SodaHead - PLANETEATER's Blog

McCain-Palin Put 'Country Last'

2008-10-13T06:32:18Z

0 raves

Once Barack Obama emerged as a viable candidate for President – given the nation's grim history of violence toward African-American political figures – the worries began about Obama’s safety, and they have not gone away. Now, with the McCain-Palin campaign’s recent decision to go intensely negative on Obama, those risks appear to be growing, putting added pressure on the Secret Service detail assigned to protect Obama. In particular, Sarah Palin’s reckless talk about Obama “palling around with terrorists” has helped validate the anti-Obama hate that has long obsessed the American Right. She also accused Obama of insulting American troops in Afghanistan, a twisting of Obama’s words that was then reprised in a McCain-Palin attack ad. Though avoiding some of Palin’s most incendiary rhetoric, John McCain has played this dangerous game, too, asking ominously “who is the real Barack Obama?” – suggesting that there are dark secrets in Obama’s past that would make him a threat to the nation. Warm-up speakers at Republican rallies have insisted on emphasizing Obama’s middle name “Hussein” as another epithet. Not surprisingly, McCain-Palin supporters have responded to this “red meat” by shouting words like “treason,” “communist,” “kill him.” At a Palin event in Florida, some excited backers yelled ugly taunts at journalists, including an African-American working in a TV crew. For her part, Palin appears oblivious to the dangerous political storm that she is stirring up. Caught up in her new celebrity – and lost in her own ambition – she acts as if there are no consequences for putting ugly words together and spewing them into the fervid world of the angry American Right. Many observers are more surprised about McCain, who vowed at the end of the GOP convention to become a President who would end “partisan rancor” – although his convention was filled with partisan rancor targeting Obama. Now, facing slumping poll numbers, McCain has jettisoned what’s left of his promise to run a respectful campaign as well as his prized slogan “Country First,” in exchange for a new goal of winning at all costs. Like Palin, McCain seems not to care that he is feeding the anger of white racists and the paranoia of xenophobes who have long recycled false allegations about Obama’s religion and his loyalty to the United States. The Real McCain? This “new” McCain has startled many of his old fans in the U.S. press corps who bought into his image as a bipartisan reformer who was victimized by George W. Bush’s dirty tactics in 2000. Some now shake their heads about an aging politician letting his ambition – or fear of defeat – overwhelm his larger sense of decency. But other assessments hold that McCain is simply reverting to the real McCain, the spoiled son of one four-star admiral and the grandson of another, the brat who earned the nickname “McNasty” and who exploited his family influence to rise in military rank despite a poor record as a student and a pilot. A new account of McCain’s life by Tim Dickinson published in Rolling Stone describes not only McCain’s playboy youth – his gambling, womanizing and tendency to crash planes – but debunks a central element of his personal narrative, that his ordeal as a Vietnam War POW transformed him into a person who puts “country first.” The article opens with an anecdote from 1974 when former POW McCain encounters another ex-POW, Air Force Lt. Col. John Dramesi, at the prestigious National War College, where McCain had pulled strings to get in. Dramesi, who unlike McCain had refused to make an anti-American “confession” for the North Vietnamese, describes his plans to seek an assignment in the Middle East because he fears it will become a future danger zone for U.S. interests. McCain is dismissive of Dramesi’s plans, saying he was off to Rio de Janeiro. "What the hell are you going to Rio for?" Dramesi asked. McCain, who was then a married father of three, responded, "I got a better chance of getting laid." Indeed, if one looks at McCain’s life through a single prism of self-interest, all the twists and turns of his career – including his ventures into reform, bipartisanship and even his coziness with the mainstream press – make sense. As Dickinson observes in his biographical article, “the real John McCain … has been hiding in plain sight. It is the story of a man who has consistently put his own advancement above all else, a man willing to say and do anything to achieve his ultimate ambition: to become commander in chief, ascending to the one position that would finally enable him to outrank his four-star father and grandfather.” In this view, McCain is like his erstwhile Republican rival, George W. Bush, a screw-up scion of a dynastic family who learned how to come across as an “everyman” and who became adept at playing the political game. McCain, like Bush, also wanted to outdo his more accomplished father. Country Last So, it shouldn’t be too surprising that McCain – finding himself in a political hole – would do whatever it takes to climb out, even if that means smearing an opponent, further polarizing the country and inciting some extremists with violent tendencies. This evidence of the “real McCain” should have been long apparent, certainly since he recruited to run his campaign many of the Bush veterans who threw mud at Al Gore, John Kerry and McCain himself – the likes of Karl Rove protégés Steve Schmidt to the top job and Tucker Eskew, who smeared McCain in the 2000 South Carolina primary. Then, when McCain needed to solidify his Republican base and inject some excitement into his campaign, the 72-year-old cancer survivor selected Sarah Palin, a first-term governor of Alaska with virtually no foreign policy experience, as his running mate. For a while, the Palin pick worked politically giving McCain a boost at his convention and in the polls. However, increasingly, American voters look at Palin as eminently unqualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency. But McCain is undaunted. Despite concerns among medical experts that his melanoma could recur, he continues to defend his vice-presidential choice, now unleashing her as the lead attack dog against Obama. McCain’s ambition, which burns as brightly as Palin’s, seems to have few limits. Nor does his disdain for his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, whom McCain sneeringly referred to in Tuesday’s debate as “that one.” But the most worrisome question in these last four weeks of the campaign is whether McCain and Palin will continue with dangerous rhetoric that might encourage some unstable character to take matters into his own hands. If something like that does happen – or even if McCain-Palin somehow manage to turn their ugly messaging into a tainted victory – the ultimate loser will be the United States, which will be left even more deeply divided than it is today. Instead of putting “Country First,” the ugly tactics of McCain and Palin are putting “Country Last.”

Obama Knew It Was Coming All Along

2008-10-13T06:07:27Z

PLANETEATER

0 raves

Remember in late July when Barack Obama predicted John McCain's attack strategy? Remember McCain's howls of protest in response? Well, it turns out that Obama was right about McCain's attacks. As it turns out, he knew McCain better than McCain knew McCain. I guess that means we can call him "Nostrodamus."

McCain Volunteers Taught to Accuse Obama of Terrorism

2008-10-13T04:38:34Z

PLANETEATER

+2 raves

Jeffrey FeldmanPosted October 12, 2008 | 01:24 PM (EST) BIO McCain Volunteers Taught to Accuse Obama of Terrorism According to Time, McCain campaign staffers in Virginia are teaching volunteers to see Barack Obama as having terrorist 'friends,' and then providing these volunteers with arguments for persuading voters that Sen. Obama, like Osama Bin Laden, shares responsibility for bombings of the Pentagon. The report from inside the McCain campaign brings to light an alarming fact: while McCain tells his supporters publicly to refrain from violent rhetoric, he continues to teach his volunteers rhetoric designed to elicit violent responses. In the article, Time's Karen Tumulty recounts her visit to a campaign training session in Gainesville, VA, a strategic center for the McCain ground game in Prince William County. What Tumulty describes is a training session hosted by by Virginia's state GOP Chairman Jeffrey M. Frederick in which volunteers were being trained to see Barack Obama as a terrorist. Tumulty writes: The McCain campaign invited me to visit Frederick and the Gainesville operation on Saturday morning, to get a first-hand glimpse of its ground game in Prince William County, Virginia, a fast-growing area about 30 miles from Washington, D.C. With so much at stake, and time running short, Frederick did not feel he had the luxury of subtlety. He climbed atop a folding chair to give 30 campaign volunteers who were about to go canvassing door to door their talking points -- for instance, the connection between Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden: "Both have friends that bombed the Pentagon," he said. "That is scary." It is also not exactly true -- though that distorted reference to Obama's controversial association with William Ayers, a former 60s radical, was enough to get the volunteers stoked. "And he won't salute the flag," one woman added, repeating another myth about Obama. She was quickly topped by a man who called out, "We don't even know where Senator Obama was really born." Actually, we do; it's Hawaii. (link) The report from inside the McCain campaign is disturbing on several levels. While McCain has begun chiding his supporters at public rallies for using violent rhetoric, his campaign has taken the opposite tack behind closed doors. Despite the public image of a campaign not responsible for the violent outbursts of a few followers, the Time report reveals a ground operation actually training its volunteers to elicit violent responses in voters--specifically by making false claims about Barack Obama's connection to terrorist attacks on U.S. military buildings. The report confirms that the McCain campaign has staked its chances of winning the Presidency on convincing the public that Barack Obama is on the wrong side of the 'War on Terror' and, therefore, his victory in the Presidential election would put the power of the White House in the hands of terrorists. Tumulty's report raises serious questions about whether or not John McCain is using campaign rhetoric that not only depart from recognized moral boundaries, but risk igniting actual violence. In particular, by teaching his volunteers to see Barack Obama as similar to Osama Bin Laden--and by training his volunteers to convince voters of the same--McCain is using his presidential campaign to tie Sen. Obama to the mass murders of September 11, 2001. In this way, McCain is effectively teaching his supporters to believe that Sen. Obama is not only connected to terrorists, but that Sen. Obama deserves the same punishment as terrorists. In other words, by bringing to light the rhetoric being taught to his campaign volunteers, Time Magazine has provided the explanation for why attendees at McCain and Palin rallies have called for the death of Sen. Obama rather than just his defeat, which would be the norm in such events. When supporters of a Presidential candidate view the opposing candidate as merely an election threat, they call for his defeat. But when they view the opposing candidate as a national security threat--as they are being taught by the McCain campaign--they call for that threat to be eradicated.

How McCain Will Steal the Election from Obama (Sort Of)

2008-10-13T04:11:53Z

PLANETEATER

+1 raves

Tom MatzziePosted October 12, 2008 | 01:53 PM (EST) How McCain Will Steal the Election from Obama (Sort Of) Imagine an election where one of the participants calls foul. Investigations are launched or at least called for. Prosecutors raise the specter of charges, the U.S. attorney and FBI get involved. No voter fraud is ever actually found. But by the time that conclusion is reached, the myth has been solidified both to soothe the loser's supporters and condemn the winner. Sound familiar? Sound like the recent ACORN scandal? Well, actually I'm talking about the 1960 election between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon. That Nixon was cheated out of a win is the stuff of legend on the Right. The allegations say that Kennedy loyalists fixed the vote counts in Illinois and Texas--swinging 51 electoral votes and a majority in the Electoral College to Kennedy. In more hyperbolic versions there is alleged involvement by the mob, the Teamsters Union or legendary Chicago mayor Richard Daley. The story goes on that Nixon, "for the good of the country," conceded honorably and exited the scene. No matter that Nixon was later chased out of the White House for cheating in an election. The myth endures. This whole story--maybe to be replayed with Obama playing Kennedy and McCain playing Nixon--is a canard. It is a fable. A lie made up by the conservative movement to hold together their fraying coalition. In 2008 the stakes are bigger than they've ever been before for conservatives and the canard is that much more important to them. In the case of Obama the conservative movement is lining up a serious of story elements. They are: • Obama was a community organizer. • ACORN, a group that does community organizing, has committed voter fraud. • Obama is from Chicago. • You know what happens in elections in Chicago. Remember the 1960 election. The story is half true and half lies. As we all know, Barack Obama is from Chicago and was a community organizer. Those are the only true parts of the conservative story. But the other two facts are myths: the 1960 election wasn't stolen (says the conclusion of recounts and investigations in 1960 and numerous academic studies since). And, ACORN has not committed voter fraud. Not one bit. The facts about ACORN are worth getting out. ACORN is an organization that, among other things, registers low-income people to vote. One of the ways they do this is to hire door-to-door canvassers from the neighborhoods they are working in. This sort of work is tightly regulated. So, when one of the thousands of people they give jobs to doesn't do their work right and brings back bogus or phony voter registration cards, the law REQUIRES that ACORN turn the forms in to the voter registration office. The law, rightly, doesn't want anybody throwing out voter registration forms for any reason. But ACORN goes a step farther. They have people assigned to do quality control on all the cards--calling people on the forms after they fill them out. When they find bad information on the cards they attach a cover sheet to the card but, as mentioned above, they turn in the cards as required by law. The effect is that a few bad canvassers or a poorly run office will mean that bad cards are submitted as part of the normal process. But ACORN has done everything possible to make sure voting officials know to check the forms. The sad fact is that in at least one state--Nevada--the voting officials disregarded ACORN's cover sheets flagging the voter registration forms. That should have never happened. The resulting blowup was a scandal in search of a scandal. The stunning con of this whole thing is the assumption that bad voter registration cards being submitted will lead to vote fraud. If somebody submits a card for Mickey Mouse it isn't like Mr. Mouse is going to show up to vote. There is no voter fraud if nobody votes. But the big story here is what the Right is doing. Their attacks on ACORN open up the door for two things. First, the ACORN myth allows the Republicans to do more purging of the voter rolls--the process of removing people from the voter rolls because of arbitrary anomalies in the voter registration databases. Richard L Hasen, author of the Election Law Blog and a distinguished law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles recently wrote, "Careless purging--driven by unsubstantiated fears about voter fraud--can lead to many eligible voters being incorrectly removed from the polls." Already in Ohio the Republican Party is pushing for more purging and they found a federal judge who agreed citing ACORN's activities. Second, in the event that campaigning, purging and intimidating voters doesn't work, the Right is creating a myth like they did in 1960. They are creating the myth of a stolen election. Conservatives plan to claim that ACORN and Barack Obama stole the election. Their hope is to steal the legitimacy of what is looking like a massive repudiation of Bush, conservatives and the Republican Party. The Right plans to steal the election by trying to steal the legitimate defeat of them by progressive forces. And why wouldn't they? The entire Republican coalition could be shattered with this election. White suburban voters who once voted Republican on tax issues are running away from Republicans on a host of issues--including taxes. Independent are looking more and more like Democratic voters. Barack Obama may even win a majority of male voters. All of them are joining with urban votes, voters of color, young people, working class union members and others to form a long-term governing majority for progressives--a progressive majority. Conservatives are scared of a progressive majority. And they're going to lie, cheat and steal to prevent it from happening. But they can only be successful if we let them. The best way to deflate the conservative fable is to win with an overwhelming landslide that guarantees there won't be a dispute of the results. We also need to confront the Republican vote purging and suppression. Already big efforts by the Obama campaign, the DNC and independent groups are working on this. Progressives and Democrats are united in this effort. But we also need to make sure the ACORN canard doesn't get to live in daylight. It is time to circle the wagons and make sure John McCain and the Right can't steal the election...even if we win. For progressives, the ball is in our court.

McCain, Palin: Demonizing the Poor

2008-10-13T03:57:32Z

PLANETEATER

+1 raves

Bob OstertagPosted October 10, 2008 | 09:16 PM Bill Ayers is a Terrorist. ACORN is a terrorist. Barack Obama is a... WHO IS BARACK OBAMA? John McCain's new "Who is Barack Obama" ad pushes the boundaries of American gutter politics to new lows, even beyond the infamous "swiftboating" of John Kerry four years ago. The ad focuses on Obama's connections with ACORN in Chicago. The worried narrator tells us: What did ACORN Chicago engage in? Bullying banks. Intimidation tactics. Disruption of business. ACORN forced banks to issue risky home loans. The same types of loans that caused the financial crisis we are in today. This is so absurd it almost defies belief, but this is the garbage that McCain is shoveling, so let's see if we can take out some trash. ACORN is a national community organizing group that works with the very poor, and has been doing so since 1970. Organizing really poor people is difficult work, notoriously hard to sustain. ACORN is almost alone in staying at it. ACORN certainly has its critics, as does any organization that has been politically active for 38 years. But its track record is also impressive in many ways. ACORN is one of the very very few political resources the truly poor in America have. Notice, for example, that Obama himself rarely talks about the poor. He talks about the middle class. Incessantly. After each debate the Obama campaign released a video noting that McCain had failed to address the middle class. Did either candidate even say the word "poor"? There were only two candidates in this election who actually talked about poor people: John Edwards and Mike Huckabee. But that is another story. The idea that ACORN has victimized banks into making risky home loans and is therefore somehow responsible for the current financial crisis is something we might justifiably refer to as a big lie - a statement that is so extreme as to be beyond the bounds of rational discussion, and thus difficult to reply to in conventional political terms. Who is at fault? THE POOR. Of course! They forced those nice bankers to write all those mortgages at usurious rates! Probably forced them into those golden parachutes as well. Bolsheviks all! McCain, Obama, Palin, Biden, and virtually every other American politician have been speaking in the last weeks of how to protect Main Street from Wall Street. Now McCain would have us believe we need to protect "Wall Street from Skid Row! Then the ad turns to allegations that ACORN engages in "massive voter fraud." And concludes by alleging that Obama is using "ACORN front groups" (note the Communist association). Republican accusations of ACORN "voter fraud" have become standard fare in recent elections. The story behind this lie is this: ACORN hires people do to voter registration among the poor. This is in keeping with ACORN's general approach: they hire poor people to work with poor people. Those hired are paid for each registered voter. There is a temptation for the people doing the work to paid their lists with phony names to get a little extra meal money. There is a legitimate basis for criticizing this practice, and some progressives have done so. But do keep in mind that there is overwhelming data that shows that the poor in the US vote in very low numbers. The barriers they face are many and diverse. (If you are interested in pursuing this, a good place to start is Piven and Cloward's book, "Why Americans Don't Vote"). ACORN is well aware of the potential downside of their approach, and tries to filter out phony registration forms. Often times, it has been ACORN itself who has identified the phony names and had them pulled from the voter rolls. But what happens when they miss some? The phony forms will most likely get tossed out. If they don't, there will be a phony name on the voting list that no one can vote under. No one will be able to show up at the poll and produce an ID showing that they are the phony person, living at the phony address, and vote. The only one cheated is ACORN, which ends up paying their activists for work they didn't do. THERE IS NO "VOTER FRAUD" HERE. Certainly not "massive." Josh Marshall explains all this in detail on Talking Points Memo. Where this leaves the realm of farce and enters the realm of actually dangerous is how this whole ACORN lie dovetails with the William Ayers lie - the idea being peddled relentlessly by Sarah Palin that Obama somehow has a secret, long and profound connection to Ayers and 1960s "terrorists." At first that was Palin's football, but in recent days McCain is playing this one too. "Who is Barack Obama?" (McCain ad, McCain in person). "This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America." (Sarah Palin) "He's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country." (Sarah Palin) etc. While we're at it, why not demonize those who work with the poor? Remember the Republican convention? "He's a community organizer!" (Sarah Palin) Electorally, I don't think any of this is going to work. Maybe in a more typical political environment, but the global financial collapse we are in the midst of is hardly that. No, I think Palin and McCain are just digging themselves deeper into a hole. The problem will come after November 4, when a significant sector of Americans wakes up and believe,s actually believes, that their country is being taken over by terrorists! Socialists! UnAmericans! Poor people! This, I think, is quite dangerous.

Undeclared war against Community Organizers

2008-10-13T02:51:05Z

PLANETEATER

+2 raves

In a Corporate Empire, military duty and killing abroad takes precedence over being a Community Organizer. By Dallas Darling At the Republican Convention, Obama was mocked and derided for being a Community Organizer Those of us who are raised from birth in a Corporate Empire, often do not understand community. If community is defined as an independent group of people whom live in the same area, have a common background, work for the betterment of each other, and have common goals, then Corporate Empires tremble at such close-knit societies and their ideas. Corporate Empires demand total allegiance and foster dependency to further their own aims and structural interests. They indoctrinate and polarize communities through wars, racism, classism, and divisive ideologies. Corporate Empires also “brand” individuals by means of political, social and economic institutions. When I think of Community Organizers, I think of Cleisthenes who organized the common people against the Greek tyrants and established land reform and one of the first limited democracies. By questioning Athens futile war with Syracuse, and encouraging others to think for themselves and follow one’s conscience, Socrates organized a community of youth. He was arrested, tried and eventually made to drink poison. While Spartacus encouraged slave communities to revolt against the Pax Romana, Jesus led nonviolent peasants to form their own political groups as alternatives to oppressive religious institutions and Caesars imperial reign. Spartacus died on the battlefield and the Roman Empire brutally executed Jesus. Prophet Mohammed was orphaned at age six. Because of this, I happen to believe he fully understood the importance of the “umma” or religious community. When Prophet Mohammed received visions from Allah [Arabic word for God], he and his group were persecuted and were forced to flee Makkah. On his return with 10,000 followers, he destroyed the false idols and spared the inhabitants, thus ending the cycle of retaliation and tribal “blood revenge.” Both Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. organized and led active communities that marched, boycotted, challenged, and reformed destructive and dehumanizing Corporate Empires. There have been thousands of Community Organizers throughout history-some well known and many unknown. Corporate Empires like it this way. Growing-up, I was seldom aware of the spirit and independence communities within the United States of America. Each day at school and at an early age, I was inundated with the pledge of allegiance to the national flag. There were other reminders of the Corporate Empire like the military and air force bases, post offices, the public school system, Social Security, food stamps, welfare checks, and numerous department stores, franchises, and massive industrial/petroleum complexes. Actually, the first time I became aware of community was when attending a university basketball game. As we stood to place our hands over our hearts and proudly sing the National Anthem, I noticed a small group of Black Students standing, heads down, and arms raised with clenched fists. The Black Community in our town was protesting the disproportional deaths and economic costs of the Vietnam Conflict. Community had emerged and risen despite Corporate Empire! Odd, though, it was not until I worked and served in Central America that I learned about community. I can still recall visiting an economic cooperative and a clinic which had been organized by a Roman Catholic Priest. He was later assassinated by the military. In another Indigenous community, a Mennonite pastor was assisting in digging water wells, planting organic foods, and protesting the spraying of pesticides by nearby corporate farms which had sickened many of the people. One community, GAM-Mothers of the Disappeared, were pressuring the government and staging protests in an attempt to locate their missing family members. Just before I met with them, a paramilitary group threw a US Claymore Mine through their front room window. In a refugee camp, a Jesuit Priest had helped form a community in order to provide clean drinking water, build a school, and increase housing allotments from 6 feet by 8 feet to 6 feet by 12 feet. I also remember visiting an Indigenous farm cooperative that was self-sustaining and had achieved a limited amount of independence. They were continually harassed by government officials and the military. On two occasions, I witnessed massive protests. A community of 30,000 campesinos, students, workers, teachers, and Community Organizers assembled in front of the Presidential Palace demanding human rights, land reform, and dignity. They were met with troops trained by, and weapons supplied by, a Corporate Empire. The other demonstration demanded justice and restitution for sons that had been slaughtered during a brutal military campaign. When I returned to the U.S. to pastor a three-point charge, I immersed myself into community. We established a Good Will Store where all proceeds helped the jobless with water and electric bills. We formed a cooperative grocery store and encouraged everyone to buy locally. Small groups visited the elderly and comforted the sick and dying. A food pantry relieved hunger and aided transients. Some of us dared to try and stop farm foreclosures, protested billions of dollars spent on foreign wars, and brought attention to deadly weapons being sent overseas. I can still recall the day we opened our community museum. The people who donated their antiques and shared their story displayed poise and gained a sense of historical identity. Sadly, I was activated for war by a Corporate Empire. In a Corporate Empire, military duty and killing abroad takes precedence over being a Community Organizer. Community Organizers are too threatening and have a way of challenging myths while overturning the oppressive dominant order. In asking questions and attempting to follow my conscience, the community became divided. Even family bonds were destroyed. This is how Corporate Empires exist and thrive. At the Republican Convention, Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama was mocked and derided for being a Community Organizer. In reality, it was a declaration of war against all Community Organizers. I am not sure about John McCain, Sarah Palin, or Joseph Biden, but Barack Obama worked as a director in training unemployed workers and helping the economically disadvantaged with education. He served the community by helping the homeless locate employment opportunities and gain some sense of financial freedom and human dignity. As a Senator, Barack Obama created legislation to control weapons, fund clean energy independence, and curtailed lobbying and electoral fraud. He voted against the U.S. pre-emptive war in Iraq and has proposed a community immersion program for youth as an alternative to the Corporate Empire’s military. When he committed himself to such lofty principles and legislation, was he thinking about community? I sometimes wonder how history would have been different and at the same time, how the present could be much improved if the Tyrants, Caesars, Presidents, and Prime Ministers of the world would have either experienced or remained grounded in an inclusive, independent and just community. Today, even though Sociologists and Anthropologists claim that the concept of “community” is elusive due to complex institutions, one thing is for certain: Not all roads lead to Athens, Rome, London, or Washington. In this presidential election, I will look for a Community Organizer first and a president second.

Sarah Palin is the domestic terrorist here

2008-10-12T22:55:08Z

PLANETEATER

+3 raves

Sarah Palin and a Republican led government are the domestic terrorists I am thrilled to hear that Sarah Palin brought up the term ‘domestic terrorist’ since there are citizens of this country who have been terrorized by non-action coming from a Republican administration. The people who I speak of are those who came face-to-face with Hurricane Katrina. As the storm barreled its way towards New Orleans, President Bush first attended a fundraiser and strummed a guitar showing not one ounce of compassion or leadership to the gulf coast in their time of crisis. Now pay close attention to what was reported of Joe Lieberman who is John McCain’s close friend in this article, Gulf Watch: Lieberman abandons push for Katrina accountability http://tinyurl.com/4dq6rp “Lieberman spokesperson Leslie Phillips told the reporters that the senator -- an independent Democrat who now holds the power to subpoena the relevant records -- "intends to focus his attention on the future security of the American people and other matters and does not expect to revisit the White House's role in Katrina." Will someone please tell Lieberman he is not a Democrat. I once sent him a re-registration form checking off the box declaring him a Republican. In her acceptance speech before the RNC, Sarah Palin demonized the country of Venezuela and while some may see their president, Hugo Chavez as a dictator. As he has been tagged with this title, he tried to come to the aid of those devastated by Katrina. I have written of that before, but will retell what he wanted to do for them. As Bush turned his back on our citizens that aid package consisted of, one million dollars, two mobile medical units capable of attending to 150 people each, ten water purifying plants, eight electricity generators with a capacity of 850 kilowatts each, 20 tons of bottled drinking water, 50 tons of canned food. This aid package also included much needed oil to offset any disturbances to our nation’s supply. Now you tell me who became the ‘domestic terrorist’ of those devastated by that storm, Sarah Palin. It was your party’s leader and his name is George W. Bush and your running mate’s friend, Joe Lieberman. Even a small country known as Cuba saw fit to rise above the fray considering our relationship with them by offering the American people medical assistance in our time of crisis. Cuba stood ready to send the citizens of that region 1,500 doctors who gathered at Jose Marti Airport in Havana. They waited for days for the green-light which never came. One cardiologist from Cuba stated, “I may not speak English very well, but I do have a big heart.” I am sure that the thousands gathered at the Super Dome would have welcomed this medical aid. Come to think of it, a woman died there and her name was Ethel Freeman. She was even photographed dead in her wheelchair. A Republican president’s inactions terrorized this woman so severely that she died. As Sarah Palin targeted Venezuela in her speech, and to speak specifically of those who still go without health insurance in this country, President Hugo Chavez wanted to come to the aid of our people. Through his ‘Mission Miracle’ program he previously offered to perform free eye surgeries for these Americans. He would provide the transportation and fly these Americans to Cuba in which Cuban doctors would perform them. His plan incorporated providing 150,000 people a year over a ten year period with these operations. To me true 'domestic terrorism' is where a government does not respond to the plight of its people. As winter barrels down on all of us where we are not sure how we are going to heat our homes, it has been the president of Venezuela who has seen this urgent need for the poorest amongst us by providing low-cost oil. This oil is sold at 40 percent below market price to needy Americans. I covered such an event back in December of 2005 when CITGO an American company whose oil comes from PDVSA which is a Venezuelan oil company delivered this low-cost oil to the people of the Bronx. As I was interviewing Rep. Jose Serrano, this is what he said, “America is not taking care of its own.” And the Venezuelan Ambassador to the United States, Bernardo Alvarez stated, “We did not create America’s poor.” Meanwhile, in a speech given by President Bush a few years back in Tennessee and defending the profits made by Exxon/Mobil he said, "consumers’ socked with soaring energy costs should not expect price breaks." I want all to keep that in the back of their minds as we head towards Election Day. Terrorism comes in many forms, Sarah Palin and for you to even try an pin a tag on Barack Obama of alleging that he too is a domestic terrorist through his brief encounters with Ayers shows you do not even know what true domestic terrorism is all about. In reading a report http://tinyurl.com/3trnmh where one man in attendance had this to say of Senator Barack Obama, "Kill him!" It is you, Sarah Palin who just became the domestic terrorist by inciting one of our citizens to call for Barack Obama’s assassination. By creating a mob-mentality where someone would even call for his assassination is not protected by the first amendment to our United States Constitution.

US Economy Collapsing

2008-10-12T21:42:02Z

PLANETEATER

+1 raves

The Banned SNL Skit Cannot Hide From Louie

2008-10-12T21:25:59Z

PLANETEATER

+3 raves

It Is Here! The Banned SNL Skit Cannot Hide From Louie http://patdollard.com/2008/10/it-is-here-the-banned-snl-skit-...

Did Iran Say Israel Should Be Wiped Off The Map?

2008-10-12T20:59:39Z

PLANETEATER

+1 raves

PLEASE WATCH VIDEO ON THIS LINK: http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=8218