Palin gave a great but highly inaccurate speech and McCain gave and OK speech.
Much of the convention can be summed up with three words. war, guns and service
and chants of “drill baby drill”. McCain hinted at changing Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, Healthcare, continuing the war in Iraq and outlined the GOP’s new faces of evil in Iran and Russia. Clearly McCain gave a “Cold War Speech” and hit tones on the war in Iraq very similar to Nixon’s speeches on ending the war in Vietnam.
Palin never touched on her extreme pro-life views even in cases of rape and incest or her support of Creationism/ intelligent Design being taught in public schools.
If anyone had be watching the floor of the convention they would have seen delegates that was 96% white, 2% black and 2% Hispanic, and what was with all the suite and ties?
I read into what he was saying and I took away that Mike was trying to say that Obama is not a member of the elitist group, the group of white haired men that think they own our country. That thier the only people allowed to govern us.
I've had a dream about running for office one day, but after last nights comment, it has been daminished. I live right now through Obama, I have been backing him since about 2 months after he announced his prusuit to be our president. He is the normal person that one passes while walking down your local sidewalk. He has dreams just like me or your neighbor. And the notion that 'your not one of us' that Mike Huckabee was purtraying last night sickened me to the core.
Did anyone else feel this comment was directed in this way, or am I getting it wrong.
"City Charters" are like constitutions for cities and are based on the State Constitution, Ohio Revised Code and approved by voters. The City of Urbana is less than two years away from “Charter Review” in 2010. Not only was this ordinance “not supported” by our Law Dir. but was not supported by the Ohio Municipal League as well so I've been told.
It may seem like a small thing ... but this one small thing has huge ramifications for the city and the citizens and voters of Urbana. City Council has changed our Charter form of government approved by the voters of Urbana. To their credit Al Evans and Larry Lokai voted NO on the limit.
I oppose this ordinance in the strongest terms…it changes the nature of our Charter Form of government and circumvents the will of the Urbana Voter who passed the City Charter.
The Citizens of Urbana may...want to consider [if possible], a pre-Charter Review referendum on CHAPTER 145, CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF URBANA PART ONE - ADMINISTRATIVE CODE 145.01 (d) and return the right (in my opinion) the explicit and implied right of the Executive Branch of [City] Government under the ORC and The Charter of the City of Urbana to hire and fire personal, service contractors and to purchase services from professional people or firms including consultants, engineers and architects as well as consulting firms to negotiate union contracts and other needs that come up in the course of running a city to provide the best services for its citizens.
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 »I want to take this opportunity to speak directly to those of you who oppose my decision to support the FISA compromise.
This was not an easy call for me. I know that the FISA bill that passed the House is far from perfect. I wouldn't have drafted the legislation like this, and it does not resolve all of the concerns that we have about President Bush's abuse of executive power. It grants retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that may have violated the law by cooperating with the Bush Administration's program of warrantless wiretapping. This potentially weakens the deterrent effect of the law and removes an important tool for the American people to demand accountability for past abuses. That's why I support striking Title II from the bill, and will work with Chris Dodd, Jeff Bingaman and others in an effort to remove this provision in the Senate.
But I also believe that the compromise bill is far better than the Protect America Act that I voted against last year. The exclusivity provision makes it clear to any President or telecommunications company that no law supersedes the authority of the FISA court. In a dangerous world, government must have the authority to collect the intelligence we need to protect the American people. But in a free society, that authority cannot be unlimited. As I've said many times, an independent monitor must watch the watchers to prevent abuses and to protect the civil liberties of the American people. This compromise law assures that the FISA court has that responsibility
The Inspectors General report also provides a real mechanism for accountability and should not be discounted. It will allow a close look at past misconduct without hurdles that would exist in federal court because of classification issues. The (PDF)recent investigation uncovering the illegal politicization of Justice Department hiring sets a strong example of the accountability that can come from a tough and thorough IG report.
The ability to monitor and track individuals who want to attack the United States is a vital counter-terrorism tool, and I'm persuaded that it is necessary to keep the American people safe -- particularly since certain electronic surveillance orders will begin to expire later this summer. Given the choice between voting for an improved yet imperfect bill, and losing important surveillance tools, I've chosen to support the current compromise. I do so with the firm intention -- once I¢m sworn in as President -- to have my Attorney General conduct a comprehensive review of all our surveillance programs, and to make further recommendations on any steps needed to preserve civil liberties and to prevent executive branch abuse in the future.
Now, I understand why some of you feel differently about the current bill, and I'm happy to take my lumps on this side and elsewhere. For the truth is that your organizing, your activism and your passion is an important reason why this bill is better than previous versions. No tool has been more important in focusing peoples' attention on the abuses of executive power in this Administration than the active and sustained engagement of American citizens. That holds true -- not just on wiretapping, but on a range of issues where Washington has let the American people down.
I learned long ago, when working as an organizer on the South Side of Chicago, that when citizens join their voices together, they can hold their leaders accountable. I'm not exempt from that. I'm certainly not perfect, and expect to be held accountable too. I cannot promise to agree with you on every issue. But I do promise to listen to your concerns, take them seriously, and seek to earn your ongoing support to change the country. That is why we have built the largest grassroots campaign in the history of presidential politics, and that is the kind of White House that I intend to run as President of the United States -- a White House that takes the Constitution seriously, conducts the peoples' business out in the open, welcomes and listens to dissenting views, and asks you to play your part in shaping our country¢s destiny.
Democracy cannot exist without strong differences. And going forward, some of you may decide that my FISA position is a deal breaker. That's ok. But I think it is worth pointing out that our agreement on the vast majority of issues that matter outweighs the differences we may have. After all, the choice in this election could not be clearer. Whether it is the economy, foreign policy, or the Supreme Court, my opponent has embraced the failed course of the last eight years, while I want to take this country in a new direction. Make no mistake: if John McCain is elected, the fundamental direction of this country that we love will not change. But if we come together, we have an historic opportunity to chart a new course, a better course.
So I appreciate the feedback through my.barackobama.com, and I look forward to continuing the conversation in the months and years to come. Together, we have a lot of work to do.
OBAMA '08
Hope. Vision. Courage. Now.
"Fear not the path of truth for the lack of people walking on it."
-- Robert F. Kennedy, June 6, 1968
Register to vote, and send Voltage to play at the Democratic National Convention. We have songs that are perfect for the event already written, and I am already the number one democrat at the DNC.
* McCain supported the drilling moratorium
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/16/AR2008061602148.html
now he's against it.
* McCain strongly opposes a windfall-tax on oil company profits. Three
weeks earlier, he was perfectly comfortable with the idea
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/18/mccains-offshore-drilling_n_107872.html
* McCain thought Bush's warrantless-wiretap program circumvented the law
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15781.html now he
believes the opposite.
* McCain defended "privatizing
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15863.html " Social
Security. Now he says he's against privatization (though he actually
still supports it.)
* McCain wanted to change
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/10/mccain-flips-on-abortion_n_101115.html
the Republican Party platform to protect abortion rights in cases of
rape and incest. Now he doesn't.
* McCain thought the estate tax
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15825.html was perfectly
fair. Now he believes the opposite.
* He opposed indefinite detention
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15864.html of terrorist
suspects. When the Supreme Court reached the same conclusion, he called
it "one of the worst decisions in the history of this country."
* McCain said he would "not impose a litmus test
http://www.americablog.com/2008/06/now-mccain-is-flip-flopping-on-judges.html
on any nominee." He used to promise the opposite.
* McCain believes the telecoms should be forced to explain their role in
the administration's warrantless surveillance program as a condition for
retroactive immunity
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/28/AR2008052802967.html.
He used to believe the opposite.
* McCain supported storing spent nuclear fuel at Yucca Mountain
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/28/mccains-about-face-yucca/
in Nevada. Now he believes the opposite.
* McCain supported moving "towards normalization of relations
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15617.html with Cuba.
Now he believes the opposite.
* McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Hamas
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15557.html. Now he
believes the opposite.
* McCain believed the U.S. should engage in diplomacy with Syria
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15564.html Now he
believes the opposite.
* He argued the NRA should not have a role
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15573.html in the
Republican Party's policy making. Now he believes the opposite.
* McCain supported his own lobbying-reform legislation
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/20/mccains-97-lobbyist-bill_n_102662.html
from 1997. Now he doesn't.
* He wanted political support from radical televangelists like John
Hagee and Rod Parsley
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15633.html Now he doesn't.
* McCain supported the Lieberman/Warner legislation
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15699.html to combat
global warming. Now he doesn't.
* McCain pledged in February 2008 that he would not, under any
circumstances, raise taxes. Specifically, McCain was asked if he is a
"'read my lips' candidate, no new taxes, no matter what?" referring to
George H.W. Bush's 1988 pledge. "No new taxes," McCain responded. Two
weeks later, McCain said
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/14761.html "I'm not
making a 'read my lips' statement, in that I will not raise taxes."
* McCain is both for and against a "rogue state rollback
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/04/mccain-rewrites.html
as a focus of his foreign policy vision.
* McCain says he considered and did not consider
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/14818.html joining John
Kerry's Democratic ticket in 2004.
* In 1998, he championed raising cigarette taxes to fund programs to cut
underage smoking, insisting that it would prevent illnesses and provide
resources for public health programs. Now, McCain opposes
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15033.html a
$0.61-per-pack tax increase, won't commit to supporting a regulation
bill he's co-sponsoring, and has hired Philip Morris' former lobbyist as
his senior campaign adviser.
* McCain has changed his economic worldview on multiple occasions
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15337.html
* McCain has changed his mind about a long-term U.S. military presence
in Iraq on multiple occasions
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15370.html
* McCain is both for and against
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15358.html attacking
Barack Obama over his former pastor at his former church.
* McCain believes Americans are both better and worse off
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/19/mccain-economy-bloomberg/ than
they were before Bush took office.
* McCain is both for and against
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/06/mccain-earmark/ earmarks for Arizona.
* McCain believes his endorsement from radical televangelist John Hagee
was both a good and bad
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/21/hagee-flip-flop/ idea.
* McCain's first mortgage plan was premised on the notion that
homeowners facing foreclosure shouldn't be "rewarded" for acting
"irresponsibly." His second mortgage plan took largely the opposite
position http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15176.html
* McCain vowed, if elected, to balance the federal budget by the end of
his first term. Soon after, he decided he would no longer even try
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/us/politics/16mccain.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
to reach that goal.
* In February 2008, McCain reversed course
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/10/emtimeem-has-mccain-flip_n_96179.html
on prohibiting waterboarding.
* McCain used to champion the Law of the Sea convention
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071031/NATION/110310071/1001
even volunteering to testify on the treaty's behalf before a Senate
committee. Now he opposes it.
* McCain was a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071031/NATION/110310071/1001
which would grant legal status to illegal immigrants' kids who graduate
from high school. Now he's against it.
* On immigration policy in general, McCain announced in February 2008
that he would vote against his own legislation
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/14447.html
* In 2006, McCain sponsored legislation to require grassroots lobbying
coalitions to reveal their financial donors. In 2007, after receiving
"feedback" on the proposal, McCain told far-right activist groups that
he opposes his own measure
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/9658.html
* McCain said before the war in Iraq, "We will win this conflict. We
will win it easily." Four years later, McCain said he knew all along
http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2007/jan/05/olbermann_crowns_mccain_worst_persons_for_flip_flopping
that the war in Iraq war was "probably going to be long and hard and tough."
* McCain said he was the "greatest critic" of Rumsfeld's failed Iraq
policy. In December 2003, McCain praised the same strategy as "a mission
accomplished." In March 2004, he said, "I'm confident we're on the right
course http://thinkprogress.org/2007/08/18/mccain-greatest-critic/
In December 2005, he said, "Overall, I think a year from now, we will
have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course."
* McCain went from saying he would not support repeal
http://mediamatters.org/items/200610310003 of Roe v. Wade to saying
the exact opposite http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/19/mccain-abortion/
* McCain went from saying gay marriage should be allowed
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/8809.html , to saying gay
marriage shouldn't be allowed
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/02/mccain200702?printable=true¤tPage=all
* McCain criticized TV preacher Jerry Falwell as "an agent of
intolerance" in 2002, but then decided to cozy up to the man
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/6988.html who said
Americans "deserved" the 9/11 attacks.
* McCain used to oppose Bush's tax cuts for the very wealthy, but he
reversed course
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/6731.html in February.
* On a related note, he said 2005 that he opposed the tax cuts because
they were "too tilted to the wealthy
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/us/politics/03mccain.html?ref=us
By 2007, he denied ever having said this, and insisted he opposed the
cuts because of increased government spending.
* In 2000, McCain accused Texas businessmen Sam and Charles Wyly of
being corrupt, spending "dirty money" to help finance Bush's
presidential campaign. McCain not only filed a complaint against the
Wylys for allegedly violating campaign finance law, he also lashed out
at them publicly. In April, McCain reached out to the Wylys for support
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=1880630&page=1
* McCain supported a major campaign-finance reform measure that bore his
name. In June 2007, he abandoned http://www.nysun.com/article/36949
his own legislation.
* McCain opposed a holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., before he
supported it
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20070115/pl_usnw/dnc__mccain_spends_mlk_holiday_pandering_to_the_far_right
* McCain was against presidential candidates campaigning at Bob Jones
University before he was for it
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/8313.html
* McCain was anti-ethanol. Now he's pro-ethanol
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15637887/
* McCain was both for and against state promotion of the Confederate
flag http://mediamatters.org/items/200610310003
* McCain decided http://nymag.com/news/people/24750/index5.html in
2000 that he didn't want anything to do with former Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger, believing he "would taint the image of the 'Straight
Talk Express.'" Kissinger is now the Honorary Co-Chair
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/12/19/mccain-kissinger/ for his
presidential campaign in New York.
I am happy that I am working in Obama's campaign! The following snippet is from today's NY TIMES (we need to make sure we donate a few bucks to the campaign!):
Obama’s War Chest Drives a 50-State Strategy
Obama is drawing up plans for extensive advertising and voter-turnout drives across the nation, hoping to capitalize on his expected fund-raising advantage over Senator John McCain to force Republicans to compete in states they have not had to defend in decades.
With his decision to give up public financing and the spending limits that go with it, Mr. Obama has added several seasoned hands to his advertising team, a harbinger of a multifaceted television campaign that people inside and outside Obama headquarters said would grow well beyond its already large presence in 18 states.
Future commercials could run on big national showcases like the Olympics in August and smaller cable networks like MTV and Black Entertainment Television that appeal to specific demographic and interest groups.
Mr. Obama is also dispatching paid staff members to all 50 states, an unusual move by the standards of modern presidential campaigns so often fought in just a contained group of contested territories.
His aides and advisers said they did not believe Obama necessarily has a serious chance of winning in many of the traditionally Republican states, but rather that he can at least draw Mr. McCain into spending time and money there while also swelling the rolls of Democratic voters and supporting other Democrats on the ballot.
His strategists are busily studying data from focus groups, magazine subscription lists and census studies. It is the beginning of an intensive door-to-door drive, using volunteers overseen by a growing staff of organizers, to reach voters using persuasive messages tailored to their individual interests through the mail, e-mail and word of mouth.
Now, free from the constraints of public financing, campaign and party officials have said that Mr. Obama’s budget for the rest of the year could be well above $300 million. But Mr. Obama’s fund-raising slowed abruptly in May, when the campaign raised $22 million, $10 million less than it had in April and an even sharper drop relative to his monthly performances earlier in the year. The decline was evidence that Mr. Obama might have to work hard to keep donations coming in at the record pace he has been setting.
READ the rest at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/us/politics/22obama.html?em&ex=1214193600&en=c0dfa3b5e6e55855&ei=5087%0A
Here's some good stuff about John McCain from Lonee Hamilton of: http://www.barackoblogger.com/
The Flipflop Express is great site that chronicles all of John McCain's flipflops. Check it out.
Olbermann: "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq Oil WarThe reason why we invaded Iraq has become clear. As Rachel Maddow states in the MSNBC clip at the link HERE, the United States (special interests of the US, anyway) needs to set up an oil colony.
We've been hoodwinked. (But we already knew that, right?)
The American companies supposedly got an "in" because they've been volunteering their time as unpaid advisers to this country that we've invaded.
We had to tear down Iraq so that we could rebuild its oil fields.
This is why the seemingly most powerful country on earth can't develop viable forms of alternative energy, why with all our know-how and technology, we can't stop our dependence on oil.
I guess McCain was right. We will have to be there 100 years... because we're going to be guarding the oil fields!
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. What should we expect when we have oil men running our government?
I get it.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
READ ON:
Read More »Cindy McCain better stop attacking Michelle Obama.
Check this out: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/19/watch-mccain-didnt-love-a_n_108191.html
Data from 32 nationwide polls conducted from May 15 to June 15, 2008
For full results: http://www.pollster.com/08-US-Pres-GE-MvO.php
Obama-Mania Goes Global
Widespread International Interest In The Presidential Race May Help America's Image
by Amy Harder / Fri. Jun 13, 2008
The excitement surrounding Barack Obama's bid for the White House apparently isn't confined to U.S. borders. A new
Pew Research international survey [PDF] shows that the American presidential campaign -- and Obama's candidacy in particular -- has generated a very high level of interest throughout the world. The numbers also suggest that the attention surrounding the race could translate into some much-needed burnishing for the U.S.'s tarnished image abroad. In nearly all of the 24 countries surveyed, respondents who said they were following the election closely placed more confidence in Obama "to do the right thing regarding world affairs" than they did in John McCain. The largest gaps were evident in Europe, where overwhelming majorities -- 84 percent of French respondents, 82 percent of Germans and 74 percent of Britons -- said they had confidence in Obama while fewer than half said the same of McCain.
The one region this trend didn't hold was the Middle East, where confidence in both candidates ran low: 34 percent of Lebanese respondents said they had confidence in Obama, and a quarter said the same of McCain. In Turkey, Obama garnered 20 percent and McCain a scant 5 percent. Jordan was one of only two countries surveyed that had more respondents express confidence in McCain than Obama, a close 23 percent to 22 percent. What was the only other nation to show more love for McCain than Obama? The U.S., where McCain received 60 percent support to Obama's 59 percent. Read More »
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has a profound appreciation of the media's great possibilities. That's at least part of what earned him the presumptive Democratic nomination for president.
The great battle to get the nomination -- a bruising 13-month struggle against valiant New York Sen. Hillary Clinton -- has ended. The war, against Republican nominee and Arizona Sen. John McCain, has only begun.
And if Obama's "Yes We Can" mantra leads to "Yes We Did" in a November election victory, he will be setting the tone for communications policy from the bulliest of all media pulpits. And he likely would have a solidly Democratic Congress behind him.
With that in mind, we asked the senator to weigh in on media's great challenges, issues and limits and go on the record with B&C about his communications agenda.
In e-mailed responses last week to questions submitted to his Capitol Hill office, Obama told us he is committed to working toward a digita