Americans have had as their primary goal to insure the highest possible profits for Republican corporate allies, while the needs and rights of American citizens are barely a priority at all. Bush even has a mining lobbyist in charge of regulating mine safety with predictable results: more die but profits stay high. Just how much would this change under a McCain/Palin administration when McCain surrounds himself with Washington’s biggest lobbyists who have paid allegiances to big oil, pharmaceutical companies, no-bid war contractor Halliburton, and foreign nations such as Colombia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Republic of Georgia?

As always with the Republicans, you must ask yourself “Just who are they looking out for, big business or me?” And in every one of their actions, votes, filibusters and vetoes, the answer is constantly the former, not the latter.

Ending that twisted priority is the kind of change that we’ve been talking about. America has to put the needs of individual Americans first again. I’m not saying that all corporations are bad. What I’m saying is that in our new America corporations will thrive the old fashioned way, being innovative, being good to their employees and host communities, reaping the rewards of producing the best products and services while creating the goodwill that their recognized integrity deserves. In the Republican world, corporations thrive by turning millions in lobbying money into billions in additional profits, gaming the system to their advantage, and through deregulation creating monopolies that squash healthy competition. Which of those two models do you think will benefit your wallet, your community, and your country more? An Obama/Biden administration would try to bring back the former, while a McCain/Palin regime would fight for the latter, where corporations write their own rules, squeeze out the Mom and Pop stores on Main Street, and reduce America’s options for its future.

America in the hands of Bush and Cheney has consciously allowed our government to languish, preferring profits for their corporate friends and cronyism over efficiency and service to its people. Why would George Bush put a completely inexperienced man in charge of FEMA? Because above all he could count on Brownie’s loyalty. That choice was not made in consideration of the best interests of Americans in crisis.

These are the ways Republicans have created and maintained power and provided evidence that they hope will persuade Americans that our government can’t really help us. Maybe their government can’t. But ours will. In the next four years you’ll see the benefits through an Obama/Biden administration of a government that again puts the needs of individual Americans as its top priority. You’ll see a judicial branch that seeks to end corruption and restore oversight to every part of government from the national stage on down to your own communities. You’ll see the notion of fairness return.

Republicans have been great on talk but have always eluded having to back that up with actions. With their influence in the media, Republicans have always been able to get away with murder because they’ve been able to suppress the kind of journalism that would unearth the truth in their motives. I’m pretty sure I won’t be so lucky. I’m just going to have to come through for you. I’m just going to have to make your lives better, our country stronger, restore the trust of our allies, and provide an economic environment where integrity and innovation triumph over corruption and self-interest. My colleague Hillary Clinton once said that it takes a village. The path that Democrats long to take you on leads to that village, where the water is cleaner, the skies bluer, and opportunity is not for the few but the many.

You must ask yourself, does the path that Republicans seek to lead you down look as bright? Or does this path lead right into their pockets? Those that have influenced George W. Bush throughout the last eight years will be the same ones that influence John McCain and Sarah Palin. How can that possibly result in change?

The relief we all got a taste of at the convention will soon be at hand. Think what a victory it will be for individual Americans when Democrats control the White House and Congress, the future of our Supreme Court, and all the regulatory agencies that keep us safe, keep our economy down a steady path, and mandate integrity in corporations. On November 5th, the nightmare of continuing Republican control will be over, and through the strengths of Democratic goals our new America will slowly emerge. It’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to be pretty. The wealthy few, the benefactors of the old ways, will fight to cling to their intrenched advantages. But our new America will no longer fall prey to the voices of the very few. Our new America will hold as its ideal the success of the many, and in time even those that have benefited most from Bush’s corporatist allegiance will realize that they can still turn a healthy profit and benefit from a new stability that unregulated capitalism could never enjoy.

Top to bottom. Left wing and right wing. All of us will prosper, although for Bush’s chosen few not to the extent they’ve enjoyed recently. Playing fair, playing by the rules, doesn’t allow for greed to be paid off so astronomically while the rest of us are held down, bound by the limited opportunities that monopolies insure. But in our America the rising tide will indeed lift all boats, not just the ones that Bush has positioned in water spouts. With the end of the Bush/Cheney era, and the control from the far right corporate wing of the Republican party, prosperity will be found in so many more faces.

Relief. It arrives November 5th. The hard work starts January 20th. But from the first days of my administration, you’ll find that the goals and dreams I’ve talked about will be brought to life, not buried forever, their political usefulness achieved once the votes have been counted.

Results. You’ll see them next year. My words will not be proven hollow, as has been the case with the administration that will have preceded mine.

Resurrection. With new incentives and proper regulation the foundation of our economy will be restored. No more will corporations receive tax breaks for sending American jobs overseas. No longer will corporations be able to dodge paying their share of American taxes by putting a mailbox in the Cayman Islands. The partisan cronyism of the past years will be gone forever, and a new standard for those working within government will be established. Our government will again see its primary goal as to serve its people, not enrich the ruling party’s friends. Our roads, our bridges, our schools will again be a priority, and your tax dollars will be focused there instead of on maintaining a perpetual occupation in Iraq. Don’t get me wrong. Ending a significant presence in Iraq doesn’t mean giving up on the war against religious extremists whose only goal is power through terrorism. But under Bush we have not fought smart. We need to go after Al Qaida where their influence is strongest, fighting them directly in Afghanistan and indirectly through our ally Pakistan. And part of fighting smart is ending the privatization rampant in Bush’s model of our fighting forces. No longer will companies make a profit providing our soldiers with food and water. No longer will the promise of profit be part of deciding where our soldiers go, what bases need to be built, and how our wars are fought. Without these payments to war profits, we can spend less than half of what we are now and with redirected efficiency achieve far more against our enemies in Afghanistan than we could ever hope to in Iraq. Remember, even though Bush has labeled our enemies in Iraq as insurgents, our own military lists the number of foreigners fighting against us on Iraqi soil as consistently under three thousand. Foreign insurgents? They are hardly a factor in a Sunni/Shiia civil war where we have armed and trained both sides.

But even in this quagmire, shifting strategies could make a difference. Right now Bush is fighting our war against terrorism like a quarterback who keeps on calling the same play: halfback over right guard. Sure, slow progress can be made if we’re strong enough. But why not play smart, throw some passes, adjust the approach? And bear in mind that in this model that right guard is paying Bush’s friends hundreds of billions to make sure the same play is always called. I guess he wants to be on camera.

What if American forces were to put as their top priority to secure Iraq’s power grid and water supply? What if Iraqi citizens were to see the tangible result in their daily lives of clean water and electricity available to them around the clock for the first time since the war began almost five and a half years ago? Wouldn’t that make them finally feel a benefit to our presence, give them confidence again in the notion that we do indeed want to see a better future for them? And wouldn’t a return to normal life be the first step in their taking over, standing up while we stand down? So many Iraqi people have decided to fight beside us in their own country. Isn’t it time that they saw the benefit of that alliance? That’s what fighting smart should deliver.

But overseas and within our own shores, George Bush doesn’t mind squandering our strength. In the way we fight our wars, the way we run our government, the way we safeguard our people, profit always trumps efficiency, even logic. But those days are about to end.

America will be better because the way America works will be better. And by being inclusive rather than exclusive, more Americans will have a slice of the pie. More Americans will have a say in the direction our economy and society take, so our future will more reflect our diversity. This is the future I can promise you. Can McCain and Palin claim the same? What about their pasts would indicate that?

And part of returning America to her former glory means insuring that her foundation, the US Constitution, retains all the power, freedom, fairness, and balance that our founders put into it. They had the wisdom to know that a country of laws and not men was the only insurance against tyranny. But where is that insurance now, when President Bush openly spies on his own citizens, with a history of defying the FISA law statutes? Where is that insurance now when in the wake of anthrax attacks, Bush pressures Congress into the Patriot Act where anyone can be detained as an “enemy combatant” without charge or due process? Where is that balance now when Bush’s own Attorney Generals refuse to enforce Contempt of Congress citations for members of the presidential staff? Democrats like Representative Henry Waxman and Senator John Conyers have led hearings to unearth the web of corruption spread throughout Bush’s White House. Bush and Cheney have put up road blocks every step of the way. They have failed to comply with requests for documents, even destroyed emails that by law must be preserved. This is why Republicans are trying every trick they can to preserve their power, to prevent their can of worms from being exposed to history. Do you expect that John McCain will be willing to open that can or just bury it?

I’ll open it. America deserves to see it opened. The deeds, deceptions, manipulations, and board room promises of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney need to be exposed if we are to keep calling ourselves America. Without justice, without truth, without pinning down the abuses of power, America will be less than she once was, and all the world will know it. And our new America will not stand for that. We will not stand for the very few to manipulate the fortunes, freedoms, and livelihoods of so many. We will not let these chosen few choke our American dream. Without a level playing field, prosperity cannot be universal. And a level playing field is the enemy of Republican power.

While I can truly provide change, McCain and Palin cry out that they can as well. The only thing they are trying to alter, though, is the responsibility for what eight years of Republican crony capitalism, corruption, and neglect have done to our country. Can we let them? NO WE CAN’T.

Can we replace Republican corporatist dreams for America’s future with our own? YES WE CAN. Can we resurrect the promise of America given to us by our founders, where integrity trumps greed? YES WE CAN. Can we return America to a nation that seeks peace rather than seeks out war? YES WE CAN. You see it in the eyes around you. You feel it in your heart. Yes we can. Yes we can. Yes we can.

The Future Meets the Past

Andrew Keys — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:46:15 EDT

Shot after shot thrown his way, and still Obama looked forward. McCain seems to be getting more and more desperate with his aggressive assault on Obama. In this critcal time, we are not looking for a history lesson that we must research via FactCheck the next day. We are looking for solutions to current and future problems and we are looking for the candidate we feel can best deliver those changes. Tonight one trend that has been prevelant throughout the campaign was made perfectly clear: One candidate represents the future and one represents the past.

The obvious strategy on the McCain campaign was to keep Obama on the run by forcing him to defend his record prior to answering each question. In part, the strategy worked, in particular when the question was posed on how each candidate would take care of social security and medicare entitlements. Obama was unable to directly answer the question, so one would think this was an scoring point for McCain. However, a closer analysis reveals a quit different perspective.

Obama, in response to a previouos assualt by McCain, proceeded to analyze the federal budget. In reality, this is the first step to every policy decision that the future President will have to make, and was a fitting response in a two minute framework. Not only will spending cuts have to be made, revenue sources will need to be evaluated, including closing tax loopholes. McCain will take a hatchet approach to spending cuts by imposing an across the board freeze, and Obama has outlined a surgical approach, cutting only where necessary, while working to promote efficiency in other areas. Obama's approach pays for all new policy through either spending cuts or closing tax loopholes.

McCain's answer was simply that it would take a bipartisan effort to solve the problem. Thanks but no thanks! What does a bipartisan effort mean? It means a bill with little teeth, loaded with pork barrel spending (or pork barrel tax cuts a la the economic bailout plan) and one that likely does not create the change it set out to accomplish. The McCain campaign is reduced to throwing out the same simple ideology of the past, inlcuding bipartisanship, across the board spending cuts (but without laying out a specific plan), cutting pork barrel spending and reducing taxes as the solutions to the complex economic and social problems facing our nation.

National Debt & Borrowing Money

Jodi from Sharon, MA — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:40:34 EDT

WHEN THE GOVERNMENT BORROWS A BILLION DOLLARS, THEY ARE BORROWING IT FROM THOSE WHO CANNOT VOTE!!!!! What do I mean? The money the government is printing they are taking from today's children, that's me!! In our future we are expected to pay that money back, but we had no say in the matter. How is that fair?? We, the new generation, are not being protected well enough by our representatives. They should be looking out for us and our opinion, but instead, OUR VOICES ARE NOT HEARD. WE ARE BEING FORCED INTO TODAY'S CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS WITH NO SAY!!!

I propose either, the voting age should be lowered (with obvious restrictions) so that WE, THE YOUNGER GENERATION can have voice on our future. So far, 75-year-old men have been deciding what is right for us, and they have been VERY VERY WRONG!! You may have underestimated how well informed and involved this generation is in our own FUTURE.

America's Future...

Mickiboop (P.O.B.) Be the Change — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:32:15 EDT

Americans have got to really pay attention to the details in the candidate's responses to issues that are affecting our lives, instead of the fear and smear tactics of the republicans. Sarah Palin is unfit for the office of Vice President of the United States and John McCain is not fit to be the President. These two people are morally bankrupt and would most definitely extend George Bush's unrealistic view of the world and continue the destruction of a sane future in America!

John McCain & Sarah Palin bring terms like these to mind:
Old ideas that have been proven wrong
Old policies that trick the people
Old style of governing like Bush/Cheney
Old stubborness & more gridlock in the Congress
Old thought processes - no new ideas
Old hard line notions against science & technology
Old divisive ideas on women's rights and equality
Old fear tactics & more panicked responses
Old foreign policies & world divisions
Destroyed American respect in the world
Destroyed & unfair economic balance
Destroyed environment & increased global warming
Destroyed promise of a renewed energy policy & increased consumption of foreign oil
Destroyed nation building & the promise of more war-mongering
Etc., etc., etc.
Our fight is for the The Future versus the Past ... Obama - Biden '08, Can't Wait!!!

That Vision Thing

Dave from Highland Park, NJ — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 14:41:08 EDT

In the last week of August, as the Democrats rallied in Denver to nominate Barack Obama for president, the right-wing attack dogs hit the media street with the latest Republican talking point. Some simply growled "He's not qualified" while others tried to sink their teeth into Democratic pant legs and barked out the question -- "What makes Obama qualified to be president of the United States?"

What, indeed? Well, to begin with, how about intelligence, strong moral character and sound judgement -- qualities sorely lacking and badly needed by the current oval office poser. To that, add integrity and a very real desire to improve the lives of others, which flows from a genuine sense of connection with those in need -- qualities that the current oval office poser wouldn't even want.

Barack has something else, though, as well. Over the months, as his campaign unfolded, the crowds turned out to hear him speak, and the crowds got bigger, and the cheering got louder. Yes, he can give great speeches, and he has, but even more than that, in those speeches he has given his listeners something else -- that vision thing.

W's father, HW, admitted at one point during his oval office years that he wasn't so good at "that vision thing." But isn't that what the job of president really is? If a leader can't clearly see a better way forward, then why should he/she lead? Having 20/20 hindsight on the job as president means about as much as being the guy who's more fun to hang with at a bar, although personally, I suspect that even W's hindsight is as blurred as his slippery grasp of his native tongue.

"I don't think anyone anticipated the breech of the levees." So said GWB, as an excuse for his crew's poor handling of the Katrina/New Orleans mess. As usual with anything W says, you need the what he said/what he meant translation -- in this case, what George meant is that none of the neocon cronies working for him anticipated the breech of the levees. Plenty of other people actually did anticipate, and even predict, that very problem, but George didn't listen to any of them -- after all, some of them might have a liberal bias, especially if they've been to college.

"Who could have imagined planes flying into buildings?" No one in the Bush crew, it seems. They could all imagine, in great detail, WMDs in Iraq that weren't really there, but somehow they couldn't foresee anything that might really happen.

After almost eight years of Bush/Cheney, we don't need another president who's always surprised by whatever happens, and who makes bad excuses for his screwups. As the economic crisis unfolded in September, John McCain at first repeated the Bush/Cheney talking point about how "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" but it quickly became obvious how out of touch that line really is. Then, in another Bush-like move, McCain and company spent the next few days trying to explain what he really meant when he said that. We've already seen this movie so many times that we don't need to sit through it again -- we already know McCain didn't see the train wreck coming. Personally, I'd rather put my money on the one who spoke months ago about the real problems we face, economic and otherwise, and laid out some plans for what to do about them -- a man who really does get "that vision thing" -- and that would be Barack Obama.

Let's go kick some a**

Sai Nellore — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:40:43 EDT

Sen. Biden, Sen. Obama:

I have no doubt in my mind that Obama/Biden ticket is the best ticket, in the entire history of American democracy. McCain & Palin are shooting themselves in the foot by the day; come election day, they will be standing on their bare ankles. As Lincoln said, “you can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time; but not all of the people all of the time”. The judgment day is coming.

Sen. Biden, you were a clear winner in your debate with Gov. Palin last night; just like Sen. Obama was a clear winner in his 1st debate with McCain. I am sure your streak will continue in the forthcoming debates. I just hope that you won’t let McCain “get under your skin”. McCain is perfectly capable of doing the damage to himself!

I am eagerly looking forward to your first term in office… you can start the process of pulling America from the deep abyss that it is in now. I know it is a tall order, but I also know that you two are 100% upto the task AND that you will rightfully “earn” your 2nd term. Let me go overboard here and say that VP Biden will have his own 8-years in the White House. That’s full 16-years between the two of you and you can undo all the damage that was inflicted by Bush in his 8-years.

Now, please go kick some a**!!

Sai Nellore

Prize Fighters

Kelson Philo — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:40:28 EDT

Let's make the world work with prizes.

Noted are the DARPA challenges, then there are x-prizes, and there are challenges for the earth.

Let's keep going prize crazy. Let us put forth a series of prizes at innovation. Are there any of us that enjoy drudgery? Save for the sado-masochists of the group, I do not believe so. Let us then incorporate prizes into the public trust to relieve ourselves of drudgery.

E-Verify program @ the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security and it's effects on immigrants and refugees

Richard Owl Mirror — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:35:09 EDT

~@~ National Security Debate ~@~

There are many facets which make up National Security and Immigration, I would like to focus on the E-Verify program @ the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security and it's effects on immigrants and refugees.

E-Verify (formerly the Basic Pilot/Employment Eligibility Verification Program) is an online system operated jointly by the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration (SSA). Participating employers can check the work status of new hires online by comparing information from an employee's I-9 form against SSA and Department of Homeland Security databases. More than 69,000 employers are enrolled in the program, with over 4 million queries run so far in fiscal year 2008.

E-Verify is free and voluntary, and is the best means available for determining employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security numbers.

~@~

Employment Eligibility Verification and Antidiscrimination Protections

NILC Advocacy and Services
Since 1979, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) has been dedicated to protecting and promoting the rights of low income immigrants and their family members. In the past 20 years, NILC has earned a national reputation as a leading expert on immigration, public benefits, and employment laws affecting immigrants and refugees. Our extensive knowledge of the complex interplay between immigrants' legal status and their rights under U.S. laws is an essential resource for legal aid programs, community groups, and social service agencies across the country.

WHAT WE DO
Policy Analysis & Advocacy.
Impact Litigation.
Building Coalitions & Capacity.
Technical Assistance.
Trainings and Conferences.
Publications.

NILC's Website.
Our website contains NILC memos and analyses, articles from our newsletters indexed by topic, community education materials, and links to key organizational and government web sites.

http://www.nilc.org/immsemplymnt/ircaempverif/

~@~

http://www.cato.org/videohighlights/index.php?highlight_id=84

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10X7BO6uvPo
Fact-checking Glenn Beck

~@~

Immigration of individual human-beings across imaginary borders has occurred throughout mankind's existence. Hunters and Gatherers crosses into competitors fields and farms. Industrious human-beings create commerce opportunities, which in turn demands the employ of a workforce. I believe my description is an example of a basic human right.

This function within any society should not be impeded yet, it must be managed due to National Security concerns. It is obvious that the one requirement necessary to manage such a function is the ability to identify all individuals who are within our National borders. With the advent of technology, this task has become easier. The core problem with implementing such a program so it functions efficiently is cooperation by all parties.

I do not believe the millions of people who cross over our border, under extremely dangerous conditions are all criminals. It's simply the method of least resistance due to the rules for application of entry to our country is impossible for most to comply.

I have advocated that using technology such as an Identification card which can be produced as easily as we obtain our drivers licenses, preferably one-day service which would be valid for a 6-month employment stay could relieve this problem.

This identification card could also be used as the holders Employment ID card at their place of employment. As easily as an ATM card, the user slides it when they are clocking in and again when clocking out at the end of the day. This way, the government can verify constant employment and be alerted if the individual is not complying with the agreement for obtaining the entry card.

Most immigrants come to America to work as seasonal workers, therefore I believe a 6 month time-frame would be an agreement those seeking entry would voluntarily comply with. Cooperation is the key to success.

I believe granting honest, hard-working people the opportunity to purchase this entry card for $183 plus a background check, would relieve much of the problem of illegal immigration. Employers would be more able to be in 100% compliance with the Immigration laws because they need only opt-in to using the Immigration Time Clock system. Naturally there would be penalties for non-compliance yet, I believe companies would welcome such a solution as a safeguard against improperly being accused for hiring illegal workers. Perhaps we could also collect $1.00 for every hour worked by a migrant worker rather than them paying into Social Security. This money could be designated towards a specified program or budgetary need.

~@~

What have the candidates said about resolving the National Security implications of Immigration ?

http://www.barackobama.com/ vs. http://www.johnmccain.com

Let's be clear: John McCain is offering nothing of substance

Richard Owl Mirror — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:16:15 EDT

Senator Obama will strive to provide tax cuts for the middle class, affordable health care, and a new energy economy that creates millions of jobs. He will seek to end the war in Iraq responsibly, focus on defeating al Qaeda and the Taliban, and restore America's standing in the world.

Senator John McCain offered no solutions for the challenges Americans are facing in their daily lives. Nothing but more of the same failed Bush policies at home and abroad that he has supported more than 90% of the time in the Senate.

An example of how failed a Leadership role John McCain would bring to the Presidency is Obama's assertion that McCain "said the other day that he would not meet potentially with the prime minister of Spain, because he -- you know, he wasn't sure whether they were aligned with us," a reference to McCain's repeated refusal -- during an interview with Radio Caracol WSUA 1260 AM in Miami -- to say that as president, he would refuse to meet with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. As evidence of the truth for this claim, McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann reportedly wrote that "there is no doubt Senator McCain knew exactly to whom the question referred" and that McCain in fact "refused to commit to a White House meeting with President Zapatero in this interview." Indeed, during the debate, McCain did not assert that he "misspoke" during the Radio Caracol interview, but rather responded to Obama by saying, "I'm not going to set the White House visitors schedule before I'm president of the United States."

Questions exist, whether McCain forgot which country Zapatero leads, got confused about Spain's geographic relationship to Latin America, or confused Zapatero with the Zapatista rebels from Mexico. In either instance, this incident reveals a danger of possible confrontation could explode due to his complete lack of understanding World Leaders and events.

During the debate Obama said, "Senator McCain mentioned Henry Kissinger, who's one of his advisers, who, along with five recent secretaries of state, just said that we should meet with Iran -- guess what -- without precondition. This is one of your own advisers," and, "When we talk about preconditions -- and Henry Kissinger did say we should have contacts without preconditions -- the idea is that we do not expect to solve every problem before we initiate talks." During the debate, McCain repeatedly purported to correct Obama by saying Kissinger would not support presidential-level talks with Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Each time, Obama made clear that was not his contention -- that, instead, he was accurately saying Kissenger supported talks between the United States and Iran at levels below the president.

Was John McCain simply confused or was he attempting to provide a misdirection because Senator Obama clearly showed how Senator McCain doesn't even understand what his own Advisors are advising ?

Obama's comments during the debate accurately reflected Kissinger's comments during a September 15 forum. Kissinger said, "Well, I am in favor of negotiating with Iran. And one utility of negotiation is to put before Iran our vision of a Middle East, of a stable Middle East, and our notion on nuclear proliferation at a high enough level so that they have to study it. And, therefore, I actually preferred doing it at the secretary of state level so that we -- we know we're dealing with authentic -- with authentic proposals." Asked by CNN's Frank Sesno, "To put at a very high level right out of the box?" Kissinger responded:

Initially, yes. And I always believed that the best way to begin a negotiation is to tell the other side exactly what you have in mind and what you are -- what the outcome is that you're trying to achieve so that they have something that they can react to.
Now, the permanent members of the Security Council, plus Japan and Germany, have all said nuclear weapons in Iran are unacceptable. They've never explained what they mean by this. So if we go into a negotiation, we ought to have a clear understanding of what is it we're trying to prevent. What is it going to do if we can't achieve what we're talking about?
But I do not believe that we can make conditions for the opening of negotiations. We ought, however, to be very clear about the content of negotiations and work it out with other countries and with our own government.

One final observation I have regarding John McCain

McCain Suspends Campaign to Work on Wall St Plan

The Arizona senator announced he would suspend his campaign, pull television advertising, halt fundraising and return to Washington on Thursday to try to help negotiations over a stalled $700 billion bailout plan for Wall Street.

"We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved," McCain said, urging Obama to join him.

~@~

I believe Senator John McCain made a strategic blunder in his forcefully and public move in going to Washington DC for discussions on the Financial crisis. John McCain used Bluster to place his actions into the limelight and boxed himself in to a retraction. I believe if he had true concerns as a servant of the people, he could have silently traveled of his own accord to Washington DC and offer his assistance toward solving a problem, then not having acheived his objective, simply call and cancel his participation in the debate at the last moment.

This shows me a lack of thoughtful planning and leads me to view his actions as reckless. It's akin to someone going out publically and making sure their neighbors see them praying to God or announcing they have performed good works, all the while seeking the approval of those witnesses alone.

A senior McCain adviser made clear McCain would not attend a Friday debate unless a congressional rescue deal was sealed.

"If the package is reached and the country is saved, there will be a debate," the aide said. "But if there's no deal, how can you get on a plane . . . for a debate?"

Is this the type of Leadership America wants or deserves ? I think not !

Let's be clear: John McCain is offering nothing of substance in his political rhetoric, same as his running to Washington even though he had nothing of substance to add in resolving the crisis.

He is what my Grandfather would call a Flim-Flam Man

LEHRER: Afghanistan, Senator McCain?

MCCAIN: First of all, I won't repeat the mistake that I regret enormously, and that is, after we were able to help the Afghan freedom fighters and drive the Russians out of Afghanistan, we basically washed our hands of the region.

And the result over time was the Taliban, al Qaeda, and a lot of the difficulties we are facing today. So we can't ignore those lessons of history.

The Geneva accords of 1988, which ultimately led to the withdrawal of the Soviet forces in early 1989, left the Afghan government in ruins.

Senator John McCain said he would not repeat the mistake made by Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush ? I thought both of these Leaders were his Hero's and mentors ?

Have you folks heard the latest news out of Alaska ?

September 26, 2008
Palin should step down, conservative commentator says

(CNN) – Prominent conservative columnist Kathleen Parker, an early supporter of Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin, said Friday recent interviews have shown the Alaska governor is "out of her league" and should leave the GOP presidential ticket for the good of the party.

The criticism in Parker's Friday column is the latest in a recent string of negative assessments toward the McCain-Palin candidacy from prominent conservatives.

It was fun while it lasted," Parker writes. "Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who is clearly out of her league."

~@~

McCains claim of taking out Bin Ladin

**Senator McCain said it most concisely in June.***

"Look," he said. "I know the area. I've been there. I know wars. I know how to win wars. And I know how to improve our capabilities so that we will capture Osama bin Laden. Or put it this way, bring him to justice. We will do it. I know how to do it." Sen. McCain seems to be quite serious, that he and he alone, not the CIA, nor the U.S. Military, nor the current President can capture bin Laden. Thus we must take him at his word that this is no mere ludicrous campaign boast. We must assume Sen. McCain truly believes he is capable of doing this, and has been capable of doing this, since last January. "We will capture Osama bin Laden. We will do it. I know how to do it."

If John McCain knows how to accomplish this task, why hasn't he told anyone how to implement his plan of action NOW rather than waiting until he is elected Commander in Chief ?
Does he simply want all the Glory and Praise for himself ?

On The Debate: It's The Emotional Maturity Factor, Stupid!

Steve Brant — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 12:38:44 EDT

John McCain's temperament has been a side-bar issue for some time now, as people wonder if he would take us to war unnecessarily ("bomb bomb Iran"). Speaking of his own temperament, McCain claims he is they guy who works across party lines. He promises to end the gridlock in Washington and get things done.

Well, if he really wants to work with the Democrats in Congress, he might start by showing some respect for the Democrats' nominee for president, Senator Barack Obama. He might start by actually looking at Barack Obama while he is debating him.

I don't know if it's that John McCain's team has told him "Don't get angry" but forgot to say "Remember to treat Senator Obama with respect." or that - as reported in today's NY Times...

Theirs was a generational collision, and at times it looked almost like a dramatic rendition of Freudian family tension: an older patriarch frustrated and even cranky when challenged by a would-be successor to the family business who thinks he can run it better.

Whatever the reason, John McCain's refusal to even look at Barack Obama during the debate calls into question the entire concept of a President John McCain governing a country of new people with new ideas.

John McCain's behavior... his lack of emotional maturity... his unwillingness (inability?) to respect Barack Obama, who - in addition to being the Democratic nominee and full of new ideas - is also an historic figure for being the first African American with a serious chance of being elected president... says to me that John McCain will work with other people only if they already belong to that part of our culture that he feels deserves his respect.

John McCain's lack of emotional maturity says to me that a President McCain will surround himself with people he is comfortable with, not the younger generation with the fresh thinking our country needs. It says to me that the subtext of a McCain presidency will be holding back the future.... the future that is struggling to be born... the future I have written here is the macro cultural issue of our time: the need to leave the era of cultural wars behind... the need to give up our addiction to fighting all the time for a new era of collaboration and cooperation.

Can you really see John McCain welcoming all the young, innovative energy of our country into the White House? Can you see John McCain - who cannot even look Barack Obama in the eye - welcoming Barack as a true, post-election partner in building a truly great 21st Century America?

I'm sad to say that I cannot. Not after last night's performance.

Last night crystallized for me that this election truly is about the future replacing the past. The only change a McCain presidency represents is a name change. The product, I'm sorry to say, will in all likelyhood be the same. The culture wars will continue. The left side of American will continue to be pitted against the right. We will continue to move away from the vision of a truly United States of America that I know Barack Obama has in his heart.

This is the most critical lesson I took away from last night's debate.

As The New York Times says,

Mr. Obama was not particularly warm or amusing; at times he was stiff and almost pedantic. But all he had to do was look presidential, and that was not such a stretch. Mr. McCain had the harder task of persuading leery voters that he can lead the future because he is so much part of the past.
He tried to remind viewers of his greater experience and heroic combat career, while also casting himself as a maverick outsider ready to storm the barricades. Mr. McCain wanted to be the true revolutionary in the room, but his is the Reagan revolution, and for a lot of people right now, it doesn't look like morning in America.

The "Reagan revolution" indeed. American doesn't need to go back to the 1980's. American needs to go forward into the 21st Century. And John McCain does not have what it will take to lead us there.

Something just doesn't feel right....

Citizens for Change in America! — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:16:48 EDT

Did you ever have that pit in the middle of your stomach...

that ach that seems to be giving you a warning...

telling you there is a real problem...

something is really wrong...

beware...

caution...

danger ahead...

could be fatal...

What happened to the entire governmental system, wall street, banks, businesses, etc.?

Did they not use any instincts...are they not really using any NOW...Where are YOURS?

Let others know your feelings, knowledge and wisdom!

This is too serious to continue doing the SAME Things looking for different outcomes!

YOU must take action NOW if you expect a different outcome...CHANGE THIS MOMENT...CHANGE YOUR LIFE...CHANGE AMERICA FOREVER!

Take action NOW!

In Time of Crisis

William from Arcata, CA — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:34:58 EDT

Not many of us can understand in detail how to solve this economic crisis right now, and we depend on people we trust to do the right thing. So let's say they are right, that some sort of action is necessary immediately to prevent what everybody is calling an economic meltdown, which sooner rather than later would result in Great Depression II. And let's say that it involves the government intervening with lots of money that might all disappear, leaving a huge bill for taxpayers.

Now there is less agreement on this than there was a couple of days ago, but still, even critics of what's been proposed--like Paul Krugman of the NY Times--say that some major government action is required, soon. The reason, according to Barack Obama, is to "maintain liquidity," which means, among other things, the ability of businesses, large and small, to borrow money even for a short time, to meet payrolls, buy supplies, perform maintenance, and meet other costs of doing business. Beyond that, it means investment borrowing to expand, to start new businesses to employ people.

The first proposal by Bush Secretary of the Treasury Paulson was stunning in its oversimplification and the sweep of the power he wanted to grant to himself, completely unreviewable by courts, unsupervised by anyone else. That overreaching made everyone stop and look at other deficiencies: the need to support home buyers and prevent foreclosures, the need for transparency, accountability, and the need to not reward the businesses and the executives who screwed up so royally in the first place.

While those debates go on, ordinary Americans have responded from the heart. After all these years of being told that we can't build or repair infrastructure, we can't have affordable and universal health care, we can't lower middle class taxes, we can't support the next generation of clean energy technology that is our best investment for the jobs of the future, we can't even help our fellow citizens in need even in emergencies like Katrina--because we don't have the money. Now we're told that we have to potentially throw away as much money as we've already wasted on a useless, needless destructive war in Iraq. We have money to buy up companies that through unrestricted greed have brought our entire economy to the brink of collapse. And probably hire the CEOs of those companies to help figure out what to do with them.

The stories online with comments and the blogs, as well as columns in newspapers, there is a theme: if you're bailing out Wall Street, what about me? I have a little business that could use such a small piece of that $700 billion that you wouldn't miss it. How about bailing out my balloon payment on that mortgage I was fraudulently suckered into? How about paying those predatory credit cards? Or this woman: Dear Mr. Paulson: "I know you are busy bailing out financial institutions but if you have a minute I was wondering if you could loan me $3000.00 I haven't been able to afford health insurance for years and would love to get a mammogram."

Rebuild the U.S. Economy through Clean Energy

C Dornfeld — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:20:56 EDT

Traditionally, when people consider the strength of the American economy, key indicators come to mind: the Dow Jones Industrial Average, per capita GDP, and the consumer price index. These days, the numbers at the pump tell it all. The skyrocketing price of gas has not only revealed how fragile our economy is, but it has also shown how our national energy policy has led us astray.

McCain is out-of-touch

Will Jacobs — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:58:00 EDT

John McCain is completely out-of-touch with the economic realities of Americans. Why has the media continued to ignore McCain's flawed and limited knowledge of economics. You have let this thing go on for too long. You must reveal the real John McCain as a ultra rich, career politician that has no idea how Americans are suffering from the broken down policies of the last eight years. McCain has proven that he will only let them continue until he has mortgaged our and our children's foreseeable future.

Barack Obama is the only real choice for all Americans. He will help the middle class by helping passing a middle class tax cut that will give 95% of working Americans a tax cut of up to $1,000. He’ll also give us an emergency energy rebate to help people deal with rising energy costs. Barack will give students a $4,000 tax break to help pay for escalating tuition in exchange for doing only 100 hours of community service. The minimum wage will also be raised and indexed to future rates of inflation.

Please help open the eyes of Americans to the real differences in what these candidates are offering us for the future.

Three things

Robertson — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:40:33 EDT

The issue in this election is how we have 21st century solutions to 21st century problems. These are problems that even the sharpest 72-year-old has difficulty trying not to apply 20th century solutions. First, there's the issue of finance in an electronic world and how everything from global markets to our retirement have fundamentally changed due to the electronic influence. Second, the U.S. population will grow 30 percent by 2030, and we'll need 40 percent more electricity that we generate now. Whatever the solutions to this basic problem, they will be technological and require vision and consistency. Third, the way we communicate today has very little to do with the way we communicated even 10 years ago. All three of these things will create social change on a massive scale. New types of jobs. The need for different job training. The loss of institutional knowledge due to retirements. A society that loses face-to-face communication. Increasing economic disparity.

Why the hell do I want someone from an older generation making decisions about these things? The man can't get on the internet. The issues are serious, and they need a different level of thinking.

Thursday

Dave Shaw — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:21:12 EDT

“I can’t believe it, I refuse to believe it,” she mutters. I have no idea who she is, sitting beside me in my black pickup truck, but at this point there is no reason to care. She’s soaking from head to toe, looking like she hiked through her own personal Hell. I feel bad for her, but her story is no different than mine. Ironically, at this point, the only damn thing I can think about with any certainty is that my bucket seats are going to smell of mildew by the time we reach Ottowa.

“Believe it,” I answer plainly. She was silent, perhaps listening to the incoherent mumblings of the radio, interspersed with static and emergency broadcasts. Lightning flashes and sends an earsplitting crack of clattering chaos rattling through the windows. I try not to blink; our lives depend on it. The truck swerves frenziedly in the freezing rain as I try to keep it from entering a wild spin.

Stupid truck — I knew I should have changed the tires a week ago. A week ago… what day is it? I try to keep myself grounded in reality, but find myself in momentary fits of delusion. Ok, Dave. Focus. It's March, 2009. It’s a Thursday. I hate Thursdays. I was supposed to submit a psychology thesis today, but I guess that isn’t happening.

“What road are we on?” she asks shakily. Her concern is not without warrant. The highway is lined on each side with burned wreckage, with people shouting and throwing rocks, hoping to crack me in the head, stop my truck, and take it for their own. I hesitate for several seconds, thinking about the girl’s question. “What road?” she asks again.

“New York Thruway… we’re going as far north as possible — maybe get into Canada, but I’m not sure we'll be able to get through the border. Neither of us have passports.”

“So what’s the point?”

“We’ll be far from any major metropolitan area, at the very least. That should provide us with some protection,” I respond, trying to validate my reasoning. She didn’t seem to buy it. I can see her putting her head in her hands out of the corner of my eye, but I dare not turn to console her. “I’m Dave, by the way.”

“Katie,” she introduces. “Do you know what happened?” She is still in shock; I am not sure whether it is a good idea to exacerbate the maelstrom of horror occupying her thoughts by adding to them.

“A lot of people died.”

“Who is doing this?”

“I think it’s Russia,” I answer as I try to keep the truck on the road. “with a counterstrike of mutually assured destruction. But then again, it could always be Iran. Or the opportunist North Korean militarized government. Or maybe all three, with a dash of Latin America.”

“That can’t be!”

“Why not? After all, we declared war on them first,” I reply, correcting her. “There’s nothing anyone could have done to turn us about. The militarization of America is so advanced that even with war opposition, we’d never stop. With eight-hundred bases worldwide, and a military budget of half a trillion bucks every year, hell, it’s like trying to stop a mile-long freight train on a dime.

And yet… none of us refused to believe it. The indicators were there; people were blogging about it. It seemed war with Russia was inevitable after all. I never thought they’d be right. And I never conceived that it would begin like this, with everyone pouncing all at once.”

A bright light explodes into oblivion behind us, followed by a boom that rattles the truck to the core. Katie jumps in her seat, sobbing slightly. Silence floods the cabin; there is nothing I can do to console the poor girl. I half-expect to see a mushroom cloud in the distance, debris from exploding buildings soaring into the sky. I try to see in the side mirror, but it is too dark. Nevermind. All that is past us. We can’t go back there now, not even to look. How sadistic am I, anyway?

The rain is still falling. Somehow it managed to rain on nearly every Thursday of this month. I hate Thursdays. My last words echoed in my head. Inevitable. The government must have known, years before, that this was a possibility. The former Bush administration think tanks saw what happened today, but maybe they passed it off as an unlikely possibility. A fear. A cold war relic. I spit at the idea.

“Is this all for securing foreign energy? Or for undisputed dominance over the Middle East? For water? For power?” I mutter to myself. My thoughts eventually make their way into the open, unconsciously forming at my lips. Katie listens to my rambling.

“I don’t think he has the right presence of mind,” she replies. “McCain, that is. He probably has a vague sense that he is screwing up; but he is acting on the only rationality he knows. It's our fault for not taking the high road. We wanted this. This is the change we deserve.”

“Hell, I don’t know. I’m no expert on this. There were thousands of different blogs — each with a completely different view on the politics at hand. And yet, somehow, they were all the same. I think many people acted on misguided fears, forced to abandon all hope of rationality. All hope of compassion, and understanding. If only we, as countries, talked more… If only we understood each other. If everyone were educated, and free from misconception…” My heart sinks.

I try to swallow, but my tongue becomes stone. I am choking on my own throat. We are only five miles away from Albany. I stop the car and turn off the engine.

“Why did you stop the car?” Katie asks. Her voice is piercing, reprimanding me. I simply look forward as two fighter jets soar overhead. My heart is beating rapidly. I wish I could have a heart attack right here, and end it.

“We are about to be enlightened by a pure and inescapable truth.”

“What’s that?” she asks innocently. I turn my head to look at her for the first time. She’s young — perhaps in her first year of undergraduate college. She’s a hatchling, really. Her eyes betray her overwhelming fear and anxiety. I do not remember how she made it into my truck, or how we have driven so far. Her lips are trembling. It makes me feel guilty. I want to hug her tight, but she is a stranger to me. So beautiful and full of promise — lost in the abyss of causality. War sucks.

A bright flash erupts from just five miles ahead of us. Rain evaporates from the sky above, wiping the windscreen clean and prying paint from the truck. The light sheers the skin from our faces. I am blinded as my retina detaches from the back of my left eye. We dare not scream; we won’t let them hear us scream. The wall of a great furnace rises above the hills with a totality of vengeance, blowing apart all that rests in its path. Like that of a matchbox in volcano, we are whisked away in a detonation of aberrant fury.

And then there is nothing. Nothing at all except for my disdain for Thursdays.

Are We Free to Ask?

Keechi — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:51:03 EDT

Since when have the American People been barred from questioning the canidate running for the second-highest position in our country - one step from our highest level of American Leadership? - Since 2008...

How can we call ourselves a Democracy when our leaders, in waiting, will not share their views over their credintials to hold the position they seek? What does it say about the judgement of a canidate who choses a Vice-President who seems, not only under-qualitified for that position - but who is protected from answering the most important questions that must be asked - to acertain the validity of her capacity to lead America - a most likely event considering the health and age of John McCain.

I question John McCain's judgement to lead America for going against his own word to pick a Vice-President, "Who can step right in," and fullfill the duties of the President of the United States of America - and then turns to disallow the American Public to learn the true grit of his choice by hiding her behind his skirt.

America, if you fail O'bama - you will fail America's future, and the future of America's childrens, childrens, children...

why can't they see?!

Amanda B. — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:07:39 EDT

I have trouble when I'm making calls to discuss the upcoming election and I reach a parent that tells me they try to stay out of politics. You can hear the kids in the back ground and you worry that their parents are truly so ignorant that they will not make responsible choices for their kids futures. You don't have to be into politics to be concerned about the state of your child's education, or ability to find a job in the future. You don't have to be into politics to care if your daughter will be paid fairly for working her butt off or if your your son knows the signs that he might be in danger from a sexual predator. You don't have to be into politics to care if endangered animals are being threatened for oil or others are being brutally chased down and shot from a plane without a fair fight. I have managed to start conversations with some of them and make some headway, but many others slam the phone down. I know some people feel they are being imposed upon in their own homes when I call, and I can respect that. I can't however respect the decision to turn a deaf ear to things that will have a huge impact on your childs future.

An open letter to Mr. Obama

Unknown user — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:56:16 EDT

September 18, 2008-09-18

Dear Mr. Obama

After watching the news and the pundit’s last night weigh in on the state on the Presidential race so far I decided to make my way to bed. After tossing and turning for a few minutes I realized that wasn't going to fall asleep any time soon as thoughts of the economy and the day to day concerns not only for my family but for every American were keeping me awake.

Getting involved for the First Time

Jess — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:04:54 EDT

The last two presidential elections didn't feel like this. I didn't truly identify with either candidates total views for the future. Nor did I believe that they would address the issues of the future, my future, my children's futures. In fact, in many ways I wrote off politics. Afterall, what did it matter who ran the White House? In the end aren't all politcians the same? Wasn't our future, weighed down with heavy debt, no plans for social security or health insurance or affordable educations for myself or my children in the near future...

Wasn't our future bleak and full of unattainable dreams? Wasn't our future destined to be comparable to filling our children's pockets with heavy rocks and sending them into the water?

In 2004 I sat at my computer and watched Barack Obama speak at the DNC. Wow... I cried. I was stunned by the force of emotion I felt. Especially after never in my voting life feeling anything of the sort!

A couple more years passed and I listened (with one ear) to what was going on. I watched my friends and neighbors struggle to survive in changing economic times. I lost my health insurance. And I watched while many of us lost our hope for the future.

Now -- here I am. It's 2008 and I'm so excited to hear Barack Obama address issues, real issues. And so angered to hear McCain/Palin skirt the issues with generalized statements that sound no different than previous candidates. If I'm going to have hope for the future, then I need to hear and see the plans that will stabilize and better our future. McCain isn't providing that. Obama is.

So I'm not standing around anymore and waiting for someone to make a change. I'm voting to secure my children's future. I'm voting to make a difference and unite our country. I'm voting for Barack Obama.

The Energy Checkbook.

Kelson Philo — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:38:32 EDT

The United States has over 3800 oil refineries in the Gulf Coast ( http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080915/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices ). Apparently, the production capacity of these rigs is not enough to keep oil prices down.....oh wait. It's not necessarily about production in the here and now...it's about what oil specualtors think production might be in the future.

You know. The place in spacetime we can only get to very slowly, one second at a time. The place where none of us has a guaranteed pass of reaching.

The Future of America

Judy from Jacksonville, FL — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 01:49:35 EDT

Barack Obama represents no less than our future, grounded solidly in the present and tied to our past. All of a sudden, I've realized that my years place me in an age category that I don't quite recognize yet, a realization brought on by Sen. Obama's youthful maturity. As I reflect on my spot on the chronological continuum of voters, I think about the eras of my voting life, beginning in the late 60's, and how my political values have been shaped.

Barack Obama came along before the Internet, which has changed everything. My children are a few years younger than he, but old enough to have begun their computer experiences in elementary school, programming coordinates in dot-matrix form to create graphics and stories. Babies, we have come a long way. You and he embrace change like a melting popsicle--it just happens and you move on. It's a great example.

Born far away from the mainland US, Obama was the child and the grandchild of extraordinary people. While I, a white child, was attending segregated schools, he was gaining a world view from a unique perspective. He lived in a place rather devoted to simplicity, community and far horizons, a place where beauty is taken for granted and where "island fever" can inspire great imaginings. Thank goodness! Like his, one of my parents was from Kansas, the grandson of homesteaders from northern Europe. Unlike his, my other parent was also descended from immigrants--in the 1700's--who settled the American frontier.

One of Obama's great strengths is that he can take his personal history and make it relevant to my personal history along with that of many others. We all talk about where we came from and find links to others whose families passed through the same waystations over the generations. He was inspired by President Kennedy, without having any way to actually remember the man, nor to have that November 22 seared into his brain, but his appreciation of that experience in his elders makes us know him.

We can relate to the altruism of his early public service as if he were in the room when we heard the "Ask not..." speech. His expression of faith and family looks like what we knew in our 1950's family life. His mixed race speaks to us of the proud ethnicities about which we learned in our U S History books. We all know something of that Melting Pot concept.

And yet, he is so much of the present that our adult children know him, too. They observe the difference between him and another candidate with values less like theirs. They feel the need for service to our communities; for straightforward speaking and thinking; for unfettered support for educating their children to see themselves in the world and not only in this country; for a perspective on war as a tool of defense and last resort, to be used only after all other negotiations have failed to keep us secure; for an embrace of the middle class as the great demographic of this country, the great mass of productive workers who carry on their backs the security of the aging generations who preceded them; and for a knowledge of and responsibility for successful financial management and the execution of a just legal system, the underpinnings of our Constitution and our economic freedom.

In the end, though, his is the face of our future. Our multiculturalism will look more and more like him, within a few short years. His intelligent compassion is the expression of the only way we will survive as a society. His command of justice, the law, and fairness, along with his unbridled honesty, are our guarantee of equality and freedom from fear of a judicial system run amok under the GOP. As a man a half-century younger than our eldest citizens, he sees only 20% of our nation's history on a parallel track with his own. He sees the US as a grown-up country in the world, rather than as a still-emerging nation. With a bit of the frontier spirit in his blood, he sees vastly different frontiers than the majority of us voters. His commitment to civilty is where we want to go--enough of the "win at all costs" attitude that has pervaded our lives in recent years, from our elections to our government, from our corporations to our recreation.

We are a clever people. We contain the best of so many cultures that we SHOULD be the most successful country in the world. After 8 years of being cut off from participative governance, years of self-serving loyalty and near-criminal secrecy, we are ready to get back to the future we know awaits us. Tell it, Barack. Tell it straight, say it with love and don't be afraid. You are the future!

Look to the Future

Rick — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:10:54 EDT

The message of change has been coopted by McCain and it's looked pretty easy to adopt this mantra (change happens!). What the Obama campaign has to focus on more (a mere slight adaptation/focusing of the consistent message) is Change for the FUTURE. Barack has to state clearly that what the voters have to focus on is how do we shape our future. It is not just change we want (as this can be defined as anything from better health care to more military ventures)--it is a change that creates a better future. Under the theme of Look to the Future, the election becomes a referendum on refining past policies and practices (one that has some clear flaws in terms of the economy, environment, education, health care, etc) versus a hopeful future (with a thoughtful sustainable energy program, enlivened schools, health care that is accessible and economically viable, and an economy that fosters innovation and leads in the "next big thing"--"green" jobs that make the US a leader in environmentally sound, energy wise jobs and industries. The generic change theme (even with the addendum of "you can believe in" or "the change you need" doesn't frame the debate well enough between the policies of the past (McCain's ideas of bad old policies with a "maverick" veneer) and policies (and hope) for the future.

I imagine a McCain presidency could legitimately claim there will be some changes (at least having new faces in the cabinet (and a more scary Supreme Court). Barack can't continue to argue he is more "changey" than McCain--this is just something partisans on both sides will interpret as they wish. Framing this as Change for the Future rather than Change that tinkers with the Past is something that can distinguish Barack's campaign and get back to creating the hope and energy we need heading to November...and beyond.

Obamas education policy for dummies...

Jose — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:02:20 EDT

For your convenience, you may skip over the BOLD AND ITALIC AND UNDERLINED material (can i get a highlighter tool in this HTML editor PLEASEEEEE pretty please). It is redundant to the points on his education policy, and serve as just reinforcement to those points. I do encourage you to read them though, they are written with my own personal real life experience.

OBAMAS EDUCATION PLAN

TOTAL ESTIMATED COST: $18 billion per year.

TOTAL ACTUAL COST OF IRAQ WAR TODAY: $5.1 billion per month, and a staggering $61.2 billion per year.

Some would say that Obama makes outlandish promises. Well i think if we can spend $61.2 billion a year in iraq sitting in a desert fueling extremism, we certainly can spend $18 billion a year on our future; the youth of the united states.

0 - 5: Quadruple the funding for "Head Start", an already VERY successful program. Head Start is a program that provides education, and other important services to low-income children and their families.
K-12 grades: Reform no child left behind act: Obama thinks, like me, that teachers shouldnt be focusing ALL their attention on getting kids to fill in bubbles during their 4 years in high school. He also thinks that those schools that score badly shouldnt be punished by reduced budgets, but improved through increased budgets.
Improve After school programs: Obama will double funding for the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children and give them constructive after school care.
Address the drop-out crisis through intervention plans in MIDDLE school before you ever think about dropping out. Increasing budgets for programs like TRIO or upward bound that already does a successful job at encouraging people from low income families to join college.yep thats me, a high school drop out, and its also a staggering 1 out of 3 Class of 2006 students in america)

Recruit, Prepare, Retain, and Reward America's teachers

5) Obama will create new Teacher Service Scholarships that will cover four years of undergraduate or two years of graduate teacher education in exchange for teaching for at least four years in a high-need field or location. We pay your school, you then come teach our kids that most need it. If you want to teach, and in all honesty only teachers that love their jobs should be teachers, then under obama believe me youll get what you want.

6) Obama will also create Teacher Residency Programs that will supply 30,000 exceptionally well-prepared recruits to high-need schools. He will require all schools to be accredited, which means no more "hawk academy" or a christian charter school that mails you a high school diploma test for 200 bucks.Accreditation is the process of reviewing a school's programs and policies to see if its meets the criteria set by outside agencies like the US department of education. When a school is found to meet the minimum criteria set by an outside agency, it is granted accreditation. If not accredited your high school diploma wont allow you to get into college, or get the same paying jobs as other hard working graduates. THERE IS NO SHORTCUT TO THAT DIPLOMA.

HIGHER EDUCATION

7) American Opportunity Tax Credit - This will help ME get back into college. This will cover in full the average community college (like miami dade community college) and almost 2/3rds of the average public university with a 4k tax credit. This will be in addition to the grants and aide available already through FAFSA.

8) Simplifying the financial aide process - LOL wow do i love this one, its just a no brainer. Obama will streamline the financial aid process by eliminating the current federal financial aid application and enabling families to apply simply by checking a box on their tax form, authorizing their tax information to be used, and eliminating the need for a separate application. in the words of my wonderful baby niece DUH!!! anyone who reads this and has applied for financial aide will love this idea.

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/education/ - This is his detailed written policy on education

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGcr1UZpBfA - Great speech where obama lays out his entire education plan in 36 minutes today (september 9th).

Obama lays out a well known fact that the world as it exists today has never encountered the challenges we are facing. 18 years ago (when i was 2 years old) the internet was just a small local network in a university laboratory. It has changed the world by creating a global economy, because now a business can operate from anywhere there is an internet connection. This means that where in the last half of the 20th century wealth was the real way to ascertain power, in the 21st century its all about information.To survive in this new world we need to be the worlds leader in education.
In miami springs senior high school and in every single public school PERIOD in florida, schools are given a grade on performance. Based on that grade in performance, the schools budget is allocated by the superintendent. The lower the grade, the lower the budget. The performance is measured, and this is a fact, by 2 factors. first factor is the schools overall test results for ONE SINGLE test called the CAT test; FCAT here in florida. Second factor is overall student attendance.
    *!!!WARNING; JOSE'S FACT ALERT !!!the important stuff was up there numbered. Reading further exposes you to REAL facts. Conservatives, beware. LOL
What happens as a result of the failed "no child left behind act", which is what happen to me during my high school years, is that instead of focusing on class subject matter, schools FORCE you in french class, in arts, in computer class, in history class to take constantly 5 or 6 Practice fcats a week, your writing a weekly 3 paragraph composition (usually with the same topics lol) and the teachers are STRICTLY forbidden to veer off those topics. You go to high school for four years to learn how to take an fcat pretty much. If your peers in high school dont give a rats ass about the test and they do bad, and we know that kind of attitude in a high school is very contagious, then you will be affected, because your schools budget will be decreased and you will have more bitter teachers who didnt get a raise, Old locker rooms to put stuff in, DISGUSTING bathrooms to do your business in, 8 to 10 year old math books (can you believe that my algebra 2 book in 2003 was the SAME EXACT book my older brother used in springs when he took the class in 96-97?). None of you know this unless ofcourse you went to high school during the bush administration, and got to witness this whole CRAZY plan to give schools their ever so necessary budgets based on ONE stupid test. Best part, the test only counts for 12th graders and 10th graders, so you waste your entire freshman and junior year preparing for a test that over the summer you forget all about. WTF IS WRONG WITH THIS SYSTEM CAN ANYONE GUESS?
Did you guys know that McCain at one point supported ABOLISHING the department of education. "I would certainly favor doing away with the Department of Energy and I think that given the origins of the Department of Education," the Senator (McCain) said on CNN's Late Edition in December 1994. "I would favor doing away with it as well." for full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/09/mccain-backed-abolishing_n_125096.html .

Just a thought.

AlexisMtl — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:42:46 EDT

I would like to take a minute to thank all of you for your actions and thoughts as it shows that a lot of people in the world are honestly trying to get out of this frozen mentality of narrow thinking. I love to see that people are getting involved and interested into building a Country that could be an example to follow for the rest of the world on all levels. You definitely have the potential and know-how to make it happen. Do remember your history but let it be used as motivation for a brighter future of diplomacy and understanding instead of an argument to arm more innocent people that are simply trying to grasp for themselves what are the steps to be taken to obtain a better quality of life. Try to understand that the world evolved at a different pace and accompany them instead of turning our backs to their situations. We have to guide and support everyone that wants to get up to speed in this world. You have proven to be a Country of devotion towards the well being of the human race on countless occasions. From building infrastructures to help develop all kinds of research to a better understanding of what it means to live in this new and mesmerizing world we live in. To work and develop technologies to help every individuals from every gender and ethnicity instead of closing ourselves to the world. We have to believe that yes, the situation can change and ultimately have the entire world co-exist and work together for a better future for all of us. Thanks again. Sincerely yours from Canada.

stroking does no good, knock it off

marklininak — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:35:14 EDT

Writing and reading these blogs is wonderful and fun. I enjoy it. It makes me feel smart, usefull, and sexy. It also give me a chance to kiss up, and be kissed up to. It cuts down on the number of visits to the shrink that I have to make. The savings are incredible. However, that is about all it accomplishes.

Only once in the last hundred years has either party received less than 35% of the popular vote. That was the 1920 Democratic Party ticket of James Cox and Franklin Roosevelt that received 34% of the vote. If one of the major parties receives less than 40% of the vote it is considered an epic defeat of historic proportions. Historically presidential elections are always relatively close.

Elections are won not by party faithful. The vast majority of registered democrats will vote for the dem candidate, and the vast majority of registered republican voters will vote for the rep candidate. Swing voters and voters who do not always make it to the polls are the individuals who decide presidential elections, not registered dems or reps.

Posting a blog on My.barackobama.com has absolutly no effect on the eventuall outcome of the general election. Neither does calling registered dems to make sure they Vote for Barack. These are sure fire votes. The only people who will take time to read this or another blog on this site are ones whom I guarantee will vote for our candidate. It is a complete waste of time. Posting on this site has about as much effect a if I posted gop.com. I will change no minds on that website, just like I will change none on this website.

What needs to happen is educating people about the issues and the candidate. Casual conversations with people on the fence helps a lot. Talking to non voters about the importance of voting is important. Most non voters would vote for dems if they had the knowledge. Being outside talking to people face to face is the most effective way of communicating messages, especially the message of this ticket.

Community involvement helps on so many levels. This country works best when it works from the bottom up. Individual citizens have the most effect on the local level. Participating in local government and elections are the most effective way to personally effect a positive change in the world. Face to face contact is and will always be the most effective form of individual communication.

This is quite possibly the most important election in this nations history. We are on the fence historically. The United States can continue to lead and improve this planet for ourselves and humanity, or we can become a nation of second tier status. If we continue the policies of the last 8 years we will continue to regress and slip. This is to important of a fight to sit at home and play on the computer. I will not allow myself to be remembered by future generations as one of the people who did not get the monumental importance of the November election, and sat around on my lazy, fat behind while the prospect of future American generations were being flushed down the toilet.

These ramblings are not meant to insult. They are intended to be tough love call to action for people who call themselves activists. The root of the word activist is act. There is no action in writing a blog. No chances are being taken. It is simply an exercise in mental masturbation. It feels good, but it accomplishes nothing.

Actions speak louder than words. Just do not foget to act.

I just got involved for the future!

Ron — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:49:58 EDT

At 50, I've always voted but I've never worked for a campaign. Today I signed up to register voters through Barack's web site.

Why?

Becuase I'm concerned about the future. I have two almost grown daughters and I'm concerned about their future. Retirement is not so far off and I'm worried about that. Then there are the global problems and dangers.

Of the two candidates, I think Barack Obama has the best judgement and will make the best decisions about our future.

For example, consider the VP choice. Joe Biden was a choice Barack made in the country's interest. We can expect Biden to contribute a lot to the Obama adminstration. We can see him as president. I look forward to a Presidency filled with decisions like Barack's choice of Joe Biden for Vice President.

McCain's choice is a desperate political reaction to being behind. That he would take this kind of chance with the country's future reflects poorly on his judgement. A Presidency filled with decisions like McCain's choice of Palin would be chaos.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading.

A better future for my kids

Matt — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:52:12 EDT

I am a single Dad with 6 boys ages 4 - 12. All of them are in the school system. And let me tell you, our education system needs reform. We need to teach the kids for the jobs of the future and not the next standardized test.

I have no health insurance and can't afford any right now. What happens to my kids if something happens to me?

I want my kids to grow up and fulfill their dreams. I need hope and a future to look forward to.

I don't need fear, angst and pain.

And in this election, Obama is hope and McCain is pain !

The future or the past, you decide

Karen — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:58:09 EDT

I attended the Democratic National Convention last week and heard speech after speech about the FUTURE. I heard about how Barack Obama and Joe Biden plan to make our country safer, more economically secure, and improve the opportunities for all Americans to work hard and earn their place in the richest, most abundant nation in the world. I also heard about how we will restore our place in the world through strength and diplomacy, not erode it by putting our soldiers in harms way without cause. How we will address the global problems that put our peace at risk.

What a contrast to last night. Do we really want 4 more years of combat? At home and abroad? Do we want 4 more years of taxing the middle class to pay for the excesses of a government set to regulate all aspects of our private lives?

Let's get to work and remind voters that this is an election about our future, not someone else's past.

Opponents in life.

victoria — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:27:40 EDT

Hello, friends and fellow supporters of Sen. Obama,

Our circle of life has turned into a "square shaped" area that is going to hold the most important fighting match of our lives. Two opponents have entered the ring. One of these very importanat contenders will determine how we live our day to day lives in a personal governing situation.

If you haven't noticed, "now it's personal". The future of "we the people" is the "wager".

The victory of our country, our real and loving families is the Prize. We need a true champion to win this match. Because a true champion will be and can be a real leader! We have to act as though we are in the same fight. Going each round with our heads up high and looking no where but forward. Never letting our guard down. Our contender needs the support and belief from us that he will win. Our "fighter" needs to know that we are in the same corner!!

Sen. Obama is strong! He has a voice that speaks and sounds security. He knows how to throw an intellegent punch! He is ready to lead us to the best prize possible.

Soon: Pros and Cons of each contender;

Sincerely, Victoria

Declaring our Independence in the 21st century—a Referendum on Bush/McCain

21st century American — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:51:27 EDT

Open Letter to John McCain:

Your fellow cynics are trying to make us scared of Sen. Obama, but the only thing we have to fear is another 4 years of Bush/McCain-more of the same! So, we say to McCain, “thanks but no thanks, we want our country back!”

The Republicans think they can put on a veneer of “reform” to cover up their continuing policy of the last 8 years—telling us “that’s change.” We’ll tell them, “thanks but no thanks, we want our country back!”

They offer us gimmicks that are not real solutions for the American people. And again we answer, “thanks, but no thanks, we won’t fall for that.”

It’s not change when you hand the health of the American people, our most important natural resource, to the health insurance corporations. It’s not change when you violate your own conscience by continuing to support Bush’s tax-cut for the rich in a time of war while our national debt has skyrocketed into the trillions. It’s not change when you neglect middle-income Americans. John McCain, it’s not change when you claim to be a reformer, while taking lobbyist money to run your campaign. It’s not change when you say you want peace, but discourage tough negations with Iran and fail to at least provide a strategy to combat terrorism or to get us out of the Iraqi mess.

Instead, Bush/McCain has been reckless--reckless in neglecting to go after Bin Laden in Afghanistan and those who attacked us on 9/11 by swerving off course and starting a war in Iraq then joking about “bomb bomb bomb Iran.” John McCain is being reckless in putting our healthcare into the hands of the insurance corporations. His impulse to reject his own conscience and succumb to the far-right pressure to support the Bush tax-cuts for the rich shows that he does not have the firmness, temperament, or judgment to be president of the United States.

So despite your recent jump on the change bandwagon, John McCain, you are still the same. It’s unfortunate that you still don’t get it. We heard you just a couple of weeks ago say that the “fundamentals of our economy is strong”. Given your 7+ houses, I see how you can’t acknowledge the housing crisis. So, your recent call for change and pandering won’t fool us because we are not for sale. We want our country back and we are going to take back our country. With President Obama at the helm, we will be empowered to get back to our feet and lead the world again.

President Obama will invest in the most important natural resource of our country—The American People. He will invest in our healthcare, education, and the technology to innovate and lead the world again. He will cut taxes for 95% of us regular Americans and for small businesses. He will invest in renewable fuel to create 5 thousands jobs, end our dependence on foreign oil, and energize our economy.

Barack Obama is the change we can believe in because we, the American people, are the change we’ve been waiting for. We are the ones that will take our country back from the lobbyists, the ideologues, and the greedy corporations. Together, we can create the jobs of the future. Together, we can save our planet. Together, we can become energy independent.

In fact, we are declaring our independence from the lobbyists, the oil tyrants and speculators, the incompetent republican FEMA administrators, and the home loan corporate gluttons. We are declaring our independence from the anti-science global warming ideologues, the cynics of clean homegrown energy, and the war-first-diplomacy-second mentality. Together, we are declaring our independence, because we are looking to the future and we need change!

The change we need is a government that understands and invests in the American people, that strengthens our alliances, and that is sufficiently competent to handle our challenges based on solid reasoning and sound judgment. The change we need is also a reenergized people to get involved in our democracy, to serve our country, and solve our common problems. This Change begins with electing Barack Obama, because he understands in his core that we all should get a fair shot to achieve our dreams and build America from the bottom-up. Barack Obama will deliver that change because he is steadfast, thoughtful, and clear-eyed about our current and future challenges and because he puts his confidence in the American people to overcome those challenges. With President Obama, he is not just making history because of his race, but we all are making history because he will deliver that change and restore the American promise and because together we’ll change the world.

Quotes to Live By

Amanda Thompson — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:39:57 EDT

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions.
Edgar Cayce

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Abraham Lincoln

Ideologies separate us. Dreams and anguish bring us together.
Eugene Ionesco

Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?
Abraham Lincoln

The battle for the individual rights of women is one of long standing and none of us should countenance anything which undermines it.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Patriotism is easy to understand in America. It means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.
Calvin Coolidge

Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose - and you allow him to make war at pleasure.
Abraham Lincoln

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt

A house divided against itself cannot stand.
Abraham Lincoln

We've done it. Now, let's do it.

rwordplay — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:31:06 EDT

I am still astonished at how quickly and neatly the primary season came to an end. All at once we find ourselves in the running. Now, that "We've done it. Now, let's do it." Let's make this ticket the winning ticket.

The advertising legend David Ogilvy once wrote that "Everyday he felt obliged to come up with a new idea for his clients." A generation later, Peter Arnell used to ask, "What have you done today?" I think we all need to commit ourselves, between now and November, and ask what can we do to put Obama in the White House? Small things and large—read the paper(s) to be as informed as possible when you argue for Obama's candidacy, raise a little money, whatever you're inclined to do but do something to move the campaign ahead.

I congratulate everyone who played a role in making this historic event, not only a reality but in doing helped create the future we're all about to enter.

Dreams From My Future

Meghan from New York, NY — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:28:58 EDT

Dreams from My Future

He was the culmination of historical tide; the tidal wave; the catalyst. He could not have been without those who had come before him. He was the legacy and the dream realized. Many who would come after would not have been, but for him. He was the teacher, the sustenance.

When he arrived, the world had turned all the shades of gray. The radiant spectrum of color had been dulled by the onslaught and ascendance of mediocrity. It had been attacked by the judgmental hands of those whose certainty about the unknown frightened and belittled those who questioned and challenged and experimented to bring light to the darkness. It had been smeared by concentration of all into the pockets and guns of a few.

He stood apart. He watched himself speak and act, from both within and without. He was as much an outsider to his own being as he was to the communities he sought to join.
He did not connect because he was not the same. He did not fit neatly into the packaged story of the known and traditional. Ironically, his was the common path, though few understood it.

In a land easily persuaded by charlatans and heavy with missteps, it was his duty to pierce the beast of hubris and decay. As one who others denied belonged to their history, it was his task to return the land to its humble origins to reignite the source of its energy and recreate the path to its destiny. So it was he who brought hope and faith in what can be achieved back to a land's heart and soul.

Before he arrived, the vulture death was hovering overhead. The fire of industry and creativity had suffocated and its embers smoldered. Possibility and achievement lay unnurtured, cold and shivering, fighting for breath. It seemed the fire and its children were only able to thrive on other sides of the world.

He was not a savior and he was not a hero. He was simply a moment. There was a choice between a sunset and a sunrise. A choice between a well-travelled road's end and an open path to anywhere… to everywhere. He was a guide to the unexplored.

Time teaches that these choices come at critical moments. When the light is fading and the doubt growing, the opportunity for rebirth always presents itself. Sometimes that choice is made; sometimes habit and suspicion are too cumbersome to overcome.

He was the moment. The coming together of what was and what should be. The ignition. The fruition.

The encroaching desert receded and verdant life flourished. The land, through its choice to change, became again the promise… kept.

Obama for change!

Unknown user — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:09:06 EDT

The American Constitution is based on freedom and liberty for all people. And this means litterally ALL.

When we know that not all Americans has got this, it is

Wake Up Hilliary Undecided

King LeRon — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:44:58 EDT

After the Hillary speech I pray to GOD that the Hillary undecided please decide and join the Democrats and support Obama. How in the world can anyone be undicided its either you want the country to go into another war start the draft and destroy the economy or not. How is it that you are having a problem choosing. People need to wake up and stop voting on emotions and start voting the facts.

The facts are how in the world do you think people who are like Bush are going to do things different than the last 8 years. Why on earth would you be mad at 1 person or hate 1 person and take part in destroying a Nation. Hilliary people that are undecided wake up and smell the coffee open your eyes and look around you and then take part in change. This maybe the last chance you get for the rest of your life or for many years to come. Just think this is the first person of color to ever get this far the first women to ever get this far and you gone punk out now. WAKE UP

Why I will vote for Barack in '08

mandie — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:13:41 EDT

“John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench.”
“This work must continue and government must find new ways to empower and strengthen these armies of compassion.”
“As President, John McCain will nominate judges who understand that their role is to faithfully apply the law as written, not impose their opinions through judicial fiat.”
“John McCain believes that the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is a fundamental, individual Constitutional right that we have a sacred duty to protect.”
“In 1993, John McCain and his wife, Cindy, adopted a little girl from Mother Teresa's orphanage in Bangladesh.”
“The family represents the foundation of Western Civilization and civil society and John McCain believes the institution of marriage is a union between one man and one woman. It is only this definition that sufficiently recognizes the vital and unique role played by mothers and fathers in the raising of children, and the role of the family in shaping, stabilizing, and strengthening communities and our nation.”

All of the above quotes are from John McCain’s website. Now I would like to give you my feelings on the subject and I will gladly listen (or read, it is a blog after all) to every argument that is brought forth.

McCain feels Roe v. Wade is flawed, but the courts said abortion fell under the 14th Amendment "right of privacy, whether it be founded in the Fourteenth Amendment's concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action, as we feel it is, or, as the District Court determined, in the Ninth Amendment's reservation of rights to the people, is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy" as stated by Justice Douglas in the sister case of Doe v. Bolton. So if the constitution says “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” and it also says “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” then who is John McCain to say that the decision was flawed. The justices made their decision. But I can see what direction McCain is coming from when he later states that judges should faithfully apply the laws that are passed. As if to say they should not perform their most fundamental role of checks and balances, not interpreting laws and deciding if they are even legal according to the great Constitution of the United States of America. They should faithfully apply the law as written. But the word faithfully. I associate faithfully with trust without question. Who wants judges in place that will not question? I guess John McCain does. He also wants RvW reversed so he can find ways to strengthen the armies of compassion. Is that like the Army of God, who set off bombs at the Olympics in Atlanta, the same army that hid Eric Rudolph afterwards for years? Huh, talk about domestic terrorism. But has anyone thought if judges were put into place that ruled this way, how many other things might get overturned? Civil rights? Women’s rights? But John McCain fully stands behind the second amendment. I agree with that amendment as well, but how can you agree with part of the constitution and not the rest?

I applaud McCain and his wife for their adoption, and from the future Saint, Mother Teresa herself. What a wonderful thing to do, but why not adopt one of the thousand of children in America who need homes? Why not provide for a child in need in his home town- which ever home out of the 6 he chooses to call his home town. Why are those kids not good enough for him? But what about the people in America who are trying to provide for those kids? They want to provide loving homes with everything the child needs to grow up and succeed in life. Who cares if those people are of the same gender? We can not dictate to those people how to live their life (read the amendments above). If two people can provide the essentials for a happy home, who are we as a society to say they can not. Who are we to say that those people do not deserve all the benefits of being together? If they are viable members of society, they pay taxes, put money back into the economy, are involved in the community, why can we not afford them joint healthcare at no additional “partner” premium? Who are we or better yet who is John McCain to say that people of the same sex are not worthy of the descriptions of parents in raising children, or even a “married couple”? A parent is a person who chooses a stake in a young persons life to help ensure that child will grow up appreciative of what they have, of what their forefathers achieved for them, not just a man and a woman. I believe a married couple to be two people who have decided to live the remainder of their years together, through whatever may come, while loving one another and the people the cherish most. Not just a man and a woman.

I believe Barack Obama believes the same way. I believe he will champion the good fight. The just fight. The right fight. I believe he wants a better world for my children, his children, your children. I believe that he wants a world of tolerance, acceptance, and peace no matter what your walk of life. No matter who raised you. He champions a cause of choice. Choice of freedom that was fought for by our forefathers and that John McCain still clinches to for his answer for everything. Freedom to think, debate, provide, and mentor those around us who may not have the same rights being afforded to them. I appreciate John McCain for what he did for our country and I regret he had to suffer in a POW camp doing it, but I do not automatically think that his captivity makes him the best choice to lead us into a time of acceptance. A time of economic stability. A time of conservation. A time of education. A time of change.

U.S. "Losing" Afghanistan? ~ The difference between Obama and McCain

Richard Owl Mirror — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 11:38:02 EDT

101 GIs Killed; U.S. "Losing" Afghanistan?

Taliban insurgents once derided as a ragtag rabble unable to match U.S. troops have transformed into a fighting force - one advanced enough to mount massive conventional attacks and claim American lives at a record pace.

The U.S. military suffered its 101st death of the year in Afghanistan last week when Sgt. 1st Class David J. Todd Jr., a 36-year-old from Marrero, La., died of gunfire wounds while helping train Afghan police in the northwest. The total number of U.S. dead last year - 111 - was a record itself and is likely to be surpassed.

Top U.S. generals, European presidents and analysts say the blame lies to the east, in militant sanctuaries in neighboring Pakistan. As long as those areas remain havens where fighters arm, train, recruit and plot increasingly sophisticated ambushes, the Afghan war will continue to sour.

"The U.S. is now losing the war against the Taliban," Anthony Cordesman, of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote in a report Thursday. A resurgent al Qaeda, which was harbored by the Taliban in the years before the Sept. 11 attacks, could soon follow, Cordesman warned.

Continued . . .

Afghanistan ~ Pakistan

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Afghan/Pakistan is central front war on terror

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Joe Biden on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan (Part 1)

Joe Biden on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan (Part 2)

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McCain = War

McCain "Bush on steroids"

Pat Buchanan:"McCain will make Cheney look like Gandhi"

McCain Thinks Iraq Borders Pakistan

McCain: Bringing Troops Home "Not Too Important"

Countdown: McCain-"Not too Important" when Troops Come Home

John McCain on Pakistan and Iran

John McCain Iraq War Argument ~@~ In this video, Sen McCain says the majority of citizens are wrong to be demanding an end to the war in Iraq. Then goes on to say, a President doesn't need to follow those wishes, opting to weather the wrath until voted out of office.

That is an important statement when broken down and comprehended outside the flow of his speech.

Primary responsibility @ .45 second mark thru 1.45

He has told the American people beforehand, that he will do as he sees fit regardless if that matches the will of the people.

McCain's POW Defense: Devaluing Our Service and His Own

A vote for Senator John McCain is a vote for sustained and expanding conflict from the moment he becomes President and Commander in Chief until the day, four years later he vacates the office. Make no mistake, Sen McCain is not seeking the Presidency of the United States! He is seeking the role of Commander in Chief.

McCain: A History of Being Wrong About Al Qaeda, Iraq and Iran

John McCain Has Consistently Neglected Afghanistan

The American people must ask themselves, do they truly intend to elect an eager War time Commander in Chief ? A War time Commander in Chief who doesn't fully comprehend any of the facts yet, rules by gut instinct and a spine of steel once a decision is made ? The American electorate must be aware of the awesome responsibility their vote has on this nations future.

Personally, I prefer to elect a President who, when necessary, wields the power of the Commander in Chief. I want a full time President who is willing and able to lead this nation, not a Commander in Chief who delegates the running of this nation into the hands of his friends.

Senator John McCain is a One Trick Pony, he desires, even covets the position and authority of the Commander in Chief.

Foreign Policy expert Brzezinski discusses his support of Barack Obama

Al Gore Endorses Barack Obama in Detroit, MI

Kennedy Endorsements of Barack Obama

Barack Obama: Judgement to Lead

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Vote wisely and propose the same to your friends and families.

Why retired Generals and Admirals support Barack Obama

It's a matter of temperament !

Sick and tired of all the politics as usual

Rick — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 12:19:05 EDT

Hi all!

It's a wonderful day today isn't it? Joe Biden will surely strengthen our chances to get elected in November so in January 2009 we can start to turn our great nation around from all the devastation Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney have caused it over the last 8 years. Man, it actually feels like those two guys have been around a lot longer hasn't it? I mean, I've lost three jobs since they took office due to "economic downturns" in the companies I worked for. 3 JOBS!!! And, the first job I lost, I had been ther for over 12 years! Why did most Amercians vote those two back into office anyway at the last election? What were they all thinking? ARGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!

Anyway, to get back on point, we can now look forward to a different future, thanks to Barack Obama and Joe Biden. They both know both sides of what life can be like, poor and wealthy, and that goes a long way in my book! They won't forget the "liitle" guy and will fight for everyone's right to a decent life and bring back fundemental truths and ways as The United States of America government has seemingly long since forgotten.

Every American LEGAL citizen must put forward their own strengths to help these two gentlemen to restore faith, security and honesty in government for our people to survive and overturn what the last eight years of torture has done to us.

LET'S ALL FIGHT BACK NOW and win this election overwhelmingly! John McCain will just continue Mr. Bush's policies and provide more endless torture, even though John McCain is a great American Hero and knows what torture is like unfortunately. He won't be able to help it. That's because he'll be listening to Goerge Senior and George Junior and Mr. Cheney as consultants, I'm sure of it!

NO WAY! WE JUST WON'T TAKE THAT ANYMORE! WE ALL NEED SECURITY FOR OUR FAMILIES AND OURSELVES NOW AND IN THE FUTURE, DON'T YOU THINK?

Have a great weekend!

Talk again next week!

Sincerely,

Frederic Staley Ray

Will Senator Obama address the HIA 2008 Convention ?

Richard Owl Mirror — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:29:50 EDT

The 15th Annual HIA Convention & Annual General Meeting will be held on Sunday and Monday, October 19-20, 2008 at the Best Western Roundhouse Suites in Boston, Massachusetts, USA - directly after Natural Products Expo East & BioFach America. (Directly after Natural Products Expo East & BioFach America.)

Please click here for more information.

This schedule is preliminary and subject to change as plans develop.

Featured Speakers:

Mario Machnicki, Managing Director, American Limetec: Hemcrete® and the Potential Market for Hemp in Building Construction
Adam Eidinger, Mintwood Media: PR Tactics for Small Businesses
Bernd Frank, Managing Director BaFa GmbH, Malsch, Germany: Industrial Hemp in the EU: Experiences and Future Prospects
Barbara Filippone, Envirotextiles: Hemp Textiles Update
Carl Hedberg, Consultant & Editor: The Entrepreneurial Mindset in Mission-Driven Enterprises (based on the top-selling book on entrepreneurship of the same name)
Gero Leson, Leson & Associates, Berkeley, CA: Nutritional Assessment of Hemp Foods and the TestPledge Program
Amy Shollenberger, Rural Vermont: The "Hemp for Vermont" Bill: How to Successfully Pass State Hemp Legislation
Christina Volgyesi, Living Harvest: The Hemp Foods Market & Consumer Studies Update

For Hemp Industries Association members only.

Please join now if you are not yet a member.

Please support Vote Hemp, our sister organization and Co-op America

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Industrial Hemp Legislation to Cultivate, Study and Support

Industrial Hemp is currently legal to grow in more than 30 countries including Canada, Germany, England, France, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, the Russian Federation, China, Hungary and Romania. For more information on where hemp is being grown today, click here.

Many U.S. states have passed legislation to grow, study or request changes in U.S. government policy on industrial hemp. To date, twenty-six states have introduced hemp legislation and fourteen have passed legislation; seven (Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia) have removed barriers to its production or research.

Hawaii has not only passed hemp legislation allowing for hemp trials but has actually planted the first legal hemp crop since the 1950s! The Hawaii Industrial Hemp Research Project was authorized for research under the direction of Dr. Dave West. It has since been closed due to DEA shenanigans and problems renewing the DEA permit.

For the first time since the federal government outlawed hemp farming in the United States, a federal bill has been introduced that would remove restrictions on the cultivation of non-psychoactive industrial hemp. H.R. 3037, the "Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2005," was written with the help of Vote Hemp by chief sponsor Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), and several original co-sponsors have already signed on. The bill defines industrial hemp and assigns authority over it to the states, allowing laws in those states regulating the growing and processing of industrial hemp to take effect.

For more information and a complete summary of state and federal hemp legislation, click here to visit the Vote Hemp Web site.

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Hemp is Business: A Wealth of Products & Supreme Versatility

Click here for a listing of products from HIA companies. These represent just the beginning of a huge wealth of possible items that can be manufactured from hemp.

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The American economy is losing out on a huge opportunity because of bias by the American Federal Government. Industrial Hemp Farming could offer our nation a domestic agricultural bonanza with this one crop being usable by a wide-randing manufacturing customer base.

Last night I made a series of purchases of the products displayed below.

Sashmill: 100% Hemp Button Down Shirt

Horizon Long Sleeve Tee

Hemp Jean in 100% Hemp...True Yarn Dyed Denim

The products above are constructed from Hemp, imported from countries such as Canada and England.

California Hemp Legislation 2007
Hemp Bill AB 1147 Vetoed by the Gubernator in Oct. 2006, but has been re-introduced as AB 684 in 2007. He vetoed this one as well.

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No Sweat Hemp High-Top

100% vegan, sweat-shop free and environmentally-friendly as well. The 100% hemp upper of this sneaker was organically grown, then thoroughly washed to give it a smooth and bright look and feel. No Sweat brand manufactures union-made footwear.

Hemp Tri-fold Wallet with Inca Design

This wallet is 100% hemp and comes in natural with a tribal band design.

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Each of the products above cost me equal to any comparable product. Each of these products are made by imported Hemp, except for the shoes as those are manufactured in Europe.

The American Farmer, as well as every citizen who would be willing and able to start a small business which could utilize this domestically grown commodity are being deprived of their opportunity to produce this LIST of PRODUCTS below.

Accessories back packs, bags, beanies, belts, briefcases, caps, checkbook covers, gloves, guitar straps, hair ties, hats (knit, crocheted & fabric), hip packs, jewelry, luggage, purses, scarves, shawls, shoe laces, shoes, socks, ties, travel kits, wallets, watchbands

Animal Care beds, bedding, feed, leashes & collars, treats

Apparel baby clothes, bathrobes, dresses, jackets, jeans, lingerie, overalls, pants, shirts, shorts, skirts, suits, sweaters, tees

Body Care hair conditioners, lip balms, lipsticks, lotions, massage oils, nutritional oils, salves, shampoos, soaps, tanning lotions

Foods beer, breads, brownies, burgers, chips, chocolate bars, coffees, cookies, defatted hempseed meal, shelled hempseeds, dry mixes - cake, cookie, pancake & pizza dough, energy bars, flour, hummus, ice cream (non-dairy desserts), nut bars, nut-butter, oil, pasta, pretzels, protein powders, roasted seeds, salad dressings, spiced hemp seeds

Housewares aprons, blankets, curtains, couch covers, dish cloths, furniture, hammocks, potholders, pillows, placemats, napkins, shower curtains, tablecloths, towels, washcloths

Paper art papers, bond, bookmarks, books, cigarette papers, corrugated board, envelopes, invitations, journals, magazines, postcards, posters, stationery, writing pads, books, magazines, newsletters, research papers

Raw Hemp bast fiber, batting (tow), long fiber (line or sliver) for industry & craft use, hurds (core), seed stock, seed grain

Sports Equipment basketball nets, frisbees, hackie sacks, skateboards, snowboards, surfboards

Spun Hemp twine, rope, yarn, webbing, thread

Textiles hand-woven & mill-loomed fabrics: blended silks to canvas, various weights & textures, colors, patterns, stripes & plaids; knits; finishing services; non-woven matting (replacing fiberglass); carpets & rugs

Other dolls, candles, coffee filters, drums, picture frames, teddy bears, toys

~@~

Please contact your Representative and assure them it is OK to talk about a revival of the Industrial Hemp Industry in America. I believe Representatives in Congress keep this subject at arms length simply because they believe it is linked to it's cousin, Marijuana and, they are fearful of a backlash from the voters for a perception of being Pro-marijuana.

Here is an interesting and enlightening assortment of hemp facts:

Questions about Industrial Hemp?

How is industrial hemp used?

Basic Uses of Industrial Hemp: Food, Fuel, Fiber
by Mari Kane

Does the U.S. allow hemp farming?Only non-viable seeds are legal in the U.S. without a DEA permit, and thus our farmers cannot realistically grow hemp. To see what is being done by the industry, and what you can do, to allow our farmers the economic opportunity to grow industrial hemp, click here.

Discovery: Project Earth ~ are you bold enough to change the World ?

Richard Owl Mirror — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:44:55 EDT

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/project-earth/project-earth.html

Discovery Project Earth ~ Watch Fridays, starting Aug. 22 at 9 p.m. ET/PT

You've heard the dire warnings and seen the detailed slide shows, and you've even bought that lightbulb with the swirls. You wonder, though, how can small, individual measures like switching to CFLs and using canvas grocery bags in lieu of plastic be enough to save the planet? Tune in to Discovery Project Earth and watch as some of the world's leading scientists put the most ambitious geo-engineering ideas to the test in order to tackle global climate change.

~@~

I am posting this announcement in the hope you might plan ahead and watch this program, starting tomorrow, Aug. 22 at 9 p.m. ET/PT

Gather your children, if you are so blessed, and use this as an educational opportunity. Teach your children how everyone can decide for themselves, whether they can do anything or if they should even bother.

If anything, it certainly looks entertaining with loads of excitement and Discovery .

While you are waiting for tomorrow to arrive, perhaps you or your children would enjoy learning something new while having fun at the same time ? Get the kids involved early and they will anxiously await 9 p.m. tomorrow night.

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/project-earth/puzzles/puzzles.html

Information at any age can lead to life-changing decisions. I imagine a child somewhere in the United States, watching a show like this and deciding on their own to not toss that piece of paper or plastic on the ground with careless abandon.

Maybe you will find yourself joining me and take a permanent shopping bag to the store, foregoing a plethora of cheap plastic bags which are thrown away once emptied.

Motivational Note

Friends of President Barack Obama — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:19:02 EDT

Even though it may not look like it or feel like it, you are making progress.

Continue working towards progress instead of perfection.

Nothing or no no one is perfect.

Just keep taking steps.

Keep making those phone calls.

Continue following your plan.

Remain focused on your goal.

Do what you have to do right now to get to the next level.

Complete every task.

Keep every promise and commitment.

Don't look back.

Stay on track.

Let no one weaken your walk of faith and determination.

Remain teachable.

Place yourself in a blessing position by associating with people on-the-grow.

Talk with teachers.

Walk with winners.

Climb with champions.

Study successful people.

Something great is about to happen for you!

Start giving thanks right now before you can even see the outward manisfestation of your prayers and desires.

Everything you do from this day forward will take you further away or closer to your potential for successful living.

-by Dr. Jewel Diamond Taylor, Motivational Speaker & Author

Father for Obama's Family Values

John from Midpines, CA — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:55:15 EDT

I’ve been active in political and issue campaigns for the last 20 years, but everything changed for me two years ago, when I became a father of Rosie.

We didn’t enter into the possibility of parenthood lightly. Rosie would be born, after all, into a world wracked by multiple wars and severe climate changes, in a country drowning in debt, disasters and despair. To consciously attempt to bring a child into such a world requires one to believe that a better, restored, more peaceful and humane world is possible. Such hope, someone once said, is a job requirement of parenthood. So is action.

The feeling of love that opens wide when a child is born surely is a force more powerful than any other. I know this is true for mothers and fathers everywhere. We all share a deep desire, fueled by that love, for our children to be safe, healthy and able to fulfill their potential. So when I see or read an account of a child killed or maimed by a bomb in Iraq, or dying tragically of a preventable disease in Africa, I can comprehend the enormity of their parents’ sorrow.

Shortly after Rosie was born, I started to hear talk of Barack Obama running for President. The more I listened, the more I heard words that spoke to my concerns, and hopes, as a father -- words like these, delivered in a foreign policy address in Chicago in October, 2007:

I'm running for the presidency of the United States of America so that together we can do the hard work to seek a new dawn of peace and prosperity for our children, and for the children of the world.

Imagine for a moment having a foreign policy driven by the well-being of all children, rather than say, control of Middle East oil reserves. Might such an approach not increase the number of friends we have around the world in proportion to the number of enemies that we have been creating under the disastrous mis-leadership of Bush, Cheney and Co?

If our country provides education or health care to a child, we will likely earn the gratitude of their parents for life. If, on the other hand, we kill a child (the Iraq War has killed tens of thousands of children), we create sorrow, anger and increase the odds that our children and we will be the target of revenge. To prove this, imagine that the roles of American and Iraqis were reversed, that your child has been helped or harmed by the benevolence or violence of a more powerful country. Compassion and generosity would do more to "win" the "war on Terrorism" than bombing and killing ever will. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "you can kill the hater, but you can't kill the hate."

The solution? Here is a suggestion from Sen. Obama, given as part of his “A More Perfect Union” speech in Philadelphia:

In the end, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.

It turns out that the answer, the Golden Rule, is the same as it ever was. It’s just that now the stakes are higher than ever.

So here’s a call to all you mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts and uncles to join together in doing unto ALL children, as we would have their parents do unto our children. Let us raise our children to see all children as part of their global family; as friends to meet, not enemies to fear or kill. Let us demand that our governments pursue peace, and use money saved from war to take care of all children and our planet. Let us demand that the United States join with virtually every other country of the world, including Iraq and Iran, in providing paid maternal leave for new mothers!

In the most recent issue of Time magazine, Barack Obama wrote an essay titled “Changing Hearts and Minds, in which he said:

We can’t just talk about “family values.” We actually have to stand up for policies that value families.

Amen. It’s time to redefine family values indeed. Let’s start by electing Barack Obama, a father whose policies would actually value families for a change.

John Friedrich, A Father for Obama

p.s. I’m hosting a “Families for Obama” Rally (and play date for Obama-kids) at the Children’s Museum of Denver on Tuesday, August 26th . For more information, or to RSVP, please visit:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/44cj4

Introductions

Robby-o — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:42:02 EDT

Hi,

My name is Robert Matusevich, and I have no idea why i signed up for this site, other than the fact that I'm hoping to see a change in my country. To give you some insight into my background; I am 27 Years old, living in PA and working for a Non-Profit in Philadelphia. I am young (relatively speaking), I am an idealist, and I am voting for Senator Barack Obama in the upcoming election.

I watch BBC, FOX, and CNN. I listen to NPR, and Limbaugh. I try to listen to both the extreme left, and the extreme right so that i may make my decisions feeling that i have heard both sides fairly. I enjoy The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and to some extent, The O'Reilly Factor, as i feel that all three are humorous caricatures of what an editorial should be (some more intentionally than others).

Outside of the political world, I enjoy a variety of music, sports, and movies. I have a girlfriend named Chelsea, and a dog named Bailey. I consider myself to be lucky and happy, but I also want to work to improve things in America.

I hope that this gave you somewhat of a better understanding of who I am and where I come from. I hope to be able to share my thoughts as the mood strikes me, and I hope that at least some of you will find my input valuable (or at least readable).

If you would like to know more about me, feel free to check out

http://www.myspace.com/robby_o

Thanks!

Rob

Barack Obama, to me, for us, with hope, dignity and truth.

Duane Kuehn — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:56:58 EDT

     A young man stepped up to the podium at the 2004 Democrat's National Convention to give a speech. A riveting speech it was. He touched the heart, the mind and the soul as he spoke of the civil rights of all Americans. About the need to take back our government, to change the way government operates and make it transparent to the people once more.

     That we ARE one nation and should refuse those who would tear us apart for their own political gain. That we are a diverse nation, Latin’s, Blacks, Whites and every shade in between. Members of various religious creeds, races, and individuals along the vast spectrum of sexuality financial capability. That we are God’s diversity and in our diversity is our true strength. That we are a house divided by political mudslinging and lies. That we must come together as a house united. Not mentioning what we all know, that a house divided can only fall.

     A "Keynote Address" he was giving too, a message of hope for the future, its unarguable truth unheard of in modern politics. I was glued to my seat, listening as this man spoke. Reminding myself that we are so good at coming together for one another in times of tragedy. Knowing that the current Bush/Cheney Administration itself was a tragedy of our proud heritage.

     His speech was in favor of John Kerry and we watched as a group, now indicted for their actions, called the “Swift-boat Veterans” slung heaps of lies and mud upon one honored veteran; and in doing so slung mud upon every veteran in the grand military history of this country. The people we swayed by the mud, untruth and spread of fear which would never come to be. He advocated John Kerry and John Kerry lost the election.

     Giving us four more years of economic decline, military bumbling, an oil consortium growing rich as the rest grew poorer. But for the rich, like Warren Buffet who, upon receiving his $395 million dollar tax break said he didn’t ask for it, he certainly didn’t need it. The other wealthy were not so forthcoming as another four years of feeding the rich at the expense of every hard working American.

     But, the average American was also rewarded with tax breaks. Little did they suspect that they would pay dearly much more than they received. The Bush administration stood tall and proudly demanded that the dollar was strong, the economy on the upswing, as they had for four years prior. No one seemed to pay much attention that the dollar, for seven straight years, had been continually falling on the world market. The world market being the true barometer of a national economy, though the elite like to confuse things with GNP and deficit spending or consumer buying.

     For six years, George Bush replaced “unemployment” with “unemployment rolls”, a smooth move. “The unemployment rolls are down this month”, not mentioning that the unemployment rolls are reduced each month that any unemployed person’s benefits have run-out. They didn’t get jobs, they just were off the rolls. When they did get jobs, it was usually making much less money than they had been.

     Seven, going on eight, years of deceitfulness and blatant lies in government, all allowed by an obviously controlled press. Yes, you can fool all of the people some of the time. Even for eight years running.

     This man who gave that keynote address speech that was so riveting. His name, we know, is Barack Obama.

     I watched him over the years and yes, he fulfills his promises. He acts in a bipartisan manner and even produced the most compelling ethics laws that the State of Illinois has ever seen. In the United States Senate, he began to open the government, in spite of George Bush's disabling of the Freedom of Information Act.

     He recently created a huge stir with his support of the new FISA legislation. Though fulfilling his promise to fight to have the immunity provision removed, it remained in the bill, as expected. The rewrite of this FISA bill itself, reins in Bush's domestic surveillance but allows for International surveillance, so long as an American citizen is not involved in what is espied.

     That the PAA was to expire in August and Bush had already demanded that he would veto another extension, the passing of this bill is necessary. Add the fact that it was known that this bill would pass the Senate with little friction, I must wonder. Why did Barack Obama support it when it would pass with or without his vote? The only answer is that there was an "Old-School" trade-off.

     You see, Obama knew that his support would create a wave of unrest in his supporters but said, "I will take my lumps". What nobody seemed to be watching at the time is that, probably the most important financial and health legislation was also going through the Senate, a Medicare bill that Bush promised to veto.

     A number of Republican's oddly did an about face and approved the new Medicare legislation. John McCain the only Senator absent for the vote (but he has a history of being absent from the Senate floor for his entire career more than any other Senator anyway). Ted Kennedy, recover ing from brain surgery even made an appearance, casting the deciding vote, which made the legislation veto-proof. Hence, I believe that Obama put himself on the line for an "Old-School" trade-off. He is, after all, only a Senator and must work within the system. I think that everyone might understand that.

     I almost forgot the "Change" thing. Yes, "Change" has been used in many campaigns before. However, contrary to what many people claim, Barack Obama defines "Change" if one reads his proposals or listens to his speeches it is all there.

     Open (called now, "transparency") Government is Barack Obama's "Change". A change in how government operates. A reopening of the doors that have been closed as government operates behind them. Promising executive order to reverse many of those Bush put into effect. Like George's lengthening the President Act that the activities of Presidents would not be public knowledge for a full 25 years! Moreover, reversing the executive orders Bush used to disable the Freedom of Information Act. Barack also promises to correct George Bush's extension of the "National Security" classification to include what Cheney had for lunch at a public restaurant. (My joke, me bad.)

     I hope that everyone recognizes that Barack Obama does bring us a new Hope. That the "movement" part of his campaign is the promise to Change the way that a government we have come to mistrust, operates. This from a man whose political history is the "proof in the pudding" that he keeps his word.

     I watch now as the McCain campaign begins to smear tactics. Slinging lies blatantly into the media which devours them like Adam and Eve devoured the Fruit of the Garden. I wonder how many people will be swayed into believing these lies and campaigning spins.

    I hope very few.

Loveya,
Duane Kuehn

Time for the youth to rise...

Stephanie Madrid — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:31:16 EDT

I have to say....this is absolutely amazing, what Obama is doing to change the way people think about the effect they can have on the government. He has been such an inspiration to many people who dream of something bigger, something better. God has always been a big part of my life, and I beleive that with his help, I was able to do something BIG! Something HUGE.

This summer I started this organization, (still no 501c3, but soon)... www.myspace.com/obama4pres2008

I urge anyone reading this, to go to the site and show your support.

THE YOUTH IS THE FUTURE.

Stephanie Madrid

Barack Obama is Changing Politics Like the Beatles Changed Music

Ryan Kauffman in Portland — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:57:24 EDT

Everybody loves The Beatles right? Well, duh. They were great. And so were most of the bands of their generation. But it was the music that came some time after them that really showed us how much we lost when John, Paul, George and Ringo pressed Abbey Road and went their separate ways. The same is true of Barack Obama. He is going to be an amazing leader and will inspire a generation of leadership all around the world. The catch is that thirty years from now, when he is gone from the public scene, we may wish that he had never shown us how to meld politics and marketing into such a successful venture.

Energy Policy

Terry DuBose — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:08:00 EDT

Conservatives continue to call for drilling and burning all of our domestic petroleum now; how does that support national security? Why is it that anti-environmental conservatives cannot see that in less than 100 years the world has passed the global “oil production peak.” The peak was passed in the last four years according to the International Energy Agency. The situation will worsen as China, India, and other developing nations attempt to raise their standards of living to what we have been fortunate to enjoy. Folks, the easy ride is over. If we burn up all the domestic petroleum (ANWR, off shore & anything else we can find), then what do we do? President Carter told us 30 years ago, “Our decision about energy will test the character of the American people and the ability of the President and the Congress to govern. This difficult effort will be the ‘moral equivalent of war’.” Of course the Republicans did not listen then either. Have they no care or concern for their grandchildren? It is time to support conservation, and alternative, renewable energy with our tax dollars; like the Republicans supported tax breaks for 6000 lb. vans, pickups and SUVs in 2003. We need to slow down, use mass-transit, and walk more. We and the Earth will be healthier for it. Peace, Terry J. DuBose

Let the US lead the transition to the carbon-free economy!

Celebrate350! — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:45:23 EDT

Join in asking Senator Obama to lead on Gore's challenge of 100% carbon free power in ten years.

Choose a coal-free running mate, please!

The upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is 350 ppm. We're above that now. An international grassroots climate movement, 350.org, is spreading the word: we need to get back to 350.

Everyone can help, with creative ideas, inspiring actions, beautiful art.

Comment below to join in asking: Senator Obama, what's your 350 action?