Sunday stops from Gerry

Written by: Gerry L on Sep 7, 2008 6:15 AM MDT

Sunday~

***************round of articles about our domestic ‘issues’ ~ September 7th,  2008

 Yesterday I heard Ralph Nader (on FSTV~seebelow) reminding of that Chinese quote:

“To Know, and NOT to Act, is not to Know!”

• Franklin Delano Roosevelt warned Congress in 1938 that when government is controlled by private economic power, that he called fascism!!!.
• Why is ‘the corporation’ given the RIGHTS of the individual, the rights of a human being?
• Why is ‘the corporation’’s interest NOT subservient to the rights of ‘The People”????
• How did we allow ‘the corporation’ to become sovereign over the power of the citizens ~to become our legal master?
• Can we afford to continue to allow ‘the corporation’ to game the system and so avoid accountability?
• Are our coporatons responsible for stealing our elections?

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Work day Watercooler

Written by: DFA Community and you

DFA's home for a free form, open-ended discussion of what matters most to committed progressive activists.

Change for the sake of change and why that is a good thing

Written by: Thomas Janowski on Sep 6, 2008 7:03 AM MDT

Linked to groups: dfaROCHESTER

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America

Yesterday I left the job I've had for 9.5 years.  I left friends and security behind.  As jobs go, it was OK and I really can't complain too much because the company kept me employed longer than any other company I have worked for so far.  So why leave? 

Even I'm not 100% sure why I left.  I was getting restless.  I was getting burned out.  I gave one month's notice that I was leaving and as my last day approached, I still wondered if I was doing the right thing.  Then, at 4:30 PM on Friday, Sept. 5, I walked out of building for the last time and realized I had just done something that I needed to do...something that all people need to do at some point in their lives.  I had just jumped out of my comfort zone without a safety net.  I took a leap of faith. 

While there are an infinite number of reasons to vote for Barack Obama instead of John McCain, I dont' think anyone should overlook the intangible reason of change simply for the sake of change.  Everything in life is a gamble, but change should never be feared.  Change is a shock to the system.  Change is a wake up call.  Change is a chance to start over.  Change spurs creativity.  Change means exciting new directions never considered before.

In the most simple terms, change with Barack Obama could mean nothing more than revising one's view of the glass being half empty to the glass being half full.  This is simply crossing the fine line between the last 8 years into an exciting hope for the future.  Part of the excitement is the uncertainty of just how great the future could be.  Barack Obama is the leader for that kind of change. 

Hope?  YES WE CAN.  Change?  YES WE CAN!

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Stephen Views the News 9/6/08

Written by: Stephen Weinstein on Sep 6, 2008 5:55 AM MDT

Stephen Views the News  9/6/08

http://stephenviewsthenews.blogspot.com/

* Did Pat Buchanan need medical attention? – Watching his commentary on MSNBC during the Republican convention it was obvious that he was sporting a more than 4-hour political erection over the Sarah Palin VP nomination. His gushing over the Alaskan governor made motor-mouth Chris Matthews seem a Forrest Gump. What does this tell us? If Buchanan is for Palin, Palin would not be good for America. Buchanan’s prejudice against anyone whose ancestors did not land at Plymouth Rock is well-documented. He and his sister Bey Buchanan speak for that minority of Americans who would rather live in a world where poor people, people of color and non-fundamentalist Christians know their place. The Palin pick is an attempt to solidify the Republican bases of social conservatives and political ultra-conservatives while disingenuously presenting her to mainstream America as a woman of the people. Let’s take a closer look.

* What have we learned about Sarah Palin?  She is an ideal Republican candidate – long on rhetoric and short on ever-elusive truth, giving voice to religious fundamentalism while muting science. Not mentioned in Palin’s remarks to the GOP delegates and what the McCain campaign does not want us to know about her:

~ Palin recently said that the war in Iraq is "God's task."

~ Palin has actively sought the support of the fringe Alaska Independence Party that advocates Alaska seceding from the U.S.

~ Palin wants to teach creationism in public schools.

~ Palin doesn't believe that humans contribute to global warming.

~ Palin has close ties to Big Oil. Her inauguration was even sponsored by BP.

~ Palin is extremely anti-choice. She doesn't even support abortion in the case of rape or incest

~ Palin opposes comprehensive sex-education in public schools. She's said she will only support abstinence-only approaches – approaches that are demonstrable failures.

~ As mayor, Palin tried to ban books from the library. Palin asked the library how she might go about banning books because some had inappropriate language in them—shocking the librarian, Mary Ellen Baker. According to Time, "news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor."

~ She DID support the Bridge to Nowhere while now claiming she opposed it.

What can we conclude about Sarah Palin? She is George Bush in high heels with silicone-enhanced integrity and experience.

For a penetrating analysis of the Sarah Palin speech and why it was so off base (for anyone not of the base) I recommend the blog Consenting Adult written by Sue Katz. One of these two women has a sense of community and what it means to be an American. The other is running for Vice President.

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Saturday's article scan from Gerry

Written by: Gerry L on Sep 6, 2008 6:58 AM MDT

'morning, all....

Saturday~

***************round of articles about our domestic ‘issues’ ~ September 6th,  2008

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 Running From Reality

By Bob Herbert

If there was one pre-eminent characteristic of the Republican convention this week, it was the quality of deception. Words completely lost their meaning. Reality was turned upside down.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/06/opinion/06herbert.html?hp

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As Vets Take to the Streets to Protest the War, McCain Snubs IVAW at the RNC

By Liliana Segura, AlterNet
http://www.alternet.org/story/97812/

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The Palin XX Factor.

Written by: Katherine W. on Sep 5, 2008 2:13 PM MDT

Linked to groups: Baltimore for Barack, Blog For America, Democracy for Maryland, Maryland for Obama

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America

McCain/Palin? That's right - say good luck and then move on.  What else can you say about a Veep pick designed to help you win but not designed to help you govern...and that is the point of all of this.

Palin is anti-choice, anti gay rights, supports drilling in protected wildlife reserves, has zero foreign policy experience and would be a step away from being the leader of The United States of America.  Keep in mind if the GOP ticket wins the race she will be second in command to the oldest first term President in the history of our nation. Regardless of what the pundits say, she was only picked because of her imagined ability to attract female Clinton supporters when in reality they are far more likely to run from her in droves…And probably carry a small percentage of Republicans with them.  Someone ought to wake Senator McCain first, the next time he has to make an important decision.

It seems to me that Senator McCain is just hitching a ride on Senator Obama's Change Bandwagon. McCain's message is "hey look at me, I'm for change too. I'm desperately trying to separate myself from my own old school Washington politicking by running with someone who has never even seen how Washington works. Heck, I'm such a huge maverick that I even picked a girl to be my VP". It looks a lot like a reckless, Hail Mary pass by a man who may not be very honest with voters, but was honest with himself about his chances in the general election.  Yes John, America is ready for a change, but if he thinks this gun-toting, home-schooling, radically anti-abortion VP is going to attract us Clintonistas, he's got worse judgment than even I gave him credit for.

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My Favorite DNC ....

Written by: Maurice Doubleday on Sep 5, 2008 7:39 PM MDT

Bill Clinton sowed it up for me with one line.

"We need a President with intelligence and curiosity."

This is the closest I've seen anyone actually hint at the word "reactionaries". It just laid there. Waiting for its applause, I clapped at home like watching a ball game.

I believe Obama has those two qualities at hand and is probably the best candidate since JFK to truly represent it.

-Maurice Doubleday

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Pork, Excellent Sarah and the Red Lines

Written by: Eric Weis on Sep 5, 2008 12:09 PM MDT

Linked to groups: The Passaic County Green Party, Pequannock DFA, Passaic County DFA, BlueWaveNJ, DFA County Committee Project, NJ for Democracy

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America

Today, I learned that Wasilla AK has received about $1000 per capita in federal ear mark spending.  That is twice the average of the State of Alaska ($500 per person) and 50 times the national average.  Turns out Sarah Palin was truly excellent at getting the pork.  Wow, what an excellent maverick reformer!

Now that I know this, I am planning to move to Wasilla.  That’s where I can grab some of that good handout money which has been sucked out of my own income, you know, from those taxes the Republicans say are too high.  Well, I'm going up there to get my money back.

By the way, today's news...unemployment hits 6.1% (but the real value is about 7.5%, taking into account those who have simply stopped looking for work), home foreclosures are way up in August, the stock market has plunged 300 points again and the inflation rate is now over 5%.  Hey, it's the economy, stupid.  Deja vu all over again.

Would somebody, please, dump some memory pills into the water supply so that we don't lose our memories of the past eight (how about 27) years of Republican free-spending, tax-giveaway and deficit-busting budgets!   If the American people buy into Republicans being the agents of change - SHAME ON US!

Oh one more nice factoid.  Our national debt is now at $9.7 trillion and counting.  A trillion is hard to think about.  Bring it down to human level, and understand it as $27,000 in debt for every American alive today.  Or look at it historically - NOW AT A 50 YEAR HIGH. 

There is a great graph on this. You can find it at http://zfacts.com/p/318.html and it shows that national debt from post WW II to the present time.  The curve shows debt in decline (black lines) and growth (red lines).  Pay attention to the red lines.  The RED lines.  From the RED party.  Get it?  The Chinese sure do.

Get the graph and paste it onto every surface you can.  Let it be our memory pill.

- ArcticEric

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Voter Registration & Absentee Ballot Information for All 50 States

Written by: Paul Roden on Sep 5, 2008 2:15 PM MDT

Linked to groups: Obama for Pennsylvania, Montco DFA, Upper Bucks for Democracy, DFA Night School, PA for Democracy, Philly for Change, Northeast Philadelphia for Democracy, Lower Bucks for Democracy

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America

Dear Fellow DFA Members:

If this has already been shared or made available, I appologize, but it is too important to not share it again.

For one central place to find out procedures, forms, and deadlines for voter registration and absentee voting for all 50 states, go to http://www.declareyourself.com  It takes you to the various state department of state voting/election offices.  The Department of the Census has a nifty county finder, which you will need to send your forms to the right county voter/election/clerk location.  The URl is http://quickfacts.census.gov/cgi-bin/qfd/lookup . Just type  in your Zip Code and viola, your county pops up.

New voters will most likely vote the way we want them, according to studies at Yale.  We have 30 days to register new voters in most states, especially battleground states.  If we register 6,000 voters a day and bring them to the polls in the key battlground states, we can win for Obama.

Don't forget the Neighborhood Volunteer Program of Democrats.org, where individuals can canvass their own neighborhood precinct or ward from the PC and phone.

All these little steps will help us win.

Best regards,

Paul Roden

Coordinator, Lower Bucks For Democracy

Member of Team 4.5 Bucks County for Obama

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Oh, McCain's Most Wondrous (Or Not So Much) Creation

Written by: Kate Drazner on Sep 5, 2008 10:46 AM MDT

Remember back when stories of John McCain's misogyny and chauvinism toward his wife (hint: there was a specific word used) surfaced, stirring questions about that alleged contemptuous streak of his which may or may not have the utmost respect for women? I just have to wonder how accurate those concerns were, given that his completely transparent tactic of choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate with the hopes of snatching up wayward, disillusioned Hillary Clinton supporters. I can't imagine that McCain would think women are all that smart if he thinks we would gaze upon a person with the same anatomical makeup but without a single regard for women's issues, and think “potato, po-tot-o.”

Once again, the GOP only takes pains to present a polished surface, but with absolutely no regard for what lies beneath. A little like the RNC's sticks-and-stones approach to swinging at Obama, with only a faint afterthought of “wait, don't we have a platform to promote?”

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Friday frights from Gerry

Written by: Gerry L on Sep 5, 2008 7:06 AM MDT

an hour late...and shorter than usual...under the weather today..

Friday~

***************round of articles about our domestic ‘issues’ ~ September 5th,  2008

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You might throw some palpable ‘scorn’ into the mix, too…IMO

The Resentment Strategy

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/opinion/05krugman.html?hp

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Rambo and the Mean Girl

The Republican Party convention in Minneapolis gave us two American film narratives in an attempt to shift the national political debate away from issues and accountability to personalities and fluffy ideals.
Former Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan let the strategy slip in an unguarded open mike moment. Asked if Sarah Palin is the most qualified woman Republican the McCain camp could have found, Noonan exploded: "The most qualified? No! I think they went for this -- excuse me-- political bullshit about narratives --"

http://www.juancole.com/

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