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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Iowa and Bill Richardson


While many of the other candidates are going from rally to rally some of the candidates for President are going from Iowan to Iowan. Without the mega check books to buy dozens of commercials, candidates like Bill Richardson stop to meet and greet the people and actually talk to them. Millions of dollars in a war chest is good for the front running candidates but meeting the people is a gold mine of word of mouth. Having a brother in-law from Iowa I know word of mouth way over here in Massachusetts.

Here in New England we are being carpet bombed with political television and radio ads by the big three of each political party and being the third largest city in New England we have yet to see even one candidate. Romney was our former Governor but he didn’t spend much time here back then so I’m going to give him a pass. A full pass as a reputable candidate. Mitt spent his entire time as Governor running for President everywhere else but his home state that he was supposed to be governing.

I’m conducting a political survey here where you tell me if you have actually met and talked with one on one with anyone running for President of the United States. Post away in the comments section wherever you read this post. Iowans have an advantage over the rest of the nation in this respect. Going to a Barack Obama political superstar event where he is the next rock star does not count. You have to have actually sat in a room, a diner, a living room and talked with any of the candidates.

Bill Richardson is talking one on one with the people out in Iowa and I am a huge fan of that style of campaigning. Over at the LA Times they have this piece on real campaign work by the candidates other than shouting for “MAKE UP!”…

VINTON, IOWA -- Gov. Bill Richardson ends all his stump speeches with the story of a funeral:

After Franklin D. Roosevelt's death in 1945, the president's casket was moved by train from Georgia to New York, where he would be buried. Hundreds of thousands of people came out to pay their respects, lining the tracks as the funeral procession moved north. A reporter traveling on the train decided to interview people at one of the stops.

Among the crowd of mourners, he saw one particularly distraught man.

" 'You must have known the president?' the reporter asked. 'No,' said the man. 'But the president knew me.' "

Richardson pauses for effect.

"That," he says, "is the kind of president I would like to be."

Personal approach

It seems, at times, as if Richardson wants to get to know every Iowan in the state.

He has traveled thousands of miles, visiting 87 of the state's 99 counties. With shallow coffers and a long shot at the Democratic nomination for president, he is making a virtue of necessity.

He doesn't have the money for a large staff or extensive advertising, so he has no choice but to keep going from town to town, coffee shop to coffee shop, reaching out to as many Iowans as possible.

"I'm glad that Iowa is making the decision, not the pundits in Washington," the New Mexico governor told a crowd recently. "Iowans like underdogs . . . and I'm kind of counting on that."
- LA Times

Governor Richardson has the people to people skills on a one on one environment but he sucks in political debate formats. He always appears angry and he has a right to be angry. The format bites! While the rest of the front runners are getting air time with campaign war chests that are overflowing with cash from special interest and the mega elitist that contribute to them, Bill Richardson is being just Bill. Talking to the folks one on one.

What I like about Bill Richardson is that he isn’t going to tell you what you want to hear to get nominated. He is telling you what you need to hear, not in sound bites but in full blown reasoned speeches and chats with the people of Iowa. If you looked at George Bush resume and compared it to Bill Richardson’s you would shake your head and wonder why the hell we elected Bush not once but twice! I won’t even go into the Gore/Bush debate Supreme Court thing and neither should you. That was then, this is now. Good book to read by the way.

What I want for a President is someone that is a true father figure to pull our collective heads out of our back sides. The current resident of the White House has chosen a divide and conquer path to leadership and that has isolated not only America from the world but also divided American’s amongst one another. That is not what I want in my next President. I want to know that he or she is not just looking out for the 50.1% of America but all of Americans.

No matter whom is running for the office, the history of our nation is united in the fact that across all party lines that we never want to see a 9/11 ever again. The dilemma we as voters face is separating the chafe from the wheat from the people that want to meet the people and the ones that believe television advertisement will win the election.

My current standing as a voter:

I’m favoring Richardson for his unbelievable experience and his sense of reality to tell the people what the real facts are concerning the war. He has the mentality of JFK but the fire of Teddy Roosevelt.

I’m favoring Biden as well because of his plans for bringing peace to the world and getting America out of Iraq. He has a plan for Social Security that might just work. Nobody else wants to touch this third rail issue with realistic plans. He flies coach on common carrier to his campaigning commitments across Iowa. Not well funded but definitely a real thinkers contender. If you want bull then don’t listen to Joe.

John Edwards, lost my vote when he failed to drop out when his wife’s cancer returned for the worse. Family is more important. I am sorry if you feel different but that is how I feel. She deserves her husband’s time more than ever than the people do.

Mitt Romney, he was governor? I truly didn’t notice while he was visiting every other state in the Union as Governor. Bringing health care to all of my states resident’s is not a good thing if you are a single working mother and it is mandatory for you to pay half your pay to make Mitt look good. Mitt leaves that little detail out of his MSM commercials for a reason. Let the MSM reporters dig that little detail out before the election. They will not spring that story any time soon. Lost my vote Mitt!

Rudi Giuliani, divorced three times as a Catholic? Those two things do not go together but Pat Robertson thinks it’s cool? I’m thinking Pat had a little bit of throw up in the back of his throat when he endorsed Rudi. Sell out was written all over that endorsement. Ask a New Yorker how Rudi dealt with homeless people and you get the dark side of this candidate.

Hillary Clinton… Umm, I think we need someone that will stand for our seniors and actually answer real questions about Social Security. Planted questioners? What was she thinking? All of the money is on her to actually be the winner of the next election because her campaign is spending the most dollars in the MSM! I’m not listening to the advertisements because they are crap. I think Steve Forbes proved that money does not buy an election. No offense to Steve Forbes intended.

John McCain, I admire his war record and service to our nation but he changed and went Bushism. New religion for him but it is not him. He is not the JM of seven years ago against Bush, against the mentality that Washington owns us all. Something went wrong there.

Denis Kucinich… Not going to happen. Great spot on Comedy Central but keep it real my friend and work the work you are best at.

Ron Paul, not going to happen either. Online support is not crossing party lines of the people that actually vote. I wish him luck though with finishing close.

Getting elected President is not won by the amount of money you have to run on, it is won by the ideas that the people will believe you can accomplish. Right now, ending the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is a priority. Taking care of the rest of America is a close second.

Show me a candidate that actually cares. I’m finding that candidate in Richardson and Biden. The rest are all running on what you want to hear. Maybe these two guys should converge campaigns and run as a total ticket? Just a thought.

Papamoka

Cross posted at Bring IT ON!

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Saturday, October 13, 2007

Ann Coulter Anti Jewish Equals Anti Christian

Ann Coulter must be out to sell yet another book given her latest comments. Some people might say that her answer to the baited question that she was given was an off handed remark. I tend to think that if it came out of her mouth then it lives inside of her somewhere that she thinks Jewish people need to be “perfected”.

What surprises me is that people actually buy her books. She comes out with these idiotic kind of statements all the time and yet she still manages to stay on top of the conservative go to list for all of the networks. Maybe the networks need to take a step back and look at the big picture and find someone else to talk to when it comes to conservative or republican issues. Over at the LA Times they have this little blurb on Ann Coulter and her lame excuse for being a Christian…

Anti-semitic remark puts Ann Coulter back in the hot seat

Jews need to be 'perfected' comment brings on denouncements.
By Matea Gold, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 13, 2007


NEW YORK -- Jewish leaders condemned conservative commentator Ann Coulter on Friday for her comments this week that Jews need to be "perfected," denouncing her remarks as the rationale behind two millenniums of anti-Semitism.

The assertion by the controversial pundit that Jews are inferior unless they convert to Christianity alarmed Jewish organizations and put the television networks that give Coulter a platform in an awkward position.

Coulter, a frequent guest on cable outlets such as MSNBC and Fox News, has also made appearances this year on the network morning shows "Today" and "Good Morning America" to promote her books. According to a compilation by Media Matters for America, a liberal watchdog group, she's been interviewed on national television almost every day this month.

The National Jewish Democratic Council this week called on the media to withhold future invitations to Coulter, whose inflammatory comments the group said "often border on hate speech."

Coulter could not be reached for comment.

As of Friday afternoon, none of the network news divisions or cable channels said they would keep her off the air. But they moved to distance themselves from the right-wing author, even as they defended her right to free speech.
– LA Times

Several of my friends happen to be Jewish and never in my Christian life have I ever looked at them and thought they needed to be “perfected”. Nope, we just enjoy one another’s company for being everything that we are as a person. Good times and bad times come and it is the friend that consoles you during the bad times just as much as your religious philosophy.

When I buried my father, my Jewish friends, my fathers’ Jewish friends came to the funeral and to the Catholic Mass to offer their prayers and condolences. When my Jewish friend was burying his father, I went to Temple and offered my prayers and condolences. Could you picture Ann Coulter setting foot in a Synagogue? Nope!

Chalk this one up to Ann Coulter out to sell yet another book full of extreme right wing ideology. I feel very sorry for her. While she is walking around God’s green earth with her nose so high in the air she is missing the opportunity of a lifetime to befriend people that just happen to be Jewish.

Papamoka

Other folks talking about this issue...
Israellycool ... with a full transcript of the Ann Coulter interview
The Jaundiced Eye ... has the video to view
Harry's Place ... has a personal Jewish viewpoint
Sleepcatz ... has this post in defense of Ann Coulter

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Friday, May 11, 2007

Giuliani is Playing to the Left of the GOP on Abortion


Mayor Rudy Giuliani gave a speech in front of a very conservative pro life audience in Houston and dared to venture to the side of the isle that for the most part should be the third rail for any Republican candidate for President. In my opinion it was a brilliant political move to stand up for what he believes in and set him clearly apart from the other Republican candidates. Where others amongst his party fear the strong arm of the Christian right he has shown to the people that they are not the only voice in the Republican Party.

It is a political fallacy to dream or think that all Liberal Democrats are Pro Choice when many of us are not. If we were then all of us die hard Catholics and Christian party members should turn in our right to vote and abandon politics all together. In the same context it would be just as wrong to assume that all Republicans are die hard Pro Life. I give the former Mayor of New York City credit for the guts it took to put this part of his personal belief and opinion on just this issue alone with the audience he had to address.

Giuliani reaffirms his support for a woman's right to choose abortion
He also repeats belief the act is "morally wrong."
From Associated Press
3:42 PM PDT, May 11, 2007

HOUSTON -- Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani forcefully reaffirmed his support for abortion rights today and argued that his divergence from conservatives on the issue should not disqualify him from being the eventual GOP nominee.

"This is a matter of deep and profound judgment," he said in a speech at Houston Baptist University. "It's a matter of morals. It's a matter of your interpretation of how laws should operate, your interpretation of how respect for the rights of others should operate. But in a country like ours ... I believe you have to respect their viewpoint and give them a level of choice. I would grant women the right to make that choice."

The former New York City mayor has struggled in the last week to explain his personal opposition to abortion with his long public record of favoring a woman's right to choose. He has defended his positions — and some say contradictory comments — on late-term abortion, public funding for abortions and the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.

But Giuliani left few questions about his position today, telling about 500 students and faculty at the small conservative school that — despite his belief that abortion was "morally wrong" — he believes the decision should ultimately be left to individuals and their decisions should be respected.

Opposition to abortion has been a litmus test for conservatives within the Republican Party, who hold considerable sway in the primaries. Giuliani has drawn criticism from some in the GOP for his abortion rights support. One of his rivals, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, has switched from supporting abortion rights to opposing the procedure — a shift that also has drawn complaints.
– LA Times

Politically, Giuliani had to face this demon in the flesh and in an audience such as the one he did. Abortion is not the only issue America is facing in this election cycle and he made that fact known. There are many issues in this nation that needs a voice and pretending that all Republicans are self righteous and lacking sin is by far not the truth. On many issues Giuliani is hitting the target of the Republican message as defined by George (I’m the Decider) Bush. I think the Mayor is taking his own message and I honestly think that he is pandering to the left of the Republican Party. That makes him a direct threat to two other serious candidates in this race, McCain and Romney. Both of them are touting that they are “Me too W”!

This move by Giuliani is interesting because of the fact that it is not only drawing the attention of the left of the Republican Party but it is also drawing the interest of the right of the Democrat Party. That my friend is a classic game of chess with serious thinkers and players moving the pieces around the board with stealth plan that ultimately can lead to being elected to the Presidency. Not since the days of Ronald Reagan have these knights, rooks, pawns and bishops have been executed with a strategy toward gaining the middle so cleverly.

It will be interesting to see what the rest of the Republican Party throws at Giuliani.

Papamoka

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Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Stem Cell Research Damages Bush Argument Against It!


Picture courtesy of Children with Diabetes

Everyone reading this piece raise your hands if you know someone with Type 1 Diabetes. Counting hands, okay the numbers are adding up. You in the back, are you raising your hand or itching your armpit? He doesn’t count. Over to my right, the guy half raising his hand, do you or do you not know someone with Type 1 Diabetes? Look it up here if you are not sure. How about that rambunctious three year old over there in the picture to your left. Look it up folks. It’s called Google.

This piece isn’t about Type 1 Diabetes but then again it is if you think that Stem Cell research is an act against humanity from a biblical sense. God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. With that being said he left the rest of the job up to us to do with it as we please. That pesky free will thing ran amok for a while and we as his children managed hundreds and thousands of wars and atrocities against one another that even today make some scholars of history wonder what the hell people were thinking.

Medical science and progress in it takes years of research. Years of studies where some of the results are fatal and become a direct part of that science and the ultimate result being that some will benefit in the future. These medical researchers are not Adolph Hitler and his bastards destroying lives simply because they can. They are not Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte sending thousands to their deaths for the sake of national pride.

They are researchers in the study and cure of human illness. Which leads me to this piece on stem cell research over at The LA Times…

Stem cell success in Type 1 diabetes

By Karen Kaplan, Times Staff Writer

2:28 PM PDT, April 10, 2007

Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that the progression of Type 1 diabetes can be halted — and possibly reversed — by a stem cell transplant that preserves the body's diminishing ability to make insulin, according to a study published today.

The experimental therapy eliminated the need for insulin injections for months or even years in 14 of 15 patients who were recently diagnosed with the disease. One subject, a 30-year-old male, hasn't taken insulin since his stem cell transplant more than three years ago, according to the study in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.

The study suggests a new avenue for treating the intractable disease, in which the immune system destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Without insulin, patients can't metabolize sugar and run the risk of developing nerve damage, cardiovascular disease, kidney failure and blindness.

Patients with Type 1 diabetes typically compensate by monitoring their blood sugar levels every few hours and injecting themselves with insulin as many as five times a day.

After the stem cell treatment, "patients are absolutely medication-free — they're off insulin," said Dr. Richard Burt, chief of the division of immunotherapy at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and senior author of the study.

The strategy is similar to an approach that has shown some success in treating other immune system disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis.
– The LA Times

I understand the President and his overly zealous opinion against embryonic stem cell research but his actions also limit further studies in this field using other stem cell lines that offer benefits that the countries greatest minds have yet to explore.

With this post there is a catch 22 dilemma. While opposing the research in any possible medical advances that could come from embryonic stem cell research the President also knows that the subject embryos of that research will be flushed down a toilet or incinerated as medical waste.

This is one of those discussions that leap in and out of the religions of the nation and the fact based life of science. How do you decide who wins the argument?

Papamoka Poll:

Are you in favor of Stem Cell Research at any level? Post a Yes or no answer in the comments. Feel free to discuss and make your point heard.

Whom do you trust with overseeing medical research from a government perspective? Democrats or Republicans or neither? Post a D or R answer in the comments. Feel free to discuss and make your point heard.

I’m very interested on what my readers think on these matters.

Papamoka


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