Electronic Writer

More than 30 countries were polled, and if they were voting in the upcoming election, Barack Obama would win a second term.  More than 26,000 people were polled and 81% said they would support Obama, compared to 19% for Romney.

Read the full article at United Press International

Negotiation apparently means “compromise” for Democrats and perhaps a more sinister term for Republicans.  “Leverage” might be the definition internalized by Republicans ( could be a euphemism for “extortion opportunity” or “Democrat weakness”).  Let me be clear—I am tired of this arrangement.

I know the new debt ceiling vote isn’t complete, yet . . . but, the newest debt ceiling legislation feels like a loss for Liberals.  We have two votes for the debt ceiling (albeit the second vote is watered down in teeth, but will be a press-generating opportunity for Government-killing Tea Party legislation).  The legislation cuts spending—by TRILLIONS.  The legislation does not raise any revenues.  ZERO.    And, there is a vote for a balanced-budget Amendment to the constitution to be scheduled—also, a press-generating opportunity for ultra-conservatives.  It appears as if the Republicans got everything they wanted.
When we review the spoils of the Democrat-side of this deal, we have:  uhhhm, the promise to leave Medicare and Entitlement cuts alone . . . .  Yep—that is all, folks.  That, and the ability to get back to work.

There was a time in our not-so-distant past when an evil dictator rolled tanks into the Czech Republic and claimed that it was his to take.  The world, at the time, gave it to him.  They told that evil dictator, and his ideology, that we won’t fight you on Czech Republic issue if you promise to not take any more countries.  Of course, he promised and was happy at how easy his first conquest had been.

The evil dictator and his ideology were lying.  He would use the newfound leverage to wield uncertainty and indecision amongst the leaders of the rest of the world and as a springboard for his attacks.  Many, many people had died before the world was moved to respond.

My first message is to Democrat politicians.  Please learn from history.  Placating Hitler did no good.  His singular focus of conquest and extermination outweighed all logic.  His greed for power erased his ability to compromise.  Democrats—you have to do better.  You MUST take a stand.  Protecting entitlement programs from the chopping block is NOT A VICTORY.  It is merely the best outcome of a catastrophic loss.

There is no reasoning with Republicans, Conservatives and Tea Party members—their singular desire to hunt-down and eradicate the people who utilize entitlements is non-stop.  The want all of the poor, minorities, sick, elderly and young to get out of their way while they make money.  There is no village in their distorted view of the world—merely profit margins.  They will happily poison the town well, because they are selling water and will make a larger profit without the competition.

Republicans, Conservatives and Tea Partiers are driving the United States, whether they know it or not, into a tribal/feudal state—where the tribes are multinational corporations with their own armies, bottomless pools of lawyers and lobbyists, unlimited money, and not a single person to be held accountable in a court of law.

My message to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the poor, the elderly—anyone who does not generate money (or value) for those multinational corporations is simple.

Run

The President has launched a campaign to get all of the first-time voters from the last election to come back to the polls for the 2010 Congressional Election.  But, you can hear it for yourself . . . .

Dear Mr. Boehner,

You may be in a position of power, but you do not speak for the majority of Americans.

Our Democracy was founded upon the principle of equality for all, and in November of 2008, when the entire country cast their votes of equal weight, the majority spoke.  We said we want change.

We did not choose the campaign who told us to be afraid and that only they could keep us safe.  Instead, we chose a promise of change and hope.  And, our leader, President Barack Obama, told us “Yes, We Can.”

It was a message unlike any I can remember.  Yes, We Can is not about a political party, or about a leader, or about morality–it is about us.  It is a message that summons us to greater things.  It expects us to fulfill our duties to this country, and challenges us when our service is needed.  And, it implies that our nation will not work without us.

We chanted Yes, We Can leading up to election day – it was our rally cry – and, we yelled it at the top of our lungs in exuberance after the votes were counted.  After eight long years of being silent and afraid, it was nice to hear our voice again.

From the moment our movement began, you started speaking louder–telling us to be silent.  Telling us that we should be afraid.  You have continued to raise your voice in your quest to silence ours.  Now, you shout openly.

But, simply repeating the same message does not make it true.  Regardless of your power, truth lies beyond your reach.  No matter how loudly you shout, you cannot change it.  And, the truth is that we, the majority of Americans, have spoken.  We want change.

It is time to stop shouting.  It is time to stop sowing fear.  It is time to end your obstructionism–and, join us.

Yes, We Can.

Roll up your sleeves, and get back to work representing your constituents.

Yes, We Can.

Even while we were shouting in exuberance, there was room for you and your values in our America.

Yes, We Can.

One more voice in a country founded upon dissonance and debate tempered with humility and acceptance.

Yes, We Can.

Join us, Mr. Boehner–you know the next line . . . .

Hear the Song . . . How it was Written

There has been a recurring theme, of late:

“I don’t care what they say about me, but I love this country too much to let them take over another election with lies and phony outrage and swift boat politics. Enough is enough.”

The New York Times has an interesting article about Barack Obama defending himself over the lipstick on a pig garbage.

The Republicans published an advertisement that asserted that Barack Obama made sexist remarks.

Read the article and watch the video of Barack Obama’s response >>

There is this game going on right now in this presidential campaign, and it could particularly cost the Democrats this Presidential election–especially because this is our election to lose.  The entire UNIVERSE is fed up with the Bush Administration and the Republican party letting corporations, big-oil, and big-government run amuck.

Now is clearly the time to restore some sanity to our country, and now is CLEARLY the time to restore the United States to pre-bush levels on just about everything: privacy, economy, world standing, military levels, etc.

Instead, we are playing this game since the VERY moment that Sarah Palin was announced as Vice President.

• Karl Rove and Steve Schmidt have held up a blank canvas.
• John McCain and Sarah Palin are painting their WILDEST fantasies upon that canvas.
• The MEDIA are ooohhing and ahhhhhing over the contents of the canvas.
• No one is addressing the facts versus the fiction that is emerging on that canvas.

The problem is that Barack Obama is waiting for the media (or someone else) to correct those falsehoods.  The media is eating up the website traffic, tv traffic and newspaper sales.  And the liars are patting themselves on the back in disbelief that this scheme is working.

Steve Almond, a writer at the Huffington Post, has done a little fictionalizing.  His fiction is what would happen if Barack Obama actually called the Republican liars what they are–liars.  Almond posits that if Barack Obama was strong about it (the same truth and strength we would want from him as President of the United States), that it would force the media to deal with it.  And, us outsiders could watch us win the election . . . as opposed to the liars stealing another one . . . .

Read Steve Almond’s entire article >>

I like the Obama Camp’s style: Calm and collected fact checking. It is good journalism, and it will make a wonderful shift in the behavior and operation of the Executive Branch.

Here’s the Obama campaign video refutes the McCain campaign falsehoods in last Friday’s advertisement.

John McCain Capaign: Riding the Fox News Fear and Lies Wave in just the beginning of the campaign.

It has not even been a week since I noticed the Pay-per-click Advertisements of John McCain on the Internet, and somehow, the pool of John McCain Campaign advertisements has been filled with racism and lies. In the advertisement, you see the leader of Iran facing Barack Obama. Below it, it says, “Is it OK to Unconditionally Meet with Anti-American Foreign Leaders?” It then displays a simple Yes/No below it, and Paid for by John McCain 2008 at the bottom.

This is a clear example of how the John McCain Campaign is pandering fear and spreading lies in the same fashion as the Fox News Network–using the rumor that Barack Obama is connected to the Muslim world.

To visually tie Senator Obama with the leader of Iran is disingenuous, and smells of Karl Rove and some of the techniques that he has used to win elections in the past. Visually, their faces are the same size and their skin colors are more similar than different.

The question is also garbage–with the text containing words that would return on a search for the words, “Barack Obama anti-american.” Wait! Did we touch on another lie about Barack Obama? We DID! Inconceivable!

Pandering fear and lies is a terrible way to run for president.  Here is a 3-step process for running for President of the United States:

1. Fire Karl Rove (or stop listening to him), and fight a good fight. How about some debates? What about knocking on doors? All of those values that you talked about in the 2000 primaries are rapidly diminishing because you have taken to pandering fear to the American public, spreading lies in order to win.
2. Look at your policies. Does your own platform actually represent your values? Your Republican constituents have elected you because of your policies. How about listening to them? How about representing their interests–rather than the companies with the cash.
3. You have lost your “maverick” status because you no longer say or do what you believe to be true. You have become a mouthpiece to the private corporations–and, followed suit with your predecessor.

In an extremely high-profile example of racism, Fox News flashed a racist saying across the screen as the Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly spoke with columnist Michelle Malkin.

The text, in full, read: Outraged Liberals: Stop picking on Obama’s baby mama!

According to the NY Times article, “Fox Forced to Address Michelle Obama Headline” by Jim Rutenberg, “The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term as one “chiefly in African-American usage” that refers to, “The mother of a man’s child, who is not his wife nor (in most cases) his current or exclusive partner.””

Putting the Oxford English Dictionary definition together with the actual statement, I would surmise there is a bit of slander going on, as well. Not only is this a racial slur, it also denigrates the Obama marriage.

Bill Shine, a Fox News senior vice president, has issued an apology today, but does this cross the line? This is the third formal apology from the Fox News network for Attacking Barack Obama in the last few weeks, and this racist attack was levied by some nameless, “producer” who apparently was not fired or reprimanded.

According to the NY Times, “A producer on the program exercised poor judgment in using this chyron during the segment,” Bill Shine, a Fox News senior vice president, said in a statement.

Does Bill Shine’s statement infer that there are APPROPRIATE places for this chyron?

Frankly, the apology from Shine makes this example of racism sound as if some rogue employee took it upon themselves to type the letters across the screen. I surmise that the construction of this message takes a bit more approval and proofreading. How many more Fox Employees were either an explicit part of this incident, or played an implicit role by allowing the message to be displayed?

According to the Wikipedia entry on the News Ticker, Fox News adopted it (along with two other major news networks) on September 11th, 2001. Fox News decided to continue to use the ticker and have retained it as part of their news broadcast ever since. While some may simply use the tool as a way to broadcast information, Fox News Network might stretch the uses a bit.

I am personally angered by this message. Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly and columnist Michelle Malkin should be enraged that racist messages are being displayed by Fox News Network alongside their names. Regardless of your personal feelings on the matter, it raises plenty of questions.

At the time of publishing this post, there is an entry in the Wikipedia for Lower Third (technical television name for the portion of the screen displaying this information). Specifically, in the Notable Mistakes section, the Fox News Network’s message is already noted.

E.D. Hill, anchor at the Fox News Network has apologized for the allegations she made that Barack Obama and his wife were displaying a secret terrorist fist jab at a rally.

See for yourself: