Time’s Person of the Year: Who Else?

Time Magazine announced their Person of the Year for 2008, and to no ones surprise, the Person of the Year is President Elect Barack Obama.

For more information on Time Magazine’s selection, and more background of the man himself, click HERE.

A Dream Deferred No More, Give Us Our Peace

President Elect Obama will be sworn into the Office as the 44th President of the United Stated in less than two months. With all the economic turmoil, and all the Right vs. Left, Conservative vs Liberal nonsense, and all the threats of terrorism, and possibilities of more Wars. Now more than any other time in our History, we need peace. Even in War, Peace is ones greatest strategy.

This poem by Langston Hughes sums up what myself, and millions of people around the globe expect from our new Commander in Chief.

Give us a peace equal to the war
Or else our souls will be unsatisfied,
And we will wonder what we have fought for
And why the many died.

Give us a peace of accepting every challenge –
The challenge of the poor, the black, of all denied,
The challenge of the vast colonial world
That long has had so little justice by its side.

Give us a peace that dares us to be wise.
Give us a peace that dares us to be strong.
Give us a peace that dares us still uphold
Throughout the peace our battle against wrong.

Give us a peace that is not cheaply used,
A peace that is no clever scheme,
A people’s peace for which men can enthuse,
A peace that brings reality to our dream.

Give us a peace that will produce great schools –
As the war produced great armament,
A peace that will wipe out our slums –
As war wiped out our foes on evil bent.

Give us a peace that will enlist
A mighty army serving human kind,
Not just an army geared to kill,
But trained to help the living mind.

An army trained to shape our common good
And bring about a world of brotherhood.

Langston Hughes

Did You Vote?

This Election Year has set records for turnout in just about every State. History could indeed be in the making as Barack Obama hoped, and has spoken about for the past two years. I’m personally amazed at how so many younger voters, many voting in their very first election, have become so engaged in the political process.

I hear co-workers, many younger than my quadragenerian self, talk about the Electoral College, they talk about the economy, and healthcare, some talk about family values, and others even speak about abortion rights.

A co-worker came to me and asked, “Who’d you Vote for? Obama right?!” I had to take a step back and explain that such conclusions could be considered racist, or simply foolish. I also explained to him that race should not matter. “I’ve been voting since 1988. My first presidential election, I voted for Michael Dukakis, even with Lenore Fulani (who is a Black Woman) on the Independent ticket.” I’ve been voting Democratic ever since, as far as the Presidential Elections go. When it comes to Senate and House seats, I vote Independently, focusing on the issues at hand and coming to a determination that one candidate will be an honorable representative for my State. There are minorities who vote Republican who are not elitists, but don’t believe in abortion, or believe in the ideology of the Republican Party. That doesn’t “revoke” their minority status, they are just simply voting for who they believe is best for them and their family. The politically correct question should have been, “Did you vote? Great!”

I’ve also been hearing so much celebrating, as if the outcome is inevitable. For those of you to young to remember this, take a look below.

Not So Fast My Friend

[Truman was seen as an underdog going into the 1948 election--so much so that the Chicago Tribune printed newspapers with the headline "Dewey Defeats Truman." A picture of the victorious Truman holding the newspaper is one of the most famous photos in U.S. history] – History.com

Remember not to go out celebrating tonight until it’s all said and done. Even if Obama gets to 270, remember the recount of 2000 when Gore won Florida, then Lost Florida in a matter of hours, eventually losing the Presidency, even with winning the popular vote.

Using John McCain’s own words, “Nothing is inevitable.”  That’s the smartest thing he’s said the entire campaign.

For more Presidential Election History visit HERE

Barack Obama On Hip Hop

In a recent interview with MTV’s Sway Callway, Senator Barack Obama gave his thoughts on Hip-Hop.
“I’m a little older than hip-hop culture,” he said. “I was there at the beginning, but I was already getting older.”

The Presidential candidate went on to state how much he appreciates the forward thinking and entrepreneurial spirit of the Hip-Hop generation.

“What I’ve appreciated, watching this hip-hop generation, is to see how entrepreneurial they’ve been. In the past, musicians oftentimes were commodities. They were just shuffled around. Obviously, they did well, but they didn’t have the vision to say, ‘I’m going to build a business. I’m going to build my own studio. I’m going to create my own production operations.’ I think they’re a lot more sophisticated than in the past, and that is a wonderful thing.”

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Working Women of the World Unite

How's This For Sexism?

John McCain and his campaign has waged a war against the media, crying sexism whenever someone questions his VP candidate Sarah Palin’s credentials, as if the American People will just say “OK, We’ll take your word for it John.”

Interestingly enough, however, is the fact that John McCain himself can easily be considered sexist for his stance on equal pay for women.

The new Barack Obama ad attacks this at it’s core. John McCain thinks equal pay for women would be too great of a burden on business. McCain goes on to say that women (in general) need more education & training. Wow. Now that sounds sexist to me.

More GOP Lies

Why hasn’t John McCain come under scrutiny for not Loving America until he was captured and held as a POW? We dare not ask him such questions, he is after all a war hero, or at least that’s what he tells us. Instead he and his cronies still attack Michelle Obama about her speech, and questioning her and Senator Obama’s patriotism. I call B_ _ _sh_ _!

Here is both the edited , and the original version of her speech.

Original Text Below:

What we have learned over this year is that hope is making a comeback. It is making a comeback. And let me tell you something — for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction and just not feeling so alone in my frustration and disappointment. I’ve seen people who are hungry to be unified around some basic common issues, and it’s made me proud.”

Funny how the word “REALLY” was edited out. I think this is a sad commentary on today’s political climate. To edit a video and use that in television ads to blatantly alter the truth of what she said is ridiculous, and obviously a desperate attempt to dissuade Obama supporters on the grounds of questioned patriotism.

Not sure what I’m talking about regarding McCain’s comments? Take a look as MSNBC’s Dan Abrams attacks this hypocrisy head on:

John McCain has used the same type of words about America. And I quote

“I really DIDN’T loved America until I was deprived of her company.”

It’s not surprising anymore, just shameful

How low will the McCain campaign go to try to win this election? It has become apparent that McCain and his advisers are going to do whatever possible to steer votes away from Barack Obama. The latest flat-out blatant lie is as vile as they come. His latest ad is accusing Obama of supporting legislation to, as he put it, “to offer comprehensive sex education to kindergartners.” The tone of the ad is “Learning about sex before learning to read? Barack Obama, Wrong on education, Wrong for your family.”

Margaret Talev of McClatchy newspapers states, ” This is a deliberately misleading accusation. It came hours after the Obama campaign released a TV ad critical of McCain’s votes on public education. As a state senator in Illinois, Obama did vote for but was not a sponsor of legislation dealing with sex ed for grades K-12. But the legislation allowed local school boards to teach ‘age-appropriate’ sex education, not comprehensive lessons to kindergartners, and it gave schools the ability to warn young children about inappropriate touching and sexual predators.”

Wow! I guess McCain could care less about our young children knowing what is inappropriate in this age of increasing sexual predators. Worst off, he’s deliberately trying to fool Americans into thinking all this bill was about was teaching Sex Ed to 5 year olds. This is the same technique they are using for Sarah Palin and her “I said thanks but no thanks to that bridge to nowhere, when in fact she supported it up to the time it started gaining negative publicity. It’s also the same tactic used by the GOP to make Americans think Obama will raise taxes for everyone, when in actuality, he is only planning on raising taxes for 10% of Americans.

According to Tax Policy Centers updated analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates’ tax plans, the truth is in the pudding.

The two candidates’ tax plans would have sharply different distributional effects. Senator McCain’s tax cuts would primarily benefit those with very high incomes, almost all of whom would receive large tax cuts that would, on average, raise their after-tax incomes by more than twice the average for all households. Many fewer households at the bottom of the income distribution would get tax cuts and those tax cuts would be small as a share of after-tax income. In marked contrast, Senator Obama offers much larger tax breaks to low- and middle-income taxpayers and would increase taxes on high-income taxpayers.

Will McCain and Palin ever tell the truth during this campaign? I guess the truth is subjective, and the GOP’s Objective is the White House, by any means necessary.

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Just In Time For Christmas…

Although, the way people have been worshiping every word of Sarah Palin, I think owning one of these dolls would be tantamount to worshiping a false god, which is a sin. I’m sure that’s not the reason why people would buy one, or is it?

I have no problems with souvenirs or mementos from this election. Bumper stickers, yard signs, buttons, etc. has always been a part of elections. It’s a simple way to let people know where you stand, or at best, gives one a sense of belonging to a particular party or cause.

Well get ready to add action figure dolls to those mementos. Sorry, I’m not feeling the Obama figure. They’re calling it “Beach Blanket Obama.” Looks more like a street thug with his drawers showing. Put that man in a suit! WTF?

Sarah Palin Action Figure, John McCain Action Figure, Beach Blanket Obama. WTF?

Bridge To Nowhere?

Who's She Kidding?

(Article From Today’s Wall Street Journal)

The Bridge to Nowhere argument isn’t going much of anywhere.

Despite significant evidence to the contrary, the McCain campaign continues to assert that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told the federal government “thanks but no thanks” to the now-famous bridge to an island in her home state.

The McCain campaign released a television advertisement Monday morning titled “Original Mavericks.” The narrator of the 30-second spot boasts about the pair: “He fights pork-barrel spending. She stopped the Bridge to Nowhere.”

See Video:

Gov. Palin, who John McCain named as his running mate less than two weeks ago, quickly adopted a stump line bragging about her opposition to the pork-barrel project Sen. McCain routinely decries.

But Gov. Palin’s claim comes with a serious caveat. She endorsed the multimillion dollar project during her gubernatorial race in 2006. And while she did take part in stopping the project after it became a national scandal, she did not return the federal money. She just allocated it elsewhere.

“We need to come to the defense of Southeast Alaska when proposals are on the table like the bridge,” Gov. Palin said in August 2006, according to the local newspaper, “and not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that’s so negative.” The bridge would have linked Ketchikan to the airport on Gravina Island. Travelers from Ketchikan (pop. 7,500) now rely on ferries.

A year ago, the governor issued a press release that the money for the project was being “redirected.”

“Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport, but the $398 million bridge is not the answer,” she said. “Despite the work of our congressional delegation, we are about $329 million short of full funding for the bridge project, and it’s clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island. Much of the public’s attitude toward Alaska bridges is based on inaccurate portrayals of the projects here. But we need to focus on what we can do, rather than fight over what has happened.”

On Monday in Missouri, Gov. Palin put it this way: “I told Congress thanks but no thanks for that bridge to nowhere. If the state wanted to build a bridge we would built it ourselves.”

Senior adviser Mark Salter pointed to her role in killing the project while in office and allocating the money elsewhere. When pressed further that it was actually Congress that stopped the earmark, Mr. Salter said: “She stopped it, too. She did her part.” Mr. Salter added that he welcomed a fight over earmarks with the Obama campaign.

Democratic candidate Barack Obama used a town-hall style event in Flint, Mich., to attack Gov. Palin over the “Bridge to Nowhere” debate. He accused the vice presidential nominee of lobbying for the bridge and then hiding her initial position when she ran for governor and the project became unpopular.

“You can’t just make stuff up. You can’t just recreate yourself. The American people aren’t stupid,” he said. It’s like “being for it before you were against it,” Sen. Obama said, a reference to a damaging statement John Kerry made in 2004.

Why is this one issue such a big deal? Sen. McCain’s anti-earmarks stance has been paramount to his campaign. The Arizona senator has blamed everything from the Minneapolis bridge collapse to Hurricane Katrina on Congress’s willingness to stuff bills full of pork barrel spending.

As such, Gov. Palin’s image as a “reformer” is part of the storyline the McCain campaign needs to complement the top of its ticket. Her quip about passing on the bridge and “building it ourselves” has been a staple of her stump.

But she’s drawn considerable fire as result. Sen. Obama’s campaign released an advertisement pointing out her original support of the bridge. And on Monday, an Obama staffer emailed a photo of Gov. Palin holding up a T-shirt that was made shortly after the bridge caught national attention. It reads “NOWHERE ALASKA” and “99901,” the zip code of Ketchikan.

See Video:

The McCain campaign jumped back with spokesman Brian Rogers calling the attacks “hysterical.”

“The only people ‘lying’ about spending are the Obama campaign. The only explanation for their hysterical attacks is that they’re afraid that when John McCain and Sarah Palin are in the White House, Barack Obama’s nearly $1 billion in earmark spending will stop dead in its tracks,” Mr. Rogers said.

At a rally today, Sen. McCain again asserted that Sen. Obama has requested nearly a billion in earmarks. In fact, the Illinois senator requested $311 million last year, according to the Associated Press, and none this year. In comparison, Gov. Palin has requested $750 million in her two years as governor — which the AP says is the largest per-capita request in the nation.

McCain ad: “Washington’s Broken…” DUH!

Is This Guy Serious? Wasn’t John McCain the one riding Bush’s coattails and co-signing everything Bush said? Or is it just me?Here’s the response by the Obama camp:”Senator McCain wants Americans to forget that during the Republican primary, he said that Americans were better off than we were eight years ago, and that he thinks we’ve made ‘great progress economically.’”He wants us to forget that he’s fully embraced the Bush policies he once opposed, and bragged about supporting those policies ‘more than 90% of time.’The truth is, being a maverick isn’t practicing the same kind of politics we have seen from Washington for decades, it isn’t having a campaign run by Washington lobbyists, and it’s certainly not promoting the same policies that have led America down the wrong path these past eight years.”

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