US Foreign Policy/Iran

USA is in recession | PERIOD

Percy H Florez — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:42:29 EST

To many times this year I said the economy is in CONTRACTION.
On March 27 I published one post with the following name: It looks like the Titanic's History! The Economy
Everywhere outside the inner circles of Washington are talking about the economy is in recession, economists around the country are talking with data in hand and statistical methods and models, sustaining the economy is in recession.
But only the lurid government of George W Bush and his political puppets of both parties won’t to acknowledge this irrefutable reality.
One main principle in economy is the fact first and foremost recognize the crisis in the exactly magnitude where is it, with this data you can structure a plan capable to reverse this economics behaviors, otherwise any false analyze could worsened the crisis.
At this point here is is the majuscule irresponsibility of the government and the political statement of both parties, when they do not want to recognize the economy is in recession. As Germany did few weeks ago.
Now the National Bureau of Economic Research is recognizing the economy is in recession.
Yes the economy is in recession heading very fast to the worst depression ever, as a consequences of this stupid behaviors of not admit the reality and try to hidden the true of the crisis.
Nothing could be very worst than the lack of admit the realities in economic terms.
These entire politicians in charge are sinking this country in to the most catastrophic economic downturn; they are playing and buying time instead made structural correction to the economy.
They irresponsible bailout and send billion of inorganic and unproductive money to the markets.
All are accomplices of this charade of print inorganic money and send it to the market in the most regretfully method of bailing out institutions who are per se out of business.
Here is now the new reality, banks are failing, big manufactures are failing, small businesses are failing, the construction industry is failing long time ago,
Means, two of the biggest employers of this country are failing (Construction & Smalls business).
Yes, if you think the automakers or the business associates with the markets are the biggest employers you are dead wrong and this is exactly this politician of the status want to sell in order to continue putting inorganic money at the expense of the taxpayer.
These actions now are compromising at least the next two generation of Americans and they are going to pay huge for this government irresponsibility.
No one can assume this crisis is going to be resolved by any means in the next ten or fifteen years if “only if” the next administration took the necessary structural steps of corrections.
In terms of UNDO this economic crisis: “the fail of one year represent 10 years of setting back”
With this equation, President Elect Barack Obama has to deal. He has no choice! And there are not excuses about the world are in crisis or so on.
Yes, the world is in crisis, and this crisis is the failure of this ECONOMIC MODEL.
The new realignment if underway, now depend of each government how to handle the situation to prevail or to fail.

Percy H Florez

Your Tax Dollars at Work in the Middle East: Palestinians Forced from East Jerusalem Homes by Israeli Settlers Despite US Protests

Mark C. Eades — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 01:04:44 EST

On the night of Nov. 22, a group of Israeli settlers descended on the Jerusalem home of Palestinian resident Fatima al-Daoudi while the owner was away visiting relatives, changing the locks on the gates and putting a metal sheet over an open-air porch built in by the al-Daoudi family in 1948. Although an eviction order was obtained by the al-Daoudi family and the settlers removed, the order was only temporary and the settlers are expected to return, eventually to stay as the al-Daoudi family is forced to seek housing elsewhere. Residents of the same house since 1930, the al-Daoudi family now faces the prospect of joining the many other Palestinian residents of Jerusalem who, like those in the neighboring West Bank, have been turned into homeless refugees by expanding Israeli settlements (PNN).

Despite US and international protests, a similar fate recently befell the family of Mohammed al-Kurd and his wife Fawzieh, residents of their East Jerusalem home since 1956. Evicted in a pre-dawn raid by Israeli police, the al-Kurd family was forced to move into a tent on private land rented from a Palestinian neighbor while Israeli settlers moved into their home of more than fifty years. Israeli harassment against the family continued, however, including repeated demolition of the tent in which they had been forced to live despite its location on private Palestinian land. To make matters worse, Mr. al-Kurd suffered from complications related to diabetes, of which he finally passed away on Nov. 23. As Mrs. al-Kurd, her children, and her grandchildren mourn Mr. al-Kurd's death, the family's future remains in question (PNN, BBC, AFP, Haaretz, AIC).

As Haaretz reported prior to the al-Kurds' eviction from their home, the US filed an official protest with Israel for acts against Palestinians including the eviction of the al-Kurd family and harassment of Palestinian residents by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. The US complaint was obviously ignored. Such complaints from US officials including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have grown more frequent in recent months according to a separate Haaretz report, drawing the ire of some Israeli officials, who suggest the US is meddling in local affairs that are none of its business. Despite overriding US concern for Israeli interests and massive US aid to Israel, it would seem that the Israelis have little regard for US and international opinion on the human rights of Palestinians. Billions of your tax dollars go to Israel each year, yet even the most restrained US complaints against settlement expansion and abuse of Palestinians go ignored by those who are supposedly America's best friends and a beacon of democracy in the Middle East. Meanwhile, anger toward both Israel and America festers throughout the Arab world.

President-elect Obama has told us that "the time for change has come." Has the time come for this long, sad state of affairs to change?

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

RED ALERT | something stinking is behind the MARCH (LA MARCHA) on DAY ONE

Percy H Florez — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:48:28 EST

Since the last weekend just am participating in the fiercest battle against those groups who are trying to organize a big Rally on day ONE against Barack Obama in the issue about immigration.

The list serve of many Hispanic groups in the Barack Obama web site is flooding profusely in message about this MARCH!
The organizer has nothing to say about it.

Suspicious:

I just am wondering why suddenly too many born American citizen are behind this March and are pushing our community to do so.
The answer for many Hispanic people in this group is prudence and organization before doing something like that. 85 percent or more of the participants in this discussion are Hispanic people talking and pressing for measure and organization, the others (few) are in favor of the MARCH and these unknowns born American citizens are vehemently pushing for the MARCH against BARACK OBAMA.

My questions are:

Why this MARCH on day ONE?
Why this fellow Americans are very interesting in this action against Obama?

Why they are pushing our community to do something like that on day ONE?

Who they are?

Why this March against a government who don’t address the immigration issue at this time and the Hispanic community don’t know exactly wish one is the real position of the new administration?

Why the RUSH of this organizer for this so called “LA MARCHA”

Who’s behind scene?

It’s something planned by the groups anti immigrants like the MINUTEMAN group?

Or it’s something planned by THE REPUBLICANS?
After all the only beneficiary of the negative consequences of this extemporary pressure against the new administration in our community could be the Republican Party and the anti immigrants groups, like the MINUTEMAN!

Percy H Florez

Democrats: Help Defeat Saxby Chambliss and Build Senate Majority

Mark C. Eades — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:56:51 EST

After our stunning Election Day sweep of the White House and Congress, Democrats still have one remaining opportunity to finish 2008 with a win. Even as Senate races pending recounts in Minnesota and Alaska hang in the balance favoring Democrats, one Senate runoff in Georgia remains offering Democrats the possibility of a 60% majority in the upper house of Congress. Recent polls show the Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss (pictured on left) holding a narrow lead over Democratic challenger Jim Martin (pictured on right) with just two weeks to go until the Dec. 2 runoff.

Chambliss remains infamous for his attacks on Democratic opponent Max Cleland in 2002, including an ad showing pictures of disabled Vietnam veteran Cleland along with pictures of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, suggesting dishonestly that Cleland would allow terrorists like those who struck America on 9/11 to strike America again. Chambliss' GOP colleague John McCain called the ad "reprehensible" and "worse than disgraceful" for its attack on the patriotism of a man who lost three limbs fighting for the United States in Vietnam. Ever ready to flip on previously-held principles, however, McCain appears to have forgiven Chambliss for his attack on McCain's fellow Vietnam veteran, and is currently campaigning for Chambliss in Georgia. A noted chicken-hawk, Chambliss avoided service in Vietnam with five student deferments and a medical deferment for a "football knee."

Chambliss is also infamous for his remark, shortly following the 9/11 attacks, that Georgia ought to "arrest every Muslim that crosses the state line."

This year, Chambliss took to race-baiting in the effort to stem a Democratic tide in Georgia that threatened both to unseat Chambliss himself and to deliver the state's electoral votes for Barack Obama. As in other Deep South states, Democratic voters in Georgia are largely African American while white voters tend strongly to vote Republican. Unlike in other regions of the United States this year, white voters in the Deep South broke even more strongly Republican this year than in previous years, owing to racial antipathy toward Obama. Meanwhile, African American voters in Georgia turned out in massive numbers for Obama, producing an electoral result strongly divided along racial lines, and holding McCain's ultimate Georgia victory to a relatively narrow 5.2 percentage points.

Fearing the loss both of his own Senate seat and of his state to the Democrats owing to heavy African American voter turnout, Chambliss not-so-subtly warned his conservative white base of this on more than one occasion as a way of getting them to the polls. In one instance during early voting in Georgia featuring huge African American turnout as expected, Politico quotes Chambliss telling his white supporters that "the other folks are voting" as a warning that they too had better get out and vote. In another instance, Chambliss told the New York Times that the "rush to the polls by African-Americans" in Georgia "has also got our side energized, [because] they see what is happening." Finally, after failing on Nov. 4 to reach the 50% majority required under Georgia law to avoid a runoff, Chambliss again referred in a Fox News interview to the "high percentage of minority vote" this year and the the fact that "we weren’t able to get enough of our folks out on Election Day."

Saxby Chambliss is a liar, a bigot, and a disgrace. In 2001, he openly suggested collective punishment of Muslims for the 9/11 attacks. In 2002, he won his Senate seat by shamefully attacking the patriotism of a disabled veteran in a time of fear shortly following 9/11. This year, he used race-baiting in the attempt to save his own Senate seat and keep Georgia in the Republican column. His Democratic challenger, Jim Martin, is a Vietnam veteran, an accomplished legal scholar, and served for 18 years as a Georgia state legislator. Readers are encouraged to visit Jim Martin's campaign website, to contribute there or at Act Blue to Martin's campaign, to spread the word to other Democrats, and to contact Georgia voters on Martin's behalf.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

BAILOUT the VETERAN’S ADMINISTRATION (VA) | URGENTLY |

Percy H Florez — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:12:36 EST

On Wednesday I receive one of the most heartbreak emails ever. A Heart Break E-mail and I posted the entirely email as it, as a proof of what is happen in the VETERNAS ADMINISTRATION (VA).

VA literally is broken in his finances and the bureaucracy in this department follow a steady course, those facts are the principals cause of dissatisfaction for many VETERANS who are rightfully entitle to receive the assistance they deserve from the VA.

This soldiers practically are begging to the VA for solutions, THE ONLY THINK THEY WANT is receive a respectfully treatment, They want his payments on time and the necessary medical assistance they need, They want to be loved by his country as they much loved it.

Not enough was the discovering of the disastrous mistreatment they suffer in the Walter Reid Hospital, they receive promises and some improvement, just the necessary actions to calm down the media, but the really true is nobody is talking about the continue injustice this proudly HEROS receiving every single day from the VA.

If there is some institution in this country need a BAILOUT is the VA, they has the great responsibility of taking care of all VETERANS?

Of course at this point there are not EXTRAORDINARY session of the CONGRESSMAN favoring any solution in this mess of the VA, NOT special declarations of the Speaker of the House, or the Majority Leader calling for immediate and expedite solutions of the SOLDIERS problems dealing with the VA, as they did easily in FAVOR of the corrupted institutions in wall street.........NO, there are NOT prefabricated NEWS CONFERENCE voicing for a quickly and smart solutions for the VETERANS ADMINISTRATION , there are NOT RUSH to solve his problems, NO pressure to the people and fancy explanations to secure VOTES.

At the end of the day nothing is going to happen, may be they think …….. THEY ARE TOO LITTLE AND TOO POOR.

It’s incredible and hard to believe, these two young soldiers practically begin for money because the VA unwariness’.

I can't visualize how this kind of differences could happen in this country?

Lawmakers know what happen in the VETERAN ADMINISTRATION, this is nothing new, this problem coming from years before. But always they couldn't find out the right solution, only promises and long time lapses and debates, until something special come out trough the media like this issue of the Walter Reid. I just wondering if someone of these busy lawmakers of Washington are going to read this: A Heart Break E-mail.

Why does the Congress ISSUE a rush and fair “BAILOUT” to the VETERANS ADMINISTRATION (VA) solving definitively and permanently all the PROEBLEMS THEY SURELLY HAS, as a real signal of gratitude for all what this soldiers did, after all is his responsibility's to do so.

Just am calling for some justice and sensibility to the attention of the President-Elected Barack Obama, I do not expect nothing being solve by the Bush Administration.

Just am calling to the leaders of the Congress for an EQUAL TREATMENT for these citizens, who with his WATCHS and exposures in dangerous way are granting the LIBERTY AND SECURITY of his countryman and them as congressmen’s they fully enjoyed.

This proudly man’s and women’s of the United States Armed Forces, HERO’S of the past and present wars, deserved nothing less than EQUAL TREATMENT, quickly and expedites solutions for the VETRANS ADMINISTRATION (VA), as others entitlements or institutions recently receive from the United State Congress.

Percy H Florez

If President-Elect Barack Obama.....

Percy H Florez — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:08:52 EST

Succumb to the immense pressure of the lobbyist companies in favor of the automakers he probably loose the great opportunity he has now to reshape the country and all this mess in to successfully and productive economy.

When I see Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and all this lawmakers make pressure in favor of this incense policy instead have measure due to the big failure of the previous bailout they craft in the most irresponsible act of congress since the great depression. I have not doubt how much power this industries have.

In conclusion is time for real change instead throwing the money to the trash using this money for companies who already are dead because they fail to be competitive and productive.

I am not against these companies, I like the GMC Subaru, but in terms of competitiveness they are out of the market; they can’t compete in any way with his close competitors like Toyota or Honda. These two foreign automakers as an example invest a lot of money in this country, building lines of production that send to the market products made by Americans hard workers full of competitiveness among of quality and price.

By the way I just heard today this automaker from Detroit who are begin for government bailout using the taxpayer money, have a huge investment in the markets; they are bankers too, and they profited for a lot in this business, then now this is one of the reasons they are in troubles. They want easy money and they playing hard in the game of taking risk instead of made real changes in his line of production and adequate his products according to the new reality.

I just wondered if the new administration can resist such behavior and temptation instead made structural correction to the economy.

I hope Barack Obama don't loose the great opportunity he receive clearly form the people of this country and don't defraud the next generation of Americans who are watching very close what his going to do.

It's about time, let's see what happens

Percy H Florez

Defeated Republicans Lick Their Wounds and Debate Comeback Strategy

Mark C. Eades — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:21:13 EST

Still reeling from the punishing defeat handed to them by victorious Democrats on Election Day, Republicans are licking their wounds and debating their strategy for a comeback. As Democrats and progressives celebrate our hard-won victory, we should also be keeping an eye on our vanquished opponents and preparing to remain on the offensive against them, whatever comeback road they attempt to pursue. For the sake of the future, we cannot allow a repeat of 1980, 1994, or 2000.

Most observers see two major possibilities for the GOP. One is that the party could stick with its rural, white, ultra-conservative base and become the party of the far right, thus alienating moderates, independents, and swing voters, many of whom would likely migrate to the Democratic Party and join the ranks of conservative-leaning "Blue Dogs" like Virginia senator Jim Webb. The other possibility is that the GOP could move toward a more moderate and less ideological, center-right position that could make it more attractive to independents and swing voters but at the same time would tend to alienate the conservative base. Neither is an exceedingly attractive option for the GOP, since either would likely result in the loss of one or another key Republican voting block. The electoral success of Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II depended upon a united Republican coalition of social conservatives, fiscal conservatives, defense hawks, and "Reagan Democrats." That coalition has now fallen apart.

I personally hope the Republicans will take the former choice, stick with their demented base, and become a far-right fringe party doomed to increasing irrelevance as old bigots die off and their children discard the prejudices, fears, and hatreds of the past. This is what may well happen if far-right blowhards like Rush Limbaugh have their way, warning their shell-shocked followers now against a moderate takeover of the GOP led by once-and-future-maverick John McCain and other hands-across-the-aisle types, whose ranks will seek to purge the party of "real conservatives" like Sarah Palin and those who identify with her. Never exceedingly popular among those on the far right, McCain is already being branded a defeatist and a traitor by the Limbaugh-Palin crowd, who are incensed by the attacks on Palin now coming from within the McCain camp itself, and who increasingly regret that McCain was ever nominated even as they are in his debt for giving them "their Sarah." Meanwhile, angry dittoheads at RedState.com have launched a bitter assault on Palin's Republican critics called "Operation Leper," and appear poised to advocate for Palin as a presidential candidate for 2012 and/or 2016. Perhaps we will see a full-fledged Palin faction form within the Republican Party in opposition to the forces of Republican moderation, leading to an all-out faction fight and perhaps even a split in the party. I sincerely hope so.

If, on the other hand, the Republicans choose the path of moderation, returning perhaps to the GOP of Eisenhower and Goldwater, our work could be a little more difficult. This possibility highlights the importance of maintaining the center-to-left coalition that enabled us to win in 2006 and 2008 just as their center-to-right coalition enabled Republicans to win in 1980, 1994, and 2000, as it raises the risk of swing voters swinging back to the Republican side if they are not happy with the job Democrats are doing in Washington. Those of us such as myself who are on the Left of the Democratic Party will have to balance our expectation of having a place at the table with the realization that the rest of the country isn't with us just yet. At least in the near term, the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress will have to govern more-or-less from the center, and at the same time will have to prove that they are more capable of governing the country effectively than their opponents. Given the dominance of the far-right in today's GOP and its dependence on the conservative base, however, owing in part to the fact that so many moderate Republicans have either left the party or been voted out of office, I wonder how realistic or likely a route this second option actually is. I could be wrong, but I suspect hopefully that our opponents will remain in the funk they are currently in for quite some time to come.

Whatever course they may ulimately choose to take, our task as Democrats is to stop any GOP comeback dead in its tracks before it even starts. Democrats must remain on the offensive and must remain focused on solidifying and building our congressional majority in 2010, re-electing President Obama in 2012, and putting another Democrat in the White House in 2016. We must aggressively go after not only Republican congressional seats but also state and local offices nationwide. Grassroots Democratic organizing, voter registration, fundraising, and media activism are key to this, as is maintaining a strong center-to-left coalition through effective, balanced governance. We must demonstrate to the Republicans that they are dealing with a new, much tougher, much more aggressive and effective Democratic Party: a Democratic Party that won't be so easy to kick around as in the past, a Democratic Party whose days of whining about mean old swiftboating Republicans are over.

If we are to avoid a repeat of the last eight years or something even worse, no Republican comeback can ever be allowed to happen.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

The Name's of The Fallen / Part 18 / Total Count as a today @ 6:03 PM 11/6/2008 4192 Soldiers are Dead / Names In Reverse order from: 4177 to 4192

Percy H Florez — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:04:58 EST

The Name's of The Fallen / Part 18 / Total Count as a today @ 6:03 PM 11/6/2008 4192 Soldiers are Dead / Names In Reverse order from: 4177 to 4192

4192 29-Oct-08 Private 1st Class Bradley S. Coleman 24 Martinsville VA
4191 29-Oct-08 Sergeant Scott J Metcalf 36 Framingham MA
4190 24-Oct-08 Private 1st Class Cody J Eggleston 21 Eugene OR
4189 23-Oct-08 Staff Sergeant Brian P Hause 29 Stoystown PA
4188 19-Oct-08 Lance Corporal Stacy A Dryden 22 North Canton OH
4187 16-Oct-08 Specialist Heath K Pickard 21 Palestine TX
4186 15-Oct-08 Specialist Justin A Saint 22 Albertville AL
4185 14-Oct-08 Specialist Christopher A McCraw 23 Columbia MS
4184 07-Oct-08 Sergeant Michael K Clark 24 Sacramento CA
4183 12-Oct-08 Specialist Geoffrey G Johnson 28 Lubbock TX
4182 11-Oct-08 Sergeant Reuben M Fernandez III 22 Abeline TX
4181 05-Oct-08 Colonel Michael R Stahlman 45 Chevy Chase MD
4180 05-Oct-08 Sergeant William P Rudd 27 Madisonville KY
4179 02-Oct-08 Private 1st Class Tavarus D Setzler 23 Jacksinville FL
4178 30-Sep-08 Private 1st Class Christopher A Bartkiewicz 25 Dunfermline IL

Total Count as a today @ 6:03 PM 11/6/2008 : : 4192 soldiers are dead
More Information please visit our data base: : The Name's of the Fallen
Or you can visit the DoD web site: : US DoD News Release

S T O P T H E W A R

Stop the War & Bring Troops Home

Percy H Florez

Only the Beginning: Obama's Historic Victory and the Road Ahead

Mark C. Eades — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:40:54 EST

For Democrats, Barack Obama's stunning victory last night over John McCain brought a seemingly endless and often bitter presidential campaign battle to a welcome end. Obama's victory came as cause for relief and for celebration, as did Democratic gains in the Senate and the House of Representatives. When our first African American president takes office in January, Democrats will enjoy a position of authority in Washington we have not held since a brief period from 1992 to 1994. Many progressives are saying now that the era of conservative dominance in America beginning with the rise of the "New Right" in the 1970s and the Reagan victory in 1980 has now come at last to an end, that the long Republican nightmare is over, and I too am hopeful that this is so. While we celebrate and look ahead to the Obama Era, however, we should also remember that just as power can be won so it can also be lost, as it was in 1980, 1994, and 2000.

Each end is also a beginning; and so the end of Campaign 2008 and the end of Republican rule is also the beginning of something, but of what? Are we at the doorstep of a bold new progressive age that begins with Obama and extends into infinity, or of another brief Democratic reign to end again with a bitter Republican resurgence? Now that we have successfully driven the Republicans from power, how do we keep them from coming back, as we know we must if we are to avoid a repeat of the past eight years? A Republican resurgence would be a disaster, not only for Democrats and progressives, but for America and the world. The Karl Roves and Dick Cheneys of the world are not going anywhere. They will simply retreat to their think tanks and begin cooking up plans to retake power, just as they did during the Clinton years. Their success must be prevented by any and all means at our disposal.

While progressives will surely have a place at the table in the new administration, we cannot expect that the Left will or should dominate the Obama agenda at least in the near term. I would consider myself to be well on the Left of the Democratic Party, and I'm happy that progressives will have a voice in the new administration, but I feel pretty certain that Obama will have to govern more-or-less from the center if he is to avoid creating a whole new generation of "Reagan Democrats." I am hopeful that it may now be possible for progressives not simply to move the government to the left but to actually move the country to the left, and to create a new progressive America free of the politics of Reagan and Bush. In order for this to happen, however, Democrats in Washington will first have to prove themselves capable of governing the country effectively and satisfactorily in the eyes of their constituents. Once conservative-leaning, "soft" Democrats see that liberals aren't so bad after all, they will be much more likely to elect Democrats to Congress in 2010, to re-elect President Obama in 2012, to put another Democrat in the White House in 2016, and to listen to progressive ideas in the meantime with an open mind. While Democrats in Washington focus on effective governance, they and Democratic activists including us in the netroots must also focus on maintaining the gains we have made and on making further gains in election cycles to come. We cannot afford a repeat of 1980, 1994, or 2000.

Meanwhile, a whole new generation of first-time Democratic voters has been brought into the electorate, and this new Democratic base must be maintained and built at a grassroots level. Because of a far less reliable base of Democratic voters in previous elections, a hardcore Republican base of social conservatives, neo-cons, bigots, and xenophobes was allowed to dominate American politics for the better part of thirty years. This can never be allowed to happen again. Republicans who cannot be persuaded to go Democratic must be isolated and outvoted. In the immediate term, this means building a broad new Democratic base that includes centrists and even moderate conservatives in addition to progressives and the Left: not an easy task. The brilliant success of the Obama campaign in doing precisely that, however, can be credited in great part to Obama's experience as a community organizer in Chicago - experience that will serve the Democratic Party's organizing efforts well in the years to come.

Indeed if anyone is up the difficult tasks which surely lie ahead, I think it is our new president-elect. Throughout his campaign, he has shown himself to be a steady, focused, and disciplined political leader: not bad traits if one wishes to be an effective and successful president. More importantly, Obama possesses clear vision and a spirit of idealism that could not contrast more with the cynicism of the era that has just ended. He also possesses a strong, committed base of grassroots support that is ready for the battles to come. I for one look forward with hope and confidence to the road ahead.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

Barack Obama | President

Percy H Florez — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:24:55 EST

Congratulation to everybody
God Bless America

Percy H Florez

Voting for McCain in 2008 is Like Voting for Nixon in 1960

Mark C. Eades — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:31:03 EST

If like me you are not old enough to have voted in 1960, or if you are old enough and voted for John F. Kennedy as you should have, try and imagine how it would feel if you had voted for Richard Nixon instead.

Imagine watching Kennedy's rise, in life and in death, to take his place among America's greatest presidents, knowing that you could have voted for him but didn't; and imagine then watching Nixon's descent to take his place among the worst, knowing that you voted for him perhaps not just once but two or even three times.

Imagine watching the secret bombing of Cambodia revealed, watching the sad tale of Watergate unfold, and watching Nixon's resignation in disgrace. Imagine looking back from the vantage point of 1974 and thinking of how you might have voted differently in 1960, of how at that pivotal point in time you made an unwise decision and ended up on the wrong side of history.

Now imagine how things might have been if lots more people had made the same mistake as you in 1960 and John F. Kennedy, one of America's greatest presidents, had never been elected. Imagine a world without President Kennedy.

Then, if you can bear repeating such a tragic error in judgment, go ahead and vote for John McCain.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

More Anti-Obama Hate at Palin Rally outside Las Vegas

Mark C. Eades — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:02:11 EDT

The scene following a Sarah Palin rally Oct. 21 outside Las Vegas turned ugly when departing McCain/Palin supporters confronted a small group of peaceful pro-Obama demonstrators. Video from the Las Vegas Sun shows McCain/Palin supporters in Henderson NV shouting, "Vote McCain, Not Hussein!" at Obama supporters in addition to more overtly race-based taunts including nonsensical charges that Obama either is an Arab or has dangerous ties to Arabs. One woman shouts: "This country needs to wake up! Obama is dangerous! This man is a tyrant to this country. I mean, he has connections to Arabs! His education was paid for by Arabs! He's an abomination!" A man says: "Yes, I am a racist.... Those Arabs are dirtbags. They're dirty people, they hate Americans, they hate my kids, they hate my grandkids." More video from the Henderson event at Youtube includes the usual shouts of "Terrorist!", "Communist!", and "Anti-American!" at the small group of Obama supporters in addition to two men shouting: "No Arabs in the White House!" while the Obama supporters sing "Why can't we be friends?" An additional video at Youtube includes one man shouting "Dope and loose change!" at Obama supporters and a woman shouting: "Barack Hussein Obama! Barack Hussein, he associates with terrorists...! He is anti-American, he is anti-military, he has done nothing for Chicago, his middle name is a terrorist name, he takes money from terrorists, he associates with terrorists!" These video records from Henderson NV are only the latest in a growing library of similar material from McCain/Palin events across the United States, illustrating a disturbing pattern of hate-based behavior at these events that seems to be intensifying as Election Day nears.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

Andy Griffith Endorses Obama. Opie, Richie Cunningham, and Fonzie also Endorse Obama (See Ron Howard Video)

Mark C. Eades — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:06:36 EDT

Actor/director Ron Howard has released a video with former TV co-stars Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler endorsing Barack Obama for President of the United States. The video features Howard in his present role as Hollywood director, Howard as Opie from the Andy Griffith Show in black-and-white with Griffith himself, and Howard as Richie Cunningham from Happy Days with Henry Winkler as Arthur Fonzarelli, Jr., aka Fonzie. All are explicitly endorsing Obama through their performances in the video, as Howard explains at its conclusion.

While endorsements from such youngish Hollywood regulars as Ron Howard and Henry Winkler may come as no surprise and therefore no great shakes, Andy Griffith's appearance in the video endorsing Obama comes as a call for change from that very "real America" the McCain/Palin campaign has attempted to claim for itself. After all, if Andy Griffith isn't a "real American," then who is?

McCain and Palin may hold Wasilla, but Barack Obama and Joe Biden have won by a landslide in Mayberry.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC): "Liberals Hate Real Americans"

Mark C. Eades — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:58:38 EDT

Republican congressman Robin Hayes of North Carolina told a crowd of McCain supporters at a rally in Concord NC on Saturday that "liberals hate real Americans that work and achieve and believe in God." While Hayes initially denied saying this, he was forced to admit the truth when confronted with audio of these very words in his own voice. Hayes said this at a McCain rally shortly before McCain himself appeared to speak, though the campaign has thus far chosen not to respond. Oddly, Hayes said only moments before this remark that "one of the things we need to do is to be certain we don't say something stupid."

Hayes' remark echoes similar statements recently by Sarah Palin and Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann, both of whom have likewise suggested that liberals are not "real Americans" and are in fact "anti-America." Hayes' remark also presents Democrats and progressives with a very similar opportunity to that presented by Michele Bachmann's remarks last week on rooting out "anti-American" members of Congress. As CNN explains, the North Carolina district Hayes represents is not a solid Republican district but one that could swing Democratic. Hayes is currently up for re-election and is fighting a tough campaign against Democratic opponent Larry Kissell, who nearly beat Hayes in 2006 and who is now polling strongly against Hayes despite a significant fundraising disadvantage.

Outrage at Michele Bachmann's remarks last week resulted in a massive infusion of support for her Democratic opponent, Elwyn Tinklenberg, including some $700,000 in contributions in only three days. There is now more hope than ever that Bachmann's seat in Congress may soon be held by a Democrat. Let's do the same for Larry Kissell in his race against confirmed bigot Robin Hayes. Supporters may go to LarryKissell.com or to ActBlue.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

Colin Powell Salutes Muslim Americans in Obama Endorsement

Mark C. Eades — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:56:39 EDT

In his ringing endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, Colin Powell took particular issue with attacks on Obama based on rumors that he is a secret Muslim. Noting that Obama is in fact a lifelong Christian, Powell said further that it shouldn't matter even if Obama really were a Muslim. Powell then went on to describe a picture from a New Yorker photo essay showing a grieving mother resting her head on the gravestone of her son, a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq and buried at Arlington National Cemetery:

"Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no. That's not America. Is there something wrong with a seven-year-old Muslim American kid believing he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion that [Obama] is a Muslim and might have an association with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

"I feel particularly strong about this because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay, was of a mother at Arlington Cemetery and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone, and it gave his awards - Purple Heart, Bronze Star - showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death, he was 20 years old. And then at the very top of the head stone, it didn't have a Christian cross. It didn't have a Star of David. It has a crescent and star of the Islamic faith.

"And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. And he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was fourteen years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he could serve his country and he gave his life."

Photo: Platon, New Yorker (see also Huffington Post, New York Times)

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

McGollum vs. Frodobama: "Must Have the Precious!"

Mark C. Eades — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:11:28 EDT

"Must have the Precious...!"

Several have recently compared John McCain's quest for the presidency to the creature Gollum's quest for "the Precious" (the Ring of Power) in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. In this strange shot from his final presidential debate with Barack Obama, McCain looks indeed like Gollum in quest of "the Precious," casting Barack Obama in the role of hobbit-hero Frodo Baggins. As McGollum attempts to take the Ring of Power from Frodobama, our hero knows that he must destroy it by casting it into the very fires from which it was forged. A video to this effect is available for your viewing pleasure.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

Top McCain Staffer William Timmons Lobbied for Saddam Hussein

Mark C. Eades — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:45:52 EDT

The head of John McCain's presidential transition team, Washington lobbyist William Timmons, was involved in lobbying efforts for the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein according to a report by Murray Waas in the Huffington Post. Over a five-year period beginning in 1992, according to Waas, Timmons worked closely with two lobbyists, Samir Vincent and Tongsun Park, in efforts on behalf of Saddam to ease international sanctions against his regime following the Gulf War of 1990-1991.

In close communication with top Iraqi aides Tariq Aziz and Nizar Hamdoon, Timmons, Vincent, and Park worked a deal with the Iraqis in which they hoped to be awarded a contract worth at least $45 million to purchase and resell Iraqi oil. While Vincent and Park later either pleaded guilty to or were convicted of federal criminal charges that they had acted as unregistered agents of Saddam Hussein's government, Timmons escaped prosecution claiming ignorance of the others' ties to Iraq while federal investigators lacked evidence to contradict him. Court records researched by Waas, however, indicate that Timmons was in fact far more aware of an Iraqi connection than he had admitted to investigators, as Waas discusses in detail.

At the time of Timmons' work with Vincent and Park on behalf of Saddam, Iraq was classified as a rogue enemy state and a sponsor of terrorism, and John McCain was a strong supporter of both military action and tough sanctions against Iraq. Timmons was directly involved in illegal lobbying efforts on behalf of Saddam's Iraq during this period, and now heads up John McCain's presidential transition team. Given his recent efforts to tie Barack Obama to terrorists even by the weakest of links, McCain may have a hard time wiggling out of this one.

There is a bright side to all of this for McCain and Timmons, however: In the event that Timmons is fired or forced to resign, McCain will have little need to hire a replacement, and Timmons won't miss much by not being around, since in all likelihood there will be no McCain presidential transition to worry about.

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

The state exists because of the rivalries within society.

Rob-33704 — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:21:19 EDT

The state exists BECAUSE of the rivalries within society.

If the state maintains order - which is its true function - then rhetoric doesn't matter and pluralism can flourish.

If order is maintained then the heated rhetoric of the right may even beneficial by allowing people to vent or to enjoy the illusion that someone - anyone - is listening to them and championing their cause.

It is only when order cannot be maintained and rhetoric becomes action that you have to worry.

That is the true historic lesson of the brownshirts. Their behavior was only possable because the German state could not maintain order.

When Hitler came to power he established a "new order" which as a demonstration of its control liquidated the leadership of the SA - mostly accomplished by the new "good puppies" of the party, the SS.

Virginia GOP Head Compares Obama to Bin Laden: Take Action!

Mark C. Eades — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:32:07 EDT

The Republican national campaign reached a new low over the weekend when chairman Jeffrey M. Frederick of the Virginia Republican Party (pictured here) compared Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama to terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. Clumsily associating Obama with 60s militant William Ayers - a man with whom Obama was loosely acquainted within the context of legitimate charity work in Chicago - Frederick told McCain volunteers in Virginia that Obama and bin Laden "both have friends that bombed the Pentagon," concluding that this means Obama is "scary." These remarks were understood as talking points for the volunteers to convey to the voters of Virginia.

Democrats are understandably outraged by Frederick's comments, saying that this is only the latest in a series of inflammatory statements made by Republicans against Obama in the crucial battleground state of Virginia. First reported Oct. 12 in Time, Frederick's remarks are discussed further in the same date's Washington Post. Frederick stood by his statements when questioned later, and John McCain has declined to condemn or comment on Frederick's remarks. Meanwhile, even Republicans have conceded that smears like Frederick's against Obama are a loser's game.

Frederick's comparison of Obama with bin Laden is obviously not only inflammatory but ridiculous: Bin Laden was directly responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center which killed thousands of people. Ayres was a member of a group that carried out a 1972 bombing at the Pentagon in which no one was hurt or killed, and with which then ten-year-old Barack Obama was in no way associated. Ayres is now is now a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and once served on a charity board of which Obama was also a member. Obama has condemned Ayers's actions in the 1960s and 1970s, and describes him as "a guy who lives my neighborhood."

Frederick's remarks are the latest in a series of inflammatory statements by Republicans campaigning in Virginia. Recently, the head of the McCain campaign in Buchanan County, Virginia, was forced to resign after he published a column in a local newspaper including openly racist comments about Obama and African Americans as well as disparaging statements about immigrants and gay people. Recently also, John McCain's brother Joe described suburban Alexandria and Arlington County in Northern Virginia as "communist country."

Jeff Frederick, the Republican Party, and the McCain campaign cannot be allowed a pass on smears such as this against Barack Obama. Obama supporters and other concerned parties are encouraged to contact the GOP and the McCain campaign, demand an apology from both, and demand Frederick's resignation:

McCain national campaign: info@johnmccain.com

McCain Virginia campaign virginia@johnmccain.com

Republican National Committee (Mike Duncan, Chair): chairman@gop.com

Virginia Republican Party: info@rpv.org

Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com

Nobel Prize winning economist characterized Obama supporters as 'cult like.'

Rob-33704 — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:02:13 EDT

Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman has characterized Obama supporters as 'cult-like', and has complained that the media has not given Obama sufficient scrutiny.

Krugman, considered to be a neo-Keynesian economist, taught at the London School of Economics before joining the faculty of Princeton University, in 2000. He also served as a consultant for an advisory board for Enron in 1999 prior to joining the New York Times as a columnist in 2000.

Krugman is a member of The Group of Thirty (G30) which was founded in 1978 by the Rockefeller Foundation which also provided initial funding for the body. Its first chairman was Johannes Witteveen, the former managing director of the International Monetary Fund. Its current chairman of trustees is Paul Volcker.