October 8, 2008 Obama is not a terrorist.
McCain is not senile.
Financial markets are down, but it's still not as bad as Black Monday in 1987.
There are plenty of problems, and also lots of good things on which to focus and for which to be thankful.
If you're reading this, then you woke up this morning, just as I did. All things considered, that makes it a pretty good day :)
Politics October 6, 2008 Let's set a few things straight here. The claim that Barack Obama is more "radical" than he lets on, simply because of a supposed association with William Ayers is absolute denigration. I've taken the time to sift through quite a heap of newspaper articles and records, as well as online searches to come up with the following:
Are these the "associations" the McCain campaign is trying to hammer into people's minds? Because in my view, they don't actually seem to add up to anything other than circumstance. This "guilty by association" line of thought wouldn't seem to do anyone any good. In that case, logic would dictate that McCain should be held accountable for his association with Watergate burglar G. Gordon Libby. I should hope that Senator McCain doesn't condone conspiracy, or burglary. John McCain Finds His Own Radical. It is odd that so few people would take it without bothering to check the facts. We can't take anything at face value these days, so it's always good to check your facts.
UPDATE: In light of recent comments, I feel the need to further clarify my viewpoint, and add further information that I think is relevant to this conversation. I don't generally make it a habit of adding to my posts, but I think this time I'll make an exception.
***First off, I (possibly wrongly) assumed that the Annenberg I found referenced was the foundation that produced the public education materials. I have since read further into the project, and can see that the two in question did indeed serve together on the CAC board. Barack Obama was the first chairman on the CAC board. However, I don't necessarily see that these happenstance circumstances tie the two together in a politically significant way. I don't see that they were friends. Colleagues, perhaps, but not friends. You don't have to be friends (or even agree) with the people you work with.
I wasn't primarily interested in finding evidence of contributions to political campaigns. I was more interested in finding any evidence of sympathy for the causes Ayers had championed in the late sixties/early seventies. There is no such evidence that Senator Obama condoned these behaviors. There is, however, evidence that he publicly denounced any such radical acts of violence.
As for ACORN, I can find nothing that implies that Senator Obama actually served as an organizer, trainer, or worked with any other capacity within ACORN. It is also widely assumed that Project Vote was associated with ACORN, which it was not. What is true is that Senator Obama served as lawyer in a successful lawsuit with the Department of Justice against Illinois to force compliance with federal voting access law. The Department of Justice and Barack Obama worked together on behalf of ACORN.
Perhaps most famously, Ken Blackwell may be one of the figureheads behind the Obama/ACORN association, but there seems to be little to no basis for this line of attack. Blackwell had already made a name for himself by being both Ohio Secretary of State and chair of George Bush’s Ohio election campaign. His judgment and reliability seem questionable in light of these facts.
For convenience and clarification, I'm posting links to the various sources from which I'm pulling information, and some of the articles themselves. If you have an opposing point of view, and articles or information that are relevant, please post them! I'll be more than happy to read and consider the information contained within. I have no qualms with entertaining opposing viewpoints. I make no claims that I'm always right or perfect, and can make mistakes.***
OBAMA/AYERS
New York Times,
Associated Press, CNN, New York Times,
Washington Post, Detroit Free-Press, Chicago Sun-Times
OBAMA/ACORN
BARACK WAS PRAISED FOR COMPLETE PROJECT VOTE; ACORN WAS NOT INVOLVED
Obama’s Voter Registration Drive Registered 150,000 New Voters, The Highest Number of a Single Local Effort. In 1993, Crain’s Chicago
wrote of Obama’s effort to register voters for Bill Clinton’s election,
“Last year, Barack Obama galvanized Chicago’s political community, as
no seasoned politico had before. The director of Illinois Project Vote
orchestrated an unwieldy band of 10 staff members and 700 volunteers to
the tune of 150,000 new voters for the general election — the highest
number registered in a single local effect. ‘Under Barack’s leadership,
we had the most successful, cost-effective and orderly voter
registration drive I’ve ever been involved with,’ says Alderman Sam
Burrell of the West Side’s 29th Ward.” [Crain’s Chicago Business, 9/27/93]
Chicago Magazine: Obama Headed “Most Effective Minority Voter Registration Drive.” Chicago
Magazine reported, “None of this, of course, was accidental. The most
effective minority voter registration drive in memory was the result of
careful handiwork by Project Vote!, the local chapter of a
not-for-profit national organization. "It was the most efficient
campaign I have seen in my 20 years in politics," says Sam Burrell,
alderman of the West Side’s 29th Ward and a veteran of many
registration drives. At the head of this effort was a little-known
31-year-old African-American lawyer, community organizer, and writer:
Barack Obama.” [Chicago Magazine, 1/93]National Project Vote Director Sandy Newman: Obama Did “One Hell of a Job.” Chicago
Magazine reported, ““Project Vote! is nonpartisan, strictly
nonpartisan. But we do focus our efforts on minority voters, and on
states where we can explain to them why their vote will matter. Braun
made that easier in Illinois.” So [Sandy] Newman decided to open a Cook
County Project Vote! office and went looking for someone to head it.
The name Barack Obama surfaced. “I was asking around among community
activists in Chicago and around the country, and they kept mentioning
him,” Newman says. Obama by then was working with church and community
leaders on the West Side, and he was writing a book that the publisher
Simon & Schuster had contracted for while he was editor of the law
review. He was 30 years old. When Newman called, Obama agreed to put
his other work aside. “I’m still not quite sure why,” Newman says.
“This was not glamorous, high-paying work. But I am certainly grateful.
He did one hell of a job.” [Chicago Magazine, 1/93]Obama Trained Registrars And Ran Media Saturation Campaign. Chicago
Magazine reported, “Within a few months, Obama, a tall, affable
workaholic, had recruited staff and volunteers from black churches,
community groups, and politicians. He helped train 700 deputy
registrars, out of a total of 11,000 citywide. And he began a
saturation media campaign with the help of black-owned Brainstorm
Communications.” [Chicago Magazine, 1/93]Close Daley Advisor: “Barack Ran This Superbly.” Chicago
Magazine reported, “Some of Daley’s closest advisers are similarly
impressed. “In its technical demands, a voter-registration drive is not
unlike a mini-political campaign,” says John Schmidt, chairman of the
Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority and a fundraiser for Project
Vote! “Barack ran this superbly. I have no doubt he could run an
equally good political campaign if that’s what he decided to do next.””
[Chicago Magazine, 1/93]Project Vote Credited With Voter Registration Surge. The
Wall Street Journal reported, “Voting experts at the Democratic
National Committee point to surging registration in several big cities,
such as Detroit, Chicago and Philadelphia. Most of that work has been
done by the nonpartisan Project Vote, a voter participation
organization based in Washington, D.C. Its director, Sandy Newman, says
his group has helped to register 150,000 new voters, almost all of them
black, in Pennsylvania; 110,000 in Chicago; 70,000 in Michigan; 40,000
in Ohio; and 160,000 (with the help of the New York Public Interest
Research Group) in New York City. With the exception of New York, where
Mr. Clinton holds a big lead, these are all battleground states, and
most of these voters will cast their ballots for Mr. Clinton.” [Wall Street Journal, 10/30/92]Chicago Sun Times Headline: “‘Project Vote’ Brings Power to the People.” The
Chicago Sun-Times reported, “Project Vote, a collectivity of 10
church-based community organizations dedicated to black voter
registration, is off and running. Project Vote is increasing its rolls
at a 7,000-per-week clip. Just last Saturday it registered 2,000 during
the Chicago Defender’s annual Bud Billiken Parade.” [Chicago Sun-Times, 8/11/92]BARACK REPRESENTED ACORN IN A VOTER RIGHTS CASE AS AN ATTORNEY
Obama And Other Attorneys Represented ACORN In Their Suit Against The State Of Illinois To Force It To Implement The 1993 Motor Voter Law. In 2007, the AP reported, “Representing the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN),
Obama and other attorneys sued the state of Illinois, forcing it to
implement federal ‘Motor Voter’ legislation that makes it easier for
the poor and minorities to register to vote.” According the U.S. Court
Of Appeals, 7th Circuit docket for ACORN v.
Edgar, “Appellees, United States and others, sought to force appellant
State of Illinois to comply with the provisions of the National
Registration Act of 1993 (motor voter law)…The United States District
Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted the United States
an injunction that compelled the State of Illinois to enforce the motor
voter law. The State of Illinois appealed…On appeal, the State of
Illinois argued that Congress could not force state governments to
administer a federal program that facilitated the registration of
voters in federal elections. The court stated that Congress had the
power to regulate federal elections under the powers granted by [the
U.S. Constitution] mandated the states to initially set up the system
of federal elections within their own jurisdiction, subject to the
whims of Congress. The court found that these powers and mandates
implicitly extended to voter registration as well. [AP, 2/20/07; ACORN, et al v. Edgar, Nos. 95-1800, 95-1801, 95-1802, 95-1803]
Obama Was One Of Three Miner Barnhill Attorneys To Represent ACORN When The Illinois State Board Of Elections Attempted To Dismiss The U.S. District Court’s Order In ACORN v. Edgar In Late 1995. Miner Barnhill Attorneys Obama, Judson Miner, and Jeffrey Cummings were listed as Counsel for ACORN when the Illinois State Board Of Elections attempted to dismiss the U.S. District Court’s order in ACORN
v. Edgar in November 1995. On January 26, 1996, the U.S. Court Of
Appeals denied the Board’s motion. According to the court’s opinion,
“The court dismissed the appeal of defendant governor and other state
officials because the district court had not issued a final order from
which an appeal could be brought. [ACORN v. Illinois State Board Of Elections, et al. No. 95-3456, U.S. Court Of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit]
Obama Was Listed As The Lead Attorney For ACORN
In Court Proceeding Regarding Illinois Motor Voter Implementation
Plans; Deval Patrick Was The Lead Attorney For The U.S. Department Of
Justice. “For United States of America: Deval L. Patrick,
Assistant Attorney General, James B. Burns, United States Attorney,
Elizabeth Johnson, Barry H. Weinberg, Tricia A. Tingle, Peter A.
Hernandez, Attorneys, Voting Section, Civil Rights Division, Department
of Justice, Washington, DC….For Association of Community Organizations
for Reform Now, Barack Obama, Esq., Davis, Miner, Barnhill &
Galland, Chicago, Illinois, Steve Bachmann, Esq., ACORN, Granger, Indiana.” [ACORN v. Edgar, United States District Court, Northern District, Illinois, No. 95 C 174]
1995: Obama Received The IVI-IPO Legal Eagle Award For IVI-IPO For His Work In Bringing Illinois Into Compliance With The Motor Voter Law. “In
1993, Obama was named by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of “40 under
40” outstanding young leaders in the city of Chicago. He is the
recipient of the 1995 Legal Eagle Award from IVI-IPO
for his work in bringing Illinois into compliance with the National
Voter Registration Act (Motor-Voter). His commentaries have been heard
on National Public Radio and his memoir Dreams of My Father was
published by Random House in August 1995.” [IL State Senate Majority
Caucus Obama Profile (Archived) available here]
Politics October 3, 2008 :) ...Click the image to play the short video:
October 2, 2008 Pulled from the DailyKos, from a story ran on Politico.com.
I'm not here to say that no one tells a little white lie, Obama, McCain, you, me. What I find most amusing as that if you look further down in the comments section, you see people accusing Politico.com of being on the "Obama bandwagon." Apparently calling politicians out on blatant mistruths equates to "being on a bandwagon." Who knew?
Here's a thought. Let's make BOTH of them take a lie polygraph test, see who comes out ahead, shall we? I'm all for cutting through the mirk to find out what's REALLY going on. Our nation depends on it.
October 1, 2008 Click the image to play the music video of Sally Anthony's "So Long" (thank you Chris for forwarding!)