SO YOU THINK YOURSELF A PATRIOT?

America - He's your President for Goodness Sake!

2010-11-29T16:31:00.000-08:00

America - He's your President for Goodness Sake!

By William Thomas
Posted: Friday, October 1st, 2010

There was a time not so long ago when Americans, regardless of their political stripes, rallied round their president. Once elected, the man who won the White House was no longer viewed as a Republican or Democrat, but the President of the United States. The oath of office was taken, the wagons were circled around the country’s borders and it was America versus the rest of the world with the president of all the people at the helm.

Suddenly President Obama, with the potential to become an exceptional president has become the glaring exception to that unwritten, patriotic rule.

Four days before President Obama’s inauguration, before he officially took charge of the American government, Rush Limbaugh boasted publicly that he hoped the president would fail. Of course, when the president fails the country flounders. Wishing harm upon your country in order to further your own narrow political views is selfish, sinister and a tad treasonous as well.

Subsequently, during his State of the Union address, which is pretty much a pep rally for America, an unknown congressional representative from South Carolina, later identified as Joe Wilson, stopped the show when he called the President of the United States a liar. The president showed great restraint in ignoring this
unprecedented insult and carried on with his speech. Speaker Nancy Pelosi was so stunned by the slur, she forgot to jump to her feet while clapping wildly, 30 or 40 times after that.

Last spring, President Obama took his wife Michelle to see a play in New York City and republicans attacked him over the cost of security for the excursion. The president can’t take his wife out to dinner and a show without being scrutinized by the political opposition? As history has proven, a president in a theatre without adequate security is a tragically bad idea.

Remember: “Apart from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”

At some point, the treatment of President Obama went from offensive to ugly and then to downright dangerous.

The health-care debate, which looked more like extreme fighting in a mud pit than a national dialogue, revealed a very vulgar side of America. President Obama’s face appeared on protest signs white-faced and blood-mouthed in a satanic clown image. In other tasteless portrayals, people who disagreed with his position distorted his face to look like Hitler complete with mustache and swastika.

Odd, that burning the flag makes Americans crazy, but depicting the president as a clown and a maniacal fascist is accepted as part of the new rude America. Maligning the image of the leader of the free world is one thing, putting the president’s life in peril is quite another. More than once, men with guns were videotaped at the health-care rallies where the president spoke. Again, history shows that letting men with guns get within range of a president has not served America well in the past.

And still the “birthers” are out there claiming Barack Obama was not born in the United States, although public documentation proves otherwise. Hawaii is definitely part of the United States, but the Panama Canal Zone where his electoral opponent Senator John McCain was born? Nobody’s sure.

Last month, a 44-year-old woman in Buffalo was quite taken by President Obama when she met him in a chicken wing restaurant called Duff’s. Did she say something about a pleasure and an honour to meet the man or utter encouraging words for the difficult job he is doing? No. Quote: “You’re a hottie with a smokin’ little body.” Lady, that was the President of the United States you were addressing, not one of the Jonas Brothers! He’s your president for goodness sakes, not the guy driving the Zamboni at “Monster Trucks On Ice.” Maybe next it’ll be, “Take Your President To A Topless Bar Day.”

In President Barack Obama, Americans have a charismatic leader with a good and honest heart. Unlike his predecessor, he’s a very intelligent leader. And unlike that president’s predecessor, he’s a highly moral man.

In President Obama, Americans have the real deal, the whole package and a leader that citizens of almost every country around the world look to with great envy. Given the opportunity, Canadians would trade our leader, hell, most of our leaders for Obama in a heartbeat.

What America has in Obama is a head of state with vitality and insight and youth. Think about it, Barack Obama is a young Nelson Mandela. Mandela was the face of change and charity for all of Africa but he was too old to make it happen. The great things Obama might do for America and the world could go on for decades after he’s out of office.

America, you know not what you have. The man is being challenged unfairly, characterized with vulgarity and treated with the kind of deep disrespect to which no previous president was subjected. It’s like
the day after electing the first black man to be president, thereby electrifying the world with hope and joy, Americans sobered up and decided the bad old days were better.

President Obama may fail but it will not be a Richard Nixon default fraught with larceny and lies. President Obama, given a fair chance, will surely succeed but his triumph will never come with a Bill Clinton caveat – “if only he’d got control of that zipper.”

Please. Give the man a fair, fighting chance. This incivility toward the leader who won over Americans and gave hope to billions of people around the world that their lives could be enhanced by his example, just naturally has to stop.

Believe me, when Americans drive by the White House and see a sign on the lawn that reads: “No shirt. No shoes. No service,” they’ll realize this new national rudeness has gone way, way too far.

MICHAEL CHERTOFF'S SCREWING OF AMERICA (again)...

2010-11-23T17:10:00.000-08:00

on Monday, November 22, 2010 by CommonDreams.org

Michael Chertoff, Bend Over, Please…

by Thom Hartmann

During the time you're reading these words, somewhere in the world somebody is getting onto or off an airplane with a few ounces of cocaine, heroin, or diamonds packed into a condom and stuffed up their rear.The cocaine, heroin, or diamonds could just as easily be enough C4 plastic explosive to blow out the side of a plane, easily molded to fit into a condom.

Easily removed in an airplane lavatory and detonated.

Why isn't anybody discussing this?

Not since 2001 when we learned that Taco Bell managers made more than our airport security people - and in most cases were better trained - has this much attention surrounded airport screening procedures.

Procedures that led to one woman - a cancer survivor - being forced to remove her prosthetic breast during a pat down procedure.

Another cancer survivor had his urostomy bag torn during a pat down - causing urine to spill all over his clothes.

And just today - a new video was released showing a young boy - half-naked - being touched by a TSA agent.

Had it been that boy's teacher, he'd be in prison right now.

And the alternative is to get X-rayed.

If you fly several times a year, some suggest there is a higher risk that you could die from contracting skin cancer from one of these x-ray machines than die in a terrorist attack.

And statisticians point out that when people don't fly but drive long distances, they're more likely to die in car accidents than to die in a terrorist attack if there was no security whatsoever.

And these skin-surface X-ray machines - or even the most invasive of pat downs - won't be able to find plastic explosive stuffed into a body cavity.

So, if we really care about being secure, shouldn't we add another layer of security - one including sterile gloves and KY Jelly?

Show your driver's licence and ticket, and bend over?

What we are losing are basic freedoms - the right to privacy, the right to not be irradiated.

But some Americans are waking up.

In increasing numbers, they're saying no to Michael Chertoff's lobbying group that sells the Chertoff Porno Scanners, and to the frightened pundits defending our being groped.

And canceling their airline flights.

As Benjamin Franklin famously wrote on February 17, 1775 in his notes to the Pennsylvania Assembly, "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

If we are serious about stopping Middle Eastern zealots from attacking us, instead of blowing up our own Fourth Amendment right to be secure in our persons, let's stop blowing up Middle Eastern countries.

When the Obama administration pulls our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and works hard to resolve the Israeli/Palestinian crisis, then I'll believe our government really cares about our safety.

Until then, it's just theatre - with a few millions in profit for Chertoff and his friends.

Michael Chertoff?

Come over here and bend over, please.

Thom Hartmann (thom at thomhartmann.com) is a Project Censored Award-winning New York Times best-selling author, and host of a nationally syndicated daily progressive talk program The Thom Hartmann Show. His most recent book is Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country. Previous books include: Threshold: The Crisis of Western Culture, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights, We The People: A Call To Take Back America, What Would Jefferson Do?, Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class and What We Can Do About It, and Cracking The Code: The Art and Science of Political Persuasion.

IN YOUR FACE AMERICANS...

2010-11-14T12:43:00.000-08:00

For the past thirty years the rich have been waging war on the middle class. It’s been astonishingly effective, partly because it has been undeclared. But even that pretense is now being abandoned. The President’s National Deficit Commission has effectively declared that the rich will now go after what is left of working and middle class wealth and will take whatever steps are necessary to seize it. If allowed to succeed, their plan will reduce Americans to a state of serfdom.

Ronald Reagan began the war on the middle class with his “supply-side” economics. Its very purpose, according to David Stockman, Reagan’s Budget Director, was to transfer wealth and income upwards. It cut the marginal tax rate on the highest income earners from 75% to 35% while dramatically expanding spending for war. The results were two-fold: massive federal debt and an astonishing rise in the share of income and wealth going to those who were already the wealthiest people in the world. The national debt quadrupled between 1980 and 1992. George W. Bush would repeat Reagan’s policies and double it again between 2000 and 2008. Meanwhile, the share of national income going to the top 1% more than doubled, from 9% to 24%. The share going to the top one-tenth of 1% of income earners more than tripled. We now have the most unequal distribution of income in the developing world and the inequality is growing rapidly.

Shifts of this magnitude over such short periods of time have never been seen in American history. With the rich getting much, much richer, its means that everybody else is getting poorer. And in fact, real wages for median workers are lower today than they were in 1973. Indeed, while the inflation-adjusted income of the bottom fifth of workers fell by $6,900 between 1979 and 2007, the top 1% saw its annual income increase by $741,000!

To try to keep up with living standards Americans resorted to debt. They increased their personal debt-to-income ratio from 62% in 1980 to 130% in 2008. When housing prices fell 35% nationwide in the recent collapse it left Americans with a smaller share of equity in their homes, 48%, than at any time since the Great Depression. The share they have lost has been taken by the banks. In other words, all of the income and wealth gains for middle Americans from the “golden years” between 1945 and 1975 have now been wiped out. Or more accurately, have now been transferred to the very rich. The top 1% holds 34% of the nation’s wealth while the bottom 50% holds just 2.5%. The bottom 40% owns absolutely nothing.

These effects and numbers can be numbing, even dizzying. But it’s important to understand that they have not been the result of random events or impersonal market forces. Rather, they have followed as the intended consequences of the relentless application of a wide array of government and industry policies. The massive run-up in debt is one such policy. The wealthy are net lenders. This means that massive public and private debt transfers interest income to them from the rest of the economy. Another method for effecting massive wealth transfer: Beginning in 1981 the Reagan administration effectively stopped enforcing anti-trust laws, allowing monopolies to gouge everyone who had to buy their products.

The government actually provided tax subsidies so that corporations could eliminate jobs in the industrial heartland and ship them to Mexico and later, China, India, and other low-wage countries, reducing wages and pitting American workers against each other for those jobs remaining.

The bank deregulation that began in the early 1980s reached its apex with the repeal of the Depression-era Glass-Steagall Act in the late nineties. This set up the “casino capitalism” of the next decade that would spawn massive criminality and mortgage fraud by the nation’s leading banks—none of which has been prosecuted. The result was the greatest economic collapse since the Great Depression. But even as more than five million homeowners have lost their homes, the wealthy had their losses covered by the Bush and later Obama administrations. Bloomberg news estimates that the transfer to the banks through the financial bailout comes to some $13 trillion dollars.

We could go on and on and on with the roster of ways the wealthy have used the government to transfer national wealth to themselves. Environmental and health laws that are not enforced. Deals with the pharmaceutical industry so they don’t have to compete with foreign manufacturers. Health care “reform” that forces tens of millions of Americans to buy questionable insurance products, even as insurers continue to kick legitimate claimants off their rolls. Give-aways of the telecommunication spectrum worth hundreds of billions of dollars to media monopolies that ladle out state propaganda as if were news and never, ever challenge official narratives.

In these and a thousand other ways, the rich have conspired with the government they largely control to shift more and still more of the nation’s wealth away from the working and middle classes, to themselves. It amounts to the most insidious class warfare and the most rapacious looting of public and private resources in the history of the world. The result is vast impoverishment, demoralization, and the destruction of the American middle class. One out of eight Americans are on food stamps. One out of five people are in official poverty. One out of four children are raised in poverty. Twenty five million people cannot find enough work, while their skills atrophy and their families and communities are destroyed. These are not figures describing a banana republic, a disaster-stricken region, or a third world country. They describe the United States of America after three decades of plunder by the rich. And now they want to go in for the kill.

Not satisfied with the staggering wealth they have already siphoned away, the ultra-rich are now using Barack Obama’s National Deficit Commission to propose even more brazen plunder. And the looting is no longer taking place behind closed doors or under the cover of arcane public policies. The commission proposes to cut the federal government’s budget deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade. But 75% of the “savings” will come from gutting programs that help stabilize the middle class and their communities. None of it comes from policies that would harm the rich. For example, the commission proposes cutting the tax deduction for mortgage payments. Not only will this render housing much less affordable for millions of prospective home buyers, it will reduce housing prices, perhaps substantially, for without the tax writeoff, buyers will be able to afford much less house. This will decimate the sole source of wealth of tens of millions of Americans.

It is housing wealth that undergirds retirement security for the middle class. Or, at least it did until one out of four homeowners went underwater on their mortgage in the recent bank-triggered collapse. Then, even as the Commission plans to decimate home prices and owner equity, it proposes cutting back benefits to Social Security recipients. It would lower Social Security cost-of living adjustments while raising the minimum retirement age. And this is being proposed at the very moment that the bank-owned Federal Reserve Board is beginning to print hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out the banks from what’s left of their toxic assets still held from the housing crash.

The ensuing inflation is going to destroy the value of retirement incomes at exactly the moment that 77 million baby boomers head off into retirement. It was exactly this process of money printing and bankrupting of retirees that destroyed the German middle class in the early 1920s, giving rise to Adolph Hitler. The Commission’s proposals would increase co-pays and deductibles for Medicare, making it unaffordable to millions. It proposes taxing as income the health insurance benefits millions receive from their employers. The Child Tax Credit would be eliminated as would 10% of all federal government jobs. This, at a time when more than 20% of the workforce is already underemployed and there are five workers trying for every available job.

We should be crystal clear: these policies amount to a mortal assault on what remains of middle class solvency and the democracy that a vibrant middle class makes possible. But even as it girds up for this assault, the Commission barely touches the ultra-rich on whose boards they serve and who have gained so much over the past 30 years. And it cannot go without being said that it was these same professional predators who actually wrecked the economy, pitching it into its greatest collapse since the Great Depression.

The Commission’s proposals would actually lower the maximum tax on the highest income earners, from 35% to 24%. The nominal tax rate on corporate income would fall as well, from 35% to 26%. There is nothing proposed to raise taxes after so many decades of steadily amassed wealth. No financial transactions tax (as the IMF recommends) to stanch the kind of tsunami of speculative buying and selling that brought down the economy. Such a tax would raise over $700 billion over the next decade. Of course, there will be no claw-backs of the trillions of dollars transferred to the rich under the phony duress of “saving the system” during the height of the financial crisis. No proposal that the cap on earnings subject to Social Security withholding should be removed. That proviso alone would raise more than half a trillion dollars over the next decade.

In fact, it is in comparison with other give-aways to the rich that the take-aways from the middle class by the Commission can be seen as so one sided and venal. Remember, they propose to save $4 trillion over 10 years. But the war in Iraq, which we now know was entirely premised on lies, will cost more than $5 trillion, according to Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz. It has proven a huge boon to the rich weapons makers, bankers, logistics companies and oil companies that Bush used to coddle as his “base.” As mentioned above, Bloomberg news estimates that the financial bailout cost some $13 trillion, all of it going to the very richest people on the planet. There is not a syllable in the Commission’s report proposing getting any of that back to help reduce the deficit.

Or consider the notorious Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 where fully 40% went to the top 1% of income earners. Obama once promised to overturn them but, as is his typically cowardly pattern, is now folding. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has estimated that they will cost the government more than $18 trillion over their lifetime—four times what the Deficit Commission claims it will achieve in savings. But God forbid we should ask for even a penny of that back to help battle the deficit. In other words, there are many, many substantial and just ways that the savings the Commission proposes to create could be secured via small contributions from those who have gamed the system and gained the most over the past three decades. But that is not the Commission’s plan. And it is in that omission that its true intent is revealed.

There is no more time for stealth, no more need for subtlety. Western capitalist economies are declining at a pace that is frightening their elite stewards and compelling such desperate, slovenly measures as the wholesale printing of money to postpone the inevitable. While Obama sings lullabies of “hope” and “change” to tranquillize the suckers out front, the rich are backing the truck up to the vault in the back, no longer even deigning to disguise the heist. And of course, why should they? They have the additional diversion of the moronic Tea Party vigilantes (“Keep the government out of my Medicare”), ever ready to cut other people’s throats to cure their own nosebleeds.

The Commission’s proposal is the most naked, undisguised declaration of class warfare possible. Its agenda is not to reduce the deficit but rather to reduce what is left of the American middle class and American workers, to a condition of servitude, of feudal peonage. Their poverty will make them docile and subservient. This will make possible the final looting of America by those whose sociopathic greed has brought it so low already. The battle over this proposal is the last bulwark against the devastation and final destruction of America. It must be fought and won or our freedom and security ceded forever. There is no other choice."

- http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/11/14-1

FRANK SCHAEFFER'S EXCELLENT TAKE ON OBAMA'S FIRST TWO YEARS...

2010-10-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

FRANK SCHAEFFER
Frank Schaeffer is a New York Times best selling author.

Obama Will Triumph -- So Will America

By Frank Schaeffer

Before he'd served even one year President Obama lost the support
of the easily distracted left and engendered the white hot rage of
the hate-filled right. But some of us, from all walks of life and

ideological backgrounds -- including this white, straight, 57-year-

old, former religious right wing agitator, now progressive writer

and (given my background as the son of a famous evangelical leader(this unlikely Obama supporter -- are sticking with our President.
Why?-- because he is succeeding.
We faithful Obama supporters still trust our initial impression of
him as a great, good and uniquely qualified man to lead us.

Obama's steady supporters will be proved right. Obama's critics
will be remembered as easily panicked and prematurely discouraged at best and shriveled hate mongers at worst.

The Context of the Obama Presidency

Not since the days of the rise of fascism in Europe , the Second
World War and the Depression has any president faced more
adversity. Not since the Civil War has any president led a more

bitterly divided country. Not since the introduction of racial

integration has any president faced a more consistently short-

sighted and willfully ignorant opposition - from both the right

and left.

As the President's poll numbers have fallen so has his support from

some on the left that were hailing him as a Messiah not long ago;

all those lefty websites and commentators that were falling all

over themselves on behalf of our first black president during the

2008 election.

The left's lack of faith has become a self-fulfilling "prophecy"--
snipe at the President and then watch the poll numbers fall and

then pretend you didn't have anything to do with it!

Here is what Obama faced when he took office-- none of which was his fault:

# An ideologically divided country to the point that America was
really two countries

# Two wars; one that was mishandled from the start, the other that
was unnecessary and immoral

# The worst economic crisis since the depression

# America 's standing in the world at the lowest point in history

# A country that had been misled into accepting the use of torture

of prisoners of war

# A health care system in free fall

# An educational system in free fall

#A global environmental crisis of history-altering proportions

(about which the Bush administration and the Republicans had done

nothing)

# An impasse between culture warriors from the right and left

# A huge financial deficit inherited from the terminally
irresponsible Bush administration.

And those were only some of the problems sitting on the
President's desk!

"Help" from the Right?

What did the Republicans and the religious right, libertarians and
half-baked conspiracy theorists -- that is what the Republicans
were reduced to by the time Obama took office -- do to "help" our
new president (and our country) succeed? They claimed that he
wasn't a real American, didn't have an American birth certificate,
wasn't born here, was secretly a Muslim, was white-hating "racist",

was secretly a communist, was actually the Anti-Christ, (!) and was

a reincarnation of Hitler and wanted "death panels" to kill the
elderly!

They not-so-subtly called for his assassination through the not-so-

subtle use of vile signs held at their rallies and even a bumper
sticker quoting Psalm 109:8. They organized "tea parties" to sound
off against imagined insults and all government in general and
gathered to howl at the moon. They were led by insurance industry
lobbyists and deranged (but well financed) "commentators" from
Glenn Beck to Rush Limbaugh

The utterly discredited Roman Catholic bishops teamed up with the
utterly discredited evangelical leaders to denounce a president who
was trying to actually do something about the poor, the
environment, to diminish the number of abortions through
compassionate programs to help women and to care for the sick! And in Congress the Republican leadership only knew one word: "No!"

In other words the reactionary white, rube, uneducated, crazy
American far right,combined with the educated but obtuse
neoconservative war mongers, religious right shills for big
business, libertarian Fed Reserve-hating gold bug, gun-loving
crazies, child-molesting acquiescent "bishops", frontier loons and
evangelical gay-hating flakes found one thing to briefly unite
them: their desire to stop an uppity black man from succeeding at
all costs!

"Help" from the Left?

What did the left do to help their newly elected president? Some of
them excoriated the President because they disagreed with the bad
choices he was being forced to make regarding a war in Afghanistan that he'd inherited from the worst president in modern history

Others stood up and bravely proclaimed that the President's
economic policies had "failed" before the President even instituted
them! Others said that since all gay rights battles had not been
fully won within virtually minutes of the President taking office,
they'd been "betrayed"! (Never mind that Obama's vocal support to
the gay community is stronger than any other president's has been.
Never mind that he signed a new hate crimes law!)

Those that had stood in transfixed legions weeping with beatific
emotion on election night turned into an angry mob saying how
"disappointed" they were that they'd not all immediately been
translated to heaven the moment Obama stepped into the White House!

Where was the "change"? Contrary to their expectations they were
still mere mortals!
And the legion of young new supporters was too busy texting to pay attention for longer than a nanosecond. "Governing"?! What the hell does that word, uh, like mean?"

The President's critics left and right all had one thing in common:
impatience laced with little-to-no sense of history (let alone
reality) thrown in for good measure. Then of course there were the
white, snide know-it-all commentators/talking heads who just
couldn't imagine that maybe, just maybe they weren't as smart as
they thought they were and certainly not as smart as their
president. He hadn't consulted them, had he? So he must be wrong!

The Obama critics' ideological ideas defined their idea of reality
rather than reality defining their ideas-say, about what is
possible in one year in office after the hand that the President
had been dealt by fate, or to be exact by the American idiot nation
that voted Bush into office. twice!

Meanwhile back in the reality-based community - in just 12 short
months -- President Obama:

#Continued to draw down the misbegotten war in Iraq
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

#Thoughtfully and decisively picked the best of several bad choices
regarding the war in Afghanistan
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

#Gave a major precedent-setting speech supporting gay rights
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

#Restored America 's image around the globe
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

#Banned torture of American prisoners
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

#Stopped the free fall of the American economy
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

#Put the USA squarely back in the bilateral international community
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

Put the USA squarely into the middle of the international effort
to halt global warming
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

#Stood up for educational reform
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

#Won a Nobel peace prize
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

#Moved the trial of terrorists back into the American judicial
system of checks and balances
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

#Dil what had to be done to start the slow, torturous and almost
impossible process of health care reform that 7 presidents had
failed to even begin
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

#Responded to hatred from the right and left with measured good
humor and patience
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

#Stopped the free fall of job losses
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

#Showed immense personal courage in the face of an armed and
dangerous far right opposition that included the sort of disgusting
people that show up at public meetings carrying loaded weapons and carrying Timothy McVeigh-inspired signs about the "blood of
tyrants" needing to "water the tree of liberty".
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

#Showed that he could not only make the tough military choices but explain and defend them brilliantly
(But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

Other than those "disappointing" accomplishments -- IN ONE YEAR --
President Obama "failed"! Other than that he didn't "live up to
expectations"!

Who actually has failed...

..are the Americans that can't see the beginning of a miracle of
national rebirth right under their jaded noses. Who failed are the
smart ass ideologues of the left and right who began rooting for
this President to fail so that they could be proved right in their
dire and morbid predictions. Who failed are the movers and shakers behind our obscenely dumb news cycles that have turned "news" into just more stupid entertainment for an entertainment-besotted infantile country.

Here's the good news: President Obama is succeeding without the
help of his lefty "supporters" or hate-filled Republican detractors!

The Future Looks Good

After Obama has served two full terms, (and he will), after his
wisdom in moving deliberately and cautiously with great subtlety on all fronts -- with a canny and calculating eye to the possible
succeeds, (it will), after the economy is booming and new industries are burgeoning, (they will be), after the doomsayers are all proved not just wrong but silly: let the record show that not all
Americans were panicked into thinking the sky was falling.

Just because we didn't get everything we wanted in the first short
and fraught year Obama was in office not all of us gave up. Some of us stayed the course. And we will be proved right.

PS. if you agree that Obama is shaping up to be a great president,
please pass this on and hang in there! Pass it on anyway to ensure
that his "report card" gets the attention it deserves.

THUGS...THAT'S JUST ALL THERE IS TO SAY...

2010-10-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY...

2010-10-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

A BIT OF A LIFT...

2010-10-05T18:19:00.000-07:00

I don't watch Glee, so for those of you who, like me, have not seen this...it does give one hope in the midst of a very difficult time for our country and the world...its worth a watch...

COME TO THE AID OF OUR YOUNG...

2010-09-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

Dating violence

Approximately one in five female high school students reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner.

(Jay G. Silverman, PhD; Anita Raj, PhD; Lorelei A. Mucci, MPH; and Jeanne E. Hathaway, MD, MPH, “Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Use, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior, Pregnancy, and Suicidality,” Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 286, No. 5, 2001)

Forty percent of girls age 14 to 17 report knowing someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend.

(Children Now/Kaiser Permanente poll, December 1995)

One in five teens in a serious relationship reports having been hit, slapped, or pushed by a partner. 14% of teens report their boyfriend or girlfriend threatened to harm them or themselves to avoid a breakup. Many studies indicate that as a dating relationship becomes more serious, the potential for and nature of violent behavior also escalates.

(Information provided by Oregon Law Center.)

Date rape accounts for almost 70% of sexual assaults reported by adolescent and college age women; 38% of those women are between 14 and 17 years old.

(Information provided by Oregon Law Center.)

WALKING VET...

2010-09-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

Photo by J. Lucas

Ron Zaleski walking barefoot, across the country to raise awareness of PTSD and the need for counseling for all military troops returning from war. You can sign his petition at: http:..www.thelongwalkhome.org.

Our veterans account for 40% of the homeless population and 40% of the prison population, with suicides and homicides at an all time high for our vets. Let your senators and congressmen know that you support appropriate and meaningful treatment for all our soldiers returning home from the horrors of war.

IRON-JAWED ANGELS...

2010-09-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

FIGHTING FOR OUR RIGHTS...

This is the story ......

of our Mothers and Grandmothers who lived only 90 years ago.

Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.

The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed
nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote.

And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison

guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a
rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing
sidewalk traffic.'

(Lucy Burns)

They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above

her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air.

(Dora Lewis)

They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cell mate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.

Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, whe the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms.

(Alice Paul)

When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike,

they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured

liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks

until word was smuggled out to the press.

So, refresh MY memory. Some women won't vote this year because - Why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining?

Mrs. Pauline Adams in the prison garb she wore while serving
a 60 day sentence.

Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie 'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder.

Miss Edith Ainge, of Jamestown, New York

All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But
The actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more
rote. Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege.

Sometimes it was inconvenient.
(Berthe Arnold, CSU graduate)

My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, saw the HBO movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk about it, she looked angry. She was--with herself. 'One thought kept coming back to me as I watched that movie,' she said. 'What would those women think of the way I use, or don't use, my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn.' The right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her 'all over again.'

HBO released the movie on video and DVD . I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum I want it shown on Bunco/Bingo night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a little shock therapy is in order.

Left to right: Mrs. Lawrence Lewis, Mrs. Abby Scott Baker, Anita Pollitzer, Alice Paul, Florence Boeckel, Mabel Vernon (standing, right).

Conferring over ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution at National Woman's Party headquarters, Jackson Place , Washington , D.C.

it is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized.

And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy.

The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.'

Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know. We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party

- remember to vote.

Helena Hill Weed, Norwalk , Conn. Serving 3 day sentence in

D.C. prison for carrying banner, 'Governments derive their just

powers from the consent of the governed.'

INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY...

2010-09-08T05:33:00.000-07:00

Some 774 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women; 72.1 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out.

Objective:
On International Literacy Day each year, UNESCO reminds the international community of the status of literacy and adult learning globally.

September 8 was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO on November 17, 1965. It was first celebrated in 1966. Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. On International Literacy Day each year, UNESCO reminds the international community of the status of literacy and adult learning globally. Celebrations take place around the world.

Give a book, make a donation to your local library or a literacy organization, become a mentor, help all to become literate.

2010 PATRIOT-IN-ACTION AWARD GOES TO...

2010-08-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

Mayor Bloomberg takes his leadership role seriously, even when standing alone!
In his fiercest defense yet of the mosque proposed near Ground Zero, Mayor Bloomberg declared yesterday that it must be allowed to proceed because the government "shouldn't be in the business of picking" one religion over another.

"I think it's fair to say if somebody was going to try, on that piece of property, to build a church or a synagogue, nobody would be yelling and screaming," the mayor said.

"And the fact of the matter is that Muslims have a right to do it, too."

Placing the proposed mosque two blocks from the World Trade Center site has led to an outcry from opponents, including family members of 9/11 victims, who contend the holy place at 45 Park Place would defile the memories of those who perished in the worst terror attack in US history.

Community Board 1 approved the project Tuesday night by a 29-1 vote after a raucous four-hour hearing in which nine members abstained.

The meeting got so heated that one young girl, whose father is Muslim and mother is Jewish and who went to testify in favor, decided instead to sit silently.

The issue also continues to fuel an intense debate on the Internet. One commenter likened a mosque near Ground Zero to a convent established on the grounds of Auschwitz. Pope John Paul II ordered the nuns to move in 1993 after years of protests from Jewish leaders.

But Bloomberg argued that blocking the 13-story mosque and Islamic cultural center would violate the essence of America.

"What is great about America and particularly New York is we welcome everybody, and if we are so afraid of something like this, what does that say about us?" asked the mayor.

"Democracy is stronger than this. You know the ability to practice your religion was one of the real reasons America was founded. And for us to just say no is just, I think, not appropriate is a nice way to phrase it

". . . If you are religious, you do not want the government picking religions, because what do you do the day they don't pick yours?"

Even with Bloomberg on board, the project still has to win approval of the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission, because the current building on the mosque site dates to 1857-58 and would have to be razed.

The landmark application has been pending since 1989 and was recently reinstated. The commission is scheduled to hold a hearing and a vote in the early summer.

The mosque's proponents say they are prepared to raise $100 million and hope to accommodate up to 1,500 worshippers on Fridays. About 500 people already use the site for prayers.

david.seifman@nypost.com

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/mike_rite_right_M3z4XOjda0JlzbRv0VnxhL#ixzz0xfMzCwZD

2010-08-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

You either believe in freedom of religion or you don't.

SOME BADLY NEEDED GOOD NEWS...

2010-08-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

Amnesty International USA

We are thrilled to report that earlier this week Congress passed the Tribal Law and Order Act as an amendment to H.R. 725, a groundbreaking and long-overdue piece of legislation that tackles violent crime against Native American and Alaska Native women.

A huge thank you to the thousands of Amnesty supporters like you who took action to make this human rights victory possible.

Because of you, Native American and Alaska Native women will no longer be trapped in a mindboggling, jurisdictional maze that allows perpetrators to rape with impunity.

Every Native American and Alaska Native woman will be given the chance to:

get a police response, have access to a rape kit,

have the opportunity to see her case prosecuted, and

see justice served for crimes committed against her.

Spurred by our hard-hitting 2007 report, Maze of Injustice, Amnesty's millions-strong, global human rights movement has worked tirelessly to ensure this legislation became a reality.

People like you have set the stage for reversing the devastating rate of sexual violence that Native American and Alaska Native women have endured for much too long.

This is what we can accomplish when we work together.

I want to thank you again for all you do. This is a truly amazing victory for women’s human rights and we couldn’t have done it without you.

Thank you,

Rachel and the rest of the Stop Violence Against Women team

KEEPING A WATCH...

2010-08-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

Do you believe the crisis in the Gulf is behind us? BP would like us to believe it is
But we don't believe it.Government statistics still can't tell us about what happened to most of the millions of gallons of oil that gushed from the well, and even more importantly how it's damaged ocean life. To get a full picture of this disaster, we need to know what's going on in the Gulf
Today, we are getting set to launch our research expedition to find out. But we've got two months ahead of us and that equals a lot of fuel and supplies.

Please donate today to ramp up our expedition TODAY, and a generous supporter will match every dollar, up to $50,000 »

This mission is vital and we need your help. Your donation will support our team understand how sharks, sea turtles, corals and other marine life have been affected by the oil and what we need to do to protect them over the long term. With your help, we'll be able to extend our research and get the facts.

Getting the Facts on the Oil Spill

Today, we are beginning our two-month research expedition into the aftermath of the BP drilling disaster.

Help support this trip by August 31 and your gift will be doubled.

Make a Donation

Your gift goes twice as far when you donate today »

Thank you for your ongoing and dedicated support of Oceana.

For the oceans,

Jeff Wiedner

Director of E-Activism

Oceana

PS. Please help spread the word - forward this email to 5 friends, post on Twitter, and share on Facebook.

ZEALOTS LOOKING FOR A CAUSE ARE EASY PREY FOR THE FEARMONGERS...

2010-07-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, July 18, unhinged ex-convict Byron Williams loaded his truck with guns and headed up a California highway with the intention of starting a revolution. If he hadn't been stopped by brave officers -- two of whom were wounded in the confrontation -- he could have carried out a plan to kill staff at progressive organizations, including the Tides Foundation.

What is the Tides Foundation? It's the nonprofit that Glenn Beck brags about "turning the light of day" on by constantly attacking it as part of a socialist conspiracy to destroy our government. The Tides Foundation isn't the shadowy political influence of Beck's fantasies -- it's a transparent organization known in the philanthropic community for doing good public service. Make no mistake: Beck's intention was to paint the Tides Foundation as a dangerous, increasingly powerful threat to freedom that must be stopped. And Williams set out to stop them.

It's time for those who profit from Beck to take responsibility for his incitements to violence. Beck's paranoid, dishonest and incendiary rhetoric doesn't just reflect on Beck -- it reflects on News Corp., Fox News' parent company, and its shareholders. Morgan Stanley owns nearly $300,000,000 in News Corp. stock, Bank of New York more than $175,000,000, Goldman Sachs $115,000,000, and JPMorgan Chase nearly $70,000,000. As owners of the company, they need to take responsibility for the conduct of its employees.

Demand that News Corp.'s major shareholders renounce Glenn Beck's violent rhetoric and its dangerous consequences.

As Media Matters Senior Fellow Eric Boehlert wrote:

Indeed, for more than a year Beck has been portraying the progressive organization as a central player in a larger, nefarious cabal of Marxist/socialist/Nazi Obama-loving outlets determined to destroy democracy in America. Beck has routinely smeared the low-profile entity for being staffed by "thugs" and "bullies" and involved in "the nasty of the nastiest," like indoctrinating schoolchildren and creating a "mass organization to seize power."

As Media Matters reported, the conspiratorial host had mentioned (read: attacked) the little-known progressive organization nearly 30 times on his Fox program alone since it premiered in 2009, including several mentions in the last month. (Beck's the only TV talker who regularly references the foundation, according to our Nexis searches.)

So yes, Beck has done all he can to scare the hell out of people about the Tides Foundation and "turn the light of day" onto an organization that actually facilitates non-profit giving.

And guess what? Everybody in America would have found out about the Tides Foundation last week if Byron Williams had had his way.

Demand that News Corp.'s major shareholders renounce Glenn Beck's violent rhetoric and its dangerous consequences.

Thank you again for your support.

Ari Rabin-Havt

Media Matters for America

SHAMEFUL POLITICS BY SHAMELESS PEOPLE...

2010-07-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

ONE DAY LATER, THE "RELUCTANT" JUDGE REFUSED TO SIGN OFF ON THE DECISION MADE. MRS. MICKIE ELDRIDGE'S VOTE IN THE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY NOW COUNTS JUST LIKE ALL THE REST OF THE DEMOCRATS THAT VOTED IN THAT SAME REPUBLICAN PRIMARY. THE TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION IS INVESTIGATING THE REAL POSSIBILITY OF A CONSPIRACY INVOLVING SHARON YORK(MRS. AVERY CLYDE YORK) ELECTION OFFICE DIRECTOR AND THE AUNT OF THE CANDIDATE BRINGING THE CHALLENGE, LINDA WHEELER THOMPSON (MRS.JIM THOMPSON)

EMPOWERING ALL PEOPLE

2010-07-20T18:28:00.000-07:00

One in every five Americans is affected by a disability. This means that approximately 54 million people in the U.S. alone are working everyday to gain greater independence and create new possibilities for themselves.

Within the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has done much to eliminate the barriers and discrimination people with disabilities have faced for so long. Yet, about three quarters of adults with disabilities are unemployed--even though most would prefer to be working. And, internet access for people with disabilities is about half of what it is for those without disabilities.

Clearly there is still a lot of work to be done if we want people with disabilities to be truly empowered! Please join BloggersUnite in supporting people with disabilities and the groups who work to empower them by raising awareness. Let people know that despite major gains more needs to be done to ensure that people with disabilities enjoy the same access to resources and opportunities as those without disabilities.

Getting involved is easy. So act now!

If you have any questions about this event or would like to be an event partner, email Jason at jason@blogcatalog [dot] com

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT THE OIL SPILL...

2010-07-04T11:31:00.000-07:00

Disclose.tv - louisiana resident speaks about BP Video

A SLAP TO THE FACE OF GOD...

2010-06-09T16:50:00.000-07:00

CRIMES AGAINST THE WORLD

THE GIFT OF LIFE...SNUFFED OUT

WHAT TOOK CENTURIES TO DEVELOP TOOK ONLY SECONDS TO DESTROY

The only reason left to remain active in the political arena is the preservation of our planet.
Americans have lost control of their government to the Uber Rich

Our politicians are whores

Greed has come out of the shadows, no attempt is being made to hide their crimes to feed that greed

Bushies thumbed their noses at Americans and our laws, did as they pleased and paved the way for the bp/halliburton oil decimation of the Gulf of Mexico.

As I see it now, America has become an oligarchy:

An oligarchy (from Greek ὀλιγαρχία, oligarkhía[1]) is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, military control, or religious hegemony. The word oligarchy is from the Greek words "ὀλίγος" (olígos), "a few"[2] and the verb "ἄρχω" (archo), "to rule, to govern, to command".[3] Such states are often controlled by politically powerful families whose children are heavily conditioned and mentored to be heirs of the power of the oligarchy.

Oligarchies have been tyrannical throughout history, being completely reliant on public servitude to exist. Although Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as a synonym for rule by the rich, for which the exact term is plutocracy, oligarchy is not always a rule by wealth, as oligarchs can simply be a privileged group, and do not have to be connected by bloodlines as in a monarchy. Some city-states from ancient Greece were oligarchies.

Source: Wikipedia

FREEDOM FOR...

2009-04-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

Lynndie England and all her comrades that have been convicted and serving sentences for torture. If CIA operatives who were"just following orders" are not going to be prosecuted, then set free and wipe clean the records of those who were offered up as sacrificial lambs by the very ones who ordered them to "soften up" their prisoners using any and all techniques, including torture.

The story they will tell their children? "I signed up to serve my country, I followed orders as any good soldier does, I did what they asked. Then my country prosecuted and jailed me for following orders. I was one of their sacrificial lambs. Now, my son, my daughter, wouldn't you like to sign up to serve your country?"

I call on all who consider themselves PATRIOTS to notify President Obama and demand these folks be cleared and returned home to their family. Demand, also, that those who asked for the memos and those who wrote memos regarding the legality of torture be held accountable. America's principles and values are at risk and we must hold accountable those who proposed and supported the use of torture. Someone must be held accountable, these horrors cannot go unpunished.

TALKING HEADS & DUMMY ON DOWN...

2009-04-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

Personally, I blame oj simpson for the mess that can now be seen on most any channel that carries news stories. Back several years ago, when oj was arrested for murder, everyone wanted to get in on the act. TV stations started the era of talking heads. Talking heads are speculators...

Speculate: think about things yet unknown...to THINK about things UNKNOWN...this according to Webster's Dictionary.

Now, we see speculation in action...it has become an action verb and it has and continues to cause this country and the world so many devastating outcomes. Looking at the economy and the shape it is in...more evidence of the damage speculating can do.

All the speculation in the world didn't convict oj, but it did make talking heads popular and millions are being spent keeping those heads talking. And now we have more talking heads, all who think they can tell us what is going to happen with Obama's economic plan and the right wing whackos (now including George Will, sadly) are, of course, telling us all how disastrous his plan will be. Even when we are all being told we have never been in such a position, but the talking heads are just so sure they know that Obama will be the downfall of this country.

The truth? WE CAN ALL BE TALKING HEADS. WE ALL HAVE AN OPINION, be it right or wrong, it just doesn't seem to matter. Here's my suggestion: reduce talking heads to folks who can give us accurate information and eliminate the spin. When I turn to a show that has spinners, strategists, or just big mouths, I leave that show. I already know what these folks are going to say(particularly republicans who issue talking points regularly, once you heard one parrot the talking points, no need to hear any one else). However, if the talkers are knowledgeable, such as Constitutional experts, economists without obvious political leanings, or people with past experience who do not have a political agenda to promote, I will "stay tuned". Long story short, I think for myself and accurate information helps me to come to a better informed position.

So REVOLT against the talking heads...besides I hate Pat Bucannan's comb over...yuk, how can anyone take seriously someone who is so vain that he trys to cover up bald with a looooong strip of hair growing from the side of his head?

Maybe its time, PATRIOTS to let advertisers know how you feel about the garbage they spew. Here's a place to start:

Bose Speakers, Kashi, and Gillette are three of the sponsors of glen beck who is one of the worst, most vile talking heads found in the media today.

Check them all out, take some action!

BURNOUT???...

2009-04-06T13:03:00.000-07:00

Right-wing talking heads and voices, and most of the MSM seem to have such great insight and are eager to speak for all Americans when they announce that Americans are suffering from Bailout burnout.
WRONG, what this American is suffering from is CORRUPTION burnout.
A corrupt administration, w's, appoints corrupt lawyers to the Justice Dept. These lawyers were forced to take corrupt Sen. Ted Stevens to trial before his election because he insisted. He was subsequently found quilty...on seven counts. Now we learn these corrupt appointees threw the case. It is not possible that these lawyers did not know they were committing an illegal act when they did not turn over all their evidence to the defense team. So for a second time these lawyers sold their soul to the devil, perhaps thinking that w and his ilk would protect them from accountability and possible criminal charges, not to mention the loss of their license to practice law. Not so. w and his ilk could give a rat's a** at this point, about who the most recent "little person" in his administration is being called to task now. No, they got what they came after and if you are found dead on the roadside...well, in the words of Cheney..."So?" They gave their allegiances to a paper tiger and Ted Stevens, after being found guilty will never be held accountable for his thefts from the American people.
I remember a time when we would shake our heads in disbelief when we would hear of leaders around the world who would steal food and medicines meant for their citizens and keep them for themselves. How could any leader steal from their own people, allowing their countrymen to go homeless, hungry, ignorant? How could such a person come to and stay in power? Do you know how w made money? After bankrupting more than one company, his daddy's friends loaned him the money to buy into a baseball team. He and the other owners threatened to move the team if the city did not build a new stadium for their team. Voters said yes, lets build it and so taxpayers footed the bill for the new stadium A few years later, w, et.al sold their team, anyway...but this time they had a stadium to go with it...thanks to local taxpayers...w's take from this deal was approximately 13 million. The bushies have a history of stealing from the taxpayers...middle income taxpayers of course...the rich pay no taxes. Never has that been clearer than when so many candidates, office holders and appointees find themselves paying back taxes, cleaning up their "loose ends". Being in the limelight, trying to further one's career brings out a lot of "loose ends"...course, its all honest errors or oversights! Yes, of course, of course.

PATRIOTS, a big budget fight is coming on health care. It has been suggested by some that the only way we will achieve health care for all is to "take to the streets" as was done in the 60's. The Civil Rights Bill would never have been passed if Americans had not marched and protested, demanding that all Americans must have equal rights. Are you ready? Will you join those marches?

IN GOOD COMPANY...

2009-03-28T17:07:00.000-07:00

During the Pres. press conference last week, I found myself in very good company. At the end of the questioning, Pres. Obama spoke to us all about persistence...I am a big fan of persistence. I have spent many years in school, and many think and actually say, that I must be really smart to have gotten a doctorate. My answer to them is always the same. I don't consider myself any smarter than the average person, but I am persistent as hell. Once I started the program, no way was I leaving there without that degree. By the way, I also found that a thick skin was essential by the time one gets to the doctorate level in school, but I can assure you, you can be a genius but if you don't have stick to it-ness(?), all the smarts in the world won't do you any good. If determination and persistence are not very, very strong characteristics of your personality, you may find the slow going and intense criticism difficult. Yet, don't ever put off anything you want to try for fear you don't have what it takes...IF you can be persistent, you will achieve your goal.

My spirits were raised after the press conference. Pres. Obama is a man of the people and he has learned in his life that getting thinks done means never letting up, never allowing ourselves to loose sight of the goals we have set for ourselves and our country.

ATTENTION PATRIOTS:

Another issue has surfaced. HR 875: A bill that would shut down organic farms and lots of small farmers. It will dictate that farmers will have to use specific pesticide-treated seeds manufactured by Mansanto(main backer of the bill). Calls must be made right away as this is on the fast track to be passed in the next week. For more complete info: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?vill=h111-875 Call your reps and senators today! Thanks

JUST PLAIN ABSURD...

2009-03-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

I watched as Pres. Obama was holding his news conference and once again, came away with a renewed sense of spirit...but it wasn't to last long. The very next day I was listening to xm radio and heard that someone at politico.com had written an article addressing the question: Is Pres. Obama Overexposed? Overexposed? My God, can this man do nothing right? Pres. Obama is a president of the people, his campaign was financed by the people, and he has promised to represent the average American, to be held accountable, and to be transparent. Now, how are all those things going to take place if he doesn't keep us well informed, if he doesn't make himself available on a regular basis, and if he doesn't visit directly with Americans? Well, personally, I think the author of this article was trying TOO hard to carve out a niche for herself as someone innovate, creative, or insightful, placing herself just a notch above all her colleagues who continue to write about boring issues like, the needs of this nation and its people.

I along with many others, esp. the talking heads, thought I knew more about how to run a campaign than Obama and his team. I second guessed him all along the way and it turns out that he had a winning plan and really didn't need my well-meaning advice.

I welcome his high profile. I like seeing competence at work. I am proud of our Pres. and I hope he once again ignores all the nay-sayers and continues to communicate directly with his fellow Americans.

As Pres. Obama introduces his budget proposal, this is a very important time to notify your senators and reps. asking for support for the budget, particularly energy, education, health care, and the environment. Based on what Reps. and the Blue Dog Democrats are saying, Pres. Obama will need the support of us all. Patriotism=communication.

PATRIOT-IN-ACTION...pt. 2

2009-03-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

The following article appeared in a local paper in a small town in middle Tenn.:

To the Editor:
We the people...These words have always held a special meaning to me, as they do for most Americans. These words mean we have a voice in our government whether it is on a national or local level.
A few years ago when the new jail and justice center was in the planning stages, a large group of Smith County residents made their opinion known in the form of a petition with many signatures.
This petition stated we were aware that our county needed a new jail but not a justice center with new court rooms and office space, since the existing court house had already been renovated and treated for mold at the taxpayers expense. The petition asked that a jail be built for our needs and not bring more criminals from state institutions into our county. This petition was given to a county commissioner who presented it to the committee. The commissioners voted to build only the jail saving millions of dollars for the taxpayers. We felt our voices had been heard.
Since then, a new vote was taken. I was told it is not being called a justice center but the new jail will have court rooms, office space and house state inmates. I was also told this was in the paper...after the vote. An offer had previously been made for donation of land in the county area to build the jail but was rejected due to the expense of transporting prisoners from jail to the court house. Land was purchased on a cemetery site and the taxpayers were responsible for more money to relocate the graves.
Did any other taxpayer receive a call, a letter, see a notice asking for your opinion from your county commissioner? Are the Smith County patrol cards being driven after hours for personal use? Did any other taxpayer get to voice their opinion on funds spent on the superintendent of schools office building? Did the chairs in that building really cost $500.00 each? Who was held accountable for expenses when our teachers are forced to buy a lot of their own supplies and parents are asked to bring copy paper?
Our county has one of the highest wheel taxes in the state of Tennessee but we the people voted for that. We were heard.
This is a time of economic decline, unemployment and loss of homes, which will be felt in our county revenue. While I am aware that housing state inmates does generate revenue, is this what our county wants? When this "not a justice center" but a new "jail with court rooms, office space and state inmate housing" is finished, who will pay the bill and maintain the existing court house? We the people!

E. has followed up on her phone calls with an excellent letter to her local paper. A true Patriot, E. is asking for some answers, alerting fellow citizens about important issues in the community, and presenting concerns in a very professional manner. The above letter would make an excellent model for anyone wanting to write a letter to their local paper.

Way to go E., I am guessing you have opened the eyes of your fellow citizens and we have not heard the last of this...

PATRIOT-IN-ACTION...

2009-03-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

They say, all politics is local. So here you go:

In a small town in middle Tennessee it seems the county fathers were preparing to vote to build a new jail and justice center. Local citizens were not convinced a new justice center was necessary. So my friend and co-worker, E. became a patriot-in-action! She developed a petition to support the new jail, but not the justice center. She gathered pages of signatures that were presented to the County Commission showing the opposition for the justice center. The justice center was voted down, only a jail would be built.

Two years later, the justice center, known by new name, is back in the plans. Upon learning this, E picked up the phone, called her commissioner and the county mayor expressing(firmly but politely) her disappointment that the commissioners were ignoring the will of the people, to which the commissioner and mayor had no response. And at the moment, this is where things stand.

Every once-in-a-while, we meet folks who have acted very courageously and patriotically to protect citizens from their own elected officials. We are fortunate to have these pro-active folks in our communities. Without them, there would be no oversight, no one to try to keep the politicians honest, no one to speak for the "common folks".

E, you are a wonderful role model for women and young girls everywhere and an inspiration to all who love their community and country.

So Thank you E, Keep up the good work...make them look for a way out of the room when they see you coming! Keep them on their toes. Hold their feet to the fire!

In appreciation, "SO YOU THINK YOURSELF A PATRIOT?"is naming E. its very first PATRIOT-IN-ACTION. You make us all proud.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

PORK + EARMARK=GIMMICK...

2009-03-11T18:06:00.000-07:00

There once was a toothbrush salesman who wasn't having much luck selling his fine toothbrushes. Upon reporting this to his boss, he was told he must find himself a gimmick...one that would make folks want to buy his toothbrushes. After many attempts including offering free toothpaste, free floss, even a free shoe polishing, the salesman wasn't faring much better. He, being a good businessman, decided to supplement his toothbrush business with a candy stand....hmmmm, and it wasn't long before he had his first customer. Hungry, the customer purchased a candy bar, ripped it open and began eating, then violently spitting..."this tastes like sh**", he screamed...to which the salesman replied..."it is sh**, wanna buy a toothbrush?????

Who is better at serving up sh...oops...'gimmicks' than our folks in Washington? This ridiculous charade going on in Washington...Republicans irate regarding pork/earmarks...Democrats doing some of their own moaning and groaning regarding costs, is a gimmick that has been used against the American public long enough. A gimmick attempting to convince us that one side hates pork/earmarks and the other side is the guilty party, the big spenders. THEY ARE ALL BIG SPENDERS!

Republicans love to say FDR didn't end the depression with the New Deal, they claim it was actually WWII that ended Depression.. OK, for the sake of argument, let's say that's true...just exactly how would that have worked?...War is declared and people go to work building and selling
war weaponry...and by whom are these folks paid...hmmmmm...would it be from funds furnished by the government?...it would seem, even from this perspective that Republicans actually do believe in massive government spending. They just seem to prefer spending on death and destruction, rather than on Americans and our nation.

Did Obama break his pledge to do away with earmarks? Obama pledged to regulate, get under control, and get rid of abuse, not to do away with them. That was J. McCain's campaign pledge...except, of course, for his projects.

We have been mislead...both by the media and by both sides of Congress. They would have us believe they are not in favor of earmarks. They have served us up a dish of gimmick(feigned outrage) to avoid speaking the truth, when speaking the truth would server them better.
The truth is earmarks/pork is the way much of our hard earned money that we give to the government every year is returned back to us via projects funded by the Federal Government.

Who among us does not want all the tax revenues we can fairly obtain? Do we not expect our reps. to do what they can to return money to their constituents in the form of public projects, projects that serve the greater good? Yes, I think we all feel this is part of our expectations. We would not be very happy if everyone around us was receiving federal monies and our state was getting nothing.

We all agree there is wasteful spending and that it is time to revamp the system...all projects should be made public(an Obama pledge) and those abusing the system called to task publicly(an Obama pledge). Be aware, members of Congress (LGraham and DHoyers to mention a couple) have made it very clear that Congress decides on earmarks, not the Pres.

Sure is alot of noise being made over what amounts to 2% of the entire budget.

Patriots, know what earmarks your Congress representatives have put into the bill. Are you pleased?...let them know. Not pleased? Let them know.

2009-03-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

March 8th is International Women's day. I would like to join with http://www.thevoicesofthem.blogspot.com in their fight against female genital mutilation(fgm) in countries around the world. This mutilation is usually done to girls between the ages of three and six by the women of their family.Using pieces of glass, razor blades, or filthy knives, these mutilations are performed with no anesthetic. A pack of mud and herbs are placed on the wound and the girls are held in isolation till they heal. Muslims insist women must undergo this mutilation to remain faithful to Islam, even though it is not mention in the Koran. In Britian today, its estimated that at least 66.000 women and girls have been mutilated. More that 100 million women and girls are estimated to have had FGM. Please visit the above site and sign the petition to stop these mutilations.

Visit, sign, and stay abreast of events, etc. surrounding this issue. We must not sit by quietly while others suffer...Patriotism reaches beyond borders!

WAR...

2009-03-07T08:42:00.000-08:00

WINTER SUNSET

Such skies came to worry me

On the eve of great battles:

Clouds soaked in blood of the dying day

That made the horses restless,

So the soothsayers were summoned

But kept their mouths shut

About the meaning of it

Even when shown the naked sword.

The gloomy heavens made gloomier

By the shadow play of unknown tribes.

And their heroes on the run.

The white church tower of the First Congregational

Clutching its bird-shaped weather vane

Against it all, but the village deserted.

Not a soul in sight. The people indoors

Afraid to get up and turn on the lights.

Some young farm woman, dress unbuttoned,

A small child on her knees,

Its head turning away from her full breast...

Eyes full of the sky's terror and luster.

~Charles Simic

From: "The Book of Gods and Devils"

BAIT AND SWITCH...AGAIN...

2009-03-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

There is just simply NO REST FOR THE WEARY. Let us not forget, not for one minute, the agenda of the bush crime family. While we are all having a great time watching the republican party implode, marveling at their fear of their own creation...right wing radio, and puzzling over their absolutely genius picks for their party leaders, war criminal Karl Rove and bushie worshipers are traveling the media circuit rewriting history. Patriots simply cannot allow this to happen.

Masters of the Bait and Switch, the republicans have minions and water-carriers out there stirring up dust...hiding what is really going on. Karl Rove, w's brain, is a criminal, but yet he is hired by Fox news ( that's not so surprising since most of their staff suffer from some sort of mental crisis) and Newsweek as a consultant. This was a disturbing discovery since I have been a reader of Newsweek for 30 years . I cancelled my subscription, expressing my dismay that a periodical I held in such high esteem would stoop so low as to hire a criminal...a man who commits crimes against people all around the world, a man who ignores subpoenas, a man who put an innocent man in prison and had him held there as a political enemy. And, as yet, goes untouched.

Join Patriots around the world and visit the site below...if you believe w's gang should be held accountable, then sign the petition.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_terror/?cl=189521705&v=2913

A PARTY DIVIDED AND ITS NOT MINE FOR A CHANGE...

2009-03-01T15:26:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, watching the Republican Party disintegrate does bring me some comfort. As a mental health professional I stand by the notion that a tad bit of revenge is good for everyone every once-in-a-while! And I am going to enjoy it. Polls show Republicans have dropped four points in popularity while Democrats are up seventeen points. It does my heart good to see Americans finally rejecting the Politics of Deception from the right wing, particularly since they have made it clear they intend to stick to the same philosophy, same remedies and plans that has gotten us into this horrible mess we are in at present.

It does my heart good to watch the Republican party turn to the "noise makers" on right wing radio for their leadership. They even had a talk jockey as their keynote speaker at their conference. A Republican apologist (didn't catch her name) said on TV last week that some Republicans wanted to vote for the budget but they were afraid of right wing radio! Let me repeat that...Republicans are now afraid of right wing radio...the very same monster that was created by republicans has now turned on its creator. THE MONSTER IS DEVOURING ITS OWN AND IT IS DELIGHTFUL TO WATCH!!!! There is just so much "poetic justice" in this little event...its called karma...what you put out there, folks, will come right back at you...so I say, you go Republicans, hang in there with those talk jockeys 'cause heaven knows their greatest interest is the welfare of their wallets...oops, I mean of their country. Of course...

For all you true Patriots out there...did you call your representatives and thank them for voting for our Pres.'s recovery package and express your hope they will continue to support him? I didn't have a very busy day, I only had to make one Thank you call. Let them hear from you when you are happy with them as well as when you aren't! Make those calls!

2009-02-20T18:15:00.000-08:00

This past week, the Republicans in the California legislature, "ousted" the Republican House Leader. Why, you say, would those loyal Republicans do such a thing??? Well, seems the House leader was preparing to vote for the Governor's budget in an effort to save California from total financial collapse. It just doesn't pay to get out of bed some mornings.

Then there was one of the slickest 'bloodless coup " that I have ever had the pleasure of hearing about. Tenn. Republicans were taken by surprise when, after winning the legislature for the first time since the Civil War, Tn. Republicans were all prepared to elect their new House Leader and begin their assault on womeins rights, .......... But they got caught with their pants down...they had not a clue what was brewing on the other side of the isle, and then it was over and "slack jawed and stunned, previously arrogant and posturing Republicans knew they had been had. The Dems had recruited a Rep legislator to be their nominee. His name was placed in nomination and lo and behold, he won!!!

Now, the new Speaker of the House is no longer a Republican in good standing! But he is a gift to all clear thinking folks of the 21st Century.

The Right-wingers were all set up to begin dismantling women's rights, expand gun rights, destroy government programs, and give more tax breaks to the rich. I really do admire the actions of the Tn. Democratic Party...in a time when it is almost impossible to keep anything "below the radar", somehow they managed to meet, discuss, and plan their move to keep the Tn legislature out of the hands of extremists and in the hands of a more reasonable group. Would I have been so admiring if it had been the other way around? I still would have admired the plan and it implementation but I am sure I would not have been crazy about the outcome(just for the sake of disclosure, if you need any).

WE OWE SOME GREAT BIG THANKS TO THE UNIVERSE...THANKS FOR HELPING US STAY IN THE 21ST CENTURY.

So, if California can do it, if Tn can do it, why can't Washington do it and find and elect new Democratic leaders in the Congress? Nancy Pelosi decided for the American people that impeachment was off the table...maybe because her secrets would also have been revealed. Dianne Finestein thought our new president should have checked with her before appointing his cabinet members, then turned around and publicly blurted out classified information regarding our bases in Pakistan. And Harry Reid, yes, poor old Harry. He doesn't work for the president, he works with him. Wonder if he has any memory for whom he does work? THEY ARE ALL TOO OLD, THEY HAVE BEEN THERE TOO LONG AND THEY, TOO, HAVE BEEN CORRUPTED BY THE SYSTEM.

Yes, I realize we would have to "tear it from their cold, dead hands", but a Patriot can dream. A Patriot can imagine a day when government works for all people. A Patriot can forsee a time when grassroot's movements have great and sustaining power around the world. A Patriot will hold these dreams and high ideas up to the greatest of scrutiny and will not find them wanting.

SOUND FAMILIAR?...

2009-02-14T13:05:00.000-08:00

Just one short year ago, it was a country named the most desirable country in the world. Today, its economy has been devastated by the collapse of its largest banks, unemployment rose 45% between Nov. and Dec., 40% of households and 70% of businesses are technically bankrupt. Yet, no political figures resigned, the bank and corporation boards remain essentially unchanged, and calls for new elections were ignored.

America and Britain closed a NATO base in this country, putting many out of work, and offered no help of any kind. The citizens of this country took to the streets with their drums, pots and pans, any noisemaker they could find, and assembled outside the building of their political leaders. They were loud and noisy. They managed to peacefully disrupt their government's attempt to ignore them and they also saw their government finally resig

This country is Iceland. A peaceful country, hasn't seen war for generations, nor violent conflict among its citizens

What happened? Laizze faire capitalism, unregulated capitalism. Just another example of how this economic theory will always result in disaster for everyone but the wealthy.Another example of how an unregulated, free market leads to more wealth for the rich, and less and less for the other 97%.

Such protests are presently being held in countries like Latvia, Greece,and South Korea. As early as 2000, Argentinians rose up against their government's use and abuse of the unregulated free market. Nations around the world were coerced and/or bribed to allow Americans to direct the economic policies of countries around the world, only to watch them drop, like dominoes. Seems there was another "Domino Theory" that got us in trouble 30+ years ago...Viet Nam comes to mind.

On post 02/08/09, Sarah-Sonia writes about how the economy in Denmark also greatly favors the rich. Well, PM Gordon Brown seems to be suggesting that Denmark, along with Norway, Sweden, and Greenland have become the new Axis of Evil. Wonder if Sarah-Sonia knows she is living in a terrorist country?

The video below will make clear the fears PM Brown has...so watch and then RUN FOR YOUR LIVES 'cause these Icelanders are a scary bunch!

Video prepared by Norway to encourage the Scandinavian Community to support Iceland.

Patriot wanna-be's can more closely identify with other cultures, other countries by understanding that we share our economic fears with the world. An economic world for which American proponents, teachers, and politicians must take responsibility. So we continue to educate ourselves and learn more about our similarities with the rest of the world and learn to interact in the world in a way that serves others.

2009-02-11T11:54:00.000-08:00

With the votes of three Republicans (Snow, Collins, & Specter) the recovery & jobs bill has passed. All other Republicans chose to take themselves out of the mix. Many of you were not represented in this plan for America. Tennessee has two Republican senators who have the best interests of the wealthy at heart. One continued to call the Recovery Plan a "spending bill", assuming I suppose as he always does, that Tennesseans are just plain stupid. OF COURSE, IT'S FULL OF SPENDING...IT IS A SPENDING BILL...THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT! Calls were made, emails, and snail mails sent and still Corker and Alexander show absolutely no interest in helping the average citizen of Tennessee...however, if you are rich, you can count on these two.

I will continue to contact these senators. If Pres. Obama can continue to try to compromise, negotiate with Republicans after the pathetically political show they have just put on, then I will support him and continue to let the elected officials know what my thoughts and feelings are. After all, is that not what a true Patriot would do?

Letting your reps. know you appreciate their vote. Keep working at reaching the White House by phone, right wingers are trying to tie up the lines and they are doing a pretty good job, I have been trying for three days to get thru, no luck yet. So I continue to use emails and snail mail.

ARE YOU HELPING?...

2009-02-08T10:21:00.000-08:00

An alert to all who support Pres. Obama and his stimulus/jobs plan...a radio talking head, whose name will not be seen on my blog...is urging his dittoheads(those who are incapable of thinking for themselves) to call the White House repeatedly and en masse to voice their opposition to the stimulus/jobs plan. They, of course, have answered their master's call.

So all you Patriot wannabe's...pick up your phone, call the White House and let our Pres. know that he has much more support than opposition. Word has it that many more calls are coming in from the trained seals than from clear-thinking Americans.

Phone #202-456-1111
Switchboard #202-456-1414
Fax: 202-456-2461
email: http://www.whitehouse.gov
snailmail: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave
Washington D.C. 20500

SUPPORT YOUR PRESIDENT!

STILL DOESN'T GET IT...

2009-01-27T14:27:00.001-08:00

Apparently, the Republican party STILL doesn't get it! Naomi Klein in her book "Shock Doctrine" explains how when the unregulated, free market fails, the answer by those proponents of this approach is simply to do more of the same. Rep. John Boehner of Ohio is insisting the Pres. Obama's stimulus package MUST have more tax cuts for the rich. I mean, after all, the wealthy was just simply unable to satiate their greed during the past 30 years. I hardly think there is a republican on the hill that has any right to start criticizing someone else's plan.

I wrote an email to Boehner only to discover he takes emails only from his constituents. That is wrong and cowardly. He is the leader of the repubs. in the House, giving him enough power to be on tv everyday, giving him enough power to control the rep. side of the house, giving him the power to affect all Americans. Therefore, he should be available to all Americans, or Sir, do not take a leadership role.

Therefore I will be calling his toll free number: 1-800-582-1001

He also has another number: 202-225-6205 but use the toll free number if you can get through.

and writing him at:

1011 Longworth House Office Bldg.

District of Columbia 20515-3508

Will he help the American people, set aside politics and ideology(particularly one that hasn't worked for anyone, anywhere but the wealthy) and support Pres. Obama or WILL HE BE AN OBSTRUCTIONIST?????

Lessons for patriots: contact your congressmen and women, let them know you expect them to think of the American people and their interests first, for a change, instead of the interests of big business and the wealthy. Yep, time to go to work for Pres. Obama, the American people, and those all around the world. Are you up to the task? I will be emailing, calling and writing snail mail letters to both my Republican congressmen. While it seems futile, a Patriot is never daunted by the possibility of futility!

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA...

2009-01-20T14:21:00.000-08:00

LET FREEDOM RING!!!

PEACE ALL AROUND THE WORLD!!!

& now the work begins...are you ready?

2009-01-17T13:56:00.000-08:00

Monday, Jan. 19th has been declared a National Day of Service by Michelle and Barack Obama. Choose to make a contribution on that day and many days to follow. Be a part of many Americans who are pledging to become Patriots in the true meaning of the word. Join us on this day of service and lets begin to rebuild the country we have all been so proud of in the past...that would be pre-w.

THANK YOU, GOD...

2009-01-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

w gave his last news conference today...and fittingly, he ended much the same way he has conducted his presidency, cowardly. News outlets were given approximately an unheard of two-hour notice that a sitting Pres. was doing his final press conference. Continuing to attempt to rewrite their legacies, both w and cheney prefer the more friendly journalists, knowing a real journalist would turn them and their lies inside-out. Good-bye and good riddance. If ever we are forced to look upon the faces of this corrupt and criminal administration again, may it be in a court of law.

For myself, I can only hope and pray that the anger I have felt for the last 8 years will go with those who have created so much misery for so many...all around the world. There are those who are committed to pursuing criminal charges against Bush, et.al. and I support those movements.

However, I too, want to turn more of my attention to a more optimistic and positive approach. As our new President takes office, I will be paying close attention, supporting our new leader. Calling him to task, if necessary. Calling to get him support, if needed.

PATRIOTS must know and understand the economic system their government is using because...IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

neocons have learned to use both natural and man-made disasters to force their laizze faire-free market economy on populations who are in too much shock to understand/protest what is being done. By the time shock subsides, the plan of privatization, deregulation, and cuts in social spending have already been established. This plan leads to widespread discontent as unemployment and poverty increase dramatically, add to that the sanitizing and purification of cultures, the use of disappearances, kidnappings, and torture on known opposition, and the strengthening of the military and the picture becomes very ugly. Naomi Kline's research in "Shock Doctrine", shows that the Milton Friedman theory, the Free Market/Laizze Faire theory HAS NOT been successful, some countries(South America has been used as labs for Friedman's theory) using this theory have a 50%+ poverty rate. Sure seems to answer alot of questions about Katrina and the "keystone cops" approach of our government...once that is, they finally decided to make some effort. w and his ilk are shameless.

SO, any disaster, natural or man-made is not a disaster to a neocon, it is a FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITY. The property has been wiped clean, can be bought cheap, developed and bring in big bucks to pad the bottom line. Neocons are motivated by GREED and if we ever allow ourselves to believe that there would ever be any other motivation by such neocon, then we might just sit by again and watch another extremist steal his way into the presidency.

Patriots learn from their mistakes.

A STEP FORWARD...

2009-01-02T10:43:00.000-08:00

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!

It's the dawning of a new day in America and around the world and you do not want to be on the sidelines. Patriots want to be in the middle of the struggle to rescue our country, to rebuild our country, to undo the disaster w and cheney have left us as we continue to insist that bush et.al. are held responsible for their many crimes. Unlike the bushies, Patriots can do more than one thing at a time...including chewing gum and walking!

So where to begin...
"The Shock Doctrine, The Rise of Disaster Capitalism" by Naomi Klein is required reading for the Patriot. Want to know what was really going on during Katrina? Or more recently, the Texas coastline? Written for the lay person, its an incredibly intriguing book, loaded with information. A must read for the Patriot. Ms. Klein's site: www.naomiklien.org

BE PREPARED...

2008-12-30T18:08:00.000-08:00

As I watch w and cheney do numerous exit interviews, I am struck by the same visceral rumblings that have visited me often over the past 8 years. These two have shown us the very worst in human behavior and clearly, they feel no remorse or have no regrets regarding the behavior they engaged in to satisfy their apparently insatiable greed. The sneers and the smugness are just as infuriating today as in the past, maybe even more so as they flaunt their illegal and immoral behavior in our faces as they truly believe that as the superior race they are above the law and are not subject to any sort of examination of their actions, let alone an investigation.

I strive to be a Patriot. Patriots do not stand by idly while greedy, egotistical leaders and financiers dishonor our Constitution. They must be pursued and prosecuted for any and all wrongdoings. They are war criminals and they deserve to be treated as such.

If you do not have a shortcut on your desktop to your Senators, Representatives, and the President, along with any other state and local public representatives, then you are not yet a Patriot. So take the next step, shortcut them and lets make it as convenient as possible to notify your Reps (as Patriots, we will be communicating with them often). Emails are fine, phone calls are better and a letter (snail mail!), even better. Oh, personal contact is, of course, the best way to communicate . Here's a little help to get you started:

congress.org

house.gov

whitehouse.gov

2008-12-28T10:21:00.000-08:00

A PATRIOT IS CONSCIENTIOUS. A PATRIOT IS WELL-INFORMED. WINNING AN ELECTION IS ONLY THE BEGINNING FOR THE PATRIOT. COMPLACENCY IS THE ENEMY OF THE PATRIOT. AMERICANS HAD BECOME COMPLACENT AND WE LOST CONTROL OF OUR COUNTRY. IN THE PAST 8 YEARS WE HAVE SEEN THE LOSS OF LIBERTIES GUARANTEED US IN OUR CONSTITUTION.

Yet, Patriots know the only guarantee the Constitution affords us is the right to demand and fight for the liberties written into our Constitution. Only with hyper-vigilance will Americans enjoy the benefits of freedom our forefathers planned for us. These liberties are easily denied us if we are caught with our heads in the sand.
Patriots have no sand in their hair.

What they do have is a shortage of comrades...others who will become invested, in some way, on some level, in the actions of the government that is said to act on behalf of the American people. Will you join them?

2008-12-27T16:55:00.001-08:00

WHEN IT ALL BEGAN…
December 27, 2008 by drsharonc Edit

The day in 2000 when the presidential race was placed into the hands of 9 political appointees is the day when every American Patriot should have climbed aboard a Trailways bus and marched on Washington with millions of other American Patriots.
But we didn’t…we sat on our hands, made a lot of noise, bitched, moaned, ranted and raved, but alas, we did nothing. We have paid a very dear price for our unpatriotic behavior, in ways we don’t even know about yet. Much more will be learned when the bushies leave office…not soon enough for me…
I do not like w, I do not believe him to be a man of character, I do not believe him to be a man of intellect (forget “great intellect”), I do not believe him to be a man of competence, ingenuity, or creativity. I do not believe him to be a man of conscience…I do not believe him to be either conservative or Republican. I believe him to be an anomaly, an aberration, a freak of nature.
I also believe that God chose him to be POTUS…how could I think such a thing? It came to pass, God knew that Americans would have to see some really bad times, experience some devastating events if they were to ever allow themselves to choose a man of color as their POTUS. w was just the man to get this country into such a condition that we would “sit up”, “pay attention”…our liberties were being stolen…freedoms disappearing…two wars…an economy in a downward spiral, and a President who says its all the fault of others.
Well, Americans did not like what they saw, and, by doggies, we looked past skin color, ethnicity, religion, and culture to elect a man with a brilliant mind who is prepared to serve all Americans. We must never again elect anyone but the most intelligent and creative among us to serve in the most powerful position in the world.
We had the good ole frat boy, the admitted C student, the irresponsible and privileged one. Now that we have had “one of us”, lets be American Patriots and demand only the best and brightest need apply.
So thanks w, your disastrous presidency opened the door and now we have real competence and HOPE in Obama. For that w, I say thanks. You turned out to be good for something. Your administration, the worst in history, has ushered in what I believe will be one of the greatest presidencies in history…past, present, and future.
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