General Comments, opinions, and questions on the upcoming November 2008 election. Are you registered to vote? (11th Congressional, 38th State Senate, 75th State Representative, 13th Judicial)
"There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false. I believe that these assertions still make sense and do still apply to the exploration of reality through art. So as a writer I stand by them but as a citizen I cannot. As a citizen I must ask: What is true? What is false?" - Harold Pinter; The Nobel Prize in Literature 2005.
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I know Ron Paul is out of the race. However, he is making some very disturbing claims lately (see http://www.infowars.net/articles/july2008/170708Paul.htm). Is he "Chicken Little” or is he ahead of the curve and onto something significant?
The Representative from Texas squarely places the blame of our, current and coming, economic woes on the Federal Reserve (a private corporation) and indirectly condemns the Patriot Act as a catalyst to erode the U.S. Constitution. Is he a looney or are we in for some tough times?
RPaul is on the House Finance Committee and it appears we are headed for "tougher" times, not just tough times.
In November, the registered voters of this fine state will be asked whether Illinois should have a constitutional convention (i.e., re-write/reform the Illinois Constitution which was adopted in 1970). The Alliance to Protect the Illinois Constitution generally states that it’d be too costly and we only need to elect better leaders while Dennis Byrne, a co-op editor for the Chicago Trib. asserts otherwise. The following links share these two viewpoints:
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1816442884/Alliance-No-new-state-constitution-needed
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped0721byrnejul21,0,7206843.story
I vote for Dr Edgar Mitchell who is a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission. He just recently claimed aliens do exist. See and hear the story at http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24069817-5001021,00.html
Write-in instructions for Illinois can be found at:
http://www.ejh4lawmaker.org/WriteIn.pdf
Write-in candidate Ron Paul. Don't be fooled by the other two...both are funded by the same groups.
Who are you going to vote for: Big Oil or Bigger Oil?
Exxon Mobil just announced a U.S. record setting quarterly profit. Shell too has record profits. Did the U.S. enter Iraq to oust Saddam because of his inconsistent production methods (even within the constraints of the U.N.'s food-for-oil program)? Why hasn't oil prices gone down? Why have oil prices spiked so much if the "American companies", er, I mean "American government" has stabilized the second largest oil producing nation in the world? There are rumors that there are secret price-fixing agreements among the oil companies through production (in addition to OPEC).
The Oil "experts" will remind us about the "Peak" in oil supply (a falsely generated mechanism to help raise prices) or that Asia's demand for oil has created less supply worldwide. Don't let them fool you, there is plenty of oil.
Could a potential truth of the matter be that our government is in bed with "big oil" and they are reaping huge profits before this "oil administration" is out of office?
Maybe, just maybe, Hugo Chavez isn't the monster Bush says he is. Maybe Hugo cares more about his country than he does for the greed of mult-national corporations? Can we find a leader who cares more for their country than for special interests? Is it time for the pendulum to swing to the way of the common person and away from MNCs.
Big Oil and the war in Iraq
By Derrick Z. Jackson, Boston Globe - June 24, 2008
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/06/24/big_oil_and_the_war_in_iraq/
IT TOOK five years, the deaths of 4,100 US soldiers, and the wounding of 30,000 more to make Iraq safe for Exxon. It is the inescapable open question since the reasons given by President Bush for the invasion and occupation did not exist, neither the weapons of mass destruction nor Saddam Hussein's ties to Al Qaeda and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The New York Times reported last week that several Western oil companies, including ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, BP, and Chevron, are about to sign no-bid contracts with the Iraqi government. Western oil had a significant stake in Iraqi oil for much of the last century until the government nationalized the industry in 1972. The Associated Press quoted Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Fadel Gheit as saying he believed the contracts were a first step toward production-sharing agreements. "These companies are in it for the money, not to make friends," Gheit said.
This of course blows a hole in another ancient Bush fallacy, the one in which former Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld said "the oil wells belong to the Iraqi people" and former secretary of State Colin Powell seconded him by saying Iraqi oil "will be held in trust for the Iraqi people." Former Deputy Defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz once claimed there was so much oil in Iraq that "When it comes to reconstruction, before we turn to the American taxpayer, we will turn first to the resources of the Iraqi government."
No, all that is really happening is that while the American taxpayer is being turned inside out by the war, and while families bury the brave, the corporate colonialists get all the resources. Halliburton, the oil services company which Vice President Dick Cheney once led, last year reported a 49 percent rise in profits, to $3.5 billion.
KBR, the former Halliburton subsidiary that provides food, shelter, and laundry services to soldiers, last year reported record profits and is about to share in a new 10-year, $150 billion contract. The controversial North Carolina-based private security firm Blackwater, whose guards shot and killed 17 Iraqis in one incident last year, has crossed the billion-dollar mark in government contracts, charging, according to the Raleigh News and Observer, $1,221 a day for security guards who are actually paid $500 a day.
This is despite repeated charges of waste, overcharging and recklessness, and a degree of patriotism that verges on betrayal. As many veterans were being treated amid appalling conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar last year moved from Texas to Dubai. The Globe last March reported on how KBR has avoided paying perhaps half a billion dollars in Social Security and Medicare taxes since the start of the invasion by hiring employees through shell companies in the Cayman Islands.
Now comes Big Oil itself, which is already basking in record profits. Its interest in Iraq, which has the world's third-largest oil reserves according to the federal government, is utterly transparent. A decade ago, then-Chevron CEO Kenneth Derr said "I'd love Chevron to have access to" the Iraqi oil reserves. A Los Angeles Times news account just before the invasion said, "Maybe it's a coincidence, but American and British oil companies would be long-term beneficiaries of a successful military offensive . . . Industry officials say Hussein's ouster would help level the playing field . . . a bonanza for the US-dominated oil-services industry."
Who will stop the bonanza or at least ensure that it is not an utter windfall for CEOs as US soldiers risk their lives keeping the peace and as Iraqis continue to struggle out of the rubble of the invasion? That is unclear. Of the two presumptive nominees for president, Democrat Barack Obama makes the most noise against oil profiteering and indeed, Republican John McCain has received more money overall from Big Oil. But Obama has received enough campaign contributions to leave it an open question as to how much leadership he would exert. We know Big Oil is in this for the money. Nothing says it is returning to Iraq in the name of the people.
No more vote recounts will cost us $3 billion?
Please write our Federal lawmakers (Durban, Obama, and Weller) to voice your opposition to Senate Bill 3212.
Basically, the bill is mandating that we use electronic voting machines that don't work and provide no means of recounting the votes. Many have claimed that GW was erroneously elected because of the use of these machines.
See Lou Dobbs'segment at
http://loudobbs.tv.cnn.com/2008/07/31/3-billion-for-machines-that-dont-work/
Voters Action's response can be read at http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2918&Itemid=26
Email your legsilatures today (see left side of Grundyville main page).
One person's take on SB 3212 is located at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregpalast/2604976223/sizes/l/
If this situation is true, then we are unamerican to not stop it.
Received the following response from Obama to emailing our Senators regarding SB 3212:
Thank you for your letter regarding electronic voting machines. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.
Americans are understandably concerned about electronic voting. Our voting system has proven that our electoral process is riddled with vulnerabilities. Like you, I believe we cannot wait for another electoral meltdown to happen before we take serious steps to improve our electoral process.
There are a number of criteria that are essential to a successful voting system. First, anonymity of the voter must be maintained. A secret ballot not only maintains the security of the voter but also ensures that candidates do not know the preferences of individual voters. Second, the voting system must be tamper proof to ensure that results are both credible and genuine. And third, a successful voting system must be comprehensible and practical for the entire voting population. As we have seen in the past, flaws in any of these criteria can lead to indecisive or incorrect election results. Though electronic voting machines satisfy some of these criteria, recent studies caution against moving too quickly to adopt electronic voting machines because of software engineering challenges, insider threats, and network vulnerabilities.
During the 110th Congress, I have introduced legislation that would reduce the flaws in the electronic voting system. Currently, I am a co-sponsor of the Ballot Integrity Act of 2007, a bill which would require an individual, durable, voter-verified paper record of votes during the electronic voting process. As a part of this proposal, individual voter's can inspect and verify their vote before the vote is cast and counted, as well as correct any error before the paper record is preserved.
As you are aware, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007, was introduced in the House on February 5th by Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ). Senator Nelson has introduced a companion bill (S. 559) in February as well, and it has since been referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration. This bill would also require the production of a voter-verified paper ballot. While I am not in the committee in which the bill now currently stands, it is my hope that this bill, like the one I have introduced, will get serious consideration in the coming weeks and months.
I have also introduced the Voter Advocate and Democracy Index Act of 2007 to help inform voters and state officials about the election processes in their states and provide incentive for low-performing states to improve. The bill would create a scorecard to rank states on a set of standards designed to measure the ease of exercising the right to vote. Through this index, we can record the amount of time spent by voters waiting in line, the rate of voting system malfunctions, and several other aspects of the voting process.
The integrity of our electoral process depends on the public's faith in the voting system. This system needs to be sufficiently transparent and comprehensible so that voters and candidates can be confident in the accuracy of the election results. I am optimistic that this Congress will address lingering ballot integrity issues in a serious manner. I can assure you that I will be involved in this debate.
Again, thank you for writing. I encourage you to keep in touch as this issue unfolds.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
United States Senator
NAFTA started in 1994 and has diminished our standard of living and the SPP is going to kill it.
The CFR has numbers that show NAFTA has helped all parties involved. Do you know who is involved with the CFR? We don't need to look at skewed-cherry-picked numbers to know if NAFTA has enriched our lives. Simply ask yourself, "is my life economically better since 1994?"
The evidence makes it clear that under free trade, the losers are the Canadians, Mexicans and Americans who are struggling to contend with low wages and insecure working conditions – if they are lucky enough to find a job. NAFTA has made corporate investors very rich, so it’s no surprise that they are the ones pushing for deeper integration with the U.S. and Mexico through the Security and Prosperity Partnership. They are the only clear winners under the NAFTA model, so they want to make free trade irreversible and broaden its scope.
A vote "NO" to NAFTA is a vote for good-paying jobs and a no-vote for big businesses and their executives who are trying to develop slave states.
Is your life economically richer since 1994?
What happen to the economic stimulus checks?
Unemployment is at a nationwide 5.7% while consumer spending, after adjusting for inflation, fell in June by 0.2 percent as shoppers were hit with the biggest increase in prices in nearly three decades. Price increases were largely due to the sky-rocketing prices of oil. In the meantime, oil companies are posting record profits.
Is it safe to say that the Bush and Cheney gang (oil men) used us, the U.S. citizens, as money laundering conduits for their oil buddies? Is “money oiling” a better term than "money laundering" for this economic stimulus package?
After reading the post by 8:10, I wonder if the middle class is dwindling? I don't know about anyone else, but I'm having a hard time keeping up financially and I'm looking at retirement in a few years.
I’m not so sure you will believe Obama after reading the following article from the on-line news site www.independent.ie
(http://www.independent.ie/opinion/letters/dont-be-conned-by-globalist-obama-1441993.html)
US presidential candidate Barack Obama's speech in Berlin last Thursday was labelled by some mainstream media outlets as a rallying call for a 'New World Order'.
Obama indeed proclaimed himself as a "citizen of the world" and insisted "co-operation among nations is not a choice; it is the one way, the only way, to protect our common security and advance our common humanity".
Harmless rhetoric, someone ignorant of the significance of a 'New World Order' "might assume". But a reading of George Orwell's '1984' or Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World' would quickly bring one up to speed on the type of world people like Obama wish for.
George W Bush is renowned for calling for a "world order", others include Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and a certain Adolf Hitler.
Obama delivered his speech, despite consternation from German liberal and conservative politicians, from beneath the golden angel statue which graces Berlin's Siegessaule, a landmark which Hitler moved to its present location as part of his bid to transform Berlin into the world capital Germania. And he banned attendees bringing their own signs and protest posters. So much for freedom of speech.
He has already called for troop increases in Afghanistan, supported Israel's quest to strike Iran and has stated he will attack Pakistan.
Here is an interesting read about our illustrious VP:
http://www.pubrecord.org/politics/180.html?task=view
We can't let these "energy fatcats" keep us over a "barrel" any longer. They already have lobbyists and attorneys working on the nuclear power industry as they wager their oil wins on nuke power. We need local wind and local solar energy without their oily fingers in the mix.
A key to efficient/effective solar energy?
Researchers have developed an inexpensive and easy way of storing solar energy, in a finding that could provide one of the final pieces for efficient solar power systems: to store excess energy in a battery for use later when the sun isn't shining.
See "Discover Mag" article: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/08/01/new-oxygen-hydrogen-battery-could-be-key-to-storing-solar-energy/
Another "energy savy device";in the spirit of the energy election:
Device could help stretch a gallon of gas by turning heat into electricity. Read full article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25840353/
War on the Middle Class?
Where are the jobs? Why is my pay not keeping up with the sky-rocketing prices of goods and services? Why do my health beneftis decrease each year and their costs increase?
A poster on another thread pointed out that, "the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has made corporate investors very rich, so it’s no surprise that they are the ones pushing for deeper integration with the U.S. and Mexico through the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) all through non-transparent-almost-secret-like talks. They are the only clear winners under the NAFTA model, so they want to make free trade irreversible and broaden its scope."
Lou Dobbs states that there is a war on the U.S. middle class and it is being done under the guise of free trade (the following is a condensation of Lou Dobb’s website: http://loudobbs.tv.cnn.com/category/war-on-the-middle-class/ )
The U.S. has suffered 7 consecutive months of job losses. Most of these are from manufacturing. We have lost more than 2 million jobs to China alone since 2001. The new jobs created in this country pay a lot less than the ones we lost.
There has been a shortage of nurses in this nation, but that is mostly due to the fall in real pay and, at many times, horrendous working conditions. Have no fear, free trade will solve the problem. Now the greedy healthcare conglomerates and the “free” trade fanatics in Congress think they have the ideal solution to this problem: Create new visas to import cheap foreign nurses who will work for nothing, rather than paying hard-working Americans a decent wage in this difficult economic time.
The latest development: getting pushed around by India in cover-of-night negotiations that were supposed to be about trade but will really revamp U.S. immigration policy -allowing workers from India to have free access to the U.S. job markets. Luckily, an unrelated snag related to agricultural policy stalled the talks. That means hardworking Americans have gotten a reprieve — for now. Talks resume this fall.
Where is the Labor Department in the wake of all of this? The Labor Department was created to protect U.S. workers, but these days the agency seems to be slighting American workers at every turn. Now there is new evidence from the General Accountability Office that the Labor Department is not doing even its most basic job of enforcing this country’s minimum wage laws, work week laws, and other basic labor standards. The department is simply dismissing employee complaints outright and siding again and again with abusive businesses.
You’ve got to love this country’s trade “negotiators.” They have a simple and very friendly policy of giving absolutely everything other countries demand in the name of “free trade” and “opening up markets” while winning nothing in return and selling out American workers. The only important thing is that multi-billion dollar corporations have access to slave-wage workers so they can hand out more pink slips in the United States.
I don't know about you, but I'm voting for the person who will protect our jobs and our way of living.
Does "Riches for the few equate to progress for the many?"
In the latter part of July, military units of the U.S., Britan, France, and Brazil participated in "Operation Brimstone" off the eastern coast of the U.S. in the Atlantic.
As these units are deploying to the Middle East, some are saying this operation was a practice run to the invasion of Iran while others are stating it is a scare tactic.
Some further state that with Russia occupied with Georgia and China hosting the olympics, this provides a clear advantage of the allies to attack Iran from Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and from the Arabian Sea.
Hopefully this doesn't happen and it "scares" Iran to comply with the "nuclear requests."
Regarding the 8:38 post, rather than invasion of Iran I meant to state that it would be an economic blockade of Iran's ports.
Hopefully, Russia's fleet in the area will not try to stop this proposed blockade.
Not so sure how true the following is, but it relates to the Iran situation posted previously:
There are reports in the Kremlin today (8-10-2008) stating that Putin has ordered the Defence Ministry several of his military units on "full war alert" to ready themselves for defending Iran. from the ‘imminent attack’ being planned by the Western Powers (Operation Brimstone).
Also, Putin has not only ordered the retaking of South Ossetia from the Western backed Georgian forces, but has also ordered the destruction of all oil pipelines going through Georgia to the West.
Yes, you're correct. It is all about oil again.
Some are asserting that Russia staged the catalyst of this fight for the BTC oil line (1million gallons a day). Staged or not, the fight is getting bigger and has the potential to "explode".
U.S. is shipping 2,000 Georgian fighters in Iraq back to Georgia, Turkey is now supposedly involved, Israel supposedly has 1,000 soldiers in Georgia, the U.S. has military trainers in Georgia,and it is rumored that the Ukraine is lining up its military might.
additional info: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26116598/
I'm tired of hearing about Edwards' lies and his affair...I don't care. Why is the media beating this to death and not reporting more substantial news?
Cheney threatens Russia over Georgia (Russia is Blaming the US)
US Vice President Dick Cheney has threatened Russia after the country was forced to reply Georgia's attack on South Ossetia's region.
In a phone conversation with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Sunday, Cheney said Russia's military actions in Georgia 'must not go unanswered'.
Continuation of Russian attack 'would have serious consequences for its relations with the United States, as well as the broader international community,' Cheney's press secretary, Lee Ann McBride, quoted him as telling Saakashvili.
"The vice president expressed the United States' solidarity with the Georgian people and their democratically elected government in the face of this threat to Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity," McBride said.
Earlier, Chairman of Russia's State Duma Security Committee Vladimir Vasilyev announced that US helped Georgia start military operation in South Ossetia.
"The further the situation unfolds, the more the world will understand that Georgia would never be able to do all this without America," said Vasilyev.
Georgian military forces launched a large-scale military offensive against South Ossetia on Thursday evening hours before the start of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Russia, in response, moved its forces to the region.
The conflict (as of 8-10-08) has left at least 2000 people dead.
The Truth Behind the "Surge"
Muqtada al-Sadr; an influential Iraqi Shi'ite cleric, political leader and militia commander; stated he would dissolve his Mehdi Army militia if the United States started withdrawing troops according to a set timetable, a spokesman said. A ceasefire imposed by Sadr on his militia a year ago has been a major factor in a drop in violence to four-year lows. Sadr, whose political movement controls 10 percent of seats in parliament, has long demanded U.S. troops leave Iraq.
I thought the past year’s drop in violence was due to Bush’s so-called “surge”? McCain may want to try using another label for his economic plan (an "economic surge") unless he plans on appointing Sadr to head the federal reserve.
FYI,
Some military sources note that the arrival of the three new American flotillas will raise to five the number of US strike forces in Middle East waters – an unprecedented build-up since the crisis erupted over Iran’s nuclear program.
This vast naval and air strength consists of more than 40 warships and submarines, some of the latter nuclear-armed, opposite the Islamic Republic, a concentration last seen just before the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Both sides in the Russian-Georgian war traded accusations of continuing the fighting and genocide Monday, Aug. 11, the fourth day of the conflict, as the Kremlin rejected the Georgian president’s Mikhail Saakashvili’s ceasefire document before it was delivered by the French and Finnish foreign ministers from Tbilisi.
The Russian ambassador to NATO said it cannot deal with the “war criminal” Georgian president. Saakashvili accused Moscow of seeking "regime change" in Georgia.
Russia confirmed its troops had moved out of breakaway Abhazia to the northwest and invaded the Georgian town of Senaki.
I've read in several places that the U.S. had about 1,000 military personnel in Georgia about 2 weeks ago. If true, I hope they've been pulled out since.
There were a 1,000, but were only 130 U.S. troops/contractors a few days before the 8th of August (according to the Army Times: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/08/military_georgia_080808w/ ) and they’ve been ordered to “stand down.”
As part of his energy plan, Barack Obama suggested that if all Americans inflated their tires properly and had regular tune-ups, they could save as much oil as new offshore drilling would produce. The GOP has made this a daily issue; Radio’s Rush Limbaugh is having a field day while the RNC is sending tire gauges tatooed with "Barack Obama's Energy Plan" to political reporters.
But, is Obama really out of touch? Let us look at the numbers: The Bush Administration has estimated that increased offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 barrels a day by 2030. We use about 20 million barrels a day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand about two decades from now.
Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.
Maybe Obama should be sending the reporters an oil rig with “McCain’s Emergy Plan” tatooed on it.
Should our government mandate the content of commentary on their news outlets? (excerpt from article by Matt Hawes)
The so-called “Fairness Doctrine” espouses the belief that news outlets should be forced to present both (liberal and conservative) perspectives. Shouldn’t news be objective? Yes, the presentation of the news of the day should be objective. However, there’s a big difference between news and commentary, and there’s a major difference between outlets presenting balanced programming, and outlets being forced by the government to present balanced programming. News outlets should be free to offer whatever commentary they wish, and I should be free to decide whether or not to give them my support. (The question of the news itself being objective should be a matter of principle, not force.) By the way, the “Fairness Doctrine” has been tried before, and was done away with during the Reagan administration.
Let’s face it. The FCC would be empowered like never before to control even more of what you’re allowed to see and hear, and the idea of constitutional limitations would be slid further into the shredder. Besides being an attack on free speech, the “Fairness Doctrine” is an all-out assault on what remains of the free market. If I don’t like what I’m seeing or hearing on tv (an ever-increasing sentiment these days), I have the right to turn to something I approve of and give that program higher ratings. The same concept can be applied to what I read. (Just ask newspaper owners about what the internet has done to their business.)
And why just conservative and liberal viewpoints? In the interest of “Fairness,” shouldn’t all viewpoints be allowed to compete in the arena? (Can you see what a mess this would turn into?)
HR 2905 is a bill from Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana to prevent the enforcement of a “Fairness Doctrine,” and I urge you to contact your representatives and tell them to co-sponsor this bill if they have not already done so. Spread the word on HR 2905 and the discharge petition, and let’s keep this threat to the free market out of our Republic.
2008's First Disenfranchised Voters: Injured and Homeless Veterans
Steven Rosenfeld asserts in his article (http://www.alternet.org/story/94541/) That the first large block of voters to be disenfranchised in 2008 are the wounded warriors from recent wars and homeless veterans living at hundreds of Department of Veterans Affairs facilities across the country, according to veterans and voting rights activists.
"President Bush and Karl Rove are attempting to block voter registration of at least 200,000 and possibly as much as 400,000 veterans," said Paul Sullivan, president of Veterans for Common Sense, referring to injured former soldiers from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in various VA treatment facilities, veterans living in the VA's nursing homes, and homeless veterans living in VA shelters.
You're correct SGt, both sides (republicans and dems) are jockeying around to keep certain sectors' votes from counting or from voting altogether. Read Greg Palast's "Armed Madhouse" or visit his website www.gregpalast.com to find out how the politicians are not counting voters or keeping them from voting.
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