Everywhere I look, everything I read, and just about everything written' confirms that it is a wonderful money-saving thing that that the government has done by canceling production of the new F-22 'Raptor' fighter. I don't see it that way. It is a dumb luddite-based decision. Yes, anti-technology, head-in-the-sand, but seemingly fiscally responsible decision. In reality, it is canceling the future to make believe we are paying for the present. And the amount saved is nonsensical. We could have had the remaining raptors built and operational for years just on the money that was recently distributed to executives at the banks we gave bailout money to. So this aircraft cancellation is all about posturing.
The F-22, it is complained, was designed during the cold war. Somehow that means that the design is mired in that period of strange political unrest. That is like saying that the hammer you have in your basement workshop needs to be thrown out because it was designed at a time when most things were put together with hammer and nail, not nail guns. The F-22 is a tool. Its use capability is amazingly versatile. And God, does it send a message to the rest of the world and to the future. That message is that the United States will dominate the air in any conflict that anyone gets involved in that includes the United States. Anywhere, anytime, when fighting breaks out, you will face the Raptor in the air...and nobody, but nobody, argues that there is a plane, or mix of them, that can match that tool in the air. And oh, do you happen to recall that we have a bomber in the inventory, still very well used, called the B-52? It was designed before the cold war, then dedicated solely to that 'almost' conflict. Amazing the usage we have found for that old 'hammer!' The argument has also been raised that the F-22 costs too much in maintenance to fly. What hogwash. It costs, even at the ridiculous figures presented in the press, about eighteen times less, per plane, than a B-52 to keep in the air!
A lot of people are talking abut retreat today. A lot of people are talking about not planning for future. It seems that the discussions are all about today, even though the hard-clad, cold-bleeding Republicans have supposedly been vanquished, and not tomorrow. From the space program through weapons procurement and even scientific research, we have been in retreat from a proactive plan that takes on the future. Instead we are 'going green' and heading into some 'bong considered' idiocy of pastoral life. The idea that we are somehow going to change this planet into one vast garden of Eden-type delight would be laughable, like Creationism, if there was not a grand, vapidly drooling, segment of our culture buying into it. Our future is in technology. Technology is why you have heat in the winter and air-conditioning in the summer. It is why you can talk to one another all the time, anywhere and at anytime. It is why you have clothing and shoes, and yes, packaged and then cooked food. Technology is simply another word used to replace the word 'better.' Whenever technology is considered something bad, and not better, then you have to go to the additional word 'perspective.' Nuclear weapons are great, if you have them, but terrible if you do not. Great if you are one of the people (in the countries that do have them) who control them, and maybe not so great if you are one of the people who do not, or do not trust the people who do. It is perspective of technology.
We live in a time where people who benefit from the stunning technological gains of the last two thousand years understand, and strive to do better. And we also live in a time wherein people who do not much benefit from the advances, hate them. We have a lot of problems with negative belief systems in the underdeveloped countries of this world. We have radical religion, which, amazingly, thrives in areas where technology does not reach very well! A great advance, also part of this technology, that should be used to combat this, is education, and gifted benefits of other technology. Instead we have gone at this great rift in belief systems with more destructive technology (bombs, mines and combat planes and troops). Hammers can be used to remove nails, and take apart, as well as build.
Yet, here I am proposing that the cancellation of the F-22 raptor is a big mistake. Amazing. But the analytical points of my argument are well founded. The United States is something special. It arose from a nightmare of warring nations intent on supporting the wealth of a few and the deliberate (and forced) slavery of the masses (physical and economical). The United States has pulled itself through and up above that, dragging much of the world with it! And here we sit. "Top of the World, Ma!" A line from an old Jimmy Cagney movie. We are on top of the world and we are having a terrible time figuring out what to do with the position we are in, for ourselves and for everyone else. And, in truth, since the cold war, we have been acting like a horse's ass, to our own people, for the most part, and the people of the world. We have to change all that, for our own survival and for that of the world itself. But we cannot change it from a position of weakness.
We need a six hundred ship Navy. We need a strong well-equipped Army and Marine Corps. We need domination of the air (and that 'for sure' includes the F-22 Raptor). And, with those things in place, we need to then do the hardest thing of all. We need to do the right thing, for us and for everyone else not so blessed. So, yes, I am an Emersonian Imperialist...of the right thing. And how is the 'right thing' decided upon? Therein lies the rub. Bush and Cheney had all the power in the world, and the good will of the planet (following 9/11) and what did they choose to do? The wrong thing. We voted Bush in (arguably), and he delivered very poorly. But we did not vote him in to do the right thing. We just kinda slipped him on by another mediocre candidate...twice. I think, however, we voted Obama in to do the right thing. And I think we were correct in our choice, if he can work through the morass of our Congressional Houses he was handed to deal with.
Obama was at the top of the heap in the cancellation of the F-22. I believe he is trying to do the right thing, but I do not think, or expect, that he is always going to be correct. We may well rue the day, with respect to this cancellation of a fighter contract, and pay a price in that future I write about. I hope not, but, more than that, the cancellation is symptomatic of our flight from science and technological advance. I think about this and I worry.
http://www.jamesstraussauthor.com
http://www.themastodons.com
http://from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com
We are in crisis, an energy crisis. We have problems with our present energy providers, and are looking to replace with a new more efficient energy source. Electricity seems to be the energy of choice, but we need to do our homework. The President should also do his homework!
We as a people have a responsibility to follow what are leader suggests, ad try and help our country as much as we can.... "ask not what our country can do for us....but what canwe do for our country!"
Well, now is the time for the President to do for his country something amazing. I have come across a few articles that specifies the extension of battery life 10fold. This means for the same small battery we have 10 times the life.....OR for a battery 10 times smaller, we have the same amount of life.
Take this to practice on car batteries for electrical cars...this means a car with 10 times smallerbattery, means lss weight, and less production costs. Should this not instill a certai urgency, and should this not make the President want to invest some money in this company that cam across this new etchnology? You can read for yourself the findings....but this is a matter of national well being...and when they say 5 years before you see the first publicly available battery....I say, it should be 5 months...not 5 years!
Incentives are what we need, and I find the President is not doing as much as he could or maybe his cabinet or his "peeps" in charge of finding the new technologies that will bring the US out of their current energy dependent situation.
These are the links to the stories related to my findings!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/sciencenews/5353809/Worlds-first-battery-fuelled-by-air.html
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/05/stair-20090518.html
Recovery? Restore America to the prosperity of 2006?
Way too small a vision for our time and place in global history.
Please energize your resources to galvanize President Obama and the administration into defining and declaring a BIG EMPOWERING VISION for America. Something with the motivating power of Kennedy’s bold declaration of putting a man on the moon.
The realities of the confluence of global environmental and social issues challenges our ability to prevail with anything resembling our current lifestyle... These realities demand setting a goal of altering our collision course with mega disaster. We confront the probability of environmental changes so dramatic that they are a threat not only for our children’s future, but our own.
This vision, based on unspoken realities, will also shake up the resistant and reactionary from their state of fear and paralysis. They can only profit if we survive.
It’'s simple. We must evolve or perish.
Please light some fires and help motivate your network to help create the future we want for our children... and ourselves, beginning NOW.
I put a 5 part video up on YouTube that amplifies this concern. It is also available on my website: http://web.mac.com/marvlyons/EarthTHRIVE/Challenge_to_Barack.html
I have a DVD with the same videos. if you would like one. I’m proposing public involvement in defining our Empowering Vision.
Marv Lyons
Wow. The news continues to be bleak, yet I don't feel a sense of doom. I'm worried, sans panicked. I believe in this new guy, our President, Barak, in the familiar. Hey, the stimulus package PASSED! Pres Obama is right on target with his timetable, and it's only February! Let's face it, the man rocks.
What concerns I have, like so many of my brethren in these united States: is my job safe? Will I be asked to take an economic hit, when my dollar is already shy of reaching it's full potential? Which way should I lean - spend for the economy, or save for the unknown future?
Deeper down, the nagging worries for those physically and mentally challenged citizens who are our daughters and sons, neighbors and co-workers: will there be enough Medicare to cover their essential health needs? Will the support programs (job coaches, public transportation, independant living counselors, regional centers and resource offices) have enough funding to continue serving this vibrant segment of our population? This mom wants to know...
At least in Erie County NY, the powers that be put together a list of 100 proposed projects, that are far in excess of what is needed in dollar amount, projects promote very few jobs in the short term, and almost none for the long term. With very few proposed road and bridge work. Promoting more urban sprawl with little regard for existing buildings or domiciles.
One proposal I know is way over bloated even though I know it well and believe work is required but not to the amount Erie County has proposed to its constituants. For example: http://www.erie.gov/exec/pdfs/stimulus_project.pdf
1)--$3.75 Million-- for "Chestnut Ridge Park- Heritage Area Restoration: 100 Stone Steps, Bridges(1), Stone Picnic Structures (75), Stone Restroom Facilities (16), Stone and Wood Pump Houses (6); Gateway Improvements: Main Entrance, NewtonRd. Entrance; Maintenance/Storage Yard Reconfiguration: Design, Initial buffer/landscaping; Casino Reuse Feasibility Study; Casino Restoration; Playground Facility Upgrade"
2)--$750,000-- for"Chestnut Ridge Park Casino: The historic Chestnut Ridge Casino roofstucture is severely leaking, causing damage to the building interior, the windows are in poor repair, and the heating system is old and can no longer be repaired"3)--$250,000-- for"Chestnut Ridge Park Toboggan Towers: Repairs to remediate structural damage and lead paint hazzards, and re-open both towers."
Plus a share of another $25.4 million for amenity upgrades and roads for all parks.
In addition to Double dipping for the Casino proposals which is actualy a park setting main event type building made of stone which is pretty cool but not thats its not worth it, its the fact that someone will pocket probably more than 50% of the sum proposed for these projects to this one park I know so well.
I am sure I can refine the stats better, I am sure I can find more inconsistancies in thier ways or proposals.
ButI warned before on 9/11,I warned again in before the economic crisis hitand I have warned on events on varying subjects
Still nobody listens and I don't get paid.
So listen if you care, don't if you won't; but someone has to keep the local politicians in check.
Morality may have one the White House, but it has not beaten back greed and corruption elsewhere.
Thank You for allowing me to at least vent my frustrations with an outlet to someone in power that seems to give a f*&@.
Andre Chernogorec Jr., Tomahs Frejnofes
and PS Under the 2006 Presidential Budget proposal, you have a lot more autority than you may even know. ;)
Greeting all,
We are living in a time of economic certainty. That certainty is, “if we do not move quickly, and with exactness the economy of America will fail, and with it the experiment of democracy as well.”
This is a time that we must overcome the failure of the present system by investing into the Human infrastructure of America.
We must invest “today” in the people for the children of our grandchildren by putting money in the hands of the people, which they can invest in education, and opening businesses, and putting capital in the hands of the people to spend with the companies who are in jeopardy of failing now.
The amounts of spending being discussed in the house and Senate are in the Hundreds of billions and seem insurmountable. In truth the amount that needs to be spent is in the trillions; 33.5 trillion to be clear.These amounts surely are overwhelming if we continue to try to seek the answer in our lifetime. We must look at the solution in terms of “generations” not in the term of a Presidency or a decade but in the Nation’s lifetime expectancy!
This is an opportunity to strengthen all of the American people, as well as the economy for generations to come.
It is a simple plan. One million dollars, tax free, to every American with a Social-Security Number. In this model people will spend and save accordingly. There is no question that there will be un-wise spending and waste.
On the other hand, there will also be wise investment and upgrades in the education levels of America as a whole. American Government should invest to build the infrastructures of the country, and also allow the People will build the new infrastructures that are necessary in humanity, as well.
In this model the people will pay off debts and homes and the outcome in two generations is an America where the people are better educated and healthy and house adequately, the economy is better sustained because the wealth is not so unevenly disbursed.
Will there still be poor? Yes. There is a certainty that money will be squandered, but in the overall outlook, the chances that a majority of population of America will be in poverty will be impossible. This is be reasoned by looking at a two parent home with one child puts three million dollars in the home. Can that three million dollars be managed to continue to build that family in the education and living for generations to come? Yes, it can. As a matter of fact on this basis, the entirety of American educations will rise because people will go back to school and invest in themselves and each other, and America will see an end to wide spread poverty.
What about inflation?
Inflation is a “conceived inevitability”, not a “real inevitability”. With the disbursement of the monies to the people it should be enacted that the prices for the American economy are set for American goods and services.
It is an uncomfortable statement to make but basically, everything boils down to style and taste. As we level the field on funds we should also on technology, the consumer matters then become and have always been, “the one I like the best is the one I’ll buy” and that is with anything.
If the cost for a car is 15,000 dollars across the board the difference become in the style in the vehicle because the technology is the same. If a company builds a car and the consumer market doesn’t like the company looses the investment in that product. If the company builds a better-styled car and a large percentage of the market gravitates to it then that company gains the consumers dollars.
This insures that the American currency stay relatively strong internationally. Relatively, meaning as prices change around the world the currency changes to reflect said changes.
The argument then becomes, “How do we deal with inflation at home?” As stated, the prices are “set” at the present cost of disbursals. Surely there will be those opportunist who believe “since all have a million dollars lets raise prices to get as much of it as we can.” To this thinking we can generally say these are thieves and traitors to rendering a newer, better republic.
It is not for the good of the nation nor the generations to come to exacerbate the problems cause by greed, of which we are currently seeing the result.
Arguably, a radical solution is necessary to fix the American economy. Is this the one?
I hope so because in actuality a thousand dollar tax cut will do nothing, but a million dollar investment would make a big difference in the future of this nation.
Think about it.
The objective of this blog, is to establish a forum for our community and enable collaborative interdisciplinary thought and discussion as to how we can all help make it a better place.
Focus areas:
1) Energy Independence: This matter is so strategic that it affects everything we deal with... the price of just about everything. We are being held at bay by the Oil Producing states due to our reluctance stemming from 1979 to change our sources of energy and go the easy way of dependency upon foreign resources thereby choosing the easy way out.....which of course never works.
2) Opportunity via innovation: New ideas for doing old things in a more cost effective and efficient manner, taking into account our impacts on our earth and neighboring ecosystems.
3) Social Consciousness: Striving to bring a social consciousness to "Entities" which are not real human beings such as Government, Corporations, Non-Profits, Institutions, and Utilities, as well as to People since a lot of people just don't really care about anyone else but themselves.
4) Education: Part of the reason we have become so dependent on foreign source labor is because we have left our educational system go "to the dogs". We don't improve education by spending more money on buildings and administrative programs, we do so by building up MINDS via good quality CONTENT, CURRICULUM, EXPERIENCES AND TEAMPLAY. We have a great defecit of US Scientist, Mathematicians, Engineers, and Technical experts and have resorted to outsourcing this to workers who only lease us their time and then take their knowledge and experience back to their countries.
5) Jobs: We can't wait around for the Big Companies to figure out how they're going to move. Small & Medium size companies have the flexibility and mobility to get things done and to approach new technologies and solutions with speed and efficiency. Let's share in opportunities where we can all invest our time and talents to make this a better place.
There are many people out there with less than me. I live in a very run down home with a hole in the bathroom sink and where both sinks, in the house, leak. The gutters, what gutters ( painted to get the city off my back), like I really want to live this way. However life is good. I have a roof and though I also have no income and contend with my ex daily for support, there are many out there that would prefer my boat. I know I am blessed, even with an "ARM" mortgage it is manageable, due to buying with-in my means, what about those out there that had much nicer homes than mine and with great school systems that they are now verging on or are homeless.
I realize that change is not going to happen overnight, however over the nights to follow I feel that we can actually do it. Thank You, Pres. Obama for believing in us enough to run for the Presidency. I feel that maybe the old system will be fixed and instead of needing to plan to fail in order to succeed the hard work of each individual that is working to reclaim a sense of dignity will be rewarded.
I may not get much time to make calls or with no money I cannot donate, but I do live my life to the happiest that I can and my daughters celebrate each day knowing that tomorrow is not today so always celebrate. I thank God that we finally have a man truly of the people.
My four year old says to say "Hello, Obama-Rama" . She chose the name and it has stuck for now.
The fruits of a Americas once lost and now found hope and democratic fighting spirit is realised today. America lost its pride and forgot its self, it forgot why millions of people spent their life savings, risking their lives to come here, it forgot why America came to the standing it has in the world and why America has always been the hub for change, the driving force behind liberty and justice for all. The principals that found this country, that bathe the constitution, were forgotten, America grew lazy, it grew passive and complacent, it took its self for granted assuming without question or evidence that it was the best country on earth, forgetting why that might have once been true.
Today I am reminded, the world is reminded.
Today those things can be said again. I am proud of my countrymen, I am proud of being an American, a phrase that I would not have ever considered saying with a straight face before in my life, because there was nothing to be proud of. My accent was not something I liked about my self, hoping everyday that it would vanish and I could cut my ties with my former state union.
I lost hope, I lost belief, condoning, frowning upon the beautiful idealism that gave my country life, I did not believe that hope was possible for a better future, I was not sure that it ever was, I did not comprehend the idea that a president could be a force for good, deserving respect, I was never aware of that idea beyond that screen of my television and martin sheen and jimmy smitts. I thought that I knew America and what it was really capable of, not what I was told it was capable of . I thought that that idea was just a television show, more perfect and beautiful then life.
But today I, like so many others are renewed. I, once endlessly cynical. I, who lost belief in a better future. I, who did not believe that I could so proud of my accent and the country that it comes from. I believe that things can be different, I belive that I can change things if I want to. I believe. I hope. I am dripping with the idealism that comes only to a teenager, I know this, but I like this, I feel fine, better then. I know that in the future I may see the world for what it really is again, but I also hope that what I see now can be what the world really is.
Even if President Barack Obama cannot deliver on any of his promises, America will still have gained more from him then we can ever thank him for. He reminded us who we are as a nation, he reminded what we stand for and has shown us that we can dream, that we can imagine and that we can hope.
Depression, recession, war, disease, famine, global warming and total financial meltdown of all economies worldwide and the list goes on and on…
Surely President Obama will wake up with a considerable headache for many days to come. But the key to all of these problems are one and the same; global cooperation across borders and beliefs. In today’s world everything is so interconnected that simply focusing on one thing, one nation or one solution is futile. We need to start thinking of ourselves as one race together on this one planet. Only with that perspective can any actual solutions be found. Thankfully President Obama seems to understand this very thing.
It won’t be easy of course, but then again nothing worth having comes easy. Perhaps this dive into despair is what’s needed for countries like the United States to begin to redefine themselves and their role in the world. We have changed greatly as a race, the past century. With this new millennium we face challenges never before imagined. To deal with this we need new ways of thinking, feeling and relating to each other.
The internet made the world significantly smaller, airplanes narrowed distances between us and the media forged new bonds across all boundaries. The global warming and diminishing energy resources will soon tie us even closer together, billions of individuals as we are, stuck on this tiny planet in infinite space.
To unite a world, the world needs to be inspired to unite. Bullying never works, people will always find ways to fight it. But to inspire such a complex thing as a world like ours, one must have a clear understanding of the path ahead, knowledge of the path behind us and awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of one’s own heart. Only at the highest peak can you make yourself heard by all, and the climb there is thorny to say the least. But I can’t imagine anyone with more promise than Barack Obama.
Insecurity, distrust and fear have spread like wildfire across the globe in recent years. Wars and painful conflicts seem present or unavoidable everywhere you turn. The US is no longer the guaranteed peacekeeper it once was and President Obama is not a miracle worker. No outsider can ever bring peace. But he can, and must, rebuild mutual respect. This does not mean nations will suddenly become eternal friends, nor will they trust each other blindly. But for diplomacy to work, some degree of trust is essential. This will be President Obama’s greatest challenge; to build bridges, within his own country and between many others.
If President Obama can manage to get people talking again, get them to move forward instead of this stagnated depression, no challenge is too great to overcome. This is a simple fact. There are some six billion of us here, there’s nothing we can’t do.
But making this happen, uniting enemies and reconnecting old allies, will require a very special touch, a fingertip sensitivity to what each and all need to hear. There are keys to unleash every human’s inner creativity. But we each have a different key, so anyone desiring to inspire, has to understand our differences and adapt. A challenge worthy of any hero!!
It’s a good thing our new President is young! He’s got time… I’m looking forward to his eight years in the White House and the subsequent (?!) decades in charge of a new and reformed United Nations!
The future is always waiting for us, despite our missteps and fears.
Although many have predicted a disastrous road ahead (economic and social cataclysms), in this administration I see new hope -- not a wild misguided sense of urgency and false alarms, but deliberate steps towards progress and a brighter future.
There is a new willingness to set aside the old failed ways, and face obstacles with every means available. It is a gathering of the nation's talent and its people under one sky, with common purpose, facing in one direction ... forward.
It reminds me of the Kennedy era -- boundless determination in pursuit of seemingly impossible but worthy goals -- like reaching for the moon, and the wealth of technology and "boundary breaking" that effort rewarded us.
My wife and I have done our part and will continue to do more. I spent 24 years in the military making America safer for our children, and now spend my days teaching at-risk children in public schools. My wife has been a nurse in critical care centers, sick wards, and on medical hotlines most of her adult life.
Now we look forward to the Obama Presidency doing its part to prove our hopes and our trust were justified. With decisive leadership and the support of the American people we cannot fail -- because we must not.
Mr. President Elect,
It is the last hour of the last day of what already seems to be a very Old Year. People look back, point at the record-low for this and the record-high for that. Most certainly, it has been quite an unusual year.
A global economic crisis has emerged the scope of which the world has never seen before.
In a few hours here in Adams County we will have our 'Change is Coming' house meeting. It looks more as if it will be as much a community gathering as anything, with 60 attendees signed up.
While making coffee and watching the sun come up it occurs to me just how much the sunrise looks just as it did on election day November 4th. Full of excitement, full of hope and full of possibilities for the future.
There can be no doubt that indeed we are standing on the threshold of a new era for our nation and for the world.
The Pickens Plan: For those who would like to become an active participant in a solution for our nations energy needs I urge you to join with T.Boone Pickens in his quest for a cleaner planet through alternative energy.
Also see Green Wave Energy: Green Wave was founded by Mark Holmes and was formulated for viable alternative energy solutions. Green Wave Energy is promoting state-of-the-art energy-saving products and services throughout the country.
Green Wave Energy understands alternative energy technology will become “main stream” when
Call 949.645.1701 for information on how Green Wave Energy can help you save the planet.
Alternative EnergySource: David Apperson
url: http://veterans.barackobama.com/page/community/tag/alternative-energy
The Rationale for allowing the US Auto Industry to fail ~ Can it be applied the US Federal Government?
Republicans Kill $14B Rescue Plan in effort to dismantle UAW Union
Within the above article is a discussion and a point of view I find interesting and wish to explore how people feel about it and it's implications.
Stu P., "The only way the Big 3 can compete with Toyota, etc. would be to get out from under the massive pension and related obligations to retired and soon-to-be-retired UAW workers."
Richard, Given the plight of the economy and the Debt incurred by the American Taxpayer, should the US Government rescind the benefits of US Service men and women? Revoke the health benefits and retirement of the millions of individuals in order to make the Federal Government a more financially viable entity ?
Let's start with those costly Survivor benefitshttp://www.militarytimes.com/benefits/family_resources/online_hbml06_payandbenefits_otherbenefits1/
Then we can move on to money for housing and Education benefits.http://www.militarytimes.com/benefits/
Imagine a leaner Federal Government without Military Veteran OBLIGATIONS to burden them.http://www.militarytimes.com/benefits/health/
~@~
Given the tremendous debt out government is carrying and which the American citizen is libel to repay w/interest, I'm wondering if these Senate Republicans would be prepared to rescind the benefits to each and every Military veteran in an effort to trim the wasteful spending by our Government?
If it works for GM, Ford and Chrysler, wouldn't it also translate into a cost-savings effort by the Federal Government?
I really think these Senate Republicans are on to something, throw out any promises of care for services rendered and allow the former employees to fend for themselves.
After all those 300,000+ Auto Retirees are most likely service members from WWII, Korea, Veitnam who are drawing these Federal Benefits as well as Pensions from working their entire lives in the factories. If America is willing to toss them under the bus, why not go the whole way and assist the Federal Government in relieving itself of this burden?
From Newsweek 12/1 issue: http://www.newsweek.com/id/170347/page/
"Continuing the Internet efforts of the campaign raises some tricky legal questions. One challenge is figuring out how to keep using the personal data gathered from more than 10 million supporters during the campaign. Federal election rules prohibit President Obama from interacting with supporters in the same way as Candidate Obama did. When he becomes everybody's president, the law says he can't communicate only with the people who voted for him. Like his recent predecessors, he'll have to use the WhiteHouse.gov Web site to make sure everyone's included. Transition officials are looking for ways to sidestep the rules. One maneuver they're considering involves setting up a nonprofit organization that would purchase the Obama supporter lists (names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses) from the campaign, says Steve Hildebrand, former deputy manager of the campaign. The nonprofit would serve as a conduit, letting the administration maintain indirect contact with supporters. The nonprofit, likely to be set up as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, could encourage supporters to push legislators on policy issues by, say, flooding a Senate office with phone calls and e-mails, or arranging demonstrations via Facebook to push for universal health care."
I was encouraged today to actually post a few words. Encouraged that is by pressure from my family about the general hope I have for this country. We have a long road even now to travel upon, even though Obama has won the election - change will take time. So keeping this in mind, I have to look forward.
With the electrifying victory we must keep in mind that old wounds will take time to heal. And so saying, I present to you a short piece I wrote for someone special to me. After reviewing it, I decided it applies to our country and what I hope will happen in the future. So please enjoy this little piece that I'm going to call "The Ship."
There is a song I heard recently that I really like by John Mayer called, “Waiting on the World to Change.” It has a very nice sound to it and the message is one of peace. And although I think Mr. Mayer is basically right about what we can change and we cannot, it is interesting to think about what we can change instead of just waiting. Too often we find ourselves complaining and whining about the way things are and often there is not much we can do to change things. But is there? If you could change one thing in our country, what would it be? Is there any way you can help that positive change become reality? I ran into a quote a few years ago that struck me and is one of the things that has given me some motivation. I want to share this quote with whoever sees this. Note: I did not put a little R or D next to his name because I honestly don’t know and don’t care to know; I just don’t find that relevant when talking about this.
“The future will not belong to those who are content with the present. The future will not belong to cynics and people who sit on the sidelines. The future will belong to people who have passion and are willing to work hard to make this country better.”
-- Former U.S. Senator, Paul Wellstone, Minnesota
