- In a
year where so much has been revealed, it's the only
title I could come up
- with to
describe this year's election season. Although the
graphic
is
- political,
what is not readily seen, speaks
volumes.
- (If
you would like to see the original, much larger
version, click on the logo.)
-
- FAITH TRUMPS FEAR
- December
28, 2008
-
-
- Revealed
-
- This election
season was a very emotional experience for many of us
who did not want to see this country, once again, be
persuaded by those who would scare us into voting
Republican. And that somehow, if we didn't vote for
McCain, we wouldn't be safe or that Barack Obama is a
"scary" person with no experience, who will ruin the
country if elected. Most importantly,
it revealed
in many people, elements of their own biases that
heretofore, were unknown.
Yet, as they spoke and wrote with no intention of
revealing how they really felt, their words belied
them. Even when they weren't "telling" you anything,
their biases jumped out. When I asked those who were
voting for John McCain "why?", everyone
- no exceptions - had no substantive
answer. If
you pressed them, they would get
angry and not want to talk about it.
What were they afraid of?
-
- We all know
people like this. They are in all walks of life, and
in all parts of our country. Some
are in my family.
I will always love them and I enjoy their company. I
may mention their names on these pages, but I
will never attempt to change their thinking. They are
entitled, as am I, to choose how they believe. And
although I would thoroughly enjoy
having a substantive debate
with them about the future of our country, its
citizens and leaders, I know that it's probably not
possible without the conversation digressing into
something far less preferable. I
wish one of them would prove me
wrong.
-
- People were
saying - and writing - the
most ludicrous and hateful words I've ever heard or
read in any public forum.
Then, when confronted with what they said, many
went into
complete denial,
which for me, revealed much about their character.
They could not - or would not - accept the change that
was coming, let alone embrace it. They
remained in their personal cocoons,
continuing to embrace the past. They spoke and wrote
from that perspective, not realizing the world was
watching (thank you, internet) and was moving beyond
their perspectives.
-
- Even after the
election, they continued to stay fixed in their
thinking, somehow believing that the
election results are the demise of this
country, and
that one day, the rest of us will wake up and realize
the "sin" we've committed by electing this man to be
our 44th President. "But by then, it will be too
late." Blah, blah, blah.
-
- What
is revealed through all of this is
FEAR
and
its offspring, HATE
-
- Even religious
leaders were not immune. A Catholic Priest in South
Carolina went so far as to say that
voting for
Obama was a sin,
and that if any church member voted for him, they
could not take communion "...lest
they drink the blood of
condemnation..."
-
-
- His name is
Rev. Jay Scott Newman. Letter
to Parish
He goes on to say that we must now pray for him as he
is our President. But seriously, how does that help,
after you've said such hateful things?
-
- Here's
a VERY SMALL sample of the FEAR
and
HATE
- that
was propagated during and after this election
season:
-
- The
cigarette in Obama's mouth was "added" to the picture.
Notice that ALL of the pictures have been darkened to
create a "scary" image of Obama. The picture on the
left was taken during a performance of our National
Anthem, NOT the Pledge of Allegiance. The picture on
the right is obviously a fake. The
poster talks about how crime in countries that have
black leaders is exponentially higher than in
countries with white leaders. Note the organization
that created the poster and how they made sure that
the name included one of those code words -
"Patriots". And
if that wasn't enough, this "League" is creating a
website.
When you start reading their site, you'll see that
they are White Supremesists, and proud of
it.
-
-
- This
guy is Andre Lacasse. He lives in Florida. He was
PROUD to display the sign in his
yard.
-
-
- This
sign was in Ohio, sad to say.
-
-
- This
was a mailer that went out from the
RNC.
-
-
- This
was created by someone on the West Coast and posted
online.
-
-
- This
one came in my mail from the Republican
Party.
-
-
- Posted
by South Carolina State Senator, Kevin
Bryant.
-
-
- This
local southern newspaper did not
apologize.
-
- This
was not an uncommon sight in the yards of southern
states.
-
-
- At
least this took some talent and
creativity.
- Notice
how the one on the right does not use a darkened image
of Barack.
-
- *
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Information
is Power
-
- I always giggle
when I hear people say that the media is
"in the
tank" for
this person, or that person. Bottom line: the media
is in the
tank for... the media.
It's a business that needs advertisers to stay in
business. Media goes with whatever story it feels will
improve ratings, thereby attracting advertisers.
PERIOD.
It has nothing to do with the candidates - it's about
MONEY.
Here's an example: Let's say so-and-so politician
might be having an affair. Even though it does not
affect us, that "sells" more than a knowledgeable
debate on an issue like farm subsidies, which affects
all of us through our country's food supply. If a
candidate said something that could be interpreted in
such a way that it might "ruin" his or her campaign,
that will fill the 24/7 news networks for days with
pundits endlessly talking about it (while ignoring
real issues) because it increases viewership, which in
turn increases advertising dollars.
-
- YouTube, the
blogs, and candidates' websites
played a huge role in getting information out to
voters, especially those voters who were new to the
political process. The 9-second
sound bite
that ruled the evening news in previous elections is
no longer
the best way to get information.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
- The
Low Information Voter
-
- Those who vote
based solely on quick sound and video bites, or the
information coming from only one source are often
called "Low
Information Voters."
I thought I would have a little fun with the term
"Low
Information Voter "
which I will call "LIV." To borrow from Jeff
Foxworthy's "You Might Be a Redneck If
" idea,
let's go with "You Might Be an LIV If You..."
-
- YOU
MIGHT BE AN LIV IF YOU...
- 1. Watch
only one
network or broadcast
for all your election information
- 2. Rarely, if
ever, use that "TV
with the typewriter"
to learn anything
- 3. Are afraid
"them damn
liberals"
are going take away your guns
- 4. Believe that
you can "pray
away the gay"
in someone
- 5. Think
"big
government"
is something that Republicans don't believe
in
- 6. Think
"free
markets" and
"free
trade" are
good for our middle and lower income working men and
women
- 7. Believe
Barack Obama "pals
around with terrorists"
- 8. Think Barack
Obama was
not born in the USA
- 9. Believe that
only the
Democrats
are responsible for the financial meltdown
- 10. Think
Republicans were not in favor of home
loans to those who couldn't afford them
- 11. Still
believe that the Iraq
"War" was necessary
- 12. Believe our
soldiers
almost
always vote
Republican
- 13. Believe
that the Iraq "War" is really a war and not an
occupation
of a sovereign nation
- 14. Think
Republicans will
reduce your taxes
- 15. Think
Bill
Ayers is a
threat
to our country
- 16. Think
blacks overwhelmingly voted for Obama
only because
he is black
- 17. Believe
Sarah Palin is qualified
to be President
- 18. Think John
McCain knew
and liked Sarah Palin
- 19. Believe
that Barack Obama has no
executive experience (more
on this later)
- 20. Think that
John McCain is more
knowledgeable in foreign affairs than
Barack Obama
- 21. Think
Barack Obama is
a Muslim
- 22. Believe the
stock market is a good
barometer
for our nation's economy
-
-
- Low Information
Voters usually make up about 50% of the vote in most
elections. Republicans know this so they
create
fear with
issues about gays,
guns
and God
to get people to pay little or no attention to issues
that actually do affect them and their families. They
hear things like "They
want to take away your guns",
"Gays are
threatening the sanctity of
marriage" or
"Your
religion is being threatened by people who believe in
Pro-Choice."
Certain code
words
trigger reactions in Low Information Voters and they
automatically gravitate to the candidate who
promises
protection of
the "freedoms" they have been told to be
fearful
of
losing.
-
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
- 24/7
News
-
-
-
- Realize that,
except for the "Evening News" dinosaurs at 6:30pm each
night on the three broadcast networks, you don't have
to work too hard to understand the biases of these
24/7 news networks.
-
-
-
- can appear to
be unbiased and yes, you will find true journalists
like John King and Anderson Cooper.
-
-
- But you don't
have to go far to find some bias. Lou Dobbs, who is a
professed Libertarian, just stays angry about
immigration issues and unconstructively criticizes
everything and everyone who does not agree with
him.
-
-
- To say he has a
huge ego is a huge understatement.
-
-
- Jack Cafferty
has absolutely nothing good to say about most
Republicans, especially our 43rd
President.
-
-
- Wolf Blitzer,
no matter how hard he tries, can not cover up the fact
that he leans conservative, but certainly not with the
zeal of Alex Castellanos.
-
-
- David Gergen,
someone who has worked in both Republican and
Democratic administrations, is one of the least biased
commentators I've seen on CNN.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- has
commentators like Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews and
now, Rachel Maddow,
-
-
- that most
definitely lean Democratic, or, if you like,
Progressive. There are also commentators who lean
Republican, or Conservative, like Joe Scarborough and
Pat Buchanan.
-
-
- But unlike
their counterparts at FOX News, many
MSNBC commentators have years
of experience working in presidential administrations
and congress.
Chris Matthews worked for House Speaker Thomas "Tip"
O'Neill and was a speech writer for President Jimmy
Carter.
-
-
- Pat Buchanan
was a special assistant to President Nixon and Chief
of Staff for Ronald Reagan.
-
-
- Joe Scarborough
was a Republican Congressman representing Florida in
the 1990's.
-
-
- They bring
real life
experience
to the table - from both
sides of the political aisle.
NONE of the popular commentators on FOX News (Hannity,
O'Reilly, Barnes, etc.) and on conservative talk radio
(Limbaugh, Beck, Savage, etc) have real life
experience in the political arena. So when you're in a
conversation about politics, and you've researched an
issue, it's not hard to determine where some get their
information. If their input into the
discussion
lacks substance and facts,
then there's a good chance they are listening to FOX
News commentators or radio personalities like Rush
Limbaugh and the like. (More
on talk radio later.)
-
- Although
Olbermann and Matthews are journalists by trade, they
do not play that role in their shows. There are actual
journalists at NBC and MSNBC such as Brian Williams,
Andrea Mitchell and David Gregory.
-
-
- They
intentionally do not reveal their biases, because as
journalists, they
are required to stay neutral when
reporting.
You would be hard-pressed to find any quote from any
of these three that is untruthful or has a political
slant, one way or the other. Showing that type of bias
could
jeopardize their credibility
as true journalists.
-
-
- Saving
the "Best" For Last (I
use the word "best" very loosely...)
-
-
- Those that
believe
everything
they see and hear on FOX News fall into the category
of "Low
Information Voter."
Now before you start throwing things at your PC
monitor, (which could say something about you that you
didn't want to know), allow me to give you some
examples of how people get "brainwashed"
into believing things that are absolutely not
true.
-
- When you watch
FOX News, you will notice that they have already
"convicted"
someone of something that is not true and did not
happen.
-
- Example:
A caption at the bottom of the TV screen reads,
"Why won't
Barack Obama admit he's an
anti-Semite?"
while the commentator reports, "He
is close friends with Louis Farrakhan. He's attending
a church whose pastor is also very close with
Farrakhan. We know that Farrakhan has spoken at that
church. These facts have been
well-reported"
and on, and on. The commentator will speak
convincingly and authoritatively, using phrases like
"well-reported",
"we
know", and
"some
say" making
the intellectually non-curious viewer think that they
are informed. The
truth:
the viewers have received no information.
(They then
repeat these words to others acting like they know
what they are talking about.) The commentator goes
on: "In
addition, Barack Obama launched his campaign for
US Senator in the home of unrepentant terrorist
and close friend, Bill Ayers."
-
-
- The
truth:
Barack Obama officially launched his campaign for the
Illinois US Senate seat in
the home of Rabbi
Arnold Jacob
Wolf, who
also lived in Hyde Park and taught at the University
of Chicago. Here's what Rabbi Wolfe had
to say about Barack Obama,
before his passing in December.
-
-
-
- Another
example:
In the caption below, you'll read "Sarah
Palin has more executive experience than Barack
Obama." The
commentator says, "She's
been elected mayor of her home town twice." "She was
elected governor of one of the largest states in the
union." (FYI
- Alaska's entire population is less than my home town
of Columbus, OH.) "Barack
Obama has never run a company or managed
employees."
-
-
-
- The
truth:
Wasilla, Alaska, whose population was less than 6000
at the time, elected Sarah Palin to manage their city
as mayor. The town was in good financial condition
when Sarah arrived and in debt when she left for the
governors' office, to the tune of
$20,000,000.
Near the end of her role as mayor, she
had to hire a City Manager to run the mayoral office,
because she was in way over her head and unable to
execute her administrative duties.
Before her first year as governor was over,
she was
under investigation for ethics violations and abuse of
power. Also
contrary to what FOX News reported,
she was NOT
exonerated.
The prosecutorial team, made up mostly of Republicans,
found her guilty of abuse of power, which is a serious
ethical violation. After their findings, her
self-appointed Personnel Board "exonerated" her.
Adding to her "executive experience," she and her
husband opened up a ski shop that had to close in less
than 2 years - no business.
-
- Saying someone
has executive experience does
not mean they are a good executive.
-
- More truth:
Barack
Obama started and was CEO of the largest start-up
corporation in America - www.BarackObama.com. It
grossed $750,000,000
in less than 2 years.
It had multiple
offices in all 50 states.
It had over 4000
people on staff
and well over 3,000,000
volunteers.
He assembled some of the best
I.T., media, research, publicity and marketing
teams this
country has to offer that stayed
with him through the entire
campaign.
The corporation's main offices were located in a
33,000 square foot building in the heart of Chicago
and were fully equipped, looking more like a large
insurance company than a political campaign's
headquarters.
-
-
- It had by far
the best ground game of any campaign this country has
ever seen in any election season. The
goals set forth by this company were met -
handily.
When it was over, there was enough money left to pay
several key staffers five
digit bonuses.
The rest of the staff also received bonuses. Barack's
experiences as a Community Organizer for 3 years in
Chicago's south side taught him a great deal about how
to operate a business. In addition, when Barack Obama
was elected to be the first
African-American President of the Harvard Law Review,
he managed a staff of 80 people.
-
- Who would you
want running your company?
-
-
- *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
- More
registered Democrats than
Republicans
-
- It's at least a
55-45
split. And
with the growing minority population, this split could
widen in the next 20 years. In order for Republicans
to win elections, they must find ways to reduce the
number of Democrats voting in an election. In other
words, they
must suppress votes.
This voter suppression occurs in many ways, but one of
the most common is to have party-loyal Republican
Secretaries of State make sure that
there are
only 1 or 2 voting machines in low-income and minority
precincts.
These precincts are usually Democratic and are
typically far more populated than middle and high
income precincts, which are usually Republican.
In these
upper income precincts, you find anywhere from 8 to 12
voting machines.
The idea is that lower income and minority voters
can't take several hours off from work to stand in
line to vote, so they get discouraged and either leave
before they vote, or don't bother to vote at all. In
the more affluent neighborhoods, the lines are short
or nonexistent, and people can vote during their lunch
hour.
-
-
-
- Tactics
that were used by Republican Secretaries of
State
- Kathryn
Harris (FL) and Ken Blackwell
(OH)
-
- 1.)
Making
it a regulation that absentee ballots are
printed on a
particular weight paper,
then mailing ballots with a different weight paper to
low income and minority precincts so that they don't
qualify (Ohio - Ken Blackwell - 2004).
-
- 2.)
Challenging voters' addresses on their
IDs when
they come to vote, forcing them to vote on
"Provisional Ballots" and then
disqualifying their vote when the ballot shows a
different address than
the one they had four years ago in the previous
general election (Florida - Kathryn Harris - 2000;
Ohio - Ken Blackwell - 2004).
-
- 3.)
Electronically
adding an
additional 4000 votes on a machine in a precinct that
only has 600 people.
(Gahanna, Ohio - Ken Blackwell - 2004).
-
- 4.)
Closing
precincts at the posted closing time,
when there
are still hundreds of people (who haven't voted)
already in line,
which is against the law in EVERY state (15 precincts
in Cuyahoga County, Ohio - Ken Blackwell -
2004).
-
- 5.)
Approaching
people who are standing in line for long periods of
time and letting them know that the next closest
precinct has a much shorter line and they could
probably vote quicker over there. Then, when the
person gets there, and because they are not voting in
the correct precinct, are told
they must use a provisional ballot,
which then gets disqualified
because the person voted in the wrong
precinct.
(Florida - Kathryn Harris - 2000; Ohio - Ken Blackwell
- 2004). And on, and on, and on.
-
- Here's just one
article
on the voting "irregularities"
that occurred in Ohio in 2004 from the Washington Post
- hardly a left-wing, liberal newspaper.
-
- *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
- The
Voter Fraud Myth
-
- This year,
ACORN
(Association
of Community
Organizers
for Reform
Now),
a 30-year-old non-profit that helps register and
educate voters in low-income communities, came under
attack by Republicans - not
because they were doing anything
wrong, like
what was reported, but because the massive number of
new Democrats being registered all but guaranteed a
win for Barack Obama.
-
-
-
- ACORN is not
ultimately responsible for the validity of
registration information gathered. All registrations
are verified by elected officials of the Board of
Elections in each state. So, if
Superman filled out a registration card with his name
Kal-el and his address, the Fortress of Solitude,
and it was
turned in by ACORN, and even if the Board of Elections
didn't catch it, what
are the chances that Superman, who has no ID and no
valid signature on file, would show up to
vote?
-
- The truth is
that Voter
Fraud is VERY RARE in
this country. People working for ACORN get paid based
on how many people they register. If these employees
turn in registrations with fake names and addresses,
they are ripping off ACORN, not the country, and
certainly not the Republicans. This is
voter
registration fraud
only if the faulty registration isn't revealed during
the verification process. It's voter
fraud if
that registrant actually shows up and
votes.
-
- *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
- It's
Already Written
-
- This year's
election confirmed for me, once again, that
there is a
force (most
in this country would call God) that is much
stronger
than any one group of people,
any financial institution, religious organization, or
political organization. Everything that was "common
knowledge" was completely
upended.
Nothing stayed the same. The changes
that occurred were unpredictable,
even by the best pundits in the business. I not only
became a more avid fan of the election process, but a
better student of it as well. Yes, I listened to radio
and watched television. But where the real knowledge
came from was "full" videos as seen on YouTube and
other websites (as opposed to the "clips" you see on
TV) and of course, READING!
The written word BY FAR exceeds the other forms of
media when it comes to a better overall understanding
of any process.
-
- When things
like this happen, I always ask "Why?"
"What's different?" "Why is it that no one can get a
handle on this?"
(BTW - This is called "Intellectual
Curiosity" -
something that was non-existent in the previous
administration.) The answers to these questions were
NOT found in the media, which discussed all of this ad
nauseam. I watched and listened with great intensity,
read as much as I possibly could, and yet, no one
could answer these basic questions. I finally realized
that the outcome of this election, to use an age-old
expression, was
meant to be
- that despite the color of his skin, his Kenyan name,
and yes, even his big ears ,
Barack Obama would win with a clear and decisive
victory. It would not matter what the opposition threw
at him or who his running-mate would be. It would not
matter how mediocre his debate performances were
reported to be or how big and powerful the "Clinton
Machine" was. It would not matter who the Republican
nominee would be or who their running-mate would be.
(I apologize
if all that sounded like something out of a Dr. Seuss
book.) My
grandmother used to say, "It
is already written."
She was right.
-
-
- Many in "Pundit
World" tried to explain this election season
phenomenon in the various ways that speakers and
writers use to corroborate their statements. Some
would refer to previous elections, or certain times in
history to show how we've been through this before,
and then say "
but
not really."
Others, by drawing comparisons, would tell us that the
current
candidates would emulate previous candidates'
behavior,
and still others would stand firmly on the political
"knowledge" that such-and-such a state will always be
"red" and such-and-such state is hopelessly "blue."
(BTW - nine
"red" states turned "blue" and no "blue" states turned
"red.")
-
- *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
- An
Early Knowing
-
- I was at our
minister's home, reviewing some of the church's
administrative items for the week. It was the Monday
evening before "Super Tuesday", February 4th, 2008.
Her daughter was in the house, and walked through the
room, saying something about the Democratic Primary.
That's when I heard that "still small voice"
say, "Barack
Obama will be our next president."
I then blurted it out at the table. Unlike many things
I've blurted out over the years and sometimes
regretted saying, these words were actually comforting
when they came out. I also realized at that moment how
emotional this election was going to be for millions
of people in this country and around the
world.
-
- Now, before you
start thinking that I'm retro-fitting my statements to
the results of this election, understand that
I sweated it
out everyday
- just like the millions of Obama supporters across
the country - all the way through to election night.
But for some reason, no matter what happened - and God
knows, a lot did - I never thought he would lose. I
kept holding
the vision of him being inaugurated on January 20th,
2009. As
hard as I tried, I could not create the vision of
anyone else standing there, left hand on the Bible,
right hand in the air.
-
-
- I put the
campaign's circular logo (my recreation of it) on my
cell phone as a reminder to keep him, his family,
those around him and our country, in my
prayers.
-
- *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
- Finding
the Truth in Politics
-
- 1.)
Read!
- 2.)
Don't
believe any one person's or TV / radio program's point
of view (See
#1)
- 3.)
Never let
your candidate be defined by his or her political
opponents (See
#1)
- 4.)
Seek to vote
for the most intelligent, well-read, pragmatic
leadership, regardless of party affiliation
(See
#1)
-
- As a matter of
fact, party affiliation has become increasingly
detrimental to Republican candidates. The far right,
i.e. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Pat
Robertson and Glen Beck have hurt
-
-
-
-
-
- the Republican
Party. They make their livings attacking the other
side. They don't offer viable ideas or options to help
solve any issue. This year, when we desparately needed
real leadership from all corners of the political
spectrum, these tactics fell on deaf ears more than in
any previous election season. People have increasingly
grown weary of this style of programming. The
electrion results were a clear indication. Even with a
10 to 1 ratio over the progressive radio talkers, they
could not get their candidates elected or re-elected.
Yet, because they control such a large listening area
in the country, and party leaders are afraid to
denounce their tactics, the
RNC continues to keep these commentators in the fold
by bowing down to their demands:
Pro-Life, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Gay, Free Markets,
De-Regulation, Big Military, Anti-Union, Anti-Public
Education, Anti-Government, Anti-Taxes, and on and on.
Republicans have not won an election remotely based on
any issues since Reagan, which is why they keep
referring to him. He was the last Republican to appeal
to the majority of this country with his
rhetoric on
the issues -
not his actual policies.
-
- Depth
of Thought
-
- On October
23rd, with his grandmother's health failing, Obama
announced that he would leave the campaign trail for
nearly two days to visit her. Limbaugh,
Hannity, Savage and others actually tried to say that
he was going back to Hawaii to get a valid Hawaiian
birth certificate
and he was using the "ailing grandmother" story as a
cover. What's even more pathetic is that FOX News
picked up the story as one
of those "
some say
" pieces.
-
- The same day,
on his radio show, Rush
Limbaugh
said,
"Who announces days in advance they're rushing
to the side of a loved one who is deathly ill, but
keeps campaigning in a race that's said to be over,
only to go to the loved one's side days later? See, I
think this is about something else. You know what's
really percolating out there? And I've been laying low
on this because it just -- it hasn't met the threshold
to pass the smell test on this program. But this birth
certificate business, this lawsuit that a guy named
Phillip Berg filed in Philadelphia in August for Obama
to produce his genuine birth certificate, and he still
hasn't replied, he hasn't done
so."
-
- Limbaugh later
added,
"When you first announced this, you're gonna
rush, you're gonna hurry, you're gonna make tracks,
you're gonna get over there because you don't want
your grandmother to die before you got there like your
mother did, but somehow you keep campaigning, you take
three days to get over there, if he's left yet. And
this birth certificate business -- I'm just wondering
if something's up. I have no clue, and I -- folks, I'm
telling you, this has not reached the threshold until
now, and it's now popping up all over the
place."
-
- Obama
produced his
birth certificate in JUNE,
nearly 4
months before Limbaugh's comments.
He even put a copy of it online on his website.
-
-
- In a statement
to the press, Hawaiian authorities verified Obama's
birth in Oahu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961.
-
-
- Barack
announced that his grandmother, Madelyn
Payne Dunham, died peacefully in her
sleep late
Sunday night (November 2nd) after a battle with
cancer.
-
- "She's gone
home," Obama
said as tens of thousands of rowdy supporters at the
University of North Carolina-Charlotte grew silent
Monday evening, November 3rd.
-
- "She's the one
who taught me about hard work. She's the one who put
off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so
that I could have a better life. She poured everything
she had into me."
-
- Let's look at
this with a little depth
of thought.
In this day of heightened awareness about terrorists,
illegal immigrants, etc. and an administration that
was hell-bent
on invading the privacy of virtually everyone in this
country under the guise of protecting
us, does
anyone really think Barack Hussein Obama would have
received the necessary security clearances to be a US
Senator and on the Foreign Relations Committee,
if he wasn't
a citizen?
Seriously, if you are one of Limbaugh's
"ditto heads," and
you can read this, stop
believing all radio talk show hosts are knowledgeable
journalists. They
are NOT!
They are
entertainers.
-
- Most of the
better progressive talkers, like Ed Schultz and
Stephanie Miller, will tell you the same thing. They
are commentators
paid to increase the number of listeners for the radio
stations that are airing their shows.
Telling the
truth is not a pre-requisite for talking on the radio.
It would be nice if it was.
-
- *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
- Having
Faith
-
- From time to
time, we have to rely on our own instincts and not
necessarily what we have "always believed." It's like
being in
survival mode.
We have to throw out everything we think we know, and
live "in the moment" or "have faith" that moving in a
new direction is the right thing to do, even if we
don't know the outcome. We sense that we can't keep
going in the same direction, but our
fear works hard to keep us from trying anything
new. So
often we get caught up in the rigors of everyday life
and we do not take the time to really pay attention to
what is going on around us. We are reactionary, not
revolutionary. We keep thinking "inside the box," not
realizing that "outside
the box" usually proves to be far healthier and more
productive.
Applying this to politics: many continue to vote
"inside the box" just because that's all they know,
or want to
know. Faith
is applied when we listen to the "still small voice"
that helps us move out of our fears and into the faith
that voting "outside the box" might just be better for
us and our country.
-
- Just
an FYI: Although I am a politics junkie, I do not do
this much research every four years. Because this was
such an historic election, I wanted to capture as much
of it as possible. I have plenty of material that I
did not use.
-
- *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
- The
2008 Democratic Primary
-
- Early
Signs
-
- Barack Obama
jumped out onto the national stage when then
presidential candidate, John Kerry, asked him to be
the keynote speaker at the 2004 Democratic Convention.
Little did Kerry know that he hand-picked the 44th
President of the United States - and that it would not
be him.
-
-
- Then came a
little bit of prophecy in 2006.
-
-
-
- On February 10,
2007, Barack Obama announced his candidacy for
President of the United States in front of 15,000
people in Springfield, Illinois.
-
-
-
- One of the
first published indications that Obama would win came
February 26, 2008 in an article from
Stephen
Hayes,
of The Weekly Standard, a very popular conservative
magazine. It was titled "The
Power of Words"
and the last two paragraphs spoke volumes towards what
I believe he thought the outcome would
be.
-
-
Read
the Article
-
- Stephen has
appeared on many cable and broadcast TV shows
representing conservatives.
-
-
- *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
- A little known
fact about the election came to light the next day
when there was an issue about John McCain's financing
and a dispute over the collateral for the $4M loan he
received to keep his campaign going. The 2/27/08
article by Michael Luo of the New York Times, entitled
"McCain's
Financial Pledge Problem",
revealed that even if a dispute over any election
issues came up, there was no way the Federal Election
Commission could render a decision.
-
-
-
- This was yet
another illustration of the poor management coming
from the Bush Administration. The rest of the article
also highlights the preferential treatment McCain
received to get his name on the ballot in some states,
including Ohio. Complete
Article
-
- *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
- Maureen
Dowd, a
Pulitzer Prize winning writer with sarcastic wit and
great insights, summed up very well the challenges
with Hillary Clinton's campaign on February 27th,
after she didn't win the democratic nomination on
"Super Tuesday", February 5th.
-
-
- Regardless of
your politics, you can enjoy Maureen's sense of
humor.
Complete
Article
-
- It became
increasingly aware that Clinton was not being herself,
and many people were seeing through the facade. The
public was getting a taste of Hillary's lack of
leadership skills with the badly managed campaign that
she was waging against Obama. This was a clear
indication that Obama would win the Democratic
nomination.
-
- *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
- Hardly ever
discussed in the media, and probably rightly so, was
Obama's safety. He reluctantly accepted Secret Service
protection beginning May 3, 2007. We now know that he
had over 500 threats on his life during the primaries
and the general election season, based on an article
called "Guarding
Obama"
about the Secret Service on November 25th. Obama
rarely talks about it. In
an article by Jeff
Zeleny
on February 25, 2008 entitled "Hushed
Worries about Obama's
Safety",
we learned that his security rivaled that of a sitting
president's when the rallies started drawing tens of
thousands of people.
-
-
- This was also
the actual first time we learned that Obama's Secret
Service name was "Renegade," not after the election as
was reported by the TV media.
- In a
post-election interview with Barbara Walters, he was
asked about his safety and he said that he was
"
firm in his faith
" and was not
concerned.
-
-
- OBAMA'S SECURITY
- (THIS IS A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
- PLEASE ALLOW APPROXIMATELY 20
SECONDS FOR IT TO LOAD)
-
- *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
- By mid-March,
John McCain had sown up the Republican nomination for
President.
-
-
-
- This did not
make the traditional evangelical movement within the
GOP very happy. McCain had separated himself from them
very early on because he was pro-choice at one time in
his political career. Even after he switched his views
on this issue, that element was
never fully on board.
-
- James Dobson, a
voice that represents this element, was
very
vocal
about his lack of enthusiasm for McCain.
-
-
- *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
- Hillary and
Barack went toe-to-toe in the Democratic Primary:
Hillary drinking shots,
-
-
- and Barack
trying to bowl. Don't let his good form fool you, he's
a horrible bowler!
-
-
- Ellen Degeneres
invited Hillary to bowl on her show.
-
-
- She did no
better. Now, if you put Barack on a b-ball court, you
get a very different result.
-
-
- The man does
have some game. Conclusion: Hillary can do shots, but
hopefully not as good as Barack can play basketball.
Both were trying hard to one-up each other in a
tit-for-tat, back-and-forth campaign that was
a monumental
endurance test for both camps.
-
- *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
- In one of the
debates, Hillary brought up Tony
Rezko, a
then-indicted, now-convicted real estate developer in
Chicago.
-
-
- As did others
before her, Hillary tried to make it look like Barack
was somehow tied to Rezko with some shady dealings
over the house he bought in 2005. Here's what was
written by the Chicago Tribune, the 100 year old
conservative newspaper.
-
-
- What was not
reported by the pundits was that there were
nearly 250
articles
written on Rezko, some of which were investigations on
the relationship between Obama and Rezko and
nothing
nefarious or illegal was ever
revealed.
Article
-
-
- The other story
that was not reported was that Tony Rezko was a major
contributor to Bill Clinton's campaign as well.
-
-
- You don't get a
photo with the President and his wife unless you've
really contributed. So it was a bit disingenuous for
Hillary to bring up Rezko in the debate. In addition,
the complaint that somehow the media was "in the tank"
for Obama didn't ring true. The New York Times ran an
article about the Rezko-Obama connection that was
certainly not dismissive. Article
-
- *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
- Rev.
Jeremiah Wright
-
-
- EVERYONE
in "Pundit World" thought that this would derail
Barack. So much so, that McCain wouldn't touch the
story and Hillary saying only that she would not have
stayed in that church for 20 years.
"You don't
choose your family, but you choose what church you
want to attend."
By the way, her husband invited Rev. Wright to say the
prayer at a prayer breakfast in the Whitehouse when he
was President.
-
-
- In another
example of how the media WAS
NOT in the tank for Obama,
this story lasted for over two weeks in the mainstream
media and all the way through the election (and
beyond) on FOX News. The story was poorly
reported and
the media intentionally left out HUGE portions of what
Rev. Wright was saying that night. Here's what was
actually
said
in that evening service:
-
- Rev. Wright
asked his congregation to turn to Malachi 3:6, which
reads:
-
- "For I am the
Lord, and I change not."
He then
proceeded to interpret that passage as
follows:
"God was
against slavery (on) yesterday, and God, who does not
change, is still against slavery today. God was a God
of love yesterday, and God who does not change is
still a God of love today. God was a God of justice
(on) yesterday, and God who does not change, is still
a God of justice today."
-
- Noting,
"governments
fail," Rev.
Wright then proclaimed the failures of the Roman,
British, Russian, Japanese and German empires --
before returning his attention to America's failures:
-
- "And the United
States of America government, when it came to treating
her citizens of Indian [Native American]
descent, she failed. She put them on reservations."
-
- "When it came
to (treating) her citizens of Japanese descent fairly,
she failed. She put them in internment prison camps."
-
- "When it came
to (treating) the citizens of African descent fairly,
America failed. She put them in chains. The government
put them on slave quarters. Put them on auction
blocks. Put them in cotton fields. Put them in
inferior schools. Put them in substandard housing. Put
them in scientific experiments. Put them in the lower
paying jobs. Put them outside the equal protection of
the law. Kept them out of their racist bastions of
higher education, and locked them into positions of
hopelessness and helplessness."
-
- "The government
gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a
three strike law and then wants us to sing God Bless
America. Naw, naw, naw. Not God Bless America. God
Damn America! That's in the Bible. For killing
innocent people. God Damn America for treating us
citizens as less than human. God Damn America as long
as she tries to act like she is God and she is
Supreme."
-
- "The United
States government has failed the vast majority of her
citizens of African descent."
-
- In reference to
the tragedy on September 11, 2002, Wright quoted a US
Ambassador, "America's
chickens have come home to roost"
implying
that we may have attracted this attack with our past
actions in this country and in the world.
-
- "A white
ambassador said that ya'll, not a black militant, not
a reverend who preaches about racism, an ambassador
whose eyes are wide open and is trying to get us to
wake up and move away from this dangerous precipice...
the ambassador said that the people we have wounded
don't have the military capability we have, but they
do have individuals who are willing to die and take
thousands with them... let me stop my faith footnote
right there."
-
- There are many
references to these words if you do a little searching
- something that seems to elude the mainstream media.
What was barely reported was that some of the words
were taken from Ambassador
Edward Peck.
-
-
- I'm not the
only one who feels that this story was really poorly
handled by the media. Walter
C. Uhler
served in the U.S. Army Security Agency (a branch of
the National Security Agency) from late 1966 to early
1971. Here's
what he had to say
about the Rev. Wright sermon. Sam Stein, one of
today's best reporters, had
this to say.
-
- As I watched
this event unfold, and listened to Rev. Wright's
words, I realized that there was very little -
historically - that was not true. America
DOES
have some skeletons
in her closet
and innocents'
blood on her hands,
just like many other nations in the world. We're not
perfect. We've made (and will continue to make)
mistakes.
-
- What was most
impressive about the entire Rev. Wright event was
Barack's speech
on race.
-
- Most
politicians would have separated themselves from the
issue immediately, throwing anyone in their way "under
the bus" in the process. Instead, Barack used the
event to help bring us together, to help us better
understand that our diversity is our strength and that
where there
is a will to grow beyond racial barriers, we
succeed.
-
- A
Personal Note
-
- All of this
also hit home with me on a very personal level. I
worked as a church administrator for a year and a
half. Our wonderful minister was an African-American
woman. Her name is Rev. Linda Poole Kennedy.
-
-
-
- Getting to know
her and her family has been a great experience for me.
My wife and I thoroughly enjoy her Sunday messages,
her kindness of spirit, and her never-ending
generosity towards everyone. She uses the events of
everyday life to
teach. She
is always there to help others, often at great cost to
her own well-being.
-
- As I watched
Barack handle the Rev. Wright event with such
compassion and understanding for the bigger issue that
it revealed, I was touched. He seemed so centered,
using that
moment to teach,
much in the same way our minister does everyday.
-
-
-
- He did the
truly Christian thing to do. He embraced Rev. Wright,
not for the words that were spoken in that evening
sermon, but
for the child of God that he is.
We would all do good to learn from that very important
teaching moment.
-
-
-
- I have a theory
for why Rev. Wright kept himself in the media's radar
beyond the initial event. It
wasn't to be in the spotlight.
It was to create a situation by which Barack would
have no choice but to separate from him. Rev. Wright,
in his own way, through his subsequent comments at the
NAACP dinner and the National Press Club Conference,
forced
Barack's hand.
-
-
- He knew it was
the only way for the story to end. He knew that it was
for the greater good - a concept that ministers
all-too-well understand. Of course, there was
speculation by the media pundits that Rev. Wright
would show up again in the general election (maybe an
October surprise) but he never did. This seems to
reinforce my theory that his actions were intentional.
I think Rev. Wright did
not want to be responsible for bringing down a good
man and this
was the best way to do it. He used the media to
achieve his goal, and it
worked, brilliantly.
-
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-
- Talk
Radio
-
- One must
understand the strangle-hold that the conservative
talkers have on the airwaves. It is NOT because their
ratings are so great. In fact, when placed up
against some
of the better progressive talkers in the same
market, and
with the
same signal strength,
the progressives do
as well in the ratings
game 80-90%
of the time.
The reason that conservative talkers are on the air in
so many more places is because radio stations are
being gobbled up by big corporations with an agenda.
During the late 1990s and through the Bush
Administration, rules on monopolizing the media became
nearly non-existent. (Please note: this has nothing to
do with the Fairness Doctrine.) One owner or
corporation can own several radio stations in a media
market, along with a newspaper in that market, and
yes, even a TV affiliate, thus controlling the message
for hundreds of miles. This is why Rush Limbaugh is
heard on over 600 radio stations every day with a
listening audience of about 13 million people per
week. Let's face it, if all there is to listen to is
one point of view, and you're a Low Information Voter,
you're going
to believe what you hear.
-
- This year was
different. The progressive talk radio movement managed
to get into some fairly big markets during this
election season and I believe they made a
HUGE difference. XM
/ Sirius Radio and streaming radio through BlackBerrys
and other similar devices allowed people to hear
progressives regardless of where they broadcast from,
or where the listener lives.
Combine that with being able to stream virtually any
radio station on your computer and now the playing
field gets leveled a little more.
-
- Here are a few
of the best Progressive Talkers in the
country:
-
-
- Ed
Schultz
(a former conservative) is, I believe, the best of the
bunch. Apparently, so do many others. He started out
about 5 years ago on 3 or 4 stations. He is now on
over 100 stations. He, unlike many of his counterparts
on the far right, allows
anyone to call in
and "...we'll have at it..." He started his show in
Fargo, North Dakota and is planning to move to
Washington D.C. after Barack's Inauguration.
You can find
him on the 24/7 news networks like MSNBC and
CNN many
times in any given month. FOX News asked him on
and then wouldn't let him talk, so he got up and
walked off the set.
-
-
- Fox and Friends
host, Brian Kilmeade (center) was dumbfounded, not
knowing how to recover from the incident. The next day
on his radio program, Ed apologized to his
listeners/viewers - NOT to FOX News. He said that if
anyone from that network would like to
have a real
"fair and balanced" debate about the issues with
everyone permitted to participate, they
are more than welcome to join him on his show. To
date, no one has taken him up on his offer.
Trust me -
no one at FOX News wants to debate "Big Eddie." He'd
have 'em for lunch.
Ed has written a book that was published back when he
first started as a Progressive Talker called
"Straight
Talk from the Heartland."
Sales are still going strong.
-
-
-
- Thom
Hartmann
is probably the headiest of the bunch. He's written
many books and has been on the air a little longer
than Big Eddie. His approach is a little dry for me,
but that's because I like being entertained while
being informed. His knowledge of the issues is
unsurpassed.
-
-
- Here are a few
of the books Thom has written. He's considered an
intellectual authority on politics.
-
-
-
- Stephanie
Miller,
the one-time stand-up comedienne and TV show host, is
the daughter
of Bill Miller, Barry Goldwater's running mate in
1964. She
was 3 years old at the time. Stephanie's show is very
"fast," full of great comedy and still very
informative. Having grown up in a Republican
household, she understands both sides very
well.
-
-
-
- Teaming with
her is one of the best voice men in the business,
Jim
Ward.
His impressions of people like Kim Jong Ill, Sean
Connery, George Bush I and II, Bill Clinton, Margaret
Thatcher and Rush Limbaugh add a great dimension to
the show.
-
-
- Stephanie
Miller also has the comedy team "Frangela" joining her
on Fridays in a segment they call "Fridays
with Frangela."
These two are smart, funny and very
knowledgeable.
-
-
-
- In addition,
Stephanie's website is very participatory. There is a
section called Photoshop Fun which allows people to
submit creative artwork. I was honored to have some of
my artwork put on her site. Here's a couple of
them:
-
- This first one
was done towards the end of the Democratic Primary
when it was obvious Hillary couldn't win enough
delegates to get the nomination, but would not get out
of the race. Everyone
was wondering if the primary was ever going to
end.
-
-
- It was reported
that Hillary's campaign was running into financial
trouble and they had to go to a smaller aircraft. That
report coincided with the time she was photographed
doing shots and beer with some folks in Pennsylvania.
The combination of those two events was
irresistable.
-
-
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- The primary
lingered on through spring and into summer.
Tim Russert
predicted that Barack would win the primary, based on
facts. There
was nothing prolific about his "prediction." He knew,
as did many of us, that Hillary could not get enough
delegate support to beat Barack. Yet, she continued
through until the end - all 50 states, D.C., Puerto
Rico, The Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Democrats
Abroad and of course, Guam. She
started using the popular vote to justify staying in
the race,
which was not a determining factor according to the
DNC rules for selecting a nominee.
-
- Finally
-
- The Associated
Press finally made it official: On June 3rd, at
1:35pm, Barack Obama became the Democratic Party's
nominee for President of the United States.
Article
-
- Hillary Clinton
conceded on Friday, June 6th, three days after the
final primary in Montana. She then held her final
"rally" on Saturday, June 7th in New York
City.
-
- Here
are the final results
-
-
- As
for Barack...
-
-
-
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