WOW! What an amazing and historical event! People of America and the world over should be proud of the progress that America has united behind!
I felt that Andrew Young, longtime friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, said it best... ..."Barack Obama's election has made us tremendously proud, but it has given us, I'm afraid, too much hope. I'm constantly reminding [the black community] that he has never once promised, "Yes I can." He has always said, "Yes WE can." He has never set himself up as a savior of the world. He set himself up as someone who articulates and represents and can hopefully lead us to be the best America that we can be. He isn't just black; he's an Afro-Asian-Latin European. That means he's a global citizen and an all-American boy. He defies categorization. The fact that his father and grandfather on one side were black doesn't make him any more of a black President than his grandfather on the other side being white would make him a white President. We claim him, and we are proud of him, but the fact is that he has not had the experiences of deprivation, humiliation and racism that I had to grow up with — which is good. He has the label without the scars."
Clarence B. Jones, former advisor and close friend to Dr. King, also summarized... ..."When I think about Barack Obama and I think about Martin King, I think about that saying that Martin used in many different versions, the saying of Victor Hugo's, paraphrased, "More powerful than the march of mighty armies is an idea whose time has come." And one could say prophetically that Barack Obama is an American idea whose time has come. And that's the power of it.
To me, and so many others, this has nothing to do with Obama, other than the fact that he is the vehicle for change. This has more to do with millions of voices calling for change. ..."We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can withstand the power of millions of voices calling for change. We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks to come. We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people. Yes we can!"
... and YES WE DID!! The speech was eloquent, direct and selfless. He never truly paused for applause, giving us every indication that he will press forward steadfast and do his very best to preserve, protect and to defend this great country.
I was surprised how I didn't cry as much as I thought I would... But for some reason, his words had this calming effect, that gave me hope and faith. That's when the world had confirmation that this man would help be the change we believed in.
His inaugural address included only 3 mentions of the word "I" - the fewest mentions ever in an inaugural address.
I just received this video from a friend of mine... Almost died laughing! ...Too bad they didn't get this one done 6 weeks ago in time to prevent this disaster from happening!
As many of you may be aware, The LDS church contributed a significant amount of money and effort (including alleged phone banks run from church property) to endorse the unconstitutional, immoral and highly discriminatory PROP 8 in California via its network of church, media, and community outlets enshrining discrimination under the law for thousands of Californians and their families.
Many believe the church's involvement in ‘YES ON 8’ is in violation of the Federal Tax code given the $22+ million in play for the YES campaign, $17+ million by LDS activity (totaling 70% of PROP 8 financing). These were not random donations; this was a coordinated effort to mobilize its membership to donate in their name. Mormon votes did not steal the rights of Californians. Mormon money did. They scared the Californain citizens by saying that that they would lose the right to participate in their children's education. Lies.
In their arguments against the majority, Mormon Prophet Brigham Young wrote: “Marriage is a civil contract. You might as well make a law to say how many children a man shall have, as to make a law to say how many wives he shall have.” (Journal of Discourses, 11:268-9)
The Mormon story is only possible because our country is a tolerant and forgiving place. America believes in the rights of its citizens to determine their own fates, and grants rights to individual communities to determine their own morals and values. The Mormon people have been able to flourish because of this country's generous spirit.
But now, history has reversed, and it is the Mormons who have become the oppressor.
The Mormons began with the Boy Scouts of America, originally a children's club meant to introduce boys and girls to the natural beauty of America. Mormons took financial control of the Boy Scouts by sponsoring 28% of national scout troops. Gays and lesbians are barred from participating in this group not just in Mormon troops, but nationwide, thereby turning our children into a political football. One must also admit that they believe in God in order to become a member.
Now the Mormon Church has set its target on gay and lesbian adults of California. They have started by amending our constitution to deny equal protection to gays and lesbians.
Ask the Jews about how freedoms are lost. The concentration camps were not built in a national referendum. They were the product of a systemic reduction of freedoms, year after year, one at a time. In violation of not only the principals of separation of church and state, but also in violation of the law, video footage has been leaked showing the President of the Mormon Church vehemently instructing their members to donate as much as possible, and to vote yes on 8. It was revealed to one of the news channels by a group of open-minded Mormons that were offended by their so-called leader’s words.
They have done their part and are now risking ex-communication from their church for doing so; now it is our turn to do ours. As open-minded people who believe in human rights for all, as well as the separation of church and state, the people of America would appreciate you doing two things:
1.) For a donation to the fight to overturn 8 of as little as $5, they will send a post card to the president of the Mormon church telling him that a donation has been made to this fine cause by you – IN HIS NAME. For a religion, as persecuted as the Mormon’s, to deny the fundamental civil rights of all people in the name of Jesus, who preached about loving all and stood up for all of the oppressed, is now more than a hypocrisy, but also a danger. ….Please go to http://www.invalidateprop8.org/ where you can read and send the card.
2.) There is also a movement underway to revoke the tax-exempt status of the Mormon Church. According to IRS law, "In general, no organization, including a church, may qualify for IRC section 501(c)(3) status if a substantial part of its activities is attempting to influence legislation (commonly known as lobbying)." Please check out the following site for more info: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1828.pdf …The separation of church and state is one of the basic principles our country was founded upon. To violate that premise, as well as the law, is an act that cannot go unpunished. …Here's the link to the petition:http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/review-the-501c3-status-of-the-church-of-latter-day-saints-the-mormons
3.) Another option is to avoid putting more money into the church's pockets by boycotting all companies where a Mormon Church member holds an officer's position or a large majority interest. These include: MARRIOTT HOTELS PRICELINE.COM ALBERTSONS GROCERY STORES K-SWISS SHOES HOUSE OF FABRICS NATIONWIDE INSURANCE - Including affiliates (e.g. ALLIED) SWIFT TRANSPORTATION EARTH SHELL CORVIS HUNTSMAN CHEMICAL OAKLEY NPS PHARMECEUTICALS MEGAHERTZ CORPORATION CORNERSTONE REALTY INCOME TRUST KNIGHT TRANSPORTATION (TRUCKING) MERIT MEDICAL …plus all of those other companies that are directly owned by the MORMON CHURCH outside of Utah, many of which are FOR PROFIT. If you are interested in protesting the passage of 8, or avoiding traffic created by a demonstration… This link will show you locations of future activities… www.lagaycenter.org/Prop8Actions
If we are to allow tax-exempt churches/religions to participate in the political lobbying process, then we should allow other lobbying organizations to become tax-exempt. And god knows we don’t want Big Tobacco, Big Oil & others to attain that status!
If we are to allow tax-exempt churches/religions to participate in the political lobbying process, then we should allow other lobbying organizations to become tax-exempt. And god knows we don’t want Big Tobacco, Big Oil & others to attain that status!
Thank you for being open-minded and supporting the civil rights of ALL OF OUR CITIZENS! Because as we all know, our country was founded in large part to keep religion & theology from dictating the lives of all human beings. …After all… we are all human!
Show your support for equal rights and forward this to as many people as you can think of.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that ALL men are created equal." -- Declaration of Independence of the United States of America
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
...and so begins the most quintessential part of the Declaration of Independence... and the truest fundamentals of all human beings, regardless of your religion or faith!!
...And on this day, history was made!... Barack Obama has been elected to serve as the 44th President of the United States!!! We have taken such grand steps in finally making this a reality... It has been a long time coming... But we still have a long way to go to realize our rights as human beings in order to truly be considered equal. However... finally... little boys and little girls of all races, ethnicities, cultures & creed can dream again... dream that they too can one day be a part of something bigger...
This election outcome was also proof of the following line from the Declaration of Independence… "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government..."
And this, in my opinion, is what we witnessed tonight! People, who were fed up with the way we were being governed, decided to stand up and let their voices be heard!
Ladies & gentlemen, we have just witnessed one of the largest displays of a peaceful revolution!!!!
"There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America. There's the United States of America." -- Barack Obama
When the BudLight “WASSUP” guys first introduced themselves, through the magic of television into our living rooms eight years ago, the economy wasn't doing so badly. In fact, we were actually experiencing one of the first budget surpluses this country had seen in a very long time.
Fast forward to now and there is so much turmoil affecting our daily lives that we seem to be losing the lighter side of life. It’s difficult when your house, the American dream, is going through a foreclosure, your son/daughter/mother/father are off fighting in a horrible unjust war… some may never come home, you are being laid off as your jobs are being outsourced to other countries… The list goes on and on….
…It has been eight long years since the boys said "WASSUP!" to each other. Even with all these difficulties we face, they are still able to come together and stay true to what really matters…
Help make a smart choice on next Tuesday, so that we can try and turn our country back in the direction of progress, by electing Barack Obama to serve as our leader of this great nation!!!
A question of perspective: Obama/Biden vs. McCain/Palin. A lot of people want to say that racism plays no part in our perceptions. It has been said that if you truly want to understand somebody, walk in their shoes… So, what if some facts about the candidates were switched around? …Would the country's collective point of view be different? …Could racism be the culprit?...
Ponder the following…What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?
What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
What if McCain had only married once and Obama was a divorcee?
What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident?
What if Obama had a long affair while he was still married?
What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers, but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?(The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)
What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker? What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?
What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?
What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?
What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?
What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?
You could easily add to this list... Would we be hearing a different story about each of these candidates if their skin color were switched? This is what racism can do. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference. It is what makes a person of color work twice as hard as a white person to attain the same results.
…Alright. I'm going to say it, even though nobody wants to talk about it. I feel that the narrowing lead is due to blatant racism. Grampy W. McSame is such a joke that, at first, very few would consider supporting him as their candidate, not even the far right!
…Then along comes Sarah and the country witnessed a mood shift from the far right base to suddenly begin supporting McSame! Even though, typically speaking, conservatives don't respond well to women in power, unexpectedly a tremendously unqualified, terrifying woman is added to the ticket and the racist bigots finally have an excuse to hide their votes behind!
Obama should win this election in a landslide, due to his eloquence, experience & education …coupled with the incredible inadequacies of the Bush Admin; however, I feel that ignorance is now beginning to rear its ugly head. If Obama were white, he would win in the most decisive victory this great country has ever witnessed. ...But because of racism, this election is probably going to be closer than one might think. And because of this, the Republicans (along with Diebold) could eventually just steal the election anyway. Look at what’s going on in many states that carry early voting: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/26/voter.suppression/index.html http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_10817171
It's time for TRUE Americans who really care about this world to stand up and say, “I'm not going to take this anymore!”
Take a look at our economy and to the threats that our country faces today… Then ask yourself, can I... wait, I mean... can MY CHILDREN afford to handle 4 more years of this nonsense?! So... get out the vote PEOPLE and flush this indecency down the drain to the sewers where ignorance belongs!!!
Let's look at the educational background of the candidates and see what they bring to the job:
Barack Obama: -- Columbia University - B.A. -- Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations. -- Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude Joseph Biden: -- University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science. -- Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)
vs.
John McCain: -- United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899 (meaning that, like George Bush, McCain was right at the bottom of his class) Sarah Palin: -- Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester -- North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study -- University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism -- Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester -- University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism
Education isn't everything... believe me, I understand that... but these positions are about the two highest offices in the land, as well as a representation of our standing in the world. The choice is easy... I just want a smart president this time around!
Check this out... Straight from the transcripts of last night's debates....
MCCAIN: We need to encourage programs such as Teach for America and Troops to Teachers where people, after having served in the military, can go right to teaching and NOT HAVE TO TAKE THESE EXAMINATIONS which -- or have the certification that some are required in some states.
That ought to make our kids safer and 'merica stronger! :)
Hi all! I just created this Blog out of pure frustration to the slanted, biased rhetoric that seems to consume us more & more in our topsy turvy world today. It is often too difficult to wade through the heavy tides of lies. …And of course, it helps that my wife is probably getting tired of hearing me complain about this and that! :) …So, serving a duel purpose, in an effort to allow me to vent and to try and help provide as much common sense to the discussion, attempting to evoke that old spirit of sitting around a table (albeit in this case, a web-table), having a decent & civil conversation while discussing politics, I present to you my Blog!
Change We Can Believe In
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." - Barack Obama
Robert Kennedy
"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" - Robert Kennedy
Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tatanka Yotanka
"They claim this mother of ours, the Earth, for their own use, and fence their neighbors away from her, and deface her with their buildings and their refuse." - Chief Sitting Bull (Tatanka Yotanka)
Hinmuuttu-yalatlat
"I hope that no more groans of wounded men and women will ever go to the ear of the Great Spirit Chief above, and that all people may be one people... The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it... Treat all men alike. Give them the same law. Give them an even chance to live and grow." - Chief Joseph (Hinmuuttu-yalatlat)
Barack Obama
"Nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change." — Barack Obama
Mormon votes did not steal the rights of Californians. Mormon money did. They scared the Californain citizens by saying that that they would 
In violation of not only the principals of separation of church and state, but also in violation of the law, video footage has been leaked showing the President of the Mormon Church vehemently instructing their members to donate as much as possible, and to vote yes on 8. It was revealed to one of the news channels by a group of open-minded Mormons that were offended by their so-called leader’s words.
It has been said that if you truly want to understand somebody, walk in their shoes… So, what if some facts about the candidates were switched around? …Would the country's collective point of view be different? …Could racism be the culprit?...
