Posts with the tag values

From Plato to Obama

Emilijan from Brooklyn, NY — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:35:56 EDT

The United States is unique among developed nations in defining its raison d’être ideologically. It has been American fate as a nation not to have ideologies but to be one. American liberalism of the eighteenth century was essentially the rebellion against the monarchical and aristocratic state – against hereditary privilege, against restrictions on bargains. Its Lockean spirit was essentially anarchistic. It was the anti-state. Fighting against a centralized monarchical state the founding fathers distrusted a strong unified government. The first American Constitution – the Articles of Confederation – did not even provide for a federal executive. Authority was placed in Congress, which had limits on its power. The United States of America may be said to be the only country in the world, which was founded in explicit opposition to Machiavellian principles – to the power of the Prince.

Where’s That Tax Cut?

Don — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:34:09 EDT

We’re still waiting for our middle class cut Mr. President. Huh??? We’ve already gotten our tax cut but most people don’t know that because the White House hasn’t hammered the message home. President Obama has delivered a tax cut for 95% of working Americans but Republicans are still drowning us in noisy claims that the president is raising taxes.

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The New Poor

LOL — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 07:39:14 EST

A story that examplifies the current economicsituation. I was on work assignment in a southern city. I was riding along with a couple of friends I had met from other places around the US. One of them spotted a beggar in the middle of the medium. He made a comment like, “You mean to tell me that guy can stand on the medium all day but he can’t get a job?” I was in the process of slamming on my breaks to stop next to him. The cars occupants were ushering me on out of some form of embarrassment. The one guy says to me, “were you really going to give that guys money?” I said “No way!” Confused I explained to them that I was going to ask him, “What are your financial secrets to success?”

Amazingly that didn’t get any one of them less confused. I explained, “that guy is much wealthier then I am.” There is no way that guy can get credit with no job. What he has is all his. Now me, I have a house mortgage the bank owns, School loan the government owns, two car loans the credit union owns, and $15,000 In credit card debt that I own. If the banks called in both of our accounts at the same time (mine and the street beggar), he would be around $180,000 richer then I am. Each day I slip a little further behind him. Each dollar puts him further ahead. I think the general consensus was that I was smoking something and should really share. I am used to that.

Can we say Goodbye to the "Bradley Effect"????

Robert S. — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:02:12 EST

As much as I love listening to NPR, I'm tired of hearing folks refer to a "Bradley Effect". While I know there are prejudiced people in this country, I thought that Barack's success in primaries and caucuses in places like Iowa, Vermont, Montana, etc. would have put this theory to rest. I thought that voters across the country already demonstrated that a candidate's voice, vision and values matter more than one's skin color or ancestry.

Make History

Ellen — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:06:18 EST

"Sometimes" by Sheenagh Pugh

Sometimes things don't go, after all,
from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,
sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.

A people sometimes will step back from war;
elect an honest man; decide they care enough,
that they can't leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born for.

Sometimes our best efforts do not go amiss;
sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
that seemed hard frozen: may it happen to you.

Make "Sometime" this time. Vote for Barack Obama. Mske history and change the world for the better of all.

Some thoughts for positive change.

Lynn from Healdsburg, CA — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:35:52 EDT

Change. Following are some of my thoughts for Change intended to benefit both our Country as well as our Planet: I'd like to see some real change - why not have a "team" of four rather than a President and a Vice President. Who made those rules? I imagine they could be updated for the betterment of our country. "Four minds are better than one," was said for a reason. I think that the four of you, (Obama, Biden, McCain and Palin,) would make a solid, strong, well-rounded team with all of your different strengths and areas of expertise you could bring to the table. So the democrats want one thing and the republicans want another - why not do away with the democrat and the republican parties and have one United Leaders party - with a team of two representing each political philosophy. That way the best democratic ideas and the best republican ideas are more likely to be implemented and accepted. You all have several similar beliefs and visions for our country and those areas where there is disagreement - what better way is there than to come up with the best solutions for our Country through working as a team - aiming to come up with the best solutions possible - and for all parties concerned. This would be Change. The time is right - especially if truly, "We are the ones we've been waiting for."

Just think - all the campaign money funding the debates between the democrat and republican parties could go towards some very important needs. For instance:

1. Education: A teaching position should be one of the top jobs in our country with continual updating of their credentials and no ten year.

2. Alternative clean energy development and incentives; providing US jobs, protecting our planet, diluting our foreign oil dependance and by decreasing the pollution, limiting the over-taxing of the health care system with pollution-caused illness and disease.

3. Better healthcare for Americans with a closer eye kept on the drugs being administered so often so carelessly and more focus on alternative healthcare solutions.

4. Assisting those whose livelihood depends on the production of plastic bags in finding an alternative occupation or in transitioning into producing a non-disposable replacement. The plastic bags are accumulating into islands of plastic rubbage in our oceans and killing the sea life. Somebody with the authority to do so needs to take a stand and just say STOP. I don't think messing so much with our oceans is such a great idea - with their strong tides and partnership with the moon. Those two reasons alone is reason enough to treat them with much more gratitude and respect. There is a reason the farmers used to, (and I'm sure some still do,) go by the moon's cycles for optimizing their crop yields. We are harming our Mother Earth and leaving her damaged for our children. Shame on us, but even more so if we don't listen to her now!

I am certainly hoping for some positive change in what people value most. The current economic downtown is a blessing in disguise - people have become too unattached from mother earth and the more unattached we as a whole become, the harder her lessons will necessarily be. Nature always prevails - it's people and animals who die. Quality of life depends on quality of our values - not on how much we can buy and how much we have.

Hope someone hears this! If so, thank you for listening!

Voting my Values

Melissa — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:05:21 EDT

I am a committed Christian and a proud supporter of the Obama-Biden campaign. As a United Methodist, the roots of my Weslyan tradition are centered on my relationship with Christ while working for peace and social justice.

After hearing Senator Obama's speech that he presented at the 2004 Democratic Convention and later reading his book, "The Audicity of Hope," I became convinced that his integrity, messages of unity and his wisdom are exactly what our country needs right now as we grapple with issues of war and peace and economic stability.

Senator Obama understands the needs of the poor. He grew up without wealth and worked in poor communities, helping people recognize and utilize the resources that could help them make a better life. As President, Barack Obama will work to make health care accessible to everyone - not just as a privilege for those with means. He and Joe Biden have led with values and conviction on issue after issue. Obama and Biden believe in being a good steward of the environment, personal responsibility, lifting up the poor, and a responsible foreign policy.

Perhaps most importantly, they will change the culture of deception and greed in Washington. They will help us engage in our own democracy - empowering us to make changes in our own communities.

These are the ideals that speak to my faith and our highest calling as a nation.

Senator Obama will be a President who will unite the American people, instead of dividing them for political gain. He has shown an extraordinary capacity to seek the common good, and that is what our country needs right now.

I’m going to vote all my values, not just one or two. That’s why I am proud to be a supporter of Senator Obama and Senator Biden and I urge all people of faith who want to see their values reflected in their government to support the Obama-Biden ticket.

Why I'm Voting for Barack Obama

Lynne from Miami, FL — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:54:57 EDT

A while back I received an anonymous email from a McCain supporter, in which he questioned why anyone would vote for Obama. This was my reply.
...................................................

Hi XXX,

My name is Lynne, and I can tell you why I'm voting for Barack Obama. Enumerating each of the many reasons is the difficult part.

First and foremost, I am voting for Barack Obama because I have children and grandchildren, and I love my planet dearly. We are members of the global community, and my intention is to protect my family, my brethren throughout the world, all inhabitants of our magnificent earth, and this majesty with which we've been blessed.

I am ready for a president who is smarter than me. I am ready for a leader who not only respects the constitution, but understands it, cherishes it, models his behavior on its very tenets, and can recite every passage, as he has many times in his twelve years of teaching constitutional law.

I am adamant about electing a calm, level headed, deep thinking, individual who is a master of negotiation and has the sensibility to win over enemies with his gift of diplomacy.

I need a leader who is committed to alternative energies and regards the planet, as well as the facts when he makes policy. I will choose a candidate who will bring balance to the Supreme Court, rather than secure it as a bastion of right wing extremists for generations to come. I trust a man who refuses lobbyist influence as opposed to one whose campaign and prospective cabinet wreaks of Washington's most high profile lobbyists, yet who claims to be a maverick and reformer.

My candidate will do everything possible to protect the social security in which I've invested my whole adult life, and will not ask me to risk the loss of everything with privatization. My president will not ask my loved ones to dodge bullets and bombs in preemptive wars, and will not invade Iran as a first option rather than the last. If and when war becomes the only choice, his advisors will not be paid lobbyists for the government we choose to protect (i.e. Georgia).

Difference between a Governor Hockey Mom and a Pitbull? $11,000/week lipstick bill

Dave — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 12:39:54 EDT

Turns out that Gov Palin's $150,000 outfit bill, ran up in less than two months, is not the only make-over expense that is draining McCain's campaign coffers. Now we learn that the highest paid staffer on the McCain payroll is Palin's hair stylist @ an annual salary of $557,000 per year!!!

With Obama having leads in numerous battle ground states (PA, VA, CO, FL, NH, etc) and Bush strongholds up for grabs (FL, MO, IN, NV, NC) and Obama out spending and out staffing McCain 3-to-1 in these states, one must question McCain's judgment for not only picking Palin in the first instance, who's dearth of experience is glaring, but also for his decision to make a proverbial runway model caricature out of the governor of Alaska.

From the NY Times:

Chief Make-up Advisor and "Communications Consultant" to McCain's Campaign: Amy Strozzi

"Ms. Strozzi, who was nominated for an Emmy award for her makeup work on the television show “So You Think You Can Dance?”, was paid $22,800 for the first two weeks of October alone, according to the records. The campaign categorized Ms. Strozzi’s payment as “Personnel Svc/Equipment.”

Chief Hair Stlyist Advisor, Get-Out-the-Vote Consultant, and Cindy McCain BFF: Angela Lew

Angela Lew, who is Ms. Palin’s traveling hair stylist, got $10,000 for “Communications Consulting” in the first half of October. Ms. Lew’s address listed in F.E.C. records traces to an Angela M. Lew in Thousands Oaks, Calif., which matches with a license issued by the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. The board said Ms. Lew works at a salon called Hair Grove in Westlake Village, Calif.
W Magazine’s blog reported earlier this month that “the Guv has been traveling with a hairstylist named Angela, who usually works out of a salon called the Hair Grove,” and that she was directed to the salon by none other than Cindy McCain.

We need no additional proof that McCain's judgment is critically flawed, his twisted priorities are wrong for the nation, and he values are terribly out of touch with suffering American middle class.

Focus on: Ohio People of Faith for Obama

Michael in Ohio — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:00:42 EDT

Millions of people of faith have found hope and promise in Barack's candidacy. Mandy, of Chillicothe, is just one of those people. She wrote this letter to the editor in the Chillicothe Gazette, which clearly and beautifully articulates why she as a person of faith supports Barack:

OBAMA CAN PROVIDE WHAT WE PRAY FOR

As a Christian and a member of this community, I would like to publicly show my support for Barack Obama.
My answer to why Obama is the clear choice if very simple. God does many works through man, I'm sure most of you will agree. We pray daily for the poor, the homeless, and the ones who go without health care and who have lost their jobs. We pray for their suffering to end and for God to lead them from their troubles into a time of prosperity.
God answers prayers, but it's not always the answer we were expecting.
Obama has a means to an end for so many of the things that we pray for. Many times there are mountains that we must climb before we can achieve what God has prepared for us. I truly believe that this campaign is just one of those mountains.
It is refreshing to see a Democrat like Barack Obama embrace his Christian faith and talk about how it inspires his commitment to public service. Like Gov. Ted Strickland, he understands we are all our brother's keeper. We cannot be a great nation if we do not look out for the least fortunate among us.
But he also recognizes that we must demand that all Americans take responsibility for themselves and their families. It's nice to hear a politician talking about turning off the TV and reading to our children.
I think Obama has it right, and he's earned my support.

Is faith important to you? Does your belief system play a role in your support for Barack? Whether it does or it doesn't, people of faith in Ohio and across the country play a huge role in Barack's campaign. You can take your support to the next level.

Click HERE join Ohio People of Faith for Obama today.

At the sign up page, you have resources at your fingertips, including this video of Barack in Zanesville, in which he outlines his support for faith-based groups:

On the page you can also:

Read Barack's Faith Principles
Read Barack's renowned Call to Renewal Speech
Check out other faith resources, like one-pager and two-pagers for Catholics.

Join Ohio People of Faith for Obama right now.

Are you an Ohio person of faith for Obama? Let us know in the comments section below.

Day 1 Thirteen to Go

Robin Caldwell — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:22:52 EDT

I woke up this morning committed to writing this blog about the next two weeks. I woke up feeling the electricity and energy of a new day dawning. I felt change in the air.

The thought of waking up on November 5 to Barack Obama as president of the United States of America is an amazing and awesome one. I'm young enough to have hoped to see the first African American president in my lifetime but I hadn't given much thought to the probability until I was in the airport last night watching the faces of people listening to commentary about Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama. On some faces were grimaces and maybe some looks of hostility and disbelief. On other faces I saw joy and the hope I felt in my soul.

For the past twenty years or so, I've voted almost consistently Republican in presidential elections. I voted what I thought was my conscious based on moral beliefs. But it wasn't until Iraq that I began to see something I probably saw all along but didn't want to face or acknowledge -- I saw hypocrisy and no respect for my race within those circles. And race matters.

I also saw no regard for people in Republican politics, at least not a regard for the quality of life of people who struggle everyday to make ends meet. That's troubling and so not in line with my moral values. I believe we should care for the least of these.

At the same airport, I had to thank a young serviceman for his duty to this country and for his duty to me. He said, "That's okay, ma'am." And I said no it's not, you have no business over there.

I don't mind him being in the military. I come from a family where the men served in every branch of the service. I remember clearly hearing my great-grandmother say that her sons had to serve if called to serve or get out of her house. And guess what? Grandma James was a Democrat; a liberal to her core but she had a patriotism this country doesn't seem to get or understand.

It was in that same house where I learned that if I wanted to criticize the country or government, I had to register to vote and vote. I did and still do.

You know, I wonder how Grandma and my grandparents would feel about the days to come. About Barack Obama. About the first black president.

They'd probably feel like me: a little scared and hesitant and yet extremely proud.

First thought of the two weeks: I'm not voting Democrat, I'm voting Barack Obama.

~ Robin

From Plato to Obama - On Tradition and the American Constitution

EMILIAN — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:02:29 EDT

Voting in Florida..and me.

Tracy from Palm Coast, FL — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:36:27 EDT

You know, Barack Obama is the first candidate that has ever motivated me to vote. Granted, being 27 years old, I've only been able to vote for the 2 elections prior to this one, and after squandering my first two opportunities I've grown older, and wiser..and just care more.

We just moved to Florida about 2 months ago, and since my husband works an hour away and we only have one vehicle, I was worried about being able to cast my ballot. I asked my mother in law to borrow her car and I went today! My two smallest children in their stroller babbling away, I got in the long line at the library to vote..

I was saddened to see a bunch of people sporting "I support McCain/Palin" buttons. I tried talking to one of them before we went in, asking him why he supports the Republican ticket and he said "I've always been a Republican, they're the only party that supports my values." I asked him if his values involved higher tax cuts for large corporations. Cutting funding for people in need, such as people who need college grants, or state aid for families who don't make enough money working several jobs to support themselves. I told him that this is the first election I've ever cared about because we can't afford more of the exact same policies that we've had the last 8 years, and that if nothing else, I was voting for the Obama/Biden ticket for the future..my future, my children's future. That I want to be able to retire when I was his age and not work until I am 90. That I want my children to be able to do the same. That I want to see this country self sufficient, not in this ever increasing hole of national debt we are digging ourselves into..

Questions

Jim — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:26:04 EDT

I live in Winter Park Florida and over the years as I jog through the area during an election I see a lot of political yard signs that usually strongly favor who ever is Republican. This time there are less McCain/Palin signs then one might expect and more Obama/Biden signs but there are a lot less signs of any kind, overall.

When I see a McCain/Palin sign I want to go up and knock on the door and ask the residents if their home is worth what it was four years ago, if their retirement resources are up or down, if they are okay with an indefinite stay in Iraq, if they want someone in office who will perpetuate the economic policies of the last eight years and who at 72 and in poor health has a totally unqualified person as a running mate?

I want to inquire why they are willing to trust candidates with a campaign staff made up of lobbyists who have a tarnished and dubious record of involvement in influence peddling? I want to ask how they can vote for a candidate who, along with his running mate has lied in public on a constant basis and encouraged derision on the basis of race, ethnicity,and patriotism? Who ends his speech with words that are a metaphor for calling his opponents un-American.

Could they tell me how anyone who has lived in this country could not recognize the "code" and buzz words that inspire hate and derision. McCain and Palin are guilty of every possible attempt to "Frame" Obama as an unknown quantity, foreign, un-American, a terrorist, and "someone who isn't like us." I would ask how Obama might not "be like us?"

Before I left that home I would like to ask them to truly consider who is the best qualified team, with the best real plan for the economy and our country? I would ask them to look in to their hearts and brains and ask themselves why they put that sign in front of their home?

That word "Liberal"

Nanci — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:15:58 EDT

When did the word “Liberal” become a dirty word? I read articles in Letters to the Editor, and some people seem to think that merely labeling Obama as a “Liberal” ( insert shudder and gasps) is enough to make people not vote for him.

Well, I am a Liberal, I lean further toward things Liberals stand for: the common man, the American worker, labor unions’ right to exist, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, voting rights, and civil rights. The right of every person to be shown respect as a human being regardless of race, sexual orientation or religion. I believe in the individual’s right to decide how to live their life and what to do with their own body in their own privacy, and the right to access to medical and health care benefits, as do Liberals. I, as a Liberal, believe after working for 30 or 40 years and paying into a pension or 401K you have the right to collect a retirement. Liberals believe in fair taxes and expect fair taxes on the wealthy as well as the poor. We believe people don’t mind tax increases as long as they benefit all citizens and not just the top 10% of the wealthiest individuals and corporations. We believe tax cuts should be used judiciously and not just to win an election, but consider the current state of the country’s economy.

Liberals, myself included, believe in the right to voice an opinion, without fear of reprisal. We anticipate the hope to live in peace and not fear. We support policies that do not weigh our children, our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren with our irresponsible fiscal policies and lack of oversight, putting them deeper and deeper into debt. We value the opportunity to make a living wage, and being able to walk down the street without the fear of being shot.

Liberals espouse recognition of the value of education in our country and backing up that recognition by funding education for every child in America, as well as recognition of the value of our elderly and our obligations to our elders. Liberals talk about being willing to stop the discarding of the elderly into homes unfit for any human being, or relegate them to poverty and illness at the end of productive lives based on the mighty dollar. Liberals believe in the right to health care that does not force a choice between bankruptcy and medical care. The examples are legion, but if you want to know, talk to your neighbor.

The values Liberals hold I hold: love your neighbor as yourself, choose peace over war whenever possible, hold life (every life) in the highest esteem, empathy, understanding, trust, individual rights, and the respect for the opinions of others. None of us are less, for we are all intertwined and rooted in the same tree. That tree is the Tree of America, and it stands on the Planet Earth. Therefore, we Liberals think globally, trying to work with, rather than against our neighbors. Last of all, Liberals think for themselves and do not believe everything said to them from the pulpit or the soapbox. Instead they look for truth. As individuals we are not perfect, but we are not ashamed of our label either. I am proud to call myself a Liberal.

For Barack Obama's beliefs and stands on the issues see http://www.barackobama.com/issues/.

VOTE FOR CHANGE!! VOTE FOR A NEW AMERICA!! VOTE FOR AMERICAN VALUES! VOTE FOR OBAMA!!!

America in Crisis - A Time for Renewal

PrayersForAmerica — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:14:45 EDT

by Julie Redstone

The system that we are basing our economic strength on is not working. It is floating in time, waiting for a misstep from which it cannot recover. Therefore, it is not the bail-out that is going to save this economy. It is only a change in values.

The current bail-out of the American credit system and of mortgage lenders within the proliferation of banks, lending institutions, and mortgage companies in this country has not addressed the primary problem contributing to the existing crisis, namely, the system itself which is outmoded and filled with personal aggrandizement and mismanagement at all levels.

The availability of opportunity for mismanagement of funds and also of using these funds for personal gain has been widespread within corporate America, and the system itself promotes this as it promotes the maintenance of a pyramidal economic structure that contains a very few at the top, and many at the bottom struggling to get by.

We need, in America, to experience a renewal of our basic values – a renewal of our desire for equality, freedom, justice, and a way of life that embraces all, making it possible for all to live and prosper, not just the wealthy few. These words are given lip service, today, by both political figures and CEOs, but the generosity of spirit and caring for future generations that lay at the heart of the Founders of this great nation, has, over time, diminished into a kind of self-seeking and self-promotion based on a sense of entitlement to vast incomes, opportunities, and other business perks for the few, while the rest go unnoticed. This is not just the philosophy of the wealthiest in this country, but of those who seek to become wealthy and to follow in their footsteps.

We once cared more about the land, about the natural beauty of this country, about what we would leave to future generations. We once felt ennobled by a noble task – the task of creating a new Republic and of making that Republic into something to be proud of. This nobility of purpose is still at the foundation of America’s spirit, but has become covered over and at times obliterated by the kind of self-seeking and self-aggrandizement that has caused consumers at all levels to overspend, overreach, overinvest, and to ignore or underestimate the consequences of doing so. And it is not just consumers who have held such an attitude. It is the government itself which has placed this nation in debt to the amount of trillions of dollars, with millions of dollars in interest being added to that each day.

America is the largest debtor nation in the world. Foreign governments, especially China, support the national economy and enable it to function. We are trillions of dollars in debt and the debt only grows, it does not diminish. If those who hold our debt were to call it in, this country would not be able to continue functioning, for we have no other collateral to fall back on. We have become an economic system built on sand rather than on substance, and the money that we use as venue is not backed up by true financial resources that would guarantee its stability. We, as an economic system, are riding on credit, not just the mortgage industry, not just the consumers, not just the corporate executives.

Today, we witness a credit system that has stopped working because its underlying premise does not work, namely, that we can go on borrowing and borrowing for whatever we wish to purchase, and we will not have to pay the price for this indulgence. Because we have lived with this illusion for so long, we now begin to find ourselves no longer having a solid foundation on which to stand. This is what leads to the current call for a ‘bail-out’.

We need to renew our vows to ourselves and to those who come after us, to the world that watches what we do, and to those who listen to the speeches that are made and wait to hear something true, and honest, and real.

This system that we are basing our economic strength on is not working. It is floating in time, waiting for a misstep from which it cannot recover. Therefore, it is not the bail-out that is going to save this economy. It is only a change in values which will allow America to once more exist on the solid footing of its own ideals.

This must be our promise to ourselves and to the future – not simply to repair the present damage and address the present crisis – but to address the existing false optimism based on entitlement that has given rise to this crisis. It is only in this way, through a change in the heart of the system, that true stability can be found.

* * *

by Julie Redstone From the Light Omega newsletter

Sen. Obama needs to project values, as well as policies and positions

J David from Novato, CA — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:20:38 EDT

Advisors to leaders as well as researchers in social psychology, communications, and political science predict that the winner of the presidential debates will be the candidate voters like and trust, more often than the candidate who seems to know about the issues.

People usually don't vote based on the issues primarly, nor do facts usually convince people. Instead, people assess issues and candidates based on how they feel about the facts, as they perceive them, subjectively.

For example, George Lakoff, a professor of cognitive linguistics at the University of California at Berkeley, in his book, "The Political Mind: Why You Can't Understand 21st Century American Politics With An 18th Century Brain," writes that the Enlightenment view of reason is that reason is logical, that if you give people the facts they will logically come to the right decision. But cognitive science, neuroscience, and political science have shown that faith in the voters' reliance on reason is misplaced. Voters, like human beings in general, are driven by emotion more than by reason.

Lakoff points out that Sen. John McCain tends to appeal to the values and emotions of voters by answering questions in debates and interviews with a "sandwich". He gives a short answer, framed according to his party's values, then expands that in three or four sentences, then repeats the short values statement. On the other hand, Sen. Barack Obama, a former professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago, has tended until recently to give very nuanced answers, focused on a rational analysis of the issue, which often can come across as vague or wishy-washy.

Other research shows convincingly that the candidate who is viewed as having greater confidence and optimism, in particular, is much more likely to win election over a candidate with less perceived confidence and optimism, regardless of how the candidates compare in their knowledge of issues and their actual positions on those issues. In a crisis, such as the recent meltdown on Wall Street, it is predictable that perceptions of confidence and optimism, two core values in American culture, will have greater weight than ever in this fall's election.

American Citizenship First

Vince from Boston, MA — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:42:31 EDT

Open Letter to Republicans and Independents:

I'm a former independent voter a fiscal conservative, a veteran and a concerned citizen. I recognized nearly Eight years ago that our country was heading down a really bad path. I want to urge all Republicans and Independent voters to come out in support of Barack Obama. I know conservative Democrats whose ethics and values are more conservative than most Republicans. I have Republican friends that are more liberal than some Democrats. Even independent centrists who lean both Right or Left. In many instances party affiliations have become meaningless.

I'm an American Citizen First ... and your country needs you ?

What really matters is that America is the sum of its people ... Left, Right and Center. We need to learn from our mistakes ... rather than repeat them. We as Americans will rise or fall together.

The politics of division has brought us all to this historic moment ... our countries very survival as a bastion of free democracy is threatened. Our military resources are stretched on a war of undetermined length with no defined and achievable goal. We are facing a financial meltdown that is global in scope which threatens whats left of our prosperity and no clear consensus on how to resolve it.

We need to think .... long and hard about what "Trickle Down" and this so called "Free Market Economy" has done to our nation. The recession that Bush wants to avert .... came to Main Street long before it came to Wall Street. Just ask the Steel Workers and the line assembly workers and farmers who have lost their jobs to the lowest bidders overseas. Our priorities are all wrong. Allowing American businesses to escape paying any taxes at all ... by allowing them to setup their headquarters offshore. Allowing predatory lending practices to exploit those without verifiable incomes .... many of who lost their good paying jobs long ago in exchange for low wage jobs making it impossible to afford a home.

We allowed for profit Health Care to eat into the profits of businesses and average citizens alike at costs that are not sustainable. We have treated "the defenders of our democracy" ... our Veterans shabbily with insufficient funding for their needs. Elders on fixed incomes many of whom fought in WWII .... being charged for overpriced medications. Its just not right !

Our common bonds .... We are all proud Americans that want a brighter future for our children and grandchildren. We all want an America to prosper again. We can squabble over how that can be achieved but we do know what has worked in the past. To get started we need a return to real traditional values ... not rhetoric. Rather than coddle our children we need to teach our children the importance of discipline, education, hard work and how to manage money. We need to respect and reward the value of hard work, honesty and philanthropy rather than promote easy money, golden parachutes and unrestrained greed.

We need to find ways to lift all of our people up .... rather than tearing our people down by outsourcing their jobs.

We need to solve our domestic energy needs with a commitment to Energy Independence within a decade. No excuses .... lets just do it !

We need to reward innovation in Science and Technology again while respecting those of all religious faiths.

We need to educate all our citizens with the understanding that its an investment in our future .... if we hope to compete in global markets.

We need to teach civic responsibility in our schools and by rewarding those who give their time to the betterment of our nation and its communities.

We need leaders that are looking out for all Americans ... not just for power, money and influence.

None of this will be easy .... We must resolve to hold our government accountable and transparent ... both Democrats and Republicans alike.

Its time to Wake Up America !

American citizenship comes with an obligation to participate and safeguard our freedom and democracy.

American citizenship must come first .... Party Affiliation must comes Second.

Barack is the only candidate funded by the people .... not special interests.

Make Your Vote Count. Our nation is counting on you.

For Hope and a New Direction.

Vote for Obama / Biden '08

Vince ;-}

Top 10 Goals for Our Presidency in 2009

Jeffrey Quintero — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:26:46 EDT

PLEASE JOIN AND PROMOTE THIS NEW GROUP:Top10Goals

This group will focus on defining the -Top 10 Goals- for our next president to commit to achieving in 2009.

This could serve as the bases for creating a very specific, bottom-up originated, agreement between "we the people" and Barack Obama.

IMAGINE...

Presidential Debate: September 26, 2008

Meg — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:05:52 EDT

Obama, I thank you for demonstrating your examples firmly to me, a minority in the United State of America. My existence, opinions, and views have been discredited and disregarded by the certain majority people; I have learned to detach from their attitudes and to keep believing in me. However, it has been tough fights since I cannot put my fingers on their vague rejecting attitudes. Since you ran for the office, I witnessed the very familiar attitudes in McCain rejecting and disregarding you. During the debate on September 26, McCain demonstrated his disrespect toward you by not looking at you, not talking to you directly, and telling voters that you were "naive." I was reacting to his attitudes and I could see myself tumbled and muted, but you, Obama, you kept going. You kept talking to McCain, looking at him with your full respect and acknowledgement while you told him and voters your views and approaches that make sense to ordinary Americans.

Obama, you are my front-runner for my dignity, values, and concerns for my children. Obama, you are an extended voice of people before us. As Hilary said at the Democratic National Convention, "…And on that path to freedom, Harriett Tubman had one piece of advice. 'If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If they're shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going," you have kept going! I follow you, Obama! I keep going, too, at my work and community!

Barack Obama and the Poodle: Why The Humane Society Endorsement Matters.

Melanie — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:15:17 EDT

Yesterday, the Humane Society Legislative Fund (a non-partisan organization with both Democrats and Republicans on its board of directors) for the first time in its history issued an endorsement for a presidential candidate. The letter carried a photo of Barack Obama holding a poodle, rescued from a puppy mill—and let there be no doubt here: there are voters, both Democrat and Republican, who will consider this perspective to be frivolous.

In fact, it is worth paying attention, for this event is far more revealing about the content of this campaign than may be apparent at first glance.

The ability to feel compassion is one of the key characteristics that defines what it is to be human. History has documented that when humans abdicate their capacity for compassion, atrocities occur. The absence of empathy is one of the hallmarks of psychopathology. Not surprisingly then, research also shows that one of the key psychiatric predictors of a violent and abusive personality is cruelty toward animals.

Statistics and research testify repeatedly that domestic and child abuse often occur in households with animal abuse. For example, a 1997 Northwestern University study in association with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals found that people who abuse animals are five times more likely to commit violent crimes than non-abusers.

Simply put: there is a case to be made that how we interact with our co-inhabitants of this planet is an essential litmus test of our humanity.

If we aspire to a government that treats its own citizens with compassion, then we cannot be oblivious to the way politicians interact with the natural world. Empathy cannot be compartmentalized—reserved and parcelled out for a few, an elite, a particular passport, or a single species—and still maintain its integrity.

So it really does not matter whether you have a four-legged member of the family or not—the Humane Society's campaign endorsement makes for a compelling read on the most fundamental subject that affects us all: the capacity for human decency exists at the heart of how we treat each other, and the rest of the world, including those most vulnerable among us.

Here's an excerpt from the September 22 Obama endorsement statement by Mike Markarian, President of the Humane Society Legislative Fund:

"While McCain's positions on animal protection have been lukewarm, his choice of running mate cemented our decision to oppose his ticket. Gov. Sarah Palin's (R-Alaska)retrograde policies on animal welfare and conservation have led to an all-out war on Alaska's wolves and other creatures. Her record is so extreme that she has perhaps done more harm to animals than any other current governor in the United States.

Palin engineered a campaign of shooting predators from airplanes and helicopters, in order to artificially boost the populations of moose and caribou for trophy hunters. She offered a $150 bounty for the left foreleg of each dead wolf as an economic incentive for pilots and aerial gunners to kill more of the animals, even though Alaska voters had twice approved a ban on the practice. This year, the issue was up again for a vote of the people, and Palin led the fight against it -- in fact, she helped to spend $400,000 of public funds to defeat the initiative.

What's more, when the Bush Administration announced its decision to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, Palin filed a lawsuit to reverse that decision. She said it's the "wrong move" to protect polar bears, even though their habitat is shrinking and ice floes are vanishing due to global warming.

The choice for animals is especially clear now that Palin is in the mix. If Palin is put in a position to succeed McCain, it could mean rolling back decades of progress on animal issues.

Voters who care about protecting wildlife from inhumane and unsporting abuses, enforcing the laws that combat large-scale cruelties like dogfighting and puppy mills, providing humane treatment of animals in agriculture, and addressing other challenges that face animals in our nation, must become active over the next six weeks to elect a president and vice president who share our values. Please spread the word, and tell friends and family members that an honest assessment of the records of the two presidential tickets leads to the inescapable conclusion that Obama-Biden is the choice for humane-minded voters."

Americans Believe Obama Most Likely to Deliver Change, Share Values, & Improve Global Standing

Deborah Simmel — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 07:16:39 EDT

A new New York Times/CBS News poll shows the Republicans' convention bounce has receded, and more people name Senator Obama as the candidate most likely to bring about change in Washington, more likely to share their values, and most likely to improve our nation's relations with foreign countries.

(Can we say a collective "I told you so"?)

Enjoy on your own: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/us/politics/19pollcnd.html?adxnnl=1&fta=y&adxnnlx=1221908420-6aZBOvBMDj2EOEqTEzx4Zw

Let Me Get This Straight

Bill Marjenhoff — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:23:02 EDT

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight:

   * If you grow up in Hawaii , raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic, different.'
    * Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.

    * If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
     * Name your kids Willow , Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

     * Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.
     * Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

     * If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers
150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 2 years in the United States Senate representing 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.
     * If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

     * If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.
     * If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

     * If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
     * If , while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

     * If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.
     * If you're husband is nicknamed 'First Dude', with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA , your family is extremely admirable.

     OK, much clearer now.

Women's Suffrage

Nanci — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:27:53 EDT

I just came home from a viewing of the HBO production "Iron Jawed Women" about women's suffrage in the 1900's (1920, to be exact). The star was the other Hilary, Hilary Swank. What these women endured, the dedication and total commitment they gave to their cause, against all odds and at great personal sacrifice moved me deeply. If you are older than 88 years, you were alive in the time that women did not have the right to vote. For me, that is only a generation away. Incredible!

Today, we must be committed to reminding women of the preciousness of that right, and the responsibility, in particular to our childre, in particular our daughters. It is not about having a woman on the ticket. That would be to say that women were still chattels and mindless extensions of men. It is not about the second time in history that a woman has campaigned as a Vice Presidential candidate. That would be to say that woman do not understand the issues, much less care about the future of our country and what it holds for our daughters and our children.

Women know that Barack Obama and Joe Biden stand for the issues that women stand for: equal rights under the Constitution, fair wages and the right to strike, education for our children that is not only granted to the rich, jobs so Americans (male and female) can make a living wage and not see their jobs outsourced overseas so corporate greed-pots can line their pockets while workers scrape to make ends meet, and the right of a woman to decide what happens to her own body. This is not a pro-abortion stance, this is the right to decide, and not be told our values. The right not to be told whether or not we are "Christian" enough, the right not to be lied to by those we entrust with leadership, the right not to be told that the economy is strong while we see it sliding away, and not to be told we are not Patriots and not supportive of our own sons and daughters who are fighting in the wrong war. The right to be compassionate, and not judgmental. If we give up these rights, we give up what America stands for.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden echo the values that I have forged in my life as a citizen of America, as a woman and as a patriot. That is why I am passionate about this election. That is why, for the first time in my life, I am volunteering to see Barack Obama elected. That is why I urge you to stand up and be counted. Make your position known. Listen to what the candidates have to say, watch their body language, believe first the words you hear for yourself and not the spin put on the words. Think for yourself, judge Obama's values against your own. I think if you do, you will find that you can support this candidate as well.

Be certain you are registered to vote. If you have married or moved since voting the last time, go to a political headquarters, call the Democratic party in your area, call your congressman and find out how & where to change your name and address. If you are not registered, know that in Washington State the deadline is October 4. After that, the election will be decided without you. If you turn 18 years of age before November 4 you can register to vote in THIS election NOW. Don't wait.

Don't wait for change to happen. As John Mayer says "Waiting for the World to Change" never works. If you and I do nothing, how can we have change? If we re-elect the same party, how can we have change? Don't let the Republicans continue to assume you are too dumb to see through their political lies and strategies. Don't let them continue to talk down to you. Demand answers. Demand truth. Demand accountability. Demand to hear what the woman on their ticket knows about national and international politics. Demand your rights as a citizen and a woman in the glorious country of America.

VOTE OBAMA!! OBAMA FOR CHANGE!! OBAMA FOR HOPE!! OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT!!

A New American Story

Martin from Powell, OH — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:08:21 EDT

What it means to be an American — a good American — has changed. Quietly and without heed we have moved from being about real liberty to being about protecting our quality of life. In this America the golden rule does not apply. We can do whatever we want to the citizens of other countries as long as it can be justified by the defense department as protecting our way of life. We are like a teenager lashing out when his place at the center of the universe is questioned. You’re either with me or against me. There’s nothing ambiguous about protecting our way of life.

Where we once said "don’t tread on me", we now tread regularly on others — “for their own good” we say out loud. And “in defense of our families” we tell ourselves. King George might have said he was governing the colonial states for their own good too. And at home he might have said we can’t lose that stream of tax dollars or our children will go hungry. And behind the rationale is an emotional tick — I want to keep what I’ve earned and I’ve earned it just by being an American and if it’s threatened, then by god, anything goes.

If we have changed already. We can change again. Let us as Americans write our new story.

This is my country

Martin from Powell, OH — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:06:42 EDT

For as long as I've been paying attention there has been a knee-jerk reaction to any American suggesting that the U.S. has made a mistake -- ever. That reaction goes something like this, "If you hate America so much, go live somewhere else."

I'll repeat something I've said before because it's emerging as a theme. The American popular psyche seems to be in a state of adolescence. "I'm the center of the universe and everyone else is an idiot." -- an attitude that understandably leads to misadventure.

The standard reaction to "go live somewhere else" has been to ignore it, in the manner of, "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Because to dignify it, we tell ourselves, is to give it credence. Well for a vast number of the citizens of this country, it already has plenty of credence. In fact it has become a standard reaction to deflect any criticism and to protect the collective ego we have developed as a national trait.

There's another approach. Not a great deal more mature, but a little. And a whole lot healthier than ignoring the delusional 'we can do no wrong' attitude. Here it is: "No. YOU go live somewhere else. This is MY country and you need to grow up or get out."

I have lived an American dream (one of many possible - but that's for another post) even if a modest one. I have an awesome family. We are two working parents - one of whom can still be around when the kids get home from school. Two boys who are creative, active, caring and handsome. We own a beautiful home and we have two dogs who are our best friends. Without a traditional education, I still managed to build a company, employ 40 or 50 people over several years and contribute to the economy while serving the philanthropic goals of over a hundred communities across the country. We sold the company a few years ago and now I'm off on another adventure. That's been the dream so far and I feel grateful that there's enough freedom and opportunity here to make it possible.

But there's a threat to our freedom from those who ignore our mistakes and who squelch dissent. We saw it in the Niagra current that pulled us all along into the war in Iraq -- into the debt crisis now ravaging the economy -- into a belief that there is only one set of values worth defending.

We will need to come together to grow up -- at least a little. Otherwise the pendulum will keep swinging and we'll spend all of our energy on that swing.

Reestablishing Democratic Values, divert from lying policies

Unico from Europe — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:34:12 EDT

Dear Friends,

I promise I will go to the USA – to meet you all – after and…

 when politics in the USA are again a debate on issues

 when politics in the USA have real meaning again for ordinary people and

 when American politics opens up again for international democracy

As Europeans we were very disappointed that the Bush Administration invaded Iraq without the support of the United Nations, and by doing so violating the international democracy.

The Bush Administration lied about the "weapons of mass destruction" and fooled the American people. Now you are in an economic crisis too. The Greenspan doctrine (rate cut after rate cut, making lending sheep and house prices blow up sky high in an unsustainable way) is dead and the heritage of this arm of Bush’s policy could now turn out to be devastating for the world.

Europeans are very worried that Americans are easy to be fooled again. And Mc Cain is – even before he as candidate Predident – fooling Americans every day. Yesterday saying the economic fundaments are sound, today shouting that there is an economic crisis going on. And all the untrue things he his continually said about the other candidate Barack Obama.

If Americans do not stand up against lies history will repeat itself. And that will lead to erosion of the Democratic system and values it carries. That is the real risk of this election. Democracy is not just voting every four years, it is about debating issues and standing up against falls information, accusations and lies. Every American should do that, always.

If a candidate already starts lying before being elected you know that that is a sign of wanting to be in power at any costs. You can imagine what that would mean for foreign policies! We Europeans do not want that anymore. In essence I would not mind if a Republican wins, but than he/she should have good ideas and should be sound on political and human ethnics. These basic elements belonging to a real democracy are long gone in the Republican Party.

The campaign should focus on real issues.
Barack Obama does this in a profound way and we love him for that in Europe!

You understand that this is not only an American event.

The world is watching how clever Americans really are.

Kind regards, Unico from Europe

Some Thoughts on Abortion and Politics.

Dean Trippe — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 22:59:31 EDT

A pro-life friend of mine asked me to explain my support for Obama as it relates to the issue of Abortion rights, which we'd previously agreed on. I thought some of this might be useful for other folks with pro-life pals or pro-life opinions themselves, expecially those with other "traditional values" weighing on their hearts and minds. When I was finally willing to study abortion, I came to very different conclusions than those I'd held while nodding along to youth pastors decrying the loss of American values at church camps. This issue is divisive because it is complicated in reality and glaringly simple on the surface. As with most things, education is the only path to take.

0. Backstory.

I'm the product of a teenage pregnancy. As someone who was both an unplanned teenage pregnancy, abandoned by the father, and later adopted, my thoughts on these issues have always been informed by multiple points of view.

1. The Politics.

First off, let's just dismiss this idea that electing a Republican is the means to ensuring Roe v. Wade will be overturned. Six of the last eight years featured Republican control of the House, Senate, and White House all at the same time, as well as the Supreme Court part of that time, and no serious threat to that legal decision has been mounted. The simple fact is Republicans running for office make abortion an issue that pulls at our souls but they do not have any intention of changing its legal status. Whether you agree with Roe v. Wade or not, this should be an indisputable fact.

Republicans only claim to care about this issue during elections. I spent most of my life debating against abortion's legal status, thinking this was some hard-fought battle between social conservatives who love babies and the radical left who hated them, but it's not. Most Americans believe abortion should be legal, and so it shall remain. That's our system. So what is left for Republican candidates to turn into wedge issues? They invent new buzz words like "partial birth abortion" (now federally banned, totally misunderstood by most, like myself, who rallied against it) and introduce bills to "protect the lives of infants who've survived abortion procedures" (a false issue that's been around longer than you'd think).

Obama's opinion on this is clear. He believes that abortion should be legal and safe, but that instead of being divisive in our politics, we should be working TOGETHER to reduce the number of abortions. George Bush has not done that. Abstinence-only teaching cannot do that. This is an area Americans should have common ground on, reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies and abortions, but instead we bicker over made up controversies filled with misinformation.

1a. Warning.

Reconciling my feelings about abortion's legal status meant a lot of research, and while it is necessary to replace misconceptions with truth, this subject can be disturbing, so if you want to stop here, I understand. If you can handle the stats and details, let's continue.

Small Town Values

Kathy — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:47:23 EDT

Small Town Values…Really?

There has been a lot of talk about small town values, and it seems that we all want the feeling of comfort, relaxation, bliss and calmness that the thought of small town values bring.

I grew up in a small down where the winters where white the mountains majestic and everyone knew your name.Where my Mom did not have to stress about what school to send us to because there was no choice. My Mom also did not have to wonder where I was because like today in small towns there are very few choices. I worked at the local A&W and my girlfriend at the drive-thru hamburger joint and my brother raked leaves for our neighbors. The whole town saw the same movies; there was only one movie house and most of the time a feature film for families was playing. We all went to the high school Friday night light games and on Saturday nights she knew I was either hanging out on our small main street or at my friend Wizzy’s house.

My mom did have stress like getting to the store on Wednesdays vs. any other day because that was when the fresh bread came in along with the shipment of limited food and the stress of driving 2 hours twice a month to the city to stock up on other foods you could not find at our small town store.

Nobody blinked at making decisions because decisions where far and few and not life changing. Life is simple in a small town, and beautiful in the fact the air is clean, the town or town church helps out those who are experiencing hard times, the shakes are good and you can not blow your nose without somebody running over with homemade chicken soup.

I understand people wanting those values especially when our country is faced with a 9 trillion (12 zeros) dollar debt. Where our country is at war in a foreign land where we never should have stepped. The war where are troops are commanded to destroy small towns and where so many of our troops died or are now faced with life long special needs.

We want small town values because the horrors of Abu Ghraib and Quantanamo are things most of us can’t endure to know about so we don’t get involved. Many of us are faced with foreclosures and bankruptcies not to mention running down to the bank to withdrawal any money we may have in fear of the failed banking system.

I understand the desire for small town values but if you really want those then pack up your family and move to a small town and you will see why my mom wanted more for us. She wanted us to have more choices of how to spend our time like at museums, Zoos and art shows, she wanted us to actually be able to go to a pro football game and experience the energy, the hotdogs and the smell of the peanuts. She wanted us to be exposed to diversity. She wanted for herself the freedom to hang around in her sweats in a bookstore drinking coffee and not have to worry about who would see her and talk about her at the next BBQ. She wanted to be able to get fresh bread daily, and to expose us to many choices of different foods.

She wanted to take classes at the local college and have conversations about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and she wanted us to have more choices in churches, schools and sports, then our small town offered. She wanted to experience the hustle and bustle at Christmas, the city lights and the laughter of people in a city where ideas flow and people have more to talk about then their neighbor.

She wanted us to expand our horizons so our dreams where more bountiful and more abundant then hanging out in a small town with limited books that where threatened to become even more limited because somebody had too much time on their hands and decided to sensor them by tearing out pages. She wanted our brains to expand with all sorts of ideas, new experiences and a variety of choices. Her biggest dream was for us to have a better life then she did and she knew in order for this to happen then we had to move out of the small town.

I know that small town values are something we all want right now. The idea of shelter, easy choices and a community where everyone knows your name is comforting. I grew up in a small town and I will move back to a small town when I am retired and want to not be bothered. However, I am extremely happy that my mom got us out of that small town so I could become a Stunt Woman, a Race Car driver and a Director. So I could learn about the world through traveling, so I can continue to have interesting conversations by attending the local college or hanging out in a variety of coffee and movie houses. I am glad she got us out of that small town so my older brother could become a VP of operations at a prestigious food chain, so my sister could create a thriving business in a large city and where my younger brother had the opportunity to be exposed to a doctor who saved his life by discovering his heart problem when the small town physician told him to take some aspirin and drink more water when he got headache after headache in every football game he played.

I understand standing in front of a woman preaching small town values and seeing her as beautiful, confident and alluring, wishing you where her and thinking that bringing small town values into our lives is the answer. Well I, as well as you, know those ideas will not fix our national debt, or a war we should of never entered into, or a failing banking system, or increase the amount of overall oil that the earth has. We know that it is like a movie where we escape and wish we where that person. But the movie will end and your children will still be looking into your eyes asking for a better future and wouldn’t it be great to help create a child that desires to get into Yale, Princeton or Harvard who has new ideas, who is smart and who even achieves a honor that very few ever do like being the head of Harvard Law Review. Wouldn’t that be Great?

Separation of Church and State?

Wallace — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:43:05 EDT

I am intrigued by the bandwagon of Palin supporters that at the moment may be shifting the poll numbers. When we get back to real issues like the economy and the war and health care and education, I think the numbers will shift back in support of Obama, the real change candidate, yet it is imporant to note something here.

The very people who claim Palin is the best possible person to represent their vaunted VALUES (prior to Palin, they were at best, lukewarm to McSame), people like Dr. Dobson and others--these very supporters who claim Palin is "their voice" for values in the public square would never allow someone like her to be their voice in the pulpit as a pastor or church leader. The conservative churches (and voters) who could have the ability to shift this election don't believe that women can be leaders in their congregation, but all of a sudden Palin is their annointed leader on the campaign trail.

I guess that is not hypocritical if the overarching "value" is to keep POWER, no matter what. In both their churches and in government, "the good ol boys" will say and do whatever they can to keep power. Perhaps the conservatives value "separation of church and state" after all?

America's Values???

Cory from Albuquerque, NM — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:18:09 EDT

[If anyone knows who is the author of the below, please let me know so I can give them due credit.]

"I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic,
different."

Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers: a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

Name your kids Willow, Trig, and Track: you're a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating: you're well
grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the
first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter
registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as
a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator
representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the
state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in
the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people
while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs,
Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you
don't have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather girl (sports caster), 4 years on
the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with fewer than
7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with 650,000 people,
then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking
executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2
beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real
Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your
disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a
Christian.

If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the
proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no
other option in sex education in your state's school system while your
unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a
prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city
community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values
don't represent America's.

If your husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DUI
conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until
age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of
Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now."

More Racism from the Republicans and so-called "Values Voters"

Chris — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:11:08 EDT

If this is what these backwards racists value, they can keep their UnAmerican values!

Back to Story - HelpForum sells 'Obama Waffles' with racial stereotype

By JOAN LOWY, Associated Press WriterSat Sep 13, 4:14 PM ET

Activists at a conservative political forum snapped up boxes of waffle mix depicting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as a racial stereotype on its front and wearing Arab-like headdress on its top flap.

Values Voter Summit organizers cut off sales of Obama Waffles boxes on Saturday, saying they had not realized the boxes displayed "offensive material." The summit and the exhibit hall where the boxes were sold had been open since Thursday afternoon.

The box was meant as political satire, said Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss, two writers from Franklin, Tenn., who created the mix. They sold it for $10 a box from a rented booth at the summit sponsored by the lobbying arm of the Family Research Council.

David Nammo, executive director of the lobbying group FRC Action, said summit organizers were told the boxes were a parody of Obama's policy positions but had not examined them closely.

Republican Party stalwarts Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney were among speakers at the forum, which officials said drew 2,100 activists from 44 states.

While Obama Waffles takes aim at Obama's politics by poking fun at his public remarks and positions on issues, it also plays off the old image of the pancake-mix icon Aunt Jemima, which has been widely criticized as a demeaning stereotype. Obama is portrayed with popping eyes and big, thick lips as he stares at a plate of waffles and smiles broadly.

Placing Obama in Arab-like headdress recalls the false rumor that he is a follower of Islam, though he is actually a Christian.

On the back of the box, Obama is depicted in stereotypical Mexican dress, including a sombrero, above a recipe for "Open Border Fiesta Waffles" that says it can serve "4 or more illegal aliens." The recipe includes a tip: "While waiting for these zesty treats to invade your home, why not learn a foreign language?"

The novelty item also takes shots at 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry, Obama's wife, Michelle, and Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

The Obama campaign declined to comment.

Wearing white chef's aprons, Whitlock and DeMoss were doing a brisk business at noon Saturday selling the waffle mix to people crowded around their booth. Two pyramids of waffle mix boxes stood several feet high on the booth's table.

"It's the ultimate political souvenir," DeMoss told a customer.

Asked if he considered the pictures of Obama on the box to be racial stereotypes, Whitlock said: "We had some people mention that to us, but you think of Newman's Own or Emeril's — there are tons and tons of personality-branded food products on the market. So we've taken that model and, using political satire, have highlighted his policies, his position changes."

The socially conservative public policy groups American Values and Focus on the Family Action co-sponsored the summit.

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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You Know You've Gone Too Far When ...

Tom Siegel — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:24:47 EDT

Even Karl Rove thinks your ads are too sleazy.

Honestly, I thought the illegitimate black love child was the lowest of the low, but now Karl Rove says that John McCain's recent attack ads have crossed the line of ... of ... well, if not of decent society, at least the line of political effectiveness. I suppose it's a little much to think that Karl Rove might be offended by lies and distortions, but that doesn't seem to be the case. What Karl Rove said was "Do we really need to go that far in this ad? Don't we make our point and won't we get broader acceptance and deny the opposition an opportunity to attack us if we don't include that one little last tweak in the ad?"

No, he seems to be offended that McCain's ads are not as effective as he thinks they could be. After all, in Karl Rove's world morality is defined by whether you win or lose not by what is decent or right. And how ironically appropriate that it's the Republican Party that, while believing that it owns morals and values, is so quick to spew hate and lies. As long as they keep winning, they'll never learn.

Why People Vote Agaist Their Own Best Interests

TJ Franklin — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 02:04:24 EDT

It is painfully obvious that many people will willingly vote against their own best interests, but the nagging question is "Why?"

A small minority will vote for their party, regardless of the issues. There's really nothing that can be done to persuade this group of voters. No arguement, no matter how well phrased, no matter how logical, will get through their strict party loyalties.

Another group are those that vote on the basis of personality. These voters, as well, are difficult to persuade. They simply like the candidate that they support. They may not even know why, but on some deep level, they connect with the chosen candidate. This is extremely apparent in the "hockey mom" group that supports McCain/Palin, and women that are voting for Palin based solely on gender, and they support them not because of McCain, but because of Palin. The same applies to those that vote based solely on race, age, or other identity factors. The issues don't matter, they will simply believe in or agree with whatever the personality espouses.

Obama can attack McCain/Palin on uses of Science and Technology

Stephen — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:49:36 EDT

Matters of science, technology, and related economic growth favor the democrat philosophy and Senator Obama, and he should attack McCain/Palin on this clear weakness. McCain/Palin are handicapped on science and technology progress by virtue of their religious beliefs.

Matters of science and technology are very critical in the 2008 election, probably more than in any election in history. Sure, small town people who value guns and religion don't understand science and technology, but they must know how critical it is to survival in the 21st centure. It is the religious right views held by republicans, particularly that of "creationism v. evolution (science), and life," and the roles that humans and the planet are thought to play in the big picture, that handicap the republicans in foreign policy and domestic progress on matters involving science and technology. The religious right time and again continues to discount science and the planet, and want us to place their beliefs front and center to determine broader policy. It is down right scarry, if not incompetence and a failure of one's duty to lead! Fairy tales are not policy!

Discussions on energy and science are leading this 2008 election, with energy emerging as the No. 1 issue, and doubling as economic and adverse environmental impact. Health care is next as it relates to R&D, costs, and efficacy of care and treatment - again about science. Thirdly, it is our advances in technology today that drive much of our economy. I believe all three science sectors favor the Obama/Biden platform and should be excellent theatre debate!

We must also demand more scientifically accurate discussion of science topics in debate and coverage. Such debate should favor Senator Obama over McCain due to his more recent schooling, whereas the GOP VP Palin's younger age and environmental interests could balance out any McCain objections. Note I only include the environmental sciences as it relates to energy, as many still challenge the reports, and it is best to avoid having a "debate within a debate."

Clearly, the pinacle of all science debates is that of creationism v evolution. And based upon the GOP's vice-presidential pick of Governor Palin as a creationist, the GOP would likely try to kill discussion on this topic. But as voters, we cannot give McCain/Palin a free pass on a sciences debate. Obama should engage the GOP. The creationists view is a liability as to embracing 21st century economic development fueled by new products and discoveries in the field of science.

Truly science's best marketing will come by way of featuring new products and discoveries. Television ads and programming could play a major role in the campaign, and later in promoting new science discoveries, as it did in the late 1950's, when then actor Ronald Reagan hosted "GE Theatre."

As a voter and scientist, I am offended when a candidate is unable to grasp key science concepts and data when discussing a key science or technology issue. We should DEMAND more factual coverage of science topics when they impact a candidates understanding of such things as energy, health policy, military perogatives, economic growth, and so on.

In The Name of Freedom

PrayersForAmerica — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:41:16 EDT

By Julie Redstone

The current of idealism within American history and spiritual life which cherishes freedom and desires to protect it at all costs is very strong. Freedom from oppression and the subjugation to laws made a continent away was the very warp and fiber of the Declaration of Independence upon which our country was founded. Freedom has always been highly prized in America, paid for in blood, tears, and the sacrifices of many.

Yet, much has also been done ‘in the name of’ freedom – wars have been fought, laws have been broken, the rights of individuals have been violated, land has been appropriated, and governments abroad have been overthrown – all to protect our freedom and maintain our national security. Today, we run the risk, once again, of acting on behalf of protecting our freedom in ways that do not further the deeper values that America holds, and, indeed, ways that trespass against certain of these values. We run the risk of limiting freedom ‘in the name of’ freedom.

How does this work?

It happens when those who love America can no longer see her wrongdoing as well as her virtue - when they can no longer see her failures as well as her successes.

It happens when those who wish to preserve America’s freedom are willing to sacrifice the freedom of other peoples in order to maintain our own.

It happens when those who espouse freedom, limit its meaning to those who agree with them, and denounce, ridicule, or criticize those who disagree with them.

It happens when those who wish to preserve freedom through the exercise of power, discredit those who believe that there are other ways of preserving and protecting freedom – ways of cooperation and conciliation.

It happens when political slogans are used which seduce or manipulate people into thinking something that they would not ordinarily think if the facts were known.

It happens when the ‘right to choose’ which is the inherent right of each individual is limited by misinformation, disinformation, or other form of deception or slanting of truth so that a free choice is not really possible.

It happens when those who are foreign to our soil are seen as social, political, or economic threats, simply by virtue of being foreign, instead of potential allies or friends.

It happens when America as an ideal and as an entity becomes exalted beyond the bounds that humility would proscribe, so that pride and grandiosity replace the desire for truth, and the willingness to place America first becomes a call to power instead of a call to healing.

It happens when freedom and the desire for freedom separates from unity and the desire for unity with others. This partnership is an eternal partnership that must be maintained in order for ‘freedom’ to remain free.

For more than two centuries now, America has stood in the world, despite its limitations, as the ‘land of the free’. Yet, true freedom can never be gained or maintained unless the freedoms of all are enhanced, both at home and abroad. This cannot happen through an orientation toward power, but only through an orientation toward a peace which embraces all.

The current of idealism within America that seeks to protect and uphold freedom is strong and must remain strong, for it is a core part of America’s identity. Yet, the distortion of that current so that it becomes a call to glory and dominance rather than a call to unity and joining with others must be watched for with vigilance. For ‘freedom’ and ‘unity’ must remain in balance so that each can be preserved with integrity. ‘Freedom’ without ‘unity’, can descend into either anarchy or into the domination of the many by the one. ‘Unity’ without ‘freedom’ can descend into an obliteration of differences between individuals, and a rejection of the right to dissent. The true freedom upon which America is based must seek to perpetuate this balance and to learn to live by it in order that her true destiny and greatness can come into being. For America’s greatness lies not only in her history but in her future, and not in her self-assertion of greatness, but in her willingness to embody the moral virtues on which she is founded for the benefit of the world.

By Julie Redstone of LightAmericaSpirit.org

I am troubled by the way Barack responds to interviews

Withfeeling — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:34:36 EDT

I am troubled by the way Barack responds to interviews. When he is in a confrontational interview, like the one with Bill O'Reilly, I think he does fine, at-least mostly. He is on his guard and responds strongly. Not always as strongly as I would like, but not in a way that would lead me to believe he is a wimp. However, he usually fails to put his answer in a larger moral context of his underlying values, and not seem so defensive. He needs to avoid letting a hostile interview get into the details of the numbers. While Barack is brilliant, he is never going to be able to negate the numbers of the guy who picked the questions, and who has his own version of the numbers on paper in front of him. He needs to respond on a different level.

For example, over issues like tax "hikes" for the rich. He should always note that the Bush tax cuts were grossly unfair in the first place, giving the vast majority of the cuts to the richest few, and perhaps giving old, straight-talk McCain credit for having voted against them. (He knew better than, but he has sold his soul to the far Right) When an incompetent administration implements policies that are unfair to working Americans, that doesn't simply reset the bar so that removing the mistake is a tax increase. Those who have been most fortunate have to again pay a fairer share.

On the other hand, when he is in a friendly interview situation, like last night on Olbermann, he starts responding with complex analysis, with a lot of "uh's" and other hesitations that make it seem that this is the first time he has thought of the issue. Moreover, by the time the next question starts I have forgotten most of Barack's answer. This is fine in private, but a major lost opportunity on television.

He desperately needs simple, memorable, "talking point" answers to all these questions. The answers need to be in terms of his values and feelings, placed in context with his moral positions, and not seem so specific to the exact wording of the question. Once he puts the answer in a larger context so that listeners understand where he is "coming from", he can perhaps put in some of the nuance he is so good at.

This also happened with Rick Warren, in what seemed a friendly situation, but most certainly was not.

Barack has been out on the campaign trail for a long time. I hope he realizes that he needs to and certainly can do better.

"What's the difference between Palin and Muslim fundamentalists? Lipstick."

Isebrand.com — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:33:19 EDT

Juan Coles' piece on Salon.com drives home the point that a "theocrat is a theocrat, whether Muslim or Christian." He notes that Sarah Palin, the "GOP vice-presidential pick holds that abortion should be illegal," which is a view "stricter than that of the Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Palin's view represents "a literalist religious impulse that resists any compromise with the realities of biology and of women's lives."

More after the flip . . .

RNC - ---> Republicans today are not standing for own values and moral

! Steffen from European Union, Dr. - Together We Can! Yes. We. Can. — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:28:27 EDT

RNC - Republicans are not standing for own values and moral

Post of green antiwar blog "Change for better world -"

- Ron Paul on November Ballot for President

- Cheney colleague admits bribery in Halliburton oil deals

- Insane Neocons Will Drive Us to War with Russia and Nuclear Confrontation

- Out of Touch: Cindy McCain's Monday Outfit Cost $300,000

- 5 Deeply Disturbing Things About Last Night’s RNC

- McCain operatives stole American Flags for a political stunt

- "Republican Flag Pins "Made in China"?

- Stop the greed at home too! Obama and McCain Tax Proposals

- McBush - Election speeches of Bush and McCain compared... (movie)

62 diggs (Monday 8.)

8 Comments

RNC ---> Republicans today are not standing for own values and moral

! Steffen from European Union, Dr. - Together We Can! Yes. We. Can. — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:24:45 EDT

RNC - Republicans are not standing for own values and moral

Post of green antiwar blog "Change for better world -"

- Ron Paul on November Ballot for President

- Cheney colleague admits bribery in Halliburton oil deals

- Insane Neocons Will Drive Us to War with Russia and Nuclear Confrontation

- Out of Touch: Cindy McCain's Monday Outfit Cost $300,000

- 5 Deeply Disturbing Things About Last Night’s RNC

- McCain operatives stole American Flags for a political stunt

- "Republican Flag Pins "Made in China"?

- Stop the greed at home too! Obama and McCain Tax Proposals

- McBush - Election speeches of Bush and McCain compared... (movie)

62 diggs (Monday 8.)

8 Comments

RNC - --> Republicans today are not standing for own values and moral

! Steffen from European Union, Dr. - Together We Can! Yes. We. Can. — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:20:45 EDT

RNC - Republicans are not standing for own values and moral

Post of green antiwar blog "Change for better world -"

- Ron Paul on November Ballot for President

- Cheney colleague admits bribery in Halliburton oil deals

- Insane Neocons Will Drive Us to War with Russia and Nuclear Confrontation

- Out of Touch: Cindy McCain's Monday Outfit Cost $300,000

- 5 Deeply Disturbing Things About Last Night’s RNC

- McCain operatives stole American Flags for a political stunt

- "Republican Flag Pins "Made in China"?

- Stop the greed at home too! Obama and McCain Tax Proposals

- McBush - Election speeches of Bush and McCain compared... (movie)

62 diggs (Monday 8.)

8 Comments

RNC - -> Republicans today are not standing for own values and moral

! Steffen from European Union, Dr. - Together We Can! Yes. We. Can. — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:15:29 EDT

RNC - Republicans are not standing for own values and moral

Post of green antiwar blog "Change for better world -"

- Ron Paul on November Ballot for President

- Cheney colleague admits bribery in Halliburton oil deals

- Insane Neocons Will Drive Us to War with Russia and Nuclear Confrontation

- Out of Touch: Cindy McCain's Monday Outfit Cost $300,000

- 5 Deeply Disturbing Things About Last Night’s RNC

- McCain operatives stole American Flags for a political stunt

- "Republican Flag Pins "Made in China"?

- Stop the greed at home too! Obama and McCain Tax Proposals

- McBush - Election speeches of Bush and McCain compared... (movie)

62 diggs (Monday 8.)

8 Comments

RNC --> Republicans today are not standing for own values and moral

! Steffen from European Union, Dr. - Together We Can! Yes. We. Can. — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:08:50 EDT

RNC - Republicans are not standing for own values and moral

Post of green antiwar blog "Change for better world -"

- Ron Paul on November Ballot for President

- Cheney colleague admits bribery in Halliburton oil deals

- Insane Neocons Will Drive Us to War with Russia and Nuclear Confrontation

- Out of Touch: Cindy McCain's Monday Outfit Cost $300,000

- 5 Deeply Disturbing Things About Last Night’s RNC

- McCain operatives stole American Flags for a political stunt

- "Republican Flag Pins "Made in China"?

- Stop the greed at home too! Obama and McCain Tax Proposals

- McBush - Election speeches of Bush and McCain compared... (movie)

62 diggs (Monday 8.)

8 Comments

RNC - - Republicans today are not standing for own values and moral

! Steffen from European Union, Dr. - Together We Can! Yes. We. Can. — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:03:50 EDT

RNC - Republicans are not standing for own values and moral

Post of green antiwar blog "Change for better world -"

- Ron Paul on November Ballot for President

- Cheney colleague admits bribery in Halliburton oil deals

- Insane Neocons Will Drive Us to War with Russia and Nuclear Confrontation

- Out of Touch: Cindy McCain's Monday Outfit Cost $300,000

- 5 Deeply Disturbing Things About Last Night’s RNC

- McCain operatives stole American Flags for a political stunt

- "Republican Flag Pins "Made in China"?

- Stop the greed at home too! Obama and McCain Tax Proposals

- McBush - Election speeches of Bush and McCain compared... (movie)

62 diggs (Monday 8.)

8 Comments

RNC -- Republicans today are not standing for own values and moral

! Steffen from European Union, Dr. - Together We Can! Yes. We. Can. — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 12:58:34 EDT

RNC - Republicans are not standing for own values and moral

Post of green antiwar blog "Change for better world -"

- Ron Paul on November Ballot for President

- Cheney colleague admits bribery in Halliburton oil deals

- Insane Neocons Will Drive Us to War with Russia and Nuclear Confrontation

- Out of Touch: Cindy McCain's Monday Outfit Cost $300,000

- 5 Deeply Disturbing Things About Last Night’s RNC

- McCain operatives stole American Flags for a political stunt

- "Republican Flag Pins "Made in China"?

- Stop the greed at home too! Obama and McCain Tax Proposals

- McBush - Election speeches of Bush and McCain compared... (movie)

62 diggs (Monday 8.)

8 Comments

RNC - Republicans today are not standing for own values and moral

! Steffen from European Union, Dr. - Together We Can! Yes. We. Can. — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 12:47:24 EDT

RNC - Republicans are not standing for own values and moral

Post of green antiwar blog "Change for better world -"

- Ron Paul on November Ballot for President

- Cheney colleague admits bribery in Halliburton oil deals

- Insane Neocons Will Drive Us to War with Russia and Nuclear Confrontation

- Out of Touch: Cindy McCain's Monday Outfit Cost $300,000

- 5 Deeply Disturbing Things About Last Night’s RNC

- McCain operatives stole American Flags for a political stunt

- "Republican Flag Pins "Made in China"?

- Stop the greed at home too! Obama and McCain Tax Proposals

- McBush - Election speeches of Bush and McCain compared... (movie)

62 diggs (Monday 8.)

8 Comments

RNC - Republicans today are not standing for own values and moral

! Steffen from European Union, Dr. - Together We Can! Yes. We. Can. — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 12:27:42 EDT

RNC - Republicans are not standing for own values and moral

Post of green antiwar blog "Change for better world -"

- Ron Paul on November Ballot for President

- Cheney colleague admits bribery in Halliburton oil deals

- Insane Neocons Will Drive Us to War with Russia and Nuclear Confrontation

- Out of Touch: Cindy McCain's Monday Outfit Cost $300,000

- 5 Deeply Disturbing Things About Last Night’s RNC

- McCain operatives stole American Flags for a political stunt

- "Republican Flag Pins "Made in China"?

- Stop the greed at home too! Obama and McCain Tax Proposals

- McBush - Election speeches of Bush and McCain compared... (movie)

62 diggs (Monday 8.)

8 Comments

The election IS about PERSONALITIES

Withfeeling — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 11:42:56 EDT

It drives me a little crazy when Barack responds to questions by saying this election is about "policies". It's not. It's about who the American People trust to lead. It's about values. The policies may be evidence of good judgment, but not evidence of values. Expecting voters to make the reverse leap from policies back to values is not going to work. Talk about values first and loudest.

I think he'd be way better to respond that the campaign is about who has better judgment to lead. Say, here is what I believe. Here are some of my policies that demonstrate my good judgment. Here is some history where I have lead based on good judgment.

This is a classic Democratic error. It has cost us many elections. It needs to stop now. One of Barack's great strengths is that he is more comfortable, and sounds more natural, talking about values than any Democratic candidate since Bill Clinton. He should use this. When he comes off as a policy wonk he doesn't make the sale.

Double Standard?

Wallace — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:47:00 EDT

The Repuplicans claim that Sarah Palin has been measured with a "double standard" and that she has been unfairly treated by the media and by Democrat pundits. I agree with Barack Obama that family members should be "off limits" in discussions about qualifications for office, but I'm not sure if they are completely off limits in discussions about character. Because our families and our relationships are a major part of our true character.

Even so, I'm not going to talk about Palin's qualities as a mother or even as a female. I believe very strongly in equality and that is a non-issue for me. In fact this blog is not about Palin's own double-standards, such as saying one thing and doing another, or making promises that she cannot keep, or making judgments that she is not qualified to make (such as questioning or measuring another person's experience or qualifications).

No, this is about the double standards of all the people who are suddenly, feverishly, major supporters of Sarah Palin. Case in point: for the same length of time that Palin has been serving as governor of Alaska, GOPers and conservatives across the country have been attacking Senator Obama's experience in public service, questioning his faith, and claiming things about him that simply are not true. Many of the people we have seen in the past 5 days on the Palin bandwagon had never even heard of her before last week, and now are lock-step behind her because she's "Christian", "Conservative", and "one of us". Without question they have claimed her and say that she represents their values even though they don't know about her faith--except for what she has claimed on the campaign for governor and because Dr. Dobson stamped her with his approval, so it must be right and true... More disturbing is what these followers think makes her "one of us" when they know very little about her and don't know her personally (is that a hockey mom "one of us" or something more along racial lines, or just about the one-value "pro life"/war/gun value voters?) For months and months, people have hammered at and lied about Obama's faith (is he a Muslim?), questioned his Christianity (is he "Christian enough"? and by whose judgment?), and questioned his patriotism (again, by whose measuring stick?) But those same people are up in arms because Palin is getting questioned at all about anything.... talk about a double standard.

If we were measuring her political experience, about the only strength I noticed was her ability to smile energetically while lying through her teeth: Palin's most famous quote so far has been "...and as for Washington and that bridge to nowhere, I told them thanks but no thanks, if we wanted a bridge we'd build it ourselves..." which implies that her administration turned down pork barrel money when the truth is that they kept the federal funds that the corrupt Ted Stevens had helped appropriate for that famous bridge to nowhere, and all Palin really did was redirect the $25 million or so (of all of our tax dollars) for other pet Alaska projects. Pretty smooth political scheming and then misleading of the public. Palin should be further measured on her political savvy--she has a high approval rating in Alaska, and you would too, if you took refunds from big oil and put the dollars in the hands of local citizens instead of using those funds for statewide infrastructure (why pay for infrastructure when you can get that paid for by taxpayers from the lower 48 states?) That is kind of like giving "tax breaks" and "stimulus checks" in attempts to appease the public when the government is borrowing from countries like China to pay oil debts to countries in the Middle East... Palin's experience could also be measured regarding her 20 month old administration already under investigation for illegal attempts to fire a state trooper because he was divorcing Palin's sister, and a history of firing anyone who crossed her or got in her way from her time in "city" government up to her current administration.

In her very short tenure as governor, there is plenty to question about her motives, character, values, and whether she truly serves "the people" or is simply serving her own recently skyrocketing career goals. But what I really question, double standard or not, is her ability to represent "all of us" and the best interests of this country and the world as VP, a heartbeat away from the Presidency, the most powerful position in the world. This is one person who believes that the self described "pit bull with lipstick" is NOT the right person for the job.

What is Unity?

PrayersForAmerica — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:27:29 EDT

By Julie Redstone

Unity cannot claim to be true to its origins and meaning if it allows even one other to be held as less worthy than the rest.

___________________

Today, in America, the call to unity has become louder and more vocal, emblazoned upon the banner of current presidential politics, and awakening within the heart a feeling of hope and of striving. Unity moves with the new vibration of spiritual light that is arriving. But what is unity?

There are many people hungry today for a vision of the world in which people do not hurt each other, in which anger and indifference no longer take the toll in human life and in human pain that they presently do, and in which conflicts between people, groups, parties, cultures, and nations can be resolved peacefully, without recourse to violence, force, or denial of the right to respect that each human being must be accorded.

This vision of unity is awakening in the hearts of people everywhere. It is a hunger for cooperation instead of enmity; for brotherhood instead of separation; for compassion instead of indifference; and for the perception of a world in which the human family includes all persons, no matter what their political, social, or sexual orientation, and no matter how reprehensible we feel their behavior to be.

For this vision to become real, the heart must find a way of remaining in a state of love, and of extending compassion even to those with whom we disagree vehemently – even to those who are our adversaries, recognizing in their opposition, the underlying causes of desperation, outrage, and helplessness, rather than evil. As our hearts become more expansive, we do not need to expand our acceptance of wrongdoing, for justice must still hold all people accountable for their actions, no matter how they feel. And individuals, while forgiven for their feelings, cannot be excused for their behavior where it impinges on others.

Despite such behavior, the heart and soul of all beings must be recognized. It must be recognized and it must be honored, no matter how culpable the outer behavior of another, no matter how painful to the heart. Unity can only be inclusive for all or it is not unity, but only a new and more subtle form of prejudice which cannot find respect or accord equality to all.

Within America, ‘unity’ cannot tolerate disdain toward those who disagree with us while we maintain a position of superiority and relegate others to an inferior position.

Unity cannot claim to love all, while denouncing those who are skeptical or disillusioned, or who seek a different goal.

Unity cannot sanction prejudice of any kind, and must be firmly rooted in an honest appraisal of the means, both subtle and obvious, by which people are treated unequally.

Unity cannot speak with a voice of sarcasm, derision, innuendo, ridicule, meanness, backbiting, or disrespect toward others, even while others may pursue such a course.

In a word, unity cannot claim to be true to its origins and meaning if it allows even one other to be held as less worthy than the rest.

For this to be realized as part of a political system, national ethic, or personal creed, it is necessary to stop justifying our anger and to stop acting out of fear. These are not simple things to do, however. They are deep and profound adjustments of the psyche that require us to place love in the supreme moral position within our hearts, allowing no other motive, feeling, or response to compete with it.

For this to take place, we must feel strongly the pricelessness of each human life and each human heart, and must seek to honor and uphold each.

Furthermore, we must seek to go beyond the words we use which may articulate the ideals we cherish, to a more honest appraisal of the tone of voice we use and the feelings we display. This self-scrutiny must take place both in public and in private, within individuals and within nations, to determine whether we are just speaking of unity or practicing it as well.

This movement toward unity may not happen all at once. It may not happen without difficulty as the counterforces which create special interests and selfish motives continue to seek their day in the sun. But it will happen, it must happen, because the time for unity’s expression is now, and we are witnessing, even amongst the division and discord that still cover our interactions with others, the birth of a new way of being in the world and of a new life for the heart. This new life is infusing the deeper layers of consciousness of many people in many places, and will one day make itself visible as the dominant ethic that governs a free society and the dominant motive that governs each human heart.

For today, we participate in this transition by examining the motives of our own heart, and by allowing ourselves to notice where we have set another apart from the rest – apart from our compassion and forgiveness. When we reclaim our own hearts and allow them to beat to the new vibration of unity with greater purity, we simultaneously elevate our own consciousness, and contribute to the advent of greater peace in the world around us.

* * *

From Light Omega Newsletter August 30, 2008

Silk Purse...Sows Ear

Citizens for Change in America! — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:33:17 EDT

Nothing like trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear…I think they have went too far this time!
Yep, INSANe McCain for sure!
Bringing in all the wounded and lame ducks we can shoot at while they’re sitting in their mess…all you hunters Lock N’ Load…the big Wolverine is a coming to town…stay tuned for the funny pages best when the party shows how desperate it really is tonight.
Did you know that a wolverine will break into your home or cabin and will destroy and defecate on anything it can not eat right at that moment or take along with it.
Maybe we could add to the plank…new boards, to help make it easier for them to get to the ships edge to jump…their boat is sinking…with all this fluff and window dressing they must be gagging on their own lies they are trying to cram down everyone’s throat.
I’m certain their right hand doesn’t know what the left one is doing as the far Christian right searches for the answers on Latch key Kids, Home Alone Children and Children Raising Children issues…are we really better off?
Really, are we better off than when one worked and one took care of the kids; one took care of business and the other took care of the kids business; one nurtured and the other took care of making sure there was enough food on the table…the nourishment to grow good minds and strong bodies.
This may Sound Crazy, but, what happened?

While You Were Sleeping

KFreed — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:28:38 EDT

State of the Union and How We Got Here (Talking Politics with "Values Voters”):

Lest someone forget to mention SOCIALISM- OH MY GOD, WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE – Define Socialism. Remember that once upon a time in America the following industries (and others) were regulated (overseen) by the government. Google. Google. Google.

Deregulation (what our corporations – a.k.a. Republican sponsored charities – like to refer to as “anti-socialism “ - which means “no oversight/no accountability” – and seem to have sold you on with a frightening amount of success) has brought you the current state of economic and political affairs we are so enjoying at this moment, including but not limited to:

Home Mortgage Crisis:

“Home Mortgage Crisis” translates to Mortgage Fraud, including appraisal fraud, a circumstance beyond your control but which nevertheless will cost you dearly should real estate agents and appraisers be in cahoots. This practice, as far as I know, is illegal as well as unethical, but is embraced more often than we’d like to admit. Or maybe the law has changed, which it has a funny way of doing when you’re not looking.

How would I know? Well, “Hi, I’m Karen. I’m a recovering home equity loan processor.” My choices were either to quit or have a heart attack, but since I had no health insurance, having a heart attack wasn’t an option.

Lacking any limitations, and apparently no particular reason to regulate themselves, mortgage companies invented a series of financial “products” which included the Adjusted Rate Mortgage (ARM), Interest-only Mortgage, Home Equity Line of Credit, Balloon Rate Mortgage, and Combined Mortgage (super-sized mortgages, meaning first and second rolled into one which negated the 20% down rule). And who knows what else.

Now, it’s not so much that unprecedented numbers of “greedy” consumers suddenly decided to make a run on banks in pursuit of the home mortgage Holy Grail. In fact, it was the other way around. Mortgage brokers were tripping over each other in order to offer consumers the deal of a lifetime: low (or lower) interest rates and low (or lower) monthly payments.

If you owned a home between the years 2000 and 2008 you probably received unsolicited phone calls, and/or direct mail offers, and/or email from a few mortgage brokers. Chances are you were inundated with mortgage loan solicitations until you cried uncle. For the most part, the idea was to get people who already owned a home to refinance their existing mortgages at lower interest rates or to otherwise take out an adjustable rate loan on the equity in the home.

And that would have been fine if the parties concerned had been at all concerned about the prospect of going to hell.

It should come as no surprise that once prospective borrowers sat down to crunch numbers, predatory mortgage brokers may “inadvertently” have failed to apprise said borrower of the sort of loan structure that would produce the incredibly low interest rates and the magnificently low monthly payments. No need to bother about it really, seeing as the broker was in a position to electronically submit a loan application on behalf of the borrower even if the borrower decided against it. This last bit had to do with commissions.

In order to ensure that a borrower remained unapprised, one strategy that worked well for us (the lender) was to ensure that closing documents (containing, naturally, the loan agreement) did not make it to the closing agent until the day of closing.

Anyone who has ever been held captive at a closing table can attest to the fact that reading your closing documents at the table is a no-no. Get the picture? Even if a borrower had the opportunity and did take the time to read the sixty pages contained in the closing packet (yes, at last count we were at sixty pages), the legalese contained therein would on principle presuppose a lack of comprehension. But then again, it rarely occurred to these borrowers to adopt any sort of CYA policy because there has never really been a precedent for the widely-distributed, wholesale fleecing that took place. Those who did catch on were, shall we say, a little huffy.

Somehow, these mortgage companies, along with mortgage brokers, and even appraisers, got the idea that there would be no consequences for this veritable free-for-all. Where’d they get that idea, I wonder? No oversight/no accountability and a change in the laws that had previously kept mortgage lenders and investment banks from fondling each other.

So, before the ink even had a chance to dry, the mortgage lenders turned right around and sold those “subprime” mortgages to other banks. Then the rotten apples got bundled into packages alongside the good apples and the whole kit-and-caboodle went up for sale again. And so on and so forth. Finally the bad apples made their way into the investment market where stock brokers proceeded to sell them to investors. Some of those investors were companies managing retirement accounts – the retirement accounts of your granny and mine (see Bank and Investment Firm Failures).

When the interest rates on these mortgages got cleared for take-off, as everyone (except maybe the borrower) knew was inevitable, and monthly mortgage payments began to mushroom beyond the borrower’s capacity to pay, then all hell broke loose. Thus, record numbers of people began to lose their homes.

There you go – in a nutshell.

Bank and investment Firm Failures: (direct result of home mortgage sham)

Part I: Pensions, investments, and jobs of average workers are lost as a result of the home mortgage crisis, while corporate honchos preternaturally amass previously unimagined wealth and then sail off into the clear blue horizon.

Part II: Government bails out bank/investment firm with your tax dollars, but you, tax payer, are still inexplicably devoid of pension, investment, and job – or a house. Tough luck – it was your fault in the first place! Or so goes the right-wing version of events when in fact the aforementioned fiasco was orchestrated by the aforementioned corporate honchos with unfailing assistance of the “right” arm of government whose coffers will needfully overflow with the aforementioned loot in the form of “campaign contributions.”

And what, you ponder, will be the fate of the foreclosed-upon real estate? Answer: predetermination.

Part III: Let’s ‘cipher: wealthy investors buy back real estate at "wholesale" prices, wait out recession /depression, resell, profit. WHALLAH! - the “axis of evil” attains heights of perfection previously unknown in the real-estate-mortgage banking-investment market complex.

Don’t take my word for it. Google. Google. Google.

Shortcut: Phil Gram plus Republican enablers both public and private is one answer. Google anyway just to ensure that you understand this is not merely a figment of a liberal imagination.

Oil Crisis:

Record gas prices at the pump (can also be redefined as inflation – as price of everything associated is sky-rocketing – food, in particular) are unscrupulously undermining what’s left of our economy. All modes of transportation and some forms of home heating are affected.

Who benefits? Oil conglomerates earning record profits and of course Wall Street investors.

Sidebar: when asked on “Meet the Press” - oooh, about a year ago or so – if Big Oil thought maybe it might please cut the American public some slack, oil company representatives began cackling like old crones. Their response (once they managed to regain composure): “We’re in business to make money. “ Nothing personal; it’s just business. Except for the fact that they have the power to hurl our economy back into the Depression era if prices continue to rise at the rate they have been in the past year.

On the other hand, I can understand why the notion of affordability might seem foreign to people with gold-plated toilets.

But wait, GAS PRICES ARE DROPPING! Could it be that the recent decline in gas prices may be related to the fact that we’ve cut consumption through voluntary unaffordability and have seriously begun to turn the collective eyeball toward alternative fuel, public transportation, renewable energy, and the need for higher vehicle gas mileage, amongst other such progressive-thinking notions? Or else it’s an oil tease. Besides, it's an election year.

Just so’s you know: the U.S. Department of Energy has publically admitted that “drill here, drill now” will not equate to relief at the pump – not now (which isn’t physically possible to accomplish any time soon anyway) and not ten years from now. Google. Google. Google. Here, I’ll make it easy: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/otheranalysis/ongr.html.

Another juicy nugget: energy companies already hold leases on about 68 million acres on and off-shore. Instead of using them, they’re stockpiling.

Nuclear energy (45 new plants spanning the nation, brought to you courtesy of McCain’s-brains) is also not a feasible solution either cash-wise or otherwise. Why would we spend such exorbitant sums in order to dig ourselves further into a hole, when we could use it to dig ourselves out? Besides, the mere mention of a nuclear power plant in the back pasture brings on a case of the creeps as visions of neon three-headed frogs dance in our heads.

We have a sterling opportunity here to reinvent ourselves based on environmental sustainability, and to free ourselves from dependence on foreign oil and domestic oil companies. Google. Google. Google.

*Test on Monday over the abundant possibilities of generating renewable energy (extra credit for answers involving the words “Swedish,” “Belgian,” and “innovation”).

High Unemployment: (current rate of which does not take into account those not collecting unemployment benefits and can therefore be estimated at a much higher rate than is currently reported)

Thanks to all of the above: economy in crisis = job loss = plummeting consumer confidence due to lack of consumer confidence in sustainable paycheck +/- newly-minted condition of homelessness = more job loss. It’s a vicious cycle, isn’t it?

Don’t lose sleep over it though. You can always find work at a chicken-plucking factory: “There are jobs Americans aren't doing. ... If you've got a chicken factory, a chicken-plucking factory, or whatever you call them, you know what I'm talking about." –George W. Bush, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007 (http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushisms.htm).

Healthcare Crisis:

Even if you ARE insured and suffer a catastrophic illness or injury, your insurance will likely not be enough to cover the medical costs (unless you’re a member of Congress with health entitlements) and you can therefore look forward to bankruptcy. Oops, no you can’t – because the powers that be made sure that it would be nearly impossible to file for bankruptcy (unless you’re a mega-corporation with economic incentive entitlements) and so you lose your home, your car, and everything else.

Note: in the midst of the build-up to the mortgage crisis, a law was passed that would prevent individuals from filing bankruptcy: Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. Was it coincidence or merely convenient?

As an added bonus, your credit rating goes down the tubes. In turn, bad credit could prevent you from obtaining employment, an apartment, and even basic utility services. Thus, should you have no family upon which to rely – you may find yourself among the much-derided homeless population. And let me tell you: there’s a fine line between this life and the one under the nearest bridge. To ensure this, the only bad decision you need make is to get sick. Thus, we refer to this condition as a “healthcare crisis.”

Note: half of all bankruptcies in the U.S. are due to [were, since you can longer file for bankruptcy] financially debilitating medical expenses, notwithstanding the fact that three-quarters of those entering into bankruptcy had health insurance at the onset of a catastrophic illness or injury (Harvard study). Google. Google. Google.

War on Democracy/Political Corruption: (related to corporate corruption)

Our system of government has even succeeded in deregulating ITSELF (meaning that the regulating bodies of Congress and the Judiciary with Executive oversight have been rendered impotent.) The President has proclaimed that he may ignore any law of his choosing if only he recites the words “Executive Privilege.” He may furthermore alter any law passed by Congress due to a little known Executive perk referred to as the “Signing Statement.”

"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm

the dictator."

—George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2000

(http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushdumbquotes2.htm)

"I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office."
—George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008
(http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushisms.htm)

Let us also not forget that (thanks to The Patriot Act) the government may now spy on you at will. It has, in addition, been empowered to detain you without charge and without benefit of trial so long as it labels you a “terrorist. “ The official definition of “terrorist” is rather loose and has come to include language that suggests “anti-government” activity which would not, as it is, preclude peaceful dissent. Thus your local “fusion center” (fusion of local police department and federal intelligence agencies) may effectively alleviate you of your right to petition the government, to the freedom of speech, to freedom of the press, and the right to peaceably assemble. In other words: Adios First Amendment to the Constitution! Almost.

You may still practice a religion of choice so long as it jives with “Judeo-Christian values.” Whew! We were worried there for a minute that we might not be able to invoke the name of God in every conceivable political discussion. The latest: “Terrorist Watch List Hits One Million Names”: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barry-steinhardt/terrorist-watch-list-hits_b_112596.html.

So if you’re a good Christian and are hoping to escape the assault on your dignity as a free human being by rendering yourself unto the arms of the Lord when your number comes up– not so fast. There is one last indignity that awaits you upon your departure to the hereafter.

Allow me to explain.

It just so happens that our very own Constitution states, “The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States.”

How exactly does the current tax system provide for the “general welfare”? Instead, your taxes contribute to the general welfare of the wealthiest among us. The Bush Tax Cuts (your share was $300, remember?), which John McCain suddenly finds so appealing, further provide untold amounts of payola scraped from the backsides of those who can least afford it – whether living or DEAD. Think I’m joshin’? Okay, so here’s another example of the endless despicable things that our sanctified corporations (through the generous support of our “democratic” government) do with your tax dollars: “dead peasant” insurance. Just a hint: the term “dead peasant” refers to YOU and ME once rigamortis sets in.

In short, “dead peasant” insurance is a slang term for corporate-owned life insurance. So maybe you’re thinking, Great! My company will look out for my family if I die. Wrong. Here’s how it works: an employer is legally entitled to take out secret life insurance policies on rank-and-file employees. The insured employees don’t even know that the policies exist. Whenever said employees kick the bucket, the employer collects even if an employee no longer works for the company. How much goes to the family of the deceased? NONE – ZERO – ZIP.

It isn’t so much the insurance money that corporations are salivating over – it’s the generous tax breaks they get. The premiums and insurance payoffs are tax deductible. Moreover, the company can borrow against the insurance policy. Therefore, as a taxpayer, you indirectly assist your employer (or former employer) in profiting from your demise to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. SA-WEET!

According to MSN Money, “Hundreds of companies -- including Dow Chemical, Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart, Walt Disney and Winn-Dixie -- have purchased this insurance on more than 6 million rank-and-file workers” (http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/insurance/p64954.asp). Once you’ve begun Googling, note that the names Enron and Phil Gramm (McCain’s economic advisor) mysteriously crop up again. Phil Gramm happens to be McCain’s pick for Secretary of the Treasury should he be elected President.

Recently I’ve learned that new laws require companies to obtain employee consent before taking out corporate-owned life insurance policies. BUT, is consent a condition of employment? You do the 'ciphering.

In light of these and similar events, if you’re still aboard the “Straight-Talk Express,” I’d say it’s time to get off the bus, Gus. Make a new plan, Stan. No need to be coy, Roy - just set yourself free.

Meanwhile, I’ll be sleeping with one eye open.

Experience? POW!

Henry M — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:32:11 EDT

Here's a non-partisan (it isn't kind to Kerry) video on McCain's POW credentials: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXjWguoFbpI&feature=related. Show it to your friends who are buying into the McCampaign's ads that imply that McCain's veteran/POW status is a qualification for presidency. And if they need any more convincing, show them these: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KjsEs46C70 and http://tinyurl.com/mccainnotahero .

Yes, this election is about experience and values, and Obama and Biden win on both counts! Other than being a former congressional (Keating Five) "maverick," McCain's only "experience" is his bottom of his West Point class/POW military experience! Since his military experience that ended 27 years ago when he divorced his crippled wife and married wealth, younger Cindy, whose money he used to finance his political ambitions. Palin's only experience has been as a mother of five (still is! does she have time to be both mother and VP? values?), mayor of a town that's smaller than most people's high school graduating class, and then as a governor ready to turn over her sparsely populated state's natural resources to the large oil companies.

With experience like those, they're going to have a hard time justifying their attacks on Obama's experience. Senator Obama was a constitutional scholar and professor, and worked in Chicago, the largest city by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest, a dominant center of finance, industry and culture in the region, and the third-most populous city in the United States. Unlike McCain, Neither Biden or Obama have ever been credibly associated with any scandalous behavior, public or private. It's that simple!

Personality is also a factor; it's amazing that the McCampaign has their followers believing that Obama's likeability is a bad thing and excusing and even applauding McCain's crotchety-old-man volatilty and weak memory!

Get the word out, and please contribute and get out the vote for Obama. Help America help itself before it's too late: four more years of McSame would irreperably damage our country!

Henry M

http://my.barackobama.com/page/outreach/view/main/PListe4Obama

From the Campaign Trail: Saddleback, Biden, and Traditional Family Values

Jay Garrano — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:35:23 EDT

(from Revolution newspaper #141, August 24, 2008)

From the Campaign Trail:

Saddleback, Biden, and Traditional Family Values

Barack Obama’s mission of “bringing us all together” included three major events over the past two weeks, heading into his acceptance speech Friday night at Mile High Stadium.

First, on August 16, Obama participated in the first exchange between the two Presidential candidates at Saddleback Church in Orange County. Participating in what was, in essence, the first debate of the ‘08 election at Rick Warren’s megachurch was a major move on Obama’s part to embrace and legitimize the imposition of Christian fundamentalism into all realms of society. Then, on Saturday, August 24, Obama announced that Joe Biden, would be his running mate. A long-time ruling class insider, Biden has not just been complicit with, but a key player in the whole development of the so-called “War on Terror,” a war for empire that has brought a million deaths to Iraq, and bloodshed and suffering across the Middle East. And Michelle Obama’s August 26 speech to the Democratic National Convention was a major statement—an acclamation of oppressive, patriarchal traditional family values.

Each of these events provoked new rounds of outrage from many of Obama’s supporters. But the basic question for those people is: Are they betrayals of Obama’s principles? Or examples of what Obama’s mission is all about?

Time for a change in the focus of the campaign

Dianne4change — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:55:36 EDT

Up until now, the focus of the campaign has been "No more Bush Policies". John McCain's choice for VP, Sarah Palin, has made necessary the change in focus from this to " Bringing back morality to America", to reach both the women and the fundamentalist christian vote. I am a former fundamentalist Christian myself, and stil a Christian, but a bit more open-minded.

Do not take this woman for granted in bringing strength to the Republican party in this election. Many undecided voters and disgruntled women voters may well indeed decide to vote for McCain because of his choice for VP...a strong and principled woman who is not afraid of a fight. I urge you to investigate her position on all the important issues and arm yourself with plenty of ammuntion with which to fight against their policies.

What do I use going door to door? I will tell you. There are some, mainly fundamentalist christians who will not vote for Obama solely on the abortion issue. However, I try to avoid that issue, but what is more immoral to you? Respecting a woman's choice to choose, or putting other's sons and daughters on the battlefield with not enough equipment to fight, no timeline for withdrawl, in a useless war to die endlessly for oil profits? Who has the finest family values? Let's see...a man who calls his wife a trollop, and worse(McCain), and a woman who used her power to get someone fired because they wouldn't fire someone who divorced her sister(Palin), or a man who took the oath of office at his son's hospital bedside, commutes home every night for years(Biden), and a man who loves and respects his wife, giving her much credit in putting up with him during his campaign(Obama)? I think the choice is clear. We all make mistakes and I am sure my two candidates have, but the reality is that no matter what, they have strong family values, and respect for those who disagree with their stances. I have the highest respect for our Democratic candidates, but the Republican candiadates, although I respect them, have not earned my trust, as they have not had the best moral record on the campaign trail.

It's time to bring decency, respect and morality back to this country and that is my fight with the obvious christian undecided voters I encounter. I will not bring up the issues unless they do first, but always make sure folks know that Republican policies have made this country a mess, and that with our current Democratic choices the middle class has hope for a better economic future, and our entire country has hope for renewed respect and love for our fellow man, which will reduce violent crime by getting us back to our original premises of unity, not to mention, a renewed awe and respect for our country by the rest of the world. Who wouldn't want all that? Only the closed minded, who do not care for our country as a whole.

BRINGING PROSPERITY AND MORALITY BACK TO AMERICA- OBAMA/BIDEN '08!!!

Why are we always cleaning up the values mess?

frankpatton — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:09:19 EDT

Government in the hands of people who want to drown it in a bathtub, who want to turn it into doing one thing and one thing only - keeping by enforcement the privileges of the few over the many, is not what government should, could or might be.

Why is it that people get convinced that government is something that is against their own values? Because they are told it is and the only way to a line their values with government is to take the parts they don't agree with and destroy those parts. No matter how it would affect other people who might benefit from value choices that were made in the past that benefited those people, who up to now, had no way to advance their values and concerns.

We live in a continuous conflict of values that are either recognized or ignored, it’s the continuing struggle that has no end yet does have a beginning, a political system that has to struggle with that dilemma - forever.

In this blog I want to concentrate on this dilemma, please contribute!

Michelle Hits It Out Of The Park!

Mark Ungemach (Democratic Committee Person, Franklin Township, Landenberg, PA) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:36:47 EDT

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/08/26/michelle_obama/print.html

Isn't she lovely?

In her prime-time speech Monday, Michelle Obama foiled her harshest detractors and perhaps even won over Middle America.

By Rebecca Traister

Aug. 26, 2008 | Michelle Obama had one job on Monday night: to not be scary.

As the first black woman ever to make a beeline for the East Wing, Obama, a lawyer with degrees from Princeton and Harvard, has been dogged by an aura of suspicion: about her brains and politics and attitude and all sorts of things that stand in for both racial and gender discomfort. Early on, Maureen Dowd tagged her "emasculating"; she's been attacked over her patriotism; there were the insidious "whitey" whispers. The infamous New Yorker cover summed it up by caricaturing her as a slinky, Afro'd Angela Davis, saucily giving her man a so-called terrorist fist bump.

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

A mistake was made.

paulec — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:43:50 EDT

I thought 'input' meant ideas such that were not likely to feature in the platform for 'change'. My first political meeting I enjoyed but felt idiotic, and skipped the other local meet that I had signed up for. (Sorry). But these are the 'notes' I took to the Platform Meeting in T-burg that I had copied and left to a handful of people there also:

Background Check, GOBAMA

Wayne from Atlanta, GA — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:03:35 EDT

Even though I agree with the overall message/conclusion of this video, it is a cheap shot piece, despite the collection of interesting and verifiable facts.

McCain is loaded with cheap shots, expect much more of them. If you have no bullets, then you have to use cheap shot or you are out of the game.

Wayne,
I personally could care less whether Obama's middle name is Hussein, or where he went to school, or that he is sometimes uncomfortable wearing a US flag pin or placing his hand over his heart, or who his parents were/are, or that his wife is finally proud of her country, etc., etc., etc.

If you really could care less, and if the McCain camp could care less, then why are these points dwelled on? What is "school". School is more than just "college". School is life. We learn from our masters, we absorb their teachings, and we take away the pearls and "stand on the shoulders of giants" as we walk forward. Is it a crime to have studied under a prof that may have had political, spiritual or personal views that are considered to be extreme? Is this not part of an education? Should the government have control over what is taught to the point of ridiculing a student for having learned another point of view in the world? Is that not in and of itself extreme? I believe in the constitution it is written as one of the personal freedoms we each have. Therefore, not caring where someone went to school is very important. Lets pick this up at a later point.

Values, Statesmanship, Competency, Infrastructure - A Shared Vision for a New America

Doug Robinson — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 16:29:47 EDT

Values, Statesmanship, Competency, Infrastructure: These four principals highlighted tonight’s Grass Roots Democratic Platform forum in Great Falls. Eight people, assisted by an able moderator, Chuck Tyler wove together an effective tapestry of issues in their discussion of primary concerns they would like to see addressed by the Democratic Party and its Presidential Nominee during the next four years. Though the overall discussion centered on domestic policy, the group was unanimous that foreign policy was of equal importance, one of its members pointing out that a balanced concern between domestic and foreign policy was indicative of a truly successful and responsible nation.

Defining The Fog

Michael Brass — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 18:17:51 EDT

What is the fog? It is the limitations of our own perspectives. It is the way in which our minds contrive to confuse what is convenient with what is true.

The fog is the state of mind that the ends justify the means, that the result greatly outweighs the way we get there. As if process and product could ever really be separated. It is the haze that so clouded the minds of our government these past 8 years that patriotic people of intellect could be so wrong for so long. It is the blindness to the fact that our actions are always an ingredient in the composition of the new day.

Torture.

Dishonesty.

Disrespect for the law and for values.

These things change us. These things put us further off the path of our noblest selves. This is true however tempting the shortcut may be. Our world increasingly overwhelms us with the change of pace and the pace of change. We must keep our focus on the path or circumstances will lead us astray.

One final thought on the fog. When we take the responsible to stay the noble path through the fog we are more able to recognize our missteps. When we allow ourselves to be led astray by outside influences or our own self-interest we become more and more invested in not seeing the truth. For instance, can we really expect George W., Dick Cheney or Donald Rumsfeld to ever face the reality of how lost they've been. They've already invested so much in not seeing. We all have a little W in us. Let us never get so enshrouded in fog that we get to that point where the truth becomes a specter that haunts the corners of our consciousness.

Let's embrace life. Let's embrace the truth of life. May our earnest hearts serve as inspiration for one another's enlightenment.

Risk and Values -- and selling your brand

Kevin Taglang — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:28:00 EDT

The buzz this morning is about a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll on the election (see this and this). I'll not focus on the numbers that say Sen Obama has a slight lead over Sen McCain -- we still have a long way to November and a lot can happen before people cast ballots. I'd like to look at the numbers that reflect registered voters' attitudes about the two candidates, however.

When And How to End a Friendship

Ms CYPRAH — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:26:23 EDT

Many people expect true friendships to last a lifetime. But they forget about adult evolution and the fact that the kind of friendship or company we might have wanted in our 20s, when we were seeking to be affirmed, validated and included, would not be appropriate 20 years on when we are far more experienced, assured, confident and aspiring, especially if that friend is stuck back there somewhere and hasn't really moved with us or with the times.

A Progressive Leader's View of Politics!

Vision Achiever (George, Germantown, TN) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:16:58 EDT

The Audacity of Hope' is one of the most thought-provoking recently written books centered on world and domestic politics. Barack Obama offers his paragon of politics for the 21st century built upon a foundation of old guiding principles that stretch back to our Nation's forefathers to recent political figures and events that have shaped our political discourse over the last several years.

Though stretched in some areas, Barack pulls off an eloquently written prose of ideas that offer perspectives that are more practical than fresh (a dissertation so to speak). From family, values, faith, race, world politics, opportunity, and the constitution, he remains consistent in his love for country; however, skeptical of its future course. Specifically, on family his opinions on the erosion of the traditional family cannot be argued. Two-parent working households that compete with time spent with children is not opinion - it is fact. To further complicate matters, he points out - painfully - the erosion of the black family with startling statistics that pose no easy answer. Barack's approach however is a good starting point. From review of welfare laws that have separated families to engaging children as role model adults in order to compete against a pop culture filled with distractions (perceived and real).

His economic views are his strong point. Obama is able to pin-point in simple terms how globalization of manufacturing jobs, the emergence of low-paying service sector jobs, the complications and trade-offs of NAFTA and CAFTA have depressed our Nation's earning power, stagnated wages, and provided Americans with a lower standard of living despite our dominance as a economic superpower - the results now being felt primarily because of our cavalier approach to deal with crumbling infrastructure, job re-training, funding disparities in secondary education, and lack of affordable college-level education. Though Obama points out the difficulty in bold, fresh terms, his solution is based on the foundation of the past - Clinton's loose-ends with regards to NAFTA, the fallacy of 'No Child Left Behind' for Bush, and the missing link between teacher merit pay and performance. The solutions have been offered before. What Obama advocates is an executed, sequence-based series of action steps - a step-result-step-result format (a practical, perfect world format).

Adding to the texture and the value of this book is how Obama is able to talk about the role of faith without sounding preachy. He navigates his way through the role of faith in our politics, recognizing the difference in our religious views, but upholding the common ground found in most organized religion - value of life, respect for fellow men and women, and execution of the Golden Rule - common characteristics that stretch across the religious spectrum. His view is that faith within politics should be embraced from a world-view with the nuances of the differences down-played to prevent the widening of the gap that unites us all as Americans (or Americans to be) - a difficult view that he effectively framed.

On Race, Obama cannot win with everyone, but can relate to almost all of us. Being bi-racial, Obama tip-toes on this issue so not to alienate or shun his black roots, but open up enough to embrace his white roots. He discusses Race with the authority of someone given a "pass" to speak from both sides while leveraging his world experience to offer insight on the Latino and Asian American experience. It comes up short rather than flat primarily because a topic so complicated deserves its own work in and of itself - from Barack (maybe?). The decay of the black family, the resentment (real or perceived) of whites, the earning power (or lack thereof) for Latinos (and black), and the emergence (and impressive escalation) of Asians cannot be condensed within a short chapter. He points out the crumbling infrastructure and support system of the black family; however, his solutions break from past civil rights leaders and aims toward social responsibility, inclusion, and a "make it happen" approach to life - again, a hard explanation to condense. Latinos and blacks have common ground, but Obama doesn't really go into the details of the breaking (tipping) point that keeps these two races apart (only pointing out the obvious blue collar-low paying job battle - however, it's a lot more complicated). Instead he simplifies this discussion to the common threads we all share, the progress made, and the challenges ahead.

Finally, on world politics, Obama demonstrates the skill of knowledge, mastery of geography and government, and a "big picture" view of resolving our world standing. To this day (and as evident within this work), Barack is comfortable that he both voted and spoke out against the war and therefore is able to write with conviction on the faulty reasoning that led the U.S. to war. At the same time, he realizes the outcome and conclusion of our presence in Iraq and increasing our world standing will be anything but easy.

Engaging, straight-forward, and beautifully written, 'The Audacity of Hope' is a book to be shared and reviewed with the passage of time. Consistent in his view to this day - Barack Obama is able to acknowledge the past and offer insight on how to shape our future based on the framework of what we have and share as Americans and world citizens.

Why the Teaching of Values is a Very Difficult Task in Our Modern Age

Ms CYPRAH — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:01:43 EDT

Teaching solid values which help to build character is very important in families. Values are the legacy of a good home and provide the basis of acceptable behaviour. They also decide the moral standards of a family, they give confidence in dealing with specific issues and situations and provide the essential link from one generation to another.

However, the teaching of values in any age or any society is not an easy one because of the fluid and questionable nature of the values themselves, and the ever changing demands in behaviour of each new age. A few years ago, values were universally based on religious Christian teachings. The bible was the foundation for the values we adopted, with a fear of God as the decisive element to ensure we kept to those values. Most values related to the individual and keeping his/her place harmoniously within the wider community. Religion also affected expectations and behaviour relating to marriage.

Media Assignation in the wrost

Edward J. — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:13:46 EDT

How is it that Obama is any different than those who, in the past, have ran for the same position because he allowed his children to answer a few questions of reporters? Not to have answered would have shown a sign of rudeness and because the children did answer the media is puts it out that Obama is using his children in some way. Mind you, it was the media who crashed the birthday party and it was the media who posed the question to the child. One would have to think that had the questions not been asked his daughter would not have had a comment to give the media. For more, who invited them to the party anyway?

Call to Renewal Analysis

mrboma — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:34:12 EDT

This is the second essay I have written on Obama's public religiosity. This is an in depth analysis of Senator Obama's keynote speech at the Call to Renewal Conference in 2006, and was written about a week following the speech at the request of Pastor Dan on the blog Street Prophets. If you select [Issues] on Obama's website, and then choose [Faith] from the drop down menu, you can watch the speech this essay addresses. At the time, Senator Obama told Pastor Dan that many of the criticisms of his speech had come from people who had not read or heard the entire speech. So I went back and watched the speech a few times and read the full text to see what critics were missing. Taken as a whole, I found it to be a self-contradictory mess, and a worry that Senator Obama's religiosity may threaten the wall of separation between Church and State. I am especially concerned given his recent proposal on so-called faith-based initiatives.

FORGING OUR PATHS

Elizabeth Gillette — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:58:23 EDT

I know we each have our reasons for wanting Barack to be president, as each of us knows, intuitively, this is a defining moment in our lives. One that will greatly affect our future and one day be looked upon as our history. It will be a path, our journey that we forge together, define, and shape, as Americans, as a community, as family members, and individuals. Our history does not need to be written for us by someone else. It needs to be defined by us, with conscious choices while taking responsibility for our actions. These are the choices, these are the moments, which create our journeys, forge our paths, and where we write our own chapters, and ultimately our destinies. I am inspired. I know the very first time I heard about Barack was from a hateful email sent about him, judging him harshly, and with made up lies. I never take anyone's word about another individual so I researched the email and found it to be untrue, of course. In addition, I could not rely on the words of hate for it is not a value I will pass onto the next generation. Through my research, I learned the truth. I learned who he was, where he had been, and most important where he is going. Barack Obama understands what this country was built upon; the values, the dreams, the spirit, with all of its hope and the courage that came with each and every fight to grow a nation, creating a more perfect union. Yes, I researched a man and found one who deeply understands the words, “United we stand divided we fall.” I learned of a man who was raised by a single Mother and knows the value of being a Father, and being present to shape and mold the minds of his children. I learned of a man who was ambitious, not to make money, but to make a difference, not for himself but for those who could not do for themselves. And yet, the ones that could stand on their own; he too, wanted to empower them, support them, reflect their strengths, their wisdom, their fortitude, and unite them, demonstrating the theory of strength in numbers. His wisdom led him on a path, where Americans can live their dreams, build healthy futures for our children, embrace our differences, and all with a knowing, that the sum of all parts is a whole. Barack Obama, I found out through research, not only saw all of us as making our country a great success once again, but that his vision extends, to making our race the best, the healthiest, and the most successful. This race, however was not just about Americans, it is about our race, one race, the human race.

I have followed the news daily; I have listened to all his speeches, and read all the ones I could not watch. I have learned more about politics in six months than in my whole life and I am ready to support Barack, as he becomes our next president. I may not agree with everything he says, but I do trust the judgments he makes. I know that whatever situation he stands in, what ever challenge he faces, that if I were in his shoes instead, he would be making the same decisions, I would want. Tell your friends, families, neighbors, co-workers, tell them all because we can begin improving the quality of our lives by improving the quality of our leaders.

Your Character Is Showing

smffy — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 10:01:33 EDT

I'm not sure I can say enough about the need to stay cool in the midst of all the heat that's coming from Hillary's kitchen (I can say that because I have one too and there have been men in it - cooking!) It would do nothing more than fan the flames to enter into an attempt at civilized debate.

I think civility and dignity are rare commodities now days. Rarity in and of itself creates value and demand. If the streets were paved with diamonds would everybody want to own one? Hardly. It is exactly because they are scarce that they are valuable.

This election year has captured me. It has offered us what may be a once in a life time chance to elect a president who is not owned by lobbyists - who does not stoop to political sham and theatrics. I have never believed in a candidate so strongly. Not even JFK. I was only in the fifth grade when he ran for president, but I read the newspapers and I worried about where his family money came from. He turned out to be a great president, from a family of great political leaders, but my little girl worries have never gone away.

I have seen in my own life what money in the wrong hands can do. I know about pay back and back scratching very well. I am jaded. But I believe this message of hope. I believe Barack means what he is saying. It will be very difficult to turn Washington inside out. Just look at the resistance now. But, people are hungry for it. Reasonable people can see that what has been going on is unreasonable.

I say seize the day. Creating opportunity for one, creates opportunity for many. Every donation, every letter, every email, every conversation can make a difference. There is not enough I can do to see this election through to a positive conclusion. There is not enough I can do for my country right now.

It has been said that evil only prospers when good men are silent. This is no time to shout others down, it is a time to stand up firmly for what you believe in.

1st tabling for Obama and new initiatives! Notes from May 29 meeting of Sunnyvale for Obama

Wade Sanders — Sat, 31 May 2008 05:01:42 EDT

This is a copy of an e-mail sent to the group Sunnyvale for Obama way too late at night on May 30 (May 31 morning, actually)

Hello Sunnyvale for Obama!

How would you like to go to a “Food for Thought” dinner party, travel to Reno to help swing Nevada for Obama, or perform community service in a nursing home? These are just a few of the great ideas for new initiatives we brainstormed at the May 29 meeting. We also planned for the first farmers’ market voter registration, this Saturday, May 31. This was our fourth meeting, and we had FOUR TIMES AS MANY PEOPLE as at our first meeting on May 4!

This e-mail will summarize what happened at the last meeting, but before I start that, I want to let you know that THE NEXT MEETING is scheduled, as follows:

DATE: Tuesday, June 10

TIME: 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

LOCATION: Round Table Pizza in reserved room, 101 Town and Country Village, Sunnyvale, CA (it’s on Washington Street across from Macy’s). Here’s a link to their web site: http://www.roundtablepizza.com/RTP/HI/

At the next meeting, Cynthia and the volunteers will tell us about how the tabling effort went on May 31. (All signs are positive!) We’ll also decide on a general plan for how we’ll proceed with new initiatives. (See item 4, below.)

I will post this e-mail to the Sunnyvale for Obama blog on the group web page at http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/SunnyvaleCitizensforObama.

Now for the great stuff we did at the meeting on May 29! Here’s a table of contents for this e-mail:

1. Mission, vision, values, and meeting ground rules

2. The first tabling for Obama at the Sunnyvale farmers’ market on May 31!

3. Blogging for Obama

4. New initiatives for Obama

5. How to stay informed about Sunnyvale for Obama

6. How you can help Obama clinch the nomination this weekend

7. Event: end of primary season celebration June 3 at Britannia Arms in San Jose!

(If you are reading this in an RSS feed reader, go to the blog to see the rest of the post.)

So Much for the High Road

TJFischer — Mon, 26 May 2008 19:16:25 EDT

There's been considerable debate taking place in the land of Blog over the past couple days over how to bring unity to the party in lieu of HRC's stated determination to "fight" for the nomination. Of course, it wouldn't be an issue at all if everyone were playing by the rules; but Hillary Rodham Clinton is not playing by the rules. In fact most of her supporters unabashedly acknowledge HRC has no intention of honoring any rules not favorable to her objective at any given time.

This alone is a disturbing representation of skewed American values. My dad served four (peacetime) years in the Navy w/an honorable discharge shortly before I was born; now in his seventies, so internalized were the values he learned during those formative years as a young man, he references them as a matter of course to this day. As his kids, we grew up thinking these were the values for which our country stands; not least of which was the understanding that there is no honor in making disingenuous arguments based on a false premise, fabrication, and outright lies. And a great deal of emphasis was placed on "fighting fair" presumably because we were coming out of WWII where the Germans and Japanese decided the Geneva convention didn't apply. At any rate, in our world people who broke the rules were automatically disqualified from playing the game.

It’s a value so widely held dear that we make “examples” out of sports figures who break the rules; Marion Jones will go to her grave stripped of the five gold medals she was awarded in 2000 when it was discovered after the fact that her “whatever it takes” commitment to winning the honor included breaking the rules...and that's in addition to a 6 month jail sentence, two year suspension and early retirement. Essentially she was shamed, lest our daughters get the wrong idea that it was okay to cheat.

Yet, Hillary Clinton openly flaunts a "whatever it takes" campaign strategy as though it were a virtue. It is NOT: It is instead a flagrant disrespect for party rules. That Mrs. Clinton herself signed an agreement to abide by the DNC tenets set forth at the contest onset seems to be of little concern in the absence of any calls for a public explanation; certainly she has not seen fit to offer up any type of rationalization, let alone enlightenment as to her reasoning in breaking her agreement; divisive ramifications therein be damned.

We are treated, rather, to a false argument charging the DNC w/disenfranchisement of its own constituency in determining a nominee. Never mind the fact that nominee has never been determined by popular vote per the party rules. Never mind the fact that there is no such thing as a popular vote in a primary caucus and they couldn’t be counted in any event. A nominee has always been elected by delegates; it is incumbent on those delegates to represent the expressed intent of their respective constituencies. The idea is that active voters who feel strongly about a given office have the opportunity to do so in getting together w/the people in their community to discuss the pros and cons of self identified candidates. The process is intended to vet prospective candidates, begin conversations, share ideas, and ultimately choose the person best suited to represent the party interests in the general election.

As the first state to hold its primary caucus, Iowa is known for taking its responsibility seriously. This is not to say Iowa determines the nominee, only to acknowledge the grueling process all of the self identified candidates endure in spending untold hours under a microscope in the heartland—by way of noting, having been vetted by a group of Norwegians, Barack Obama came out one top. No disrespect intended, but Hillary Clinton came in a distant third. And then the primary season began in earnest, turning out unprecedented numbers of people who have decided it's time to get politically engaged for a number of reasons but in no small part because Barack Obama has stirred a sense of hope in people who find in him a candidate that is ready, willing, and able to begin the process of getting this great country of ours back on track.

Super Delegates, god bless 'em, were a concern early on because they have the ultimate decision making power and people feared the "Clinton Machine" w/all their inner party connections in high places would override the expression of support for Barack Obama out of a misplaced sense of indebtedness to the Clintons—over the best interest of the country. But one by one and then two by two and then multiples therein the Super Delegates, god bless 'em, came to see the light. They are educated life long political activists who can't help but see thru the smoke and mirror arguments HRC has been staging. But now the Super Delegates et al are being challenged w/showing respect for Hillary Clinton—by way of putting her on the ticket.

What part of “NO” do the Clinton’s not understand?

So the real dilemma is how to enforce the rules, signed by all the candidates months ago, w/out alienating HRC’s supporters? It’s time for the Super Delegates to step up and do their jobs; Hillary Clinton has disqualified herself from the race but refueses to bow out. It’s an outrage. We expect compliance to established rules from our kids, our law enforcement, our government—even our athletes. Why, for love of country, would we accept anything less from our public servants running for office? Our worst case scenario is materializing before our very eyes. It’s time to drag the Clintons off the stage kicking and screaming if need be: In straight jackets if need be.

This Time: The integrity of our democratic process is at stake. This time, this year, the process is working because we the people are mobilized, organized, and informed. We will settle for nothing less than truth, honor, and integrity in politics; it goes to the core of the Change we seek.

quotes ~ Martin Luther King

Rosemary Jo — Mon, 19 May 2008 22:55:50 EDT

Martin Luther King Jr.: We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles, rather than by the quality of our service and relationship to humanity.

The Audacity Of Hope

Joel Lazo — Sat, 17 May 2008 21:34:38 EDT

Inspirational passages and sections of books that I find striking and touch on an issue or emotion that is very close to my heart almost always come from works of fiction. The remarkable journey of Holden in Salinger'sCatcher in the Rye, the story of ultimate adventure and loyalty found in Jack Kerouac's On the Road, and the controversial yet inspiring poems of Alan Ginsberg - these and other great and compelling works are my ordinary forum for inspiration. These are the books that when we revisit them years later, we find underlined paragraphs, highlighted portions, and a jotting of personal reactions in the inviting margins; things we forgot we marked to remember in the future but still ring as true and strike the same unnerving chord as we read the words years down the road.

I cannot remember ever having an "evolutionary" and emotional experience such as this when reading a work of nonfiction - especially not an autobiographical one. However, I found this happening constantly while reading Mr. Obama's The Audacity of Hope. Feelings of nostalgia, of excitement, and of pride came rushing over me while reading some of Senator Obama's experiences growing up - his broken home upbringing, his grassroots story of overcoming the odds to grab at success. These are all aspects of his life that ring true of mine as well. Things I can not only be inspired by but that I can identify with.

Family Values

Vivian — Tue, 13 May 2008 00:01:31 EDT

My parents can't understand why am such an ardent supporter of my party and Barack Obama. I tell them it is because of the values, beliefs, and goals I have planned for my family and my four-year-old daughter.

Empathy Support Groups: Repost from Wade Hudson's Blog

Jill 4 Obama — Sun, 11 May 2008 12:55:53 EDT

Post from Wade Hudson's Blog: Obama Support Groups: A Proposal for Action By Wade Hudson - May 8th, 2008 at 2:50 pm EDT Also listed in: 6 groups Comments | Mail to a Friend | Report Objectionable Content Tags: Obama

Barack Obama speaks eloquently about self-reformation. At a commencement in New Hampshire, he affirmed overcoming selfishness. On Martin Luther King Day, he discussed enhancing empathy. In The Audacity of Hope, he presented a vision of profound moral renewal. In his speeches, he regularly addresses the importance of taking personal responsibility.

We, the American people, need to help each other practice what he preaches.

One way you could achieve that goal would be to invite friends and/or relatives who want to work together in support of the Obama campaign to participate in an "Obama Support Group." The proposed agenda for the gathering could be something like the following:

Obama Support Group
--to increase our effectiveness by promoting self-improvement—
Time and Place

Proposed Agenda:

1) A shared meal. Please contact [name, phone/email] concerning what you might bring.

2) Adoption of the agenda.

3) Extended personal introductions. Participants will have a few minutes to introduce themselves.

4) How shall we participate in the campaign? Information concerning upcoming events and options will be discussed. The group will explore engaging in the same activity together, which would provide common experience for future reflections.

5) How can I become a better person? Participants will be invited to report on how they might become more effective in their support for Obama's election by improving themselves in some way -- for example, by becoming a better listener. Merely putting these matters into words, resolving to work on them, and being heard by others can be fruitful.

6) An evaluation of this meeting. Participants will be invited to express what they liked and disliked about the gathering.

7) Agenda items for the next meeting.

8) Adjournment.

This group could begin with two or three people, and probably shouldn’t be larger than twelve or so. It could meet monthly, or more frequently.

Participants could agree to keep confidential the specific content of what others say during the meeting.

The participants in each meeting could decide together whom to invite to subsequent meetings, perhaps agreeing that if one person objects, the individual in question would not be invited. In this way, trust and comfort could be maximized.

During the mutual-support portion of the gathering, each participant would be free to discuss any issue. Individuals would decide for themselves how they want to better themselves. If and when they want to, they could ask for advice or suggestions, but there would be no assumption that they would do so. The group would not engage in group therapy or conflict resolution. Any interpersonal issues that arise would be addressed later, if needed.

The primary purpose would be to reflect on one’s own efforts, listen carefully to others, and get to know one another more fully.

If you convene an Obama Support Group, I’d appreciate hearing about your experience. In particular, I’d like to know if you modify this proposed format and, if so, how.

I will compile reports that I receive and send my digest to all respondents. By sharing this information with one another, we might refine the format and eventually develop a model, or models, that could be widely reproduced. To receive a copy of my latest report, email me at wadehudsonATprogressiveresourcecatalogDOTorg.

Members of other organizations and informal networks, like extended families, could adopt this model by undertaking some form of joint political action other than the Obama campaign and strengthening those efforts with mutual support and self-betterment. I would like to know about any such efforts.

Feel free to share this proposal with others.

With compassionate support, we can better ourselves and participate more fully in the transformation of our institutions and our culture. If not us, who?

Honor and Dignity – Priceless

Thom King — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:40:15 EDT

reflections of those who live in virtue and values

The other day I was listening to an interview of a man who traveled with the body of a deceased American Soldier from Iraq all the way to his burial place in the United States . Along the journey he interviewed personnel responsible for the proper care and burial of this soldier. These bodies are coming home from battle have seen combat and need a lot of work to make them presentable to the families. And most times this is impossible.

What really moved me was the level of pride and honor all of the people had who worked within the logistical side of this grisly and often thankless job. One woman had a particularly poignant story. She was shining the brass buttons on a deceased soldier's uniform in which he would be buried in. As she did with such care, she remarked “how honored she was to be part of the soldiers coming home to his final resting place”. The interviewer said “I am sure the family will appreciate the amazing job your are doing there” with out hesitation or pride she replied “his family will never see my work, he is being cremated”.

I was deeply moved by her level of honor, dignity and commitment to excellence. It inspired me to reflect, dig deep and find my personal meaning behind all of this. It seems to me that in a world that pays such homage to tabloid twits and the ultra rich that the people that don't seek recognition that give of themselves willing and expect nothing in return often go unseen and unappreciated. People of true honor and dignity find no purpose in press, lavish lifestyle, flashiness or even recognition for that matter. They simply act from a place of deep and solid virtue. They show up on time, they keep their word, they help when needed, they fix what's broken, they pick up what's been dropped and along they way they respect the honor and dignity of others.

I wonder how I can improve my honor and dignity. I have seen these values in my grandfather. He and my grandmother live a simple life on a lake in Northern Wisconsin . He collected social security in case they needed it but, found that they did not need it and attempted to send it back to the government for somebody else to use. When I first heard this story I was shocked. He earned that money. Why would he not just take it? But, then I realized that he comes from a place of rock solid values and virtue. And I am proud to say, this is the stock I come from. I can only hope that I can live up to his example.

Today I will examine my core values and recognize the virtue in others. And in so, I will celebrate today that the world is filled with good people with honor and dignity that is priceless.

Converting Clintonites

Wayne — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:28:36 EDT

Obama can't close because voters DON'T want change. Not all voters, of course. He has attracted and inspired those of us who yearn for change. But who are we? And who are the Democrats that support Hillary? And why do they resist his clear clarion call for change?

Bitterness and basic human and democratic values

Mary Ann — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:35:39 EDT

I grew up hearing that democrats vote bread and butter issues and republicans vote to make money for big business. I have since seen that clinging to bread and butter issues represents clinging to the most basic of all human values. Democrats address these values best. When democrats are true to these values, they find that the values cross all sorts of demographics. Only these values have expanded. They now include: bread, butter, housing, and gasoline. Bitterness occurs when these values are systematically ignored and people feel powerless. Hope occurs when they are addressed and people feel emboldened. The audacity of hope is to realize that they are not only the values most basic to the every every-day American, but that finally someone is listening and willing to work with the American people in achieving them: Obama.

FOCUS On America's Working Families [NCEF]

Geoff Gilson — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:31:25 EDT

[What follows is an open letter to Barack and his team of Economic Advisers, that I will be taking with me to the Chapel Hill, North Carolina meeting of Barack's North Carolina Economic Forum.]

Dear Barack,

Better than 'Bitter': "FOCUS '08"

I will be attending the Chapel Hill meeting of your North Carolina Economic Forum on April 15, 2008.

There, I will be urging you and your team of Economic Advisers to adopt into your campaign policy my proposition, FOCUS '08, a simple, yet powerful proposition that offers comfort to all working families who currently live in fear of losing their homes and jobs, or who feel they can't make ends meet because of rising food and gas prices (www.focusonpoverty.blogspot.com).

FOCUS '08 declares that:

'Every man, woman and child in the United States should have access to adequate food, clothing, housing and healthcare.'

I am registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina, and frankly, I consider myself to be undecided until the moment my pen hits the ballot paper. However, there is much about you and your camapign, Barack, that attracts me. Not least your obvious empathy with working people.

It is, therefore, as a friend of your efforts that I write this letter, and although painfully blunt (and something tells me you won't mind that!), it is offered solely in a spirit of helpfulness. So, to business:

It is a brave man, Barack, who advances an honest analysis of dire economic conditions, without immediately accompanying it with a concise summary of the uplifting policy that will address resolution - wrapped up in language that enrolls rather than offends.

This last point, in particular, should now be crystal clear in light of the temporary hiccup that has followed your 'bitter' speech last weekend.

Mind you, what you said was spot on - as an incisive checklist of the frustrations of working people in America. I should know. I am one of America's angry working poor.

It is only those who are truly elitist and out of touch who would suggest our anxieties do not exist, and who would deny that it is all too easy to find unhealthy ways to vent those anxieties - and that there are those who would feed on the latter fact.

Goodness knows it's nice to have a politician who has the guts to be honest and straightforward. But, to be equally honest, what was a little unfortunate, Barack, was your language, and the fact that you chose not to accompany the analysis with a simple breakdown of your recommended solutions.

Without wishing to appear too presumptuous, I hope you won't mind if I use the opportunity of the Forum meeting to help you out a tad, and offer a couple of ideas that might assist you in addressing both of these issues.

For some years now, America's working folk - whether in the cities or in the country - have watched helplessly as power-mongers and the elite in political and financial circles have caused the American economy wildly to ride the waves, and then to crash into the abyss.

Why helplessly? Because all this has meant for us is more jobs lost, more plants shut down, our homes under threat, prices rising, the bar continually raised and our lives constantly squeezed.

Democrats, to whom I have spoken, have openly wondered why, through all this, more and more of my working friends have found themselves turning to the likes of George Bush, and now John McCain.

I tell these Democrats that, at a time of seeming inability to cope, at a time when all seems so weak, it is easy to turn to the appearance of strength and experience - however false the promise of that strength and experience may be.

When you sense that your country has abandoned you, and there is little point in trying, it is too easy to find paths of escapism. One of the easiest is a political philosophy that says it's ok to take that anger and convert it into hatred and envy and revenge.

When we are told that the real problem lies overseas, it's all too easy to respond to a pseudo-call for patriotism and sense of duty, and to cheer on a war, even though we now know that war is both futile and dishonest - and, moreover, it is killing a disproportionate amount of the sons and daughters of our working familes.

And where have the Democrats been, to offer we working people an alternative? Why, trying their hardest to pack themselves into those same Republican clothes - but without packing any conviction.

The problem is, when you're a sheep in wolf's clothing, it's a bit difficult to look anything other than…well…sheepish.

Until you, Barack, came along.

I'd had a bad feeling about voting for some 20 years. You are the first American politician in that time who's making me look forward to voting in November.

Now. We've hit a glitch. It's not the end of the world. And this is what I suggest to you and your Economic Team going forward:

1) Adopt FOCUS '08. The working folk of this country deserve a rallying cry that offers them a safety net, while preserving their dignity.

This is true, not just for those of us who already struggle below the poverty line, but also for those who, through no fault of their own, feel that they may be next.

We did not create the housing and jobs crisis, or cause gas and food prices to rise.

2) Enroll these same good people, Barack, in the campaign to sell you, your policies and FOCUS '08.

Do not pity us. We are a proud people. Appeal to our better nature. Challenge us. Turn the tables on your opponents, and make an appeal to genuine patriotism and a real sense of moral duty.

Go so far as to put it in military terms, if necessary.

Offer us a deal - "A New Compact." Tell us boldly and bravely: 'You take care of your business at home, and we'll back you up, by taking care of our business in Washington.'

[I expand on this approach in a separate document of talking points, which can be found as the next post in this blog.]

Call on America's working men and women to support a "Citizen's Code": family, country and honor.

'We take care of our family first; then we help our neighbor; then the folk around us. Not because of a political slogan or a grand economic strategy, and not for personal gain or ambition, but because it's the honorable, the right thing to do.'

Meanwhile, holding up the other side of the compact, you, Barack, have to clean up Washington. Clear out the logjams, get the necessary bi-partisan support, prioritize action, and get us the help we need to support what we're doing on the home and family front.

FOCUS '08 can be a part of that. Take George Bush's slogan, and turn it against our opponents. Make that slogan ours - and make it apply to all Americans under a Barack Administration. 'We will leave no-one behind.'

I have my own political line for all of this: 'Taking Care of America's Family Values.'

So, Barack, come one, why not give it a try? Visit the web-site (http://focusonpoverty.blogspot.com), sign the Petition (www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/483881699), even buy the T-shirt (http://197491.spreadshirt.com).

But. Most important of all. Adopt FOCUS '08, and enroll America's working folk in its implementation.

Quick Rant Against Populist Nonsense

Jer Hussein Gelman — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 04:28:35 EDT

So you've all heard about this right? Yeah, stupid political posturing not exactly worth an entire post. But I can't just let it go, especially now that Obama's been forced to semi-apologize.

He's damn right about everything he said. What, can we now not take any constructive criticism from our appointed leaders? That is part of their job! What is the freaking meaning of "change" if the American people are all righteous and okay already? Oh, I get it. The people are okay, it's only the politicians who are dastardly. Ah, as if politicians are alien beings who don't come from American homes and families.

I've had just about as much as I can take of this soft populist pandering.

The true character of Obama's "change" comes from his ability to inspire and mobilize the populace. We need to face some collectivist truth. We've all screwed up for the last decade or two. We are all responsible. Now "we the people" have to change our fundamental attitude towards citizenship instead of succumbing to bitter apathy, or even just ranting against Bush. This is the movement Obama is at the head of. In this context, his comments are entirely legitimate.

I'll say it straight. Go elitism! Obama is a Harvard graduate constitutional law professor. That is a major part of his appeal. I don't mind him talking down to me because I'm not on this ridiculous arrogance trip. Get off the high horse, working class America. You are often your own worst enemy. You vote for neocons because they use simple religious language to stoke your emotions. You shop for needless consumerist items at places like Walmart and then wonder why wages fall everywhere and jobs get shipped to China. You suck, we all suck, and here we have a chance to get better as a nation and you get all sensitive when Obama says some tough words about you, while at the same time slamming and blaming Washington and its special interests for your bitterness? PATHETIC!

And finally, just... ROTFLMAO at Hillary trying to present herself as Mrs. Midwestern religious values woman. As if she isn't the real elitist here, continually accepting money from lobbyists and ramrodding global trade blocs down our throats with her husband. Whenever you start to get sucked in by the Clintons' skillful politics, remember that they haven't just supported NAFTA. They STARTED it. Who's she fooling? Hmm... maybe some of those oh-so-smart and optimistic small town voters? Let's wait and see. I have a bad feeling about this....

CNN to televise candidates at Values Forum

Deborah Simmel — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:00:20 EDT

When last I checked, both Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton were scheduled to participate. CNN will broadcast The Compassion Forum, a non-partisan, multi-denominational event, live on this Sunday, April 13, from 8:00-9:30 ET from Messiah College. (A video feed will also be available on their website.) Sen. McCain has not yet committed, due to a scheduling conflict. This event might be of particular interest to independent voters, undecideds, or discontented Republicans. Watch or Tivo, and pass the link onto your friends and relatives. (Especially any in PA, NC, or IN!)

Click here: The Compassion Forum at Messiah College: About The Compassion Forum

Building Permanent Change

James S. — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:55:11 EDT

Barack Obama has inspired the biggest activist movement the United States of America has seen in generations. His honesty and heartfelt directness has given us hope for a government that is truly "By the People". The reason that we are responding in such unity is that these are OUR HOPES as a people.

It is not only how Obama conducts his campaign that matters. It is far more important HOW WE ARE RESPONDING that will determine if we will BE THE CHANGE we want to see in the world. The most important thing of all is this:

What will WE be doing after November?

In order to fill the canvas of our dreams in the future ahead, we are called forth to put into place the tools and connections that will begin a new, more organic and "user generated" democracy. I suspect that a sweeping shift is about to take place right now. In fact it is already here, but we are still too close to fully recognize it.

Stay tuned to this blog. I will be unveiling some suggestions for building a next generation political system - one that will be transparent, responsive, and in the hands of honest citizens. Old power structures are growing isolated and COMMON SENSE VALUES are saying "Yes We Can". Innovative electoral strategies using emerging data, wiki, and social networking software are meeting reliable, secure, open source voting tools. Viral videos can reach more people than corporate advertizing. We have an amazing new empowerment. Let's make the most of it.

James

From the bottom UP

Daphne4Obama — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:29:37 EDT

The 21st century demands that we re-examine what it means to be an American. Terms such as "Family Values," "Patriotism," The Poor," "Race," and so on are terms that have multiple definitions. If you study US cultural history, cultural values 200 years ago differs than the mosaic of meanings today. We need to study who we are as a nation, and what we stand for. Barack has done so well because part of his overall strategy is to begin this dialogue. While we still need to deconstruct power relations in the very things like the economy that controls our lives, we then need to reconstruct the very terms that define us as a nation. I encourage all of you to discover the differences among the plethora of people living in the United States, then we need to reinvent our national policies to reflect what we can all agree to value and support. Who are we? Who do we want to become?

TO "BUILD" AN AMERICAN - Lessons in Manhood: by Dad and Wolves

Rick — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:36:48 EDT

I was 11 years old in 1964 and proud of being the latest New Yorker promoted to the 8th grade. The familiar smells of my mother’s Spanish cooking added to the comfort of being included in the monthly gathering of my father, an “old-world” Puerto Rican, and his two brothers and their families. My father was the elder and, for as long as I could remember, like clockwork, these men met at my house, every month, to discuss politics, the month’s novelties, my cousin Nancy’s first Holy Communion, Uncle Oscar’s new job, who would be on Ed Sullivan, and so that everyone could tease my mom about her ongoing obsession with feeding my dad and I to death. This "five-foot-dumpling" of a wife and mother was convicted in her certainty that the measure of a woman’s worth, was found in the girth of her family's waistlines! As the kids ran about to the sporadic heralding of “…if you make me get up from here…” and the women discussed Lucy Ricardo's latest dress, the talk at the smoky table… where the men sat…always seemed to turn to HONOR. It was a subject spoken of in "broken English" by those who clutched the fierce objective of arriving at these shores, not merely to live in America... but to BECOME IT. HONOR: At that table, it was measured by how well each man there cared and provided for his family; how well each had repaid America’s hospitality and, each was accountable to the other two for compliance. It was, they said, what gave our family name its worth. HONOR; it was a word that seemed to be a big deal to these men and any one of them would grow by two inches when acknowledged with it by the others, but specially by the women of the clan. They were larger than life, those men, and as they donned their fedoras and left, I was always left with a yearning to somehow...one day, grow up to be just like them. Most of all, I wanted to grow up to be like my dad; the patriarch. On this particular night, just as he closed the door behind the last to exit, he turned to me and asked “Are you a man of HONOR, son?” I was startled... I wasn’t expecting the question! Searching for what I felt he was expecting as the “right” answer, I said “SURE, dad!” Pleasing him was my life's purpose. “Why," he asked. "Well... because I’m your son.” This must certainly be the right answer. A silent moment ensued, as he seemed to study me with an unsettling scrutiny that I had never before seen in his eyes. It made me uneasy…like being on stage…and forgetting your lines. “Then, you won’t mind explaining… what honor IS.” As I fumbled and scoured my brain for an answer, he stopped me in mid “fidget” and said... with something between a smirk and a smile,“You cannot be that which you do not know. Honor is different things to different people but, to all, it is the thing that, when choosing which fork to take when life’s road splits, compels a person to DO THE RIGHT THING. So from today forward, because you are my son, I will ask that you begin to reflect on the things that you are... and on things that you would like to become... so that you may grow into what you are meant to be. Whatever that may be, son, I need for you to become it…like your uncles and like me; as one of the "Basora men" who always try, no matter what, to DO THE RIGHT THING.” "You know..." he said, starting down the hall, "...the best gift that I can ever give your mother... and this country... is to build them AN AMERICAN."

Thirty three years later, mom succeeded and fed him to death. In my arms and surrounded by love; his two favorite Shepherds, like sentries, flanking his bed, I had never wished so hard for anything in my life, as I wished for that day; that he could speak to me from beyond this thing, this coma...just one more time...just one more time before he left me. "You're my best friend," I muttered. "I still need you. How can you even be certain that I've become this... man of HONOR?" His eyes parted slightly; mom, a nurse and my wife gasped... wide, reddened eyes... hands cupped to their mouths... as if frozen. "Because... it was you that compelled me... to never... ever... stop being one," he whispered... and died.

It has taken those 33 years of a work-in-progress to write this. It found its origins in the ways of my father and inspired, yet further, by the ways of WOLVES; the noble, social creatures that they are; a species that forsakes the frenzied existence of "the individual," living solely to amass "THE MOST THINGS" in favor of caring for their old... for their injured and disabled; of raising their young in a culture with no ORPHANS; of insuring the survival of THE PACK and in embracing a wondrous commitment by ALL… to doing THE RIGHT THINGS.

                                              The Way of the WOLF
                              Doctrines and Covenants of the Alpha Male
Honor is the inherent dignity of the doctrines and covenants by which one lives and the values that compel you to embrace them.
To live with honor fulfills a life. To die with honor fulfills a destiny.
Respect is the premium owed only to those with the courage to earn it.
Nothing good will be written of the coward, the tyrant or the mediocre.
Courage is not found in the absence of fear. It is found in the ability to step forward in spite of it.
The tyrant orders the charge. Only the leader will head it.
The tyrant fights all…to appear to be right. The leader fights for all…and for all that is right.
Power not tempered by wisdom and compassion defines tyranny.
Love with your heart; commit with your soul; believe with your gut; lead with all three.
The true measure of strength is found in the ability to choose not to use it.
                                                                    But…if you must…
Hurt before you injure; injure before you maim; maim before you kill; choose DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR.
To ignore abuse is to endorse it.
Love is the unselfish pursuit of the happiness of the beings you cherish.
If you cannot express love, no one will know that you do.
As you give of yourself, you will give to yourself.
At the point of arrogance does pride lose its virtue.
True partnership can only be achieved by separate and whole beings that retain their uniqueness even as they unite.
A friend’s worth is measured by the stature of the person you become when they enter your life.
Accept your relatives. Choose your family.
A man’s honor can only repose in the heart of a woman whose strength and virtue proclaim and confirm the substance that it took to earn her.
When life is allowed to yield less than its best, it will.
Put mind in gear before mouth in motion.
Dreams are the children of hope that whisper of all things that can be…in words that were never written…yet refuse to remain silent.
Dreams are the blueprints of a better reality.
Those who howl at the stars will be heard, at least, on the moon.
For a pack without a destination, no trail is favorable.
To solve a problem, you must first acknowledge that you have one.
Doing nothing means nothing will change.
Those who believe their own lies have fools as their witnesses.
Pursue what you wish to do until summoned by what you are meant to do.
Evil, like the blackest of nights, is the necessary darkness without which the magnificent aurora of virtue could never appear as splendid.
Goodness is but a choice.
Even the minions of the morally bankrupt are no match for one child clad in virtue and armed with truth. Nurture and proclaim him for in his spirit rests the seed of the alpha male, the heart of the pack, KING OF THE WOLVES.

                           Rick F. Basora, son of Fil Basora, an Alpha Male

Defending my Candidate's Role

Vivian — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 22:34:43 EDT

While I had lunch today at the school I teach in Florida, I ran accross this email sent to me by a colleague who was concerned about an inapropriate email circulating our private, educational email system. I was shocked! Read his email and then my response.

Reverend Wright, Media Sensationalism, Dirty Politics

Jacki C. — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:51:29 EDT

I just wanted to say that I have been listening to am1090seattle (a progressive radio station). I listen to them via the internet as I am unable to get a radio station on my radio here in Granite Falls, WA. I enjoy listening to progressive radio as they are able to give me both sides of an issue in language that I can relate to.

The separation of church and state was put in the Constitution for a reason. Any church that preaches politics from the pulpit should lose their tax-free status.

Preaching politics from a pulpit is nothing new. In 1962, I attended a wedding of a school mate at a Lutheran Church. I was appauled when the minister gave a sermon and spoke about the Viet Nam War. I was disgusted that a minister would speak about the War at a ceremony that should have been a happy celebration.

Due to the media's sensationalism of Reverend Wright's sermon, I am finding myself in the position of damage control. I can't help but feel that this is a tactic of dirty politics by opposing forces trying to bring Barack Obama down. I am disgusted to think that our current campaign for President has come back to dirty politics (dirty politics as usual).

As a supporter of Barack Obama, I am very proud that he has been able to maintain his composure under the attacks that have been launched against him. Barack has shown me what a positive role model he is.

I am currently reading, "The Audacity of Hope" and am still a believer that we can turn our country around and become the World leader again. This book has brought me back to the value system that my parents and grandmother had given me, that I unfortunately had strayed from.

I am still, "FIRED UP AND READY TO GO". I will not stray again from the values my parents gave me and that Barack Obama has brought me back to.

I hope that some of you will give am1090seattle a listen sometime.

Being Black ...

Soldierette!! (CENSORED) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 03:17:36 EDT

Being black and witnessing another black man being tore down is expected, sadly enough. I expect for whites to attack us, to tear us down, and to degrade us. Historically, this is what it means to be black in America. I don't think all whites are against us, just that all whites don't stand up for us when wronged. I don't think that all whites are the devil or hate me, but there are some devils of ALL races that hate me. Hate is on all sides of the color spectrum, we just don't have to be part of it. We can choose to be above it, and recognize it, or we can choose to be a part of it, and ignore it.

I have 3 sons, ages 27, 21 and 20. Each one of them are an American statistic. They are young and black and in the age group that says my sons will be dead before they reach 30. It doesn't matter that my sons were raised in church, even though we moved about five different times, if not more, during their childhood. They still attended the same church because the church came to everywhere that we moved to pick them up. I needed that little extra help to keep them close to the Word of God.

I was single mother after having left their father in the 80's, who decided that crack was his new family, instead of his boys and wife. It was cool because I've always thought of myself as a very smart, forward-thinking, hard-working, talented woman who would make a way for herself. Of course it was hard. No doubt. But the choice was to live with a drug addict or get my kids away from it. I chose to get my kids away from it and all that resembled it, which meant that we had to move... again. It was hard trying to raise young, black sons in a city where drugs and alcohol are on every corner, and in every school and playground. Lord knows they were sheltered, or in my view, protected. I grew up in Washington, DC, the nation's capital. The drug capital, in my opinion, and nothing has changed since I moved to Maryland in 1983, where my kids were raised. It was only slightly better, because we weren't wealthy or well off, we had to live where we could afford like most Americans, and there were still those pesky drugs and liquor stores at every turn. So it's hard raising little black boys. Teaching them to be kind to others, respect their peers and their elders, to brush their teeth and scrub their necks and use deodorant was the east part. Teaching them that everyone is not their friend, and to stay away from people who use drugs, or people who act out in the mall, or who disrespects girls, or music that is degrading to women and honor drug use and violence. And Lord knows they've all had enough lectures from me about having sex before marriage and the dangers of having unprotected sex. That was the hard part. Teaching them how hard life would be if they got caught up in drugs or violence or became part of the justice system. That stuff is hard to ingrain in the minds of young, impressionable kids these days. That kind of stuff took me off focus of the real issues, like going to college and buying their first home and saving for their retirement. Oh yeah, I got it in, but not nearly as much time was left after the struggles against what was happening right then. The drugs, gun violence, inadequate schools, and simple peer pressure was all part of the mix, altogether, using up time that could have been used for more positive things.

I was raised to know the struggles and triumph's of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but also knew of the struggles and triumph's of Walter F. Dickerson, my grandfather. He was a great man too. He was a great black man. He had to use the "Whites Only" bathrooms and enter restaurants through the back door. He told us the many stories of how he would walk right through the front door and use the "White Only" bathrooms. He didn't think it right, so he didn't acknowledge the "rules". He taught me how to "hustle". Back in the day, to have a hustle was to have a way outside of your regular job to make some money, legally. To braid hair or sell fish/crabs or shovel snow or rake leaves or carry groceries at the local grocery store was a good hustle back in the day. A kid could easily make close to $400 over a good snowy weekend. Shoveling snow is not equal to selling drugs. There's less than a zero chance in going to jail or getting shot for shoveling snow. He taught me the morals and values that I passed on to my sons. He taught me what a real man should look like because I didn't get that from my own father. See, my mom was also a single mother so she taught me how to be a mother and a father. That's what I give to my sons, even though it's hard.

I attended a church mostly attended by whites at one time in my life. I also attended a church mostly attended by blacks. I visited many churches while looking for a regular church to attend. What stands out for me today is that in every, single black church that I've attended, not only was the music uplifting, and the message uplifting, and the power of God was overwhelming, but they all talked politics from the pulpit. I think that's what black churches do. I'm convinced of it. I can't remember one single white church that spoke of things happening in the world, especially not of a political nature. The white church that I attended only read from the Bible. They didn't teach from the Bible, only read it to me. Then those hymnals never failed to get a yawn from me. I dutifully went to church, spent an hour, and left. No loss, no gain. But when I went to the black church, have mercy! I found myself standing up, clapping and shouting, and trust me, that's just not an easy feat. Ask anybody that knows me. (haha) But the music was a full live band, and the pastor spoke to me about things that happened every day to me, from my husband's drug abuse to my boys maybe getting some fast assed little girl pregnant. They covered everything in my black life, down to my high rent and my crime-riddled neighborhood to my bad credit to that glass ceiling, all tied into the teachings of the Bible. This was a church that spoke to me, so I joined it, because I was seeking truth in the Word of God. Now I have to admit, however, when it came down to the political views, my pastor bored me to no end. I felt offended that he was pushing his political views on me. I didn't expect it at first, so I was caught off guard. I thought to myself, "The nerve of him!", but as we got closer to election time, the candidates began to show up in church. Say what? WTF? I didn't go to church to hear about no politics, but it happened all throughout my childhood.

In closing, I would ask for all people to simply take the time to visit a church that is different from one you're most comfortable in. I'm not saying find a Jim Jones church. I'm saying, specifically, if you are white, visit a black church, and if you're black, visit a white church. The God and His Word is the same. Only the delivery is different.

Be blessed...

Open Letter to Sisterhood

TJFischer — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:54:51 EDT

Hey Sis, thanks for the email .........it was about 11pm before I had the chance to read it; after staying up until 3 am the night before--writing a critical executive summary for a new project that I won't be working on--not because I am a woman, but because as a woman, I had not found my way under the wing of a mentor positioned to navigate the political waters key to a successful business career.

And if you think about it, a woman in the work force walks a very fine line between avoiding sexual harassment and establishing a relationship w/a male mentor. So even though there are now plenty of women in business, it occurs to me I may have finally found the glass ceiling as a consultant for lack of suitable mentors—which exponentially becomes a more heavily dominated male pool the closer you get to the top. You're right, sis: we must work many times harder than our male colleagues to realize success in corporate America. Anyway, long story short, I called my favorite recruiter to let him know I would be available at the end of this month when my contract expires and accepted another offer the following week.

REWIND.

The new offer came w/a raise that puts me at the top of my field; not bad for someone who started working as an 11 year old babysitter of three kids for 50 cents an hour. Trying to find my way in a corporate world just opening itself up to taking professional women seriously, I flipped burgers thru high school, bounced around in college for a few years (waiting tables after class) before getting married a couple credits shy of a degree—only to return to the workforce,landing an analyst position as a 30 year old-soon to be single mom having a major meltdown ten years later.

FAST FORWARD.

So I s/b happy about this latest opportunity and I am truly appreciative the stars lined up in my favor at a time when so many people are paying their mortgage on credit cards w/double digit interest rates. But while I remind myself often that I am well paid for my contributions, so are my male colleagues—many of whom can't/don't honestly hold a candle to what I deliver.

As a child of the sixties, I decided a long time ago that was a fact of life and if I let it make me bitter I wouldn't be able to a) love a man in my personal life and b) effectively work w/men critical to success. So I had actually put the whole equal opportunity issue out of my head until reading our timely note for which I want to thank you: It reminded me that nothing is “wrong w/me” that a sex change couldn’t fix:) It was such a relief to stop obsessing over what I could have “done differently” that there were tears of joy in my grief.

Anyway............I nailed the executive summary. Before sending it to the execs I needed to get "buy in" from my team. So I set up a meeting to get consensus. I started the meeting promptly at 4pm and got about 1/2 way thru the analysis when my male counterpart started fidgeting and then interrupted me asking me if I could "just scroll down to the bottom line" because, "no offense" but he needed to leave the office at 5pm sharp. I zipped thru the rest of my carefully structured scope definition, risk assessment, milestones, next steps, etc etc where upon he announced "GREAT JOB, kiddo: gotta run.” It was 4:59pm.

Three minutes later on his way out the door, my collegaue stopped by my office to tell me one more time what a great job I did and how much it was "appreciated." So I asked him if he had a dinner obligation or something that he needed to leave at 5pm sharp. He said not really, it was just that his wife didn’t like it when he got home late because it left little time to spend w/their kids before bedtime. Empathizing w/both my colleague and his wife, I told him I understood and wished him a nice evening. He grinned, winked and breezed his 6'4" frame out the door.

Ever the ostensible martyr, I stayed laboring over the detail of my summary report another 2.5 hours before sending it out and then headed out the door myself. In reality, it never even occurred to me how tired I was because I was so intent on "getting it right" as a perfectionist. Yet it is my male colleague who likely fill the role I aspired to—possibly even taking it w/him to a new department where he can share w/his beer buddies. But that's politics. Hey, it’s a guy thing! It hurt, but not bad enough to throw in the towel. I wanted the closure; and I will keep the (sanitized) artifact in my portfolio for future reference:)

And I keep thinking if I just work hard enough and get it right, I'll get that dream job—because I'm...scrappy—like Hillary.

Except: I was never able to bring myself to compromise my values for the backstabbing, grand standing, misleading statements, disingenuous arguments, smearing good people's hard earned reputations, dismissing significant contributions of competitors w/misrepresentations and/or half truths—whatever it takes—to get there. We all know plenty of both men and women who feel the end justifies the means; and really do not care how much blood they leave on the floor in order to advance themselves.

Since it’s (frankly) not in my nature to retaliate and tear into these women or men, I just work harder to “Change” the rules: On my own terms. In doing so, I like to think I am setting an example others will follow. Sometimes, every now then, I even see a pay off—enough to give me hope I am not alone in my veracity, and keep on trucking.

And then, once in a lifetime, someone comes along and expresses those same values w/such eloquence that millions of people listen and follow the lead.This person in our lifetime, of course, is Barack Obama. An idealist, he refuses to fight dirty.

Yes! We are good people w/good intentions who can and will play by God's rules to do good things!

Even if that means losing the election--which, after Tuesday in Pennsylvania, became a
possibility; despite the fact that Obama will go into the DNC convention w/at least 150 more delegates than Clinton. Everyone knows the Clinton Machine has already begun twisting arms behind closed doors even as Hillary and her lovely daughter, Chelsea smile for the cameras. In fact Hillary is running two campaigns, one above ground, the other below, at the same time w/her husband moving behind the scenes for the less…palatable stuff, looking for sniper positions.

But don’t look there, look over here; at Hillary! See how she beams at winning four great big more delegates than Barack out of 360 delegates at stake in a four state primary! Bring your daughters to see history in the making. Little girls can grow up to be president! Just don’t look behind the curtain to see the dark side of ‘whatever it takes’ to make it happen. Don’t mind the special interests lobbying the news executives to soften their focus on Hillary’s tax returns. Don’t be distracted by those inspiring speeches making you feel good about your country again. And above all don’t pay attention to the numbers, they will “sort themselves out,” albeit behind closed doors by a few hundred super delegates indebted to corporate interests.

Don’t vote for me because I’m a woman. Vote for me because I’m a WOMAN.

Are you confused? Is it any wonder? Do you seek clarity? It’s almost as if, The Clintons, Bill and Hillary, have somehow managed to bring doublespeak back into vogue even as they espouse Change. The dynamic duo is fast becoming the two headed monster in my mind. As one who started this primary season wanting to see either Hillary or Barack in office come January 2009, I find myself donating money to the Obama campaign almost on a weekly basis these days in an effort to make the Clintons “go away” once and for all. (I’m even starting to wonder just what happened to those House Republicans that made them so badly want to exploit the Monica Lewinsky affair in their insanely focused determination to destroy Bill Clinton.) BTW what ever happened to those House Republicans, and where are they when you need them?

And now the Florida Republican Governor is concerned about “disenfranchised” voters in the Democratic primary—ostensibly because they reside in his state?

Doesn’t anyone else smell a rat here? Certainly not the media so busy trying to prove they are being “fair” to Hillary, they miss the basic questions:

What standing does a Republican have in advising the DNC how to run its primary?
Since when are Florida Republicans concerned about “disenfranchising voters”?
Who is kidding who? How do these people look into the camera w/a straight face?
Why would anyone accept that one set of rules s/b be re-written in the middle of the game but not the other?

If Florida and Michigan voters have been “disenfranchised” in the Clinton dictionary of word play, doesn’t it follow that voters in all 50 states are “disenfranchised” when the primary moves into the inevitable brokered convention??? Talk about having your cake and eating it too!

Look over there at Hillary in Ohio! (Where the Bush administration stole the election in 2004.) There she is grandstanding her way to the White House, tromping over the “little states” standing for Change: In values. To wit, notice how Chelsea has replaced Bill at Hillary's side in a brilliant, carefully crafted move to create the perception Hillary's campaign is about sisterhood.

Make no mistake: In the land of Clintons this election is not about sisterhood; It is about Hillary's career and the Clinton legacy.

No matter how much blood is left on the floor or what the price tag to the special interest lobbyists (ie: corporate America) to whom she is indebted, Hillary feels (strongly) entitled to the job--even if there is a better (wo)man who is much more adept at working effectively to get things done through the use of words—as opposed to bullets—on good people's terms. That’s not sisterhood. It’s raw, egotistical ambition for a prize. We’ve had a bellyful. Get it? That’s what this Change thing is about. Black, White, Yellow, Red: Gay, Bisexual, Short, Tall, Skinny Fat, Young, Old, Male, Female.

Integrity trumps all this election—note how quickly the republicans got the message during the primaries?

The Clintons are simply not trustworthy: either together standing side by side or each standing on their own two feet in two different states at the same time. I’m sorry to call it like I see it, but we’ve all seen enough to recognize these folks can’t even trust each other, what kind of arrogance suggests we should trust either of them in a Hillary Clinton administration? Especially one willing to spend our precious resources (ie: time/money/energy) on playing w/words in an attempt to confuse the issues, obscure the truth, put forth evocative imagery…say one thing and do another, shake your head yes and say no all at the same time. Sound familiar? It doesn’t sound like Change to me. It sounds like same ole same ole duplicitous politics.

Not. This. Time: We will not have yet another election stolen by corporate America. Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their country.

The thing is this guy, Barack Obama, understands the end does not always justify the means. He knows his integrity may cost him the job; he also knows the next president must get there on the people’s terms, indebted to no one but the people, in order to be effective. Just because he refuses to fight dirty does not mean he refuses to fight. And people, millions of people, are counting on Barack Obama to fight the good fight—in the light, above ground, where everyone can see how it’s done—for that core American value: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

As a born again agnostic, I pray God he can find a way.

Americans know right from wrong; we know truth when we see it and we know the road back to respect cannot be littered w/Hillary’s broken dishes. But Hillary’s kitchen sink threatens to destroy anyone in her way, even if that person might be the last chance this country has to get it right. That is just wrong.

Your beautiful little girls deserve a better role model, dear sister, than Hillary’s trail of dirty laundry can provide; and as luck would have it, they have one—in you.

bill clinton: "same old experience is not relevant"

jonathan | cvg — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:52:22 EST

what does experience mean to you? a track record or an age?

Barack Obama will have held elected office for 12 years before becoming President. Hillary Clinton will only have held office for 8 years.

Barack Obama will be older than Bill Clinton, Teddy Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy were before they took the presidency.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

BILL CLINTON, himself, debated the FIRST GEORGE BUSH on the matter of experience and this is what he had to say:

"experience counts, but it is not everything"

"values, judgment , and the record... should also count"

"we have got to have the courage to change"

"SAME OLD EXPERIENCE IS NOT RELEVANT"

"we need a new approach"

"you can have the right kind of experience and the wrong kind of experience"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUm7tkgFGYs

In Training for Lasting Change

Rebekah — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 23:16:59 EST

They started arriving early, more than an hour before we were due to start.

They carried in plates of cookies or sandwiches, campaign literature or extra pens. Some brought posters to decorate the room. One guy showed up with nametags. A hot tea urn was set up. More cookies arrived, some even beautifully hand-decorated with the Obama logo. They started setting up chairs.

Nobody told them to. They just did.

Instead of standing back and thinking, "Somebody else will do it," we just got busy.

That's the way Obama supporters are. We actually believe that we are the change we seek -- and we act on it.

We're empowered.

I counted 82 people at our delegate training meeting today and, looking around the room, I was as proud of my country as I've ever been. The people in this room are the embodiment of what makes this country great -- and of we have to do to restore our American values.

Show up. Get busy. Take a stand.

Five different legislative districts were represented. Some drove over an hour, one way, to be there. Others took unpaid leave from work. Everyone gave a sunny Saturday afternoon they could have spent differently.

After years of official lies and secret detentions, nasty partisanship and relentless attacks on our Constitution, we're getting busy cleaning up this mess. We're finished with the status quo. We're not settling for the usual petty bickering and stalemates. We’re sick and tired of being sick and tired.

And we're ready to do whatever it takes to get our government back.

We're empowered.

What drives this sudden outpouring of determination from across the whole country? What fills rooms on sunny afternoons?

One guy: Barak Obama.

We know he, of all the candidates, has the vision, the judgment and the leadership qualities it takes. He, better than anybody, can facilitate fundamental, seismic changes in Washington and thus across the entire world. His values of practical consensus, of inclusiveness instead of partisanship, and his steady adherence to our core American values of personal responsibility, community, and respect for all, are precisely what we need to restore faith in our nation. His willingness to empower grassroots participation is deeply rooted in his profound respect for the American people and his trust in our values, our generosity and our willingness to sacrifice.

I saw that this afternoon. I saw eyes light up, hearts and minds engaged. I saw determination for real, lasting change on every face.

We're empowered alright. Washington won't know what hit 'em.

http://www.bnd.com/323/story/264134.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gmlBAAtY-E

Obama's Political Values

Dianne from Littleton, CO — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:01:41 EST

So what does Obama mean by a change in politics? I found my answer in reading the second chapter of his book, The Audacity of Hope, simply titled "Values." Wow. He even talks about people putting their time, energy, and money into what they believe (which is why I started this blog and named it "Puttin' My Money where my mouth is"), that therein lies the true test if people are being true to their values - and if politicians are being authentic, which unfortunately few are.

He explains how this has happened and how difficult it is for politicians to not follow the norm. And why "it becomes harder and harder for the public to distinguish between honest sentiment and political stagecraft... There's the fact that practice of modern politics itself seems to be value-free. Politics (and political commentary) not only allows but often rewards behavior that we would normally think of as scandalous: fabricating stories, distorting the obvious meaning of what other people say, insulting or generally questioning their motives, poking through their personal affairs in search of damaging information." (page 64, paperback version)

Sounds an awful lot like what is happening in Hillary's camp in her/their desperation to get the nomination - going from telling the public one night in a debate that she is honored to be with Obama and then the next day to publicing shame him. Will the real Hillary please stand up? She can't because, guess what, she's been jaded by the normal politics. She sways in the wind depending on the public, the polls, and her own need to win regardless of how she does it. I don't know about you, but that's not what I want in our leaders this day and age.

I want someone who actually says what he means, means what he says, but doesn't say it mean. And I believe that we Americans will decide for ourselves this important election year who is being authentic and who we can put our trust in to change the course of this nation, or to put it back on course since it got off somewhere along the way. I'm not sure I know when, although I feel like it began when we assassinated three leaders in the sixties who were trying to bring hope to the hopeless and give every American the opportunities laid out in the Declaration of Independence - Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

Not everyone in my life mourned those men's passings. In fact, I heard the words "may they burn in hell" in my own home and I couldn't understand that attitude. I was a young teenager and close to rebellion anyway, but to have some mixed emotions between what I felt and believed and what my parents acted out spurred me on to a life fighting them and as such my own core beliefs. For years, I remained a Republican even though I waivered several times and voted Democratic. More recently, though, I've decided to take a stand and be a Democrat for the same reasons that Obama is. To quote him one more time:

"That is one of the things that makes me a Democrat, I suppose - this idea that our communal values, our sense of mutual responsibility and social solidarity, should express themselves not just in the church or the mosque or the synagogue; not just on the blocks where we live, in the places wehre we work, or within our own families: but also through our goverment..." (The Audacity of Hope, page 63, paperback version)

We believe that our values should be carried with us throughout all our affairs - home, community, and work - and that means that politicians need to stop being so political to get something done for the common good rather than just work at getting re-elected and rewarding those who helped them. This is the kind of change that Obama is talking about when he speaks of a different kind of politics. He's actually not just talking about it, but practicing it - politics with values. Wow.

If you don't read anything else this political season, read his book, The Audacity of Hope. I'm only through Chapter 2 on "Values" and am even more convinced that Barack Obama is the best person to lead our country at this time. What we need is someone not just inspirational, but intelligent and capable of understanding all sides of an issue before making a decision. Then I challenge you to join his campaign.

The question we should ask candidates is this...

Paul Noeldner — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:24:47 EST

The question we should ask candidates is this - “Do you believe that public ethics and Democratic principles should always trump personal beliefs and values, when different values conflict?” Voters and journalists need to ask this ethical question as well as 'values' questions whenever we examine candidates, discuss issues, go to the voting booth, or make any kind of public decision that affects others, because Democracy depends on it. Public ethics means loving the Democratic principles, processes, institutions, and laws that assure far play, due process, and rule of law, regardless of differences in values and faiths. Without ethics, we will not sustain the Democratic freedom to have different personal values and faiths.

To put this in simpler terms, if values are like our love for the Packers (pick your team), then ethics are like our love of the game of football. It takes strong ethical leadership and support at all levels - coach, player, referee, fan, and even cheerleader - to uphold the rules of the game, fair play, and the institutions and frameworks that sustain a level playing field with opportunity for other teams as well as our own. In the public space, ethical leadership and support means upholding the ethics and principles that define Democracy and finding ways to achieve solutions through coalitions and unbiased arbitration of differences, even when others cheat or our home team takes a hit.

We all have strong values within our born or chosen families,groups, religions, nations, and teams. But these values must never trump our love of public ethics in the public space and when we vote and make public decisions, because values based decisions are inherently self-serving and the result is monarchy, theocracy,oligarchy, and other populist systems with deep shared values but non-democratic outcomes.

Mature citizens and great elected officials love both ethics and values and say Yes when asked to put public ethics above home team values when they conflict. This question, and this question alone, uniquely assures that the team in power will not put winning at all costs, demonization of the enemy, and stretching the rules to favor the current team, above the core patriotic principles and ethics necessary to sustain participatory Democracy.

We need to know our leaders are up to it. (http://ethicalguidebook.blogspot.com)

My email to my friends as to why I support Obama

Toby Sackton — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:41:08 EST

I have been politically active for 40 years. I have spent hours holding signs and making phone calls for Barack Obama. I believe the 2008 election is the most important and historical election I have ever voted in.

Follow the jump, I want to tell you why.

Why I Voted for Barack Obama: He is not Cotton Candy

M. A. Coston — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:36:23 EST

Why I Voted for Barack Obama

When the results came in for the Iowa caucus declaring Obama the leader, I felt a sense of hope that I have not felt since my son was born. I envisioned a world of possibilities opening up for my son as Obama shattered people's expectations. Although this momentum is all very moving, it was hard facts, cold calculations that led me to vote for him.

So here I am

Stephie — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:16:35 EST

I'm sad that I'm starting my very first post with a disappointment, but nonetheless: I'd forgotten about requesting an absentee ballot, and was not able to go to my hometown today to vote, since my school is a good hour away. However, I'm at least happy that I still have lots of time to take action and vote whenever else I possibly can. I'll stay informed. I'll pay attention, I'll make changes in what I do and how I spent my time to support this campaign! As soon as I have any money at all, I'll donate it, even if it's just five bucks.
I liked Baracks's speech tonight, it had an almost poetic arrangement to it; the refrain of the whole revolution starting as a whisper. I think a lot of times, that’s how new ideas are born. Someone thinks of something that no one else has thought of, or no one else seems to believe in, but THEY believe in it and soon it grows stronger and stronger. Maybe some friends start to believe in this person’s idea. Maybe then their school or church like it. That can spread from a town to a region, to a state, and eventually a whole country! That’s how every change was ever made, how every politician action occurs: someone had an idea and they saw it through no matter what. No revolution was ever started by an idea that someone felt lukewarm about or only believed to a certain extent, but something that they felt so impassioned, so exuberant in their idea to be right and just and fair, and to be shared with others and eventually carried out and seen through. I know this is a highly romanticized version of politics, but if I have to choose between the idyllic and the typical, the empty promises, and the same letdown, for the love of God, I’m going with the idyllic! Things won’t be perfect; but the idea is not just that we need to make specific changes, its our whole attitude; we have to believe that we can make all kinds of changes and suggestions and they might not all pan out, but we have to approach politics in a more positive & inclusive way.One of my best friends is a conservative Republican and I frankly don’t like the idea that we have to be at odds with one another because of our different beliefs. That’s why Barack is a good vote for everyone: I want to work together with everyone!!

As annoyed as I get at right-wing politicians making bombastic statements about how horribly this country is doing, I’m equally annoyed by the liberals that are so overbearing and oversimplifying that the gov’t is doing poorly and wrong and they never do anything right, and that it's a seemingly eternal 'us verses them', with us saintly liberals always the victims. That gets us nowhere fast. Being a victim is inherently disempowering, and it does NOT win us any points; we should not wheedle our citizens to agree with our policies based upon an appeal to one's pathos. It’s like arguing with a 6 year old: it just isn’t that simple and a black-and-white 'us versus them' mentality doesn’t make sense. In any case, I feel baldy that I was not able to vote today, but I AM glad that I’m changing the way I THINK and the way I ACT to represent my new point of view.

I’m creating the change I want. So even though I couldn’t vote…I feel I’m doing my part every bit as if I had.

It's one AM & I'm exhausted. God bless! May you be blessed by whatever you believe does or does not exist. (I said I wanted to work with EVERYONE. I meant it.)

~Stephie

the axis of all good

violet — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:52:49 EST

" the axis of all good

begins in your own neighborhood"

belief

violet — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 02:57:01 EST

BELIEF

an energy field a force

that's alive,

the source

the root containing the tree

a seed, the future yet to be -

BELIEF

as fruit contains seeds

and seeds contain fruit

in the soil of belief

all things take root

UnknownHeartist@gmail.com