I'm an Obama Girl!

Say it! Say it! Hillary, you know you want to say it.

In a flash of historic irony, the Clinton legacy may be solidified, not by a 3rd Clinton term, but by their faithful enthusiastic support of the first black American President. This is a potential story book ending. In some ways, it could be the best way to play out their story. So Hillary, just say it while you can still make a graceful exit and a powerful statement about American politics. Say it while it still means something. Shed a tear (you've almost done it before). Embrace your role as a person who helped the cause without claiming the spotlight. This is the moment you've been waiting for since you first heard Dr. King speak as a teenager. Not the moment your husband would be President, but the moment you would help reconcile race relations in America by supporting the most literal manifestation of Dr. King's dream. This is your calling. This is your brightest moment. Just say it out loud and let yourself be carried away! Hold his hand, walk with him out on the stage and say it. Give him your support, loan him your husband's political savvy. This is what your career has been all about. Join the team. We'll accept you. Just say it!

Operation Disgust

Rush Limbaugh is continuing his campaign to get more Republican voters to cross over and vote for Clinton in the primaries. Over 100,000 people switched to the democratic party in Ohio. I suspect that number will be much higher today in Indiana and North Carolina. We may never know the exact numbers, but I don't think you can ignore the impact of this tactic. I suspect the real motivation is the money Limbaugh would make if Clinton were elected. This is a way to hedge his bets. The Clinton years made Limbaugh's career a success. Another term would solidify his listeners.

Here is the quote from his site used to sell bumper stickers.

"Make your gas guzzler a rolling support vehicle for Operation Chaos! It's all part of Rush's effort to keep the Democrat Party in disarray. The sticker features the red, white and blue Operation Chaos logo. We used the national colors because Operation Chaos is patriotic!" - (taken from Rush Limbaugh's website)

The good news is that this type of partisanship is exactly what drives many voters to Obama.

Tax Holiday? Obama Wins This Debate

The issue of a summer Gas Tax holiday is proof positive that Obama is the only candidate who places America's best interests above his own political goals. Do we really need to feed the machine of consumerism with tax cuts on Gasoline? It is nothing more than another subsidy for the oil industry. I'm not sure Mickey Mouse really needs a hand out either. Borrowing more money from China so that families will have an extra $5 in their pockets when they get to his theme park is not a good investment. Is Obama the only candidate who thinks the government should keep its hands out of our business?



Gasoline is still cheaper than beer. Maybe we should cut the alchohol tax?

Where Wright Goes Wrong

Does Rev. Jeremiah Wright have a split personality? His criticism of our government was perfectly acceptable and within his rights as an American citizen. I didn't even mind the clips played over and over on YouTube because I've read enough to know the true context. His interview with Bill Moyers last week was truly inspirational. However, the words of Rev. Wright the last few days have been puzzling. I was taken back by his comments to the NAACP about how African Americans instinctively interpret music differently and are predisposed to being right-brained (creative) instead of left-brained (logical). That smacked of the same kind of ignorance that exists in the people he criticizes. It does nothing but feed prejudice and discrimination. Maybe he was just out of his element. Maybe he meant to do that. Maybe he was trying to create the kind of uneasy feeling found in the movie "Crash" where racism is thrust out into the open spaces of dialogue for all to see in its ugly details. If he was, then it was at best poor timing and at worst devious.

I've supported Rev. Wright on this site and I still marvel at the few sermons I've listened to, but I'm not about to suggest that I blindly support his latest words. I'm saddened by his those words. Barack Obama is right to distance himself, but he is also right not to disown him as a friend. I have friends who are bigots. I have friends and family who are ignorant and I firmly believe their religious beliefs and political views are harmful, yet they are still my friends and family. I love them. I would not expect Obama to disown Rev. Wright because he said something wrong, and it doesn't then make his previous statements wrong also. Those statements are still valid, but his latest are certainly not.

Where Does The Money Go?

Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson are editors of Public Agenda Online. In this book, they've done a wonderful job of sorting through information, disinformation, and partisan rhetoric to bring the monstrous federal budget into the grasp of average citizens. They do this without glossing over the bad news, over-simplifying solutions, or creating hype about one particular pet issue. This book needed to be written. I hope many people will read it during this election period. It isn’t an attempt to bash government or make a partisan plea for votes. It is well balanced and focused on educating citizens about the realities of our complex budget. No simple solutions or silver bullets exist. Fixing our budget crisis is a critical problem but these authors remain hopeful. Feasible solutions exist even if they are not easy to swallow.

We need to realize that the answer isn’t on the left or the right. The answer is in owning up to our responsibilities and facing reality. The book closes with a plea for each person to exercise a little self-examination. Are you part of the problem?

Five Signs You’re Part of the Problem

• You can name every part to the legal entanglements surrounding the death of Anna Nicole Smith, but you don’t recognize the name of the vice president or the speaker of the house.
  
• You’re getting all your news from comedians
  
• You watch every single game in the NCAA tournament, but you don’t have time to keep up with politics.
  
• You’re focused on your family. Politics doesn’t matter to you.
  
• The news is depressing. You’d rather not know.

"Where Does The Money Go" - Bittle and Johnson

If you're curious about how much of the problem is government waste, tax-payer fraud, lazy people collecting welfare, politician's salaries, tax-cuts, or those nasty "earmarks" we hear so much about, then this book will help quantify each issue. The answer is that correcting any one of those problems won't make a dent in the budget crisis.

Should God Damn America?

The modern Western strain of Christianity has nearly forsaken the ancient art of prophetic voice. Rev. Jeremiah Wright has been criticized for his recent prophetic language because so many of us forgot what a prophet sounds like. Didn’t anyone bother to check this guy’s first name? Compared to the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, Rev. Wright is rather tame. In one sense, Rev. Wright was simply quoting Jesus.

The prophet Jeremiah calls Israel, a prostitute, a corrupt wild vine, a craving wild donkey in heat, and then he slings curses on their children and children’s children. That is only chapter 2! He does this for another 23 chapters. Why does he say such outlandish things? He is offering a bit of creative prophetic imagination that criticizes the rampant injustice in Israel as its wealthy elite ruling class had turned their backs on the ideals of Jewish community. Their covenant with God to create a just society had been broken by their greed and arrogance.

This is what the LORD Almighty says:
"Cut down the trees
and build siege ramps against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished;
it is filled with oppression. (Jeremiah 6:6)
...
Take warning, O Jerusalem,
or I will turn away from you
and make your land desolate
so no one can live in it." (Jeremiah 6:8)

I’m not sure how you hear that, but I feel certain the wealthy elite in Israel heard that as “God Damn Israel!” I think this message is particularly appropriate for us on the Monday of Holy week as we celebrate the day Jesus entered the political capital of Israel and staged a public protest as he echoed the words of Jeremiah (7:11) calling the Temple a “den of robbers”. A couple days later Jesus called for the complete destruction of the Temple. Jesus was clearly a “Jeremiah” style of prophet also as he was essentially suggesting that God would soon damn Jerusalem.

It is important to remember that all these prophets offer us a way out of God’s damnation. We often overlook the fact that when Jesus borrows the phrase, den of robbers, he was making an intentional allegory to the same argument Jeremiah had used against Israel. This is clearly stated in the verses just prior to verse 11.

5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. (Jeremiah 7:5-7)

Should God damn America? I think the choice is ours to make. Are any of these prophets expressing hatred for their nation? Absolutely not! Do they really desire the wrath of God to be poured out on their friends, family, and political leaders? No, not at all. These types of prophetic voices are legitimate criticisms with sincere pleas for change. We shouldn't be afraid of these types of statements. We should worry if they ever stop, because it would mean that all hope for change had been lost.

Can America stop our path to damnation? Yes We Can!

Capitalists For Universal Health Care

Ask not what capitalism can do for health care, but what a universal health care system can do for capitalism. Capitalists should not be thinking about the market forces within the health care system itself. We should be thinking about how our health care system restricts our nation’s climate for healthy capitalism across all industries.

Instead of running scared from the idea of socialized medicine, universal government run health care should be on the top of the priority list for every red blooded capitalist in America. Sound funny? It shouldn't. One of the biggest barriers for small businesses and even large corporations in America is the escalating cost of health care. According to David Cay Johnston in his new book "Free Lunch", Toyota recently turned down the state of Alabama's offer to have a 100% subsidized multi-million dollar auto plant built and paid for completely by the Alabama tax payers. Why would any company turn down so much money in subsidies? Are you kidding? A completely free auto plant! Toyota executives decided that it made more sense to locate the new plant in Canada and pay all the costs themselves. American "for-profit" health care was the culprit. If you think that sounds strange then just ask General Motors how much it costs to keep American workers in health plans. The current system is bad for business. I know because I run a small business and our insurance costs are through the roof. When important employers leave our nation because our health care system stifles business, then we have a big problem. How does that Canadian health care system look now?

Another big issue is that our current health care system ties insurance to employment. These conditions keep many workers from changing jobs and expanding their career. Millions more workers squander their innovation and entrepreneurial skills because they simply can’t get health care if they decide to start their own business. Shouldn’t we as a nation be interested in building a system that facilitates innovation and our entrepreneurial spirit? Shouldn't our health care system attract business and invite capitalism? Why does the insurance industry win out over all the rest of us when they already get billions in handouts from the government?

This is a general election pitch that would appeal across party lines. I hope Barack Obama picks up on this message soon. Maybe we should turn the tables on the health industry and outsource them to china!

Lessons In Context

I’m sick of people taking comments out of context and twisting them to mean something entirely different. The latest example has been lifting this statement from Michelle Obama:

"For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country, and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change."

The first lesson in context is that you never read meaning into a sentence without hearing the sentences right before it (and the paragraph, and the chapter before it). In the sentences before this lifted quote, Michelle Obama talks about the “political process”. She clearly sets the context to be about politics. I completely agree with her. It is the first time I’ve been proud enough to openly talk about my own political choice. It is the first time I’ve been willing to put a bumper sticker on my car. It is the first time I’ve talked openly to my coworkers about the specific views of my favorite candidate. It is the first time I've contributed money to a campaign. It is the first time I’ve bought a guy a beer just to get another 15 minutes to make a strong case for my choice. It is the first time I’ve voted for the presidential candidate that won my home state (even in a primary). It is the first time I've voted FOR a candidate instead of AGAINST the other candidate.

So, I agree with Michelle Obama. This is the first time in MY adult life that I’ve been proud of the American political process. Bill O’Rilley can quote me on that.

Obama Says Cheese

Obama is winning the Wisconsin primary in a big way. This week proves that negative campaigning doesn't work. I hope the Clintons have learned their lesson. The crap dribbling out of their campaign this week makes me sick. It smacks of deperation and feeds the image of a divisive win at all cost mentality.

Thanks to all the cheeseheads for coming through big today!

Free Lunch

David Cay Johnston has written a great book called "Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill)" . I was a little afraid that the book would drag me back into a libertarian state of pessimism about government, but the book was more than I expected. The author does a wonderful job of pointing out corruption without making America and our government the problem. We have been the victim of corrupt leadership, absentee media sources, and a largely ignorant public. That combination has lead to nearly 9 trillion dollars of national debt and little to show for it. However, if we let ourselves become pessimistic, we will have lost all hope.

Nearly thirty years ago, our nation fell for the intentional decision to move toward a policy that ships our tax dollars to large corporate interests. It may look like downsizing, but in reality it is more costly than we ever could have imagined. I fell for it too. It sounded like a good idea. Ronald Reagan made us believe we would downsize our government, but the reality is that he made us addicted to debt and we began spending more than ever by outsourcing many of our nations responsibilities to overpriced government contracts. We mistakenly thought that brining “business men” into the equation would trim spending and make our government more efficient. We were all wrong. Instead, our ties to corporate interests have created a huge amount of debt. Businesses are designed to make money, and they have done just that at the expense of American taxpayers. The trend has continued ever since. The funny thing is that George W. Bush got elected on the basis of tax cuts and responsible spending, however, David Cay Johnston shows us that Bush made his fortune on tax increases and a slick arrangement with state and local government to send the proceeds directly into his pocket via his investment in the Texas Rangers baseball team. There are many more examples including subisidies to Wal-Mart, oil companies, casinos, and sports teams.

One of the bright spots in this well written book is a clear explanation of Health Care in America including the history of Health Management Organizations (HMOs) and drug company influences. I wish every American voter would read this book. It is well researched and very readable. It will probably piss you off, but it shouldn't leave you jaded about the possiblity of solving our problems.

Andrew Sullivan on Obama

The Liberal Values Blog recently published this post about Obama. It includes Republican columnist Andrew Sullivan’s insightful view of Barack Obama. I think it captures some of the reason’s I’m drawn toward Obama over his competitors. This type of perspective from a conservative columnist is more proof that Obama will perform better in the general election.

Barack Obama has transcended the traditional support for a liberal candidate. He has both conservatives and libertarians seriously considering voting for him. Andrew Sullivan sums up what is different about Obama:

He is not a traditional top-down government liberal. He’s a pragmatist who believes in finding ways to empower people to run their own lives. No, he’s no libertarian. But his view of government’s role has absorbed some of the right-wing critiques of the 1970s and 1980s. Hence the lack of mandates in his healthcare proposal and his refusal to engage in racial victimology. This nuance is worth exploring. Unlike Hillary, he doesn’t believe he is going to save anyone. He thinks he has a chance to help some people save themselves.

Obama is a liberal for those of us who are not worshipers of big government and who understand why the Democrats became a minority party. Obama can receive support from conservatives and libertarians, and will undoubtedly remain the target of an ongoing stream of attacks from big government liberals like Paul Krugman. Krugman, along with Clinton and Edwards, represent an old fashioned strain of liberalism which has failed and has been rejected. Obama is not a conservative or libertarian as he will use government where needed, without attempting the micromanagement of each individual’s life like Hillary Clinton or resorting to class warfare like John Edwards. Obama represents the liberalism of the future, which understands the classical foundations of liberalism as a philosophy of liberty.

White Men CAN Jump

As Barack Obama had another huge win today, Andrea Mitchell, NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, delivered one of the better lines of this primary election season when she said "white men can jump... to a black candidate". I guess that for once in my life I'm trendy. I'm a successful, upper middle class, well educated, professional white man that supports Barack Obama. Obama kicked ass again today and his support is growing among my demographic. I know that many of my readers are also in this demographic, so I'm looking for reasons why this is happening. Is it guilt? Is it education? Is it information? Any thoughts?

I do know this, Barack Obama's message will play well in a general election. As a matter of fact, he has already begun pulling out his general election positions. He is playing to a message of unity, middle class tax cuts, fiscal responsibility, a focus on education, and a fundamental belief in the American dream. The American dream sells. I'm excited to hear him move to this message sooner rather than later. From the first time I read his book "The Audacity of Hope", I suspected that he had this message to offer. I'm so excited to finally hear it spoken by one of the greatest speakers I've ever witnessed on the largest stage possible.

I also listened to McCain's speech tonight and I heard 3 clear points. First, be afraid our enemies. Second, greed is good. Third, fight at all cost (and the cost will cripple us). Mr. McCain, I don't see how this will play. The contrast of these candidates is dramatic. I'm sorry Hillary, but Obama spoke right past you tonight and America has seen its future in Barack Obama.

Damn! I Think We Actually Can

More Kennedy Love For Obama

I normally hate 30 second political advertisements, but Caroline Kennedy has helped create one of the best I've ever seen.



Just because we have corrupted leaders like George Bush and Dick Cheney in the White House, it doesn't mean we have to give up on OUR ability to be a great nation again. It is easy to let a few demons cause us to demonize our ability to self-govern. Obama is offering the hope that "we the people" can be great again. We need leaders that can distance us from our past corruption and restore our hope in the future.

Obama: Ready Day One!

This week, Ted Kennedy turned the Clinton's spin back on them. He made the case that Barack Obama can be an effective president from "day one". Divisive tactics are not working and the Kennedy's have helped to turn the tables.

"With Barack Obama, we will turn the page on the old politics of misrepresentation and distortion." Ted Kennedy

SC Says "Yes We Can"

Slugfest Fact Check

Factcheck.org has published the facts behind Monday night's political slugfest. I'm not happy with either candidate. However, I felt much better about Obama's remarks. Edwards could have been the clear winner if he had not decided to dive into the muck with the other two. For the last year I haven't been able to place my finger on the reason I don't like Hillary Clinton. Monday I figured it out. It is because of the "Clinton" ability to spin errant facts into emotional rhetoric. I wanted to puke.

Buying Votes

It is unclear which profession is more corrupt and broken – American Politics or American Journalism. At the end of the day, our fake public servants operate as marionettes operating at the hands of fake journalists who prey on our nation’s obsession with conflict. The corporate sponsors line up around the corner to pay for air time. More concerned with inciting riots and raising ratings rather than asking substantive questions, these fake journalists poke and prod the candidates hoping to get a violent reaction. Is this the future of the world at stake here or one of Michael Vick’s dog fights? Meanwhile, the big corporate sponsors are taking bets in the background. “Gimme 2 to 1 on the old white chick” said the insurance executive. “You’re full of Shit, he’ll rip ‘er head off and piss down her throat” screamed the Drug Company lobbyist as he throws down a roll of cash big enough to choke a horse.

The corporate sponsors and political spin doctors got their wish Monday night. Unfortunately, the lead was buried on the last page. The real story is how these candidates on both sides are trying to buy our votes. First, the Republicans bid $500 per vote which it disguised as an “economic stimulus package”. Then the Democrats realized they couldn’t come across as stingy so they bid $600 per vote. Both sides want to buy our votes by giving us a stupid tax refund. We are drowning in debt so their brilliant answer is to go deeper in debt. What? I think our politicians are watching too many late night commercials for pawn shops and pay day lenders. You have to be kidding me! That short sighted thinking is how we got into this mess.

So now our government will borrow billions from China, give us all $600 a piece so we can still afford to go down to that new Starbucks on the corner and buy a $4 cup of coffee harvested by workers in a 3rd world country getting paid $.50 a day. All of this is so that the corporate executives financing the campaigns can ensure their precious stock options at Starbucks and Wal-Mart maintain their value. Six months later, $500 of useless consumer goods are in a trash dump, our lives are still empty, and we face the reality that our paychecks are worth less than before because the U.S. dollar is worthless in the global market. All the while, China owns the 2nd mortgage on our nation. This is what happens when we build an economy based on debt and retail sales while our manufacturing industry vanishes and our only innovation is designing new financing techniques to borrow more money and make our debt look like profit.

Now we have these so-called “journalists” like Wolf Blitzer wasting our time asking Barack Obama how he feels about the opportunity to be the 2nd black president. What a complete idiot. Our society kills Martin Luther King Jr. and somehow we give Blitzer a microphone to desecrate his memory.

Healthcare For Profit

Libertarian Support for Obama

A recent post on the Liberal Values blog makes a good case that Obama has gained support from many Libertarians who have peeked under the hood of Ron Paul's platform and found something other than a champion for liberty. I'm probably a good example of this trend. The recent information regarding Ron Paul's racist views may be the last straw for many libertarians and may send them running to the Democrats for safe haven from the Republicans who have largely abandoned liberty, free market economics, and fiscal responsibility.

As a person with many libertarian values, I've seen Obama as a type of "left-leaning libertarian" since I first read his book "The Audacity of Hope". His deep understanding and devotion to constitutional law and his choice to use free market economics as a tool for restoring justice as opposed to massive government programs has always appealed to me. He has stood in opposition to the types of government hand-outs that constitute nothing more than corporate welfare for the defense and energy industries. This side of Obama may not be getting the publicity it deserves during the more emotional and stump-speech oriented primary. It' a big reason he plays well to more educated voters who dare to dig beneath the rhetoric.

If you are an anti-war liberty minded voter who is concerned about fiscal responsibility but may be wary of considering a Democrat, then I urge you to reconsider Obama. Despite his book's title and his tendency to come across as a motivational speaker, Obama is first a foremost an advocate for the constitution. His hope is not based in idealistic charity and goodwill. His hope seems to be based on belief in this nations founding principles of liberty and justice for all.