The jobless rate went up yesterday to 6.1% nationally with a loss of 84,000 jobs... Here in California that number is even higher on the whole. Los Angeles for example has an 8.1% unemployment rate and the state is at 7.1%. People are loosing their homes. I sympathize cause I've already lost mine and my wife and I are coming out of bankruptcy.
I watch all the news stations and saw you somewhere out in what appeared to be western Pennsylvania talking about the poor jobs report...What I didn't see was a follow-up in that same excerpt, that same couple of sentences, about how you are going to put America back to work. Please tell us. We want to believe!
As you well know this election is close. It might very well be won on 'sound bites' that those not so close to the news cycle will be following... You must be tired, you look tired...I know I would be if I were you but we've got less than 60 days to win this election. I believe in you and what your team will do to take this country back for the people and what you and your team will do to unite the electorate. Please find the strength within and the energy to get more aggressive on the economy. I grew up in the Pennsylvania Dutch country and lived in the suburbs outside Detroit Michigan as well, two key battleground areas. The people want to believe. You are the candidate of hope and change! Please hit the eonomy harder and lead us all back to greater prosperity.
Sincerely,
A concerned American and a strong believer in you
The latest McCain campaign strategy is to paint the Obama-Biden ticket as being "on the fringe". We must, each of us refocus this election on the economy and other issues at hand! I urge each of you to reach out and write to a friend in a battleground or red state letting them know the facts. Let's put Amercia back to work and restore our standing of prestige in the world order!
Sarah Palin was FOR the 'Bridge to Nowhere' before Congress told her state, Alaska would have to pay for the project. As Mayor, Sarah Palin hired a consultant to bring earmarks to her city when she's publicly claimed to be against earmarks. Sara Palin has not even traveled outside the US until last year and she managed to leave office with the city of Wasilla in debt (perhaps better spoken of as an 8,000-10,000 person town rather than city). I've even heard she attempted to fire a librarian who refused to ban some books at the library not to mention the current 'trooper gate' scandal. And not to mention, I haven't even touched on her far right Creationist views including no sex education whatsoever in the class room other than abstinence. It resulted in her 17 year old having a child out of wedlock so like it or not it's news.
What we as Democrats truly can benefit from is to get Sarah Palin in front of a camera speaking her true views in an unscripted atmosphere. She was scheduled to appear on Larry King Live but the McCain campaign canceled her appearance for fear of this very thing.
The time has come to step into the ring. There is no room for error. We must keep our attacks to arguments that make sense to swing voters, independents and Republicans on the fence. I'd like you to remember one thing and that's McCain and Palin = MP and that spells Military Police which is not good for my America!
Yesterday, watching those poor people lining up for buses to yet again flee a hurricane, my heart broke.
With all our riches how can there still be people in America who are so obviously so impoverished and helpless?
Unfortunately, it is because our system of education is broken, failed, shameful.
How can any politician believe that property taxes from impoverished areas can pay for world class schools and world class teachers?
A factor in our broken system of education is that first, teachers are underpaid so that schools for teachers "sometimes" fail to attract the most talented people.
Second, the curricula are not teaching prospective teachers how to really teach.
I want every teacher in America to receive the same starting pay as computer programmers and engineeers.
I want better curicula for preparing teachers.
And I want 3,000,000 more, high paid, talented, dedicated teachers who are fully prepared to teach THE LOVE OF medicine, bioscience, math and engineering, starting in the first grade.
Let us all work for an America where everey child has absolutely equal and excellent education, so that in the future no American is so unprepared for life that they end up helplessly standing in line for buses to flee for their lives.
Please donate, tax deductible, to these goals at http://www.fluni.com
I cannot think of anything more consistent with the core values of our Democratic Party.
We must use our response to their convention to praise their concern for the country and more so our party's action during this disaster. We must appear as the party of action and they of talk. The convention itself is a moot point.
McCain's age must be addressed indirectly and not by the campaign itself. We need to come out with both barrels blazing yet utilizing a silencer. Sara Palin's extreme right wing views must be addressed indirectly a as well and not by the campaign itself.
Remember the hare is quick and experienced, exuding confidence. It is the tortoise though that takes the time to think through the task at hand, moves forward continually, exudes patience and inner calm. Displaying a keen sense of awareness, it is he who wins the race.
This vignette touched my heart, because it has such relevant symbolism.
In the clips last night, Michelle Obama spoke of finally giving in to Barack's request for a date. She had been refusing his advances because she was very proper in the top law firm of Sidley & Austin, where she was a full fledged attorney and Barack was just a summer intern. Barack surprised Michelle when he took her, not to a fancy restaurant, but to a church basement where he gave a speech to steelworkers who were laid off when the local steel mill closed.
Michelle said Barack riveted everyone in the basement with a magnificent speech about how America actually was, and how America should be.
The clip showed a picture of the burly white steelworkers raptly listening to the young African American orator, demonstrating that the races were cooperating even back then.
I grew up in the same neighborhood as Michelle Robinson Obama, actually in between her house and Rev. Wright's church. I personally knew many of the steelworkers who forever lost high paying jobs to the slave labor wages of Indian and Chinese steelmills, and feel quite strongly about fair trade instead of free trade.
Those hard working men never, ever got jobs with pay remotely near what they earned in the mill, for very hard work.
Micehlle felt the same thing I did, and said that speech in the church basement made it all over, the end! She was in love with Barack.
A symbolic lesson for us all, united.
Very interesting article coming up from the opinion of a reader who is concerning about the situation in the Caucus. It seems to me finally the American opinion is taking conscientious about GEOPOLITICS and comprehends what the old fashion of politics of the 20th century is gone!
And for the sake and PEACE in this small rock called PLANET a new alignment of POWER will be welcomed soon rather than later.
Article published today in USA TODAY page 12A. on August 19, 2008
Superpowers flex muscle, but at what cost?
Earl Beal - Terre Haute, Ind.
In the power politics of international relations, superpower behavior is governed by the concept of geopolitical spheres of influence. When a superpower nation meddles in the internal affairs of another and attempts to exert undue political or economic influence in its perceived sphere, that's when trouble starts.
The trouble started when President Bush pressured Poland and the Czech Republic to establish a missile-defense system in their territories. This policy was then, and continues to be, seen by some as a direct threat to Russia, not to mention Bush's push for democratic reforms in former Soviet Republics still considered vital to Russia's national security interests.
Also, if Russia placed ballistic missiles in Cuba and/or Venezuela, this would constitute a direct threat to the U.S. Washington's hue and cry over such a move would be surpassed only by Bush's hypocrisy when he and his Pentagon took the "dramatic," "brutal" and "disproportionate" measure of invading a sovereign Iraq in 2003. As a result, what do we have?
The hemorrhaging of our national treasure in terms of lives lost.
Thousands of courageous people wounded.
A cost of more than $10 billion a month to finance this fiasco.
5 million Iraqi refugees scattered and without homes.
Percy H Florez
While the American media is bluffing about the “Invasion of Georgia” the Bush administration just receive a lap in his face as a consequence of his erroneous and horrendous mishandling of the situation in the Middle East; special remarks on his attitudes an action in the illegal war in Iraq.
Percy H Florez
Read More »The American nation has an excellent opportunity to change the nature of politics in our country this year. We have a real chance to build lasting alliances that will re-define the political landscape at every level of government and permit us to take back our government by the average citizen.
For decades, the political power of the largest international corporations and the wealthiest of the Super Wealthy have been tightening their grasp on governments in America. They have effectively bought their way to power by giving billions in campaign donations and buying up the media.
The effect has been passage of laws that undermine the power of average citizens to control their own economic futures, have an effective voice in government policies and to hear opposing political viewpoints. It is no accident that most Americans think that their children will not have as high a standard of living as they currently experience. It was economic policy on the national and international levels that forced tens of millions of families to have both parents working to maintain a decent standard of living.
Your rights to sue corporations when they abuse you as a worker, investor or consumer are being stripped away by Republican politicians like George W. Bush, John McCain, Dick Cheney and your allegedly “moderate Republican” member of Congress. The same bunch of Republican politicians are and have been for decades falling all over themselves to pass legislation that ships high-paying jobs with healthcare benefits to Third World nations where the high pay and employer provided healthcare vanishes while corporate profits explode! Yes, Bush, McCain and Cheney love NAFTA, the WTO, CAFTA and the rest of these deals. They have been a goldmine of campaign cash for the Republican Right and the alleged “Republican moderates” in Congress.
By appointing corporate thinking federal judges and government regulators, American workers have seen their rights to form labor unions effectively undermined and often destroyed. The public fiction of “free elections” in the workplace is there for these deceitful Republicans to “defend.” However, in most workplaces, the reality is that these giant corporations make real free elections impossible by intentionally breaking the law (the penalties are a joke), firing pro-union workers, preventing union organizers from talking to workers or distributing material, issuing threats and the like. The reality of these “free unionization elections” is that they are no more free and fair than the “free elections” in the former Soviet Union, communist China or Nazi Germany! Still, the Republicans vehemently oppose passage of the Employee Free Choice Act which would return effective workplace democracy when it comes to unionization votes.
The decline of labor unions has meant the decline of the American Middle Class both economically and politically and corporate forces know it! An effective labor movement has meant real economic opportunity for tens of millions of working class and poor Americans. Labor unions have been the vehicle for millions of racial and ethnic minorities to join the mainstream, Middle Class majority in experiencing the American Dream.
Corporate controlled politicians like Bush and McCain are simply killing that Dream. Will we let them?
The wealthiest of the Super Wealthy control our mainstream media but not our votes.
We all should know that racism has an economic purpose. It is the tool most often used in America to get the working class whites and Middle Class majority to put in power politicians who vote against the economic interests of working class and Middle Class whites. Racism is the tool used to divide the non-economic elite majority so that all working class and Middle Class Americans do not demand government policies that provide real economic opportunity for the vast majority. Racism is a sucker bet for all poor, working class and Middle Class Americans!
Read More »Clinton, who battled Obama for 18 months but came up shy of the delegate votes needed to capture the nomination, told a mostly female group of backers at a California fundraiser last week that she wants unity in the party, but she is asked every day whether she will put her name on the ballot.
Clinton said that her delegates want to have a role and feel that their “legitimacy is validated,” before the group moves forward to back Obama.
“I happen to believe that we will come out stronger if people feel that their voices were heard and their views respected. I think that is a very big part of how we actually come out unified,” Clinton, D-N.Y., said to applause.
“Because I know from just what I’m hearing, that there’s incredible pent-up desire. And I think that people want to feel like, ‘OK, it’s a catharsis, we’re here, we did it, and then everybody get behind Senator Obama.’ That is what most people believe is the best way to go,” she said.
“Doesn’t work that way,” shouted one supporter. The video clip of her remarks was posted on YouTube accompanied by the one-word remark, PUMA, an acronym for a group of Clinton supporters who have not committed to Obama. PUMA stands for “Party Unity My A".”
Click here to see the YouTube video of Clinton.
In the video, Clinton, who endorsed Obama on June 7 after the final Democratic primary, said that she is fully behind Obama and actually has offered more help to him than other candidates have done for other nominees in previous years.
“I think it’s fair to say if you look at recent history, I have moved more quickly and done more on behalf of my opponent than comparable candidates have. And most of them didn’t endorse until the convention,” she said, naming Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, former California Gov. Jerry Brown and former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart, all past presidential candidates who lost the party nomination.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton nothing has been decided in terms of the role of Clinton’s delegates. He said Democrats remain united, despite the hard-fought battle between Clinton and Obama.
The Democratic convention is being held in Denver on Aug. 25-28, with the first three nights’ activities taking place at the 21,000-seat Pepsi Center. Obama is expected to accept the nomination at Invesco Field at Mile High, a 75,000-seat stadium where the Denver Broncos play. Convention planners said the venue would demonstrate the massive support Obama commands.
“You don’t have to be a delegate or party insider to witness this historic moment firsthand,” Democratic National Convention Committee CEO Leah Daughtry said, announcing the plans for credentials.
Ticket selection was designed “to showcase the gains the party has made in the West,” she said. Nearly two-thirds of the tickets will go to residents of the West and Southwest, including Colorado, where Democrats have made inroads in recent elections.
But several of Clinton’s supporters are insistent that the former first lady get a vote on the convention floor. One self-identified delegate at the California fundraiser said a petition had been formed to put Clinton’s name on the ballot.
Clinton did not oppose that idea, but said it won’t change the outcome.
“I have made it very clear that I am supporting Senator Obama and we’re working cooperatively on a lot of different matters, but I think that delegates can decide to do this on their own. They don’t need permission. They can decide under the rules of the DNC, and so I think it would be better if we had a plan that actually we put in place and everybody knew what it was and then we executed it because I just think that would go more smoothly,” she said.
Former Clinton campaign manager and Howard Wolfson also obliquely acknowledged Thursday that relations between Clinton’s and Obama’s delegates aren’t all roses and sunshine.
“You know the these two people ran against each other for 18 months there were some moments of … friction as you might imagine,” he said, stressing that Clinton is doing her part to contribute to Obama’s election.
“If you have some people that are concerned that they are not getting the respect that they are looking for, that the party not quite yet unified, what is the way to bring those people back into the party to make sure that they are enthusiastically supporting Senator Obama by the time the November election comes around? And one possible way of doing that is to have roll call that has Senator Clinton’s name placed in nomination, that is one option. There are other options and I think that the important thing is that this is going to get decided between Senator Clinton and Senator Obama in a way that I think both can agree unifies the party and bring people together,” he said.
Democratic strategist Bob Beckel added that a vote for Clinton would help relieve some of the tension between the Obama and Clinton delegates.
“They can’t stop them if they want to do it. They cast their vote for Hillary Clinton and before the final roll call is finished they are going to go back through and make it unanimous by state. That’s one way I think to let a little bit of the pressure out of this pressure cooker, but it’s there. I mean it’s bound to be. You can’t have a convention with 1,800 delegates out of 4,400 be for somebody else and not expect there is still going to be some latent animosity,” Beckel said.
Clinton is expected to deliver a prime-time address to delegates on Aug. 26, the second night of the gathering. Typically the vice presidential nominee delivers the address on the third night of the convention.