Opinion and real life experience thoughts on a variety of every day topics that matter to you as an American.
Custom Search
Friday, December 11, 2015
Religious Freedom in the Age of Trump
The Donald has been busy again with his mouth. First it was the Mexican rapists and murderers and now once more it is the Muslims. Not long ago he stated that mosques should be shut down. Now he thinks that we should ban all Muslims from entering the country. His thought process runs to the side of separatists and that is never good for our nation. Especially, if you are the one being targeted.
Thomas Jefferson battled the likes of Trump back in his day in the great state of Virginia. He was the author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom that passed in 1786. This statute separated the recognized church from the state. That same statute was used to write the Constitution of the United States of America. His thoughts on religious freedom were heavily influenced by John Locke who spoke on the subject in England in 1689. Locke, like Jefferson fought for peoples right to religious freedom which was for the Muslim, the Jew, and even the Pagan. Jefferson much like Locke used the word Muslim in defense of and for religious freedom.
Flip the coin on the subject and insert Baptist or Catholic or Jew instead of Muslim. Could any politician get away with even suggesting that their house of worship be shut down? Could any politician get elected by banning any of them from entering our country? Why would it be even remotely okay to even suggest to shut down all mosques or ban all Muslims from coming to America?
How fast would you as a Baptist, a Catholic, or a Jew be up in arms protesting and demanding any politician to step down from the race for President that would suggest such an action against your faith? Would it be faster if the military starting boarding up your house of worship? Would you take up arms to defend your religious freedom? That my friends is what Trump wants to accomplish. Divide you and separate you and tell you who to fear. He's up in the polls?
As Bernie Sanders said recently... "That kind of crap is not going to work in the United States of America."
I chose this picture of Bernie Sanders because of the masses of people that show up for him and his message for a better America. One million online contributors have donated to his campaign. Bernie Sanders does not want or ever need to have a Super PAC. We the people are his Super PAC. We the people are the political revolution. If you care to find out who Bernie Sanders is then you need to Google what his positions are on any issue. He has voted consistently for the same issues he backs today for his run for President of the United States of America for decades. He doesn't flip and flop because it polls better to be for or against anything. Little known fact, Bernie does not pay for polling from his campaign. It would not change his mind so why spend the money to ask?
I am an online news junkie and for the life of me I can not see how the main stream media is not picking up on the fact that Bernie Sanders is beating the hell out of Hillary Clinton across the country? Hillary shows up in Boston and a few folks show up. Bernie Sanders shows up and the facility can not hold the 32,000 people that want to see him speak. This is not the first time this has happened. Seattle maxed out capacity, LA maxed out capacity, and the list goes on. Everywhere Bernie Sanders wants to speak they have to upgrade capacity sites and still make room for people that can not fit into the facility. If I were the person with the job of booking Bernie after the first debate, I would be looking at huge football stadiums and asking the recently tax free NFL to support democracy for free. Cause this is America, the land of the free (bernie sanders is against citizens united decisions by the the supreme court that allows billionaires to buy elections).
Then we have FDR that served four terms because America was broken and broke from the Great Depression. Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried every idea that came across his desk to get America back on its feet. The New Deal was a work in progress. He put people to work building bridges, building damns, building our infrastructure that we all take for granted today (bernie sanders is proposing creating 13 million jobs to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure). FDR created the first safety net called Social (socialist) Security to take care of our elderly that at the time were shuttered off to poor farms or cast into the street if they had no family to care for them. That would be the check our retired friends and family get every month to support themselves after paying into a system that is OUTSIDE the federal government budget (bernie sanders wants to expand social security not repeal it). Then FDR created the GI Bill for all of those that returned from WWII. One of the most successful programs in history where 5.6 million veterans went to school or got other training to become part of the boom in future years (bernie sanders will pay for his college for all for free is by putting a tax on speculation on wall street. we bailed them all out, time for pay back).
We can't fail to mention Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, the man that created the boom of the 50's by building our highway system that started right here in Saint Charles, MO. Then went on to expand Social Security to people that are disabled (bernie sanders wants to expand social security and medicare and not cut it).
Fast forward to LBJ creating Medicare. July 30th, 1965. Holy crap, socialism hit America again. If you are poor and elderly, this is your medical plan. Medicare is one of the most efficient healthcare plans in the world today. You may get away with double or triple billing an insurance company but Medicare with fine your ass for being incompetent. Fast forward to Obama and he creates the Affordable Care Act that our friends on the right like to call Obama Care. It is an amazing plan that despite all the doom and gloom opponents has actually dropped the rising costs of healthcare insurance. 17 million people have been added since it inception and the writing of this post. If more states signed up for expanding Medicare then the number would triple or more of new people paying into the market (bernie sanders wants a Medicare for all system that is paid for)(everything bernie sanders proposes is paid for)
Last but not least, Bernie Sanders has been in the forefront for veterans and fighting to get them the benefits they all deserve for all of his political career. Most of those bills were killed by the GOP controlled congress because they are such Hawks but do not care about the people coming back home that need care. Send you to war and forget you after they put the flag down to accept a check from the companies that profited from you service to America.
Rock ON Bernie Sanders! Loving what you are saying and backing you 100%. You are picking up the momentum and pulling the centrist people on the right like Morning Joe your way as well. (you don't have any hidden email accounts I hope???). Papamoka
PS.
For all you young college kids and high school kids that want a future that is better than what your parents had, scream at the top of your lungs who you support! Vote for Bernie Sanders. Make your generation the one that made a difference. Show up at every event in massive numbers. Bernie can not do this alone. He needs your voice now and he will need you voice once he is President. He can't do it alone. Be a part of the political revolution!
Click on the link below and it will take you to the web page to fully explain Mitt Romney's tax plan. Share with all of your friends. Lots of information to go over.
It is interesting to see how presidential campaigns are funded. On the Democrat side you have people giving one dollar, five dollars, ten dollars and sometimes a tad bit more. Yes the President has some big campaign donors where they max out at $2500 for a plate of chicken and a short speech from the President of the United States of America. But when you look at Governor Romney and his fundraising efforts it is all the people that can max out donations. That should set off an alarm in your head where the Presidency can be bought.
But Romney has proved unable to tap into the emotion-driven small-dollar contributors that helped power Barack Obama in 2008, and which fueled even his more Establishment rival, Hillary Clinton, this time four years ago when she too began to run out of big donors. The result: Republican fundraisers say that despite his success so far, they think Romney is fast approaching a wall, and that he will likely be forced to pay for the campaign out of his own deep pockets.
“I don't know that he’s completely tapped out, but they are trying to look under every stone,” said a top New York Republican fundraiser. “You run out of people you can hit up for $2,500,” he said, referring to the legal limit for primary contributions.
“Here in New York he has had fundraiser after fundraiser after fundraiser,” said another top New York Republican. “Even in New York, there’s only so much you can get out of the city.”
Romney is unusually dependent on those contributions. Over 82 percent of Romney's haul from individuals in 2011 came in donations greater than $1000 —which doesn’t even include the larger donations to the SuperPAC that supports him, Restore Our Future. And as Rick Santorum stays in the game with a growing pool of small donors — to whom he can return for another $20 or $100 when the millions they’ve given him runs out — Romney’s campaign has launched an intense, late scramble for the cash to fend off his conservative challenger. - Buzz Feed
I thought that the idea to elect a president was not based on the money they had but the people that supported his ideas to be the next president of the country? Apparently, the system has changed and money talks and presidents are selected by the size of their bank accounts.
That leads me to think that the people that have been blessed with those huge bank accounts do not want us one dollar, and five dollar, and ten dollar people donations. Money talks and that must mean something. Mitt Romney has tapped into his personal wealth for many campaigns because he could not sell what he was saying. Nobody was buying it with donations that’s for sure. He tapped his own funds to run against Teddy Kennedy and lost it all. He tapped into his own funds to win the Governor’s office in Massachusetts by simply flooding the state with advertisements. He tapped into his own funds in the last presidential election and still lost. We should feel sorry for Mitt Romney, he so much wants the power of the Presidency of this nation that he would put himself on earned income credit tax status. Why does he want it more than the money he built his life up to have? That is the question that us little people that give five and ten bucks will never know because we are not sending our money to Mitt for Prez.
News reports, although never realistic based on push polls, can not be trusted when you insert reality or simple common sense into the scenario. Polls are out asking if President Barack Obama will be a one term president. I’m just thinking that the President still has two years left to his term but I’m funny like that wondering how this can even be realistically polled or predicted?
Alzheimer’s is rampant in the electorate given the last election results! We all know people are fickle and will vote their wallet and this fact is true because everyone forgot how screwed we all were under the leadership of George W. Bush. That is why Obama won the White House over Republican candidate John McCain in the first place! One has to ask if the voting public are sheep that will run the first time someone screams wolf? This past elections proves that theory given the fear factor of the Tea Party candidates that actually won and all of the democrat’s that were tossed out of office. Common sense lost and fear won.
Even Congressman Alan Grayson in Florida’s 8th Congressional district, a die hard for the people candidate was ousted. There was no common sense fiscally to understand his ousting at the polls knowing that he was a closet conservative budget watch dog on spending that just happened to be a liberal democrat.
Politically, it will look amazing in the history books on all of the accomplishments that President Barack Obama has been able to do in just his first two years as president. Obama passed Health Care Reform and when you look at history, every president since Harry Truman has tried to pass some form of national health care reform and none have succeeded. Obama passed banking and investment reform of Wall Street that cleaned up the mess that was disguised as pure capitalism but really was a house of magic where accounting tricks and mirrors were only the beginning to undermine the investments of all Americans. A banking industry where anyone that was breathing could qualify for a mortgage and bingo the house of cards in the housing market collapsed.
President Obama passed credit card reform and dealt a blow to the unscrupulous banking industry that gouged consumers simply because they could. Turning the employment numbers around since his predecessor, George W. Bush, whom is apparently the “New Ronald Reagan”, from a constant loss to positive yet small growth in the private sector was not a simple thing to do and it took leadership.
I find it amazing that it is even suggested to think that Obama will be a one term president. Yes, he was dealt a severe loss with the recent election but his presidency is only two years old. The party of “NO!” now has the House of Congress but they do not have the Senate. And the only real loser’s in this past election is the gridlock and bull that the GOP will unleash to stop any progress to help the people of America to not get out of a recession.
When I hear the crack heads in the GOP wanting to touch the third rail of Social Security, reducing benefits, cutting or even eliminating benefits for some, I’m reminded of my own advancing age. That brings up the “Get Out of my Pension” factor. AKA the GOP. That third rail burns anyone that touches it and that will be the reason President Obama will see a second term. When rich politicians touch seniors that vote in larger than life numbers based on the only income they have coming in then the third rail candidates always lose! Go GOP and crack heads.
As a political writer, the GOP taking the House of Representatives is a godsend. I’m wondering where all of these fiscally conservative people were when our nation went to war on two fronts and saw no problem with no bid contracts? Same folks want grandma and grandpa’s pension to bail out the deficit but see no problem with war profiteering? Go GOP!!!
President Obama today made an unscheduled stop in Iraq to visit the troops and pass out appreciative hugs and medals. The European trip for the President has been a non-stop love fest and the troops in Iraq were very happy to see President Obama drop in to just say hello to them. Over at the New York Times they have this story on the visit…
By STEVEN LEE MYERS and HELENE COOPER Published: April 7, 2009
BAGHDAD — President Obama made an unannounced trip Tuesday to Baghdad, punctuating his week-long overseas trip with a stop to talk to American troops and Iraqi leaders.
Addressing hundreds of troops gathered at a military base here, Mr. Obama said that it was time for Iraqis to “take responsibility for their country,” winning enthusiastic applause. His praise for the performance of the troops was effusive.
“You have given Iraq the opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country,” the president said, news services reported. “That is an extraordinary achievement.”
Mr. Obama’s trip here was his first since becoming president. Mr. Obama opposed the war and has quickly moved to reshape it since his inauguration, announcing plans to draw down troops as he begins to shift the military’s focus to the troubled war in Afghanistan.- New York Times
With this trip came a healthy bounce upward in the President’s approval rating and it is so comforting to see that he is admired and appreciated not just here in the states but by world leaders all over the world. Russia loves the guy, China loves the guy, India loves the guy, Turkey loves the guy, Germany and France love the guy, and the list goes on and on, he is the equivalent of a world wide rock star and he is our American President. Then he has the added bump by the additional love fest from all of the regular folks in Europe as well. If you had the chance to see any of his town hall meetings, the people were mesmerized and infatuated with President Obama.
President Obama brings such a change in message as to who and what America really is and the people of the world have been starving for that message. America doesn’t have to carry the biggest stick simply because we have it. America doesn’t want to be seen as the world police and or school yard bully. We just want to be seen as the friendly neighbor in the world and this President has nailed the task at hand with this trip.
Latest Video from MSNBC on the visit to the troops in Iraq...
Be forewarned that the opinion of the writer of this post is biased because he thinks George Bush IS the worst President EVER! Getting past that editorial comment I can now progress to show you why Bush WAS the WORST President EVER!
First we need to point out that Karl Rove is out of his hidey hole and now pounding the speaking circuit on his former bosses behalf. “W is good, W is great, W is far better than Jimmy Carter.” I had to paraphrase that but you get the jest of the Rovian message. His turdship supreme commander of double speak was in New York to try and pimp the Bush motorcade but came under some righteous boos and hisses. Over at the Washington Times, Jon Ward has this to say on it…
Rove: Bush hardly worst president Wednesday, December 3, 2008
NEW YORK Karl Rove -- the architect, the one-time senior White House adviser to President Bush -- walked into the lion's den Tuesday night to argue that his former boss is not the worst president of the past 50 years.
He appeared at a formal debate on New York City's notoriously liberal Upper West Side as the most famous, and infamous, member of a four-member panel there to hash out the outgoing president's legacy.
Snip - Hack - Hairball…
The most heated moments came during the debate over Mr. Bush's biggest decision - the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The president himself said in an interview this week that his "biggest regret" is that the intelligence upon which the invasion was based wrongly concluded that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
Even Mr. Kristol said that Mr. Bush has done "a horrible job of explaining what he's done and what the choices were."
But he and Mr. Rove both maintained that while the initial occupation was mismanaged, the surge of troops begun in 2007 has placed the U.S. on the cusp of victory in Iraq.
Former Bush adviser Karl Rove was greeted with hisses as he took the podium at a formal debate on New York's Upper West Side, but he helped attract a sold-out crowd. "We've won the war," Mr. Kristol said.
Mr. Rove was incredulous at Mr. Jenkins' assertion that the Vietnam War was better managed than the Iraq war.
"We ended Vietnam in defeat, for which the families of 55,000 fallen heroes had reason to ask themselves if their sacrifices had been made in vain," Mr. Rove said. Mr. Rove ended by saying that the deck was stacked against Mr. Bush from the beginning.- Washington Times
I think it needs to be pointed out that President Bush ignored all advisors except the ones in agreement with him to go to war in Iraq. If the intelligence did not fit the need, they ignored it. Can we possibly look at every other President in history that decided the United States Constitution was toilet paper. Umm, the list is kind of short but all those signing statements from George W. Bush sure are a giveaway. Legally, not one single bill he signed is according to the law of the land and Constitutional. The President can not define the law just before he signs it into law. That is the Congress job! How about the tapping of phones without a court order within the United States of America? How about privatizing our United States Military (brought to you by Haliburton) and awarding NO BID military contracts to the company that the VP was once CEO of?
George W. Bush was the WORST President EVER but he dares to tell his cowboy discretion story. Now that he can see the exit signs lit up on the White House he is playing the good guy instead of chucking the media the bird at every opportunity. For some odd reason he thinks that history will look at him more favorably if he whistles a happy tune on the way out. Over at The American Prospect they have this little nugget of info post Bush and Charlie Gibson interview…
Bush doesn't care about history, he's just a cowboy who goes with his gut, which is why he's meeting with his flacks to make sure history looks at him kindly. Like all activities undertaken by this Administration, this "Legacy Project" is a transparent disaster, with all the thoughtful preparation of Bush's War. The case being made by Rove and others, that the Administration reacted competently to the intelligence they had, is as transparently false as the original case for invasion. Still, as Sargent noted, you see a number of mainstream news organizations taking Bush's story at face value. Again.
What were those wise words? "Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice...can't get fooled again."- The American Prospect
I submit my vote, I’ll stuff the ballot box (pun intended, sorry Al Gore & John Kerry), and I will endorse no other than George W. Bush as the WORST President EVER!
Cast your vote in the comments. This is the first ever Papamoka Straight Talk WORST EVER President Poll. Any votes for Chester Arthur will be discarded by our ballot tabulating machinery. And any votes for Jimmy Carter, Jefferson, Taylor, Hayes, Hoover, Both Johnson’s, Both Adams, Both Roosevelt’s (New rule, no voting for any duplicate last names unless it begins with Bush and has George W. in it). Truman is out, so is Wilson, Lincoln, Grant, Washington, Ford, Reagan, Kennedy, Ike, Clinton, and any of the other guys that did not have their fingers crossed behind their back while taking the oath of office. You can vote for Nixon but we need to tape record your vote. And you can not vote for any President elected before the year 2000.
Okay, the poll is fixed, you can only vote for George W. Bush! Check back soon for our results.
Did Barack Obama win the Presidency or not. Did he not earn the right to pick and choose who the hell he pleases for his cabinet. Why is America and the media so damn focused on who Obama will pick for his cabinet? Why is this same media frenzy feeding the right wing internet and giving them a voice? When George Bush won the White House he declared a mandate, can Democrats not do the same? Barack Obama should declare an election mandate and move quickly to enact his campaign promises. His coat tails brought many new voices to the table of government and those voices should be heard. So why is the hype over Obama and his cabinet so critical. Did the people that voted for him not send a message for change or not? Did Barack Obama not prove that his message is the new direction for America to follow?
Maybe we should point out that the Republican Party can not find its ass from its elbow right now. No kidding! America has moved away from the screw you mentality of a President that cares not for the people of America but defends the special interests of big business first. Can we look at the other side of the coin where the rest of us have a voice too? His legacy will be the bankruptcy of Detroit and our American auto industry. That is something to be really proud of. NOT!!!
Obama has not even taken the oath of office and people are going nuts over his choice for the people that will lead us all out of the Bush disgrace and Presidency. Let the subpoenas fly against President Bush and his crew, I’m confident that Presidential pardons from Bush will cover everyone and anyone that manipulated our nation in an all for me and none for the rest of you mentality.
Can we get back to change and what Obama campaigned on? Barack Obama has not even taken the oath of President and the media is out of control in speculation. Do you think they need to take a chill pill or what?
It is nice to see all the press focused on what is next on the political horizon with President Elect Barack Obama but he is still in mourning for his Grandmother who passed away one day before his election as President. I hope that the press will respect his privacy at this time to let him pay his last respects and lay her to rest as she deserved.
In other news, Sarah Palin is being bashed all over the news and she does not deserve that. Neither did Joe the Plumber or anyone else the McCain campaign brought into the spot light. Governor Palin will be fine, matter of fact I predict that she will be the runoff candidate for the U.S. Senate seat abdicated not by choice by Ted Stevens of Alaska due to his criminal convictions and sad to say election victory in Alaska. Sarah Palin will win the Senate seat by over 80% in that election run off. From there she can jump in at Barack Obama in 2012 with plenty of experience and nobody holding her back except Neiman Marcus.
This just in from Fox News on the infighting of the McCain - Palin campaign. Apparently, it was pretty nasty towards the end. According to this news video, Governor Palin thought Africa was a country and not a continent and she didn’t know which countries signed up for NAFTA…
It just happens that I am a huge fan of Ellen Degeneres and her talk show. I’m not tuning in every single day but I like to see what her guests have to say. Okay, I like the dancing by yourself in an elevator thing and her American Express commercials too! Guilty!
One of the things I do know is that woman all across America love Ellen, for what she thinks in the Oprah sort of way. They can see what she sees and they get it. Woman don’t need to be cosmetic models or superstars to have an opinion when it comes to politics and Ellen has broken that bubble with her guests.
One of the things with political writing is that you can get tone deaf on the candidates you love or hate. What about an outside perspective from a Brit? You know, England, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and all the royalty pomp and circumstances.
Sharron Osbourne, aka Mrs. Ozzy Osbourne had this to say on the election in the states on Ellen…
So what do you think Ladies in the voting public? Did John McCain just pick Sarah Palin because she is a woman or because she was a much needed political voice in his campaign?
One could put my style of writing in the column of NOT a John McCain supporter but he does have some charm. I can picture Walter from Jeff Dunham fame, and John McCain both as elderly cranky, pissed off greeters at WalMart. Walter would be telling you to get your sh!t and get out and McCain would be manipulating the automatic doors with his garage door opener to slam them shut on slow walkers. Oh, and the banner from above is from the home page of the McCain campaign website? Espanol? Espanol and Republican is an election year oxymoron!
I’m not a huge fan of the Huffington Post but I am slowly becoming aware of some amazing writers on the site. Seth Grahame-Smith has an amazing piece on the outcome of the current Presidential election and I tend to see his point in some respects.
All of McCain's Base Belongs to Us: Why It Won't Even Be Close
It's over.
It's mathematically impossible for John McCain to win.
Were the great Tim Russert still with us, he would call the election for Obama at 7pm Eastern time. No, I'm not talking about November 4th -- I mean tonight.
Snip…
Imagine yourself in a high school history class a century from now. Imagine the teacher beginning the section on the elections of 2008 by setting the scene: "America's economy was in flames, we were fighting two wars with no end in sight, and global warming was accelerating at an alarming rate. The most despised president in 150 years was nearing the end of his two corruption-ridden terms, and had heartily endorsed his successor, John McCain -- who, despite a few ideological differences, planned on keeping the status quo intact. Running against him was a lightning-in-a-bottle candidate named Barack Obama. A candidate who had nearly six times the money to spend, drew crowds of 70,000, and who received support from a surprising number of disenfranchised Republicans -- even some of the Evangelicals who swept Bush to power. Obama was the story. He captured the imagination of young Americans and the world. Now, by a show of hands -- who thinks McCain won that election?" (A particularly easy question, since they're sitting in Barack Obama High).- Huffington Post
As a moderate voter that has in the past voted for Ronald Reagan for President, twice, and Mitt Romney as Governor my vote is not in the can for any political party. Sometimes our local, state, and federal governments need a kick in the back side to wake up. Reagan was by far not a perfect President but he was the first to step up to the plate to say that American’s should never be ashamed to be American’s and that touched my heart politically in a time when we were a pox on the world. Our military was a mess, our economy in the toilet and his efforts to end the cold war and bust the Soviet bank worked. Call him a monster for all of his other mistakes but we are no longer training our kids to hide under their school desks so to speak.
As for voting for Mitt Romney, when you live in a tax you to death state like Massachusetts where one party controls all the spending then there is no such thing as a bad tax. The legislators pass them and we the people pay them. Mitt Romney was a force to reckon with when it came to new taxes and held his promise to the state’s voters. In that respect, I would have voted for him again as a Democrat. Not all Democrats are tax and spend voters just as not all Republican voters are conservative. That would be an alleged definition that the press and political campaigns pretend to define with a wink and a nudge in the papers and on the television.
Personally, I don’t think this race is over till November but then again I am a political junkie with a huge monkey on his back. Even if Obama has $500 Million in his war chest, one very serious debilitating mistake can toss an election even when the odds are overwhelming to begin with.
Over at Parade Magazine they have written pieces by both Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama on what they believe Patriotism is really all about. You can read the respective stories here:
My first impression after reading both articles from the respective Senators is that Senator McCain delegated the written work out to a staffer. Throughout the piece you get the feeling that the Senator lives in the past and in all the things that were once great and very much Patriotic. For the record I have never questioned his patriotism to America. We don’t live in the past and as far as I know, the founding fathers did not fight the Revolutionary War for bragging rights. Telling people about the past is nice but we live in a time where the future is much more important than the past and the American experiment that Jefferson and Adams believed in has changed just a bit.
His one political jab against Senator Barack Obama was this one sentence from the above referenced article; “ Patriotism is deeper than its symbolic expressions, than sentiments about place and kinship that move us to hold our hands over our hearts during the national anthem.” In this one sentence is where I find political hackdom and not the real John McCain writing the piece. This was a direct slap at Senator Obama for his decision for not wearing his flag pin for months concerning his choice to not support the Iraq war. Mind you, most of the people in the Senate and the House were pissed that Bush lied to all of them and were stuck with a John Kerry flip flop debate. You know, I was for it before I was against it but I’m strongly against it now sort of thing.
When McCain speaks of talking to Veterans I have to laugh out loud. Every bill that came up in supporting Veterans he voted against because his conservative base does not want to pay the bills for the wounded Veterans that they proudly send to war. Wave the flag but screw the poor bastards that come home wounded. Yes, he has been to Walter Reed numerous times but he did nothing till the Washington Post broke the story wide open. He waves the flag of patriotism but he said it himself, they come home to hard times. His words not mine, and his Senate votes have not been on the side of Veteran’s for years.
As for Senator Barack Obama’s piece in Parade Magazine I thought it was not staffed out. It was to damn personal not to be. When he talks about his Grandfather and his days in Hawaii you can see that he was raised to be a good man by experience. When you read Senator Obama’s words you get the feeling of looking forward and not back. Forward is the direction our nation must face and he described best in this one line from his piece in the above referenced article; “ In the end, it may be this quality that best describes patriotism in my mind—not just a love of America in the abstract, but a very particular love for, and faith in, one another as Americans.”
In that one sentence he summed up what he is all about as an American running for President. It isn’t about him, it is all about you. Just as John Quincy Adams and Thomas Jefferson had a dream of a better America for generations to come, documented those dreams, fought for those dreams, these founding fathers set a precedent that is not understood by many. In that sense Barack Obama has patriotism down pat and does not need a lesson from anyone in any political circles including yours truly.
With the right wing conspiracy rampant on the fear and labeling of Barack Obama as a Muslim it was not inconceivable for his political campaign staff to ask two Muslim women to take another seat. Seats not in view of the camera while he spoke. It’s politics and you don’t hand your opponent a weapon that they have already chosen!
Feeding right into this controversy is the main stream media with their own version of political correctness. Excuse me while I just label this story as ignorant of politics and how the game is played. Look for the latest flier from the McCain camp running this issue up the flag pole while beating the we are family drum of his newly revamped definition of American values. Then watch for the Cheney and Bush ventriloquist show on McCain who used to have a voice on his own prior to the Bush endorsement. You might have noticed the President choking back on a little bit of bile during that speech. AKA a little bit of vomit in the back of his throat.
This little two bit story feeds to the ignorance in knowing who the candidates are and only proves out that Karl Rove is alive and well and working for John McCain.
Obama apologizes to Muslim women barred from seats Thu Jun 19, 2008 9:36pm EDT
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama apologized on Thursday to two Muslim women who were barred from sitting behind the podium where Obama was speaking because they were wearing Islamic headscarves.
At a campaign rally in Detroit on Monday, Shimaa Abdelfadeel and Hebba Aref were prevented by volunteers from taking seats behind Obama that would have been in view of television cameras, apparently because of their headscarves.
"I reached out to Ms. Aref and Ms. Abdelfadeel this afternoon," Obama said in a statement. "I spoke with Ms. Abdelfadeel, and expressed my deepest apologies for the incident that occurred with volunteers at the event in Detroit."
Obama said the volunteers' actions were "unacceptable and in no way reflect any policy of my campaign." - Reuters
President Bush has had a history of public speaking engagements where it was and is by invitation only. It makes for good publicity and news broadcasts when you hide the fact that most Americans hate him and his policies concerning our nation. You can Google search that fact. Senator Obama is only guilty of having a political campaign staff trying to stem the ignorance that he is not a Muslim.
If you think I’m kidding about the Obama ignorance factor when it comes to his religion then just ask someone at random. When you hear the replies then by all means quote facts and not innuendo or some commercial put out by a group that is motivated just to end the possibility of change in America. Change in the American way of life comes with a price and that price is education and the truth that bares no obligations to any political party.
What I find ironic about all of this issue is the fact that we are looking at a shiney object over here and forgetting the fact that this nation is in a world of trouble. Our country is broken and the answers to the problems is not in what you see but in the thoughts to make it better and not worse. While John McCain is telling you what to fear, being Bush 3.0, Barack Obama is telling you what you need to hear. That is the difference between the two of them running for President of these here United States of America. Obama is telling the truth while McCain hopes you believe the spin.
One of the things that I admire in Hillary Clinton is her never say die attitude. Running for the Presidency of the United States is the ultimate campaign in politics and the Clinton family knows how much is at risk. Personally, it is a drag on the human spirit knowing that no matter how much you put into it the end result is the votes state by state. In this current process, the Senator from New York has fought the good fight and licked her wounds or celebrated in the few victories she has had. What is the end result that we as Democrats need is one united party. That can not happen with careless remarks based on race from the Senator from New York.
In this election process Democrats from all campaigns have signed up millions of new voters and that in itself is remarkable. Watching the political pundits on the television you would think that the people for Clinton would never vote for Obama and that is simply idiotic thought. This is a primary process within one political party where the two candidates are so close on the issues that for the most part it comes up to tossing a coin in the air in the voting booth for most voters. Heads she wins, tails he wins.
In the general election the difference between John McCain and either Democrat is as vast as the Pacific ocean. Who would logically think that if Hillary Clinton is not the Democrat nominee that the Clinton supporters that are Democrats would vote for McCain? Clinton supporters are just as angry about our government take over by big business and their candidate has the same thoughts as Barack Obama. Democrats will not be crossing party lines in November as much as Republicans will.
That leads to Rush Limbaugh thinking that his personal campaign in Operation Chaos will divide the Democrats using Republican voters to manipulate an election. This is another tool that makes no sense from the right wing. If you happen to be a Republican, would you be willing to change your political affiliation just to help Hillary Clinton against Barack Obama? Changing parties is an act of a political extremist so I don’t see Rush and his bash all Democrats campaign realistically giving fruit to the chaos he would love to spout about on his mega million money making broadcast.
As far as the Clinton campaign goes on, the task of doing so is in the support the campaign gets from donors to the campaign. With the Senator having to give $6.4 Million dollars to her own campaign then the support is not there. If the grass roots of dollars are not flowing in then the race is over for Senator Clinton.
It is not dishonorable for Hillary Clinton to bow out. In her race for the highest office of the land she has brought the truth to a nation in need of many changes and forced all people in the political process to engage in that debate. Hillary Clinton is not out of the political loop if she concedes the race, not by far. With her campaign she drew a new interest in politics by woman and in doing so has changed the face of politics in this nation. No longer will it be acceptable for woman to stand on the sidelines as the world around them changes. In that respect she deserves credit and I thank her for running for President of all of our United States of America.
The time for political healing is now and not later. Our party needs to be one voice, one message, and one party wanting to end the destruction of America at the cost of our middle and lower classes. Something Senator Clinton has campaigned on over and over again. One party united is far better than any joke on a divided Democrat Party on right wing talk radio.
Even before the votes are counted Senator Clinton is counting the great state of Mississippi out for Senator Obama. Not that that surprises me but you would have thought she at least might have thought the contest might just be close before the results were even tallied. Given all the blunders of all the polling numbers I would never personally give the state to any candidate before the full vote count was in.
When it comes to delegates to the Democrat Convention and that is what the primaries are all about, this state plays a key role when it comes to the final process. Not simply because they are holding a primary but simply because they played by the rules of the Democrat Party on selecting a candidate. We’ll get into that a little bit latter after we look at this piece from MSNBC on Hillary Clinton’s white flag campaign for Mississippi…
Clinton battles Obama for Mississippi votes Illinois senator favored to win majority of state's 33 delegates
Obama began the night with 1,579 delegates, to 1,473 for Clinton. It takes 2,025 to win the nomination.
Neither of the two rivals appears able to win enough delegates through primaries and caucuses to prevail in their historic race for the nomination, a development that has elevated the importance of nearly 800 elected officials and party leaders who will attend next summer's national convention as unelected superdelegates.
Obama leads Clinton among pledged delegates, 1,368-1,226 in The Associated Press' count, while the former first lady has an advantage among superdelegates, 247-211.
Adding to the uncertainty of the nominating campaign, Democrats from Florida and Michigan are pressing for their delegations to be seated at the convention.
Snip and Tuck
"Some people have said 'Well Mississippi is very much a state that will most likely be in favor of Senator Obama.' I said 'Well, that's fine,' but I want people in Mississippi to know I'm for you," she said in Hattiesburg before flying to Pennsylvania.
Obama made a stop Tuesday in Greenville before heading to Pennsylvania, too.
Both Obama and Clinton probably have better access to polling numbers than I do and I would hope that they do. What I’m getting at is even if the numbers are bloody ugly, a candidate for President should never leave any state chucking the bird at the folks that just happen to be in the middle of the road and undecided. How many times do you have to see on the local news, national news and every single online news site that many people made their decision on who they want for the Democrat candidate for President when they actually were in the voting booth?
As for the ongoing debate over the delegate’s to the Democrat Convention from Florida and Michigan, that is or should be ended with three words, “Let Them Vote”.
Make no mistake about it, this process is not a popularity contest for the general public. This is the Democrat primary for President of the United States of America. It is a political party that allows Independent voters to participate but there are rules for all candidates to abide by. Florida and Michigan broke the rules of the Democrat Party by moving their voting dates up. In doing so the Democrat Party stripped them of their delegates to the Democrat Party Convention. If you broke the rules you get penalized for it.
There are some that say the delegates from each state should be seated as the process stands and I would have to argue with you on that point. Both candidates vowed to not run in Florida and yet Senator Clinton’s name was the only one on the ballot? Knowing many a friend and family in Florida that just happen to be Democrats they didn’t even bother to vote because they were told the election process did not count. Same goes for Michigan!
If you want to make this a fair fight then schedule a re-vote for both states with all of the candidates on the ballot. Schedule it, let the candidates campaign in the states and let the voters decide with an actual vote that THEY know will count. Don’t back door, smoke filled room, old boys of the Democrat Party decide who can and can not be seated at the convention. Doing that wreaks of political election corruption and we have had enough of that under the current occupant of the White House.
It is our political party and the people in Florida and Michigan should be given the opportunity to decide who THEY want to face John McCain in the next general election for President. If the Democrats back room dealings seat the delegates from Florida and Michigan without a re-vote then the election process is a joke for every single Democrat.
Us Catholic’s are a tough lot. Hell we have to deal with the shame of the child molesting priest issue that went underground for decades but we all own that shame together as Catholic’s. It is a shame that should never be forgotten by every single Catholic.
Mind you as church organizations go the Catholic faith is very strict with its teachings but very liberal with its actions. Caring for the poor, feeding the homeless, clothing people, offering assistance in many areas of life without care as to whether you are a Catholic or not. There are no flares fired off to make notice of our churches response to people in need, its just done.
With that being said, there is a religious Christian war going on in American politics that is based in hate. Christian, and hate are two words that should never go together when talking about the American Christian experience of faith. Love thy brother does not have the word “except” in it. Down at the bottom of the page there is no italicized notes with a list of who is not to be loved. If you think this war is happening in both political parties then you would be dead wrong. This issue is totally owned by the “My God is better than your God” Republican Party and Reverend John Hagee is heading up the battle with his endorsement of John McCain. Over at the Washington Post they have this great read on it…
Hagee Endorsement of McCain Has Risks
By LIBBY QUAID The Associated Press Monday, March 3, 2008; 6:23 PM
SEDONA, Ariz. -- Endorsed by an influential Texas televangelist, Republican John McCain endeared himself to one group of voters but risked alienating another with the pastor's anti-Catholic views.
The controversy has been mild so far, but still, every vote counts in a presidential election that is expected to be closely contested.
Evangelical or born-again Christian voters were key to George W. Bush's victories, but so were Roman Catholics, who chose Bush over their fellow Catholic John Kerry in 2004 and over Al Gore in 2000.
The televangelist, San Antonio megachurch leader John Hagee, has referred to the Roman Catholic Church as "the great whore" and called it a "false cult system" and "the apostate church"; the word "apostate" means someone who has forsaken his religion.
He also has linked Adolf Hitler to the Catholic church, suggesting it helped shape his anti-Semitism.
McCain said he does not agree with some of Hagee's past comments. "It's simply not accurate to say that because someone endorses me that I therefore embrace their views," McCain told reporters at a news conference Monday in Phoenix.- Washington Post
Just checking facts and we have this video from YouTube…
John McCain needs to look in the rear view mirror of his campaign and think about this endorsement more clearly. No matter how McCain spins this in the desire to hold on to the Bush Evangelical right vote he will loose the Catholic vote in large blocks. That is where the weakness of the McCain campaign will be in the general election. Pitting one Christian based religion against another Christian based religion offers no hope or change from the Bush full speed ahead of separation of the people. Good luck with that one Johnny! Here is your cross, you earned it, wear it well.
My family was from the old school, marry an Irish girl and marry a Catholic girl. I got one out of two right but one thing is true of both my wife and I is that our Catholic faith is one issue we never argue over. Our faith is our rock and we stand on it many times to keep our heads above the tides of life. To have someone call our faith a bastardization of religion or a whore just bothers me.
As for John Hagee, from this die hard Catholic, you sir are a money grabbing hypocrite. You call my church a group of “Whores”? You call my faith a “False Cult”. Then you call us a “Nazi” shaping tool of Adolf Hitler! I’ll turn the other cheek. Hit me again as you drive away from your multi million dollar church and studios in your luxury car to go to your personal mansion paid for by believers only looking for any beacon of hope that is the beginning of their faith.
Two words for the most self righteous Reverend John Hagee, “False Prophet”. Somewhere in the bible is a story about being very aware of men preaching God’s word and directing hate towards our fellow man. Again, God and Hate are two words that should not be used together if you are a minister, priest or a Reverend. In politics this endorsement is tantamount to forsaking an entire people for the favor of one.
In the battle for Christian voters John McCain is selling out his own self respect for votes from just one religious political group. What would he do as President? In acceptance of this endorsement he has basically endorsed the same words of Reverend John Hagee and called all of us in the Catholic faith “Whores”! As a practicing Catholic I resent it. If this is what the Republican Party is all about then I would suggest Catholic Republican’s jump ship in the general election simply for this endorsement.
There is no back peddling on this very central Catholic issue and Senator McCain will not back off or denounce John Hagee’s endorsement. That is the issue to stand and fight for as Catholics come November. Our faith is not a whore!
I have to run, as a Catholic I have to say a couple dozen Hail Mary’s and a ton of Our Father’s for this post…
One of the things that drives me nuts is the Main Stream Media houses, aka Big House, calling themselves unbiased when presenting the news. That is the biggest case of Bull . When it comes to political reporting all you have to do to prove my theory is tune into Fox News or MSNBC to prove my point. Fox News is obviously Conservative Republican leaning in most of its political reporting. MSNBC News is just as guilty with a left leaning Democrat bias. Isn’t that a shock to your system?
How can you call Hannity or Olberman unbiased when covering any political event? You can’t! Over at Reuters they have the latest poll on where Americans get their news from…
More Americans turning to Web for news Fri Feb 29, 2008 11:48am EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe traditional journalism is out of touch, and nearly half are turning to the Internet to get their news, according to a new survey.
While most people think journalism is important to the quality of life, 64 percent are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism in their communities, a We Media/Zogby Interactive online poll showed.
"That's a really encouraging reflection of people who care A) about journalism and B) understand that it makes a difference to their lives," said Andrew Nachison, of iFOCOS, a Virginia-based think tank which organized a forum in Miami where the findings were presented.
Nearly half of the 1,979 people who responded to the survey said their primary source of news and information is the Internet, up from 40 percent just a year ago. Less than one third use television to get their news, while 11 percent turn to radio and 10 percent to newspapers.
More than half of those who grew up with the Internet, those 18 to 29, get most of their news and information online, compared to 35 percent of people 65 and older. Older adults are the only group that favors a primary news source other than the Internet, with 38 percent selecting television.- Reuters
How can you trust any network television news broadcast that at one event has the reporters commenting on what is supposed to be a debate and then the next show on the same news channel has the same reporters blasting candidates in that debate because they simply can not stand one of the candidates personally? That isn’t political reporting its someone with an axe and a soap box into millions of viewers homes.
It does not shock me or I’m sure many of you reading this Blog that I don’t trust the Big Houses when it comes to political reporting. Just like politics in itself, depending on which news broadcast you watch on television or big house online reporting, polls are done day after day and they tell you where the pulse is in the latest political race for President. Pick a poll that has numbers to your liking and report what fits your demographics.
Blue collar workers in any poll could mean they only polled unionized plumbers with a loaded amount of push poll questions. Middle class voters (Somebody define that for me please) in any poll could be anyone making $30,000 per year to $250,000 per year and depending on that vast income gap is a huge difference of opinion.
Pick a news source and every single Big House is guilty of putting numbers out there that I no longer believe. In pretty much every race in every state but a few they have been way off.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a huge need for great reporters in politics that actually report the facts just as they are. Not tweaking the facts so it fits your readership is what is needed and that is a page out of the old school of reporting. People that ask the right questions to the right people and follow up with real research to back up their stories. That is what real reporting is all about. I can think of just one journalist that fits that mold and of late he too has become somewhat biased because that is the direction of his political news network. Reporting the news is not entertainment and the two should never be confused.
Rush Limbaugh is no more a reporter of the news than Bill O’Reilly, Keith Olberman, Chris Matthews, or Sean Hannity. They are more entertainers than go to sources for any news. If you want to hear your political line of thought reinforced then by all means tune in to their respective networks. Otherwise, log on to the internet and find every website your can with a real life persons thoughts on how this election is really going. Be aware that all Main Stream Media outlets are guilty of bias just as a simple blogger like my self is. The difference in blogging about the news and reporting actual political events is that people know that I am in the tank and I do not hide that fact. I just don’t have tens of millions of viewers.
For the record so you know this is a go to site for honest political opinion news, latest polling numbers for Papamoka Straight Talk show that 100% of deceased Americans that were once politically active prior to 1800 have not linked too or read this site. +- 0% margin of error. Finally a decent polling number you can trust!
Politics in Washington D.C. is more about smoke and mirrors rather than just telling you yes or no in any given question that deserves a yes or no answer. Having watched many of the debates it is interesting to see many of the candidates on both sides of the Presidential race dodge, weave and outright not answer the questions asked of them.
It’s not often that you catch a politician just as confused as the rest of us when questions are asked and he answers as honestly as he can with the truth. Sometimes the art of politics is just being real and answering the questions truthfully.
Barack Obama is one of the few politicians in this race that will respond to a question directly. You may not like the answer but it is a direct answer with honest and sincere facts to back it up. Sometimes when you do that you get burned and can joke about it later…
I’m backing Obama for President simply because he seems like the kind of guy that would help a neighbor out. He seems more like us in the middle and lower class even though he is technically a millionaire. He seems like someone that you would enjoy watching a football game with in your living room on a lazy Sunday afternoon. He just seems more real than the alternative in the Democrat Party and the Republican Party.
