Post Election Tensions

Exuberant after the election, I returned home from my Congressman's victory watch party and found that there were several op-ed pieces already published online. Being inspired I wrote my own post about the election.

And then I shared the following in a email to my co-workers:

Two hundred and thirty-two years after Thomas Jefferson penned the words
within the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of Happiness", we have elected an African-American as the 44th POTUS
all the while many asked if our nation was ready for such a thing. So deeply run
the scars of our inhumanity towards each other caused by slavery and the lack of
respect for life that this injustice has wrought, we still today have to ask if
we are ready for a black man to be president. Maybe it is fitting that this man,
son of a white woman from Kansas "the Free State" in the heart of America and a
black man from the distant shores of Kenya in the continent from which slaves
were brought to this land, should unite us in the understanding that all people
are indeed created equal. The blood of both races flows through his veins. How
symbolic, how right, how just is it that Barack Hussein Obama II should be the
first black man to stand in the office of President of the United States
signaling the final breaking down of the wall caused by the injustice of
slavery.

Many will still ask this question and we may see difficult times in
future days as our nation absorbs the significance of this election. It is my
prayer that we as a nation and as individuals live out the words Thomas
Jefferson was so ardent to add to the Declaration and that we embody the
sentiment, "We hold these truths to be self-evident..." Our nation is a beacon
set upon a hill and the eyes of the world are upon us. May the "someday that we
shall overcome" be this very one.

And in the spirit of his campaign the people answered, "YES WE
CAN!"

I received many thankful and complementary emails but was also reported to HR and had to have a discussion with my manager.

I had been low-key at work about the election except for a single campaign button on my purse. We have a casual dress code and yesterday I was wearing an Obama campaign t-shirt I received for walking neighborhoods in Missouri to help get out the vote. I figured the election was over so this couldn't be seen as political campaigning. And I had brought in a poster of my president which I had also just pinned up in my cube. I admit that my computer wallpaper and screen-saver had screen shots from the Obama campaign site. After the conversation, of my own choice and not the suggestion of my manager, I put on a sweater and buttoned it up to conceal my Obama t-shirt, I removed my computer wallpaper and screen saver, removed my campaign button and I sadly took down the poster of my president. I felt truly sorry that my comments had caused offense.

I didn't think at the time that I wrote my comments that they would be offensive, but that rather I was pointing out the historic significance of the election outcome. I should not have sent it realizing that McCain supporters would have been very disappointed. That was something I overlooked in my excitement over this historic event and I do feel bad about that.

However it was brought up to my attention that the complaint had to do with someone who was very religious and that I should understand how deeply religious people would feel about my comments and the election outcome.

The sad thing, is that at that moment in the conversation, I did totally understand since I had previously read James Dobson's letter from 2012. It was not until this morning that it hit me that my email had nothing to do with religion. This was a bogus argument. I could be called up for sending a message over company email about politics and that would be fair, although I was not campaigning and the election results were in and I was speaking about our president-elect in terms of the historical significance of his election. I said nothing about John McCain at all and did not offer Barack Obama as the better candidate.

I myself am a deeply religious person. Of course that is irrelevant to the conversation except that was a reason given for my email being offensive, that a deeply religious person found it so. The stretch would be to say this comment of mine brought religion into discussion, "It is my prayer that we as a nation and as individuals live out the words Thomas Jefferson was so ardent to add to the Declaration and that we embody the sentiment, "We hold these truths to be self-evident..." Our nation is a beacon set upon a hill and the eyes of the world are upon us. May the "someday that we shall overcome" be this very one."

In any case, I am repentant for causing offense to any of my co-workers. I am also deeply grieved that the religious leaders of our nation have so vilified my president to the extent that many in our nation are afraid of their future under his leadership. That is the deepest offense of all.

I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.

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CNN Lou Dobbs endorses Obama Waffles...well not actually

...

Click "play" to view the interview with the creators of Obama Waffles and hear their "defense" of this very offensive product. They pause and look a bit guilty when the interviewer asks if they realize that Obama has been a long-standing member of the Church of Christ while their product paints Obama as a Muslim. Of course they surely don't believe or imply that Muslims are terrorists. And I bet they would defend the right of any American Muslim to worship freely. Just as they certainly don't believe that all US citizens of Mexican descent are illegal aliens.
...

Lou Dobbs loved the spoof on Senator Obama and bought a box of "Obama Waffles" at a vendor booth stationed at the Values Voter Summit this weekend. Reportedly he said, "My wife will love this!" as he posed for a snapshot. This image was posted on the ObamaWaffles.com website but has already been purged. UPDATE: Bob DeMoss says now, not really, Lou Dobbs didn't really endorse Obama Waffles. Whose waffling now? Bob says he handed Lou the box and then posed for a picture with him, but Lou didn't buy the box. But Bob admits he had the picture on the website blog but took it down because he didn't actually ask Lou Dobbs for permission.

So...let's see, did he ask Barack Obama permission to use his image? Or Michelle? Or John Kerry? So why wasn't the picture of Lou just considered political satire? Call it satire and comedy and I guess you can spew your message and call it a right of free speech. But when you sell a product at a convention, the convention has the right to boot you if you prove to be offensive. Do two rights make a wrong? I guess they did when they created Obama Waffles.

According to AP reporter, Joan Lowy, Values Voter Summit organizers cut off sales of Obama Waffles boxes on Saturday, saying they had not realized the boxes displayed "offensive material." The summit and the exhibit hall where the boxes were sold had been open since Thursday afternoon.

This was posted by Jesse Taylor on Pandagon:

Looking into the gentlemen a bit more, I ended up fixating on Bob DeMoss, the swea...the one with the awful...the one on the left. Bob, you see, isn’t just a “freelance writer”. He’s written a series of Christian teen literature with Tim LaHaye. Yes, Left Behind Tim LaHaye. Meaning, of course, that this wasn’t just some guy shilling his flash-in-a-pan election year product, but he’s a full-on foot soldier who has the full faith and credit of the fundamentalist movement.

Just what is the Values Voter Summit? It was a conference held by the FRCAction the legislative action arm of the Family Research Council this week starting Thursday, September 12th ending today, Sunday the 14th.

This was their appeal to churches:

You may be asking yourself just what is this War on Judeo-Christian values? Is there a war against the church in America?

David Limbaugh, the younger brother of Rush Limbaugh sure thinks there is and he has a form on his website where you can report your personal experiences in this war.

There are some grounds for this thought. Let's look back in history a bit to 1960. Madelyn Murry O'hair launched a lawsuit Murray v. Curlett which led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling and ended the practice of daily prayer in American public schools. O'Hair later founded American Atheists and became so controversial that, in 1964, Life magazine referred to her as "the most hated woman in America." (Wikipedia)

This ushered in a time in America when every public institution felt a litigious fear of prayer, public displays of the Ten Commandments and Nativity scenes and even the public recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag which contains the phrase, One nation, Under God.

This led to the establishment of fundamentalist Christian schools across our nation where parents could be assured that their children could pray in school. However if their children wanted accredited high school diplomas, many states required that evolution be included in the study of science. This was a direct affront to the creationist belief in the origin of life. The home school movement thus grew leaps and bounds where parents had almost complete control of their children's curriculum.

With the politicization of fundamental Christians and their rise in the Republican party along with Christian schooled and Home-schooled students now proving their access to higher education, one would think that the vision of a War on Christianity would subside. As long as Roe v. Wade is in effect the war will be waged. And as long as Gay and Lesbian Americans seek to be included in the legal definition of marriage, the war will be waged. As long as the so-called "Liberal" media or what is now more commonly called the MSM (main stream media) provides content that does not support and endorse a Christian values life style, the war will go on.

"We are not coming up against just human beings to beat them in elections. We're going to be coming up against spiritual warfare." (Pat Robertson at a 1994 Christian Coalition national strategy conference)

The question is really who is waging this war? A case could be made that the Religious Right has understood the Bush Doctrine all along and maybe they were the progenitors of it. For it would seem to many that they are preemptively waging a war to defend their fundamentalist view of Christianity. One must assume that the Family Research Council motto, Defending Faith, Family and Freedom is more than just deft alliteration. It is a commission. But is it also a statement of reconstructionism?

Every Sunday thousands of right wing white preachers (following in my father's footsteps) rail against America's sins from tens of thousands of pulpits. They tell us that America is complicit in the "murder of the unborn," has become "Sodom" by coddling gays, and that our public schools are sinful places full of evolutionists and sex educators hell-bent on corrupting children. They say, as my dad often did, that we are, "under the judgment of God." They call America evil and warn of immanent destruction. - Frank Schaeffer

They allowed a vendor to sell a product that included racial slurs and defamed the Muslim religion so we have to ask what they mean by defending Faith. It could not mean the faith of all Americans. And when they talk about Family of course, that would not include the family as lived out by all Americans. And then we get to Freedom. Do they defend the freedoms as described in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution?

The Obama Waffles is just one hand grenade in the War. And they are running a Sarah Palin special, buy two get one free for just $19.98. This is supposed to emulate the type of frugality Sarah would bring to the White House.


The bottom line, as the old adage goes, "follow the money." Who benefits monetarily from the War on Christian Values? It creates great fund raising opportunities for any and all organizations involved. And the right wing movement has discovered that although both are filthy, Politics and Money are like two peas in a pod. Not to mention all the books that are written by right wing "pundits" making them rich, rich, rich. Yes, war can be good business.

###

Last week, while the media focused almost obsessively on the DNC's spectacle in Denver, the country's most influential conservatives met quietly at a hotel in downtown Minneapolis to get to know Sarah Palin. The assembled were members of the Council for National Policy, an ultra-secretive cabal that networks wealthy right-wing donors together with top conservative operatives to plan long-term movement strategy. - (firedoglake: James Dobson picked Palin)

Statement issued by FRCAction:

Well this is refreshing...the following statement was issued by the FRCAction organization after they were alerted to the offensive nature of the Obama Waffles packaging. Vendors have to apply for a space at the convention, but either the convention organizers previewed the material and didn't perceive the negative implications or took the vendors at their word that it was satire and all in fun and didn't take the time to view the product.

We strongly condemn the tone and content of materials that were exhibited by one of the vendors at this weekend's Values Voter Summit. The materials represent an attempt at parody that crosses the line into coarseness and bias.

The exhibitor contacted our reviewer just days before the Summit by email and described material that sounded like it was devoted to political flip-flops on policy issues. When the content of the materials was brought to the attention of FRC Action senior officials today, they were removed and the exhibit was dismantled by the vendor at our insistence. It is our responsibility to fully vet materials that are offered at any event we cosponsor, but we are deeply dismayed that this vendor violated the spirit, message and tone of our event in such an offensive manner.

The Values Voter Summit represents a coming together of many long-established organizations that work across denominational and ethnic lines to celebrate and promote the family and a culture of life. We reject any communications that divide and distract us and frustrate these principles. Bishop Harry Jackson's High Impact Leadership Coalition, Gary Bauer's American Values, and Alliance Defense Fund join us in rejecting this material.

What was the response of the creators of Obama Waffles? Typical.

More about waffles:

racist waffles - Huffington Post

Reconciliation Blog - Help my unbelief

I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.

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Tidal wave of scandals in Palin feeding frenzy

Is it just me or did anyone else get this impression? The night Sarah Palin spoke at the convention looked like it was a scene stolen from the back lot of a Disney production.

I am losing track of all the "scandals" swirling around Sarah Palin. The longer she is shielded from the press and the public the more these stories grow. The campaign's choice to only allow her to address the public through speeches written by professional writers only reinforces the public suspicions and the rumors.

In a recent article on the Right Side of the News, The Media Plan to Destroy Palin , written by Cliff Kincaid and posted on September 7, belies the confidence so publicly showered on Sarah Palin by those that support her. Kincaid states that Sarah Palin accepting televised interviews with the press would be a "trap and politically suicidal." Kincaid says about the recently announced interview with ABC's Charles Gibson that "Democrats will be counting on Gibson to to spring a trap" on Sarah Palin and "make her look like an ignorant buffoon on some issue or another." He goes on to say that Palin should not be underestimated since she has worked as a journalist and understands how the media works.

All that I could find about her journalistic career was that she worked as a sports announcer and assisted in her husband's fishing business before she began her political career as president of the Wasilla high school PTA. I suppose that gave her some understandings of the workings of a small news operation in Wasilla. But the greater message that is communicated in Kincaid's article is the fear that Sarah Palin really will fall on her face. He says, "There is no doubt there is a plan underway to get her."

All this couching in fear that there is a plan to make Palin look like a fool is merely creating an expectation that she will fail if she goes before the public media without a scripted speech. This does two things for Palin. First it makes her look inexperienced before she has a chance to prove otherwise. Secondly, it sets the stage for her to actually be weak in her public appearances but the bar is set so low that if she merely mucks through the interview she comes out a winner. Neither is a good long-term outcome for the career of Sarah Palin. The conservatives are reinforcing a growing thought that Palin is McCain's Dan Quail.

Then instead of elevating the campaign rhetoric, Kincaid dips back to the 1980's to dredge up "dirt" on Joe Biden in regards to a paper he wrote in law school in which he did not adequately cite a paragraph in a paper which resulted in Joe getting an "F" in the class. Joe Biden completely disclosed this incident and opened the records for public view. Is this the worst dirt on Joe they can find is an gaff on an a school paper that happened over 30 years ago?

If we want an honest campaign that is focused about the issues that matters to American citizens than the McCain campaign and it's adherents need to keep it clean on their side. The ads designed to do nothing but generate unfounded fear about Senator Obama but provide no content about McCain's plan for governing the country are a waste of air time and have created this backlash by the blogging world. The Obama campaign is attempting to keep the campaign on the issues. Unfortunately the American public reacts to negative campaigning and fear tactics so the McCain campaign is choosing the low road. It may result in a boost in poll numbers but is this the way to run with integrity? Is this the heroic approach to leadership?

Kincaid mentions the Daily Koz as the progenitor of the Palin scandal rumors. What he fails to mention is that the very same rumors were already being circulated around the Alaska state capital by people that know and work with Sarah Palin. The rumors were not fabricated by the Daily Kos. If the McCain campaign had done its homework and properly vetted Governor Palin, they would have discovered the rumors before reading them on the blogs with the rest of us. And as I have stated before, the story of the Palin family was owned by Sarah Palin. If she had properly handled the story (and I say this not knowing how the campaign may have forced her to handle it) then the blogging community would have never started digging through the internet to find the answers that should have been provided in her family bio.

The obvious lack of confidence given to Sarah Palin is unfair and rather sexist in my opinion. We all saw the incredible delivery of the speech she gave at the RNC. I believe that she can better handle an interview more than John McCain appears to believe in his own candidate.

This is either sexism or McCain has determined after getting to know her better that Palin is honestly not up to the challenge.

First the McCain campaign issued a statement that Sarah Palin will not be engaging in interviews with the press. Huffington Post

Now they have granted a single interview to ABC. Charles Gibson had genteelly handled a McCain interview earlier so they feel this is a safe place to start with Governor Palin. It is understandable that anyone so new to the national scene might need a softball interview to get her confidence up and some practice in. How confident is anyone that this carefully chosen interview will reveal anything? Not much. The goal is to put her before the media in a safe venue so that she can gain some confidence and prove herself to the McCain campaign as much as to anyone. I believe she has the self confidence to go before the media and hit a home run.

Remember the difference between a bulldog and a hockey mom? Sarah Palin has the lipstick and the internal fortitude to go on any talk show and hold her own. The sooner they put her out there and take the training wheels off the better it will be for Governor Palin and for the campaign.

John McCain picked the fruit off the tree before it was ripe. We have a green untested person running for Republican Vice President of the United States. And now they are shielding this candidate from the press until they feel she will be treated with "deference" and "respect."

If she is intending to serve at the executive level of our government, she had better at least be able to handle the American press corp. Deference is granted out of respect. If the McCain campaign hopes to have any respect for McCain's choice of Sarah Palin, they better quit shielding her and let her stand on her own two feet. They cannot continue to cry "foul" and "sexism" when the press does it job asking the questions that America wants to know about this candidate. If "big daddy McCain" keeps shielding Sarah, it will continue to grow the perception that she cannot stand on her own and also that maybe there is something to hide.

I for one, think this is a grand ploy to captivate the media and the public. If you say that Sarah Palin will not address the press in an interview you peak the public's interest for the day you unveil her. The past two weeks have felt like a staged grab for higher Nielsen ratings. You know how smarmy T.V. gets from situation comedies to the reporting of the news when the media knows Nielsen is polling the public about what shows they watch. Well, right now the show is Palin, 24/7, around the clock.

This scenario is as ripe with dangers as Sarah Palin is green for national office. Dangers for McCain's campaign that the public will reject his choice. Dangers that the public will simply get bored with all this. Dangers for the Obama campaign that Palin is so hot, hot, hot, that they cannot address anything in regards to her without getting burned. Dangers for Sarah Palin that John McCain will so undermine her confidence and the confidence of the public in her that her political career will end as quickly as it started.

As defined by *Webster's unabridged dictionary:

Def"er*ence\, n. [F. d['e]f['e]rence. See 3d Defer.] A yielding of judgment or preference from respect to the wishes or opinion of another; submission in opinion; regard; respect; complaisance.

Deference to the authority of thoughtful and sagacious men. --Whewell.
Deference is the most complicate, the most indirect, and the most elegant of all compliments. --Shenstone.

Syn: Deference, Reverence, Respect.

Usage: Deference marks an inclination to yield one's opinion, and to acquiesce in the sentiments of another in preference to one's own. Respect marks the estimation that we have for another, which makes us look to him as worthy of high confidence for the qualities of his mind and heart. Reverence denotes a mingling of fear with a high degree of respect and esteem. Age, rank, dignity, and personal merit call for deference; respect should be paid to the wise and good; reverence is due to God, to the authors of our being, and to the sanctity of the laws.

*deference. (n.d.). Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. Retrieved September 07, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/deference
I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.


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The Tar-Pit that Obama would be Wise to Avoid

John McCain, having barely escaped the endangered species list of has-been Republican presidential candidates through some grit and strategy, is facing the tidal wave of support for Barack Obama and out of desperation may be creating his own monster.

Palin 2012 Graphic created by J Wilhide, Liberally Beautiful Blogs
(http://www.liberallybeautiful.blogspot.com)
For fair use, it is not to be reproduced in any fashion
without permission of the author.

McCain had been using tactics such as claiming that Obama's popularity was suspect. Obama is so popular that he has gained celebrity status and is therefore of the same caliber as Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. That's some liability! Wow, every candidate should be careful about becoming too well known and popular. What a trap that is! Then he tried to make people afraid of Senator Obama's popularity by trying to tie him to the anti-Christ figure of the popular Left Behind book series written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. John McCain said the ad was meant to be humorous, but it was targeted perfectly for the core of the Republican Religious Right who are expecting the anti-Christ to appear on the political scene in their life-time.

According to blog site Burning Cane, Sarah Palin's VP candidacy may be the web creation of a college sophomore. What? This Adam Brickley, political science major, interning at TownHall.com is a prodigy at vice-king making. Last weekend the big question for me and millions of others was "Who is Sarah Palin?" This weekend I am asking, "Who is Adam Brickley?"

It seems that a 21-year-old college sophomore with a lisp blogging from his mother's Colorado farmhouse had the secret weapon McCain had been searching for...that silver bullet to shoot down the Obama campaign. Enter Adam Brickley, aka Elephantman and his blog, Draft Sarah Palin for Vice President, started in January 2007, a year and a half ago and just two short months into Sarah Palin's governorship.

What amazing insight for a 21-year old college student and what amazing talent to create a blog and drum up support for a little known recently elected governor leading to her discovery by the unexpected front-runner of the Republican presidential race, a man whose campaign had been declared dead more than once in the primaries. Does this sound "providential?" It sounds so improbable that conspiratorial thoughts are blossoming in my mind of Palin self-promoting by buying right-wing political consultant Ralph Reed with some of that "Bridge to Nowhere" money that never made it back to Washington.

Kristopher Lorelli, a U.S. native who lives in Toronto, started a site, www.palinforvp.com, after reading Brickley's blog, and he attributes most of the publicity surrounding the governor to Brickley's initiative.

"He was advocating her long before anyone knew who she was, and he saw something in her that was special before anyone else ever saw it," said Lorelli, who works for a manufacturing distributor. "I don't know one person who knew who she was before Adam's blog."

Honestly, look at this video. This young man is focused. He appears to be reading this commentary...but I am assuming he also wrote it. Maybe he is even reading it off of his own teleprompter. Given his acumen in political prognostication I would not doubt this. (Although he claims he is not a "geek" since he lives not in his mother's basement but on the second floor.)

Whatever you know, think, or think you know about Sarah Palin's meteoric rise from small-town PTA president to VP candidate on the Republican ticket, the press has now started to dub her "The Palin Problem." Why? Well despite all of the feminism rhetoric now uncharacteristically oozing from the Republican Camp they will also be the first to cry "Sexism!" and they project her as a "delicate woman" when any attacks normal in a political race are cast towards Palin. We have seen this already in the few days after her announcement to the McCain ticket. McCain went into protection mode and all the McCain mouth-pieces were crying "foul!" when public and media inquiry and rumors started flying about Palin. And don't expect her to be in an open interview with the press anytime on the horizon. The McCain campaign says they will be using "focused communication" for the balance of this campaign. The paparazzi is out of luck for any off the cuff comments out of Palin.

I will mention a term that I run the risk of being railed upon for using but it explains this situation so well. Sarah Palin is a tar-baby. As explained in Wikipedia, Tar-Baby was a doll made of tar and turpentine, used to entrap Br'er Rabbit in the second of the Uncle Remus stories. The more that Br'er Rabbit fought the Tar-Baby, the more entangled he became. In contemporary usage, "tar baby" refers to any "sticky situation" that is only aggravated by additional contact. The only way to solve such a situation is by separation.

That is a perfect definition of the "Palin Problem." Not only is trying to campaign against a double-edged sword of a capable, strong female candidate who is at the same time protected because the candidate is a woman is a risky endeavor, but she is a brash and loud distraction to the presidential race. The presidential race is between Barack Obama and John McCain and was polling strongly towards Obama before the selection of Sarah Palin, who was in virtual obscurity just ten days ago and now is just sixty days away from a side slot in a presidential election. McCain cries "abuse" and "not fair" if the press or public wants to probe into who she is and where she comes from and his staff must have a round the clock shift in place purging the internet of anything about Palin or her family that can be purged from the web. Palin's image is being refined and closely handled.

This race needs to get back on track. Obama Campaign needs to get the debate back to what this race is about. Whether Sarah Palin is a Trojan horse or a paper tiger remains to be seen. She is an appeasement for the right-to-life voters and a tool of John McCain who is doing what ever it takes to be the next POTUS.

Most significantly: she is risky business for both candidates.
People are already thinking,
"Sarah Palin for President in 2012!"

Palin 2012 Graphic created by J Wilhide, Liberally Beautiful Blogs
(http://www.liberallybeautiful.blogspot.com)
For fair use, it is not to be reproduced in any fashion
without permission of the author.

MSNBC - Is McCain/Palin becoming Palin/McCain?

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I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.

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Bloggers called out the story on Sarah Palin's daughter

I must point out that what has happened in the blogging community over Labor Day weekend is a triumph, even if a sad one, for free speech on the world-wide-web. The MSM was not willing to touch the rumors which were bubbling up about the newly named VP candidate for the Republican party, but an avid brigade of bloggers brought the news into the light of day forcing the hand of the McCain campaign to bring further disclosure of the candidate he has selected for the position of Vice President on his ticket.

And before people begin hocking disdain on bloggers, we should all step back and recognize the power of blogging to keep our press free and honest. Once in our history we had a brigade of "minute men" who watched the shores for invasion from the British as our past and paternal government began wrenching freedoms away from them one by one. Now in a reminiscent way, a new group of people, whether they realize it or not, take this stead in the arena of freedom of speech.

To realize that photos and documents were being scrubbed from public domains as quickly as bloggers were uncovering them makes me take pause to wonder about how free our Internet will remain. It is not just for the fun of it that bloggers must remain vigilant to report the news and their views daily on this very public venue.

This is how the radically right will spin this situation, but as you read this statement from the dean of the Liberty University Law School founded by the late Jerry Falwell, keep in mind that anyone taking public office puts their entire family in the spotlight. Also keep in mind that such people have been egregiously intolerant of anyone with whom they disagree. It was Jerry Falwell who said the next day after 9-11 that the attack was the fault of the ACLU, the Gay community, and a laundry list of anyone with whom he disagreed and Pat Robertson sat on the interview, nodding his head in agreement.

Mathew Staver, dean of Liberty University School of Law, told Liz Sidoti of the AP: "We're all sinners. We all make mistakes. Certainly, the ideal is not to get pregnant out of wedlock. But she made the right decision after her mistake. It's absolutely shameful to put her child in the spotlight. She's not running for office. When someone can't face issues, they try to tear down a family."

Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family issued a beautiful statement of support and forgiveness punctuated by this statement:

"The media are already trying to spin this as evidence Gov. Palin is a 'hypocrite,' but all it really means is that she and her family are human. They are in my prayers and those of millions of Americans."

Everything that I have seen from the media thus far has been respectful of Bristol and the Palin family. I believe the American public is very sympathetic to this young woman. It is the lack of judgment of the parents and the McCain campaign in thrusting Bristol into the public limelight without properly supporting her situation that is the tragedy. It shows shame from the family and lack of trust of the American people to have the ability to understand this very human situation.

Barack Obama has responded in this way:

"I have said before and I will repeat again: People's families are off limits," Obama said. "And people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories. You know my mother had me when she was 18, and how a family deals with issues and teenage children, that shouldn’t be a topic of our politics."

On charges that his campaign has stoked the story via liberal blogs:

"I am offended by that statement. There is no evidence at all that any of this involved us," he said. "Our people were not involved in any way in this, and they will not be. And if I thought there was somebody in my campaign who was involved in something like that, they would be fired."

It would not be proper for either campaign to use such a situation for profit. However it is fair ground for the blogging community to address this issue and it is the duty of the press to report on it. Yes, this is a family issue and was a private family issue before the family entered into the public arena with Sarah Palin. The fact that her daughter is pregnant is not the vital issue here. I will point out one more time, the real issue is the manner in which the Palin family and the McCain campaign chose to handle the news about Bristol's pregnancy.

If Bristol's pregnancy would have been acknowledged with loving support as part of the families introduction to the public when Sarah Palin joined the McCain campaign this would have been a strong point for the family and the campaign. It has become a disgrace because the campaign chose to shroud Bristol in a dark dress and blanket and have her hold baby Trig during Sarah first speech to the public hoping to camouflage her condition. She was treated as if her condition is shameful. This is not a loving and supportive way to treat your daughter.

To now try to turn the tables and cast shame on the blogging community and the press for reporting on this situation is shifting responsibility from those that should have been in charge of the story: the Palin family and the McCain campaign.

I confirm that I am a private citizen and in no way officially connected to the Barack Obama campaign other than personally being in support of the Obama candidacy.

Media Reports:

In Wasilla, Pregnancy was no secret - Time
Palin's Teen Daughter is Pregnant - CNN
GOP VP Candidate's Daughter is Pregnant - MSNBC
Palin Daughter, 17, is Pregnant - USA Today
McCain's Campaign Demands Respect for Palin's Pregnant Daughter - US News
Palin Pregnancy Rocks Political World - ABC News
Palin's Daughter Pregnant - CBS news
Bristol Palin's pregnancy was an open secret back home - NY Daily News
Levi Johnston: Most Famous High-School Hockey Player of All Time - Chicago Sun Times


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Greeting with unending, roaring applause, Bill Clinton addressed the Democratic Convention

I am honored to be here tonight to support Barack Obama. And to warm up the crowd for Joe Biden, though as you'll soon see, he doesn't need any help from me. I love Joe Biden, and America will too.

What a year we Democrats have had. The primary began with an all-star line up and came down to two remarkable Americans locked in a hard fought contest to the very end. The campaign generated so much heat it increased global warming.

In the end, my candidate didn't win. But I'm very proud of the campaign she ran: she never quit on the people she stood up for, on the changes she pushed for, on the future she wants for all our children. And I'm grateful for the chance Chelsea and I had to tell Americans about the person we know and love.

I'm not so grateful for the chance to speak in the wake of her magnificent address last night. But I'll do my best.

Hillary told us in no uncertain terms that she'll do everything she can to elect Barack Obama.

That makes two of us.

Actually that makes 18 million of us - because, like Hillary, I want all of you who supported her to vote for Barack Obama in November.

Here's why.

Our nation is in trouble on two fronts: The American Dream is under siege at home, and America's leadership in the world has been weakened.

Middle class and low-income Americans are hurting, with incomes declining; job losses, poverty and inequality rising; mortgage foreclosures and credit card debt increasing; health care coverage disappearing; and a big spike in the cost of food, utilities, and gasoline.

Our position in the world has been weakened by too much unilateralism and too little cooperation; a perilous dependence on imported oil; a refusal to lead on global warming; a growing indebtedness and a dependence on foreign lenders; a severely burdened military; a backsliding on global non-proliferation and arms control agreements; and a failure to consistently use the power of diplomacy, from the Middle East to Africa to Latin America to Central and Eastern Europe.

Clearly, the job of the next President is to rebuild the American Dream and restore America's standing in the world.

Everything I learned in my eight years as President and in the work I've done since, in America and across the globe, has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job.

He has a remarkable ability to inspire people, to raise our hopes and rally us to high purpose. He has the intelligence and curiosity every successful President needs. His policies on the economy, taxes, health care and energy are far superior to the Republican alternatives. He has shown a clear grasp of our foreign policy and national security challenges, and a firm commitment to repair our badly strained military. His family heritage and life experiences have given him a unique capacity to lead our increasingly diverse nation and to restore our leadership in an ever more interdependent world. The long, hard primary tested and strengthened him. And in his first presidential decision, the selection of a running mate, he hit it out of the park.

With Joe Biden's experience and wisdom, supporting Barack Obama's proven understanding, insight, and good instincts, America will have the national security leadership we need.

Barack Obama is ready to lead America and restore American leadership in the world. Ready to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. Barack Obama is ready to be President of the United States.

He will work for an America with more partners and fewer adversaries. He will rebuild our frayed alliances and revitalize the international institutions which help to share the costs of the world's problems and to leverage our power and influence. He will put us back in the forefront of the world's fight to reduce nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and to stop global warming. He will continue and enhance our nation's global leadership in an area in which I am deeply involved, the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria, including a renewal of the battle against HIV/AIDS here at home. He will choose diplomacy first and military force as a last resort. But in a world troubled by terror; by trafficking in weapons, drugs and people; by human rights abuses; by other threats to our security, our interests, and our values, when he cannot convert adversaries into partners, he will stand up to them.

Barack Obama also will not allow the world's problems to obscure its opportunities. Everywhere, in rich and poor countries alike, hardworking people need good jobs; secure, affordable healthcare, food, and energy; quality education for their children; and economically beneficial ways to fight global warming. These challenges cry out for American ideas and American innovation. When Barack Obama unleashes them, America will save lives, win new allies, open new markets, and create new jobs for our people.

Most important, Barack Obama knows that America cannot be strong abroad unless we are strong at home. People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.

Look at the example the Republicans have set: American workers have given us consistently rising productivity. They've worked harder and produced more. What did they get in return? Declining wages, less than ¼ as many new jobs as in the previous eight years, smaller health care and pension benefits, rising poverty and the biggest increase in income inequality since the 1920s. American families by the millions are struggling with soaring health care costs and declining coverage. I will never forget the parents of children with autism and other severe conditions who told me on the campaign trail that they couldn't afford health care and couldn't qualify their kids for Medicaid unless they quit work or got a divorce. Are these the family values the Republicans are so proud of? What about the military families pushed to the breaking point by unprecedented multiple deployments? What about the assault on science and the defense of torture? What about the war on unions and the unlimited favors for the well connected? What about Katrina and cronyism?

America can do better than that. And Barack Obama will.

But first we have to elect him.

The choice is clear. The Republicans will nominate a good man who served our country heroically and suffered terribly in Vietnam. He loves our country every bit as much as we all do. As a Senator, he has shown his independence on several issues. But on the two great questions of this election, how to rebuild the American Dream and how to restore America's leadership in the world, he still embraces the extreme philosophy which has defined his party for more than 25 years, a philosophy we never had a real chance to see in action until 2001, when the Republicans finally gained control of both the White House and Congress. Then we saw what would happen to America if the policies they had talked about for decades were implemented.

They took us from record surpluses to an exploding national debt; from over 22 million new jobs down to 5 million; from an increase in working family incomes of $7,500 to a decline of more than $2,000; from almost 8 million Americans moving out of poverty to more than 5 and a half million falling into poverty - and millions more losing their health insurance.

Now, in spite of all the evidence, their candidate is promising more of the same: More tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that will swell the deficit, increase inequality, and weaken the economy. More band-aids for health care that will enrich insurance companies, impoverish families and increase the number of uninsured. More going it alone in the world, instead of building the shared responsibilities and shared opportunities necessary to advance our security and restore our influence.

They actually want us to reward them for the last eight years by giving them four more. Let's send them a message that will echo from the Rockies all across America: Thanks, but no thanks. In this case, the third time is not the charm.

My fellow Democrats, sixteen years ago, you gave me the profound honor to lead our party to victory and to lead our nation to a new era of peace and broadly shared prosperity.

Together, we prevailed in a campaign in which the Republicans said I was too young and too inexperienced to be Commander-in-Chief. Sound familiar? It didn't work in 1992, because we were on the right side of history. And it won't work in 2008, because Barack Obama is on the right side of history.

His life is a 21st Century incarnation of the American Dream. His achievements are proof of our continuing progress toward the "more perfect union" of our founders' dreams. The values of freedom and equal opportunity which have given him his historic chance will drive him as president to give all Americans, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability, their chance to build a decent life, and to show our humanity, as well as our strength, to the world.

We see that humanity, that strength, and our future in Barack and Michelle Obama and their beautiful children. We see them reinforced by the partnership with Joe Biden, his wife Jill, a dedicated teacher, and their family.

Barack Obama will lead us away from division and fear of the last eight years back to unity and hope. If, like me, you still believe America must always be a place called Hope, then join Hillary, Chelsea and me in making Senator Barack Obama the next President of the United States.

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No Way, No How, No McCain. Night two - Hillary was stunning.

Hillary Clinton called herself a "proud supporter of Barack Obama" after Democratic convention delegates greeted her with a standing ovation: "Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our president."

The best speech and the biggest presence of the Democratic convention was Hillary Clinton on night two. Hillary brought home why she ran for office and asked why her supporters backed her. "Were you in this campaign just to support me or that young marine and other like him figghting in Iraq?" "Were you in it for me or to support that single mother fighting cancer and struggling to support her family?" "We don't have a moment to lose or a vote to spare." "Obama will revitalize our economy and support working people."



She hit it out of the park. Her speech was historic and a shining moment in her career. It was the speech that will be a hallmark that is the turning point that makes Hillary more than a politician, it is the doorway that puts her on the path to be a true stateswoman. She is the greatest female political leader in the Democratic party and in any party.

Dennis Kucinich Speech at
Democratic Convention 2008, Night Two

Ohio delegation reaction to Kucinich speech.

Create a computer wall paper or screen saver from the above images. For wall paper, double click any image and when new window pops up, right click on the image and select "set as wall paper." For screen saver, first create a folder named "Obama". Double click on any image, then when new window pops up, right click the image and click "save image as" and save to the Obama folder. In windows control panel, select change screen saver. In screen saver dialog, select photos as screen saver. In settings, select the Obama folder. Save changes.

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First night of the Democratic Convention exudes Hope

The first night of the Democratic convention spoke to the heart of working America and the message was a message of hope for a better America. Speeches by Claire McCaskill, Ted Kennedy, and Michelle Obama rang true to the message that now is the time for our government to be the government of working America.

The past eight years in America have brought a steady decline in our economy, our education system, our healthcare system and in our image as a nation worldwide. Yet John McCain says the Bush years have brought a strong and fundamentally stable economy. John McCain does not speak to the heart of working America. For whom is the current US economy strong? With the mortgage crisis moving people from hearth and home, with rising health care costs and rising gas prices forcing choices between buying fuel, food, or medicine just who is McCain talking about?

When asked who is considered rich today, John McCain answered anyone earning 5 million dollars a year. In the McCain world, someone making 4 million dollars a year is merely middle class. Statistically the medium American household income is around $45,000 a year. John McCain is clearly out of touch with average Americans and is not ready to lead a nation he knows so little about.

The scene in the first night of the convention when Barack spoke by video conference to Michelle and his daughters and the convention delegates from the home of a supporter in Kansas City, Missouri was so charming. The closeness of the Obama family was evident. Barack is a family man who understands what families in America live. From the days that he forsook a high-paid job in Wall Street to work in the blighted neighborhoods of Chicago to today as he has crossed America campaigning, Barack Obama has demonstrated that he cares about American families and understands the challenges they live with day in and day out.

Barack Obama has plans for immediate changes to help families with a middle class tax cut that gives 95% of working Americans a tax cut of up to $1,000 and an emergency energy rebate to help folks cope with rising gas prices. He has a plan to offer college students a $4,000 tax cut for tuition in exchange for 100 hours of community service. And Obama will work to raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation. Barack Obama is the clear choice for America and America's families.


Teddy Kennedy's speech


Michelle Obama's speech at the Democratic Convention


Women speak about Barack Obama

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How many houses does John McCain own?

When John McCain was asked how many homes he owned, he wasn't on a quiz show, it was a serious interview question. His response was, I don't know, I'll have my staff get back to you. What does this say about this "would-be president?" How many Americans have to ask their staff when asked how many homes they own? Oops! Just how many Americans HAVE a staff to ask how many homes they own? McCain's response to the housing loan crisis was that Americans needed to take second jobs and cancel their vacation and be more responsible. He thinks Americans are whiners and that the economy is fundamentally strong. If you have so many houses that you don't know how many you have, I guess the economy seems fundamentally strong for YOU, Mr. McCain.



Reality Check: How many houses do YOU own?
Did you ever forget how many???


The Real McCain, The Real Elitist


John McCain is Out of Touch with Average Americans






















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McCain Ad subliminally poses Obama as the Anti-christ alluding to Left Behind books

John McCain has really gone off the deep end this time. Or he has taken his hands off the wheel of his campaign publicity and turned it over to a Radically Right Ugly staffer. I have heard of all types of dirty campaigning, but to imply that Barack Obama is the anti-Christ? McCain says it was meant to be humorous. It really looks like a desperate move and a scare tactic to gain the religious right extremist vote. I am sure it will give some RRU pastors and radio talk shows some interesting material. Unfortunately, there are naive people who will fall for this ridiculous sham.

As the ad begins, the words "It should be known that in 2008 the world shall be blessed. They will call him The One" flash across the screen. The Antichrist of the Left Behind books is a charismatic young political leader named Nicolae Carpathia who founds the One World religion (slogan: "We Are God") and promises to heal the world after a time of deep division. One of several Obama clips in the ad features the Senator saying, "A nation healed, a world repaired. We are the ones that we've been waiting for." - Ann Sullivan, Washington Post Read more...




Here is a great comment that I love because of the irony. It was a comment posted to The Dallas News Religious Blog:

As it turns out, McCain has more in common with the "antichrist" than
Obama. McCain wants to stay in Iraq (Babylon) for 100 years. According to many
scholars of the Book of Revelation, the Antichrist will try to rebuild the
ancient city of Babylon in order to use it as a springboard for an international
effort at world domination. (bomb bomb bomb iran?) Ultimately, the Antichrist
will marshal forces from Babylon to spark a showdown with Christian and
Jewish-led forces in the battle of Armageddon.
But it gets better...
According to the Bible, the Antichrist is likely to be Romanian. As it
turns out, McCain's great-grandfather was from ... Romania. Only McCain's
grandfather was named John Mihai instead of John McCain. Mihai means "who is
like the Lord."
Even more strangely, McCain's name literally means "Son of
Cain" As everyone knows, Cain was the first murderer. He was the son of Adam and
Eve who committed the first murder by killing his brother Abel and is considered
by many to be the progenitor of evil.

What other solid campaign ad is the McCain campaign bringing to the people to show why he should be president?

What about comparing Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears? Oh yeah...that should convince every intelligent voter to vote for McCain. How pathetic.



Kathy Hilton, a major contributor to McCain campaign, had this to say about the McCain "Celebrity" smear ad:

I've been asked again and again for my response to the now infamous McCain
celebrity ad. I actually have three responses. It is a complete waste of the
money John McCain's contributors have donated to his campaign. It is a complete
waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of
people are losing their homes and their jobs. And it is a completely frivolous
way to choose the next President of the United States.

Additional reading:
Fight the Smears

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