I voted for President Obama. I did this in part, because I listened to him and I read what he said, and as far as I can see, he's a rational, reasonable human being, and a man of principle. The other reason I voted for him, quite frankly, is that he isn't a Republican. The Republican party rules, it doesn't govern, and it does so with contempt for the subjects. The Democratic party must stand toe-to-toe with the Republicans, backing them down and undoing some of their skulduggery, or we, the 99%, will be crushed once and for all.
It is said that 1% of the people in this country own most of its assets. The land, the capital, the banking institutions, the production machinery, etc., are theirs. Increasingly, as the years have gone by, I have seen the result of the rise to power of this 1%, and seen what it means for the rest of us. Their motto is, “Never enough.” (Or, maybe it's, “Nothing for the 99%”). Any suggestion that those who are better off have a moral duty to share with their less fortunate fellows is met with hysterical cries of “socialism!” They will go to their graves secure in their conviction that might makes right, and they are right. To them, that--and they--are all that matters.
I know of no spiritual tradition (unless one considers Satanism to be “spiritual”) that advocates destroying the planet and killing or condemning the masses to lives of misery and squalor for the benefit of the avaricious few. Nonetheless, such are the results of rule by this vicious minority, and it must be noted that many of them claim to be Christians. Even the misery and squalor are only begrudgingly allowed because someone has to be available to serve as cannon fodder abroad, and grist for the machine at home. If not for that, the 1% would, without compunction, plow the 99% under for fertilizer.
Only a short time has passed since the election, and it is already clear that the 1%, through their Republican minions and their sympathizers who remain entrenched in government, have dug in, folded their arms, and are absolutely determined to deny the 99% even the slightest gain.
Barack Obama must be a brave and forceful man, indeed, to forestall the final ruination of this country by the 1%, but he will not do it by playing fair. Far from it; he will have to trade the olive branch for a whip, harden his open heart, and lay in with that whip, or this will be the last generation of Americans who can even pay lip service to “freedom.” If he fails, the pretense will no longer be necessary, for only our masters will be free, to do with the rest of us—the 99% of us—as they please.
They won't be held back by any notions of fairness or compassion.
Ok, let's play "how the FISA flap can turn into a victory," shall we?
So Obama stuck his foot in his mouth by effectively saying he's OK with the 4th amendment being trampled so long as his powers as president won't be limited in any meaningful way by the legislature he's currently a part of. Surely he didn't mean that. He must have been tired. Confused.
To show that he didn't really mean it, Obama embraced Chris Dodd on the floor of the senate, stands up against cloture and against an intolerable domestic spying program, stands up for the rule of law over the rule of men, and invites Dodd to be his running mate.
Dodd on the rule of law
The response to nay-sayers that would call this a flip-flop? "I listened to the reasoned arguments of my colleagues and have come around to the right conclusion; we are a country of laws, and the telcos deserve their day in court."
In our pursuit of protection of the minority from the tyranny of the majority , we have wrestled with the inequities of the Electoral College ( negating a majority popular vote ) , the two seats / state in the Senate that can sometimes frustrate popular will, and the delegate fiasco we are currently experiencing ( which honestly should not be happening -- the Democratic Party should be mortified over this development ).
The simplest thing that occurs to me might actually circumvent a lot of these problems while preserving minority protections as they are expressed in the voting habits of the populace.
Why not institute a party statute , and eventually a constitutional amendment that awards delegate selections and electoral college votes not on the basis of total population, but rather on the basis of VOTING population in the previous major election years?
It would preserve the notion of popular VOTE being dominant, while also giving a measure of anti-bully protection to the smaller states ( and delegations ). In essence, you could bulk up as much as you wished.
Imagine the levels of voter participation we would finally begin to experience in this country. There would be incentive to vote for all factions. It would TRULY make their vote meaningful, even if their candidate lost. Are we ever embarrassed that the supposed bastion of democracy in this world exhibits the lowest voter turnout of all ?
It wouldn't hurt to make voting a 2-day, weekend holiday process as well ( as in many European countries ). God knows we could do without another questionable national holiday in favor of a voting one.
It is my hope that those responsible for this site and information dissemination in the campaign would respectfully forward these ideas directly to Barack Obama for immediate consideration.
Finis / Andrew Tipton
Does anyone believe that Iraq's erstwhile PM Nuri al-Maliki acted independently in Basra last week without getting the support of the U.S. military first? Or that the presumptive Republican nominee for president, John McPain, traveled to Iraq just to cheer on the troops? Of course, it was just coincidental that following his visit, the Maliki surge on al-Sadr's Mahdi army in Basra was launched and "the Iraqi government" called for U.S. aerial fire power to support this effort? Not very likely.
Many in the American media continue to refer to the Maliki government as the "legitimate Government of Iraq" with its "legally-constituted security forces" who are at war against "illegal, foreign-backed, insurgent and criminal militias serving leaders who openly call for the defeat and humiliation of the United States and its allies in Iraq and throughout the region." Isn't the Maliki government supported by a "foreign-backed, insurgent and criminal military" also? Namely us. It's no wonder that Americans are either ambivalent about Iraq and the political motivations of George Bush and John McCain with respect to their own involvement or just turned off with concern over their own daily struggles in an ever-worsening recession. However, Americans cannot afford to be ambivalent about the outcome of this illegal overseas invasion by our government and its continued attempt to create "enemies" by keeping the stew boiling in Iraq so that its disastrous and dishonorable policies can continue. No, we must end this war as quickly as possible. And, then we must deal "legally" with the criminals who launched it.
Keith Olbermann: Hillary Clinton pushing for superdelegate strategy (YouTube, 6:23)
1968 Chicago police riot at Democratic National Convention (YouTube, 4 min)
Let's be clear that if Hillary Clinton is crowned with the nomination by the overwhelming majority vote of the superdelegates at Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado the last week of August, it will swing the moderates, hostile towards Hillary's "socialist agenda" (mandatory health care, economy micromanagement, etc) to cast the ballot for McCain (if chosen by RNC hacks), ensuring the win for McCain in fulfilling his quest to become the next "war president" eager to order the attack on Iran/Syria should Bush back out.
It’s frightful how the tyranny of one King George is repeating itself through another George.
Indeed, so many of the abuses detailed in the Declaration of Independence apply 231 years later:
"He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good;
"He has obstructed the Administration of Justice;"He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone;
"For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury;
"For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences …"
Once again, Americans who support Barack must help him painfully extract ourselves from the same kind of misrule all too well characterized in 1776 as a “history of repeated injuries and usurpations.” Beginning today, July 4th, 2007, and fully in the sprit of the Declaration of Independence, Americans must push back.
We must push back against an administration that believes in the separation of Bush and Cheney from state.
We must push back against the illegality which they have foisted upon us.
We must push back against the unwarranted and warrentless incursion into our homes, our beliefs, our associations, our privacy and our thoughts.
We must push back against the hopeless and ill-considered wars begun with lies and carried on with incompetence and deceit, all the while robbing us of our heritage, our values and our treasure.
We must push back against the ongoing abuse of trusting Americans who gave – are still giving, today, this very minute – their lives, their body parts and the very sanctity of their minds in faraway and little understood lands all for the vainglorious misadventures of dangerous men.
We must push back against the dark forces who seek to make us afraid of ourselves, of each other and of those who simply want to be a part of the dream we once offered so openly and freely to the world.
We must push back again a government that believes some people in this land are entitled to untold and untaxed riches while leaving far too many others unhoused, unclothed, unfed, uneducated, unwell and unnoticed.
We must push back against the dismantling of everything the United States of America has stood for ever since this very date in 1776.
We must fly our flag proudly outside of our homes but fly it upside down, the international symbol of distress.
We must march in the streets, proclaim our anger from rooftops and, especially, vote for Barack Obama to end the tyranny.
We must, each of us, rededicate ourselves to the document that was signed on this day and date. To do any less is to reduce to ruin the great experiment our forefathers brought forth on this continent 231 years ago.
