Gary Secondino: Politics

Somebody Has To Respond

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:10:08 GMT

A good story of response to the big banks that are destroying jobs, and damaging America. I strongly identify with this perspective. The other side of the coin: And then on Dec. 10 there is the despicable "Republican Action Alert". When I first read this Action Alert my first thought was, my god these people are actively working against the best interests of the United States. That's not politics, that's freaking treason! Continuing Back Thom Hartman has a timeline perspective that lays out the source of America's prosperity and the reasons when it began to unravel.

President Elect Obama - 2.5 million new jobs by 2011

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:55:34 GMT

His best statement "What is not negotiable is the need for immediate action". I couldn't agree more.

President Elect Obama's Saturday message

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:36:57 GMT

No Prediction Here

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:42:38 GMT

There are my thought's and feelings on how this election will turn out which I reserve for myself. My hope is the O wins and we, as a united country, can restore middle class economic prosperity. I'm ready to work toward this goal. A personal point: I have two daughters that I love. Each one has a different political position and I find it ironic that four years ago the presidential inauguration fell on the birthday of daughter number one and this year election day falls on the birthday of daughter number two. What a coincidence. Could this be a sign? Is there a deeper meaning? Here's a song I wrote on inauguration day 2005. Maybe I'll become inspired and write a song on November 4th.

Happy Halloween

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:09:46 GMT

John McCain is only a 90% Bush supporter

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 20:06:09 GMT

It's a bitter harvest from those bad seeds you sowed John. Maverick? Not so much.

Learn the TRUTH

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:35:07 GMT

John McCain's Health Care Plan: 1. Taxes your employer provided health care benefits as income. 2. Gives a $5000 check to your health insurance company. 3. Leave families on their own to figure out how to cover the balance of the $12,000 family plan premium. 4. Remove consumer protections by letting health insurance companies sell across state lines. 5.Forces 20 million citizens out of employer provided health insurance which makes them vulnerable to not being able to get coverage at all in the individual market because of pre-existing conditions. DOES THAT SOUND GOOD TO YOU?

A Very Good Move

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:47:46 GMT

Obama Buys Half Hour Of Primetime Week Before Election The Obama campaign has bought a half hour block of primetime television - from 8-8:30pm ET - on Wednesday, Oct. 29, on CBS, NBC, and MSNBC, according to television industry sources. The bold buy, first reported by the Hollywood Reporter and featured on the Drudge Report, will put the Obama show uninterrupted to American television sets across the country less than one week before election day.

Palin is a post turtle

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:23:27 GMT

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75-year old Texas rancher whose hand was caught in a gate when working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to politics, specifically Sarah Palin and her bid to be a heartbeat away from being President. The old rancher said, 'Well, ya know, Palin is a post turtle. Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what is a post turtle. The old rancher said, 'When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle. The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain. 'You know she didn't get up there by herself, she doesn't belong up there, she doesn't know what to do while she is up there, and you just wonder what kind of dumb ass put her up there to begin with.

Andrew Bacevich Interview

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:40:00 GMT

This morning I listened to a deep thought provoking interview with Andrew Bacevich. Mr. Bacevich currently is an author who teaches history and international relations at Boston University. A West Point graduate, retired Army colonel, and Vietnam veteran, he speaks with a clear articulation of the United States post WWII politics and the direction in which this country has turned. He threads politics, people, and policy into a-ha moments of recognition that explain why the United States is where it is today. His recent book THE LIMITS OF POWER: THE END OF AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM is on my reading list. As I wrote this a thought occurred to me that this impressive man would make a fine vice-president for either candidate. Here are some links for more information. Bill Moyers Interviews Andrew J. Bacevich The interview video Michael Winship: Andrew Bacevich, America and the World The Imperial Presidency?

Deficits

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:58:59 GMT

Editorial cartoonist Steve Greenburg targets another BIG republican lie.

A World that Stands as One

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:55:07 GMT

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama (as prepared for delivery) "A World that Stands as One" July 24th, 2008 Berlin, Germany Thank you to the citizens of Berlin and to the people of Germany. Let me thank Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Steinmeier for welcoming me earlier today. Thank you Mayor Wowereit, the Berlin Senate, the police, and most of all thank you for this welcome. I come to Berlin as so many of my countrymen have come before. Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen - a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world. I know that I dont look like the Americans whove previously spoken in this great city. The journey that led me here is improbable. My mother was born in the heartland of America, but my father grew up herding goats in Kenya. His father - my grandfather - was a cook, a domestic servant to the British. At the height of the Cold War, my father decided, like so many others in the forgotten corners of the world, that his yearning - his dream - required the freedom and opportunity promised by the West. And so he wrote letter after letter to universities all across America until somebody, somewhere answered his prayer for a better life. That is why Im here. And you are here because you too know that yearning. This city, of all cities, knows the dream of freedom. And you know that the only reason we stand here tonight is because men and women from both of our nations came together to work, and struggle, and sacrifice for that better life. Ours is a partnership that truly began sixty years ago this summer, on the day when the first American plane touched down at Templehof. On that day, much of this continent still lay in ruin. The rubble of this city had yet to be built into a wall. The Soviet shadow had swept across Eastern Europe, while in the West, America, Britain, and France took stock of their losses, and pondered how the world might be remade. This is where the two sides met. And on the twenty-fourth of June, 1948, the Communists chose to blockade the western part of the city. They cut off food and supplies to more than two million Germans in an effort to extinguish the last flame of freedom in Berlin. The size of our forces was no match for the much larger Soviet Army. And yet retreat would have allowed Communism to march across Europe. Where the last war had ended, another World War could have easily begun. All that stood in the way was Berlin. And thats when the airlift began - when the largest and most unlikely rescue in history brought food and hope to the people of this city. The odds were stacked against success. In the winter, a heavy fog filled the sky above, and many planes were forced to turn back without dropping off the needed supplies. The streets where we stand were filled with hungry families who had no comfort from the cold. But in the darkest hours, the people of Berlin kept the flame of hope burning. The people of Berlin refused to give up. And on one fall day, hundreds of thousands of Berliners came here, to the Tiergarten, and heard the citys mayor implore the world not to give up on freedom. "There is only one possibility," he said. "For us to stand together united until this battle is wonThe people of Berlin have spoken. We have done our duty, and we will keep on doing our duty. People of the world: now do your dutyPeople of the world, look at Berlin!" People of the world - look at Berlin! Look at Berlin, where Germans and Americans learned to work together and trust each other less than three years after facing each other on the field of battle. Look at Berlin, where the determination of a people met the generosity of the Marshall Plan and created a German miracle; where a victory over tyranny gave rise to NATO, the greatest alliance ever formed to defend our common security. Look at Berlin, where the bullet holes in the buildings and the somber stones and pillars near the Brandenburg Gate insist that we never forget our common humanity. People of the world - look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one. Sixty years after the airlift, we are called upon again. History has led us to a new crossroad, with new promise and new peril. When you, the German people, tore down that wall - a wall that divided East and West; freedom and tyranny; fear and hope - walls came tumbling down around the world. From Kiev to Cape Town, prison camps were closed, and the doors of democracy were opened. Markets opened too, and the spread of information and technology reduced barriers to opportunity and prosperity. While the 20th century taught us that we share a common destiny, the 21st has revealed a world more intertwined than at any time in human history. The fall of the Berlin Wall brought new hope. But that very closeness has given rise to new dangers - dangers that cannot be contained within the borders of a country or by the distance of an ocean. The terrorists of September 11th plotted in Hamburg and trained in Kandahar and Karachi before killing thousands from all over the globe on American soil. As we speak, cars in Boston and factories in Beijing are melting the ice caps in the Arctic, shrinking coastlines in the Atlantic, and bringing drought to farms from Kansas to Kenya. Poorly secured nuclear material in the former Soviet Union, or secrets from a scientist in Pakistan could help build a bomb that detonates in Paris. The poppies in Afghanistan become the heroin in Berlin. The poverty and violence in Somalia breeds the terror of tomorrow. The genocide in Darfur shames the conscience of us all. In this new world, such dangerous currents have swept along faster than our efforts to contain them. That is why we cannot afford to be divided. No one nation, no matter how large or powerful, can defeat such challenges alone. None of us can deny these threats, or escape responsibility in meeting them. Yet, in the absence of Soviet tanks and a terrible wall, it has become easy to forget this truth. And if were honest with each other, we know that sometimes, on both sides of the Atlantic, we have drifted apart, and forgotten our shared destiny. In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common. In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europes role in our security and our future. Both views miss the truth - that Europeans today are bearing new burdens and taking more responsibility in critical parts of the world; and that just as American bases built in the last century still help to defend the security of this continent, so does our country still sacrifice greatly for freedom around the globe. Yes, there have been differences between America and Europe. No doubt, there will be differences in the future. But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together. A change of leadership in Washington will not lift this burden. In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more - not less. Partnership and cooperation among nations is not a choice; it is the one way, the only way, to protect our common security and advance our common humanity. That is why the greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us from one another. The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down. We know they have fallen before. After centuries of strife, the people of Europe have formed a Union of promise and prosperity. Here, at the base of a column built to mark victory in war, we meet in the center of a Europe at peace. Not only have walls come down in Berlin, but they have come down in Belfast, where Protestant and Catholic found a way to live together; in the Balkans, where our Atlantic alliance ended wars and brought savage war criminals to justice; and in South Africa, where the struggle of a courageous people defeated apartheid. So history reminds us that walls can be torn down. But the task is never easy. True partnership and true progress requires constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy; of progress and peace. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other. That is why America cannot turn inward. That is why Europe cannot turn inward. America has no better partner than Europe. Now is the time to build new bridges across the globe as strong as the one that bound us across the Atlantic. Now is the time to join together, through constant cooperation, strong institutions, shared sacrifice, and a global commitment to progress, to meet the challenges of the 21st century. It was this spirit that led airlift planes to appear in the sky above our heads, and people to assemble where we stand today. And this is the moment when our nations - and all nations - must summon that spirit anew. This is the moment when we must defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it. This threat is real and we cannot shrink from our responsibility to combat it. If we could create NATO to face down the Soviet Union, we can join in a new and global partnership to dismantle the networks that have struck in Madrid and Amman; in London and Bali; in Washington and New York. If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope. This is the moment when we must renew our resolve to rout the terrorists who threaten our security in Afghanistan, and the traffickers who sell drugs on your streets. No one welcomes war. I recognize the enormous difficulties in Afghanistan. But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATOs first mission beyond Europes borders is a success. For the people of Afghanistan, and for our shared security, the work must be done. America cannot do this alone. The Afghan people need our troops and your troops; our support and your support to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda, to develop their economy, and to help them rebuild their nation. We have too much at stake to turn back now. This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. The two superpowers that faced each other across the wall of this city came too close too often to destroying all we have built and all that we love. With that wall gone, we need not stand idly by and watch the further spread of the deadly atom. It is time to secure all loose nuclear materials; to stop the spread of nuclear weapons; and to reduce the arsenals from another era. This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a world without nuclear weapons. This is the moment when every nation in Europe must have the chance to choose its own tomorrow free from the shadows of yesterday. In this century, we need a strong European Union that deepens the security and prosperity of this continent, while extending a hand abroad. In this century - in this city of all cities - we must reject the Cold War mind-set of the past, and resolve to work with Russia when we can, to stand up for our values when we must, and to seek a partnership that extends across this entire continent. This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many. Together, we must forge trade that truly rewards the work that creates wealth, with meaningful protections for our people and our planet. This is the moment for trade that is free and fair for all. This is the moment we must help answer the call for a new dawn in the Middle East. My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions. We must support the Lebanese who have marched and bled for democracy, and the Israelis and Palestinians who seek a secure and lasting peace. And despite past differences, this is the moment when the world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close. This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands. Let us resolve that all nations - including my own - will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere. This is the moment to give our children back their future. This is the moment to stand as one. And this is the moment when we must give hope to those left behind in a globalized world. We must remember that the Cold War born in this city was not a battle for land or treasure. Sixty years ago, the planes that flew over Berlin did not drop bombs; instead they delivered food, and coal, and candy to grateful children. And in that show of solidarity, those pilots won more than a military victory. They won hearts and minds; love and loyalty and trust - not just from the people in this city, but from all those who heard the story of what they did here. Now the world will watch and remember what we do here - what we do with this moment. Will we extend our hand to the people in the forgotten corners of this world who yearn for lives marked by dignity and opportunity; by security and justice? Will we lift the child in Bangladesh from poverty, shelter the refugee in Chad, and banish the scourge of AIDS in our time? Will we stand for the human rights of the dissident in Burma, the blogger in Iran, or the voter in Zimbabwe? Will we give meaning to the words "never again" in Darfur? Will we acknowledge that there is no more powerful example than the one each of our nations projects to the world? Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law? Will we welcome immigrants from different lands, and shun discrimination against those who dont look like us or worship like we do, and keep the promise of equality and opportunity for all of our people? People of Berlin - people of the world - this is our moment. This is our time. I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, weve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. Weve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions. But I also know how much I love America. I know that for more than two centuries, we have strived - at great cost and great sacrifice - to form a more perfect union; to seek, with other nations, a more hopeful world. Our allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom - indeed, every language is spoken in our country; every culture has left its imprint on ours; every point of view is expressed in our public squares. What has always united us - what has always driven our people; what drew my father to Americas shores - is a set of ideals that speak to aspirations shared by all people: that we can live free from fear and free from want; that we can speak our minds and assemble with whomever we choose and worship as we please. These are the aspirations that joined the fates of all nations in this city. These aspirations are bigger than anything that drives us apart. It is because of these aspirations that the airlift began. It is because of these aspirations that all free people - everywhere - became citizens of Berlin. It is in pursuit of these aspirations that a new generation - our generation - must make our mark on the world. People of Berlin - and people of the world - the scale of our challenge is great. The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope. With an eye toward the future, with resolve in our hearts, let us remember this history, and answer our destiny, and remake the world once again.

Memo to republican voters

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:56:01 GMT

By Frank Schaeffer, via The Huffington Post If the Republicans -- not to mention their bedrock supporters, such as evangelical Christians, neoconservatives and others -- do not grasp the Obama moment, and then rise to the occasion, when it comes to understanding the significance of having the first black American to become an authentic presidential aspirant, they will have doomed themselves to political obscurity and moral opprobrium forever. The Republican Party would not be where it is today or have dominated American politics for the last 30 years, if it had not been for my late evangelical leader father Francis Schaeffer. Dad more or less invented the Protestant pro-life movement by giving it its intellectual basis; before that, evangelical Protestants mostly stayed out of politics. Along with Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Dr. Dobson and the other handful of "founding fathers" of the religious right (including to a lesser extent me before I dropped out of the movement), back in the 70s and 80s we empowered and energized a big chunk of today's Republican base. So what I have to say here about Senator Obama to my old Republican friends comes from an inside perspective. It's this: beware how you deal with the Obama moment. What you do now is going to define you far more than you'll define Obama. He is about to become a major part of American history. You are about to be written off forever ... if you get this wrong. As a former Republican activist who, as late as 2000, was campaigning for John McCain, today I am a dedicated supporter of Senator Obama for president. Yes, I changed my mind. But that isn't the point. My point here is to ask how the Republicans will define themselves by the means they use to try to define and defeat Obama. My motivation? It isn't to help Republicans win. I want them to lose the election. But there are bigger fish to fry. For instance the peace and goodwill that we will all need to return to in order to function as Americans after this election. America matters more than party. And it is America that will be damaged by the self-destruction of the Republican Party. We need a viable opposition. Just to be clear: I'm not saying that everyone must vote for Obama, or that people who don't are racists, evil or dumb. I am saying that how the Obama candidacy is treated and what tactics are ued will define Obama's opponents, not him. And this year's election will either help build up America or tear it apart. While Republicans are concentrating on winning in November it seems to me that they have lost sight of the fact that this moment has far greater significance than whatever happens in electoral politics this year. If you listen to the silly chatter on FOX News, or talk radio, or read the likes of Dr. Dobson, Pat Buchanan and William Kristol and absorb their sophomoric take on Obama, his patriotism, his flag pin, his wife's patriotism, etc., etc., the question arises: do they know what planet they are on or what century they are in? How Republicans, Democrats, and independent voters react to Obama's candidacy will define us all in ways that today can hardly be imagined. While most Republicans (and many Democrats too) seem to be concentrating on present and narrowly defined victory, the real issue is how we all will be perceived in the future. Our great, great grandchildren will pass judgment on us, and so will the world. Simply put: Republican strategists who think that business-as-usual -- i.e., the slanderous politics of the past 30 years -- will take care of matters this time around are deluded. Worse than that, they will doom the reputation of the Republican Party and turn it into a marginal footnote of American history if they keep trivializing this historic event. That is too bad because, as I said, we need a two party system. All over the world people who have thought ill of America are now thinking better of us, simply because Obama has become a serious major party candidate. All over the world our country, which has sunk to its lowest level ever in the public's view under Bush, suddenly looks immeasurably better because we have grown up enough to embrace a black candidate, our fraught and sordid racial history notwithstanding. We might even be setting an example in spite of ourselves. All over the world people who have despaired of their old friend America are taking a second look. In our own country millions of new voters, especially young voters, are coming into the political process that before Obama, they had either ignored or written off. And the African-American population that has been the victim of the racism which has dragged on and on relentlessly, is taking a deep breath and considering a new future. Senator Obama is not just a "historic black candidate." He turns out to be a profoundly inspirational person. For a start he is not beating the drum for fear as the means to motivate votes. This is a huge change from Bush and the paranoid distrust of the "other" that the Bush years will be remembered for. There are echoes of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt in the measured and sane Obama candidacy. There is the best of the American story in his personal history. The man radiates a steady decency, compassion and profound wisdom that is rare at any time in politics, but following the embarrassment of George W. Bush comes like cold water to those stuck in an interminable desert. This is the context of the Obama candidacy. And what it symbolizes long-term is so far and away more important than the election results in November, that the mere politics of the moment is almost an insult to the sea change that Obama's candidacy represents. If the world gets it, if Obama inspires the French, the British, the Egyptians, the Germans, the Indonesians, the Irish, even the Chinese, but Republican operatives and strategists don't "get it," then I make this prophecy: the Republican Party will look so small and yes, so pathetically racist, that by the end of the day we will barely have a two-party system left in America. No one will forgive the Republicans (or angry Clinton Democrats) if they come out of this moment looking as if they missed the point of what America means. The Republicans are going to look as out of touch a few years from now as did the isolationists and "America First" folks after World War II. Before the war they were active in the prewar run up and they seemed very much in the game, even relevant. But the isolationists didn't understand the fact that the world had changed and left them and their interests stranded. The globe was smaller than they figured and they marginalized themselves. Forces beyond their political control were unleashed on them. And by the end of World War II the entire world map was redrawn. There was no room left for them on the political map either. They went from serious to joke status in a heartbeat. That's the fate that awaits the Republicans today if they persist in trivializing Obama. As they prepare their slimy little Rovian attacks on Michelle Obama, and her "lack of patriotism," on Senator Obama and his "un-American" former pastor, and as the racial innuendo and the use of Obama's middle name, etc., etc., morphs into an updated version of "swift boating" the Republicans are more or less signing their death warrant. They are about to become a minority party perceived as controlled by silly half-educated white men, cranks, racists and windbags. The writing is on the wall. If fools like the FOX News folks, are the face of the Republican Party in this election the Republicans are done. It will not be forgotten that the Republicans pissed on a shining moment of opportunity and could do no better than snicker at a moment when the rest of the world looked at the Obama moment in awe and renewed respect for America. Obama changes everything. Those who understand this and embrace the facts may live to fight another day in whatever political party. Those who don't -- be they Republicans or Hillary Clinton's disappointed and angry Democrats -- instantly make themselves part of a past that will never be escaped or lived down. Here is what the Republicans and others can do to come out of this contest alive and well with their future bright whether they win or lose this election. 1. Categorically repudiate and denounce the sort of slime attacks that are already being mounted against Obama and his wife until they stop. 2. Refuse to go along with the snickering half-wits at places like FOX News. They will take you down with them into well deserved oblivion. 3. Pay homage to what Obama means to America and what his candidacy stand for in the same way that Obama pays homage to McCain's Vietnam War service and do so often and where it counts. 4. Decide now that it would be better to lose this election than win a race-based or innuendo-based pyrrhic victory that decimates the Republican Party's (or angry Clinton fans') reputation forever. 5. Debate the issues, not the man. The point is not to belittle Obama. You can't. He's already a giant of American history and became such just by getting this far in a country that was still lynching black men in our parents' lifetimes. But that doesn't mean that you have to agree. Say that his tax hikes will hurt. Say that his medical coverage is going to cost. There are real issues. Call him on those if you will. And experience is a legitimate issue too. But stay out of the slime. 6. Don't be too clever by half. Play even the hint of the race card, no matter how cutely or while pretending innocence, and you're toast. How the Republican Party deals with this moment and whether it looks to a larger future than simply winning by any means, will not only say more about the Republicans than it says about Obama but will either give the Republicans a place in the future or relegate them to a discredited past from which they will never return. That will happen even if McCain wins. The victory will be short-lived. Members of the Democratic Party who have America's best interests at heart can only hope that the half of our country we call red state America doesn't self-destruct. If it does it will make us all smaller. We all live here, remember? Frank Schaeffer is a writer and author of CRAZY FOR GOD-How I Grew Up As One Of The Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, And Lived To Take All (Or Almost All) Of It Back.

Pennsylvania Stars by Paul Hipp

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:12:56 GMT

Pennsylvania votes today.

The TRUTH About Electorate Bitterness

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 15:40:06 GMT

The TRUTH makes perfect sense. The LIARS always attack the messenger.

Now playing everywhere in the U.S.

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:18:54 GMT

Reagan Republican Revolution Reminder

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:02:34 GMT

Remember the good ol' days when Ronnie was running the country.

West Wing Magic

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:02:38 GMT

I do miss the best program ever on commercial television. The writing, the characters and the persona of the entire show was to me, perfect. Just like this Penn and Teller segment where they burn an American flag in the white house, or do they?

God Bless This Mess

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:29:09 GMT

My respect for Cheryl Crow has just been elevated steeply.

The Yes We Can Song

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:14:40 GMT

The Yes We Can Song by will.i.am I was sitting in my recording studio watching the debates... Torn between the candidates I was never really big on politics... and actually I'm still not big on politics... but 4 years ago, me and the black eyed peas supported Kerry... And we supported Kerry with all our might... We performed and performed and performed for the DNC... doing all we could do to get the youth involved... The outcome of the last 2 elections has saddened me... on how unfair, backwards, upside down, unbalanced, untruthful, corrupt, and just simply, how wrong the world and "politics" are... So this year i wanted to get involved and do all i could early... And i found myself torn... because this time it's not that simple... our choices aren't as clear as the last elections ... last time it was so obvious... Bush and war vs no Bush and no war... But this time it's not that simple... and there are a lot of people that are torn just like i am... So for awhile I put it off and i was going to wait until it was decided for me... And then came New Hampshire... And i was captivated... Inspired... I reflected on my life... and the blessings I have... and the people who fought for me to have these rights and blessings... and I'm not talking about a "black thing" I'm talking about a "human thing" me as a "person" an American... That speech made me think of Martin Luther King... Kennedy... and Lincoln... and all the others that have fought for what we have today... what America is "supposed" to be... freedom... equality... and truth... and thats not what we have today... we think we are free... but in reality terror and fear controls our decisions... this is not the America that our pioneers and leaders fought and died for... and then there was New Hampshire it was that speech... like many great speeches... that one moved me... because words and ideas are powerful... It made me think... and realize that today we have "very few" leaders... maybe none... but that speech... it inspired me... it inspired me to look inside myself and outwards towards the world... it inspired me to want to change myself to better the world... and take a "leap" towards change... and hope that others become inspired to do the same... change themselves.. change their greed... change their fears... and if we "change that" "then hey".. we got something right...???... 1 week later after the speech settled in me... I began making this song... I came up with the idea to turn his speech into a song... because that speech effected and touched my inner core like nothing in a very long time... it spoke to me... because words and ideas are powerful... I just wanted to add a melody to those words... I wanted the inspiration that was bubbling inside me to take over... so i let it.. I wasn't afraid to stand for something... to stand for "change"... I wasn't afraid of "fear"... it was pure inspiration... so I called my friends... and they called their friends... in a matter of 2 days... We made the song and video... Usually this process would take months... a bunch of record company people figuring out strategies and release dates... interviews... all that stuff... but this time i took it in my own hands... so i called my friends sarah pantera, mike jurkovac, fred goldring, and jesse dylan to help make it happen... and they called their friends.. and we did it together in 48 hours... and instead of putting it in the hands of profit we put it in the hands of inspiration... then we put it on the net for the world to feel... When you are truly inspired.. magic happens... incredible things happen... love happens.. (and with that combination) "love, and inspiration" change happens... "change for the better" Inspiration breeds change... "Positive change"... no one on this planet is truly experienced to handle the obstacles we face today... Terror, fear, lies, agendas, politics, money, all the above... It's all scary... Martin Luther King didn't have experience to lead... Kennedy didn't have experience to lead... Susan B. Anthony... Nelson Mandella... Rosa Parks... Gandhi... Anne Frank... and everyone else who has had a hand in molding the freedoms we have and take for granted today... no one truly has experience to deal with the world today... they just need "desire, strength, courage ability, and passion" to change... and to stand for something even when people say it's not possible... America would not be here "today" if we didn't stand and fight for change "yesterday"... Everything we have as a "people" is because of the "people" who fought for change... and whoever is the President has to realize we have a lot of changing to do I'm not trying to convince people to see things how i do... I produced this song to share my new found inspiration and how I've been moved... I hope this song will make you feel... love... and think... and be inspired just like the speech inspired me... that's all... Let's all come together like America is supposed to... Like Japan did after Hiroshima... that was less than 65 years ago... and look at Japan now... they did it together... they did it... "We can't?... Are you serious..?.. WE CAN!!! Yes we can... A United "America" Democrats, Republicans and Independents together... Building a new America We can do it... "TOGETHER" Please visit www.yeswecansong.com Thank you for reading and listening... will.i.am

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:43:09 GMT

It's playoff season in Football and Presidential politics so in the interest of keeping things fair and balanced on Gary Secondino's Weblog here's a bit on our former governor, Mitten Romney!

Bass Lesson for Politicians

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:35:42 GMT

Pay attention Mr. Rom-inee.

Why Bush Acts That Way

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 13:44:37 GMT

This morning I see a headline that says 'Dems sell out again, give Bush sweeping power to spy on you without a court order'. The author claims the Dems rolled over and they are pathetic. I must question that. One would think that a President with a 28% job approval rating is ripe for a setback from a stern opposition. It appears that is not the case. I will venture the Dems are not the opposition party. They see how much unilateral power has been grabbed by the Bush Administration and the Dems want it too. It's politics as usual at the expense of our Democracy. All Americans are diminished by empire building political power plays. Until the American people exercise their constitutional right of impeachment this situation will continue. To an end which I fear could fracture the United Staes of America. Mark Danner concisely sums up why Bush acts that way in 'US Power has made reality its bitch'. The long form is from Mark's commencement address at UCal titled 'Taking the Measure of the First Rhetoric-Major President'.

Does Cheney Expect US to Belive This?

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 18:24:56 GMT

Cheney and Bush are liars. Let's see if "anyone" in the media or Congress will ask the questions below to these two "executives". via TPM:

For a White House that has offered a bountiful stream of substantive scandals for six years, the latest dust-up might be the most bizarre.

The background details are surprisingly straightforward. In 1995, the Clinton White House issued an executive order establishing uniform rules for protecting classified information. In 2003, the Bush White House revised it. The order plainly includes any executive-branch agency, any military department, and "any other entity within the executive branch that comes into the possession of classified information." The entire branch of government, the order said, is subject to oversight.

This week, however, in light revelations about the White House ignoring its own E.O., the Bush gang started spinning like a top.

The White House said Friday that, like Vice President Dick Cheney's office, President Bush's office is not allowing an independent federal watchdog to oversee its handling of classified national security information.
An executive order that Bush issued in March 2003 -- amending an existing order -- requires all government agencies that are part of the executive branch to submit to oversight. Although it doesn't specifically say so, Bush's order was not meant to apply to the vice president's office or the president's office, a White House spokesman said.

Look, I can appreciate the fact that the White House is in a jam here. Bush, Cheney, and the rest of the gang repeatedly mishandled classified materials during a time of war, got caught, ignored their own rules, and is now struggling to rationalize their conduct. When the federal agency responsible for oversight tried to do its job, the Vice President reportedly tried to abolish the agency. This isn't a fact-pattern that's easy to spin.

But the explanations thus far have been transparently ridiculous, up to and including the notion that the Vice President, as defined in Article II of the Constitution, isn't actually part of the executive branch of government.

Perhaps it's best to take a moment to summarize the questions that need answers:

* Why did Bush and Cheney abide by the executive order in question in 2001 and 2002, and then stop in 2003? Is it a coincidence they started ignoring the E.O. on handling classified materials just as they started mishandling classified materials?

* Why did Cheney abide by the E.O. in 2001 and 2002 if he's not part of the executive branch?

* Why did the President exempt the Vice President from an executive order he was already following? Why did he later exempt himself?

* When, precisely, did the White House decide that Bush and Cheney should exempt themselves from their own rules?

* Does Bush consider Cheney part of the executive branch? Why has the White House thus far refused to respond to this question? Does the President consider this a trick question?

* In its response to questions about the E.O., why did the White House point to a provision of the E.O. that doesn't exist?

* The White House insists, "There's no question that [Cheney] is in compliance" with the E.O. If there is no oversight, and Cheney is unaccountable, how does the White House know?

* In yesterday's press briefing, the president's spokesperson dismissed the oversight provision of the E.O. as "small" six times. Does the White House believe only "big" provisions need to be followed? How does the administration make the distinction?

Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) said yesterday, "Vice President Cheney is expanding the administration's policy on torture to include tortured logic. In the end, neither Mr. Cheney nor his staff is above the law or the Constitution."

At this point, I think they might quibble with that assertion.

-- Steve Benen

TPM digging into US Attorney Scandal

Sat, 05 May 2007 14:14:37 GMT

Fired US Attorney John McKay telling how it felt getting threatened not to talk about his firing and whether he thinks Alberto Gonzales told the truth in his testimony before the senate. It appears the Bush Republican Neo-Conserative Whitehouse was fully engaged in directing the firings and replacement of the US Attorney's. Here's some links: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/013984.php and http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/013980.php and http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/013970.php and http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/013973.php