ObamaOpenSourceCabinet's topics - tribe.net

NEW HOME!!

2008-06-02T13:46:59Z

Very exciting time for me. An obamanite has put up a BBS and made me an admin/moderator.

So it would seem that i have now found my niche which i was looking for and begging for for many years (i hope!)

Anybody who may be interested, please come join us!

http://mytalktoday.com/forum/index.php

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 0 replies

neos phone call

2008-05-27T07:55:13Z

INT. NEO'S APARTMENT

The sound is an ALARM CLOCK, slowly dragging Neo to
consciousness. He strains to read the clock face:
9:15 A.M.
------------
the sound is the whisper of still small voices
which echoes the will of god and resounds as the angelic choir before washing
through geburah and gedulah and driving the spin vortex that cycles tiferet like a washing machine on the rinse cycle;
or a vortex storm.
---------------------------

NEO
Aww, no..no..no.

EXT. SKYSCRAPER

The downtown office of CorTechs, a software development
company.

INT. CORTECHS OFFICE

The main offices are along each wall, the windows
overlooking downtown Chicago.

RHINEHEART, the ultimate company man, lectures Neo
without looking at him, typing at his computer
continuously.

Neo stares at two window cleaners on a scaffolding
outside, dragging their rubber squeegees down across the
surface of the glass.

RHINEHEART
You have a problem, Mr. Anderson.
You think that you're special.
You believe that somehow the rules
do not apply to you.
-------------------
Your rules do not apply to me. the only real rules are the ones that govern natural law.
what is in accord with natural law has a power of its own. To not be in accord with natural law
is inherant weakness. The true rules of the universe are the laws which open the textbooks of physics
and the adam jadmon fractal resounding as quantum information and probability waves via four forces.

Your rules are meaningless when they have nothing to do with truth.
Your rules are a mental cage; your game is a childs game of inhuman and inhumane self destruction.
Down that path lies only self destruction. Entropy, decay, chaos.
All of this is an illusion.
------------------------

He stops, glancing over his glasses at Neo, who turns in
time.

RHINEHEART
Obviously, you are mistaken.
------------------

No, obviously you are mistaken. For the truth about labor is
that creative play is what drives Genius. Your hard structure of
false hierarchies is only part of the accidental dumb down of your whole civilization.
Running a corporation of cubicle workers like that is itself stupidity at work.
Your rules are your obstacles. You can have them if you want them, but they are not my limitations,
they are only the limitations you would like to impose upon caged minds via your own hival metaprogramming,
which is inherantly fascistic and thus inherantly flawed.
--------------------

His long, bony fingers resume clicking the keyboard.

RHINEHEART
This company is one of the top
software companies in the world
because every single employee
understands that they are a part
of a whole. Thus, if an employee
has a problem, the company has a
problem.

He turns again.

RHINEHEART
The time has come to make a
choice, Mr. Anderson. Either you
choose to be at your desk on time
from this day forth, or you choose
to find yourself another job. Do
I make myself clear?

NEO
Yes, Mr. Rhineheart. Perfectly
clear.

INT. NEO'S CUBICLE

The entire floor looks like a human honeycomb, with a
labyrinth of cubicles structured around a core of
elevators.

Neo slumps down into his chair.

Neo turns and finds a FEDERAL EXPRESS MAN at his cubicle
door.
Neo signs the pad and the Fedex guy hands him the softpak.

FEDEX
Have a nice day.

He opens the bag. Inside is a CELLULAR PHONE. It seems
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inside is an aspie on an email group. The contents can be the moment you awaken to listen and actually talk
to whats here as a fire to answer you.
Inside is a blog answer and a nice internet connection and mass communication, and your own power to seek the truth and
to communicate. Inside is your own responsibility to the truth and to all of what is truly ethical.
Its calling you through me. Can you answer?
Can you be strong enough to build that platform NEXT to the old game of the cult of personality and vacant promises?
Can you be strong enough to be the crowd that lifts the answers from the science to the presence of politics, instead
of force obama to go it alone?
He has asked, he has set the agenda himself for a bottom up, citizen participation democratic style of government.
Have you overfocused on getting him elected and underfocused on the conversation socially about the platform?
NEO; You are the next corp prezident of the US of the MATRIX. What are your orders? What are your bills?
What is your platform? Forget who is running in this moment, just tell me, what YOU would do to solve our poriblems.
-----------------------------------------

the instant it is in his hand, it RINGS. Unnerved, he
flips it open.

NEO
Hello?

MORPHEUS
Hello, Neo.

Neo takes a quick breath
"Morpheus."

Neo's knees give and he falls into his chair.

MORPHEUS
I've been watching you, Neo, and I
want to meet you. I don't know if
you're ready to see what I want to
show you, but unfortunately, we
have run out of time. They're
coming for you, Neo. And I'm not
sure what they're going to do.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The elections are rigged. Theres talk of kennedy and talk of martin luther king and too many negative connotations being passed around
Theres a million and one pundits, the revenge and hate driven propaganda republicans, and corporate american hivalism. There is our
civilization, the truth, our knowledge, and our politics, and entropy, and the end of the world as we know it down our current path.
Global warming and ecological meldtown, super extinction. And the dull long truth of peak oil and the price of energy.
I have been watching you Neos; the crowd of you; knowing all you have to do is create a group tidal force thats phased and coherant
to become a new form of media.

----------------------

NEO
Who's coming for me?
--------------------------------------
The vampires which are old paradigms in the guise of modern political agendas and corporate neofascism. The borg mentality as it applies
to the accidental truth of CASTE. The ugly secret that we never gave up feudalism, and that the modern king and peasant are just CEO and LABOR pool.
Republicanism, trying to pretend to be democracy, multiplied by 200 years of entropy.
The hard final judgement of evolutionary process sorting the variable of the hival balance between free enterprise and social services;
How important every given person really is to the whole of society as the prime true defining factor of "Civilized"; America could not pass the test
of such a definition of civilized, for in that definition, a civilized society would have its priorities on health care and education and diplomacy
and civil engineering and sociology and formal conversational logic and Psychology; Not propaganda warfare.
The truth is coming for you in the form of me. Civilization as a lie is coming for you as absolute entropic process unless your CHANGE quotient goes
up 10 notches. Its time to Evolve, REVOLVE revolution; of ideas, not propaganda or violence; just science fact applied to the truth of the assorted problems,
and an honest public discussion about the problems and real solutions.
-----------------------------------

MORPHEUS
Stand up and see for yourself.
--------------------------------------------------
After all, any candidate is only one person standing on some hill of their insight and giving their best personal approximation of a total answer.
The problems are more dcomplicated than any one person can hope to solve alone. A law degree does not make one a Sociologist, A Civil Engineer,
A physicisist, An Energy Scientisit, or an Economist.
-------------------------

NEO
Right now?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
When were you planning on doing it? Ever? or was your plan just to buy into the false duality of democrat VS republican and then let the pundits
tell you THAT is "your voice"?
Were you ever thinking to wake up out of propaganda and tabloid gutter politics, or was that just a kewl idea a candidate came up with that
will be implemented at some future untold date when the awakening is "ordered." lol?
---------------------

MORPHEUS
Yes. Now.
---------------------------
(or never. BE HERE NOW. its the only part of past future and present thats real.)
--------------------------

Neo starts to stand.

MORPHEUS
Do it slowly. Slowly. The elevator.

His head slowly peeks up over the partition.

At the elevator, he sees Agent Brown and Agent Jones
leading a group of cops. A female employee turns and
points out Neo's cubicle.

Neo ducks.

NEO
What the...! Damn it!

MORPHEUS
Yes!

One cop stays at the elevator, the others follow the
agents.

NEO
What do they want with me?!

MORPHEUS
I'm not sure. But, if you don't
want to find out, you better get
out of there.

NEO
How?!

MORPHEUS
I can guide you out, but you have
to do exactly what I say.
----------------------------------------------------------
Can YOU do it? Can you run away? Can you escape the mortal circumstance and your social programming?
Can you step out of the box?
Can you simplyrealize that its up to us collectively to solove the problem; that no mere candidate can do it alone?

Can we enlarge that list to 1000 more specific problems?
Can we open those Sociology and civil engineering textbooks, and get back to the rest of us?
--------------------------

The agents are moving quickly towards the cubicle.

MORPHEUS
The cubicle across from you is
empty.

NEO
But what if...?

MORPHEUS
Go! Now!

Neo lunges across the hall, diving into the other cubicle
just as the agents turn into his row.

Neo crams himself into a dark corner, clutching the phone
tightly to him.

MORPHEUS
Stay here for a moment.

The agents enter Neo's empty cubicle. A cop is sent to
search the bathroom.

Morpheus' voice is a whisper in Neo's ear.

MORPHEUS
When I tell you, go to the end of
the row to the first office on the
left, stay as low as you can.

Sweat trickles down his forehead.

MORPHEUS
Now.

Neo rolls out of the cubicle, his eyes popping as he
freezes right behind a cop who has just turned around.

Staying crouched, he sneaks away, down the row, SHOOTING
across the opening to the first office on the left.

The room is empty.

MORPHEUS
Good. Now there is a window.
Open it.

NEO
How do you know all this?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm an aspie speedreader who applied modern psychology and shamanistic trance technologies to
learn how to perform mental simulation. I then applied sociology and Civil engineering to assorted problems,
and thus know the answers as well as any think tank.
I'm gods own interdisciplinary multi expert.
I opened up to the collective psyche; i traveled via merkabah body up the tree of life;
i have performed a labor or featr which makes almost all other humans look lazy; in a world almost all other humans
don't choose to know exists.
I'm looking, as an aspie speadreader, through the lens of all of science, at all of he problems, and coming up with
better answers, questions, and open sub problems than any of the assorted platforms put together.
i'm a cleric, not a politician, in that i am a very private person.
I live outside of the collective memeosphere. I have enormous perspective via applied knowledge.
The TRUTH will indeed set you free; and if you go look for it, it will find you. its looking for you;
and its trying to reach out to you through me.
------------------

MORPHEUS
The answer is coming, Neo.

He opens the window. The wind howls into the room.

MORPHEUS
Outside, there's a scaffold. You
can use it to get to the roof.

Leaning out the window, he sees that the scaffold is
several offices away.

NEO
No! It's too far away.

MORPHEUS
There's a small ledge. It's a
short climb. You can make it.

Neo looks down; the building's glass wall vertigos into a
concrete chasm.

NEO
No way, no way, this is crazy.

MORPHEUS
Don't be controlled by your fear,
Neo. There are only two ways out
of this building. One is that
scaffold. The other is in their
custody. You take a chance either
way. I leave it to you.

CLICK. He hangs up. Neo looks at the door, then back at
the scaffold.

NEO
This is insane! Why is this
happening to me? What did I do?
I'm nobody. I didn't do anything.
Damn!

He climbs up onto the window ledge. Hanging onto the
frame, he steps onto the small ledge.

The scaffold seems even farther away.

The WIND suddenly BLASTS up the face of the building,
knocking Neo off balance. Recoiling, he clings harder to
the frame, and the phone falls out of his hand.

He watches as it is swallowed by the distance beneath him.
A choice is suddenly made in Neo's mind.

EXT. SKYSCRAPER

The agents lead a handcuffed Neo out of the revolving
doors, forcing his head down as they push him into the
dark sedan.

Trinity watches in the rear view mirror of her
motorcycle.

------------------------
The only way out of the matrix is if you pick up this conversation with somebody whos allready outside
looking in.

Can you have the strength to do that?

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 0 replies

Hillary; Much love! And all apologies.

2008-05-20T03:41:49Z

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/13/8917/

Common Dreams NewsCenter

National Conference for Media Reform

Home | Newswire | Contacting Us | About Us | Donate | Sign-Up | Archives

Friday, May 16, 2008

Discuss this story Discuss this story Print This Post Print This Post E-Mail This Article

Published on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 by TruthDig.com
A Farewell to the ‘Hillary Nutcracker’ and Other Obscenities
by Marie Cocco

As the Democratic nomination contest slouches toward a close, it’s time to take stock of what I will not miss.

I will not miss seeing advertisements for T-shirts that bear the slogan “Bros before Hos.” The shirts depict Barack Obama (the Bro) and Hillary Clinton (the Ho), and they are widely sold on the Internet.

I will not miss walking past airport concessions selling the Hillary Nutcracker, a device in which a pantsuit-clad Clinton doll opens her legs to reveal stainless steel thighs that, well, bust nuts. I won’t miss television and newspaper stories that make light of the novelty item.

I won’t miss episodes like the one in which the liberal radio personality Randi Rhodes called Clinton a “big f—in’ whore” and said the same about former vice presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro. Rhodes was appearing at an event sponsored by a San Francisco radio station, before an audience of appreciative Obama supporters-one of whom had promoted the evening on the presumptive Democratic nominee’s official campaign Web site.

I won’t miss Citizens United Not Timid (no acronym, please), an anti-Clinton group founded by Republican guru Roger Stone.

Political discourse will at last be free of jokes like this one, told last week by magician Penn Jillette on MSNBC: “Obama did great in February, and that’s because that was Black History Month. And now Hillary’s doing much better ’cause it’s White B—- Month, right?” Co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski rebuked Jillette.

I won’t miss political commentators (including National Public Radio political editor Ken Rudin and Andrew Sullivan, the columnist and blogger) who compare Clinton to the Glenn Close character in the movie “Fatal Attraction.” In the iconic 1987 film, Close played an independent New York woman who has an affair with a married man played by Michael Douglas. When the liaison ends, the jilted woman becomes a deranged, knife-wielding stalker who terrorizes the man’s blissful suburban family. Message: Psychopathic home-wrecker, be gone.

The airwaves will at last be free of comments that liken Clinton to a “she-devil” (Chris Matthews on MSNBC, who helpfully supplied an on-screen mockup of Clinton sprouting horns). Or those who offer that she’s “looking like everyone’s first wife standing outside a probate court” (Mike Barnicle, also on MSNBC).

But perhaps it is not wives who are so very problematic. Maybe it’s mothers. Because, after all, Clinton is more like “a scolding mother, talking down to a child” (Jack Cafferty on CNN).

When all other images fail, there is one other I will not miss. That is, the down-to-the-basics, simplest one: “White women are a problem, that’s — you know, we all live with that” (William Kristol of Fox News).

I won’t miss reading another treatise by a man or woman, of the left or right, who says that sexism has had not even a teeny-weeny bit of influence on the course of the Democratic campaign. To hint that sexism might possibly have had a minimal role is to play that risible “gender card.”

Most of all, I will not miss the silence.

I will not miss the deafening, depressing silence of Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean or other leading Democrats, who to my knowledge (with the exception of Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland) haven’t uttered a word of public outrage at the unrelenting, sex-based hate that has been hurled at a former first lady and two-term senator from New York. Among those holding their tongues are hundreds of Democrats for whom Clinton has campaigned and raised millions of dollars. Don Imus endured more public ire from the political class when he insulted the Rutgers University women’s basketball team.

Would the silence prevail if Obama’s likeness were put on a tap-dancing doll that was sold at airports? Would the media figures who dole out precious face time to these politicians be such pals if they’d compared Obama with a character in a blaxploitation film? And how would crude references to Obama’s sex organs play?

There are many reasons why Clinton is losing the nomination contest, some having to do with her strategic mistakes, others with the groundswell for “change.” But for all Clinton’s political blemishes, the darker stain that has been exposed is the hatred of women that is accepted as a part of our culture.

–Marie Cocco

© 2008, Washington Post Writers Group
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

* Digg
* del.icio.us
* NewsVine
* StumbleUpon
* YahooMyWeb
* Technorati

Discuss this story Discuss this story Print This Post Print This Post E-Mail This Article
89 Comments so far

1.
Eric J-D May 13th, 2008 12:44 pm

I’ll add the following:

I won’t miss reading through postings here at CD (supposedly a progressive website) and frequently encountering the words “whore” and “bitch” used to describe Clinton.
2.
Rich Griffin May 13th, 2008 1:00 pm

I hope Obama supporters abandon their idiotic attacks on Hillary Clinton. They have allready alienated too many of her supporters, and guess what? They need her supporters to have any chance in the fall! I’me expecting a McCain presidency (read Glenn Greenwald’s “Great American Hypocrites” chapter on McCain for WHY i think he will win). I’ve been so dispirited by the subliminal hatred towards women that has been spewed towards Hillary. (Katha Pollitt’s article about this in “30 Views Of Hillary” is spot on!). I won’t miss Randi Rhodes at all!
3.
Garvey May 13th, 2008 1:02 pm

Wow. I wasn’t aware of all the vitriol slung at Sen. Clinton. It is surely disgusting to see in the 21st Century (or any Century). I refuse to say ‘Farewell’ to such attitudes and actions; I saw “Good Riddance.”

That said, the bulk of this disgusting conduct is attributable to some of Sen. Obama’s supporters, sleazy online profiteers and sleazier journalists, not to Sen. Obama himself. Contrast that with the racialized and racist tone of Sen. Clinton’s campaign and one will see a glaring difference: she participated.
4.
arise257 May 13th, 2008 1:07 pm

Sorry, no sympathy from me towards Hillary. She’s a liar, full of excuses, and just as “inexperienced” as Obama. I think people feel the dishonesty and respond to it with “meh, just another bitch.” Sexist, you bet. 100% out of place? Nope.
5.
mairs May 13th, 2008 1:07 pm

I won’t miss Hillary, who inspired all those lowlife jokes, t-shirts, and effigies. Compare her behavior to ANY of the other candidates for the Democratic nomination. She would haven’t been the subject of any scorn if she had conducted herself as any of the other candidates did, as befitted her position as a United States Senator… male or female, as the wife of a beloved past president, and as a highly supported candidate for the presidency. But she didn’t comport herself with even half the class of her contemporaries. I don’t like the disrespect shown her by these items, but her working class constituents have the right to lover her, OR show their displeasure at her behavior by buying these things.
6.
RichM May 13th, 2008 1:09 pm

This article is shallow & trivial, taking aim at a much-too-easy target. Sure, it’s bad to hurl sex-based hate at Hillary. But that’s because there are so many more insightful & accurate ways to despise this loathesome creature. Her gender has nothing to do with it. It’s her Bush-like sense of entitlement, her sociopathic narcissism, her utter lack of principles, & her grasping ruthlessness — all characteristics she shares with her sleazebag husband.
7.
kelmer May 13th, 2008 1:11 pm

She isnt gone yet.
In fact if she somehow shuts up and Obama goes through and wins, she will surely be there on inauguration day claiming she actually won.

She is an embarrassment-and she brought much of it on herself. It was her campaign that became insulting.

Look how she wants the Michigan and Florida votes seated(she was against it before she was for it). Dean and the others should have cut her off at the knees earlier. I will bet she wont go out graciously. She will not tell her supporters to vote for Obama.
Bet.
8.
copygirl May 13th, 2008 1:21 pm

I started out this primary season as a Hillary supporter, but I have been repelled by the way she conducted her campaign. For years I felt she got a raw deal and was mystified by the level of animosity some people felt towards her. Now I’m thinking they saw something in her that I missed.
9.
copygirl May 13th, 2008 1:22 pm

P.S. that’s not to say much of the commentary quoted in the article is not sexist crap. It is.
10.
Vern May 13th, 2008 1:32 pm

I won’t miss women defending their gender exclusively at the expense of blindness to human decency.
African Americans support Obama because they have a candidate they can be proud of–they might not demonstrate the same enthusiasm for Condoleeza Rice or Clarence Thomas based on race alone. What do women have to feel pride in Hillary Clinton other than her gender and how does it advance women to rally around a woman who has behaved shamefully as a person? Clinton is always the victim for feminists–and always given a pass regarding her own race-baiting, sabre-rattling, willingness to lie and cheat. with great passion, I tell this author, that as a woman, Clinton disgusts me. She should be shamed– She is a monster and it is not because of her gender–that she exploits to get cover from women like you who don’t care whether Clinton is a woman worthy of other women’s respect.
11.
beartown beatnick May 13th, 2008 1:38 pm

It is unfortunate that when people reject Hillary, many of whom have valid reasons for doing so based on her own poor and often-times self-serving decisions, they are labeled sexists. In her case, it is not what is or is not between her legs but rather a perception she created that she doesn’t tell the truth (snipers), won’t make a hard political decision (Iraq vote), learn from her mistakes (Iran vote), and would rather remain married to a serial liar and philanderer for her political reasons than hold him to account. Take HRCs name and sex out of this for a moment, review the list of actions and decisions made and ask yourself if this is the stuff our president should be made of.

It is the individual, not her sex that is being rejected. By the way I didn’t even mention her choice of Mark Penn as campaign strategist or the appalling way she has played the race card.
12.
Eric J-D May 13th, 2008 1:50 pm

RichM wrote:

This article is shallow & trivial, taking aim at a much-too-easy target. Sure, it’s bad to hurl sex-based hate at Hillary. But that’s because there are so many more insightful & accurate ways to despise this loathesome creature. Her gender has nothing to do with it. It’s her Bush-like sense of entitlement, her sociopathic narcissism, her utter lack of principles, & her grasping ruthlessness — all characteristics she shares with her sleazebag husband.

While I agree that there are other grounds to object to HRC, I think you underestimate the extent of the sexism and misogyny directed at Clinton. Even your own description (HRC has a “Bush-like sense of entitlement,” displays “sociopathic narcissism,” and “grasping ruthlessness”) might be said to contain elements of that sexism.

Why does Bill Clinton seem (by and large) to escape such characterization? Why, for that matter, aren’t these familiar descriptions of George W. Bush?

You might say that they are–indeed, you say that these are characteristics she shares with Bill–but can you honestly say they form part of the dominant media narrative of who Bush is, or who Bill Clinton is? I don’t hear pundits endlessly talking about Bill the political whore, or George Bush the “sociopathic narcissist.” These characterizations seem to have a distinctly gendered component in the national political discourse.

So I think Cocco has a real point here, albeit a rather obvious one. I say that as someone who is not a supporter of HRC and as someone who is glad to see her run for the nomination coming to an end. The problem with HRC is that she embraces larely the same political philosophy as her husband (and I don’t simply mean that she uses the same campaign tactics). But as much as dislike and oppose that philosophy, I find it appalling that a considerable amount of the rhetorical framing of opposition to HRC has drawn on the language of sexism and misogyny.
13.
johnwyclif May 13th, 2008 1:52 pm

As usual…I’m torn between agreeing and disagreeing with the article. I’ve seen some of the tv incidents the writer mentions. The tv people likely sell a lot more soap that way than by presenting info on issues. I did see Brzezinski and Scarborough react to Teller’s Pontius Pilate imitation with a bit of class.

So, on the one hand, methinks the article is right in the sense that both race and gender were bound to be an undercurrent in a competition between Clinton and Obama. I think that her campaign has been caught out more in this.

On the other hand, this article reads to me sort of like, “Anybody who says Israel is doing bad things to Palestinians is an anti-semite.”
14.
Eric J-D May 13th, 2008 2:03 pm

Vern,

I don’t think you’re right that “Clinton is always the victim for feminists–and always given a pass regarding her own race-baiting, sabre-rattling, willingness to lie and cheat.”

I don’t see all feminists as making endless excuses for Clinton’s appalling behavior during the campaign.

Rather, I think the point here is this: Clinton’s candidacy has given focus and expression to some deep-seated misogyny in American culture.

The issue isn’t opposition to Clinton or criticism of her. Everyone is entitled to oppose Clinton as candidate or to be critical of her, whether it be for her policies, her political philosophy, or her conduct.

The issue is the form the opposition or criticism takes. I think Cocco is being quite accurate when she suggests that a major form that opposition to HRC has taken is in sexism and sometimes outright misogyny.

HRC might be all the things you say she is, but what the misgoynist discourse surrounding her suggests is that she is more than that; she has become a focus for an outpouring of sexism and misogyny that exceeds its opposition to her as an individual.
15.
alaskamaid May 13th, 2008 2:04 pm

I find the description of HRC as as ’scolding mother, talking down to her child’ to be pretty accurate. You don’t have to be a psychic to hear the manipulative, coercive quality of her voice, regardless of what she’s saying.

Hillary is down to playing her last card and she’s playing it for all it’s worth.

The mother guilt-tripping the child card. The ‘how can you reject me by not voting for me’ card. I have NO respect for women who guilt-trip their kids.
16.
5280 May 13th, 2008 2:07 pm

HC is a liar, a murderer and a republican. She needs to join her partner-in-crime Joe LIEberman on the dark side and be done with it.

Please GO!
17.
jareilly May 13th, 2008 2:08 pm

HRC campaigned and raised millions for other Dems? Actually the opposite is true. While in the White House, the Clintons basically destroyed the ground level Democratic party, ignored the states, ignored the party rank and file, ignored and de-funded the “little people” and surrounded themselves with aristocrats, hangers-on and creepy, self-promoting trash like Dick Morris. They laid mighty low in 04. When HRC clobbered her progressive opponent for her NY Senate seat, she had a war chest in the tens of millions, hardly necessary to beat the unknown Jonathan Tasini. She kept every penny and spent it on her Presidential campaign. Marie Cocco doesn’t like Howard Dean’s silence on sexist anti-HRC comments? Well maybe he should have said something, but since HRC and her circle have been doing absolutely everything they could to undermine him and his 50-state strategy, it’s not that hard to see why he might have been a little too busy with other matters to look up and object.

Good riddance HRC. Now let’s get some real feminists, some strong progressive women out there on the campaign trail to give women, progressives, feminists and the ever-increasing non-Clinton wing of the Dem Party someone worth fighting for.
18.
Vern May 13th, 2008 2:17 pm

I think, Eric J-D, that if the case were that Clinton was a honorable person, these charges might have some resonance, but as a woman, I am sorry, she disgusts me and doesn’t illicit a modicum of sympathy. You can not imagine the breath and the depth of my dislike of Hillary as a person. Maybe you should ask some of the women Ms Clinton’s husband used–women who Hillary sought to undermine and ruin–what their thoughts are on the matter of sexism.
19.
countess May 13th, 2008 2:40 pm

The real dark stain on this election is Hillary Clinton herself who came out of the closet as a neocon true believer and someone willing to stoop to anything to win even opening up racial wounds. She was a terrible candidate by any measure.
20.
kivals May 13th, 2008 2:55 pm

Valid scientific experiments isolate the phenomena to be studied (e.g. the independent variable) by controlling all other variables, and that way the results can be attributed to the effects of the phenomenon or phenomena under consideration. In the study of Hillary hatred, there are simply too many uncontrolled variables. She is a strong woman, but she is a pathological liar. She is intelligent and capable, but she is a panderer who treats voters like ignorant imbeciles. She is determined and indefatigable, but she changes positions by the day according to polls. She strongly supports women’s issues, but she stuck by an adulterous husband apparently for her own political ambitions. She talks like a true progressive, but often votes like a Republican.

So it is difficult to pin down precisely just why so many people despise Hillary, though it may be instructive in the future to see how the next strong woman who runs for president is treated.
21.
Lord Trigo May 13th, 2008 3:01 pm

I agree that there’s a lot of sexism in this country, and that this has been the worst media coverage of any campaign in my memory, but what turned me off to HRC was her record. She claims her years as First Lady as part of her political experience. Well, what exactly did the administration she was part of accomplish? The Defense of Marriage Act, stripping gays and lesbians of equal rights they deserve under our Constitution; Welfare Reform, which is coming back to bite us in the ass as the economy collapses; NAFTA, which undermined the wages of American workers; Most Favored trade status for China, ditto; and backpedaling on a woman’s right to choose. Hardly very progressive, if you ask me. Her Senate record isn’t much better. Granted, Obama doesn’t have as much baggage because he hasn’t been around as long, but if Hillary’s going to buy the ticket, she’s going to have to ride the ride. The Clinton presidency was the biggest hoax ever perpetuated on American progressives, and I for one am not going to get fooled again.
22.
luckylefty May 13th, 2008 3:04 pm

Wait till America starts on BHO, we ain’t seen nothin’ yet. This is not the ‘civilized’ country and we are not the ‘civilized’ people we pretend to be.

I ask myself if the monsters will figure out a way past the Secret Service to execute a hit? They got to Wellstone but he never had SS guards. Better question, why would they? He’s tied at the hip to Wall Street contributors, he’s going to keep the war going for another 4 years at least which means the arms merchants love him, and he’s going to pass all the costs of the richfilth crimes for the last 30 years onto us - as he shifts more of our jobs to slave labor pits around the globe. And the Repugs (because he’s a Dim) and Dims (because he’s an outsider) will both gang up on him in Office if he lives that long. Sounds like everybody wins, except us.

Pieces of 8.
23.
frank1569 May 13th, 2008 3:48 pm

Men don’t hate women - many do, however, resent them because, as the old saying goes:

Men rule the world.
Women rule men.
And he knows it.
24.
Eric J-D May 13th, 2008 4:03 pm

kivals wrote:

So it is difficult to pin down precisely just why so many people despise Hillary, though it may be instructive in the future to see how the next strong woman who runs for president is treated

I’m inclined to think that finding some kind of metric that would locate the basis for the hatred of Hillary is a quixotic quest.

Narrative patterns, however, in popular and media discourse about a political candidate can be [NB: “can” not “will”] suggestive. And things like “Hillary nutcrackers” are pretty obviously appealing to a sexist characterization of Hillary as an emasculator. This is an image that shows up with some frequency in opinion pieces for mainstream newspapers like the New York Times. Just have a look at Maureen Dowd’s most recent piece on HRC where she write, “So how does Obama repay Hillary for running a campaign designed both to unman him and brand him as an unelectable black?” (emphasis mine)

A bit later she adds: “Hillary has a strange, unnerving effect on Obama, and whenever he is around her, he’s unable to do his best. Probably, it’s because she’s furious, always shaking his hand off her arm, ignoring him, giving him the evil eye and emasculating him” (emphasis mine).

I think one could produce plenty of other examples of pundits who trot out the specter of Emasculating Hillary and her Vagina Dentata, but you’d find it considerably more difficult to find male equivalents.

Again, it isn’t that Hillary ought to be defended, it’s the fact that obvious sexism is allowed to pass without comment or outrage.

Hillary’s a flawed candidate. I deeply believe that. But if you are at all interested in seeing more women enter political life, you can’t be thrilled by the fact that comments like these routinely pass for an analysis of her as a candidate.
25.
solrak May 13th, 2008 4:08 pm

Don’t worry, there’ll be more chances to get your fill of sexist media beyond the primary election.
26.
dmia May 13th, 2008 4:12 pm

America doesn’t hate women. We just hate Hillary.
27.
Juliann May 13th, 2008 4:15 pm

I’m an American. I certainly don’t hate Hillary. I don’t know ANYONE who does. I must live in the real world where we are more accepting of people and diversity.

There are a lot of generalizations on C-D as of late, and it’s really become tedious reading these posts at times. I’m grateful for the others and learn a great deal from reading them.
28.
Mayari May 13th, 2008 4:17 pm

I’m a feminist, 10 years younger than Hillary. I have not been persuaded by the ‘orthodox’ feminists’ case for Hillary.

Obama is not my first choice as Democratic nominee, but he is my favorite now. I’ve been on the anybody-but-Clinton bandwagon since she announced her candidacy.

Why? Because I want a Democrat to win in November. Hillary has too much baggage, primarily her husband - the IMPEACHED former president! I think that returning the Clinton co-presidency to the White House, violating the spirit of the 22nd amendment by doing so, will be a big issue if she becomes the nominee.

Plus Hillary’s own sorry story that she was duped into voting for the Iraq War and her colossal failure in health care, the one big project she led while in the national spotlight. I’m truly amazed that she and her advisers ever seriously thought she could win the general election. I wish that she had chosen not to run.

I’ve never seen Hillary’s run for President as a feminist triumph. If she should win, what would that say to America’s little girls? You can grow up to be president, just find and marry a man who will be president first.

When a woman becomes President, I don’t want it to be a woman who has attained power by being the first lady.

In the early days of women winning public office, the first female senator or governor was sometimes referred to as ‘the first to win in her own right’. Other women had held the position, when appointed to it after the death of their husbands while in office.

If Senator Barbara Mikulski were running and a serious contender, she would be running (and winning!) 100% ‘in her own right’. I would indeed see her run as a feminist milestone. Not so much when it comes to Hillary. Though I want to make it clear, I’m not a Hillary hater and will vote for her if she’s the nominee, and I think she should be treated fairly.

In the harsh and brutal world of politics, I think she pretty much has been. People have said lots of harsh things — politics ain’t beanbag. I think she’s had a harder time because she’s a Clinton than because she’s a woman. There have been some really disgusting sexist crap said and sold, but not by the Obama campaign — rather, by people just trying to make a buck.

Senators Clinton and Obama have about the same experience holding public office — Clinton’s years as a U.S. senator and Obama’s years as an Illinois state senator/U.S. senator. Yet Clinton is trying to sell herself as the experienced candidate, based on her years as first lady. I’ve not bought it, myself.

I recognize she has seen and heard a lot by being in the White House and meeting all the world’s leaders. But when it comes to experience holding public office and leading the people of a state or nation, she and Obama are pretty similar.

Obama and Clinton have very similar positions on the issues — both are too pro-military-spending for me. I’m not expecting miracles from Obama.

I am now very enthused about supporting Obama because he does seem to inspire people to get up and do something — he has impressive grassroots volunteer support. Which will certainly be a big help in winning the general election. If he can inspire more and more people to become active, he can precipitate a wave of real change in this country. That’s the promise I see of an Obama administration.
29.
Bubbasouth May 13th, 2008 4:19 pm

We will have no nostalgia for those hideous, lying, self- aggrandizing parasites, Ma and Pa Clinton.
30.
CJM May 13th, 2008 4:35 pm

If the author hates all this stuff and will not miss it, why does she repeat it? (Some of it I had not heard.)

But, that said, I can’t wait to sing, “Ding Dong, the witch is dead.”
31.
Eric J-D May 13th, 2008 4:38 pm

I appreciate your post Mayari.

You said: “Senators Clinton and Obama have about the same experience holding public office — Clinton’s years as a U.S. senator and Obama’s years as an Illinois state senator/U.S. senator. Yet Clinton is trying to sell herself as the experienced candidate, based on her years as first lady.”

I think that this has been one of the real areas in which the Clinton campaign failed, at least strategically. The “change” narrative–the narrative the Obama campaign produced–quickly became a powerful rhetorical force within the electoral field that translated into a string of victories for Obama.

Clinton (and her campaign staff) failed to fully appreciate the force of this narrative and continued to run on her “experience” platform, not realizing that in a new climate in which the rhetoric of “change” predominated, “experience” was something of a liability (since it positioned her as an insider and as a trusted and familiar brand rather than as a novelty).

I think there’s obviously much more to both her failures and Obama’s successes than that, but this definitely had a deleterious effect on her campaign.
32.
Rich Griffin May 13th, 2008 4:48 pm

Obama supporters have missed by point: bashing Clinton is going to hurt YOUR candidate in the fall! If enough of her supporters sit out the election or vote for McCain instead, it will be enough to deny Obama the Presidency. I don’t want him (or McCain) to win, for all the reasons I know Obama supporters refuse to look at and be honest about, but it does not make sense to continue to demonize her!

also, STOP calling me racist! I’m voting for a BLACK WOMAN in November (Cynthia McKinney). I get real tired of the old “if you dislike Obama, you must be racist” crap. I studied his books, his speeches, his policy positions, his character - and don’t believe he should be President. That is all.
33.
otto756 May 13th, 2008 5:00 pm

Here’s another couple things I won’t miss:
Hillary’s camp sending out pictures of Obama in “Muslim looking” garb. Hillary jumping on the Rev. Wright smear campaign bandwagon. Hillary reducing Obama’s whole life to “a speech in 2004.” Hillary lying and moving the goalposts on the Florida and Michigan primaries.

Rich Griffin–stop saying that Obama supporters are alienating Hillary supporters. You’ve got it wrong. Hillary is alienating Obama supporters and McCain supporters alike.

I’m not down on Hillary because she’s a woman!

I’m down on her because she voted for the war and won’t admit that was a huge mistake!

I’m down on her because she voted for war on Iran and is in favor of “obliterating” Iran! That’s called genocide for those of you keeping score.

I was a big Bill Clinton fan and I have always supported Hillary until this election. Now I see them both as mean-spirited professional politicians who will do anything to win, even if it means lying, cheating, and mud slinging.

Did I mention that she got fooled by George W. Bush into voting for the illegal Iraq war and won’t admit that it was a huge mistake?!?
34.
barely human May 13th, 2008 5:06 pm

Which is worse, racism or sexism?
35.
william street May 13th, 2008 5:27 pm

Which is better, that the world end in fire, or that it end in ice?

Bill from Saginaw
36.
Robert the Robot May 13th, 2008 5:58 pm

I won’t miss Hillary Clinton…..
37.
OldBadgertoo May 13th, 2008 6:10 pm

What on earth makes anyone think that these vile obscenities will go? They will continue to be slung at Mrs Clinton, of course, as her Democrat haters have proved themselves to be both crude and vicious in their pursuit of their prey. But they have also proved that misogyny is a viable way to undermine women who attempt to fight as equals in political contests. The despicable silence of Democats has damaged the chances of all women to succeed, for all will now be framed in the same language when they dare, if they dare, to put their heads above the parapet. When Obama mania recedes, then Democrats will have to deal with the fundamental damage they have done to the fight for women’s rights. And I suspect they will not want to: that the misogyny is engrained and they will slink off, thinking: “Job well done!” and sneering and leering at the “hos” who had the temerity to try to fight for women’s rights.
38.
opeluboy May 13th, 2008 6:30 pm

Absolute, utter, nauseating bullshit.

I can think of several female politicians and world leaders who are widely admired, almost idolized. They are seldom ridiculed by any but the most pathetic among us.

Clinton’s problems are not due to misogyny on our part, but to her own goddamn actions. She is an amoral, warmongering pig. She is a liar. She is a panderer. Now she is acting as a racist. She has the arrogance of entitlement, the smarmy attitude of superiority that simply begs for comeuppance.

What part of this do you not get, Ms Coco?

“Strategic mistakes” and the “groundswell for ‘change’” are not the reasons for attacks on Hillary Clinton. It is her overwhelming lack of character.
39.
Eric J-D May 13th, 2008 6:35 pm

opeluboy,

Clinton is a liar, a panderer and someone who has engaged in race-baiting throughout this campaign. I’ll grant you all those things.

But the characterization of her as a whore, a witch, a bitch, an emasculator, a shrew, a school-marm, etc. etc. preceded this campaign and will outlast it.

Cocco is drawing attention to the form opposition to Clinton has taken.

Do you see nothing misgynist or sexist about mainstream media pundits engaging in such characterizations? Is calling her a bitch and an emasculator fair game simply because she happens to lack integrity as a candidate?
40.
riddimboy May 13th, 2008 7:03 pm

EricJ-D — “Even your own description (HRC has a “Bush-like sense of entitlement,” displays “sociopathic narcissism,” and “grasping ruthlessness”) might be said to contain elements of that sexism.”

And how might that be ? Ive re-read RichM’s statement multiple times and I cant figure out how you can claim there is an element of sexism unless you display similar ‘grasping’ tendencies as Hillary.

Comparing Hillary to Bush and Cheney is valid as she has on numerous occasions made her positions very clear and they have more in common with the Bush&Dick crowd than the average Democrat.

Hillary is not a feminist by any stretch of imagination. She is a woman and thats that. If you really feel you need to help elect a woman to office then please cast your vote (like i intend to) for Cynthia McKinney who happens to be a woman AND black … and helluva lot more progressive than Hillary or Obama put together.

I do not condone the sexist tirade against Hillary (mostly by right-wing opportunists) but someone who can blithely obliterate 70 million people in a heartbeat deserves to be shot in the head.
41.
rebelnow May 13th, 2008 7:26 pm

So, a redneck, a black guy and a woman walk into a bar owned by a jew…..oh sorry, wrong website.
42.
wsws.org website May 13th, 2008 7:38 pm

I’m continually amazed that many people, especially feminists, see Hillary Clintonn as a positive female role model.

If Hillary had any self-respect as a woman, as a wife and/or as a mother, she would have left her philandering husband 20 years ago.

So why didn’t she? Answer: she stayed hitched to the gravy train because Ms. Glick is as power hungry as her husband Sammy.

In short, “what makes Sammy run” is what makes Hillary run — an addiction to power. A singularly unattractive characteristic in either of the sexes.

Hillary Clinton has been getting a free pass from a great many so-called progressive for years now. I mean, why should it be surprising that a power-driven politician — now losing at this point — would start talking about “obliterating” millions of people? Hillary Clinton is no more a feminist, nor does she deserve the support of feminist-progressives than would Eva Peron or Margaret Thatcher or … Lizzie Borden. Lizzie limited herself to a hatchet, Hillary and her ilk prefer nukes.
43.
Eric J-D May 13th, 2008 7:40 pm

riddimboy,

I never suggested that HRC is a feminist. That would be you projecting. Projection probably also explains your description of HRC as “someone who can blithely obliterate 70 million people in a heartbeat”–a fantasy of your own making I imagine.

And before you respond with, “but she said on Good Morning America that she…” don’t bother, we all know. I admit that I place very little stock in such macho posturing even though I deplore the fact that it is done. Questions like these are setups by the MSM to give mainstream candidates an opportunity to do their best Dirty Harry impersonations and little else. That don’t give me any real window into whether or not a candidate is actually inclined to use military force or not.

All the mainstream candidates do this because they understand the expectations placed on them.

As for the sexism issue, it lies in the fact that women with political ambitions are more likely to be criticized for their ruthlessness when they engage in tactics that might otherwise seem unobjectionable if practiced by a male candidate.

You can deny this if you like, but here’s a question: how regularly have you heard a male politician described as “grasping” and “ruthless”? What’s the male equivalent of being a “bitch” or an “emasculator”? How many male politicians do you know who are described by MSM pundits in those terms?

Hillary is a highly problematic candidate, I’ll grant you that. And I’m glad that her candidacy is coming to an end (I’m not so sure I’m excited by Obama, but that’s because I see him, like HRC, as etremely moderate and my own political views are quite far from what passes even for the “left” in this country).

I won’t vote for McKinney because there is no real gain to be had from it. I know the arguments about getting funding for the Green Party for the next election cycle, etc. but the Green Party has its own internal issues that it needs to sort out and until it does that I’m not terribly interested in throwing my vote its way. I also don’t see McKinney sticking with the Greens any more than Ralph Nader did.

So while I share your objection to HRC’s rightward drift, I don’t see it as justifying the truly vile sexism that has been directed against her. Object to her politics and to her campaign behavior (I certainly do), but if you (I mean this generaically, not you “riddimboy”) find yourself (as Maureen Dowd seems to do almost weekly) obsessively describing her as Hillary the Emasculator, Hillary the Whore, perhaps a little self-reflection on your sexism is in order.

to wsws.org: yep, possessing a vagina, breasts, uterus, ovaries and the like doesn’t make you a feminist. In other news, sun rises in the east.
44.
opeluboy May 13th, 2008 7:44 pm

Eric J-D,

No, I do not condone the sexist attacks on Clinton. My point was that these attacks are not due (in the most part) to her sex, but her own actions and personality.

Yes, Clinton has been taking this sort of heat for a long time, but I can think of many female politicians who do not receive this sort of treatment.

There is a reason, and it is not gender, even though the insults may embody that sort of feeling.

Ann Coulter draws a lot of hate speech, much of it gender-based. There aren’t too many of us who wonder why.

And I have to give the best Clinton insult to Jon Stewart, who seeing a very angry look on Hillary’s face, one time opined, “That look is the place hard-ons go to die.”

We all know Stewart is a misogynist.
45.
wsws.org website May 13th, 2008 8:12 pm

Here’s a question for feminist power brokers and feminisist pundits — WHERE’S THE OUTRAGE? If NOW, the National Organization for Women, has come out outraged and four-square against Hillary’s “obliterate Iran” remark, I haven’t heard it.

If Hillary wants to reap the benefits of what it means to run for president *as a woman* than where are the progressive feminist groups standing up for *progressive* values, one of which is not incinerating millions of men, women and children.

Where was Hillary when during her husband’s eight years in office hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians died as a direct result of US-led economic sanctions? Bill and Hillary Clinton — and anyone else who supports the American government’s foreign policy — are murderers. Being called names should be the least of their worries. More in order would be an international criminal court of law.
46.
robinea May 13th, 2008 9:21 pm

Hillary Clinton is a reactionary and would ruthlessly pursue policies supporting the interest of the militarist and financial elite who have supported her against the interests of tens of millions of working class Americans despite all of her phony populist phrases. Her racism is pure ‘Arkansas’ despite her more elite roots…when she claimed the loyalty of ‘working Americans, I mean hard-working Americans, white Americans’…whose interests, she announced, could not be served by Obama…
Well she may be right about Obama not representing the interests of working people (and not just the white ones she now claims to speak for)…she should know having worked against working people’s interests in order to promote the American military empire. Claiming she is a victim of sexism is a canard…what about the thousands of women and girls trafficked through the ‘liberated’,mafia-run Kosovo Clinton so ardently championed in her role as humanitarian ‘Bomb all the bridges in Belgrade’ imperialist? Or the widows and orphans her husband’s policies in Iraq created? Or the American single mothers thrown off state assistance and into dead-end jobs with no health care for their children - when her husband destroyed the welfare ’safety net’?
47.
heartlandheretic May 13th, 2008 9:23 pm

johnwyclif May 13th, 2008 1:52 pm
On the other hand, this article reads to me sort of like, “Anybody who says Israel is doing bad things to Palestinians is an anti-semite.”

never truer words-lol

“misogynist”- I’ve always kind of wondered why this word has no counter part for ‘a woman who hates all men’. I’ve known a few.

Hill, like George, deserves whatever she/they get(s). Two peas in a pod. I don’t like ANYONE who is a front runner. My choice is currently unemployed and about to lose his home. He might have a clue what it is like to be Uhmericun.
Moore-Alexander ‘08
48.
Mordechai Shiblikov May 13th, 2008 9:24 pm

“The Clintons surrounded themselves with aristocrats, hangers-on and creepy, self-promoting trash like Dick Morris.”

Thank you jareilly for pointing that out. The point at which the cynical Clintons went over the cliff was not 1994 or Monica Lewinsky, but bringing in a political ghoul like Morris, a low cholesterol version of Karl Rove. Before that I thought Clinton was doing what he was doing (moving the Democrats to the right) so if and when the political worm ever turned, there would still be a viable Democratic party. Bringing in Morris, however, demonstrated that Clinton really was, in effect, a Reagan Democrat, a man who fed arsenic laced bread crumbs to the pigeons in the park. HRC lost the nomination because there are just enough registered Democrats who realize you can’t create such a thing as a Lite Republican party with less greed, homicide, piracy, ignorance and stupidity, yet still letting you rise from the table feeling refreshed and satisfied. Obama isn’t much better but he is not the political Dracula HRC is . . . and always will be.
49.
riddimboy May 13th, 2008 9:39 pm

ericJD your entire argument to support Hillary flounders on creaky, half-baked justifications. You are willing to pull out the ’sexist’ stick in a heartbeat but her racism is not an issue with you at all. You can easily justify her aggressive ‘warlike’ posture as posing for the media even though she willingly, without any debates voted for the Iraq and Afghan wars. You are not willing to support Cynthia because she cant win (so f__k voting your conscience). All these signs are symptomatic of what I call ‘Clinton Liberals’ - the wishy-washy, apathetic ‘Democ-rats’ who have managed to destroy the Democratic Party in the last 15 years.
50.
opeluboy May 13th, 2008 9:49 pm

Clang! riddimboy wins the kewpie doll.
51.
dmia May 13th, 2008 9:57 pm

We can argue all night, but no matter what we think of her the fact is Hillary is toast after Oregon.

I realize that Obama is not everyone’s first choice, but the guy has a brain and he uses it. Maybe if you aren’t already supporting him you would consider it?

Let’s call it a night. I sincerely wish all you CDer’s pleasant dreams.
52.
iammyself May 13th, 2008 11:07 pm

Rich Griffin,

Stop threatening us, will ya?

I don’t like the vile stuff either, but it’s gone both ways. I will vote for Obama because he is the best one standing, not because he is my first choice. I, and the rest of us who support Obama have been ridiculed and called Obamaniacs, so get off your high horse.

You’ve alluded to Clinton supporters going for McCain. If a few insults is all it takes for some Clinton supporters to go for McCain, then they were pretty damn close to it in the first place.

And hey, if Clinton wins the nomination, you and I may be voting for the same person!
53.
Siouxrose May 13th, 2008 11:20 pm

ERIC J-D: My hat is off to you, sir! You played the role of wise teacher in this debate and yet those attached to being right, never got it!

He is agreeing, fools! with all the things we dislike about Hilary. And here’s the part where the voice comes in to say, “Stop! You’re both right.” In that he is ALSO showing us how sexist the media has acted in response to her.

So there are 2 parallel tracks: Her record is terrible, nothing remotely pro-woman or feminist, nothing remotely HUMANE. Fine. That does NOT give permission, however, to speak of her in terms that demean her on the basis of her gender! The nut cracker IS a strong metaphor of just that.

Again, Eric J-D, you did a great job. I, for one, cut and paste EVERY one of your comments on this thread as you definitely SEE what’s going on. Some people are so caught up in only seeing what they see that they really can’t hear a message that validates their point of view while asking them to expand their thought process enough to SEE the bigger picture.

GREAT JOB!
54.
Siouxrose May 13th, 2008 11:21 pm

ROBINEA & MORDECHAI: Good postings, too!
55.
fresh1 May 14th, 2008 12:01 am

Its so sad to see this on CD. So many of you just don’t get it (thanks Eric J-D for getting it). Yes, HRC has flaws, yes she is ambitious (which presidential candidate isn’t?), yes she has not remained true to her roots in liberal social activism, but that is not the point.

The point is that its despicable to reach into the gutter of sexist stereotypes to describe her alleged character flaws. This whole business about “character” is largely media-manufactured crap anyway. If she were Jewish and everyone were reverting to anti-semitic stereotypes to decribe her alleged character flaws, please, please tell me that you would get it, right? If Don Imus had referred to Cynthia McKinney as a n—–h—– h- then please tell me you would NOT respond by saying “of course I hate racial stereotypes but she had it coming due to her behavior”?

Opeluboy writes

“I can think of several female politicians and world leaders who are widely admired, almost idolized. They are seldom ridiculed by any but the most pathetic among us.”

Opeluboy, please indulge me by naming SEVERAL American women with a national profile and a strong personality, women who run with the big dogs, and who are NOT subjected to sexist stereotypes of the same sort that HRC is forced to endure.

One name that comes to my mind is Condoleeza Rice. She also could be described as a warmonger and a liar (the character flaws that opeluboy attributes to HRC), to a far greater extent than HRC herself. Rice lies when millions of lives are at stake, and she apparently does it with a clear conscience. So, why isn’t Rice subjected to the same despicable stereotyping in the mass media? My hypothesis is that racial and sexist stereotyping is the stock-in-trade of Republicans, and Rice is not targeted because she is one of them.

But perhaps if you could provide some more examples we could resolve this issue.
56.
learnfromthepast May 14th, 2008 1:02 am

Thank you Marie for just the facts!
With dates/names/quotes Marie makes the case that Misogyny is socially acceptable (its even fun-ny) and Hillary is fair game because she is a ‘threatening’ intelligent woman, but we all know that racism is still hiding out in America’s kitchens and living rooms to be shared only in ‘private’ conversations.
The MSM has cheer-leaded the bush/neocon/Cheney abuse of 9-11 to invade Iraq and create this nightmare that is our present day America.and repeatedly vilified Hillary while proclaiming Obama the victor/savior since Iowa.

Do you believe the MSM now has America’s best interests at heart with their uncritical support of Obama?
Democrats/Progressives/Liberals should be wary!

The General Election is a more conservative election than the Democrat Primary - if Obama cannot win the WV, Ohio, PA, ‘working white’ vote it’s not because they are racist its because they are voters he can’t win over…. and I would not listen to the MSM about this one.

I will admit that while I like Obama’s speeches my vote is for Hillary only because I’ve become cynical of the MSM and the Entertainment-propaganda that only in America passes as news.
57.
riddimboy May 14th, 2008 2:31 am

The truth is Hillary supporters are more likely to be racist than Obama supporters are likely to be sexist.

Obama supporters (im not one of them … just a curious onlooker) tend to be more progressive and its fairly well established that if Hillary manages to clinch the nomination they would flood to either the Green party or to the Nader ticket, whereas Hillary supporters would stream into McCains arms !

The Republican right-wing attack (MSM=Republican, including the f__ing NY Times) on Hillary is sexist and definitely unacceptable and so is Hillary’s overt racist attacks on Obama.

This is really a reflection of our society. When women are elected to the highest office in remote, ‘under-developed’ states like Bangladesh and Sierra Leone (and ofcourse India and Pakistan) its simply amazing that the most ‘developed’ and highly advanced ‘civilized’ country in the world cannot do the same.

Our society, economy and politics is dominated by right-wing white males and instead of fighting them tooth and nail our great leader Hillary Clinton chose to enable them. Clearly this is the cause of all the hatred and bitterness on the Left.
58.
sLiMsHaDy May 14th, 2008 2:57 am

Thank you SO much, Eric J-D. I was at work on the 13th and therefore unable to participate in this “discussion” which is more akin to the climax of a shark or piranha feeding frenzy. It has been sickening!

He (Eric) and a couple of others have been able to expound upon Ms. Cocco’s salient points regarding the equivalent of the gang-banging that Sen. Clinton has been subjected to.

I have come to realize that the “progressive”/left wing/ et al community is FAR smaller than I had thought that it was when I found this site. My good God! There is this distinct realization that many of you would literally TEAR someone apart, limb from limb, because they do not meet your expectations of a perfect candidate. At least she tries to do something ~ what in HELL are you hate-mongers doing except bloviating your misogynist rants like shit volcanoes, and letting your true inner republican selves seep through for all the world to see?

You do Karl Rove’s work for him. You ensure that McSame will “win” in November. You demonstrate that you are EVERYTHING that you claim to hate about Hillary Clinton. Your reflection in a mirror is Ann Coulter. You have become what you claim you hate. You enable bush&co. You provide fuel to the flames of hell.

Thank you, Eric J-D (While I agree that there are other grounds to object to HRC, I think you underestimate the extent of the sexism and misogyny directed at Clinton.) Thank you, Souixrose (He is agreeing, fools! with all the things we dislike about Hilary. And here’s the part where the voice comes in to say, “Stop! You’re both right.” In that he is ALSO showing us how sexist the media has acted in response to her.) Thank you,fresh 1 (The point is that its despicable to reach into the gutter of sexist stereotypes to describe her alleged character flaws.) Thank you, learnfromthepast (Do you believe the MSM now has America’s best interests at heart with their uncritical support of Obama?
Democrats/Progressives/Liberals should be wary!) Voices of reason that rise above the cacophony of the lost and the losers.

UGH! I hope I can fall asleep now for awhile. The state of Amerikkka is not looking good.
59.
riddimboy May 14th, 2008 3:14 am

“UGH! I hope I can fall asleep now for awhile”

You should … whatever you are smoking cant be good. This is the same head-in-the-ass argument …if you are anti-israel you must be anti-semite … if you are anti-Hillary you must be pro-Ann Coulter .. that Hillary supporters have been vomitting all over this board.

“At least she tries to do something ”
Yeah sure … besides decapitating the Democratic Party and ‘blowing’ the Republicans there is not a whole lot that she has done. Now go to sleep .. it does a body good.
60.
sLiMsHaDy May 14th, 2008 3:26 am

Republicans, heads. Democrats, tails. One coin, under bush, with liberty and just-us for the rich.

And of course, you miss the point. It wasn’t about “her”.
61.
pundit May 14th, 2008 5:19 am

Wait until the MSM “discovers” that Barak Mohammed Hussein Obama is a MUSLIM!!!!!

Wait until the MSM “discovers” that BMHO is a BLACK MAN!!!!!

Buy yourself an Obama minstrel doll. Be first to read the latest study proving that black folks’ brains are 20% smaller than White Folks’.

So much fun and games until November!
62.
Donald May 14th, 2008 7:54 am

“While I agree that there are other grounds to object to HRC, I think you underestimate the extent of the sexism and misogyny directed at Clinton. Even your own description (HRC has a “Bush-like sense of entitlement,” displays “sociopathic narcissism,” and “grasping ruthlessness”) might be said to contain elements of that sexism.

Why does Bill Clinton seem (by and large) to escape such characterization? Why, for that matter, aren’t these familiar descriptions of George W. Bush?”

Bill Clinton was the target of unlimited forms of abuse on the right. And for that matter, on the left (where Bush is regularly attacked with equal vehemence). And I agree with much of it. And there’s no sexism in saying “Bush-like sense of entitlement”, “sociopathic narcissism” and “grasping ruthlessness”. You’d have to demonstrate that the person who typed those comments thinks these are characteristic of women, but unfortunately for your argument, the person who typed that went on to say that these were traits Hillary shares with her husband. That didn’t stop you from seeing it as sexist, which means you’re willing to project that accusation onto people’s words even when your accusation is refuted in the very words that you cite.

Some of the abuse aimed at Hillary Clinton is sexist, but much of it isn’t, and overall, she’s not really despised any more than her husband on either the right or the left.
63.
Vern May 14th, 2008 8:47 am

There is some sad irony in the fact that we are all asked to consider incidences of underlying sexism—which strikes me as little more than an extension of Clinton’s exploitation of shallow gender support–as political cover. Meanwhile she continues to propel herself by promoting the notion that Obama can’t win because he is unelectible based on race.
As far as I am concerned, the condemnation of the Clintons has not been harsh enough. In the greater scope of events, harping about sexist attitudes within the context of racial profiling is missing the forest for the trees.
The Clintons need to be tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail.
64.
Agi May 14th, 2008 9:29 am

For the past couple of weeks, I was amongst those Obama supporters who was trying to mend with Clinton supporters. I strongly believed that Clinton would, after WV, begin to prepare for a graceful and honorable exit which would be carried over the remaining contests. After all, Obama has almost secured the nomination as he leads Clinton by every single available metric.

With her speech in WV, Clinton clarified her position in regard to the rules of the Party. Before and after the primary, Clinton and her surrogates, went all the way in what should be rightfully called a disregard of the internal rule of law of the party. Basically claiming that the rules must be changed, that the millions of voters who have already voted don’t count, and that the elected pledged delegates don’t count either.

What seems to only count for Clinton is the popular vote of some but not all contests (after all many caucus states don’t divulge their numbers) and the superdelegates. This is because those are the two only metrics that she can hope to change in her favor.

While it is true that Clinton and her surrogates have stopped the direct attacks on Obama, they have not stopped (and actually increased) their attacks on the Party’s rules and regulations as well as the will of the majority of its voters thus far.

The Clintons and their surrogates keep moving the goalpost as they see fit and they must have a lot of clout within the upper echelons of the party since no one (where are you Howard Dean?) is telling them they should stop their extralegal attacks on the Party’s rules and regulations.

On Meet the Press last Sunday, talking about the FL and MI delegations, Terry McAuliffe said that “the rule is 50 percent” and that he would be content with 50% of the delegations from those states seated. Now, two days later, they want 100% of the delegates seated as is, even though Clinton herself said back in December, that these primaries “will count for nothing”.

Their rationale is that we need 50 states in November but they don’t seem to care about the fact that they might end up with 25 states if they keep pushing their unorthodox efforts and drive away a large chunk of Obama supporters in the process.

Since there is no logical explanation to Clinton’s refusal to play by the rules, the only possible explanation is that what we are witnessing is a pure and simple coup attempt by the Clintons and their surrogates. Now that they cannot win by the rules that they themselves have helped to lay out and that they have accepted at the beginning of the process, they feel it’s ok for them to demand that the rules be changed as they see fit in order to make the math work in their favor.

They now claim that they could win the popular vote but what they are not saying is that they are only referring to those states that hold primaries. Clinton knows very well that some caucus states don’t release their popular votes results so, while with one hand she acts as the champion of democratic voters by demanding that FL and MI be seated, on the other hand she is openly trying to disenfranchise the voters of those states where caucuses are held.

Clinton has already passed the point of no return by openly declaring that the number of delegates needed to win the nomination (2,025) is null and void and that the new number should be 2,By doing so, she has done great damage to the integrity of the primary process. Clinton and her surrogates have clearly espoused the belief that the end justifies the means and they will not stop their attempts to win the nomination at all costs.

And so we find ourselves in this Orwellian land of double speak where Clinton pretends to be the champion of democracy and the popular vote while she’s openly and directly undermining the democratic process since her only path to the nomination is for the superdelegates to overturn the the will of the pledged delegates.

Clinton has taken a very dangerous route because if she believes that the Obama supporters will sit idly by and let her destroy the integrity of the process she’s highly mistaken. This was supposed to be the year of the Democrats, the year when the people throw out the Rupublicans because of all their failed policies. Istead, because of the thirst for power of one person we are more and more likely to witness a civil war within the party that will cripple it for years to come.

Way to go Mrs. Clinton.
65.
ticonderoga May 14th, 2008 10:04 am

Misogyny? I don’t think you can lay the blame on that at all. I don’t like Hillary because she won’t vote to ban cluster bombs, not because she’s a woman. In fact, I used to support her years ago in online debates on another site. Now I know better. Personally, I would love it if a woman could be elected President. I would love it if Cynthia McKinney was the woman running against Barack Obama. I’d vote for her in a heartbeat if she was. To tell you the truth, although many of the anti-Hillary slurs mentioned in this article were offensive, so was the article itself, with its assumption that the only reason why people dislike Hillary is because she’s a woman and they hate women.

I’ve got my own idea as to why Hillary inspires so much vitriol, and it’s not misogyny. Instead it’s disappointment and frustration because so many people expected so much more from her because she’s a woman, and she let them down. Lots of people expected her to run a high road campaign because they expected her to be more moral and spiritual and nurturing than male politicians are, and she wasn’t and isn’t. She is disliked by so many because so many, instead of being misogynistic, love women and were really looking forward to a President who could be kind and nurturing, as long as the President was a woman (people aren’t interested in a kind and nurturing male President - that’s too weird).

To make an off-the-wall analogy, after World War II a lot of returning American soldiers brought back with them Weimaraners, a breed of gun dog that was unknown in America at the time. The breed, when it first hit American shores, was touted as the gun dog to end all gun dogs: versatile, smart, tough and capable of outhunting any other breed of gun dog. Turned out, though, that although a perfectly good gun dog, the breed wasn’t any better than most other breeds, and not as good as some. So, in a knee-jerk reaction, the breed’s reputation was trashed and it quickly fell out of favor with hunters.

The same thing happened, I think, to Hillary: people expected her to be better because she’s a woman, and when she turned out not to be, they vilified her.
66.
Siouxrose May 14th, 2008 10:43 am

TICONDEROGA: Hillary’s POLICIES and PRINCIPLES deserve to be attacked, but sexist references are NOT the appropriate means to do so. These demonize all women and continue to thwart our struggle for poliical equality and economic justice, etc.

FRESH 1 and the 2:31 AM posting by RIDDIMBOY were also good ones.

And thanks SLIMSHADY for the affirmation!
67.
locust May 14th, 2008 10:48 am

Having read almost all of the postings here of what becomes another Dem-on-Dem shark frenzy, I can only say-

I called in January for a united Democratic party. I still do. America needs a hero to withdraw from the race for the greater good. That way, the Dems will unite by choice, not because one candidate ‘wins’ and the other ‘loses’.

America does not need the supporters of the two Dem candidates attackng each other.
That is only doing Rove’s job for him. It drives away the supporters of whichever candidate will ‘lose’.

Unity, not division. The Rethugs are in retreat, now is the time for reinforcing the attack, not continued infighting and squandering of America’s precious time.
68.
Bob K. May 14th, 2008 11:05 am

The article is correct. It’s publication by TruthDig and CD may indicate these sites are beginning to see the future, and are looking for excuses for their own roles in swiftboating Hillary.

I could only read the first several posts on this thread before being repulsed. People here who repeat the same sexist remarks the article deplores are not progressives, they are disgusting jerks.

And, justifying the sexism by blaming Hillary’s “behavior” during the campaign? Please. What behavior? Her accurate statement that LBJ was instrumental in passing Civil Rights legislation? It was Obama and the corporate media who twisted and race-baited. Ditto with Bill’s accurate analysis of the South Carolina primary when he said there has always been racial-affinity voting in South Carolina. Her misstatement about landing under sniper fire in Bosnia? The plane actually did land under threat of sniper fire. There’s no dispute about that. See the CBS News blog and the 1996 CBS News story about that trip (it’s on YouTube).

By the way, did you know that Hillary visited more than eighty countries in her official capacity of First Lady? Did you know that Obama has never visited Europe in any capacity? Not even as a private citizen?

It would be nice to read an article like the one above, but listing all the instances of swiftboating directed at Hillary that go far beyond simple sexism. That’s not likely to happen until after November, but it will be interesting to see whether CD excises the many complicit articles they’ve published here recently.
69.
OldRascal May 14th, 2008 11:39 am

And I won’t miss the hordes of sHillary supporters who can’t believe that anyone could dislike her - and what she stands for - for any reason other than the fact that she is a woman.

There are plenty of fine women - fine PEOPLE - in this country but sHillary is NOT one of them.

She’s a sellout - a “whore” if you prefer the vernacular.

And she’s a contemptible hater - a “bitch” if you prefer.

So .. I’ll just call her a sellout and a contemptible hater.

Happy now?
70.
Bob K. May 14th, 2008 11:58 am

Old Rascal, or Disgusting Sexist Jerk . . . if you prefer.
71.
alaskamaid May 14th, 2008 12:44 pm

agi — you nailed it, it’s the “moving the goalposts as they see fit” aspect that is most disturbing

These types play by the “I get to make the rules, I get to change the rules, and I don’t have to tell you that the rules have changed” rule.

This works well for them but sort of sucks for the rest of us, who are necessarily always a step behind, trying to figure out what the rules have changed to.

The Clintons crave publicity, it doesn’t really seem to matter to them if its ‘good’ or ‘bad’ press, and Hillary knowingly put herself out there with all the considerable family baggage so why are people so upset about the natural and logical consequences of her candidacy ? She probably has a nutcracker doll on her night table. I wish she and sleazebag Bill would just quietly sail off into some distant sunset.
72.
Coyotita May 14th, 2008 1:53 pm

Ms. Cocco,

What we are seeing is the same kind of intimidation of opponents that the Bushies used. But that’s ok, if it comes from the Clintonites? Because what I’ve been hearing is that Obama brings out our best, while it is the wild-eyed Clinton supporters who are doing the dirty politics of old. Also, we are seeing the same kind of lying that has become the trademark of an administration and its supporters who keep telling us the tide has turned in Iraq, and other fables. So, please, be fair and recognize that Hillary Clinton is comfortable with old politics and is goading her supporters on.
73.
Coyotita May 14th, 2008 1:54 pm

… and by the way, to bring this to light is not playing gender politics, but telling the truth.
74.
riddimboy May 14th, 2008 2:15 pm

“By the way, did you know that Hillary visited more than eighty countries in her official capacity of First Lady?”

And all she could come up with after all those visits is a mad hankering to bomb them to pieces. She needs to keep her dick in her pants and not flash it around like every other right-wing white male.

Maybe not visiting Europe is a good thing … we already have them bending over when we have that ‘urge’ and they are more than willing to comply.

Entitlement Gone Awry just about sums up Hillary’s current situation, and to think she showed so much friggin promise at one time. Her ‘inner republican’ self couldn’t be contained any longer.

Im willing to bet half my net worth that all these rabid, screaming, finer-pointing Hillary supporters will never vote for Cynthia McKinney EVEN if she had a chance to win in Nov.
75.
rcarrace May 14th, 2008 3:54 pm

how else could you describe H. Clinton. Oh that’s right … they forgot hypocrite and fake. I can’t wait until that bitch is out of the picture. She is pathetic.
76.
rcarrace May 14th, 2008 4:02 pm

” gang-banging that Sen. Clinton ” Ooooo no … that is repulsive. Hillary naked and having sex? I think I’m going to be sick.
77.
mrraven500 May 14th, 2008 5:37 pm

If women don’t want to hear crude jokes about Hillary Clinton feminists MUST distance themselves from this particular woman who was on the board of Wal-mart, threatened to obliterate Iran, engaged in crude race baiting, and voted for the war nd has expressed no remorse over that wrong headed vote. To their credit some feminists have distanced themselves from Hillary, good for them, bravo thanks for supporting rights for ALL people and not just those of your gender. On the other hand if “feminists” hang with race baiting, war mongering slime like Hillary Clinton they ought not be surprised if they get slimed themselves. As Dr. King wisely said jude people by the content of their character not the color of their skin, or I would add gender sexual orientation, etc. If Ms. Clinton cannot adhere to that high standard she ought not be surprised when her opponents don’t either.
78.
mrraven500 May 14th, 2008 5:54 pm

Eric J-D the form of the attacks on Clinton have been so harsh for many (myself included) because she is such a tool of the ruling corporate oligarchy that she makes many of us VERY angry. The fact that I think Hillary Clinton is b*tch does not make me a sexist, for the candidate I would most want to see win is Cynthia McKinney. I sincerely wish I lived in a country smart enough to elect her, sigh.

If we are to be so paralyzed by p.c. speech codes that we can’t call a lying corporate tool like Hillary Clinton who hired Mark Penn that did p.r. for Monsanto a f*cking b*tch then we will never have more than .0000001% support from people outside the ivory tower.
79.
BrokenTop May 15th, 2008 1:39 am

I scanned down these posts and I have to wonder at the mentality of the posters. A lot of name calling, accusations of all sorts and hatred but no FACTS to substantiate the charges or epithets hurled about. The rantings of fools. Common Dreams has certainly degenerated.
80.
huzzah May 15th, 2008 1:41 am

“…she is such a tool of the ruling corporate oligarchy…”

A WHORE to coporations, perhaps?
81.
ticonderoga May 15th, 2008 7:31 am

“TICONDEROGA: Hillary’s POLICIES and PRINCIPLES deserve to be attacked, but sexist references are NOT the appropriate means to do so. These demonize all women and continue to thwart our struggle for poliical equality and economic justice, etc.”

Siouxrose, I agree. It’s just that my point was that, although sexist remarks have been the vehicle used to attack Hillary by a number of people, I don’t think that the basis for those remarks is necessarily the hatred of those people for women in general.

After all, there are plenty of sexist remarks directed toward George Bush on this site, ranging from statements that he’s a ball-less wonder to statements that he’s a testosterone-filled moron to etc. That doesn’t mean that the people making those statements dislike men in general; it just means that they dislike Bush and use language that they think will annoy him should he ever read what’s written on this site (yeah, I know: he doesn’t read).

Easiest way to insult a man is to say he acts like a woman and the easiest way to insult a woman is to say she acts like a man. It’s what people do. It’s much easier than focusing on the issues.
82.
Elderlady May 15th, 2008 7:31 am

I wasn’t even going to comment on Ms. Coco’s essay, until I saw this morning, that she has a similar column in the Washington Post.

The cold, hard facts are these: Mrs. Clinton was running for president of the United States. She ran as a war-mongering hawk. She didn’t run as a woman. Why should she have been treated any differently than any other war-mongering hawk, by a country of voters which is “war weary.” More that 65% of us think the war we are in is wrong, and have no stomach for another war with Iran.

I don’t think anyone attacked Mrs. Clinton simply because of her gender. What most of us really objected to was her policies. And, many said so.

To quote the woman herself: “If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.”
83.
Bob K. May 15th, 2008 9:45 am

BrokenTop,

I don’t think the people posting this gutter language here are truly progressives. I recognize the language and tactics: it’s Republican. It’s hate speech, lies, insinuations without facts, and repetitive propaganda.

It’s also classic Republican campaign tactics. If they pay people to make phone calls insinuating that the opposition has an illegitimate black child, if they pay them to distribute flyers announcing that Republicans vote on Tuesday and Democrats vote on Wednesday, it’s no stretch to imagine that they pay them to pose as progressives on a progressive web site.

They are Obamicans — Republicans pushing Obama.
84.
Elspeth May 15th, 2008 10:05 am

I am a lifelong Democrat, but the woman-bashing, even in my own party, has been a shocker. I expected as much from the right wing, but the left? Clinton had a tremendous lead going into the contest. In my opinion, the misogyny directed at Clinton caused much of that lead to evaporate. It’s depressing for younger women, like myself, to know that, no matter how much more experienced you may be than the opposition, you can still lose due to unchecked ignorance.

And it’s not right wingers posing as progressives. There is a little of that. But Randi Rhodes, among others, is clearly on our side of the aisle and is a woman.

And NPR?

Come on. Democratic males (and some females) can be just as sexist or moreso than their GOP counterparts. And it leaves progressive women with nowhere to go, except Green, perhaps.
85.
Bob K. May 15th, 2008 10:37 am

Elspeth,

I agree. But, I distinguish between mainstream Democrats and progressives. And, if Randi Rhodes considers herself a progressive . . . I beg to differ. Ditto with NPR.

I say that if you use hate speech you are not progressive, by definition. If you think you are, you’re delusional.
86.
hootowl May 15th, 2008 9:41 pm

If ya’ll are truly more offended at some crude humor directed at MS. Clinton compared to the terrible real physical damage to poor people by say slave labor in Chinese factories that outsource American workers jobs from her former employer Wal_Mart, or NAFTA passed on her husbands watch without a peep of protest from Hillary, or the million dead from the Iraq sanctions promoted by the Clintons, or the millions thrown in prison during the Clinton error, or the hundreds of thousands of acres cut under the Clintons salvage logging again without a peep from Hillary, then you value form over substance and you are the reason that we don’t have a strong left that actually fights to protect the weak, the downtrodden and our endangered planet.

And the reason for this? You are too busy being whiny NPResque language police to actually do the hard real work of supporting striking workers, of blocking logging roads, of blocking the port that weapons used for war crimes are shipped from. People like Hillary Clinton are vile c*nts for enabling and encouraging war crimes and for sitting on the board of the planet and labor destroying Wal-Mart and no I don’t feel like referring to her in a polite p.c. upper middle class tea party for fashion she deserves every sort of foul curse word that can possible be flung at her for betraying the working poor including women working for pennies an hour in places like Vietnam. Where are your priorities people that you can take a piece of capitalist distractionay upper middle class whining like the original article seriously at all?

Rather than worrying about whether women will crash through the glass ceiling how about doing the hard physical work to eliminate that sort of hierarchy for all people on the planet? Hint it may involve rough language from you know actual working people and gasp eeek scary guns, if you don’t believe me ask Chavez…

Here’s a hint if you go to a working class bar say near Michigan Ave. in Ypsilanti where I live (you know full of the actual downtrodden people we are supposed to be helping overcome oppression) and whine piteously about the “sexist” treatment Hillary Clinton is receiving you will be laughed out onto the street and mainly by African American working women to boot.

The reason fat junkies like Rush Limbaugh are winning is they at least PRETEND to talk to working people, and the denizens of a place like CD, we can’t even manage that much, which is sad. It’s called being out of touch, it was sad when Bush I was too out of touch to run his groceries over a bar code scanner in a check out line, and it’s sad many of us here would be too prissy and p.c. to diss Hillary in a way working people would understand at a bar. Think about it PLEASE, it’s important if we want to actually start winning again.
87.
hootowl May 15th, 2008 9:45 pm

p.s. to the moderators if seeing the c word fully spelled out is too much for your delicate sensibilities to handle I submitted a second version chastely clothed much like John Ashcroft’s shirt thrown on a statue. Please delete the first one down the memory hold and thanks for prioritizing form over substance.
For prioritizing form over substance as in the original article by Marie Coco is surely how we will win victories for the downtrodden, right?
88.
riddimboy May 16th, 2008 1:33 am

Great post hootowl … dont worry about the moderators …they only pop up if you diss the zionists in israel … all else is fair game !
89.
hootowl May 16th, 2008 1:40 am

Actually my first version of this post DID get suspended in moderator limbo for calling Hillar a C U N T, this is the second version.

Join the discussion:

You must be logged in to post a comment. If you haven't registered yet, click here to register. (It's quick, easy and free. And we won't give your email address to anyone.)

FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Common Dreams NewsCenter
A non-profit news service providing breaking news & views for the progressive community.
Home | Newswire | Contacting Us | About Us | Donate | Sign-Up | Archives

© Copyrighted 1997-2008
www.commondreams.org
Podcast Powered by podPress (v8.2)

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 3 replies

media reform

2008-05-17T19:57:29Z

http://www.freepress.net/conference

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 1 reply

Gender Equality and Womens Issues

2008-05-17T19:56:51Z

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/women/

Hillary's historic statement at the United Nations Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 that "women's rights are human rights" still echoes worldwide. As a lawyer, advocate, First Lady, and senator, Hillary has fought for issues important to women here at home and around the world for decades.

Today, despite the progress women have made, they earn only 77 cents for every dollar men earn -- and women of color earn even less. Hillary is leading the charge in the Senate to strengthen equal pay laws and end pay disparities between men and women. She introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act to strengthen the penalties associated with wage discrimination, to ensure that the federal government sets a higher standard, and to increase oversight of employers. Hillary has also worked to increase access to capital and other support for women-owned businesses.

When it comes to each woman's ability to make the most personal of life decisions, Hillary has stood firm as an advocate for a woman's right to choose. She has expanded access to family planning services, including for low-income women. She spoke out forcefully against the Supreme Court's April 2007 decision that -- for the first time in decades -- failed to recognize the importance of women's health.

Hillary has worked to empower women throughout the world, especially low-income women. She has advocated for access to microfinance programs that enable women to start their own businesses and spoken out strongly against the tragic practice of sex trafficking.

As president, Hillary will continue her lifelong fight to ensure that all Americans are treated with respect and dignity.

Ready to Lead

Hillary has fought the relentless and insidious efforts by far-right Republicans to limit the protections of Roe v Wade, while also working hard to expand access to family planning services.

Hillary has seen what happens when governments try to control a woman's reproductive health decisions. Whether it was Romania under a dictatorship saying you had to have children for the good of the state or China saying you had to have only one child for the good of the state, governments have dictated the most private and important decisions that we as individuals or families can make.

She has championed the Prevention First Act, which expands access to family planning services for low-income women, requires health insurance companies to cover contraception, and provides a dedicated funding stream for age-appropriate, medically accurate, comprehensive sex education.

As First Lady, she helped pass the Family and Medical Leave Act and helped found the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancies, which established and achieved a goal of reducing teen pregnancies by one-third between 1996 and 2005.

In partnership with Senator Patty Murray, Hillary waged a successful three-year battle to get the Food and Drug Administration to accept the overwhelming recommendation of the medical community and make Plan B (the "morning after" pill) available over the counter.

Hillary's work to empower low-income women has changed lives. She fought for the elimination of school fees, which prevent poor children in some countries from attending school, and for investments in health care and education for women and girls. And she helped found Vital Voices, a not-for-profit organization that continues to work to support women's leadership around the globe.

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 4 replies

foreign policy

2008-05-17T19:52:18Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/foreignpolicy/

BARACK OBAMA’S PLAN TO SECURE AMERICA AND RESTORE OUR STANDING

“When I am this party's nominee, my opponent will not be able to say that I voted for the war in Iraq; or that I gave George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran; or that I supported Bush-Cheney policies of not talking to leaders that we don't like. And he will not be able to say that I wavered on something as fundamental as whether or not it is ok for America to torture — because it is never ok… I will end the war in Iraq… I will close Guantanamo. I will restore habeas corpus. I will finish the fight against Al Qaeda. And I will lead the world to combat the common threats of the 21st century: nuclear weapons and terrorism; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. And I will send once more a message to those yearning faces beyond our shores that says, "You matter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment is now.”

— Barack Obama, Des Moines, Iowa, November 10, 2007

At a Glance

* Ending the War in Iraq
* Iran
* Renewing American Diplomacy
* Nuclear Weapons
* Building a 21st Century Military
* Bipartisanship and Openness
* On Israel
* On Africa

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas

Watch the Video
Barack Obama's Plan
Ending the War in Iraq

* Judgment You Can Trust: As a candidate for the United States Senate in 2002, Obama put his political career on the line to oppose going to war in Iraq, and warned of “an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences.” Obama has been a consistent, principled and vocal opponent of the war in Iraq:
1. In 2003 and 2004, he spoke out against the war on the campaign trail;
2. In 2005, he called for a phased withdrawal of our troops;
3. In 2006, he called for a timetable to remove our troops, a political solution within Iraq, and aggressive diplomacy with all of Iraq's neighbors;
4. In January 2007, he introduced legislation in the Senate to remove all of our combat troops from Iraq by March 2008.
5. In September 2007, he laid out a detailed plan for how he will end the war as president.
* Bring Our Troops Home: Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.
* Press Iraq's leaders to reconcile: The best way to press Iraq's leaders to take responsibility for their future is to make it clear that we are leaving. As we remove our troops, Obama will engage representatives from all levels of Iraqi society – in and out of government – to seek a new accord on Iraq's Constitution and governance. The United Nations will play a central role in this convention, which should not adjourn until a new national accord is reached addressing tough questions like federalism and oil revenue-sharing.
* Regional Diplomacy: Obama will launch the most aggressive diplomatic effort in recent American history to reach a new compact on the stability of Iraq and the Middle East. This effort will include all of Iraq's neighbors – including Iran and Syria. This compact will aim to secure Iraq's borders; keep neighboring countries from meddling inside Iraq; isolate al Qaeda; support reconciliation among Iraq's sectarian groups; and provide financial support for Iraq's reconstruction.
* Humanitarian Initiative: Obama believes that America has a moral and security responsibility to confront Iraq's humanitarian crisis – two million Iraqis are refugees; two million more are displaced inside their own country. Obama will form an international working group to address this crisis. He will provide at least $2 billion to expand services to Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries, and ensure that Iraqis inside their own country can find a safe-haven.

Iran

* The Problem: Iran has sought nuclear weapons, supports militias inside Iraq and terror across the region, and its leaders threaten Israel and deny the Holocaust. But Obama believes that we have not exhausted our non-military options in confronting this threat; in many ways, we have yet to try them. That's why Obama stood up to the Bush administration's warnings of war, just like he stood up to the war in Iraq.
* Opposed Bush-Cheney Saber Rattling: Obama opposed the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, which says we should use our military presence in Iraq to counter the threat from Iran. Obama believes that it was reckless for Congress to give George Bush any justification to extend the Iraq War or to attack Iran. Obama also introduced a resolution in the Senate declaring that no act of Congress – including Kyl-Lieberman – gives the Bush administration authorization to attack Iran.
* Diplomacy: Obama is the only major candidate who supports tough, direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions. Now is the time to pressure Iran directly to change their troubling behavior. Obama would offer the Iranian regime a choice. If Iran abandons its nuclear program and support for terrorism, we will offer incentives like membership in the World Trade Organization, economic investments, and a move toward normal diplomatic relations. If Iran continues its troubling behavior, we will step up our economic pressure and political isolation. Seeking this kind of comprehensive settlement with Iran is our best way to make progress.

Renewing American Diplomacy

* The Problem: The United States is trapped by the Bush-Cheney approach to diplomacy that refuses to talk to leaders we don't like. Not talking doesn't make us look tough – it makes us look arrogant, it denies us opportunities to make progress, and it makes it harder for America to rally international support for our leadership. On challenges ranging from terrorism to disease, nuclear weapons to climate change, we cannot make progress unless we can draw on strong international support.
* Talk to our Foes and Friends: Obama is willing to meet with the leaders of all nations, friend and foe. He will do the careful preparation necessary, but will signal that America is ready to come to the table, and that he is willing to lead. And if America is willing to come to the table, the world will be more willing to rally behind American leadership to deal with challenges like terrorism, and Iran and North Korea's nuclear programs.
* Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Obama will make progress on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a key diplomatic priority. He will make a sustained push – working with Israelis and Palestinians – to achieve the goal of two states, a Jewish state in Israel and a Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security.
* Expand our Diplomatic Presence: To make diplomacy a priority, Obama will stop shuttering consulates and start opening them in the tough and hopeless corners of the world – particularly in Africa. He will expand our foreign service, and develop the capacity of our civilian aid workers to work alongside the military.
* Fight Global Poverty: Obama will embrace the Millennium Development Goal of cutting extreme poverty around the world in half by 2015, and he will double our foreign assistance to $50 billion to achieve that goal. He will help the world's weakest states to build healthy and educated communities, reduce poverty, develop markets, and generate wealth.
* Strengthen NATO: Obama will rally NATO members to contribute troops to collective security operations, urging them to invest more in reconstruction and stabilization operations, streamlining the decision-making processes, and giving NATO commanders in the field more flexibility.
* Seek New Partnerships in Asia: Obama will forge a more effective framework in Asia that goes beyond bilateral agreements, occasional summits, and ad hoc arrangements, such as the six-party talks on North Korea. He will maintain strong ties with allies like Japan, South Korea and Australia; work to build an infrastructure with countries in East Asia that can promote stability and prosperity; and work to ensure that China plays by international rules.

Nuclear Weapons

* A Record of Results: The gravest danger to the American people is the threat of a terrorist attack with a nuclear weapon and the spread of nuclear weapons to dangerous regimes. Obama has taken bipartisan action to secure nuclear weapons and materials:
1. He joined Senator Dick Lugar in passing a law to help the United States and our allies detect and stop the smuggling of weapons of mass destruction throughout the world.
2. He joined Senator Chuck Hagel to introduce a bill that seeks to prevent nuclear terrorism, reduce global nuclear arsenals, and stop the spread of nuclear weapons.
3. And while other candidates have insisted that we should threaten to drop nuclear bombs on terrorist training camps, Obama believes that we must talk openly about nuclear weapons – because the best way to keep America safe is not to threaten terrorists with nuclear weapons, it's to keep nuclear weapons away from terrorists.
* Secure Loose Nuclear Materials from Terrorists: Obama will secure all loose nuclear materials in the world within four years. While we work to secure existing stockpiles of nuclear material, Obama will negotiate a verifiable global ban on the production of new nuclear weapons material. This will deny terrorists the ability to steal or buy loose nuclear materials.
* Strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: Obama will crack down on nuclear proliferation by strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty so that countries like North Korea and Iran that break the rules will automatically face strong international sanctions.
* Toward a Nuclear Free World: Obama will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons, and pursue it. Obama will always maintain a strong deterrent as long as nuclear weapons exist. But he will take several steps down the long road toward eliminating nuclear weapons. He will stop the development of new nuclear weapons; work with Russia to take U.S. and Russian ballistic missiles off hair trigger alert; seek dramatic reductions in U.S. and Russian stockpiles of nuclear weapons and material; and set a goal to expand the U.S.-Russian ban on intermediate- range missiles so that the agreement is global.

Building a 21st Century Military

* The Problem: The excellence of our military is unmatched. But as a result of a misguided war in Iraq, our forces are under pressure as never before. Obama will make the investments we need so that the finest military in the world is best-prepared to meet 21st-century threats.
* Rebuild Trust: Obama will rebuild trust with those who serve by ensuring that soldiers and Marines have sufficient training time before they are sent into battle.
* Expand the Military: We have learned from Iraq that our military needs more men and women in uniform to reduce the strain on our active force. Obama will increase the size of ground forces, adding 65,000 soldiers to the Army and 27,000 Marines.
* New Capabilities: Obama will give our troops new equipment, armor, training, and skills like language training. He will also strengthen our civilian capacity, so that our civilian agencies have the critical skills and equipment they need to integrate their efforts with our military.
* Strengthen Guard and Reserve: Obama will restore the readiness of the National Guard and Reserves. He will permit them adequate time to train and rest between deployments, and provide the National Guard with the equipment they need for foreign and domestic emergencies. He will also give the Guard a seat at the table by making the Chief of the National Guard a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Bipartisanship and Openness

* The Problem: Under the Bush administration, foreign policy has been used as a political wedge issue to divide us – not as a cause to bring America together. And it is no coincidence that one of the most secretive administrations in history has pursued policies that have been disastrous for the American people. Obama strongly believes that our foreign policy is stronger when Americans are united, and the government is open and candid with the American people.
* A Record of Bringing People Together: In the Senate, Obama has worked with Republicans and Democrats to advance important policy initiatives on securing weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons, increasing funding for nonproliferation, and countering instability in Congo.
* Consultative Group: Obama will convene a bipartisan Consultative Group of leading members of Congress to foster better executive-legislative relations and bipartisan unity on foreign policy. This group will be comprised of the congressional leadership of both political parties, and the chair and ranking members of the Armed Services, Foreign Relations, Intelligence, and Appropriations Committees. This group will meet with the president once a month to review foreign policy priorities, and will be consulted in advance of military action.
* Getting Politics out of Intelligence: Obama would insulate the Director of National Intelligence from political pressure by giving the DNI a fixed term, like the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Obama will seek consistency and integrity at the top of our intelligence community – not just a political ally.
* Change the Culture of Secrecy: Obama will reverse President Bush's policy of secrecy. He will institute a National Declassification Center to make declassification secure but routine, efficient, and cost-effective.
* Engaging the American People on Foreign Policy: Obama will bring foreign policy decisions directly to the people by requiring his national security officials to have periodic national broadband town hall meetings to discuss foreign policy. He will personally deliver occasional fireside chats via webcast.

On Israel

* Ensure a Strong U.S.-Israel Partnership: Barack Obama strongly supports the U.S.-Israel relationship, believes that our first and incontrovertible commitment in the Middle East must be to the security of Israel, America's strongest ally in the Middle East. Obama supports this closeness, stating that that the United States would never distance itself from Israel.
* Support Israel's Right to Self Defense: During the July 2006 Lebanon war, Barack Obama stood up strongly for Israel's right to defend itself from Hezbollah raids and rocket attacks, cosponsoring a Senate resolution against Iran and Syria's involvement in the war, and insisting that Israel should not be pressured into a ceasefire that did not deal with the threat of Hezbollah missiles. He believes strongly in Israel's right to protect its citizens.
* Support Foreign Assistance to Israel: Barack Obama has consistently supported foreign assistance to Israel. He defends and supports the annual foreign aid package that involves both military and economic assistance to Israel and has advocated increased foreign aid budgets to ensure that these funding priorities are met. He has called for continuing U.S. cooperation with Israel in the development of missile defense systems.
* (PDF)Read the full Israel Fact Sheet

On Africa

* Stop the Genocide in Darfur: Barack Obama has been a leading voice urging the Bush Administration to take stronger steps to end the genocide in Sudan. He worked with Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) to pass the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act. Obama has traveled to the United Nations to meet with Sudanese officials and visited refugee camps on the Chad-Sudan border to raise international awareness of the ongoing humanitarian disaster there. He also worked with Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) to secure $20 million for the African Union peacekeeping mission. Obama believes the United States needs to lead the world in ending this genocide, including by imposing much tougher sanctions that target Sudan?s oil revenue, implementing and helping to enforce a no-fly zone, and engaging in more intense, effective diplomacy to develop a political roadmap to peace. The international community must, over the Sudanese regime?s protests, deploy a large, capable UN-led and UN-funded force with a robust enforcement mandate to stop the killings.
* End the Conflict in Congo: An estimated 3.9 million people have died from war-related causes since the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo began. Barack Obama wrote and passed legislation to promote stability in the Congo. Obama revamped U.S. policy in the Congo to include a commitment to help rebuild the country, develop lasting political structures, hold accountable destabilizing foreign governments, crack down on corrupt politicians, and professionalize the military. The bill also authorizes $52 million in U.S. assistance for the Congo.
* Bring a Brutal Warlord to Justice: Former Liberian President Charles Taylor has been accused of committing war crimes by international prosecutors. After taking the presidency following a brutal civil war that decimated Liberia's population, Taylor created a rebel group that fought in neighboring Sierra Leone's civil war. These rebels committed a range of atrocities including rape, murder and the use of child soldiers. On July 19, 2005, Obama passed a bipartisan amendment, along with Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) to provide $13 million for the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Signed into law in November 2005, the Obama amendment provides critical funding to keep the Court up and running and dramatically enhances efforts to bring Charles Taylor to justice. Taylor was arrested in 2006. His trial began in June 2007 and was postponed until January 2008.

For More Information about Barack's Plan

Read the Speech and Learn More About Barack Obama's Plan on Iraq and Iran
Read the Speech on Nuclear Weapons and Diplomacy
Read the Speech on Counter-Terrorism Strategy
Read the Speech on Restoring American Leadership

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 2 replies

ethics

2008-05-17T19:51:47Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ethics/

lan to Change Washington

“I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over. I have done more than any other candidate in this race to take on lobbyists — and won. They have not funded my campaign, they will not run my White House, and they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I am president.”

— Barack Obama, Speech in Des Moines, IA, November 10, 2007

At a Glance

* Shine the Light on Washington Lobbying
* Shine the Light on Federal Contracts, Tax Breaks and Earmarks
* Bring Americans Back into their Government
* Free the Executive Branch from Special Interest Influence

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas

Watch the Video
The Problem

Lobbyists Write National Policies: For example, Vice President Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force of oil and gas lobbyists met secretly to develop national energy policy.

Secrecy Dominates Government Actions: The Bush administration has ignored public disclosure rules and has invoked a legal tool known as the "state secrets" privilege more than any other previous administration to get cases thrown out of civil court.

Wasteful Spending is Out of Control: The current administration has abused its power by handing out contracts without competition to its politically connected friends and supporters. These abuses cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year.
Barack Obama's Plan
Shine the Light on Washington Lobbying

* Centralize Ethics and Lobbying Information for Voters: Obama will create a centralized Internet database of lobbying reports, ethics records, and campaign finance filings in a searchable, sortable and downloadable format.
* Require Independent Monitoring of Lobbying Laws and Ethics Rules: Obama will use the power of the presidency to fight for an independent watchdog agency to oversee the investigation of congressional ethics violations so that the public can be assured that ethics complaints will be investigated.
* Support Campaign Finance Reform: Obama supports public financing of campaigns combined with free television and radio time as a way to reduce the influence of moneyed special interests. Obama introduced public financing legislation in the Illinois State Senate, and is the only 2008 candidate to have sponsored Senator Russ Feingold's (D-WI) tough bill to reform the presidential public financing system.

Shine the Light on Federal Contracts, Tax Breaks and Earmarks

* Create a Public “Contracts and Influence” Database: As president, Obama will create a "contracts and influence" database that will disclose how much federal contractors spend on lobbying, and what contracts they are getting and how well they complete them.
* Expose Special Interest Tax Breaks to Public Scrutiny: Barack Obama will ensure that any tax breaks for corporate recipients — or tax earmarks — are also publicly available on the Internet in an easily searchable format.
* End Abuse of No-Bid Contracts: Barack Obama will end abuse of no-bid contracts by requiring that nearly all contract orders over $25,000 be competitively awarded.
* Sunlight Before Signing: Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days.
* Shine Light on Earmarks and Pork Barrel Spending: Obama's Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act will shed light on all earmarks by disclosing the name of the legislator who asked for each earmark, along with a written justification, 72 hours before they can be approved by the full Senate.

Bring Americans Back into their Government

* Hold 21st Century Fireside Chats: Obama will bring democracy and policy directly to the people by requiring his Cabinet officials to have periodic national broadband townhall meetings to discuss issues before their agencies.
* Make White House Communications Public: Obama will amend executive orders to ensure that communications about regulatory policymaking between persons outside government and all White House staff are disclosed to the public.
* Conduct Regulatory Agency Business in Public: Obama will require his appointees who lead the executive branch departments and rulemaking agencies to conduct the significant business of the agency in public, so that any citizen can see in person or watch on the Internet these debates.
* Release Presidential Records: Obama will nullify the Bush attempts to make the timely release of presidential records more difficult.

Free the Executive Branch from Special Interest Influence

* Close the Revolving Door on Former and Future Employers: No political appointees in an Obama administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration.
* Free Career Officials from the Influence of Politics: Obama will issue an executive order asking all new hires at the agencies to sign a form affirming that no political appointee offered them the job solely on the basis of political affiliation or contribution.
* Reform the Political Appointee Process: FEMA Director Michael Brown was not qualified to head the agency, and the result was a disaster for the people of the Gulf Coast. But in an Obama administration, every official will have to rise to the standard of proven excellence in the agency's mission.

Barack Obama's Record:

* Federal Ethics Reform: Obama and Senator Feingold (D-WI) took on both parties and proposed ethics legislation that was described as the "gold standard" for reform. It was because of their leadership that ending subsidized corporate jet travel, mandating disclosure of lobbyists' bundling of contributions, and enacting strong new restrictions of lobbyist-sponsored trips became part of the final ethics bill that was signed into law. The Washington Post wrote in an editorial, "The final package is the strongest ethics legislation to emerge from Congress yet."
* Google for Government: Americans have the right to know how their tax dollars are spent, but that information has been hidden from public view for too long. That's why Barack Obama and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) passed a law to create a Google-like search engine to allow regular people to approximately track federal grants, contracts, earmarks, and loans online. The Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "It would enable the public to see where federal money goes and how it is spent. It's a brilliant idea."
* Illinois Reform: In 1998, Obama joined forces with former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL) to pass the toughest campaign finance law in Illinois history. The legislation banned the personal use of campaign money by Illinois legislators and banned most gifts from lobbyists. Before the law was passed, one organization ranked Illinois worst among 50 states for its campaign finance regulations.
* A High Standard: Unlike other candidates Obama's campaign refuses to accept contributions from Washington lobbyists and political action committees.
For More Information about Barack's Plan

(PDF)Read the Plan
Read and Watch the Speech

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 3 replies

immigration

2008-05-17T19:51:15Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/immigration/

Plan for Immigration

“The time to fix our broken immigration system is now… We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace… But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to America… Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should”

— Barack Obama, Statement on U.S. Senate Floor, May 23, 2007

At a Glance

* Create Secure Borders
* Improve Our Immigration System
* Remove Incentives to Enter Illegally
* Bring People Out of the Shadows
* Work with Mexico

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas

Watch the Video
The Problem

Undocumented population is exploding: The number of undocumented immigrants in the country has increased more than 40 percent since 2000. Every year, more than a half-million people come illegally or illegally overstay their visas.

Immigration bureaucracy is broken: The immigration bureaucracy is broken and overwhelmed, forcing legal immigrants to wait years for applications.

Immigration raids are ineffective: Despite a sevenfold increase in recent years, immigration raids only netted 3,600 arrests in 2006 and have placed all the burdens of a broken system onto immigrant families.
Barack Obama's Plan
Create Secure Borders

Obama wants to preserve the integrity of our borders. He supports additional personnel, infrastructure and technology on the border and at our ports of entry.
Improve Our Immigration System

Obama believes we must fix the dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy and increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fill.
Remove Incentives to Enter Illegally

Obama will remove incentives to enter the country illegally by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants.
Bring People Out of the Shadows

Obama supports a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.
Work with Mexico

Obama believes we need to do more to promote economic development in Mexico to decrease illegal immigration.
Barack Obama's Record

* Crack Down on Employers: Obama championed a proposal to create a system so employers can verify that their employees are legally eligible to work in the U.S.
* Fix the Bureaucracy: Obama joined Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) to introduce the Citizenship Promotion Act to ensure that immigration application fees are both reasonable and fair. Obama also introduced legislation that passed the Senate to improve the speed and accuracy of FBI background checks.
* Respect Families: Obama introduced amendments to put greater emphasis on keeping immigrant families together.

For More Information about Barack's

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 2 replies

Arcologies

2008-05-17T19:50:44Z

prometheuspan
3/20/2001 8:23 PM 1 out of 23

An ARcology for purposes of this discussion is a house built as a single building for a
tribal group or a hive instead of for a nuclear family. The first size, for no less than 20
and no more than about 2000 individuals, The larger size for as many as billions of
people.

Certain theoretical environments, such as starships are by nature larger size
Arcologies, but we will only explore the smaller size for this thread.

Arcologies were brought to the attention of American Consciousness by a man named
P. Santeri.

A lot of problems are solved socially and economically as well as ergonomically
when you do an Arcology well. A lot of people have a knee Jerk reaction against the
idea but don't really understand that things could very possibly be better in every
concievable way in such a situation.

Taking a City block on which currently resides say 14 houses, and building on 7 of
those lots a structure 10 stories tall, you could house an extraordinary number of
people in avery space saving fashion.

Thats a selling point to a social engineer but nobody else.

Heres a list of advantages.

1. You could give all of those people more room in which to live than they currently
have.
2. You could save on heating, electricity, and frankly all utilities tremendously.
3. Child care suddenly becomes a group collaborative effort, instead of a trying chore.
In a tribal social structure, all the adults take responsibility for the Children.
Thus no one adult is over stressed with tooo many or too much.
4. School, work, and all social functions can happen within the Arcology or on its
grounds.
5. No need thus for automobiles, therefore no more emissions problems.
6. A whole host of social needs that we are not getting met right now would get met.
7. Labor process such as cooking and cleaning could be cut down on significantly.
8. By including sound proofing, theres no reason to believe you couldn't have privacy in
your own space.
9. With the bedrooms on the outside of the building and using an open porch style of
construction, everybody could have their own sunlight and access to tiny, personal
outdoor yards.
10. The problem of urban sprawl would thus be dealt with and our childre n could look
forward to living in paradise instead of ghettos of their parents creation.

So first, I'll design and explain a theoretical 2000 person arcology, and then we will
look at how each of these and more advantages apply.

But before any of that happens, by all means let me have your thoughts and feelings.

for more info, go to "Yahoo.com" and type in "Arcosanti" for the search parameter.

screenqwen
3/20/2001 8:35 PM 2 out of 23

in theory this is good but people are the main trouble. i unfortunetly have lived in many communal situations none of which worked out. for what ever reason, people that close together do not work. i have lived in houses with other people most of who do not clean up or take care of their monetary or chore responsibilities. i'd have to give that some serious thought. i like to garden and require a lot of space for that not some little private thing. people also live different and the space one person needs another does not. it seems a good thing maybe some of it with private housing for different needs.i would like to hear more about it however, maybe i am wrong about the concept.

prometheuspan
3/20/2001 8:47 PM 3 out of 23

n theory this is good but people are the main trouble. i unfortunetly have lived in many
communal situations none of which worked out. for what ever reason, people that
close together do not work.
---------------------
Its a hard answer to apply but it can work. The main problem is that you have to make very real changes in the way you run society at the same time, and thats hard. It has been shown to be feasable in places like China, Japan, and even New
York. The next thing is building them so that they are really really nice to live in, which is I think the main thing.
----------------
i have lived in houses with other people most of who do
not clean up or take care of their monetary or chore responsibilities. i'd have to give
that some serious thought.
---------------
Yes thats the kind of problems you face. This is one of the hardest solutions to face but also one of the strongest. If you do it well its going to be real good for us. If we do it poorly it will of course suck. Its not like some of the other solutions that you just do it and it works. Theres a lot of smaller problems inside of the big problem that you have to deal with in order to make it work right.
-----------------------
i like to garden and require a lot of space for that not some
little private thing.
-------------------
My version of arcology includes self sufficiency, so they grow all of their own food, and that means a lot of garden space.
------------
people also live different and the space one person needs another
does not. it seems a good thing maybe some of it with private housing for different
needs
---------------
Throw your concerns to the wind for a moment and just imagine on the puter what it would have to be like if you solved all of those issues and had something that indeed really did work for you. In other words, think of yourself as queen engineer, and just build it to suit you. Try for 2000 people.
---------

.i would like to hear more about it however, maybe i am wrong about the
concept.
-------------
You are not wrong. This is always the hardest of these solutions to sell to people.

prometheuspan
3/20/2001 8:51 PM 4 out of 23

Just imagine if you will a bedroom 30 feet long and 30 feet wide. All the privacy anybody could need. Plus a small kitchenette and bathroom inside of that same very large room.

Then imagine a huge set of several large living rooms to share with freinds and loved ones, a great big extended family.

There are two or five kitchens and while you can cook if you want to at any time, you don't have to most of the time as there are just a few cooks for the whole community whose job it is to cook for everybody.

You have a porch balcony and a bird feeder, your own smaller private porch garden, and access to the very large and impressive community garden, where you have your own private patch.

Theres swimming pools, saunas, hot tubs, and all kinds of activities to participate in socially, including dance, song, and crafts.

deepeco
3/20/2001 11:35 PM 5 out of 23

the problem that i have with the idea of "arcologies" is that they represent another technological "fix" that would ultimately drive humans further away from nature. while arcologies could be socially "beneficial" for humans, they represent the pinnacle of our anthropocentrism. we continue looking for technological solutions to the ecological crisis, when it is nothing so simple. it is nothing less than a fundamental sickness of the mind. i for one would find no consolation in a giant arcology shut off from all that is natural.

arielmessenger
3/21/2001 12:38 AM 6 out of 23

I talked briefly with Paolo Soleri once many years ago and didn't come away feeling any better about his Archologies. His huge designs weren't feasible structurally and the people who had to live in them were in effect, in Soleri's work of art. Oh, you could individualize some of the ornamentation of your personal dwelling but the overall design was Soleri's creation. One man. How does a group determine what structural design in going to be used if not a single person's or even a group's shared design. The process must involve the group and like others here, my negative experience of communal decision-making makes me want to make sure I never let any group have that sort of power over my personal life. And for sure, I wouldn't want to let any single person determine these kinds of decisions. The natural development of towns and cities may not be ecologically efficient but natural development allows everyone to choose for themselves what kind of living situation they want instead of having all those decisions made beforehand by the Archology architect or the people who joined the Archology first.

Deepeco's objection is also valid. Living in a huge manmade structure high off the ground continues the divorcement of human life from the natural world.

Archologies are made for outer space but on earth they just blot out a large portion of the natural sky and the earth with gigantic artificial construction.

Hatman
3/21/2001 2:13 AM 7 out of 23

arielmessenger, deepeco-
I hope that this board will concentrate its energies around solutions. Although your prior experiences will be extraordinarily valuable in knowing what not to do, I would ask that you share what would and did work, what you liked and disliked, and how you would design an harmonious living arrangement better.

'pan-
I love the idea and the concept, but how would disputes be resolved in a just way that would retain the spirit of kindness? If a person steadfastly refused to entertain the course of kindness, how would the person be expelled--or would they be? How do you envision the social structure? What chores would be shared, and which would be individual? If an individual refused to cooperate in the matter of shared duties(cleaning common areas, for example), how would the situation be handled?
Perhaps, as arielmessenger suggested, all 2000 who had expressed an interest in living cooperatively should discuss how they would like to live--in detail--prior to construction/renovation.
I believe that if one proceeds with an eye to doing justice, loving kindness, and practicing humility, harmony will reign.
Peace-

Hatman

Prometheuspan
3/21/2001 4:26 PM 8 out of 23

hatman, thank you. Folks, lets try our best to see the solutions potentials and hammer out the details. Clearly theres a lot of details to hammer. I am asking a lot I know, but lets just go for the hypothetical here and try to work our way into a spirit of cocreative energy.

deepeco, my ideas about arcologies as stated include each arcology being agriculturally self sufficient. Thats the opposite condition to your percieved objection.

As far as paolo goes, lets face it, hes a genius and on that note deserves our respect. Hes also an egotist who has more or less hijacked a very brilliant idea and who really isn't serving that ideal because he isn't engineering a better society, hes just building big structures.

That said, by all means please just try to think about and write down what you would want the structure to be like in order for you to want to live in it.

Remember we are going for a target community of 2000.

Prometheuspan
3/21/2001 4:33 PM 9 out of 23

'pan-
I love the idea and the concept, but how would disputes be resolved in a just way that
would retain the spirit of kindness?
--------------
It is my belief that if we apply some of the other solutions we have mentioned so far that this won't be an issue. Remember, if and only if a society makes the individual their first priority, THEN each individual will make society their first priority.
That simple relationship and formulae is the key to everything. Right now people are expected to make society their first priority, but lets face it, society doesn't give a crap about me or you personally. Wether you or I live or die is all put up and into terms of wether or not we conform to societies expectations, or instead, become on some level a criminal.

You don't have unhappy malcontents in a society which genuinely seeks to make everybody happy by meeting their needs.
Abe maslow solves the problem before it even starts.
----------
If a person steadfastly refused to entertain the
course of kindness, how would the person be expelled--or would they be?
-------------
Thats a difficult question and I think we would have to go on a lot more particulars of the individual case. The worst case scenario for simple lazyness is I guess yes expulsion.
-----------

Prometheuspan
3/21/2001 4:36 PM 10 out of 23

How do you
envision the social structure? What chores would be shared, and which would be
individual? If an individual refused to cooperate in the matter of shared duties(cleaning
common areas, for example), how would the situation be handled?
Perhaps, as arielmessenger suggested, all 2000 who had expressed an interest in
living cooperatively should discuss how they would like to live--in detail--prior to
construction/renovation.
I believe that if one proceeds with an eye to doing justice, loving kindness, and
practicing humility, harmony will reign.
Peace-
---------------------
These are good questions and they are all social engineering questions.
Clearly such a social structure won't work unless the social climate is itself well adjusted. Those are other solutions than this one however and I think that the best thing to do is take one solution at a time, lest this thread be hijacked into "social
engineering".

The answers to these questions are the Abraham maslow and the instinctual human solutions.

Prometheuspan
3/21/2001 4:46 PM 11 out of 23

To get us started folks, with a 30 by 30 bedroom as mentioned, you end up with
oh, lets see. We do this in rows so we chop to a thousand first, thats 3000 feet long
and with an internal hallway only, 70 feet wide. Since I am going to put the common areas in the middle and give peoples bedrooms outside windows/porches, we increase our width to 120 feet wide, for two widths of bedrooms, two internal hallways at 10 feet wide each, and a 40 foot wide middle for the living rooms and so forth.

Now you can stack this in any number of ways but I would go for a minimum of three stories tall. That takes us down to 1000 feet long.

Six stories would be better in my mind as I am going for expediency. So thats 500
feet long, 120 feet wide, and about 60 feet tall.

The average city block right now is with houses 40 feet cube, plus 20 feet on each
side for about an 80 foot by 80 foot lot. That 80 foot by 80 foot lot serves 2 adults and as I last recall in america, 2.3 kids. (correct me if I make any mistakes.)

So with our arcology, we are taking that 160 foot wide city block that runs say
10 houses long (And two wide) for a total population of 20x4.3 for a rounded up total of only 100.

So now, just think about what we can do with the sourounding 20 blocks.

Can you say permaculture? Can you say Garden of Eden?

Prometheuspan
3/21/2001 4:50 PM 12 out of 23

olympic size swimming pools, and parks, and yards.

Of course right next door we have our industrial section, where we make all kinds of technology toys for ourselves and others.

Instead of covering 20 blocks with houses and having sprawl, and needing more land to farm in order to eat, we cover 1 block with housing, we eat directly off the land around us, and we add in enough peripheral details to make it paradise.

I know its a big huge psychological leap over a wide precipice. I know I am taking about giving up the way that people now live and shooting for something that may even be a bit dangerous. But What we could in theory get back in return is too huge for us to ignore.

Prometheuspan
3/21/2001 4:51 PM 13 out of 23

taking =talking there.

arielmessenger
3/21/2001 9:38 PM 14 out of 23

As an alternative structure, this is what I would like to see: Co-op condominium Eco-castles. Unlike arcologies or condominium apartment buildings, there is one large building design that is almost always welcomed in every society and that is the Castle design. People love castles, always have and always will. No matter what the terrain they're situated in castles always seem "neat" buildings and evoke pleasant responses from almost everyone. Why not create co-Housing (democratized) eco-castles? Castles can be big but they're not so big people get put off by their sheer size as they do the various large apartment complexes including arcologies models. Blending the Co-housing principle with the castle design seems to me a way of getting people to accept environmentally friendly cluster housing arrangements. And because castles have a lengthy history and even though vary from castle to castle, they still have a "traditional" look to them so that they become neutral environmental structures that people living in them can individualize their personal living spaces without feeling they are stuck in some one person's architectural fantasy.

deepeco
3/21/2001 10:28 PM 15 out of 23

prometheus & hatman... i know my response is counter to providing a solution. however, to say that such criticism should not be addressed is ludicrous as long as you are attempting to find "solutions" to the ecological crisis. prometheus you say that arcologies are counter to what i'm saying about separating humyns from nature because they would be agriculturally self-sufficient. i don't see how this solves the problem at all. of course you can put as many plants as you want in arcologies, but that doesn't make it natural or part of the Earth. it's just disturbing to me that such a quick fix to the problem would be considered as a long term solution. you may conserve "resources" and decrease polution, but arcologies are just another step in a long line of misguided technological "solutions" to a problem that begins in the mind.

deepeco
3/21/2001 10:35 PM 16 out of 23

if you want to talk solutions to the problem, we should look at more simplistic levels of organization. i think bioregionalism offers an excellent alternative to the global superstructure of economics and environmental degradation via modernity. we should return to the Earth in its most natural form. different areas of the Earth are distinguished by features that make them unique i.e. the plains, forests, etc. if we would look at the regional level and move into community organization, a lot of problems could be solved arising from a detatched society. when people begin to think of their surroundings as delicate ecosystems they need for food, water, etc., the mindset of indifference cannot last for long. a sense of urgency arises unlike in present society where we can go through our lives indifferent to ecological destruction because we do not know where the majority of what we have comes from.

arielmessenger
3/21/2001 11:36 PM 17 out of 23

Deepeco, now you're getting to it. Bioregionalism, watershed consciousness and climax ecology are the basic awarenesses we humans must develop as a priority. Each bioregion has its own natural climax succession cycle. Each watershed too and if we do not pay attention to those natural climax succession patterns we will continue to screw up the planet. My personal philosophy (now spiritually based as well) is that modern civilization must and is slowly learning how it has been alienated from the natural world that supports it and how it must reforge a new natural civilization paradigm that puts human beings as a responsible steward species in place of human beings as shortsighted exploiters and destroyers of natural ecological systems. Climax Civilization is coming one way or another.

Hatman
3/22/2001 4:32 AM 18 out of 23

arielmessenger-
Love the "castles" idea! We could call them "many mansions", if you like.
'pan-
I don't translate words into pictures very well, but the concept is sound. Do you know anyone who has a website and graphics knowledge where we could go, experiment, and have cool visuals?
deepeco-
I share your concerns. Years ago, I believed(and still do!) that we now have the technology to make virtually anywhere on, under, or even above the Earth not only habitable, but profitable and earth-friendly. I divided the Earth into 7 basic areas: Mountain, Seashore, Riverbank, Plain, Desert, Ocean, and Sky(including space). For each area to be workable, there must be an overabundance of a particular resource, e.g. Wind or Lightning, in the Mountains and Plains, Sunlight in the Deserts, etc. These must be incorporated into the technology, i.e., using the Sun and Sand to make glass products in the desert, and so on.
The main point, however, is that different people love different areas best, and suitable housing(with its attendant energy, water, refuse collection, communication and recreation needs)would need to be designed specifically to function in those environments. When people begin to see themselves as needed, useful, and appreciated, mental health greatly improves. I had always hoped that a society of "pioneers", or multi-task oriented people could be assembled, ones that would be willing to learn to share responsibilities on a rotating basis, such as water purification/sewage treatment, power generation and distribution, emergency medical, CCC(Command, Control, Communications), fire control/suppression, etc. I personally believe that specialization leads to isolation and "clannish" behavior, such as evidenced by the trade guilds of years gone by. It would be much better, IMHO, if everyone was conversant with all the facets of living in a balanced society.
Peace-

Hatman

prometheuspan
3/22/2001 6:04 PM 19 out of 23

As an alternative structure, this is what I would like to see: Co-op condominium
Eco-castles.
-------------------------------
Lovely. Grand Idea. In fact, rather in harmony with another idea of mine, which is open pit rock quarry construction. Earthworks by the way are for all practical purposes forever whereas current construction techniques with wood etc. have single generation lifespans.

Using modern techniques such as cement, and metal reinforcment, you could build some very awesome castles.
------------------------------

conserve "resources" and decrease polution, but arcologies are just another step in a
long line of misguided technological "solutions" to a problem that begins in the mind.
-------------------
deepeco, I am listening to you but not following you. Perhaps you could give us your own problem definition... make a thread of it even. The fact remains that arcologies are an incredibly wise use of space and human resources, and force us to solve a whole horde of social probelms that we are just avoiding right now.
There isn't a better solution in the whole batch. Its not a "Quick fix" its a long term solution for any number of reasons.
------------------
if you want to talk solutions to the problem, we should look at more simplistic levels of
organization. i think bioregionalism offers an excellent alternative to the global
superstructure of economics and environmental degradation via modernity. we should
return to the Earth in its most natural form. different areas of the Earth are
distinguished by features that make them unique i.e. the plains, forests, etc. if we
would look at the regional level and move into community organization, a lot of
problems could be solved arising from a detatched society. when people begin to
think of their surroundings as delicate ecosystems they need for food, water, etc., the
mindset of indifference cannot last for long. a sense of urgency arises unlike in
present society where we can go through our lives indifferent to ecological destruction
because we do not know where the majority of what we have comes from.
------------------
You haven't adressed one simple fact. I agree with bioregionalism and I think that trying to let nature take back over the world is a grand plan. But people are going to live in something and we are not going to change that fact. The only question is, is it better for people (and the environment) To live in nuclear family houses or in tribal size arcologies? The answer is clear. By the way, people don't realize this right now, but the modern "City" is really a sprawl nightmare HIVE.

prometheuspan
3/22/2001 6:08 PM 20 out of 23

eepeco, now you're getting to it. Bioregionalism, watershed consciousness and
climax ecology are the basic awarenesses we humans must develop as a priority.
Each bioregion has its own natural climax succession cycle. Each watershed too and
if we do not pay attention to those natural climax succession patterns we will continue
to screw up the planet.
------------------------
all true and all completely seperate issues to the one that we have on the table.
How do we house humanity? City hives? Or TRibal arcologies? I think the answer is clear.
----------------------
My personal philosophy (now spiritually based as well) is that
modern civilization must and is slowly learning how it has been alienated from the
natural world that supports it and how it must reforge a new natural civilization
paradigm that puts human beings as a responsible steward species in place of
human beings as shortsighted exploiters and destroyers of natural ecological
systems.
--------------------------
I couldn't agree with you more. We are in the process of coming back to nature.
Theres a whole lot of aspects to that.
-----------------------
Climax Civilization is coming one way or another.
------------
Not sure what you mean by this.

prometheuspan
3/22/2001 6:11 PM 21 out of 23

arielmessenger-
Love the "castles" idea! We could call them "many mansions", if you like.
'pan-
I don't translate words into pictures very well, but the concept is sound. Do you know
anyone who has a website and graphics knowledge where we could go, experiment,
and have cool visuals?
-----------------
Yes, Arcosanti has some. TRuly, I don't personally like his designs, and the pictures are not exactly revealing of what things look like on the inside, which I think is very important.
-------------

This other stuff is a completely different topic. Who wants to start the thread?
I suggest "Naturalized bioregions" And "Watershed Protection"
Just ideas tho.

arielmessenger
3/22/2001 10:12 PM 22 out of 23

For anyone who wants to know more about "Climax Civilization" they can check it out in the Climax Civilization pages of my website at http://abc.11net.com/climxciv.html
What I called Climax Evolution Theory was and is my philosophical explanation of social change I discovered in 1975. But since my religious conversion experience in 1979 it has been incorporated into my religious beliefs and my communitarian and environmental activism stemming from my religious beliefs. It's all in my online book in progress at http://abc.11net.com.

prometheuspan
3/23/2001 4:40 PM 23 out of 23

Creating our own centers of art and our own forms of entertainment. With a community of 500, several
musical groups, from rock to folk to classical to jazz, could emerge, and at that scale, having our own movie
theatre (and making our own movies!), theatrical groups, and perhaps even radio and closed-circuit
video-tape stations can become a real possibility.

Our basic concern for ecology and the ecological use of technology within the village will heavily influence the
general standard of living. Every "home" will not be fully equipped with the latest gadget for homemaking
convenience; there will be no two-car families. Rather, walking and bicycling will be the principle modes of
transportation within the village. Centralized Laundromats and large walk-in freezers will avoid costly duplications.
Fully equipped centralized kitchens and bathing facilities will reduce individual needs to a minimum. High quality
stereo equipment, photographic equipment, fine tools, and music studios will be available to all through cooperative
use.

With all this variety, our village will be a real center for life, combining the natural joys of country living with the
cultural opportunities and diversity of people so often missing in going back to the land.
------------------
This is a great site everybody, by all means go check it out!

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 1 reply

voting election reform

2008-05-17T19:44:31Z

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/voting/

merica is ready for a leader who will make fair and honest elections a priority. As a senator, Hillary has fought to restore integrity to our elections. She will bring the same commitment to the White House.

Fair and honest elections are the bedrock of a successful democracy. Yet we have seen abuses in national elections since 2000 that have undermined our democracy and Americans' faith in our electoral system.

Hillary is a leading champion of election reform. She has introduced the Count Every Vote Act to avoid repeating the problems of the past and ensure the integrity of our elections. Her bill:

* Provides a paper trail for every vote cast.
* Designates Election Day as a national holiday.
* Allows same-day registration.
* Minimizes long lines at the polls.
* Makes sure that impartial officials administer our elections.
* Allows the attorney general to bring suit against anyone using deceptive practices (like distributing flyers with incorrect information about voter eligibility) to keep voters from voting.
* Helps states invest in better voting technology.

Ready to Lead

Hillary, along with Senator Barbara Boxer and Representatives Stephanie Tubbs Jones and John Lewis, reintroduced the Count Every Vote Act on the 42nd anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march from Selma, Alabama. She has vowed to continue the fight for this bill because all Americans should be sure their votes are counted.

Hillary has also been a champion for civil rights. She has called for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act -- comprehensive civil rights legislation that would finally prohibit discrimination against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation. She has also supported legislation to end hate crimes by empowering federal officers with the greater authority and resources to investigate and prosecute these crimes.

She worked on bills, both of which were passed into law, to honor Shirley Chisholm for her service and to place a statue of Sojourner Truth in the U.S. Capitol. And she strongly opposed the confirmations of Samuel Alito and John Roberts as Supreme Court Justices, and those of Charles Pickering, Miguel Estrada, Janice Rogers Brown, and Priscilla Owen as federal circuit court judges.
Hillary's Plans

* Protecting Civil Rights and Fighting Discrimination in the 21st century
* LGBT Community
* Hispanic Community
* Native American Community
* Disabilities Community

Speeches
more »

* Remarks at SEIU 32BJ Event Honoring the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
* AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES: Remarks at the Granite State Independent Living Forum
* VISION: Remarks to the NAACP

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 1 reply

technology

2008-05-17T19:44:07Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/technology/

Technology and Innovation for a New Generation

“Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age. Let's set high standards for our schools and give them the resources they need to succeed. Let's recruit a new army of teachers, and give them better pay and more support in exchange for more accountability. Let's make college more affordable, and let's invest in scientific research, and let's lay down broadband lines through the heart of inner cities and rural towns all across America.”

— Barack Obama Presidential Announcement Speech in Springfield, IL 02/10/07

At a Glance

* Ensure an open Internet.
* Create a transparent and connected democracy.
* Encourage a modern communications infrastructure.
* Employ technology to solve our nation’s most pressing problems.
* Improve America’s competitiveness.

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas
* Discuss with others

Watch the Video
The Problem

Barack Obama understands the immense transformative power of technology and innovation and how they can improve the lives of all Americans. He sees that technology offers the tools to create real change in America. Obama’s forward-thinking 21st century technology and innovation policy starts by recognizing that we need to connect all citizens with each other to engage them more fully and directly in solving the problems that face us. In tandem with that goal, Barack Obama understands that we must use all available technologies and methods to open up the federal government, creating a new level of transparency to change the way business is conducted in Washington and giving Americans the chance to participate in government deliberations and decision-making in ways that were not possible only a few years ago. To achieve this vision, Barack Obama will encourage the deployment of the most modern communications infrastructure. In turn, that infrastructure can be used by government and business to reduce the costs of health care, help solve our energy crisis, create new jobs, and fuel our economic growth. And an Obama administration will ensure America remains competitive in the global economy.
Barack Obama's Plan
Ensure the Full and Free Exchange of Information through an Open Internet and Diverse Media Outlets

* Protect the Openness of the Internet: A key reason the Internet has been such a success is because it is the most open network in history. It needs to stay that way. Barack Obama strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet. Users must be free to access content, to use applications, and to attach personal devices. They have a right to receive accurate and honest information about service plans. But these guarantees are not enough to prevent network providers from discriminating in ways that limit the freedom of expression on the Internet. Because most Americans only have a choice of only one or two broadband carriers, carriers are tempted to impose a toll charge on content and services, discriminating against websites that are unwilling to pay for equal treatment. This could create a two-tier Internet in which websites with the best relationships with network providers can get the fastest access to consumers, while all competing websites remain in a slower lane. Such a result would threaten innovation, the open tradition and architecture of the Internet, and competition among content and backbone providers. It would also threaten the equality of speech through which the Internet has begun to transform American political and cultural discourse. Barack Obama supports the basic principle that network providers should not be allowed to charge fees to privilege the content or applications of some web sites and Internet applications over others. This principle will ensure that the new competitors, especially small or non-profit speakers, have the same opportunity as incumbents to innovate on the Internet and to reach large audiences. Obama will protect the Internet’s traditional openness to innovation and creativity and ensure that it remains a platform for free speech and innovation that will benefit consumers and our democracy.
* Encourage Diversity in Media Ownership: Barack Obama believes that the nation’s rules ensuring diversity of media ownership are critical to the public interest. Unfortunately, over the past several years, the Federal Communications Commission has promoted the concept of consolidation over diversity. Barack Obama believes that providing opportunities for minority-owned businesses to own radio and television stations is fundamental to creating the diverse media environment that federal law requires and the country deserves and demands. As president, he will encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation’s spectrum. An Obama presidency will promote greater coverage of local issues and better responsiveness by broadcasters to the communities they serve.
* Protect Our Children While Preserving the First Amendment: By making information freely available from untold numbers of sources, the Internet and more traditional media outlets have a huge influence on our children. Barack Obama believes that the openness of the new media world should be seen as an opportunity as much as some see it as a threat. We live in the most information-abundant age in history and the people who develop the skills to utilize its benefits are the people who will succeed in the 21st century. But Barack Obama also recognizes that lurking out there are the darker corners of the media world: from Internet predators to hateful messages to graphic violence and sex. Obama values our First Amendment freedoms and our right to artistic expression and does not view regulation as the answer to these concerns. Instead, an Obama administration will give parents the tools and information they need to control what their children see on television and the Internet in ways fully consistent with the First Amendment.
1. An Obama administration will encourage the creation of Public Media 2.0., the next generation of public media that will create the Sesame Street of the Digital Age and other video and interactive programming that educates and informs. Obama will support the transition of existing public broadcasting entities and help renew their founding vision in the digital world.
2. Obama will work to give parents the tools to prevent reception of programming that they find offensive on television and on digital media. Obama will encourage improvements to the existing voluntary rating system, exploiting new technologies like tagging and filtering, so that parents can better understand what content their children will see, and have the tools to respond. Private entities like Common Sense Media are pursuing a “sanity not censorship” approach, which can serve as a model for how to use technology to empower parents without offending the First Amendment.
3. Obama will encourage industry not to show inappropriate adult-oriented commercial advertising during children’s programming.
4. On the Internet, Obama will require that parents have the option of receiving parental controls software that not only blocks objectionable Internet content but also prevents children from revealing personal information through their home computer.
5. To further protect children online, Obama supports tough penalties, increased enforcement resources and forensic tools for law enforcement, and collaboration between law enforcement and the private sector to identify and prosecute people who abuse the Internet to try to exploit children.
* Safeguard our Right to Privacy: The open information platforms of the 21st century can also tempt institutions to violate the privacy of citizens. Dramatic increases in computing power, decreases in storage costs and huge flows of information that characterize the digital age bring enormous benefits, but also create risk of abuse. We need sensible safeguards that protect privacy in this dynamic new world. As president, Barack Obama will strengthen privacy protections for the digital age and will harness the power of technology to hold government and business accountable for violations of personal privacy.
1. To ensure that powerful databases containing information on Americans that are necessary tools in the fight against terrorism are not misused for other purposes, Barack Obama supports restrictions on how information may be used and technology safeguards to verify how the information has actually been used.
2. Obama supports updating surveillance laws and ensuring that law enforcement investigations and intelligence-gathering relating to U.S. citizens are done only under the rule of law.
3. Obama will also work to provide robust protection against misuses of particularly sensitive kinds of information, such as e-health records and location data that do not fit comfortably within sector-specific privacy laws.
4. Obama will increase the Federal Trade Commission’s enforcement budget and will step up international cooperation to track down cyber-criminals so that U.S. law enforcement can better prevent and punish spam, spyware, telemarketing and phishing intrusions into the privacy of American homes and computers.

Create a Transparent and Connected Democracy

* Open Up Government to its Citizens: The Bush Administration has been one of the most secretive, closed administrations in American history. Our nation’s progress has been stifled by a system corrupted by millions of lobbying dollars contributed to political campaigns, the revolving door between government and industry, and privileged access to inside information-all of which have led to policies that favor the few against the public interest. An Obama presidency will use cutting-edge technologies to reverse this dynamic, creating a new level of transparency, accountability and participation for America’s citizens. Technology-enabled citizen participation has already produced ideas driving Obama’s campaign and its vision for how technology can help connect government to its citizens and engage citizens in a democracy. Barack Obama will use the most current technological tools available to make government less beholden to special interest groups and lobbyists and promote citizen participation in government decision-making. Obama will integrate citizens into the actual business of government by:
1. Making government data available online in universally accessible formats to allow citizens to make use of that data to comment, derive value, and take action in their own communities. Greater access to environmental data, for example, will help citizens learn about pollution in their communities, provide information about local conditions back to government and empower people to protect themselves.
2. Establishing pilot programs to open up government decision-making and involve the public in the work of agencies, not simply by soliciting opinions, but by tapping into the vast and distributed expertise of the American citizenry to help government make more informed decisions.
3. Requiring his appointees who lead Executive Branch departments and rulemaking agencies to conduct the significant business of the agency in public, so that any citizen can watch a live feed on the Internet as the agencies debate and deliberate the issues that affect American society. He will ensure that these proceedings are archived for all Americans to review, discuss and respond. He will require his appointees to employ all the technological tools available to allow citizens not just to observe, but also to participate and be heard in these meetings.
4. Restoring the basic principle that government decisions should be based on the best-available, scientifically-valid evidence and not on the ideological predispositions of agency officials.
5. Lifting the veil from secret deals in Washington with a web site, a search engine, and other web tools that enable citizens easily to track online federal grants, contracts, earmarks, and lobbyist contacts with government officials.
6. Giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days before signing any non-emergency legislation.
7. Bringing democracy and policy deliberations directly to the people by requiring his Cabinet officials to have periodic national online town hall meetings to answer questions and discuss issues before their agencies.
8. Employing technologies, including blogs, wikis and social networking tools, to modernize internal, cross-agency, and public communication and information sharing to improve government decision-making.
* Bring Government into the 21st Century: Barack Obama will use technology to reform government and improve the exchange of information between the federal government and citizens while ensuring the security of our networks. Obama believes in the American people and in their intelligence, expertise, and ability and willingness to give and to give back to make government work better.
1. Obama will appoint the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to ensure that our government and all its agencies have the right infrastructure, policies and services for the 21st century. The CTO will ensure the safety of our networks and will lead an interagency effort, working with chief technology and chief information officers of each of the federal agencies, to ensure that they use best-in-class technologies and share best practices.
2. The CTO will have a specific focus on transparency, by ensuring that each arm of the federal government makes its records open and accessible as the E-Government Act requires. The CTO will also focus on using new technologies to solicit and receive information back from citizens to improve the functioning of democratic government.
3. The CTO will also ensure technological interoperability of key government functions. For example, the Chief Technology Officer will oversee the development of a national, interoperable wireless network for local, state and federal first responders as the 9/11 commission recommended. This will ensure that fire officials, police officers and EMTs from different jurisdictions have the ability to communicate with each other during a crisis and we do not have a repeat of the failure to deliver critical public services that occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
4. In the 21st century, our economic success will depend not only on economic analysis but also on technological sophistication and direct experience in this powerful engine of our economy. In an Obama administration, the government’s economic policy-making organizations and councils will include individuals with backgrounds in our technology industry.

Deploy a Modern Communications Infrastructure

To realize Barack Obama’s vision of an interconnected democracy, the nation deserves the finest and most modern communications infrastructure in the world. The technology sector has helped keep the United States at the center of innovation and the job growth and wealth creation that has accompanied it. However, while the United States once led the world in Internet deployment, the Bush administration has surrendered that leadership through its indifference to technology and its lack of understanding of the 21st century economy. By rededicating our nation to ensuring that all Americans have access to broadband and the skills to use it effectively, Barack Obama will position our citizens, particularly our young people, to compete and succeed in an increasingly technology-rich, knowledge-based economy.

* Deploy Next-Generation Broadband: Barack Obama believes that America should lead the world in broadband penetration and Internet access. As a country, we have ensured that every American has access to telephone service and electricity, regardless of economic status, and Obama will do likewise for broadband Internet access. Full broadband penetration can enrich democratic discourse, enhance competition, provide economic growth, and bring significant consumer benefits. Moreover, improving our infrastructure will foster competitive markets for Internet access and services that ride on that infrastructure. Obama believes we can get true broadband to every community in America through a combination of reform of the Universal Service Fund, better use of the nation’s wireless spectrum, promotion of next-generation facilities, technologies and applications, and new tax and loan incentives. Specifically, Obama proposes the following policies to restore America’s world leadership in this arena:
1. Redefine “broadband:” The Federal Communications Commission today defines “broadband” as an astonishingly low 200 kbps. This distorts federal policy and hamstrings efforts to broaden broadband access. Obama will define “broadband” for purposes of national policy at speeds demanded by 21st century business and communications.
2. Universal Service Reform: Obama will establish a multi-year plan with a date certain to change the Universal Service Fund program from one that supports voice communications to one that supports affordable broadband, with a specific focus on reaching previously un-served communities.
3. Unleashing the Wireless Spectrum: Obama will confront the entrenched Washington interests that have kept our public airwaves from being maximized for the public’s interest. Obama will demand a review of existing uses of our wireless spectrum. He will create incentives for smarter, more efficient and more imaginative use of government spectrum and new standards for commercial spectrum to bring affordable broadband to rural communities that previously lacked it. He will ensure that we have enough spectrum for police, ambulances and other public safety purposes.
4. Bringing Broadband to our Schools, Libraries, Households and Hospitals: Obama will recommit America to ensuring that our schools, libraries, households and hospitals have access to next generation broadband networks. He will also make sure that there are adequate training and other supplementary resources to allow every school, library and hospital to take full advantage of the broadband connectivity.
5. Encourage Public/Private Partnerships: Obama will encourage innovation at the local level through federal support of public/private partnerships that deliver real broadband to communities that currently lack it.

Employ Technology and Innovation to Solve Our Nation’s Most Pressing Problems

The 21st century tools of technology and telecommunications have unleashed the forces of globalization on a previously unimagined scale. They have “flattened” communications and labor markets and have contributed to a period of unprecedented innovation, making us more productive, connected global citizens. By maximizing the power of technology, we can strengthen the quality and affordability of our health care, advance climate-friendly energy development and deployment, improve education throughout the country, and ensure that America remains the world’s leader in technology.

* Lower Health Care Costs by Investing in Electronic Information Technology Systems: A key feature of Barack Obama’s health care plan is the use of technology to lower the cost of health care. Most medical records are still stored on paper, which makes them difficult to use to coordinate care, measure quality, or reduce medical errors. Processing paper claims also costs twice as much as processing electronic claims. Barack Obama will invest $10 billion a year over the next five years to move the U.S. health care system to broad adoption of standards-based electronic health information systems, including electronic health records. He will also phase in requirements for full implementation of health IT and commit the necessary federal resources to make it happen. Obama will ensure that these systems are developed in coordination with providers and frontline workers, including those in rural and underserved areas. Obama will ensure that patients’ privacy is protected. A study by the Rand Corporation found that if most hospitals and doctors offices adopted electronic health records, up to $77 billion of savings would be realized each year through improvements such as reduced hospital stays, avoidance of duplicative and unnecessary testing, more appropriate drug utilization, and other efficiencies. Obama will make the Veterans Health Administration, the nation’s largest integrated health system, a model in the use of technology to modernize and improve health care delivery. To ensure that veterans get the best care possible, he will improve electronic records interoperability between the Pentagon and VA, expand effectiveness research, promote wellness programs, and use technology to improve the accountability for performance and quality.
* Invest in Climate-Friendly Energy Development and Deployment: Barack Obama knows that we need to rely on technology to help solve the critical energy and environmental problems facing this country. As he announced in his energy policy, Barack Obama will invest $150 billion over the next ten years to enable American engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial-scale renewable energy, and begin the transition to a new digital electricity grid. This investment will transform the economy and create millions of new jobs. Obama will:
1. Double federal science and research funding for clean energy projects, relying on the resources and ability of our national laboratories, universities and land grant colleges.
2. Invest in the development of the next generation of biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol.
3. Increase the resources devoted to the commercialization and deployment of low-carbon coal technologies.
4. Create a Clean Technologies Deployment Venture Capital Fund, funded by an annual $10 billion investment for five years, to ensure that promising technologies move beyond the lab and are commercialized in the U.S.
5. Use innovative measures to dramatically improve the energy efficiency and stability of our economy and improve our national energy intensity 50 percent by 2030.
6. Invest in a digital smart energy grid.
* Upgrade Education to Meet the Needs of the 21st Century: Barack Obama will emphasize the importance of technology literacy, ensuring that all public school children are equipped with the necessary science, technology and math skills to succeed in the 21st century economy. Access to computers and broadband connections in public schools must be coupled with qualified teachers, engaging curricula, and a commitment to developing skills in the field of technology. This is central to the competitiveness of our nation’s technology sector and of our citizens. Obama also believes that we must strengthen math and science education to help develop a skilled workforce and promote innovation. He will work to increase our number of science and engineering graduates, encourage undergraduates studying math and science to pursue graduate studies, and work to increase the representation of minorities and women in the science and technology pipeline, tapping the diversity of America to meet the increasing demand for a skilled workforce. If we export our best software and engineering jobs to developing countries, it is less likely that America will benefit from the next generation innovations in nanotechnology, electronics, and biotechnology. We must have a skilled workforce so that we can retain and grow jobs requiring 21st century skills rather than forcing employers to find skilled workers abroad.
* Create New Jobs: An Obama administration will foster home-grown innovation and ensure that we can retain and grow high-paying jobs in fast-growing sectors in the sciences and technology rather than exporting those jobs to lower cost labor markets abroad. As offshoring becomes more of a long-term workforce management strategy and less of a perceived short-term cost savings, it presents a significant challenge to young people growing up in America’s historically low-income and working-class communities. An Obama administration will invest in human capital to ensure that our young people have the skills to fill the growing number of information technology jobs being created globally and will also support pilot programs that provide incentives for businesses to grow their information technology workforce in inner-cities and rural communities.
* Modernize Public Safety Networks: Barack Obama is committed to improving the information and communications technology used to support public safety from the antiquated 1970s and 1980s-based technology currently used by agencies around the country to a modern system that will enable us to respond to emergencies and natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. In particular, Obama will:
1. Catalyze national leadership to spur the development and deployment of new technologies to promote interoperability, broadband access, and more effective communications among first responders and emergency response systems.
2. Use the authority over spectrum licenses to establish an effective public-private partnership that would facilitate the development of a next generation network for use by public safety agencies on a priority basis.

Improve America’s Competitiveness

* Invest in the Sciences: Barack Obama supports doubling federal funding for basic research, changing the posture of our federal government from being one of the most anti-science administrations in American history to one that embraces science and technology. This will foster home-grown innovation, help ensure the competitiveness of US technology-based businesses, and ensure that 21st century jobs can and will grow in America. As a share of the Gross Domestic Product, American federal investment in the physical sciences and engineering research has dropped by half since 1970. Yet, it often has been federally-supported basic research that has generated the innovation to create markets and drive economic growth. For example, one recent report demonstrated how federally supported research in fiber optics and lasers helped spur the telecommunications revolution.
* Make the R&D Tax Credit Permanent: Barack Obama wants investments in a skilled research and development workforce and technology infrastructure to be supported here in America so that American workers and communities will benefit. Obama wants to make the Research and Development tax credit permanent so that firms can rely on it when making decisions to invest in domestic R&D over multi-year timeframes.
* Reform Immigration: While highly skilled immigrants have contributed in beneficial ways to our domestic technology industry, there are plenty of Americans who could be filling those positions given the proper training. Barack Obama is committed to investing in communities and people who have not had an opportunity to work and participate in the Internet economy as anything other than consumers. Most H-1B new arrivals, for example, have earned a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent abroad (42.5%). They are not all PhDs. We can and should produce more Americans with bachelor’s degrees that lead to jobs in technology. A report of the National Science Foundation (NSF) reveals that blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans as a whole comprise more that 25% of the population but earn, as a whole, 16% of the bachelor degrees, 11% of the master’s degrees, and 5% of the doctorate degrees in science and engineering. We can do better than that and go a long way toward meeting industry’s need for skilled workers with Americans. That being said, we do not want to shut our doors to innovators from overseas, who have traditionally helped make America strong. Barack Obama supports comprehensive immigration reform that includes improvement in our visa programs, including our legal permanent resident visa programs and temporary programs including the H-1B program, to attract some of the world’s most talented people to America. We should allow immigrants who earn their degrees in the U.S. to stay, work, and become Americans over time. And we should examine our ability to increase the number of permanent visas we issue to foreign skilled workers. Obama will work to ensure immigrant workers are less dependent on their employers for their right to stay in the country and would hold accountable employers who abuse the system and their workers.
* Promote American Businesses Abroad: Trade can create wealth and drive innovation through competition. Barack Obama supports a trade policy that ensures our goods and services are treated fairly in foreign markets. At the same time, trade policy must stay consistent with our commitment to demand improved labor and environmental practices worldwide. In its first six years, the Bush Administration has filed only 16 cases to enforce its rights under WTO agreements. This compares to 68 cases filed during the first six years of the Clinton Administration. President Bush has failed to address the fact that China has engaged in ongoing currency manipulation that undercuts US exports; that China fails to enforce U.S. copyrights and trademarks and that some of our competitors create regulatory and tax barriers to the delivery and sale of technology goods and services abroad. Barack Obama will fight for fair treatment of our companies abroad.
* Ensure Competitive Markets: Barack Obama believes we need a business and regulatory landscape in which entrepreneurs and small businesses can thrive, start-ups can launch, and all enterprises can compete effectively while investors and consumers are protected against bad actors that cross the line. As president, Obama will reinvigorate antitrust enforcement, which is how we ensure that capitalism works for consumers. Thus, he will step up review of merger activity and take effective action to stop or restructure those mergers that are likely to harm consumer welfare, while quickly clearing those that do not. An Obama administration will look carefully at key industries to ensure that the benefits of competition are fully realized by consumers. Obama will strengthen the antitrust authorities’ competition advocacy programs to ensure that special interests do not use regulation to insulate themselves from the competitive process. Obama will also strengthen competition advocacy in the international community as well as domestically. He will take steps to ensure that antitrust law is not used as a tool to interfere with robust competition or undermine efficiency to the detriment of U.S. consumers and businesses. He will do so by improving the administration of those laws in the U.S. and by working with foreign governments to change unsound competition laws and to avoid needless duplication and conflict in multinational enforcement of those laws. In short, an Obama administration will take seriously its responsibility to enforce the antitrust laws so that all Americans benefit from a growing and healthy competitive free-market economy.
* Protect American Intellectual Property Abroad: The Motion Picture Association of America estimates that in 2005, more than nine of every 10 DVDs sold in China were illegal copies. The U.S. Trade Representative said 80 percent of all counterfeit products seized at U.S. borders still come from China. Barack Obama will work to ensure intellectual property is protected in foreign markets, and promote greater cooperation on international standards that allow our technologies to compete everywhere.
* Protect Intellectual Property at Home: Intellectual property is to the digital age what physical goods were to the industrial age. Barack Obama believes we need to update and reform our copyright and patent systems to promote civic discourse, innovation and investment while ensuring that intellectual property owners are fairly treated.
* Reform the Patent System: A system that produces timely, high-quality patents is essential for global competitiveness in the 21st century. By improving predictability and clarity in our patent system, we will help foster an environment that encourages innovation. Giving the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) the resources to improve patent quality and opening up the patent process to citizen review will reduce the uncertainty and wasteful litigation that is currently a significant drag on innovation. With better informational resources, the Patent and Trademark Office could offer patent applicants who know they have significant inventions the option of a rigorous and public peer review that would produce a “gold-plated” patent much less vulnerable to court challenge. Where dubious patents are being asserted, the PTO could conduct low-cost, timely administrative proceedings to determine patent validity. As president, Barack Obama will ensure that our patent laws protect legitimate rights while not stifling innovation and collaboration.

Barack Obama's Record

* Barack Obama is already using technology to transform presidential politics and to help unprecedented numbers of citizens take back the political process. Obama's Internet campaign is only the beginning of how Obama would harness the power of the Internet to transform government and politics. On barackobama.com, voters have connected not only with the campaign but with each other; the campaign has used technology to engage those who have not been able to participate in prior presidential campaigns. More than 280,000 people have created accounts on barackobama.com. These users have organically created over 6,500 grassroots volunteer groups and have organized more than 13,000 off-line events using the site.
* Obama is also opening up the campaign and giving average Americans a chance to offer opinions and information on important policy issues and Americans have responded: over 15,000 policy ideas have been submitted through the web site. Through Obama's leadership, many of the presidential debates are freely available online for mashups, commentary, and other uses by ordinary citizens, bloggers, and others. On the fundraising front, supporters have made more than 370,000 donations online, more than half of which have been under $25. Users who have set up personal fundraising pages online have raised over $1.5 million. The campaign's technology activities demonstrate the important and positive role technology would play in an Obama administration, opening up the closed practices of governance to greater citizen engagement and participation and re-connecting Americans with their democracy in new ways.

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 3 replies

rural

2008-05-17T19:43:44Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/rural/

Plan to Support Rural Communities

“We are at that critical and urgent moment. If Washington continues policies that work against America's family farmers, our rural communities will fall further behind — and so will America. But if we reject the politics that has shut ordinary folks out, we can create a new story for rural America… The dreams of rural Americans are familiar to all Americans — to make a good living, to raise a healthy and secure family, and to leave our children a future of opportunity. It's time for real leadership for rural America to extend that American dream. That's the dream of opportunity that I've spent my life fighting for. And that's what our rural agenda will do.”

— Barack Obama, Speech in Fairfax, IA, October 16, 2007

At a Glance

* Ensure Economic Opportunity For Family Farmers
* Support Rural Economic Development
* Improve Rural Quality Of Life

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas

Watch the Video
The Problem

Family farmers are being squeezed: Farm consolidation has made it harder for mid-size family farmers to get fair prices for their products and compete on the open market.

CAFOs pollute the environment: Between 1992 and 2004, there were more than 450 manure spills from CAFOs in Iowa, killing millions of fish and jeopardizing public health.

Rural communities are often left behind: Rural communities often struggle to attract capital because of lack of infrastructure and remote distances. There is less access to quality doctors, and schools have trouble recruiting teachers.
Barack Obama's Plan
Ensure Economic Opportunity For Family Farmers

* Strong Safety Net for Family Farmers: Obama will fight for farm programs that provide family farmers with stability and predictability. Obama will implement a $250,000 payment limitation so that we help family farmers — not large corporate agribusiness. Obama will close the loopholes that allow mega farms to get around the limits by subdividing their operations into multiple paper corporations.
* Prevent Anticompetitive Behavior Against Family Farms: Obama is a strong supporter of a packer ban. When meatpackers own livestock they can manipulate prices and discriminate against independent farmers. Obama will strengthen anti-monopoly laws and strengthen producer protections to ensure independent farmers have fair access to markets, control over their production decisions, and transparency in prices.
* Regulate CAFOs: Obama's Environmental Protection Agency will strictly regulate pollution from large CAFOs, with fines for those that violate tough standards. Obama also supports meaningful local control.
* Establish Country of Origin Labeling: Obama supports immediate implementation of the Country of Origin Labeling law so that American producers can distinguish their products from imported ones.
* Encourage Organic and Local Agriculture: Obama will help organic farmers afford to certify their crops and reform crop insurance to not penalize organic farmers. He also will promote regional food systems.
* Encourage Young People to Become Farmers: Obama will establish a new program to identify and train the next generation of farmers. He will also provide tax incentives to make it easier for new farmers to afford their first farm.
* Partner with Landowners to Conserve Private Lands: Obama will increase incentives for farmers and private landowners to conduct sustainable agriculture and protect wetlands, grasslands, and forests.

Support Rural Economic Development

* Support Small Business Development: Obama will provide capital for famers to create value-added enterprises, like cooperative marketing initiatives and farmer-owned processing plants. He also will establish a small business and micro-enterprise initiative for rural America.
* Connect Rural America: Barack Obama will ensure that rural Americans have access to a modern communications infrastructure. He will modernize an FCC program that supports rural phone service so that it promotes affordable broadband coverage across rural America as well.
* Promote Leadership in Renewable Energy: Obama will ensure that our rural areas continue their leadership in the renewable fuels movement. This will transform the economy, especially in rural America, which is poised to produce and refine more American biofuels and provide more wind power than ever before, and create millions of new jobs across the country.

Improve Rural Quality Of Life

* Combat Methamphetamine: Methamphetamine use has increased 156 percent nationwide since 1996. Obama has a long record of fighting the meth epidemic. As President, he will continue the fight to rid our communities of meth and offer support to help addicts heal.
* Improve Health Care: Rural health care providers often get less money from Medicare and Medicaid for the very same procedure performed in urban areas. Obama will work to ensure a more equitable Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement structure. He will attract providers to rural America by creating a loan forgiveness program for doctors and nurses who work in underserved rural areas. He supports increasing rural access to care by promoting health information technologies like telemedicine.
* Improve Rural Education: Obama will provide incentives for talented individuals to enter the teaching profession, including increased pay for teachers who work in rural areas. Obama will create a Rural Revitalization Program to attract and retain young people to rural America. Obama will increase research and educational funding for Land Grant colleges.
* Upgrade Rural Infrastructure: Obama will invest in the core infrastructure, roads, bridges, locks, dams, water systems and essential air service that rural communities need.

Barack Obama's Record

A Record on Rural Issues: In 2006, Obama supported legislation that would have reversed $2 billion in cuts for U.S. Department of Agriculture programs including conservation, rural development, nutrition, and forestry programs that are vitally important to our rural communities. In addition, he supported legislation providing full funding for agricultural programs that were authorized by Congress in the 2002 Farm Bill. Obama has supported funding for Illinois communities through the Rural Community Empowerment Program, which includes the establishment of rural Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities, as well as other federal programs that maintain and build upon the assets of rural communities. Obama has worked on numerous efforts in the U.S. Senate to increase access to and use of renewable fuels, including corn-based and cellulosic ethanol. He cosponsored legislation to investigate the root causes of health disparities including for rural areas and to start addressing them. He cosponsored the Emergency Farm Relief Act of 2006 to make grants to state agriculture departments for direct economic loss payments to eligible small businesses. He cosponsored legislation that became law to combat the scourge of methamphetamines. Obama also introduced legislation to remedy years of discrimination against black farmers by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For More Information about Barack's Plan

(PDF)Read the Plan
Read the Press Release

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 2 replies

family

2008-05-17T19:42:18Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/family/

trengthening Families and Communities

“"...at the dawn of the 21st century we also have a collective responsibility to recommit ourselves to the dream; to strengthen that safety net, put the rungs back on that ladder to the middle-class, and give every family the chance that so many of our parents and grandparents had. This responsibility is one that's been missing from Washington for far too long -- a responsibility I intend to take very seriously as President."”

— Barack Obama, Spartanburg, SC, June 15, 2007

At a Glance

* Support Working Families
* Strengthen Our Schools
* Help American Families Stay Healthy
* Protect Homeownership
* Strengthen Families at Home
* Strengthen Retirement Security

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas

Watch the Video
The Problem

Over the last few decades, too many American families have worked hard their whole lives only to find that sometimes the game is rigged against them. Too many rungs have been removed from the ladder to middle-class security, and the safety net that's supposed to break any falls has grown badly frayed. Many families face increased anxiety when it comes to paying medical bills or balancing their home and work life or finding ways to send their children to college. At the same time, others have tumbled into poverty, watching jobs disappear, and the chances for their children's success slip further and further away.

Providing these families with the same chances that previous generations have had is a daunting challenge, but it is certainly one we can meet. Barack Obama will bring the much needed leadership and vision to Washington to finally restore the promise of the American Dream to all American families.
Barack Obama's Plan
Support Working Families

Provide a "Making Work Pay Tax Cut" for America's Working Families: American people work longer and harder than those in any other wealthy nation in the world. But their hours are getting longer and their wages aren't getting any higher. In addition they are being squeezed by rising health care, education and energy costs. Rather than relieving the burden on working families, the current administration has provided tax cut after tax cut to the wealthiest Americans and enacted tax breaks for the most well-connected corporations. Barack Obama will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers the tax relief they deserve. Obama will create a new "Making Work Pay" tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family. This refundable income tax credit will provide direct relief to American families who face the regressive payroll tax system. It will offset the payroll tax on the first $8,100 of their earnings while still preserving the important principle of a dedicated revenue source for Social Security. The "Making Work Pay" tax credit will completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans. The tax credit will also provide relief to self-employed small business owners who struggle to pay both the employee and employer portion of the payroll tax. The "Making Work Pay" tax credit offsets some of this self-employment tax as well.

Provide a Living Wage: Barack Obama believes that people who work full time should not live in poverty. Before the Democrats took back Congress, the minimum wage had not changed in 10 years. Even though the minimum wage will rise to $7.25 an hour by 2009, the minimum wage's real purchasing power will still be below what it was in 1968. As president, Obama would further raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to make sure that full-time workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation, and housing -- things so many people take for granted.

Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit: In both the Illinois State Senate and the U.S. Senate, Obama has championed efforts to expand the EITC, which is one of the most successful anti-poverty programs to date. As president, Obama will reward work by increasing the number of working parents eligible for EITC benefits, increasing the benefit available to parents who support their children through child support payments, and reducing the EITC marriage penalty which hurts low-income families. Under the Obama plan, full-time workers making minimum wage would get an EITC benefit up to $555, more than three times greater than the $175 benefit they get today. If the workers are responsibly supporting their children on child support, the Obama plan would give those workers a benefit of $1,110.

Expand Paid Sick Days: Half of all private sector workers have no paid sick days and the problem is worse for employees in low-paying jobs, where less than a quarter receive any paid sick days. Barack Obama will require that employers provide seven paid sick days per year.

Expand the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): The FMLA covers only certain employees of employers with 50 or more employees. Barack Obama will expand the FMLA to cover businesses with 25 or more employees. Barack Obama will expand the FMLA to cover more purposes as well, including allowing workers to take leave for elder care needs; allowing parents up to 24 hours of leave each year to participate in their children's academic activities at school; allowing leave to be taken for purposes of caring for individuals who reside in their home for 6 months or more; and expanding FMLA to cover leave for employees to address domestic violence and sexual assault.

Encourage States to Adopt Paid Leave: As president, Barack Obama will initiate a 50 state strategy to encourage all of the states to adopt paid-leave systems. Obama will provide a $1.5 billion fund to assist states with start-up costs and to help states offset the costs for employees and employers.

Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities: Barack Obama will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children. Obama will include measures to maximize performance and effectiveness across grantees nationwide.

Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides too little relief to families that struggle to afford child care expenses. Barack Obama will reform the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by making it refundable and allowing low-income families to receive up to a 50 percent credit for their child care expenses.

Protect Against Caregiver Discrimination: Workers with family obligations often are discriminated against in the workplace. Barack Obama will commit the government to enforcing recently-enacted Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines on caregiver discrimination.

Expand Flexible Work Arrangements: Barack Obama will address this concern by creating a program to inform businesses about the benefits of flexible work schedules for productivity and establishing positive workplaces; helping businesses create flexible work opportunities; and increasing federal incentives for telecommuting. Obama will also make the federal government a model employer in terms of adopting flexible work schedules and permitting employees to petition to request flexible arrangements.

For more information about Barack Obama's plan to help more Americans succeed in the workforce, please visit the Economic Policy page.
Strengthen Our Schools

Expand Early Childhood Education: Research shows that half of low-income children start school up to two years behind their peers in preschool skills and that these early achievement gaps continue throughout elementary school. Obama has been a champion of early childhood education since his years in the Illinois legislature, where he led the effort to create the Illinois Early Learning Council. Obama has introduced a comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan to provide critical supports to young children and their parents by investing $10 billion per year to create: Early Learning Challenge Grants to stimulate and help fund state "zero to five" efforts; quadruple the number of eligible children for Early Head Start and increase Head Start funding and improve quality for both; work to ensure all children have access to pre-school; provide affordable and high-quality child care that will promote child development and ease the burden on working families; and create a Presidential Early Learning Council to increase collaboration and program coordination across federal, state, and local levels.

Improve Public Schools: From the moment our children step into a classroom, the single most important factor in determining their achievement is their teacher. Barack Obama values teachers and the central role that they play in education. He will work to ensure competent, effective teachers in schools that are organized for success. Obama's K-12 plan will expand service scholarships to recruit and prepare teachers who commit to working in underserved districts. To support teachers, Obama will foster ongoing improvements in teacher education, provide mentoring for beginning teachers, create incentives for shared planning and learning time for teachers. To retain teachers, Obama will support career pathways that provide ongoing professional development and reward accomplished teachers for their expertise. This Career Ladder initiative will help eliminate teacher shortages in hard-to-staff areas and subjects, improve teacher retention rates, strengthen teacher preparation programs, improve professional development, and better utilize and reward accomplished teachers.

Reform and Fund No Child Left Behind: The goal of the No Child Left Behind Act is the right one - ensuring that all children can meet high standards - but the law has significant flaws that need to be addressed. He believes it was wrong to force teachers, principals and schools to accomplish the goals of No Child Left Behind without the necessary resources. We have failed to provide high-quality teachers in every classroom and failed to support and pay for those teachers. Obama understands that NCLB has demoralized our educators, broken its promise to our children and must be changed in a fundamental way. Obama will work with mayors and state leaders to ensure that NCLB reform addresses the need for a broader and better range of assessments and an accountability system that focuses on improving schools, rather than punishing them.

Make College More Affordable: Barack Obama will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university. And by making the tax credit fully refundable, Obama's credit will help low-income families that need it the most. Obama will also ensure that the tax credit is available to families at the time of enrollment by using prior year's tax data to deliver the credit at the time that tuition is due, rather than a year or more later when tax returns are filed.

For more information on Barack Obama's education plan, please visit the Education Policy page
Help American Families Stay Healthy

Provide Universal Health Care and Lower Health Costs: Barack Obama is committed to signing universal health legislation by the end of his first term in office that ensures all Americans have high-quality, affordable health care coverage. His plan will save a typical American family up to $2,500 every year on medical expenditures by providing affordable, comprehensive and portable health coverage for every American; modernizing the U.S. health care system to contain spiraling health care costs and improve the quality of patient care; and promoting prevention and strengthening public health to prevent disease and protect against natural and man-made disasters.

For more information on Barack Obama's health care plan, please visit the Health Care Policy page
Protect Homeownership

Create a Universal Mortgage Credit: Owning a home is the culmination of the American dream that so many Americans work so hard for. The tax code is supposed to encourage home ownership with a mortgage interest deduction, but it goes only to people who itemize their tax deductions. Like so much in our tax code, this tilts the scales toward the well-off. The current mortgage interest deduction excludes nearly two-thirds of Americans who do not itemize their taxes. Barack Obama will ensure that anyone with a mortgage, not just the well-off, can take advantage of this tax incentive for homeownership by creating a universal mortgage credit. This 10 percent credit will benefit an additional 10 million homeowners, the majority of whom earn less than $50,000 per year. Non-itemizers will be eligible for this refundable credit, which will provide the average recipient with approximately $500 per year in tax savings. This tax credit will also help homeowners deal with the uncertain state of the housing market today.

Combat Mortgage Fraud and Subprime Loans: There is a growing epidemic of mortgage fraud crimes in which sophisticated scam artists cheat homeowners out of their mortgages. Some have estimated that more than 2 million homeowners with subprime mortgages are at risk of losing their homes. Barack Obama believes we must establish stiff penalties to deter fraud and protect consumers against abusive lending practices. Obama introduced the STOP FRAUD Act, which would increase funding for federal law enforcement programs, create new criminal penalties for mortgage professionals found guilty of fraud, and require industry insiders to report suspicious activity. In March 2007, Obama urged Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to bring together lenders, consumer advocates, federal regulators and housing agencies for a summit meeting on preserving home ownership. The bill also provides counseling to homeowners and tenants to avoid foreclosures. As president, Obama will continue to fight to ensure more Americans can achieve and protect the dream of home ownership.

Create Fund to Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosures: In addition to taking important steps to prevent mortgage fraud from occurring in the future, Barack Obama will establish policies to help Americans currently facing foreclosure through no fault of their own. For instance, in communities where there are many foreclosures property values of innocent homeowners are often also negatively impacted, driving them toward foreclosure, too. Obama will create a fund to help people refinance their mortgages and provide comprehensive supports to innocent homeowners. The fund will also assist individuals who purchased homes that are simply too expensive for their income levels by helping to sell their homes. These steps will ensure that individuals who have to sell their homes will be able to quickly regain stable financial footing. The fund will be partially paid for by Obama's increased penalties on lenders who acted irresponsibly and committed fraud.

Mandate Accurate Loan Disclosure: Today's subprime mortgage problem stems in large part from the lack of easy-to-understand information that borrowers receive from mortgage brokers. As president, Barack Obama will enact laws to ensure that all prospective homebuyers have access to accurate and complete information about their mortgage options. Obama will create a Homeowner Obligation Made Explicit (HOME) score, which will provide potential borrowers with a simplified, standardized borrower metric (similar to APR) for home mortgages. The HOME score will allow individuals to easily compare various mortgage products and understand the full cost of the loan. The HOME score would also help borrowers understand their long-term obligations and would be required to include mandatory taxes and insurance.

Close Bankruptcy Loophole for Mortgage Companies: Barack Obama strongly opposed the 2005 bankruptcy bill, which is expected to have serious effects on low and middle-income borrowers of subprime mortgages. As president, Obama will work to eliminate the federal bankruptcy law's Chapter 13 provision that prevents bankruptcy courts from modifying an individual's mortgage payments. This forces individuals who seek bankruptcy protection to continue paying the full amount of their existing mortgage plans. This provision, which provides unique protection to the mortgage industry, places the interests of big lenders over than of low and middle-income Americans. Obama believes that the subprime mortgage industry, which has engaged in dangerous and sometimes unscrupulous business practices, should not be shielded by outdated federal law.
Strengthen Families at Home

Strengthen Fatherhood and Families: Since 1960, the number of American children without fathers in their lives has quadrupled, from 6 million to more than 24 million. Children without fathers in their lives are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime, nine times more likely to drop out of school, and 20 times more likely to end up in prison. Barack Obama has re-introduced the Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Act to remove some of the government penalties on married families, crack down on men avoiding child support payments, ensure that support payments go to families instead of state bureaucracies, fund support services for fathers and their families, and support domestic violence prevention efforts. As president, Obama will sign this bill into law and continue to implement innovative measures to strengthen families.

Support Parents with Young Children: Barack Obama would expand programs like the successful Nurse-Family Partnership to all low-income, first-time mothers. The Nurse-Family Partnership provides home visits by trained registered nurses to low-income expectant mothers and their families. The trained nurses use proven methods to help improve the mental and physical health of the family by providing counseling on substance abuse, creating and achieving personal goals, and effective methods of nurturing children. Proven benefits of these types of programs include improved women's prenatal health, a reduction in childhood injuries, fewer unintended pregnancies, increased father involvement and women's employment, reduced use of welfare and food stamps, and increased children's school readiness. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis concluded that these programs produced an average of five dollars in savings for every dollar invested and produced more than $28,000 in net savings for every high-risk family enrolled in the program. The Obama plan would assist approximately 570,000 first-time mothers each year.
Strengthen Retirement Security

Create Automatic Workplace Pensions: Currently, 75 million working Americans ? roughly half the workforce ? lack employer-based retirement plans. Even when workers are given the option of joining employer-based plans, many do not take up the option because it requires considerable work to research plans and investment portfolios, and enroll in the plan. Barack Obama's retirement security plan will automatically enroll workers in a workplace pension plan. Under his plan, employers who do not currently offer a retirement plan, will be required to enroll their employees in a direct-deposit IRA account that is compatible to existing direct-deposit payroll systems. Employees may opt-out by signing a written waiver. Even after enrollment, employees will retain the right to change their savings levels, reallocate investment portfolios or end contributions to the account. Obama's plan will give options to the self-employed and new small businesses to access new easy-to-enroll savings plans and direct the IRS to deposit tax refunds into those savings plans for people who choose to save some of their refunds. Under the Obama plan when employees change jobs, their savings will be automatically rolled over into the new employer's system to ensure continued savings. Experts estimate that this program will increase the savings participation rate for low and middle-income workers from its current 15 percent level to around 80 percent.

Expand Retirement Savings Incentives for Working Families: Barack Obama will ensure savings incentives are fair to all workers by creating a generous savings match for low and middle-income Americans. Obama will expand the existing Savers Credit to match 50 percent of the first $1,000 of savings for families that earn under $75,000, and he will make the tax credit refundable. To help ensure that this proposal actually strengthens retirement investments, the savings match will be automatically deposited into designated personal accounts by using the account information listed on IRS tax filings. Coupled with the automatic workplace pension plan, this proposal will stimulate tens of millions of new Americans to invest for retirement. Over 80 percent of the savings incentives will go to new savers, and 75 percent of people eligible for the incentives who are expected to participate in the new program do not currently save.

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 3 replies

veterans

2008-05-17T19:41:39Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/veterans/

lan to keep our Sacred Trust with Veterans

"Keeping faith with those who serve must always be a core American value and a cornerstone of American patriotism. Because America's commitment to its servicemen and women begins at enlistment, and it must never end."

— Barack Obama, Speech in Kansas City, MO, August 21, 2007

At a Glance

* A Sacred Trust
* Help for Returning Service Members
* Improved Mental Health Treatment

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas

Watch the Video
The Problem

Wounded Troops Suffer: The Walter Reed scandal showed that we don't always provide returning service members with the care they deserve.

Veterans Budget Shortfalls: In 2005, a multi-billion dollar VA funding shortfall required Congress to step in and bail out the system.

Benefits Bureaucracy is Broken: There are currently more than 400,000 claims pending with the Veterans Benefits Administration. VA error rates have grown to more than 100,000 cases a year.

There is Shortage of Care for PTSD: Veterans are coming home with record levels of combat stress, but we are not adequately providing for them.
Barack Obama's Plan
A Sacred Trust

Barack Obama believes America has a sacred trust with our veterans. He is committed to creating a 21st Century Department of Veterans' Affairs that provides the care and benefits our nation�s veterans deserve.

* Allow All Veterans Back into the VA: One of Obama's first acts will be reversing the 2003 ban on enrolling modest-income veterans, which has denied care to a million veterans.
* Strengthen VA Care: Obama will make the VA a leader of national health care reform so that veterans get the best care possible. He will improve care for polytrauma vision impairment, prosthetics, spinal cord injury, aging, and women's health.
* Combat Homelessness among Our Nation's Veterans: Obama will establish a national "zero tolerance" policy for veterans falling into homelessness by expanding proven programs and launching innovative services to prevent veterans from falling into homelessness.
* Fight Veterans Employment Discrimination: Obama will crack down on employers who commit job discrimination against guardsmen and reservists.

Help for Returning Service Members

Obama will improve the quality of health care for veterans, rebuild the VA&rsquot;s broken benefits system, and combat homelessness among veterans.

* Ensure a Seamless Transition: Obama will demand that the military and the VA coordinate to provide a seamless transition from active duty to civilian life.
* Fully Fund VA Medical Care: Barack Obama will fully fund the VA so it has all the resources it needs to serve the veterans who need it, when they need it. Obama will establish a world-class VA Planning Division to avoid future budget shortfalls.
* Fix the Benefits Bureaucracy: Obama will hire additional claims workers, and improve training and accountability so that VA benefit decisions are rated fairly and consistently. He also will transform the paper benefit claims process to an electronic one to reduce errors and improve timeliness.

Improved Mental Health Treatment

Obama will improve mental health treatment for troops and veterans suffering from combat-related psychological injuries.

* Improve Mental Health Treatment: Obama will improve mental health care at every stage of military service. He will recruit more health professionals, improve screening, offer more support to families and make PTSD benefits claims fairer.
* Improve Care for Traumatic Brain Injury: Obama will establish standards of care for Traumatic Brain Injury, the signature injury of the Iraq war.
* Expand Vet Centers: Obama will expand and strengthen Vet Centers to provide more counseling for vets and their families.

Barack Obama's Record

Record of Advocacy: As a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Obama passed legislation to improve care and slash red tape for our wounded warriors recovering at places like Walter Reed. He passed laws to help homeless veterans and offered an innovative solution to prevent at-risk veterans from falling into homelessness. Obama led a bipartisan effort in the Senate to try to halt the military's unfair practice of discharging service members for having a service-connected psychological injury. He fought for fair treatment of Illinois veterans' claims and forced the VA to conduct an unprecedented outreach campaign to disabled veterans with lower than-average benefits. Obama passed legislation to stop a VA review of closed PTSD cases that could have led to a reduction in veterans' benefits. He passed an amendment to ensure that all service members returning from Iraq are properly screened for traumatic brain injuries. He introduced legislation to direct the VA and Pentagon to fix disjointed records systems and improve outreach to members of the National Guard and Reserves.
Read the Speech

Read the Speech
(PDF)Read the Plan
Join Veterans for Obama:

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 3 replies

strengthening the middle class (hillary)

2008-05-17T19:41:11Z

Hillary has a plan to restore America's middle class. After six and a half years of Bush administration policies, the middle class is struggling to succeed in an economy that is leaving more and more Americans behind.

Income inequality has risen to the highest levels since 1929, and wages have stagnated. In the meantime, health care premiums and college tuition have skyrocketed, squeezing middle class families who have largely relied on their home equity to make ends meet. The burgeoning problems in the housing market further threaten many middle class families.

Understanding that a vibrant middle class is essential to America's prosperity, Hillary will implement a broad set of policies to once again restore opportunity for all Americans.

Hillary's economic blueprint to restore the American middle class includes:

* Lowering taxes for middle class families.
* Providing quality, affordable health care to every American.
* Making college accessible and affordable.
* Confronting the growing problems in the housing market.
* Bolstering retirement security by promoting savings and investment.
* Returning to fiscal responsibility and moving towards balanced budgets.
* Harnessing innovation to create the high-wage jobs of the 21st century.
* Creating a $50 billion Strategic Energy Fund to jumpstart research and development of alternative energies.
* Strengthening unions and ensuring our trade laws work for all Americans.

As president, Hillary will:

1. Lower taxes for middle class families by: extending the middle class tax cuts including child tax credit and marriage penalty relief, offering new tax cuts for healthcare, college and retirement, and expanding the EITC and the child care tax credit.
2. Harness the power of innovation to create high wage jobs of the 21st Century. Investments in alternative energy can create new jobs for the 21st century; expanded access to broadband will bring opportunities to underserved and disadvantaged communities; the manufacturing base can be re-energized through creative partnerships; and increased government support for research will stimulate the development of new technologies and life-saving medicines. Hillary will restore integrity to science policy, reversing Bush administration policies that are holding our nation back.
3. Empower our workers and ensure that all Americans contribute their fair share. Hillary will ensure that unions, which have played an important role in forming and sustaining the middle class, are strong. She will also ensure that trade policies work for average Americans. Trade policy must raise our standard of living, and they must have strong protections for workers and the environment.
4. Restore the basic bargain. Hillary will restore the basic bargain that if Americans work hard and take responsibility, government will do its part to make sure they have the tools to get ahead.
5. Return to fiscal responsibility. After six and a half year of President Bush's fiscal irresponsibility, Hillary wants America to regain control of its destiny. She will move back toward a balanced budget and surpluses. Hillary believes that we should develop a set of budget rules similar to those we had in the 90s which required us to fund new expenditures with new revenues or cuts in other areas.

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 2 replies

healthcare

2008-05-17T19:38:17Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

Plan for a Healthy America

“We now face an opportunity — and an obligation — to turn the page on the failed politics of yesterday's health care debates… My plan begins by covering every American. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums. That will be less. If you are one of the 45 million Americans who don't have health insurance, you will have it after this plan becomes law. No one will be turned away because of a preexisting condition or illness.”

— Barack Obama, Speech in Iowa City, IA, May 29, 2007

At a Glance

* Quality, Affordable and Portable Coverage for All
* Lower Costs by Modernizing The U.S. Health Care System
* Fight for New Initiatives

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas
* Discuss with others

Watch the Video
The Problem

Millions of Americans are uninsured or underinsured because of rising medical costs: 47 million Americans — including nearly 9 million children — lack health insurance with no signs of this trend slowing down.

Health care costs are skyrocketing: Health insurance premiums have risen 4 times faster than wages over the past 6 years.

Too little is spent on prevention and public health: The nation faces epidemics of obesity and chronic diseases as well as new threats of pandemic flu and bioterrorism. Yet despite all of this less than 4 cents of every health care dollar is spent on prevention and public health.
Barack Obama's Plan
Quality, Affordable and Portable Coverage for All

* Obama's Plan to Cover Uninsured Americans: Obama will make available a new national health plan to all Americans, including the self-employed and small businesses, to buy affordable health coverage that is similar to the plan available to members of Congress. The Obama plan will have the following features:
1. Guaranteed eligibility. No American will be turned away from any insurance plan because of illness or pre-existing conditions.
2. Comprehensive benefits. The benefit package will be similar to that offered through Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), the plan members of Congress have. The plan will cover all essential medical services, including preventive, maternity and mental health care.
3. Affordable premiums, co-pays and deductibles.
4. Subsidies. Individuals and families who do not qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP but still need financial assistance will receive an income-related federal subsidy to buy into the new public plan or purchase a private health care plan.
5. Simplified paperwork and reined in health costs.
6. Easy enrollment. The new public plan will be simple to enroll in and provide ready access to coverage.
7. Portability and choice. Participants in the new public plan and the National Health Insurance Exchange (see below) will be able to move from job to job without changing or jeopardizing their health care coverage.
8. Quality and efficiency. Participating insurance companies in the new public program will be required to report data to ensure that standards for quality, health information technology and administration are being met.
* National Health Insurance Exchange: The Obama plan will create a National Health Insurance Exchange to help individuals who wish to purchase a private insurance plan. The Exchange will act as a watchdog group and help reform the private insurance market by creating rules and standards for participating insurance plans to ensure fairness and to make individual coverage more affordable and accessible. Insurers would have to issue every applicant a policy, and charge fair and stable premiums that will not depend upon health status. The Exchange will require that all the plans offered are at least as generous as the new public plan and have the same standards for quality and efficiency. The Exchange would evaluate plans and make the differences among the plans, including cost of services, public.
* Employer Contribution: Employers that do not offer or make a meaningful contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees will be required to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of the national plan. Small employers that meet certain revenue thresholds will be exempt.
* Mandatory Coverage of Children: Obama will require that all children have health care coverage. Obama will expand the number of options for young adults to get coverage, including allowing young people up to age 25 to continue coverage through their parents' plans.
* Expansion Of Medicaid and SCHIP: Obama will expand eligibility for the Medicaid and SCHIP programs and ensure that these programs continue to serve their critical safety net function.
* Flexibility for State Plans: Due to federal inaction, some states have taken the lead in health care reform. The Obama plan builds on these efforts and does not replace what states are doing. States can continue to experiment, provided they meet the minimum standards of the national plan.

Lower Costs by Modernizing The U.S. Health Care System

* Reducing Costs of Catastrophic Illnesses for Employers and Their Employees: Catastrophic health expenditures account for a high percentage of medical expenses for private insurers. The Obama plan would reimburse employer health plans for a portion of the catastrophic costs they incur above a threshold if they guarantee such savings are used to reduce the cost of workers' premiums.
* Helping Patients:
1. Support disease management programs. Seventy five percent of total health care dollars are spent on patients with one or more chronic conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Obama will require that providers that participate in the new public plan, Medicare or the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) utilize proven disease management programs. This will improve quality of care, give doctors better information and lower costs.
2. Coordinate and integrate care. Over 133 million Americans have at least one chronic disease and these chronic conditions cost a staggering $1.7 trillion yearly. Obama will support implementation of programs and encourage team care that will improve coordination and integration of care of those with chronic conditions.
3. Require full transparency about quality and costs. Obama will require hospitals and providers to collect and publicly report measures of health care costs and quality, including data on preventable medical errors, nurse staffing ratios, hospital-acquired infections, and disparities in care. Health plans will also be required to disclose the percentage of premiums that go to patient care as opposed to administrative costs.
* Ensuring Providers Deliver Quality Care:
1. Promote patient safety. Obama will require providers to report preventable medical errors and support hospital and physician practice improvement to prevent future occurrences.
2. Align incentives for excellence. Both public and private insurers tend to pay providers based on the volume of services provided, rather than the quality or effectiveness of care. Providers who see patients enrolled in the new public plan, the National Health Insurance Exchange, Medicare and FEHBP will be rewarded for achieving performance thresholds on outcome measures.
3. Comparative effectiveness research. Obama will establish an independent institute to guide reviews and research on comparative effectiveness, so that Americans and their doctors will have the accurate and objective information they need to make the best decisions for their health and well-being.
4. Tackle disparities in health care. Obama will tackle the root causes of health disparities by addressing differences in access to health coverage and promoting prevention and public health, both of which play a major role in addressing disparities. He will also challenge the medical system to eliminate inequities in health care through quality measurement and reporting, implementation of effective interventions such as patient navigation programs, and diversification of the health workforce.
5. Insurance reform. Obama will strengthen antitrust laws to prevent insurers from overcharging physicians for their malpractice insurance and will promote new models for addressing errors that improve patient safety, strengthen the doctor-patient relationship and reduce the need for malpractice suits.
* Lowering Costs Through Investment in Electronic Health Information Technology Systems: Most medical records are still stored on paper, which makes it hard to coordinate care, measure quality or reduce medical errors and which costs twice as much as electronic claims. Obama will invest $10 billion a year over the next five years to move the U.S. health care system to broad adoption of standards-based electronic health information systems, including electronic health records, and will phase in requirements for full implementation of health IT. Obama will ensure that patients' privacy is protected.
* Lowering Costs by Increasing Competition in the Insurance and Drug Markets: The insurance business today is dominated by a small group of large companies that has been gobbling up their rivals. There have been over 400 health care mergers in the last 10 years, and just two companies dominate a full third of the national market. These changes were supposed to make the industry more efficient, but instead premiums have skyrocketed by over 87 percent.
1. Barack Obama will prevent companies from abusing their monopoly power through unjustified price increases. His plan will force insurers to pay out a reasonable share of their premiums for patient care instead of keeping exorbitant amounts for profits and administration. His new National Health Exchange will help increase competition by insurers.
2. Lower prescription drug costs. The second-fastest growing type of health expenses is prescription drugs. Pharmaceutical companies are selling the exact same drugs in Europe and Canada but charging Americans more than double the price. Obama will allow Americans to buy their medicines from other developed countries if the drugs are safe and prices are lower outside the U.S. Obama will also repeal the ban that prevents the government from negotiating with drug companies, which could result in savings as high as $30 billion. Finally, Obama will work to increase the use of generic drugs in Medicare, Medicaid, and FEHBP and prohibit big name drug companies from keeping generics out of markets.

Fight for New Initiatives

* Advance the Biomedical Research Field: As a result of biomedical research the prevention, early detection and treatment of diseases such as cancer and heart disease is better today than any other time in history. Barack Obama has consistently supported funding for the national institutes of health and the national science foundation. Obama strongly supports investments in biomedical research, as well as medical education and training in health-related fields, because it provides the foundation for new therapies and diagnostics. Obama has been a champion of research in cancer, mental health, health disparities, global health, women and children's health, and veterans' health. As president, Obama will strengthen funding for biomedical research, and better improve the efficiency of that research by improving coordination both within government and across government/private/non-profit partnerships. An Obama administration will ensure that we translate scientific progress into improved approaches to disease prevention, early detection and therapy that is available for all Americans.
* Fight AIDS Worldwide. There are 40 million people across the planet infected with HIV/AIDS. As president, Obama will continue to be a global leader in the fight against AIDS. Obama believes in working across party lines to combat this epidemic and recently joined Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) at a large California evangelical church to promote greater investment in the global AIDS battle.
* Support Americans with Disabilities: As a former civil rights lawyer, Barack Obama knows firsthand the importance of strong protections for minority communities in our society. Obama is committed to strengthening and better enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) so that future generations of Americans with disabilities have equal rights and opportunities. Obama believes we must restore the original legislative intent of the ADA in the wake of court decisions that have restricted the interpretation of this landmark legislation.

Barack Obama is also committed to ensuring that disabled Americans receive Medicaid and Medicare benefits in a low-cost, effective and timely manner. Recognizing that many individuals with disabilities rely on Medicare, Obama worked with Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) to urge the department of health and human services to provide clear and reliable information on the Medicare prescription drug benefit and to ensure that the Medicare recipients were protected from fraudulent claims by marketers and drug plan agents.
* Improve Mental Health Care. Mental illness affects approximately one in five American families. The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that untreated mental illnesses cost the U.S. more than $100 billion per year. As president, Obama will support mental health parity so that coverage for serious mental illnesses are provided on the same terms and conditions as other illnesses and diseases.
* Protect Our Children from Lead Poisoning. More than 430,000 American children have dangerously high levels of lead in their blood. Lead can cause irreversible brain damage, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and, at very high levels, seizures, coma and death. As president, Obama will protect children from lead poisoning by requiring that child care facilities be lead-safe within five years.
* Reduce Risks of Mercury Pollution. More than five million women of childbearing age have high levels of toxic mercury in their blood, and approximately 630,000 newborns are born at risk every year. Barack Obama has a plan to significantly reduce the amount of mercury that is deposited in oceans, lakes, and rivers, which in turn would reduce the amount of mercury in fish.
* Support Americans with Autism. More than one million Americans have autism, a complex neurobiological condition that has a range of impacts on thinking, feeling, language, and the ability to relate to others. As diagnostic criteria broaden and awareness increases, more cases of autism have been recognized across the country. Barack Obama believes that we can do more to help autistic Americans and their families understand and live with autism. He has been a strong supporter of more than $1 billion in federal funding for autism research on the root causes and treatments, and he believes that we should increase funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to truly ensure that no child is left behind.

More than anything, autism remains a profound mystery with a broad spectrum of effects on autistic individuals, their families, loved ones, the community, and education and health care systems. Obama believes that the government and our communities should work together to provide a helping hand to autistic individuals and their families.

Barack Obama's Record

* Health Insurance: In 2003, Barack Obama sponsored and passed legislation that expanded health care coverage to 70,000 kids and 84,000 adults. In the U.S. Senate, Obama cosponsored the Healthy Kids Act of 2007 and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2007 to ensure that more American children have affordable health care coverage.
* Women's Health: Obama worked to pass a number of laws in Illinois and Washington to improve the health of women. His accomplishments include creating a task force on cervical cancer, providing greater access to breast and cervical cancer screenings, and helping improve prenatal and premature birth services.

For More Information about Barack's Plan

(PDF)Read the Plan
(PDF)Read the Frequently-Asked Q and A
Read the Speech

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 2 replies

Join me

2008-05-17T19:36:07Z

I grew up in Provo Utah as the son of two very devout mormon parents.
My mother would have earned a masters degree in religion from BYU were it not for the simple fact
that BYU barred women from getting religion degrees. So instead, she got a degree in Psychology.
My step father on the other hand was a statistician who is now employed by Intel.

When I was eight years old, I had still not learned haw to read and as a consequence
I was labeled mentally retarded by Geneva Elementary.
Over a summer vacation, my mother took the extra time to teach me to read using flashcards.
This technique allowed me to learn to read despite my severe dyslexia by teaching me whole word
recognition.

I have Aspergers Syndrome. A member of the "disorders" on the Autism Spectrum, And previously
termed "High functioning Autism." A minor culture has grown up around and by those who have Aspergers
Syndrome. We have shortened the term to simply "Aspie". A person who has aspergers syndrome.
Hans Asperger, the man who first studied it called his subjects "Little Professors."
It is the tendency of those whith Aspergers syndrome to fixate or hyperfocus on specific interests
which then puts them in the position of being extremely knowledgable in a very small range of subjects.
I however am somewhat high functioning as an aspie, and unlike most aspies i grew up in a college
Town and learned to speed read.

By the time I returned to school the following fall, I was able to read all of my textbooks for school
in the first week of school. To be even more specific, I became capable of reading about 400 pages in about 8
hours.

My primary interest as an aspie can only be described as a fascination with the dark side of society and culture.
At the age of eight, as a victim of bad educational methods (And to be frank, Geneva Elementary was even then
a school with a very high educational standard and very evolved methods for its time and in that environment.)
And bad culture, I was forced to participate in a system which literally never taught me anything, and which
served only to distract me, torture me, and punish me. So my interest was in the culture and the system itself,
and learning all that I could to understand why society had failed so badly to appreciate me, understand me,
have compassion for me, or, take advantage of what I had to offer it.

By the age of 12 I had read hundreds of textbooks, most of them college texts I had access to from my mothers
collection or via the college Library. Most of these were on the topics of Psychology and Sociology. But a few
were on things as diverse as geology, physics, and of course, Religion.

By the age of nine I had completely fallen out with Mormonism and yet was forced to pretend interest in order to
keep myself from further stress and pain and abuse from that culture and probably my own parents.
I began a journey in which I hated mormonism because it became all to clear to me that it was simply a gross
game of orwellian proportions; a means to the end of mass mind control. The good little mormon boys were not
interested in peace, love, and light. They were brutish and evil bullies who were trapped in the psychology
of domination and ego trips by a religion which built its society based on false hierarchies and false dominion.
The teachers, the school, the elders...They were not interested in peace, love and light, but upon securing their
positions in that culture by playing the game of domination. And so there was nobody to turn to for help, no ear
I could find to listen or care, and nobody who would raise a hand to stop me from being beaten, virtually every day
of my life, several times a day for four years. School officials turned a blind eye. Some teachers actually encouraged
verbal and physical abuse. Saturday was mandatory scouts and sunday was mandatory church. Being beaten in "Gods house"
Tends to wake one up very quickly that anything "Holy" isn't anywhere near the premises.

The strange end of that journey had a calming and somewhat reversing effect. When I was 13 years old we moved to Denver.
And in Denver, a person could find books on religions other than Mormonism. (In Provo Utah at the time, finding even
a good book on other forms of christianity in the public library was all but impossible, and those materials which
could be found were negative propaganda.) So I studied World Religions and World Religious History. I studied Judaism
And Buddhism and The Essenes and the Gnostics and Shamanism and World Pagan traditions and Native Americans And Huna
and Taoism. I studied Esoteric Christianity and Christian History. And what I found out over the long term was that in fact,
Mormonism of the modern Christian Denominations has or had more in common with original Christianity than any other Modern
Christian Denomination save maybe a few smaller groups of unpopulated churches most people have never heard of.

Were it not for the simple fact of my own spiritual experiences, which gave me absolute personal knowledge that a spiritual
reality did in fact exist, I might have become an Atheist or an Agnostic. Instead, what I became was an Eclectic. To define
that for you, an Eclectic is a person who takes a religion as a whole the same way some hungry person might take a pizza topped
with anchovies, sourkraut, and blue cheese. I dig in, find the pine-apple and the olives and maybe a slice of pepperoni
or two, and extricate them from the pizza. I pick and choose what parts of any given paradigm I want to adopt or employ in my own
life.

And this Eclectic spirit continued to work on the problem which I came to understand God put me here to work on.
Which is simply the assorted problems of our dysfunctional and abusive and barbaric Society.
Now some people will object immediately. Some people will say I am not only a blasphemer, but that I am not patriotic.
Many people have over the course of many years invited me to leave the country if i don't like it. Or struggled to point
out that its the "best" country on Earth. (Now rather easy to make a case that there are a few countries on earth that
are more civilized than the USA, but thats not an argument I am interested in making other than as an example.)
But the simple truth is that just because it is broken does not mean that I should abandon it, and Just because It is
broken does not mean that I am not patriotic for noticing that its broken.
I have never wanted to hurt or harm the USA to get revenge for the many harmful things it has done to me. Since I was eight
years old, all I have ever wanted to do was to fix the problems.

And I made a very large gamble and bet with myself that rather than jump through the hoops, play the game they wanted me
to play, or be the pawn of the dysfunctional system, that I would work outside of the system and turn my "Disability" Slowly into
my advantage. There are few stories that can be told in America which are more tragic than mine. My first Memory is of
the instance my father tried to kidnap me, failed, and then tried to kill me so that nobody could have me. I was one and a half
and my mother had left me with my grandparents while she was giving birth to my sister. I was in the hospital for two weeks
with bruises on my neck.
I was neglected and abused by my family. And As I pointed out, I was beaten every day several times a day for years, because the
Schools were just one more aspect of a system built on pack psychology and domination, not love, not diplomacy, and in truth,
not even on education.
And when I was 15 years old my mother abandoned me to the streets of Denver. Midwinter, with a foot and half of snow on the ground.
No, my life has not been easy. My lifes assorted chapters read like the prequel one would expect of a hardened criminal.
But I never became sociopathic. I never set out to hurt other people because I had been hurt. Instead I read more. I read textbooks
On Civil Engineering, and Textbooks on Architecture. I read textbooks on Sociology, and textbooks on Aeronautics.

And with my aspie capacity for mental simulation, I ran over and over and over scenario after scenario, for the theory of how
to fix society.

Now, I am not now nor will I ever be a man to run for public office. I am 36 years old and I am an aspie. I don't make good
sense of other peoples social cues and all of my assorted coping mechanisms just barely suffice to keep me out of social trouble.
As a "normal" and mostly hermitish citizen.
Due to my "disability," I couldn't possibly win an election, even if i had the urge to try. No, I wouldn't deal well with the assorted
challenges of public life. However, on the other hand what I have to offer humanity is now rather immense. There are not too many people on
this earth who have read thousands of textbooks, or who can make a legitamate claim to expert knowledge in Dozens of different subjects.
The people who normally make it to public office study law. Which is silly, because law is a collection of bad rules and bad ideas
mostly. If they were any good, there would be only a tiny fraction as many of them, and we wouldn't keep making new ones at the rate of
tens of thousands of pages every year.
Good rules are simple rules and follow natural law and thus emulate natural laws. Good rules and Good order is simple, plain, and
matches causes to effects. good rules and good laws encode a public morality based on real and pragmatic ethos and ethics.
None of this is true of the gazillions of laws we have on the books. So having a degree in Law doesn't prepare you to solve problems,
think about cause and effect, or to simplify things down to any sort of distilled essence. The simple truth is, 99 percent of the laws we have
could be thrown in the garbage and the one percent which would be worth keeping would suffice to hold society together until we
made the few new laws which would finish the whole thing off.

Studying law doesn't even make good lawyers. Why would anybody suppose then that it would create adequate legislators?
The police study the laws some. And then proceed to break the laws almost universally. The Lawyers and Judges are not much different.
They study law and then they become habitual chronic law breakers, systematically victimizing WE THE PEOPLE for love of money, power,
and a delusional claim to be upholding social order.

No, the sad truth is that merely studying law is like more or less being indoctrinated into demonism. The current laws exist to serve
the interests of the rich, and of corporations, and to keep WE THE PEOPLE enslaved, and conquered and divided. The current laws serve
to allow the most evil elements of society to have pretensions at social service, and to diabolize and then persecute and prosecute and then
imprison entire demographics, based on social caste and race. The role of judge is modelled on satan, and the role of prison Guard is the
same as that of a pitchfork weilding devil. And pavlov demonstrated rather a long time ago that punishment alone only makes meaner dogs.

How many Congress members or Senators have degrees is Sociology? Civil Engineering? Energy Science? Economics? Almost none of them.
And so we should hardly find it surprising that they are grossly incapable of solving any real world problems. Instead, they make more
laws which serve the Rich, create cheap labor, frustrate unions, and keep the middle class enslaved as a cheap labor pool.
They make laws which serve to destroy public education, dismantle social security, and turn medical care into an exercise of proffiting
off of peoples suffering, rather than in providing medical services. They make laws which encourage illegal immigration, with one hand
building fences to placate the masses objections and the other hand making laws to make it easier to keep those latino slaves as 21st century
indentured servants. For fifty years, for the most part every law that has been passed is demonstrably evil,
intentionally misnamed almost exactly the opposite of what it really is, and these laws have a collective effect which is social and
cultural entropy which is running our Nation literally to the brink of self destruction.

The worst part of this situation is that if we could get the pundits, and the elitist republican media to shut their evil mouths,
the answers to our real problems have been apparent in science for well over 30 years and have been totally ignored.
If you want to talk about real education reform, Lets talk about how to teach kids, not how to pay, or not pay teachers, so that public education
collapses so that education can be privatized so that corporations can get their hands on your kids for zombot programming another 18 or 20
years earlier.
Lets talk about the REAL Education reform which could give us 18 year olds with as much knowledge as is now thought of as 3 or 4 Doctorate Degrees.
In total ignorance of the facts, and fed BS by a complicit and evil media, people don't even have the first clue about what is really possible
or how far educational knowledge has come in 200 years. And the sad truth is that corporate America, Republicans, and Democrats all rely upon mass ignorance
to stay in power. None of these institutions could stand the scrutiny which would be provided if high schoolers had a semester of conversational logic.
WE don't need stupid billion dollar mistakes like ethanol. If people listened to me tell them ten years ago, billions of dollars could have been
saved not investing in trash technologies which only exist because corporate America wants crap to sell. The real solution to the energy crisis is
Geothermal Power and Electric cars. But if you look at what the media provide, you'd never realize that Geothermal power is the cleanest, highest yeild,
and cheapest form of energy we could possibly invest in. Because they don't want power that cheap. They want us to keep paying them.
It would take us less than 4 years to transform over to a geothermal economy. The technologies existed 30 years ago. And we knew 30 years ago that
Global warming due to fossil fuels was a real problem, the only people who ever thought differently were payed to by oil companies. (or duped by
their propaganda warriors.)

On issue after issue, factual science has allready found the problem, the solution, and has been tramped down and kept out of sight by the assorted
evil jerks clubs.

What it takes to know this is only expert knowledge in Sociology, Civil Engineering, Energy Science, Physics, Architecture, and Economics.
And while that sounds like a lot, the truth is if you let me fix the educational system, we could expect any high school graduate to understand
it all by the year 2030.

So the real question is when, if ever, will the people i am trying to help quit their assorted distractions and fixations, quit being played by corporate media,
quit being conquered and then divided by the oligarchy, and LISTEN. Because the truth is that Dennis Kucinich or Obama or Mike Gravel are all great
people with awesome ideas which would do more good than harm. But all three of them together don't know a tenth as much as I do. And Yet, all of them
have one same underlying message which everybody seems to miss. They know they don't have all of the answers and they are asking us all to be a part
of the process. They are inviting us all to begin a new form of democracy, where WE THE PEOPLE are not only the cheerleaders in elections, but in which
we become the problem solvers, the law writers, and the prequel legislators. Obama is certainly not as lucid in this as Mike Gravel is, but is certainly
even more lucid on this than Dennis Kucinich is. He keeps telling us in no uncertain terms that this election is not about him; its about us. That the solution is
not him as president; But him as the surrogate of WE THE PEOPLE in the white house. He is offering to lead not only with his wisdom and his wit
and his diplomacy, but with his own capacity to actually listen to US and to inspire all of us to participate in democratic self governance.

WE stand now at a very precarious precipice which almost all civilizations face at 200 years. Very few civilizations last more than 200 years because social
entropy is very strong if the balance between social services and free enterprise is not spot on. Right now we are technically no longer even a democracy.
we are a republican oligarchy decaying rapidly into corporatism aka corporate fascism. With the last vestiges of democracy, we must pull ourselves back
away from that precipice. We must quit the distractions and the noise and the garbage which is being used to keep us complacent and ignorant and pre-occupied.
We must quit manufactured distractions cold turkey. We must kick the evil pundits off of our public airwaves and reclaim them for an adult and sane
public dialogue and public educational service.

If we do not do this, the core difference between us and most decaying 200 year old civilizations will be only that because we have such large populations
and technology, we will destroy life on earth as we know it, along with ourselves.

I do not hate America. I love America. I do not hate evil republican pundits. I pity them. I do not hate the Evil Bush admin or its evil assorted players.
I understand them as victims of wrong thinking and bad paradigms. I do not hate the Rich. They are victims of greed and classism, just like the rest of us are.
I have had millionaire pals, and I can tell you that being Rich is not as much fun as most people think it is. They have good reason to be paranoid of
the rest of us. And that ends up ruining everything. For true wealth isn't masturbatory materialism; its being able to share what you have with the people
you care about. Its being able to make your family and your freinds happy. And in the current system, thats just as impossible to do with a million dollars
as it is to do with a single penny.

No, i speak not from polarizations or emotions or ignorance. I speak simply as the man whos read thousands of textbooks,
and who thus has the (main) solutions to the problems. I want to be a part of fixing it all.
And as certain as I am of who I am and what I have to offer humanity, I am equally sure that everybody else has insights that they have to give the rest
of us as gifts as well.
The problems that we face are so large and so complicated that it is merely foolish to think that any one person, or even that any 20 people could possibly
have ALL of the answers to ALL of the problems. The best any one person can do is to lucidly apprehend the core issues and the root causes and the General
main solutions. What will be required to actually fix our problems will not be Obama, and his awesome platform, and getting him elected. It will not be
Obama, plus me, somehow getting through to him. It will be WE THE PEOPLE. ALL OF US. Working together from our common goals to solve our common problems.
It will be thousands of Sociologists and Thousands of Civil Engineers and Thousands of Teachers and Thousands of Architects and Thousands of energy
Scientists which will be required to solve the problems we now face.

It will be a new breed of media which actually has ethics and conversational logic in mind, instead of merely existing to manipulate and lie to the Public.
It will take a transformation in consciousness and approach even more serious than the industrial revolution, in which every last person realizes that it
is personally their responsibility to contribute their insights and personal energy into one concerted and harmonious problem solving process.

It is not enough to vote, or phone bank, or donate money, or write your blog. All of these things are useful only in terms of the old system which is
gradually failing us. It is not enough to report the ideas of some pundit or preacher or pastor or blogger which you found surfing the net. What is called for
is for YOU to imagine yourself as president, as Senator, as Congressperson, and for YOU to pick up the responsibility to start co-authoring those new laws
which will change our civilization from Social Barbarity to genuine Modern Civility.

So the next step becomes organizing that mental effort. The next step becomes finding the place on line to take each one of Obamas platform planks,
and each one of Hillaries, And Each one of mccains, and every platform plank from every candidate, turning each of them into a conversation with a focus
on problem definition and problem solving process. We can be Obamas cheerleaders and watch as history repeats itself predictably as corporate Media
slowly manipulates the gullible into voting against their better interests for a senile old war monger who admits he doesn't know anything about Economics
and who can't even keep the three main racial groups in Iraq straight in his head, let alone give us real world solutions for real world problems, let alone
actually listen to the rest of us...
OR we can change and transform this conversation of the body politic up out of tabloid gutter manufactured propaganda warfare by leading the discussion
back to the issues.

What will be required to even start is a wiki and a bbs. I happen to favor php premodded bbs.
Short of that, and in preparation for it, I have a tribe at tribe.net.
Please put down your distractions and stop. Stop thinking or talking about Hillary.
Stop thinking or talking about cnn or msnbc or any news outlet.
Stop fighting against the smears and the evil jerk clubs a through z.
What we can create together by choosing collaboration instead of competition will be more than powerful enough
to sweep all of that garbage away.
And that is the key. Our salvation is in love and charity and peace and truth. Not as weapons to fight the evil jerks;
but as tools to build the world we want to see. As tools to build a world which fullfills the vision of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin,
And Thomas Jefferson.
Our union is not perfect. But it is perfectable, and it is our opportunity and our responsibility, right here, right now, to be the change we want
to see and to work to create a more perfect Union.

Please, I am begging you. Leave the shadows dancing on their own. Walk away from the noise and the distractions.
Wake up from the matrix. Realize that everybody, all of us together, can be Neo. Join the REAL WORLD.
The world as it is, with all of its problems, including a mass media which exists to keep you in a mental cage.

See each of Obamas platform planks as an arrow, shot from his bow. Lit with the sacred fire of promethean truth; and landing in some
vacant space where the answers to our solutions will have to be grown, nurtured, watered, and harvested from the numinous ground.
It is up to us now if we are wise to go start camping out where these arrows have fallen. To empower and embolden and embrace Obama
and his wisdom by adding our own collective wisdom to his.
Each of those arrows carries a seed. But unless we care for each of those seeds, we may find Obama reduced to a footnote in history,
As the rigging of our elections via both actual rigged machines and the evil pundit media steals this opportunity away from us.

http://tribes.tribe.net/obamaknights

Thanks in advance for your thoughts, your comments, your feedback, and hopefully, our transformative awakening.
peace, love and light to everyone...
bb
ppan

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 6 replies

faith

2008-05-17T19:34:53Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/faith/
http://www.barackobama.com/2006/06/28/call_to_renewal_keynote_address.php

Call to Renewal Keynote Address
| June 28, 2006

Washington, DC

Good morning. I appreciate the opportunity to speak here at the Call to Renewal's Building a Covenant for a New America conference. I've had the opportunity to take a look at your Covenant for a New America. It is filled with outstanding policies and prescriptions for much of what ails this country. So I'd like to congratulate you all on the thoughtful presentations you've given so far about poverty and justice in America, and for putting fire under the feet of the political leadership here in Washington.

But today I'd like to talk about the connection between religion and politics and perhaps offer some thoughts about how we can sort through some of the often bitter arguments that we've been seeing over the last several years.

I do so because, as you all know, we can affirm the importance of poverty in the Bible; and we can raise up and pass out this Covenant for a New America. We can talk to the press, and we can discuss the religious call to address poverty and environmental stewardship all we want, but it won't have an impact unless we tackle head-on the mutual suspicion that sometimes exists between religious America and secular America.

I want to give you an example that I think illustrates this fact. As some of you know, during the 2004 U.S. Senate General Election I ran against a gentleman named Alan Keyes. Mr. Keyes is well-versed in the Jerry Falwell-Pat Robertson style of rhetoric that often labels progressives as both immoral and godless.

Indeed, Mr. Keyes announced towards the end of the campaign that, "Jesus Christ would not vote for Barack Obama. Christ would not vote for Barack Obama because Barack Obama has behaved in a way that it is inconceivable for Christ to have behaved."

Jesus Christ would not vote for Barack Obama.

Now, I was urged by some of my liberal supporters not to take this statement seriously, to essentially ignore it. To them, Mr. Keyes was an extremist, and his arguments not worth entertaining. And since at the time, I was up 40 points in the polls, it probably wasn't a bad piece of strategic advice.

But what they didn't understand, however, was that I had to take Mr. Keyes seriously, for he claimed to speak for my religion, and my God. He claimed knowledge of certain truths.

Mr. Obama says he's a Christian, he was saying, and yet he supports a lifestyle that the Bible calls an abomination.

Mr. Obama says he's a Christian, but supports the destruction of innocent and sacred life.

And so what would my supporters have me say? How should I respond? Should I say that a literalist reading of the Bible was folly? Should I say that Mr. Keyes, who is a Roman Catholic, should ignore the teachings of the Pope?

Unwilling to go there, I answered with what has come to be the typically liberal response in such debates - namely, I said that we live in a pluralistic society, that I can't impose my own religious views on another, that I was running to be the U.S. Senator of Illinois and not the Minister of Illinois.

But Mr. Keyes's implicit accusation that I was not a true Christian nagged at me, and I was also aware that my answer did not adequately address the role my faith has in guiding my own values and my own beliefs.

Now, my dilemma was by no means unique. In a way, it reflected the broader debate we've been having in this country for the last thirty years over the role of religion in politics.

For some time now, there has been plenty of talk among pundits and pollsters that the political divide in this country has fallen sharply along religious lines. Indeed, the single biggest "gap" in party affiliation among white Americans today is not between men and women, or those who reside in so-called Red States and those who reside in Blue, but between those who attend church regularly and those who don't.

Conservative leaders have been all too happy to exploit this gap, consistently reminding evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their Church, while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion and gay marriage; school prayer and intelligent design.

Democrats, for the most part, have taken the bait. At best, we may try to avoid the conversation about religious values altogether, fearful of offending anyone and claiming that - regardless of our personal beliefs - constitutional principles tie our hands. At worst, there are some liberals who dismiss religion in the public square as inherently irrational or intolerant, insisting on a caricature of religious Americans that paints them as fanatical, or thinking that the very word "Christian" describes one's political opponents, not people of faith.

Now, such strategies of avoidance may work for progressives when our opponent is Alan Keyes. But over the long haul, I think we make a mistake when we fail to acknowledge the power of faith in people's lives -- in the lives of the American people -- and I think it's time that we join a serious debate about how to reconcile faith with our modern, pluralistic democracy.

And if we're going to do that then we first need to understand that Americans are a religious people. 90 percent of us believe in God, 70 percent affiliate themselves with an organized religion, 38 percent call themselves committed Christians, and substantially more people in America believe in angels than they do in evolution.

This religious tendency is not simply the result of successful marketing by skilled preachers or the draw of popular mega-churches. In fact, it speaks to a hunger that's deeper than that - a hunger that goes beyond any particular issue or cause.

Each day, it seems, thousands of Americans are going about their daily rounds - dropping off the kids at school, driving to the office, flying to a business meeting, shopping at the mall, trying to stay on their diets - and they're coming to the realization that something is missing. They are deciding that their work, their possessions, their diversions, their sheer busyness, is not enough.

They want a sense of purpose, a narrative arc to their lives. They're looking to relieve a chronic loneliness, a feeling supported by a recent study that shows Americans have fewer close friends and confidants than ever before. And so they need an assurance that somebody out there cares about them, is listening to them - that they are not just destined to travel down that long highway towards nothingness.

And I speak with some experience on this matter. I was not raised in a particularly religious household, as undoubtedly many in the audience were. My father, who returned to Kenya when I was just two, was born Muslim but as an adult became an atheist. My mother, whose parents were non-practicing Baptists and Methodists, was probably one of the most spiritual and kindest people I've ever known, but grew up with a healthy skepticism of organized religion herself. As a consequence, so did I.

It wasn't until after college, when I went to Chicago to work as a community organizer for a group of Christian churches, that I confronted my own spiritual dilemma.

I was working with churches, and the Christians who I worked with recognized themselves in me. They saw that I knew their Book and that I shared their values and sang their songs. But they sensed that a part of me that remained removed, detached, that I was an observer in their midst.

And in time, I came to realize that something was missing as well -- that without a vessel for my beliefs, without a commitment to a particular community of faith, at some level I would always remain apart, and alone.

And if it weren't for the particular attributes of the historically black church, I may have accepted this fate. But as the months passed in Chicago, I found myself drawn - not just to work with the church, but to be in the church.

For one thing, I believed and still believe in the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change, a power made real by some of the leaders here today. Because of its past, the black church understands in an intimate way the Biblical call to feed the hungry and cloth the naked and challenge powers and principalities. And in its historical struggles for freedom and the rights of man, I was able to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world. As a source of hope.

And perhaps it was out of this intimate knowledge of hardship -- the grounding of faith in struggle -- that the church offered me a second insight, one that I think is important to emphasize today.

Faith doesn't mean that you don't have doubts.

You need to come to church in the first place precisely because you are first of this world, not apart from it. You need to embrace Christ precisely because you have sins to wash away - because you are human and need an ally in this difficult journey.

It was because of these newfound understandings that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ on 95th Street in the Southside of Chicago one day and affirm my Christian faith. It came about as a choice, and not an epiphany. I didn't fall out in church. The questions I had didn't magically disappear. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt that I heard God's spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth.

That's a path that has been shared by millions upon millions of Americans - evangelicals, Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims alike; some since birth, others at certain turning points in their lives. It is not something they set apart from the rest of their beliefs and values. In fact, it is often what drives their beliefs and their values.

And that is why that, if we truly hope to speak to people where they're at - to communicate our hopes and values in a way that's relevant to their own - then as progressives, we cannot abandon the field of religious discourse.

Because when we ignore the debate about what it means to be a good Christian or Muslim or Jew; when we discuss religion only in the negative sense of where or how it should not be practiced, rather than in the positive sense of what it tells us about our obligations towards one another; when we shy away from religious venues and religious broadcasts because we assume that we will be unwelcome - others will fill the vacuum, those with the most insular views of faith, or those who cynically use religion to justify partisan ends.

In other words, if we don't reach out to evangelical Christians and other religious Americans and tell them what we stand for, then the Jerry Falwells and Pat Robertsons and Alan Keyeses will continue to hold sway.

More fundamentally, the discomfort of some progressives with any hint of religion has often prevented us from effectively addressing issues in moral terms. Some of the problem here is rhetorical - if we scrub language of all religious content, we forfeit the imagery and terminology through which millions of Americans understand both their personal morality and social justice.

Imagine Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address without reference to "the judgments of the Lord." Or King's I Have a Dream speech without references to "all of God's children." Their summoning of a higher truth helped inspire what had seemed impossible, and move the nation to embrace a common destiny.

Our failure as progressives to tap into the moral underpinnings of the nation is not just rhetorical, though. Our fear of getting "preachy" may also lead us to discount the role that values and culture play in some of our most urgent social problems.

After all, the problems of poverty and racism, the uninsured and the unemployed, are not simply technical problems in search of the perfect ten point plan. They are rooted in both societal indifference and individual callousness - in the imperfections of man.

Solving these problems will require changes in government policy, but it will also require changes in hearts and a change in minds. I believe in keeping guns out of our inner cities, and that our leaders must say so in the face of the gun manufacturers' lobby - but I also believe that when a gang-banger shoots indiscriminately into a crowd because he feels somebody disrespected him, we've got a moral problem. There's a hole in that young man's heart - a hole that the government alone cannot fix.

I believe in vigorous enforcement of our non-discrimination laws. But I also believe that a transformation of conscience and a genuine commitment to diversity on the part of the nation's CEOs could bring about quicker results than a battalion of lawyers. They have more lawyers than us anyway.

I think that we should put more of our tax dollars into educating poor girls and boys. I think that the work that Marian Wright Edelman has done all her life is absolutely how we should prioritize our resources in the wealthiest nation on earth. I also think that we should give them the information about contraception that can prevent unwanted pregnancies, lower abortion rates, and help assure that that every child is loved and cherished.

But, you know, my Bible tells me that if we train a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not turn from it. So I think faith and guidance can help fortify a young woman's sense of self, a young man's sense of responsibility, and a sense of reverence that all young people should have for the act of sexual intimacy.

I am not suggesting that every progressive suddenly latch on to religious terminology - that can be dangerous. Nothing is more transparent than inauthentic expressions of faith. As Jim has mentioned, some politicians come and clap -- off rhythm -- to the choir. We don't need that.

In fact, because I do not believe that religious people have a monopoly on morality, I would rather have someone who is grounded in morality and ethics, and who is also secular, affirm their morality and ethics and values without pretending that they're something they're not. They don't need to do that. None of us need to do that.

But what I am suggesting is this - secularists are wrong when they ask believers to leave their religion at the door before entering into the public square. Frederick Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, Williams Jennings Bryant, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King - indeed, the majority of great reformers in American history - were not only motivated by faith, but repeatedly used religious language to argue for their cause. So to say that men and women should not inject their "personal morality" into public policy debates is a practical absurdity. Our law is by definition a codification of morality, much of it grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Moreover, if we progressives shed some of these biases, we might recognize some overlapping values that both religious and secular people share when it comes to the moral and material direction of our country. We might recognize that the call to sacrifice on behalf of the next generation, the need to think in terms of "thou" and not just "I," resonates in religious congregations all across the country. And we might realize that we have the ability to reach out to the evangelical community and engage millions of religious Americans in the larger project of American renewal.

Some of this is already beginning to happen. Pastors, friends of mine like Rick Warren and T.D. Jakes are wielding their enormous influences to confront AIDS, Third World debt relief, and the genocide in Darfur. Religious thinkers and activists like our good friend Jim Wallis and Tony Campolo are lifting up the Biblical injunction to help the poor as a means of mobilizing Christians against budget cuts to social programs and growing inequality.

And by the way, we need Christians on Capitol Hill, Jews on Capitol Hill and Muslims on Capitol Hill talking about the estate tax. When you've got an estate tax debate that proposes a trillion dollars being taken out of social programs to go to a handful of folks who don't need and weren't even asking for it, you know that we need an injection of morality in our political debate.

Across the country, individual churches like my own and your own are sponsoring day care programs, building senior centers, helping ex-offenders reclaim their lives, and rebuilding our gulf coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

So the question is, how do we build on these still-tentative partnerships between religious and secular people of good will? It's going to take more work, a lot more work than we've done so far. The tensions and the suspicions on each side of the religious divide will have to be squarely addressed. And each side will need to accept some ground rules for collaboration.

While I've already laid out some of the work that progressive leaders need to do, I want to talk a little bit about what conservative leaders need to do -- some truths they need to acknowledge.

For one, they need to understand the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy, but the robustness of our religious practice. Folks tend to forget that during our founding, it wasn't the atheists or the civil libertarians who were the most effective champions of the First Amendment. It was the persecuted minorities, it was Baptists like John Leland who didn't want the established churches to impose their views on folks who were getting happy out in the fields and teaching the scripture to slaves. It was the forbearers of the evangelicals who were the most adamant about not mingling government with religious, because they did not want state-sponsored religion hindering their ability to practice their faith as they understood it.

Moreover, given the increasing diversity of America's population, the dangers of sectarianism have never been greater. Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.

And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's, or Al Sharpton's? Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount - a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let's read our bibles. Folks haven't been reading their bibles.

This brings me to my second point. Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.

Now this is going to be difficult for some who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, as many evangelicals do. But in a pluralistic democracy, we have no choice. Politics depends on our ability to persuade each other of common aims based on a common reality. It involves the compromise, the art of what's possible. At some fundamental level, religion does not allow for compromise. It's the art of the impossible. If God has spoken, then followers are expected to live up to God's edicts, regardless of the consequences. To base one's life on such uncompromising commitments may be sublime, but to base our policy making on such commitments would be a dangerous thing. And if you doubt that, let me give you an example.

We all know the story of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham is ordered by God to offer up his only son, and without argument, he takes Isaac to the mountaintop, binds him to an altar, and raises his knife, prepared to act as God has commanded.

Of course, in the end God sends down an angel to intercede at the very last minute, and Abraham passes God's test of devotion.

But it's fair to say that if any of us leaving this church saw Abraham on a roof of a building raising his knife, we would, at the very least, call the police and expect the Department of Children and Family Services to take Isaac away from Abraham. We would do so because we do not hear what Abraham hears, do not see what Abraham sees, true as those experiences may be. So the best we can do is act in accordance with those things that we all see, and that we all hear, be it common laws or basic reason.

Finally, any reconciliation between faith and democratic pluralism requires some sense of proportion.

This goes for both sides.

Even those who claim the Bible's inerrancy make distinctions between Scriptural edicts, sensing that some passages - the Ten Commandments, say, or a belief in Christ's divinity - are central to Christian faith, while others are more culturally specific and may be modified to accommodate modern life.

The American people intuitively understand this, which is why the majority of Catholics practice birth control and some of those opposed to gay marriage nevertheless are opposed to a Constitutional amendment to ban it. Religious leadership need not accept such wisdom in counseling their flocks, but they should recognize this wisdom in their politics.

But a sense of proportion should also guide those who police the boundaries between church and state. Not every mention of God in public is a breach to the wall of separation - context matters. It is doubtful that children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance feel oppressed or brainwashed as a consequence of muttering the phrase "under God." I didn't. Having voluntary student prayer groups use school property to meet should not be a threat, any more than its use by the High School Republicans should threaten Democrats. And one can envision certain faith-based programs - targeting ex-offenders or substance abusers - that offer a uniquely powerful way of solving problems.

So we all have some work to do here. But I am hopeful that we can bridge the gaps that exist and overcome the prejudices each of us bring to this debate. And I have faith that millions of believing Americans want that to happen. No matter how religious they may or may not be, people are tired of seeing faith used as a tool of attack. They don't want faith used to belittle or to divide. They're tired of hearing folks deliver more screed than sermon. Because in the end, that's not how they think about faith in their own lives.

So let me end with just one other interaction I had during my campaign. A few days after I won the Democratic nomination in my U.S. Senate race, I received an email from a doctor at the University of Chicago Medical School that said the following:

"Congratulations on your overwhelming and inspiring primary win. I was happy to vote for you, and I will tell you that I am seriously considering voting for you in the general election. I write to express my concerns that may, in the end, prevent me from supporting you."

The doctor described himself as a Christian who understood his commitments to be "totalizing." His faith led him to a strong opposition to abortion and gay marriage, although he said that his faith also led him to question the idolatry of the free market and quick resort to militarism that seemed to characterize much of the Republican agenda.

But the reason the doctor was considering not voting for me was not simply my position on abortion. Rather, he had read an entry that my campaign had posted on my website, which suggested that I would fight "right-wing ideologues who want to take away a woman's right to choose." The doctor went on to write:

"I sense that you have a strong sense of justice...and I also sense that you are a fair minded person with a high regard for reason...Whatever your convictions, if you truly believe that those who oppose abortion are all ideologues driven by perverse desires to inflict suffering on women, then you, in my judgment, are not fair-minded....You know that we enter times that are fraught with possibilities for good and for harm, times when we are struggling to make sense of a common polity in the context of plurality, when we are unsure of what grounds we have for making any claims that involve others...I do not ask at this point that you oppose abortion, only that you speak about this issue in fair-minded words."

Fair-minded words.

So I looked at my website and found the offending words. In fairness to them, my staff had written them using standard Democratic boilerplate language to summarize my pro-choice position during the Democratic primary, at a time when some of my opponents were questioning my commitment to protect Roe v. Wade.

Re-reading the doctor's letter, though, I felt a pang of shame. It is people like him who are looking for a deeper, fuller conversation about religion in this country. They may not change their positions, but they are willing to listen and learn from those who are willing to speak in fair-minded words. Those who know of the central and awesome place that God holds in the lives of so many, and who refuse to treat faith as simply another political issue with which to score points.

So I wrote back to the doctor, and I thanked him for his advice. The next day, I circulated the email to my staff and changed the language on my website to state in clear but simple terms my pro-choice position. And that night, before I went to bed, I said a prayer of my own - a prayer that I might extend the same presumption of good faith to others that the doctor had extended to me.

And that night, before I went to bed I said a prayer of my own. It's a prayer I think I share with a lot of Americans. A hope that we can live with one another in a way that reconciles the beliefs of each with the good of all. It's a prayer worth praying, and a conversation worth having in this country in the months and years to come.

Thank you.

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 6 replies

seniors and social security

2008-05-17T19:33:38Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/socialsecurity/

Plan to Strengthen Retirement Security

"We… have an obligation to protect Social Security and ensure that it's a safety net the American people can count on today, tomorrow and forever. Social Security is the cornerstone of the social compact in this country… Coming together to meet this challenge won't be easy… It will take restoring a sense of shared purpose in Washington and across this country. But if you put your trust in me — if you give me 'your hand and your heart' — then that's exactly what I intend to do as your next President."

— Barack Obama, Speech in Des Moines, IA, October 27, 2007

At a Glance

* Protect Social Security
* Strengthen Retirement Savings
* Affordable Health Care
* Protect and Honor Seniors

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas

The Problem

Insecure Retirement Savings: Retirement savings are near a historic low and 75 million working Americans lack employer-based retirement plans. Too many companies have dumped their pension obligations, leaving workers in the cold.

Income Security: With skyrocketing health care, energy and housing costs, and the risk of being defrauded by insurance companies, too many seniors do not have the resources to live comfortably.
Barack Obama's Plan
Protect Social Security

Obama is committed to ensuring Social Security is solvent and viable for the American people, now and in the future. Obama will be honest with the American people about the long-term solvency of Social Security and the ways we can address the shortfall. Obama will protect Social Security benefits for current and future beneficiaries alike. And he does not believe it is necessary or fair to hardworking seniors to raise the retirement age. Obama is strongly opposed to privatizing Social Security.

Obama believes that the first place to look for ways to strengthen Social Security is the payroll tax system. Currently, the Social Security payroll tax applies to only the first $102,000 a worker makes. Obama supports increasing the maximum amount of earnings covered by Social Security and he will work with Congress and the American people to choose a payroll tax reform package that will keep Social Security solvent for at least the next half century.
Strengthen Retirement Savings

* Reform Corporate Bankruptcy Laws to Protect Workers and Retirees: Current bankruptcy laws protect banks before workers. Obama will protect pensions by putting promises to workers higher on the list of debts that companies cannot shed; ensuring that the bankruptcy courts do not demand more sacrifice from workers than executives; telling companies that they cannot issue executive bonuses while cutting worker pensions; increasing the amount of unpaid wages and benefits workers can claim in court; and limiting the circumstances under which retiree benefits can be reduced.
* Require Full Disclosure of Company Pension Investments: Obama will ensure that all employees who have company pensions receive detailed annual disclosures about their pension fund's investments. This will provide retirees important resources to make their pension fund more secure.
* Eliminate Income Taxes for Seniors Making Less Than $50,000: Obama will eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year. This will provide an immediate tax cut averaging $1,400 to 7 million seniors and relieve millions from the burden of filing tax returns.
* Create Automatic Workplace Pensions: Obama's retirement security plan will automatically enroll workers in a workplace pension plan. Under his plan, employers who do not currently offer a retirement plan, will be required to enroll their employees in a direct-deposit IRA account that is compatible to existing direct-deposit payroll systems. Employees may opt-out if they choose. Experts estimate that this program will increase the savings participation rate for low and middle-income workers from its current 15 percent level to around 80 percent.
* Expand Retirement Savings Incentives for Working Families: Obama will ensure savings incentives are fair to all workers by creating a generous savings match for low and middle-income Americans. His plan will match 50 percent of the first $1,000 of savings for families that earn less than $75,000. The savings match will be automatically deposited into designated personal accounts. Over 80 percent of these savings incentives will go to new savers.
* Prevent Age Discrimination: Obama will fight job discrimination for aging employees by strengthening the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and empowering the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to prevent all forms of discrimination.

Affordable Health Care

* Provide Cheaper Prescription Drugs: Our seniors pay the highest prices in the world for brand-name drugs. To lower drug costs, Obama will allow the federal government to negotiate for lower drug prices for the Medicare program, just as it does to lower prices for our veterans. He also supports allowing seniors to import safe prescription drugs from overseas, and will prevent pharmaceutical companies from blocking cheap and safe generic drugs from the market.
* Protect and Strengthen Medicare: Obama is committed to the long-term strength of the Medicare program. He will reduce waste in the Medicare system, including eliminating subsidies to the private insurance Medicare Advantage program, and tackle fundamental health care reform to improve the quality and efficiency of our healthcare system. Obama supports closing the "doughnut hole" in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.
* Provide Transparency to Medicare Prescription Drug Plans: Many seniors are enrolled in Medicare prescription drug plans that are actually more expensive for them than other available plans. Obama will require companies to send Medicare beneficiaries a full list of the drugs and fees they paid the previous year to help seniors determine which plans can better reduce their out-of-pocket costs and improve their health.
* Strengthen Long-Term Care Options: As president, Obama will work to give seniors choices about their care, consistent with their needs, and not biased towards institutional care. He will work to reform the financing of long term care to protect seniors and families. He will work to improve the quality of elder care, including by training more nurses and health care workers.

Protect and Honor Seniors

* Ensure Heating Assistance: Obama will increase funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) which helps low-income citizens — many of them seniors — pay their winter heating and summer cooling bills.
* Support Senior Volunteer Efforts: Retired Americans have a wide range of skills and knowledge to contribute to local and national public service efforts. Obama will engage more interested seniors into public service opportunities by expanding and improving programs like Senior Corps to connect seniors with quality volunteer opportunities.

Barack Obama's Record

* Social Security and Pensions: In the midst of the 2005 debate over Social Security privatization, Obama gave a major speech at the National Press Club forcefully arguing against privatization. He also repeatedly voted against Republican amendments that aimed to privatize Social Security or cut benefits. Obama has also voted to force companies to properly fund their pension plans so taxpayers don't end up footing the bill.
* Medicare: Obama has supported a number efforts to strengthen Medicare, including voting for legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate for cheaper prescription drug prices and to extend the enrollment period for low-income beneficiaries.
* Protecting Seniors: After reports that lobbyists, but not the American people, received information about the most unsafe nursing homes in the country, Barack Obama demanded the Department of Health and Human Services release that information to the public. Following Obama's letter, the names of the four Iowa care facilities cited for unsafe care were released to the public. Obama's efforts follow his successful efforts in Illinois to make nursing home information public and strengthen elder abuse laws.

For More Information about Barack's Plan

(PDF)Read the Plan

Read the Speech

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 1 reply

disabilities

2008-05-17T19:32:29Z

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/DisabilityPlanFactSheet.pdf
Fifty-four million Americans – roughly 1 in 6 – personally experience some form of disability. And the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan continue to increase those numbers. Yet seventeen years after Congress enacted the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Americans with disabilities still do not have an equal opportunity to
fulfill the American Dream. In 2006, working-age Americans with disabilities were almost three times more
likely to live below the poverty line than those without disabilities. While the average annual household income
of individuals in the United States without disabilities was $65,400 in 2006, the average annual household
income for people with disabilities was $36,300. And the employment rate for persons with disabilities in 2006
was at least 40 points lower than the employment rate of working-age individuals without disabilities. These
dismal statistics offer evidence of severe shortcomings in our country’s efforts to break down the barriers that
exclude people with disabilities and deprive them of true equality of opportunity and independence.
Barack Obama believes the United States should lead the world in empowering people with disabilities to take
full advantage of their talents and become independent, integrated members of society. Dozens of countries
have adopted laws modeled on the Americans with Disabilities Act, but America’s leadership in the world has
faded in recent years. As president, Barack Obama will renew America’s leadership by making the United
States a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – the first human rights
treaty approved by the UN in the 21st century and a vital foundation for respecting the rights of people with
disabilities worldwide. He will urge the U.S. Senate to ratify the Convention expeditiously.
Barack Obama has a four-part plan to provide Americans with disabilities with the greatest possible access to
the same opportunities as those without disabilities: (1) providing Americans with disabilities the educational
opportunities they need to succeed; (2) ending discrimination and promoting equal opportunity; and (3)
increasing the employment rate of workers with disabilities; and (4) supporting independent, community-based
living for Americans with disabilities. And Obama will work closely with individuals with disabilities and
disability rights advocates to achieve this vision of a society where all can live with dignity and respect.
I. PROVIDING AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Fully Funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Barack Obama has been a strong and
consistent advocate for fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Congress
promised to shoulder 40 percent of each state’s “excess cost” of educating children with disabilities, but it has
never lived up to this obligation. Currently, the federal government provides less than half of the promised
funding (17 percent). Children are being shortchanged, and their parents are forced to fight with cash-strapped
school districts to get the free and appropriate education the IDEA promises their children. Fully funding IDEA
will provide students with disabilities the public education they have a right to, and school districts will be able
to provide services without cutting into their general education budgets. In addition to fully funding IDEA,
Obama will ensure effective implementation and enforcement of the Act.
Printed in House
Paid for by Obama for America
Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities: Children's ability to succeed in school relies on the
foundation they build in their first three years. Pre-kindergarten for four-year-olds is important, but it is not
enough to ensure children arrive at school ready to learn. This is particularly so for children with disabilities
and/or special health care needs, who already face challenges in the early years that can set them behind their
peers before they ever enter school. Barack Obama will invest $10 billion per year in early intervention
educational and developmental programs for children between zero and five. His plan will help expand Early
Head Start to serve more children with disabilities, and will spur states, through programs like Early Learning
Challenge Grants, to expand programs for children with disabilities, such as IDEA Part C, and integrate these
programs with other early childhood programs.
Support Universal Screening: Roughly 90 percent of infants in the United States are screened for various
potentially disabling or life-threatening conditions, but fewer than half the states screen all infants for the
American College of Medical Genetics’ full recommended panel of 29 disorders. Many of these conditions, if
caught early, can be treated before they result in permanent impairments or even death. And parents are often
unaware that the tests are available. Barack Obama believes that we should ensure that all states have
comprehensive newborn screening programs. In addition, Obama supports setting a national goal to provide rescreening
for all two-year-olds – the age at which some conditions, including autism spectrum disorders, begin
to appear. Part of Obama's early childhood intervention plan will be directed at coordinating fragmented
community programs to help provide parents with information about screening for disabilities as infants and
again as two-year olds. Achieving universal screening is essential so that disabilities can be identified early
enough to help children and families get the special supports and resources they need.
Support Vocational Rehabilitation Programs: Students with disabilities who graduate from high school face
unique challenges that often serve as barriers to college matriculation or entry into the workforce. Vocational
rehabilitation programs currently exist in every state that have provided successful counseling to help high
school students with disabilities and high school graduates with disabilities to develop the life skills necessary
to move on to college and into independent lives. Obama supports vocational rehabilitation programs and will
assure there is sufficient funding to empower Americans with disabilities to succeed in college and beyond.
Improving College Opportunities for High School Graduates with Disabilities: If they are to succeed to
their fullest capabilities in the labor market, students with disabilities need more opportunities to obtain a
college education. Today, however, students with disabilities are less likely to attend college than their peers
and are less likely to complete a degree program when they do attend. When students with disabilities do
graduate from college, the first year of their participation in the labor market is roughly equal to their classmates
without disabilities. To improve college opportunities, Barack Obama will:
• Make College More Affordable: Obama will help make college more affordable and accessible by
creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure
that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover twothirds
of the cost of tuition at the average public college or university.
• Strengthen Community Colleges: Almost half of all college students with disabilities attend public
two-year institutions, particularly community colleges. Obama will create a Community College
Partnership Program to strengthen community colleges by providing grants to (a) conduct more
thorough analysis of the types of skills and technical education that are in high demand from students
and local industry; (b) implement new associate of arts degree programs that cater to emerging industry
and technical career demands; and (c) reward those institutions that graduate more students and also
increase their numbers of transfer students to four-year institutions. These efforts will ensure that
Printed in House
Paid for by Obama for America
community college students are able to directly use their skills in the workforce following graduation,
and be prepared to continue their higher education. And the grants will support programs that facilitate
transfers from two-year institutions to four-year institutions.
Authorize a Comprehensive Study of Students with Disabilities and Transition to Work and Higher
Education: There has not been a comprehensive study of evaluating access to higher education or transition to
the workforce by students with disabilities. As president, Barack Obama will initiate such a study and task his
Secretary of Education with researching: the barriers that keep students with disabilities from seeking and
completing higher education; the barriers that prevent students from making a direct transition to work; the
extent to which students with disabilities are able to access loans and grants; reasons college students with
disabilities drop out at a higher rate; and best practices from schools that have effectively recruited and
graduated students with disabilities that can be implemented more widely.
II. ENDING DISCRIMINATION AND PROMOTING EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY FOR
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Restoring the Americans with Disabilities Act: As a former civil rights lawyer and a strong advocate for
workplace diversity, Barack Obama understands the critical importance of reducing workplace and labor market
discrimination against people with disabilities, including by expanding employers’ provision of workplace
accommodations. The Supreme Court has severely restricted the application of the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) by narrowly defining what it means to have a “disability.” As a result, lower courts have held that
people with epilepsy, diabetes, heart disease and cancer can be fired from their jobs because they have those
conditions. Obama strongly supports Senator Tom Harkin’s (D-IA) ADA Restoration Act, which would
overturn the Supreme Court decisions that limit the ADA’s coverage and effectiveness and will sign it into law
as president.
Appointing Judges and Justices Who Respect Laws Designed to Protect People with Disabilities: Barack
Obama will appoint judges and justices who respect Congress’ role as a co-equal, democratically elected branch
of government and who exhibit empathy with what it means to be an American with a disability. The Supreme
Court’s interpretations of the ADA have shown disrespect for Congress’ intent and frustrated the law’s goals of
fully integrating people with disabilities into society.
Increasing Funding for Enforcement: The Bush Administration has cut funding for the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs (OFCCP), the agencies tasked with enforcing anti-discrimination laws that protect workers with
disabilities. Staffing for these agencies has also been significantly reduced. As a result, while the number of
complaints filed with those agencies has remained steady, the number of charges resolved by the EEOC has
declined. More than 100,000 charges were resolved in FY 1997 and FY 1998, but in FY 2006, fewer than
75,000 were resolved. Barack Obama will fully fund and increase staffing for the EEOC and the OFCCP to
reduce charge backlogs and to prosecute efforts to remedy systemic discrimination. To assure that the federal
government holds itself to a high anti-discrimination standard, Obama will appoint a Chair of the EEOC and
nominate commissioners who are committed to enforcing anti-discrimination laws.
Supporting the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act: With medical advances in the field of
genetics, getting genetically tested can be of increasing usefulness in diagnosing and treating certain health
conditions. In order to take advantage of those advances people need to be assured that their genetic code will
not be used against them in a discriminatory way. Barack Obama is a cosponsor of the Genetic Information
Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of genetic information by
Printed in House
Paid for by Obama for America
employers and health insurers. The Act also applies health information privacy regulations to the use and
disclosure of genetic information.
Guaranteeing Health Care Coverage: Many people with disabilities do not seek work or leave the workforce
because they need the guaranteed health insurance that the federal government’s benefit programs provide. As
a result, many stay on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI),
which include Medicare or Medicaid coverage, rather than take a job that might jeopardize their health care
coverage. Barack Obama has pledged to sign universal health care legislation by the end of his first term in
office that will assure that Americans with disabilities will have quality, affordable, portable coverage that will
allow them to take a job without fear of losing coverage. People with disabilities who lose their Medicare or
Medicaid eligibility by taking a job, but still cannot afford coverage, will be provided a subsidy in order to
purchase coverage. Moreover, under Obama’s plan, insurers will not be able to deny coverage on the basis of
pre-existing conditions.
Improving Mental Health Care: Mental illness affects approximately one in five American families.
Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home with record levels of combat stress. The
National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that untreated mental illnesses cost the U.S. more than $100
billion per year. Barack Obama is a supporter of the bipartisan Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction
Equity Act of 2007, and, as a state senator, Obama helped pass a mental health parity bill that requires coverage
for serious mental illnesses to be provided on the same terms and conditions as are applicable to other illnesses
and diseases. As president, Obama will support mental health parity so that coverage for serious mental
illnesses is provided on the same terms and conditions as other illnesses and diseases. For veterans, Obama will
improve mental health care at every stage of military service—recruitment, deployment, and reentry into
civilian life.
III. INCREASING EMPLOYMENT RATE OF WORKERS WITH DISABILITIES
Increasing Executive Branch Hiring of Workers with Disabilities: Barack Obama believes the federal
government should serve as a model for other employers in hiring and accommodating employees with
disabilities. The federal government is the United States’ largest employer. Obama believes the federal
government must recruit, hire, retain and advance workers with disabilities. To achieve this end, Obama will
reinstate Executive Order No. 13173 which President Clinton issued just before he left office. Executive Order
No. 13173 failed to achieve its mandate of hiring an additional 100,000 federal employees with disabilities
within five years. Obama will issue this executive order early in his first term and designate a senior White
House official to assure that all federal departments and agencies meet the mandate. That official will also be
responsible for integrating disability policy into major presidential initiatives. Obama will also ensure that all
electronic and information technologies employed by the federal government are fully accessible to federal
employees and members of the general public with disabilities, as required by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act. In that spirit, Obama has taken steps to make his campaign website consistent with Section 508 standards.
Effectively Implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act: Barack Obama will direct all of his
department and agency heads to bring their agencies into full compliance with all aspects of the Rehabilitation
Act and adopt regulations which assure that result. Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act requires the federal
government and employers who are federal contractors to “take affirmative action to employ and advance in
employment qualified individuals with disabilities.” Yet, affirmative action in employment for adults with
disabilities is not enforced with goals and timetables like the affirmative action requirements for people of color
and women found in Executive Order No. 11246 and its progeny. As a result, affirmative action under the
Rehabilitation Act is largely ineffective. Barack Obama will direct his Secretary of Labor to make changes to
Printed in House
Paid for by Obama for America
the regulations implementing Section 503 so that they more closely resemble those implementing Executive
Order No. 11246.
Providing Private-Sector Employers with Resources to Accommodate Employees with Disabilities:
Several large employers, such as Walgreens, CVS, and Marriott, have led the way by establishing systems for
recruiting, hiring, accommodating, retaining and promoting employees with disabilities. As president, Barack
Obama will direct his Secretary of Labor, the Labor Department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, and
its Job Accommodation Network to bring together employers, employer associations, human resources
professionals, disability advocates, service providers, and the labor movement to identify, promote, and
disseminate best practices in accommodating workers with disabilities.
Encouraging Private-Sector Employers to Use Existing Tax Benefits to Hire More Workers with
Disabilities: The tax code already contains several provisions designed to encourage employers to hire
employees with disabilities, including the Disabled Access Tax Credit, a Tax Deduction for Architectural and
Transportation Barrier Removal, and the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Yet, very few employers actually take
advantage of these credits. Barack Obama will launch an aggressive effort to educate employers about these tax
benefits so that more employers use them to hire greater numbers of employees with disabilities.
Establishing a National Commission on People with Disabilities, Employment, and Social Security: As
president, Barack Obama will announce the creation of a National Commission on People with Disabilities,
Employment, and Social Security which will include presidential appointees, congressional appointees and the
Commissioner of the Social Security Administration and the Secretaries of Labor and Health & Human
Services as ex officio members. The President’s charge to the commission will include:
• Examining and proposing solutions to work disincentives in the SSDI, SSI, Medicare, and Medicaid
programs.
• Revisiting the Ticket to Work Act to assess how it can better provide SSDI and SSI beneficiaries with
the supports they need to transition into work.
• Considering opportunities to improve the results produced through the relationships between the SSDI
and SSI programs and the workforce investment and vocational rehabilitation systems.
• Examining the sufficiency of SSDI and SSI benefit levels in light of available work opportunities for
working-age people with disabilities.
• Determining the sufficiency of the “substantial gainful activity” level in the SSDI program and whether
it should be indexed to average hourly wages or some other measure.
• Studying programs that would help young people join the labor force rather than the SSI rolls.
Supporting Small Businesses Owned by People with Disabilities: Despite the challenges that individuals
with disabilities face in starting their own businesses, they are not currently considered “disadvantaged” for
purposes of federal contracting provisions that seek to aid disadvantaged business owners. Barack Obama
would direct the Small Business Administration to amend regulations under the Small Business Act that provide
preferences in federal contracting to small businesses owned by members of socially and economically
disadvantaged groups to include individuals with disabilities.
Assuring Workers with Disabilities and Family Caregivers Get the Flexibility at Work They Need: Some
workers with disabilities are unable to take or keep jobs, or even to remain in the workforce, because they don’t
have the scheduling flexibility to tend to their health care needs. Scheduling flexibility, including time off from
work, can be an appropriate – even an essential – “accommodation” for many employees with disabilities. In
addition, more than 50 million “family caregivers” provide support to older people or to people with disabilities.
These families spend an average of twenty-one hours per week caring for a relative with a disability or illness
Printed in House
Paid for by Obama for America
and paid thousands of dollars in extra out-of-pocket expenses, on average. These added responsibilities expose
family caregivers to a substantially higher risk of physical and mental health challenges ranging from stress,
alcohol abuse, and depression, to heart disease, high blood pressure, and arthritis. Approximately 60 percent of
family caregivers are women, and more than half are employed. Family caregivers also need the
accommodation of workplace flexibility to help them navigate work and caregiving while also struggling to pay
their bills and maintain their households. To provide greater workplace flexibility, Obama will:
• Expand the Family and Medical Leave Act: The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides
eligible employees of larger employers (i.e., 50 or more employees) with 12 weeks of unpaid leave to
care for a family member’s or their own serious health condition. Barack Obama will guarantee that
millions more workers have access to FMLA leave by reducing the threshold for which employers are
covered from companies with 50 or more employees to those with 25 or more.
• Encourage States to Adopt Paid Leave: According to the National Partnership for Women and
Families, 78 percent of employees covered by the FMLA who have needed leave but have not taken it
report that it is because they could not afford to take unpaid leave. Of those employees who could not
afford leave, nearly 88 percent report that they would have taken leave if they had been able to receive
some pay while away from work. As president, Barack Obama will initiate a 50-state strategy to
encourage all of the states to adopt paid-leave systems. Obama will provide a $1.5 billion fund to assist
states with start-up costs and to help states offset the costs for employees and employers. Obama’s
Department of Labor will also provide technical information to the states on how to craft paid-leave
programs consistent with their local needs.
• Mandate A Reasonable Amount of Paid Sick Leave: Half of all private-sector workers have no paid
sick days. The problem is worse for employees in low-paying jobs where less than a quarter receive any
paid sick days. But sick days can be critical for workers with disabilities. For example, employees with
cancer may need to attend chemotherapy sessions or seek other intermittent treatments for their physical
or mental impairments. Barack Obama will require that employers provide seven paid sick days per
year – which may be taken on an hourly basis – so that Americans with disabilities can take the time off
they need without fear of losing their jobs or a paycheck.
• Protect Against Caregiver Discrimination: Workers with family obligations often are discriminated
against in the workplace. This is a growing problem, as evidenced by the skyrocketing number of
discrimination suits being filed: there has been a 400 percent increase in the number of family
responsibility discrimination lawsuits in the last decade. Obama will prevent family members from
being discriminated against because of caregiving responsibilities. Barack Obama will commit the
government to enforcing recently-enacted Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines on
caregiver discrimination.
IV. SUPPORTING INDEPENDENT, COMMUNITY-BASED LIVING FOR AMERICANS WITH
DISABILITIES
Assuring the Rights Affirmed in Olmstead v. L.C.: Barack Obama believes we still have considerable
progress to make in ensuring that the rights affirmed to Americans with disabilities in the Olmstead v. L.C.
decision, which required states to place people with mental disabilities in community settings rather than in
institutions when treatment professionals determine that community placement is appropriate. In addition to
supporting the Community Choice Act of 2007 and the CLASS Act of 2007, Obama believes that we should
further incentivize states to provide Americans with disabilities the ability to choose the most appropriate care
for their individual needs. Obama believes the federal government should help states increase the supply of
Printed in House
Paid for by Obama for America
high-quality community-based settings for individuals with disabilities by providing additional grants for new
communities and community expansions. And he believes the federal government needs to be diligent about
making sure the states enforce the rights affirmed by the Olmstead decision.
Supporting the Community Choice Act and Direct Care Workers: Barack Obama supports Senator Tom
Harkin’s (D-IA) Community Choice Act of 2007, which would allow Americans with significant disabilities the
choice of living in their community rather than having to live in a nursing home or other institution. The
legislation would expand community direct care services, with the goal of ensuring high-quality care for
Americans with disabilities. The current shortage of community direct care attendants is related to shortages in
other sectors of the economy – low pay, limited or no benefits and inflexible working hours. Obama supports
the Fair Home Health Care Act, which would extend minimum wage and overtime protections to direct care
attendants, and why he also supports raising the minimum wage and providing these workers – along with all
other Americans – access to high-quality, affordable health insurance. He also believes that we should
strengthen ties between community direct care settings and federal, state and local job training programs to
ensure that individuals receive information about job openings.
Supporting the CLASS Act: Currently 10 million Americans require long-term care, and that number is
expected to increase to 15 million by 2020. These Americans are often forced to give up their homes or
communities in order to receive the care they need. Barack Obama strongly supports the Community Living
Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act to create a voluntary, budget-neutral national insurance
program to help adults who have or develop functional disabilities to remain independent and in their
communities. Employees would have the option of enrolling through monthly $30 payroll deductions.
Individuals over 18 who had contributed premiums for five or more years would then be eligible for benefits if
they are unable to perform two or more activities of daily living (e.g., eating, bathing, dressing). Those benefits
could be used for housing modifications, assistive technologies, personal assistance services, transportation or
other supports to increase the ability of those with disabilities to find and keep jobs, and remain in their homes
and communities.
Streamline the Social Security Approval Process: The Social Security Administration (SSA) has been
consistently under-funded, resulting in unconscionable delays in initial claims determinations and hearings for
individuals applying for the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Social Security Supplement
Security Income (SSI) programs. The SSA's disability claims backlog has reached a record high of 755,000, up
from 311,000 in 2000. The average wait time for an appeals hearing averages 505 days and, in some cases, can
exceed three years. Barack Obama believes that it is unacceptable to have a system in which individuals lose
their homes or are forced to declare bankruptcy because the federal government cannot process their claims
quickly enough. Obama is committed to streamlining the current application and appeals procedures to reduce
the confusion that surrounds these important programs. As president, Obama will also ensure that the SSA has
the funding it needs to hire judges and staff and to invest in technology to expedite final decisions. Obama
supported the $150 million increase in the SSA's budget that was vetoed by President Bush this year. As
president, he will continue to work to ensure that the SSA has the resources it needs for hiring and to more
effectively process its caseloads.
Protect Voting Rights: Americans with disabilities have the same right to cast their vote as every other
American. That means that all polling places need to be physically accessible and all voting equipment must
allow Americans with disabilities to vote with the same privacy and independence as other voters. Yet as of
last year, over one third of states still had not provided at least one machine that would allow voters with
disabilities to cast a ballot privately and independently. Barack Obama believes this is unacceptable. He
supports fully funding the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) so that we can ensure all polling places are
accessible. His administration would also assure better enforcement of federal disability rights laws – from
Printed in House
Paid for by Obama for America
HAVA to the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act to the ADA – to make sure the right of
Americans with disabilities to vote is fully protected.
In addition, Obama forcefully opposes voter ID laws that require mandatory photo identification at polling
places, which would have the effect of disproportionately disenfranchising Americans with disabilities, more
than 3 million of whom lack a government-issued form of identification. Obama believes voter ID
requirements are unconstitutional. Obama led Senate opposition to national photo ID requirements and joined
an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court arguing that Indiana's voter ID law violates the 24th Amendment,
which prohibits any form of poll tax. In an Obama Administration, the voting rights of people with disabilities
and all Americans will be protected with the full force of the law.
Amending the Medicare “Homebound” Rule: Barack Obama supports amending the Medicare
“homebound” rule so that those with disabilities have the freedom to leave their homes without fear of having
their government benefits taken away. Obama believes that our Medicare policy must reflect the common sense
notion that community engagement and support is a vital component of a meaningful life. He looks forward to
amending the law to remove arbitrary measures of “acceptable” time away from home and further ensure that
individuals do not have benefits removed unfairly.
Investing in Assistive Technologies: Barack Obama believes we must use technology to make communitybased
living a reality for more people with disabilities. Obama supports the Fostering Independence Through
Technology Act, which offers 21st century solutions, such as home monitoring and communications
technologies, to overcoming barriers for people with disabilities. In addition, amending the Medicare
“Homebound” rule will assure that homebound people with disabilities are not denied certain vital assistive
living technologies just because they might occasionally be used outside the home.
Protecting the Safety of Individuals with Special Needs: One of the most devastating aspects of Hurricane
Katrina was that most of the stranded victims were society's most vulnerable members – low-income families,
the elderly, the homeless, and Americans with disabilities. Too many states and cities do not have adequate
plans in place to care for special-needs populations. Obama passed legislation to help states properly plan the
evacuation of individuals with special needs. He believes that this is only the first step in ensuring that the most
vulnerable individuals in local and national emergencies are adequately safeguarded.
Supporting Americans Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders: More than one million Americans live
with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a complex neurobiological condition that has a range of impacts on
thinking, feeling, language, and the ability to relate to others. As diagnostic criteria broaden and awareness
increases, more cases of ASD have been recognized across the country. Barack Obama believes we need to
research treatments and search for the causes of ASD. He has been a strong supporter of more than $1 billion in
federal funding for ASD research on the root causes and treatments. Obama believes we must work to
guarantee that Americans with ASD can live independent and fully productive lives and to assure that their
families understand and are able to support a loved one with ASD. Obama will fully fund the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act to ensure that no child with ASD or any other disability is left behind. Obama will
also fight to assure that the government and our communities work together to provide a helping hand to people
with ASD and their families.
Obama has a long record supporting people with ASD. In the state senate, Obama sponsored legislation that
became law to create the ASD Program - a systems development initiative designed to promote the
implementation of evidence-based practices. And in the U.S. Senate, Obama is also a cosponsor of a measure
that would expand federal funding for life-long services for people with ASD, authorizing approximately $350
Printed in House
Paid for by Obama for America
million in new federal funding for key programs related to treatments, interventions and services for both
children and adults with ASD.
Strengthen VA Specialty Care: Advances in technology have meant that the survival rate for U.S.
servicemembers is higher now than in any previous conflict. There will be a long-term need for strengthened
specialty care within the VA, including additional polytrauma centers as well as centers of excellence for
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), PTSD, vision impairment, prosthetics, spinal cord injury, aging, women’s health
and other specialized rehabilitative care. In the Senate, Barack Obama has supported the expansion of PTSD
and TBI centers of excellence and cosponsored an innovative bipartisan measure to encourage students
specializing in vision care and rehabilitation to work in the VA. As president, he will expand the number of
these centers of excellence and invest in specialty care.

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 2 replies

fiscal

2008-05-17T19:32:03Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/fiscal/

lan for Restoring Fiscal Discipline

“The cost of our debt is one of the fastest growing expenses in the federal budget. This rising debt is a hidden domestic enemy, robbing our cities and states of critical investments in infrastructure like bridges, ports, and levees; robbing our families and our children of critical investments in education and health care reform; robbing our seniors of the retirement and health security they have counted on. . . . If Washington were serious about honest tax relief in this country, we'd see an effort to reduce our national debt by returning to responsible fiscal policies.”

— Barack Obama, Speech in the U.S. Senate, March 13, 2006

At a Glance

* Restore Fiscal Discipline to Washington
* Make the Tax System More Fair and Efficient

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas

Watch the Video
The Problem

Increasing Debt: Under President Bush, the federal debt has increased from $5.7 trillion to $8.8 trillion, an increase of more than 50 percent.

Irresponsible Tax Cuts: President Bush's policies of giving tax breaks for the wealthy will cost the nation over $2.3 trillion by the time they expire in 2009.
Barack Obama's Plan
Restore Fiscal Discipline to Washington

* Reinstate PAYGO Rules: Obama believes that a critical step in restoring fiscal discipline is enforcing pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) budgeting rules which require new spending commitments or tax changes to be paid for by cuts to other programs or new revenue.
* Reverse Bush Tax Cuts for the Wealthy: Obama will protect tax cuts for poor and middle class families, but he will reverse most of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest taxpayers.
* Cut Pork Barrel Spending: Obama introduced and passed bipartisan legislation that would require more disclosure and transparency for special-interest earmarks. Obama believes that spending that cannot withstand public scrutiny cannot be justified. Obama will slash earmarks to no greater than year 2001 levels and ensure all spending decisions are open to the public.
* Make Government Spending More Accountable and Efficient: Obama will ensure that federal contracts over $25,000 are competitively bid. Obama will also increase the efficiency of government programs through better use of technology, stronger management that demands accountability and by leveraging the government's high-volume purchasing power to get lower prices.
* End Wasteful Government Spending: Obama will stop funding wasteful, obsolete federal government programs that make no financial sense. Obama has called for an end to subsidies for oil and gas companies that are enjoying record profits, as well as the elimination of subsidies to the private student loan industry which has repeatedly used unethical business practices. Obama will also tackle wasteful spending in the Medicare program.

Make the Tax System More Fair and Efficient

* End Tax Haven Abuse: Building on his bipartisan work in the Senate, Obama will give the Treasury Department the tools it needs to stop the abuse of tax shelters and offshore tax havens and help close the $350 billion tax gap between taxes owed and taxes paid.
* Close Special Interest Corporate Loopholes: Obama will level the playing field for all businesses by eliminating special-interest loopholes and deductions, such as those for the oil and gas industry.

Barack Obama's Record

* PAYGO: Obama voted in 2005, 2006, and 2007 to reinstate pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) federal budget rules.
* No-Bid Contracts: Obama has introduced and helped pass bipartisan legislation to limit the abuse of no-bid federal contracts.
* Against Raising the Federal Debt Limit: In 2006, Obama voted against misguided Republican efforts to raise the statutory debt limit at the same time the Republicans were pushing through massive debt-financed tax cuts for the wealthy.

For More Information about Barack's Plan

(PDF)Read the Plan

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 2 replies

urban policy

2008-05-17T19:31:24Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/urbanpolicy/

Plan to Stimulate Urban Prosperity

“Americans work harder than the people of any other wealthy nation. We are willing to tolerate more economic instability and are willing to take more personal risks to get ahead. But we can only compete if our government makes the investments that give us a fighting chance – and if we know our families have some net beneath which they cannot fall.”

— Barack Obama, "The Audacity of Hope"

At a Glance

* Strengthen Federal Commitment to our Cities
* Stimulate Economic Prosperity in our Metropolitan Regions
* Housing
* Poverty
* Urban Education
* Crime and Law Enforcement
* Strengthen Homeland Security
* Support Families

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas

The Problem

Failing Commitment to America's Economic Centers: Today, government programs aimed at strengthening metropolitan areas are spread across the federal government with insufficient coordination or strategy. Worse, many federal programs inadvertently undermine cities and regions by encouraging inefficient and costly patterns of development and local competition.
Barack Obama's Plan
Strengthen Federal Commitment to our Cities

* Create a White House Office on Urban Policy: Obama will create a White House Office of Urban Policy to develop a strategy for metropolitan America and to ensure that all federal dollars targeted to urban areas are effectively spent on the highest-impact programs. The Director of Urban Policy will report directly to the president and coordinate all federal urban programs.
* Fully Fund the Community Development Block Grant: In the long run, regions are only as strong as their people and neighborhoods. The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is an important program that provides housing and creating jobs primarily for low- and moderate-income people and places. Barack Obama has fought against Bush Administration cuts to the CDBG program and, as president, he will restore funding for the CDBG program.
* Do No Harm: Barack Obama does not support imposing unfunded mandates on states and localities. Obama strongly supports providing necessary funding for programs such as No Child Left Behind.

Stimulate Economic Prosperity in our Metropolitan Regions

* Support Job Creation: The federal government has a role to play to ensure that every American is able to work at his or her highest capacity. Barack Obama will double federal funding for basic research, expand the deployment of broadband technology and make the research and development tax credit permanent so that businesses can invest in innovation and create high-paying, secure jobs.
* Enhance Workforce Training: Obama will make long-term investments in education, language training, and workforce development so that Americans can leverage our strengths – our ingenuity and entrepreneurialism – to create new high-wage jobs and prosper in a global economy. A critical part of this process is ensuring that we reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and ensure that it strengthens federal investments needed for success in the 21st Century.
* Increase Access to Capital for Underserved Businesses: Barack Obama will strengthen Small Business Administration programs that provide capital to women and minority-owned businesses, support outreach programs that help business owners apply for loans, and work to encourage the growth and capacity of these firms. Obama will also strengthen Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which are engaged in innovative methods to provide capital to urban businesses.
* Create a National Network of Public-Private Business Incubators: Barack Obama will support entrepreneurship and spur job growth by creating a national network of public-private business incubators, which facilitate the critical work of entrepreneurs in creating start-up companies. Obama will invest $250 million per year to increase the number and size of incubators in urban communities throughout the country.
* Convert our Manufacturing Centers into Clean Technology Leaders: America boasts the highest-skilled manufacturing workforce in the world and advanced manufacturing facilities that have powered economic growth in America for decades. Barack Obama believes that America is at a competitive advantage when it comes to building the high-demand technologies of the future, and he will help nurture America's success in clean technology manufacturing by establishing a federal investment program to help manufacturing centers modernize.
* Strengthen Core Infrastructure: Barack Obama will make strengthening our transportation systems, including our roads and bridges, a top priority. As part of this effort, Obama will create a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank to expand and enhance, not supplant, existing federal transportation investments. These projects will create up to two million new direct and indirect jobs per year and stimulate approximately $35 billion per year in new economic activity.
* Improve Access to Jobs: America's families and businesses depend upon workers having reasonable access to their places of employment. Barack Obama will double the federal Jobs Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program to ensure that additional federal public transportation dollars flow to the highest-need communities and that urban planning initiatives take this aspect of transportation policy into account. The Obama urban agenda will also help facilitate the creation of new jobs in underserved economic areas, so more low-income urban residents can find employment within their home communities.
* Invest in a Skilled Clean Technologies Workforce: Obama will increase funding for federal workforce training programs and direct these programs to incorporate green technologies training, such as advanced manufacturing and weatherization training, into their efforts to help Americans find and retain stable jobs. Obama will also create an energy-focused youth jobs program to invest in disconnected and disadvantaged youth.

HOUSING

* Create a New FHA Housing Security Program: Barack Obama believes we must ensure that the American dream of homeownership can continue. Obama strongly supports the efforts of Senate Banking Committee Chair Chris Dodd (D–CT) to create a new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) program that will provide meaningful incentives for lenders to buy or refinance existing mortgages and convert them into stable 30-year fixed mortgages.
* Create Fund to Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosures: Obama will create a Foreclosure Prevention Fund to help people refinance their mortgages and provide comprehensive supports to innocent homeowners. The fund will also assist individuals who purchased homes that are simply too expensive for their income levels by helping them sell their homes. The fund will be partially paid for by Obama's increased penalties on lenders who acted irresponsibly and committed fraud.
* Lower People's Interest Payments by Creating a New Mortgage Interest Tax Credit: Many middle class Americans do not receive the existing mortgage interest tax deduction because they do not itemize their taxes. Obama will ensure that middle-class Americans get the financial assistance they need to purchase or keep their own home by creating a 10 percent universal mortgage credit that gives tax relief to 10 million Americans who have a home mortgage.
* Provide an Additional $10 Billion of Mortgage Revenue Bond Authority: Mortgage Revenue Bonds (MRBs) are used to refinance subprime loans and provide mortgages for first time homebuyers. Barack Obama will provide $10 billion in additional MRBs. According to the National Association of Home Builders, every new mortgage revenue bond home loan produces almost two full-time jobs, $75,000 in additional wages and salaries and $41,000 in new federal, state and local revenues.
* Increase the Supply of Affordable Housing throughout Metropolitan Regions: Communities prosper when all families have access to affordable housing. Barack Obama will create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund to develop affordable housing in mixed-income neighborhoods. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund would use a small percentage of the profits of two government-sponsored housing agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to create thousands of new units of affordable housing every year. Barack Obama will also restore cuts to public housing operating subsidies, and ensure that all Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs are restored to their original purpose.

POVERTY

* Establish 'Promise Neighborhoods' for Areas of Concentrated Poverty: Successful strategies to address concentrated, intergenerational poverty are comprehensive in nature and address the full range of obstacles that stand in the way of poor children. One highly-acclaimed model is the Harlem Children's Zone in New York City, which provides a full network of services to an entire neighborhood from birth to college. Obama will create 20 Promise Neighborhoods in cities that have high levels of poverty and crime and low levels of student academic achievement.
* Increase the Minimum Wage: As president, Obama will raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2011 and index it to inflation so full-time workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation, and housing – things so many people take for granted.
* Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit: In the Illinois State Senate, Obama led the successful effort to create the $100 million Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). As president, Obama will reward work by increasing the number of working parents eligible for EITC benefits, increasing the benefit available to noncustodial parents who support their children through child support payments, increasing the benefit for families with three or more children, and reducing the EITC marriage penalty which hurts low-income families.
* Help Low-Income Workers Enter the Job Market: As president, Obama will invest $1 billion over five years in transitional jobs and career pathways programs that implement proven methods of helping low-income Americans succeed in the workforce. This investment will be coupled with other measures to encourage the private sector and state and local governments to increase their support of these effective employment programs.

STRENGTHEN LIVABILITY OF CITIES

* Build More Livable and Sustainable Communities: Our communities will better serve all of their residents if we are able to leave our cars, to walk, bicycle and access other transportation alternatives. As president, Barack Obama will re-evaluate the transportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account.
* Control Superfund Sites and Data: As president, Obama will restore the strength of the Superfund program by requiring polluters to pay for the cleanup of contaminated sites they created.
* Use Innovative Measures to Dramatically Improve Efficiency of Buildings: Buildings account for nearly 40 percent of carbon emissions in the United States today and carbon emissions from buildings are expected to grow faster than emissions from other major parts of our economy. It is expected that 15 million new buildings will be constructed between today and 2015. Barack Obama will work with cities so that we make our new and existing buildings more efficient consumers of electricity.
* Foster Healthy Communities: How a community is designed – including the layout of its roads, buildings and parks – has a huge impact on the health of its residents. For instance, nearly one-third of Americans live in neighborhoods without sidewalks and less than half of our country's children have a playground within walking distance of their homes. Barack Obama introduced the Healthy Places Act to help local governments assess the health impact of new policies and projects, like highways or shopping centers.

URBAN EDUCATION

* Support Teachers in Urban Schools: Barack Obama values teachers and the central role that they play in education. To ensure competent, effective teachers in schools that are organized for success, Obama's K-12 plan will expand service scholarships to underwrite high-quality preparation for teachers who commit to working in underserved districts and support ongoing improvements in teacher education.
* Expand Early Childhood Education: Obama has a comprehensive "Zero to Five" plan to provide critical supports to young children and their parents by investing $10 billion per year to create: Early Learning Challenge Grants to stimulate and help fund state "zero to five" efforts; quadruple the number of eligible children for Early Head Start and increase Head Start funding and improve quality for both; work to ensure all children have access to pre-school; and create a Presidential Early Learning Council to increase collaboration and program coordination across federal, state, and local levels.
* Reduce the High School Dropout Rate: The warning signs for high school drop-outs often occur well before high school. Obama will sign into law his "Success in the Middle Act" to improve the education of middle school students in low-performing schools. Obama will also establish a competitive grant process for entities pursuing evidence-based models that have been proven to reduce dropouts.

CRIME AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

* Support Local Law Enforcement: Barack Obama is committed to fully funding the COPS program to combat crime and help address police brutality and accountability issues in local communities. Obama also supports efforts to encourage young people to enter the law enforcement profession, so that our local police departments are not understaffed because of a dearth of qualified applicants.
* Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Supports: America is facing an incarceration and post-incarceration crisis in urban communities. Obama will create a prison-to-work incentive program, modeled on the successful Welfare-to-Work Partnership and work to reform correctional systems to break down barriers for ex-offenders to find employment.
* End the Dangerous Cycle of Youth Violence: As president, Barack Obama will support innovative local programs, such as the CeaseFire program in Chicago, that have been proven to work. Such programs implement a comprehensive public health approach that implements a community-based strategy to prevent youth violence. He will also double funding for federal afterschool programs and invest in 20 Promise Neighborhoods across the country to ensure that urban youth have meaningful opportunities to succeed.
* Address Gun Violence in Cities: As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama also favors commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn't have them. He supports closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. He also supports making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.
* End Racial Profiling: Barack Obama cosponsored federal legislation to ban racial profiling and require federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to take steps to eliminate the practice. He introduced and passed a law in the Illinois State Senate requiring the Illinois Department of Transportation to record the race, age, and gender of all drivers stopped for traffic violations so that bias could be detected and addressed.

STRENGTHEN HOMELAND SECURITY

* Allocate Funds Based on Risk: Barack Obama believes that the president and Congress should direct our precious homeland security dollars according to risk, not as a form of general revenue sharing. To address this pressing issue, Obama introduced an amendment, supported by the Families of 9/11 and former 9/11 Commissioners Lee Hamilton and Tim Roemer, to increase risk-based funding in the 9/11 bill.
* Prepare Effective Emergency Response Plans: As our nation witnessed in the Hurricane Katrina crisis and its aftermath, too many localities do not have integrated emergency response plans to handle disasters. As president, Obama will further improve coordination between all levels of government, create better evacuation plan guidelines, ensure prompt federal assistance to emergency zones, and increase medical surge capacity.
* Improve Interoperable Communications Systems: Barack Obama supports efforts to provide greater technical assistance to local and state first responders and dramatically increase funding for reliable, interoperable communications systems.
* Safeguard Mass Public Transportation: Every weekday, Americans take 34 million trips on public transportation systems to get to work, school and beyond. Obama will fight for greater information-sharing between national intelligence agents and local officials and provide local law enforcement agencies with the everyday tools they need to protect their transportation systems.

SUPPORT FAMILIES

* Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families: Barack Obama will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers the tax relief they deserve. Obama will create a new "Making Work Pay" tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family.
* Strengthening Fatherhood and Families: Since 1960, the number of American children without fathers in their lives has quadrupled, from 6 million to more than 24 million. As president, Obama will sign his Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Act into law to remove some of the government penalties on married families, crack down on men avoiding child support payments, ensure that support payments go to families instead of state bureaucracies, fund support services for fathers and their families, and support domestic violence prevention efforts.
* Support Parents with Young Children: Barack Obama would expand the highly successful Nurse-Family Partnership to all low-income, first-time mothers. The Nurse-Family Partnership provides home visits by trained registered nurses to low-income expectant mothers and their families. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis concluded that these programs produced an average of five dollars in savings for every dollar invested and produced more than $28,000 in net savings for every high-risk family enrolled in the program.
* Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities: Barack Obama will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children.
* Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides too little relief to families that struggle to afford child care expenses. Barack Obama will reform the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by making it refundable and allowing low-income families to receive up to a 50 percent credit for their child care expenses.
* Cap Outlandish Interest Rates on Payday Loans and Improve Disclosure: In the wake of reports that some service members were paying 800 percent interest on payday loans, the U.S. Congress took bipartisan action to limit interest rates charged to service members to 36 percent. Barack Obama believes that we must extend this protection to all Americans, because predatory lending continues to be a major problem for low and middle income families alike.
* Encourage Responsible Lending Institutions to Make Small Consumer Loans: Some mainstream, responsible lending institutions are beginning to enter the short-term lending market to provide many Americans with fair alternatives to predatory lending institutions. Barack Obama will work with his Secretary of Treasury and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to encourage banks, credit unions and Community Development Financial Institutions to provide affordable short-term and small dollar loans – and to drive the sharks out of business.

Barack Obama's Record

* Community Development Block Grants: In the U.S. Senate in 2005 and 2006, Obama worked with a bipartisan coalition of Senators to block Administration-proposed cuts to the CDBG program.
* Economic Growth: In 2003, Obama was the chief cosponsor of a successful Illinois State Senate bill establishing the Illinois Investment and Development Authority to support the creation and growth of community development financial institutions. Obama was the chief sponsor of bills that sought to increase the number of Illinois "enterprise zones" and expand the number of years they could be in service. Enterprise zones provide incentives to help stagnant local economies grow.

For More Information about Barack's Plan

(PDF)Read the Urban Policy Plan
(PDF)Read the Mortgage Plan

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 1 reply

/civilrights/

2008-05-17T19:30:48Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/civilrights/

Plan to Strengthen Civil Rights

“The teenagers and college students who left their homes to march in the streets of Birmingham and Montgomery; the mothers who walked instead of taking the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry and cleaning somebody else's kitchen — they didn't brave fire hoses and Billy clubs so that their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren would still wonder at the beginning of the 21st century whether their vote would be counted; whether their civil rights would be protected by their government; whether justice would be equal and opportunity would be theirs. . . . We have more work to do.”

— Barack Obama, Speech at Howard University, September 28, 2007

At a Glance

* Strengthen Civil Rights Enforcement
* Combat Employment Discrimination
* Expand Hate Crimes Statutes
* End Deceptive Voting Practices
* End Racial Profiling
* Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Support
* Eliminate Sentencing Disparities
* Expand Use of Drug Courts

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas

The Problem

Pay Inequity Continues: For every $1.00 earned by a man, the average woman receives only 77 cents, while African American women only get 67 cents and Latinas receive only 57 cents.

Hate Crimes on the Rise: The number of hate crimes increased nearly 8 percent to 7,700 incidents in 2006.

Efforts Continue to Suppress the Vote: A recent study discovered numerous organized efforts to intimidate, mislead and suppress minority voters.

Disparities Continue to Plague Criminal Justice System: African Americans and Hispanics are more than twice as likely as whites to be searched, arrested, or subdued with force when stopped by police. Disparities in drug sentencing laws, like the differential treatment of crack as opposed to powder cocaine, are unfair.
Barack Obama's Plan
Strengthen Civil Rights Enforcement

Obama will reverse the politicization that has occurred in the Bush Administration's Department of Justice. He will put an end to the ideological litmus tests used to fill positions within the Civil Rights Division.
Combat Employment Discrimination

Obama will work to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails racial minorities' and women's ability to challenge pay discrimination. Obama will also pass the Fair Pay Act to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work.
Expand Hate Crimes Statutes

Obama will strengthen federal hate crimes legislation and reinvigorate enforcement at the Department of Justice's Criminal Section.
End Deceptive Voting Practices

Obama will sign into law his legislation that establishes harsh penalties for those who have engaged in voter fraud and provides voters who have been misinformed with accurate and full information so they can vote.
End Racial Profiling

Obama will ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies and provide federal incentives to state and local police departments to prohibit the practice.
Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Support

Obama will provide job training, substance abuse and mental health counseling to ex-offenders, so that they are successfully re-integrated into society. Obama will also create a prison-to-work incentive program to improve ex-offender employment and job retention rates.
Eliminate Sentencing Disparities

Obama believes the disparity between sentencing crack and powder-based cocaine is wrong and should be completely eliminated.
Expand Use of Drug Courts

Obama will give first-time, non-violent offenders a chance to serve their sentence, where appropriate, in the type of drug rehabilitation programs that have proven to work better than a prison term in changing bad behavior.
Barack Obama's Record

Record of Advocacy: Obama has worked to promote civil rights and fairness in the criminal justice system throughout his career. As a community organizer, Obama helped 150,000 African Americans register to vote. As a civil rights lawyer, Obama litigated employment discrimination, housing discrimination, and voting rights cases. As a State Senator, Obama passed one of the country's first racial profiling laws and helped reform a broken death penalty system. And in the U.S. Senate, Obama has been a leading advocate for protecting the right to vote, helping to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act and leading the opposition against discriminatory barriers to voting.
For More Information about Barack's Plan

(PDF)Read the Plan
Speech at the Howard University Convocation

(PDF)Download the Blueprint for Change

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 2 replies

microplatform me

2008-05-17T19:30:21Z

Greetings, here are the materials which I thought I might offer you. I am sure you will notice probably fairly quickly that I didn’t manage to come down to 250 words. Sorry,
That was just tooo short. I hope you will agree that I am still in the larger ballpark and that my informational density makes it worth it to just slip most of it “under the fold.”
I have attached a considerable references section to each and I hope that you can see where this is where the real educational level opportunity comes in. For the most part
Those references are within the top pages of the current search engines. And thus represent a popular cross section of different relative viewpoints.

I don’t really know how you wish to work out any other particulars, but what I envisioned was a sort of corner of the blog so as not to be right in the way of main
Traffic, with a heavy emphasis on group participation being about problem solving
Process not opinionated chit chat. Trying to parse down to that small really made me choose carefully esp. when it comes to the things you think must be said versus what people are really ready to hear without seizing up from programmed emotional triggers.
If you want to edit it down further, or, talk with me about the content, and possible
Revisions, there is certainly a lot of flex in how hot I can deliver. My assumption here
Was that neutral was good but that coming from the place of what the knowledge suggests is best rather than trying to finesse around anybodies egg shells. I can be gentler,
Or harsher, I don’t know what you want from me that way.

The important thing in my mind is to offer people the chance to learn as well as vent,
And possibly to do some good by educating people about what they are venting over.
There is a sort of critical mass point where such a blog could become a sort of super
Think machine, and where the participants could start really driving off into extraordinary problem solving process. The question is how to facilitate that. If I play
My hand the way god dealt it to me, I am sort of a propaganda warrior VS all propaganda. Unfortunately, the scent of soldier sometimes throws people. Lol. On the other hand, if I have a person who is a good counterbalance, who asks me the hard questions driving from the moderate conservative sort of perspective, it can work really well. On the other hand, I can do more self censorship depending on the meta-program parameters you provide. Let me know how best to serve you so that we can serve the
Community together well.

Well, Here they are; hope you like them.

ETHICS General

1. Endeavor to do the least possible or no harm to all persons, property, life, liberty, livelihood, environment, self, others, family, community, Country, World, Economies,
Children, Elders, Workers, Voters, and Ecosystems. (And so forth.)
2. Endeavor to make all of ones labor to meet ones own needs also coincide with the maximum energy potential of benefit to others. Practice the law of charity and reap
the rewards of the law of karma. Give your best to others and go the extra mile, for the
good of all, for the benefit of all of ones relations.
3. Emotions derive from primary instincts. Flight renders fear and fight renders Rage.
4. Emotional Energies are best resolved via right action problem solving process, not
allowing emotion to guide or control ones thinking or process.
5. The 1st and second principle applies as a matrix to the whole Needs Pyramid. That Pyramid consists of Physical needs at the base, social needs, emotional needs, mental
needs and spiritual needs at the top.
6. We only move up through the pyramid of needs one need at a time and in order of
priority for survival. Needs are coded as instincts that drive all of human behavior. All
behavior is tactic to meet ones needs. Behavior which harms others or which fails to benefit the whole of society is unethical behavior, but it must be understood to exist
as a psychology which is an instinct attached to a bad problem solving tactic. People
only act to meet their needs, if they act badly, what they need to act better is a better
tactic.
7. Thus do no harm and work for the good of all as you climb your pyramid of needs
and be cognizant of what your needs are, and lucid in terms of having good tactics that
are socially beneficial for meeting your needs.
8. Most morality can be expressed as iterations of the do no harm rule. Do no harm against ones relationship with spirit, Do no harm which would kill another person, do no
harm by stealing or thieving, do no harm by potentially transmitting STDS i.e., law against
Adultery, the list goes on etc; most of the Ten Commandments can be rewritten as specific details of the do no harm rule.
9. Ethics is the process of reconciling the needs of society with the drives of the Reptilian
and Mammalian Brain and thus Ethics are the laws of nature which allow us to exist in
peace as a culture or society instead of continuing the law of the jungle.
10. We are spirits in animal bodies, and there is a law of the jungle under our skins which must be somehow evolved and cultivated into cooperation (and cooperative
process) rather than violence (and violence as a problem solving process.) The law of the jungle is violence. The law of Angels is Cooperation.
11. Everything is connected to everything else, thus anything you do to another you do
to yourself. This becomes increasingly true as the law of karma carries out its permutation selections of what would otherwise be random chance rendering thus
synchronicities.
12. A person cannot obtain waking altered states of consciousness until they resolve
the assorted shadow issues of the Mammalian and Reptilian Mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/ET/
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/e/ethics.htm
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/whatisethics.html
http://ethics.sandiego.edu/
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/lymedisease/112259
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/228/execution-ethics.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primum_non_nocere
http://www.conbio.org/cip/article74har.cfm
http://www.ascensionhealth.org/ethics/public/issues/good.asp
http://skeptically.org/ethicsutility/id10.html
http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geu677vSFGnkoBelxXNyoA?p=Ethics++%22for+the+good+of+all%22&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-501&x=wrt
http://www.globaljusticemovement.org/mission_ethics.htm

http://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/1Cr/1Cr013.html
http://scriptures.lds.org/1_cor/13
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_cor/13/1a?cr=1
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bd/c/41
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_Corinthians_13

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/karma1.htm
http://world.std.com/~aditya/BB/Law%20of%20KARMA4.htm
http://www.ncf.ca/freenet/rootdir/menus/sigs/religion/buddhism/introduction/truths/karma2.html
http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/issues/2002/fall/karma_panel_fall02.htm
http://www.purifymind.com/YogaKarma.htm
http://www.purifymind.com/UnderstandKarma.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_a_needle
http://www.eyeoftheneedle.net/Church%20Traditions/eye_of_a_needle.htm
http://www.debunker.com/texts/needleye.html
http://www.shamar.org/articles/camel-needle.php

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/instinct
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instinct
http://www.actualfreedom.com.au/library/topics/instincts.htm
http://drbeetle.homestead.com/mindrules.html
http://www.neurosemantics.com/Stuttering/stress_pattern.htm

http://www.barrettdorko.com/articles/supress.htm
http://www.fortunecity.com/millenium/blossom/309/mindinbrain.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs
http://crs.uvm.edu/gopher/nerl/group/b/c/PyN.html
http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/psychology/maslow_pyramid.html
http://www.businessballs.com/maslow.htm

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sumer_anunnaki/reptiles/reptiles14.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0817-13.htm
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/Anthro/Anth206/culture_in_thought_and_practice.htm
http://www.atam.org/SerpentBrain.html
http://www.psycheducation.org/emotion/R%20complex.htm
http://www.geocities.com/somewherereal/YourBrain.html

PSYCHOLOGY General
1.Psychology is the study of the human mind. Most specifically the psyche, most generally All of human behavior.
2. The human Brain is composed of between 40 and 70 different organs, depending upon
how you define differences. These are called brodmanns brain areas. Each brain area
is responsible for specific types of brain processes and mental functions.
3. The human mind has four main operational conditions, they are beta brainwave states, alpha brainwave states, delta brainwave states, and theta brainwave states. Each of these might be further subdivided into waking or sleeping states of consciousness.
4. Beta brainwave states are those in which the dominant area of the brain is the frontal lobes. Alpha brainwave states are those in which the dominant area of the brain is the Mammalian brain or Occipital lobes, and Delta brainwaves states are those where the brain is dominated by the Reptilian Brain or brain stem. Theta brain wave states are
a second waking condition in which the body is healed, or, in which the normal flow of
dominance from top of brain to bottom of brain is reversed, and the bottom of the brain
loads information into the top, which is then experienced as dreams.
5. We have instincts which compel us to seek out gratification of our needs. All behavior is motivated by a conscious or unconscious belief that said behavior will get some need met.
6. Psychology involves first an instinct, which compels a thought process, and then a planning or strategizing session in which the individual uses their maps of reality and belief systems as well as learned knowledge and social conditioning to arrive at an end
product of doing something to get what you want. Schema are maps of reality which we
use as tools to meet our needs .Social Conditioning and personal experience and learning
play vital roles in helping the mind to think up tactics to meet needs.
7. Criminal behavior is behavior which that person believes will get their needs met. Punishment was well demonstrated to have little or no effect on learning curve. What is required for a person to change their behavior is a functional tactic that does work to get their needs met.
8. Groupthink is a social phenomenon of psychology where a group uses false
consensus process to end up behaving stupidly as a group. Groupthink occurs when
people cave into social pressures, where propaganda replaces knowledge or facts, and where group identity is created out of participation in group delusions, lies, codependency, or criminality. Groupthink is how a mob drifts to the lowest common denominator, and why a mob is potentially vicious, evil, and sociopathic. Group
authority ameliorates and dissolves personal conscience, and by having their emotions
manipulated and their social identity threatened, people give up their own better judgment and accept the judgment of the most psychopathic member of the group.
9. Pack Psychology is the psychology exhibited primarily by mammals in small groups
in which 3 primary roles are assumed by social participants. The roles are Alpha- the leader, Beta- the followers, and Delta- the orbiters. In human society that translates in a super-simplified way into bullies, cliques, and nerds.
10. Problem solving psychology must contend against groupthink and pack psychology in the arena of opinion. Problem solving psychology is emotionally neutral and uses the mind and logic to look at all aspects of a problem and try to come up with a viable problem solving process. Problem solving psychology is the worst enemy of both
Rightist and Leftist Dogmatists. True problem solving psychology comes from the place of the radical middle. It takes in all sides and all viewpoints, and it gives each its fair dues
And attention in creating a problem solving process that works from the big picture down through into the nano details.

Psychology;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology
http://psychology.about.com/
http://www.psychology.org/
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-psychlgy.html
http://www.socialpsychology.org/

Brodmanns brain areas and etc;
http://www.umich.edu/~cogneuro/jpg/Brodmann.html
http://spot.colorado.edu/~dubin/talks/brodmann/brodmann.html
http://www.whale.to/b/brain.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brodmann_area
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regions_in_the_human_brain
http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/capsules/outil_jaune05.html
http://www.csuchico.edu/~pmccaff/syllabi/CMSD%20320/362unit4.html
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/qa2.html

brainwaves;
http://www.brainwaves.com/brain.html
http://pages.prodigy.net/unohu/brainwaves.htm
http://brain.web-us.com/brainwavesfunction.htm
http://www.crossroadsinstitute.org/eeg.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainwaves

SOCIOLOGY General
1. Sociology is the study of groups of people, how they interact, how they create and hold group structures and group identities, how they band together, how they deal with conflicts, and everything that whole groups of people do.
2. Sociology studies social units such as families, packs, tribes, villages, cities, hives, herds, and mobs.
3. The precarious balance of true democracy is that society must balance social welfare and social support and services against the counterweight of free enterprise. If the balance falls off towards social welfare, the society falls into entropy as the government destroys
private enterprise to fund social services. The result is socialism, which always decays into its own form of totalitarianism. If the balance falls off the other way, then free enterprise results in a plutocracy and then an oligarchy followed by mild oligarchic mercantilist fascism and then a severe oligarchic fascism. Socialism is not a whole goal
or endpoint we wish to arrive at, but the system "as is" is out of balance resulting in a corporate oligarchy. The only way to fix this is to return the power back to the people and
restore a genuine democracy.
4. Sociology understands that social phenomenon are very complicated, and that social problems have many underlying contributing causes for any given effect. Oversimplification, blaming, black and white thinking, and false dilemmas do not help to solve problems in a real way.
5. People are conditioned to behave by their social environment. Personal responsibility is important, but where statistics show a trend in negative or antisocial behaviors, Society
as a whole must shoulder some part of the blame and work to improve conditions socially
just as it works to rehabilitate the criminal, so should it seek to rehabilitate itself.
6. People have several layers of personal space, a psychological truth which is mostly subliminal, but which nonetheless governs almost all social interactions. People should learn to consciously understand personal space to cut down on miscommunication and stress due to problems handling personal space issues.
7. The best way to run a democratic system is by using consensus process to the point of
a clear and overwhelming (two thirds) majority. Consensus process means talking about and working out issues and differences to arrive at a mutually beneficial compromise much of the time.
8. The best guardian of the balance between socialism and free enterprise is intellectual meritocracy. A functional society should be free of propaganda, should not have anti-intellectualism, and should consider ideas on their rational merit, not according to what
others have to say or social pressures, but by means of a reproducible rational problem
solving application of intelligence and knowledge.

Sociology Introduction;
http://www.thomsonedu.com/thomsonedu/discipline.do?disciplinenumber=14
http://www.polity.co.uk/sociology/sociology_txtbks.asp
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/007240535x/student_view0/chapter1/chapter_summary.html
http://www.sdsmt.edu/online-courses/is/soc100/Intro.htm
http://www.sdsmt.edu/online-courses/is/soc100/course.html
http://www2.wwnorton.com/college/soc/giddens5/
http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/~wood/207syl.htm
http://core.ecu.edu/soci/juskaa/SOCI2110/soci1.htm

Types of Government;
http://stutzfamily.com/mrstutz/WorldAffairs/typesofgovt.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/world/united_nations/types_of_government/newsid_2151000/2151570.stm
http://home.earthlink.net/~kingsidebishop/id2.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Form_of_government
http://www.twyman-whitney.com/americancitizen/foundations/types_of_government.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_forms_of_government

Social Conditioning;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_conditioning
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070406120833AAzVVlZ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_learning_theory
http://www.dailyom.com/articles/2006/4952.html
http://changingminds.org/techniques/conversion/social_psychological_conditioning.htm
http://www.winthrop.edu/english/nosearch/core/social.htm

Pavlov;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Pavlov
http://www.psyhist.com/conditioning.html
http://www.sntp.net/behaviorism/pavlov.htm
http://users.cwnet.com/phelps/pavlov.htm
http://forerunner.com/forerunner/X0497_DeMar_-_Behaviorism.html
http://tip.psychology.org/skinner.html
http://www.brembs.net/operant/
http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/introopcond.htm

EDUCATION REFORM General
1. Curiosity drives learning if it is allowed to do so and not shut down.
2. Curiosity is shut down via the current system, creating the ADD disorder sudden appearance on the charts. One half of ADD is a person who can’t pay attention. The other half is a boring culture, delivery of information modus
operandi.
3. Curiosity driven learning involves more brain area participation. If a person doesn’t really like their experience, the subconscious mind edits it and doesn’t learn from it. Using curiosity driven learning potentially accelerates the learning curve such that it would not be unreasonable for the society of the future to expect the equivalent of a multiple PhD education from High School.
4. The largest obstacle to curiosity driven learning is the current student to teacher ratio. Curiosity driven learning requires a personal curriculum to be developed per child, an enormous labor process for most teachers. The cure is to use peer tutoring, and older child tutoring in conjunction with professional testers. Teachers are being asked do two different jobs, Teaching and Testing. Testing is incredibly underutilized. How can you know what a child is ready to learn if you have not learned from them who they are and what they know already?
5. The second largest obstacle is a lazy educational system which must be corrected
and re-educated itself. The educational paradigm being taught for use is not the one which is being taught in reform education psychology and sociology classes.
6. The first battery of tests should be; IQ tests, aptitude tests, Sanity tests, Type of intelligence per intelligence tests, learning style tests, performance tests, peer skills tests, comprehensive topical subject tests, and in general, any test which can be used to effectively appraise an individual child for the purposes of creating for that child a personalized curriculum.
7. The topics of psychology, sociology, conversational logic, and ethics should be added to the current curriculum for all Middle School (ages 12 to 14 or grades 6 thru 8) and High Schools
8. Personality differences including learning styles and Types of intelligence
Can mean that people learn in very different ways. Groups of students should be organized without regard so much to age as to learning style. A class full of visual
Learners from 3 age groups is better than a class full of kinesthetic learners and visual learners who find each other distracting and each others interactions with the teacher bizarre. Throw in some introverts and some extroverts and a speed-reader or two, and a teachers modus operandi cannot hope to reach well the different types of Students that s/he is teaching.
10. Our society is composed of a population which is by about 50 percent Anti-intellectual. (As part of a deep and long term attempt at denial of science facts)
The sheeple will crucify the nerds, that’s the end result of pack psychology and anti-intellectualist mob events. Both alleged “Sides” in the great orchestrated argument between left and right are delusional dogmatist simple minded over simplified versions of reality, oversimplified problem solving process, and thus oversimplified and therefore
Usually counterproductive pseudo solutions. Polarity does not contain sanity, both sides are polarized via each other, but the line that connects those two dots at no point in time Ever gets around to the big picture or the whole truth. Evolution and mother nature will on the other hand favor the nerds.

Education reform;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_reform
http://www1.worldbank.org/education/globaleducationreform/
http://www.education-reform.net/
http://dmoz.org/Society/Issues/Education/Education_Reform/

Curiousity driven Learning
http://www.csl.sony.fr/~py/developmentalRobotics.htm
http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen/interest.html
http://www.childtrauma.org/ctamaterials/Curiosity.asp
http://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00h/students/explore.htm

Types of Intelligence;
http://www.macalester.edu/psychology/whathap/ubnrp/intelligence05/Mtypes.html
http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_intelligences

Learning Styles;
http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/Learning_Styles.html
http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSpage.html
http://www.chaminade.org/inspire/learnstl.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles
http://www.funderstanding.com/learning_styles.cfm

Student Teacher Ratio:
http://www.edspresso.com/?OVRAW=education%20reform%20student%20teacher%20ratio&OVKEY=education%20reform&OVMTC=advanced
http://www.edreform.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=section&pSectionID=15&cSectionID=97
http://www.dreamagic.com/jesse/isedurat.html

Anti Intellectualism;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-intellectualism
http://chronicle.com/free/v47/i15/15b00701.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Anti-Intellectualism-American-Life-Richard-Hofstadter/dp/0394703170
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0121/p17s02-lehl.html
http://mtprof.msun.edu/Spr1997/TROUT-ST.html
http://www.wayofthemind.org/2006/07/26/anti-intellectualism/
https://urresearch.rochester.edu/retrieve/6552/Anti-Intellectualism.pdf
http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2007/02/04/reorganization_plan_calls_for_higher_student_teacher_ratios/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Maine+news

CIVIL ENGINEERING General
Civil Engineering is about how to build society or civilization from the nuts and bolts pragmatic perspective. A civil engineer is unconcerned with personally understanding
The social impact of their work unless they are specifically asked to think about that.
Rather, what a Civil engineer thinks about is how to build a structure, have it last, have
It mesh with its environment, have water flow around it, have wind not push it over. A Civil Engineer builds what society asks for generally, adding the details that make a description into an operational reality.
Many social and civil problems have civil engineering components. Energy usage
And creation, for instance, has both a social and a civil level as problems to be solved. Zoning laws and other social considerations limit what a civil engineer can do. And, rightly, civil engineering realities create limits for sociologists. Civil engineers are concerned with how efficiently resources are used, how much load a structure can bear, how well a structure accommodates traffic, and other details such as environmental impact.
Civil Engineering has aesthetic components, resource management components, construction components, and other issues which must be juggled for a good overall design and implementation.
Serious solutions for assorted problems are implied by depth understanding of civil engineering issues. Poverty for instance can in theory be out civil engineered by building the structures that are needed to house people, employment, education, and social welfare systems. The solution for instance to the Palestinian problem once diplomacy has finished is civil engineering; building the new State of Palestine and simultaneously building a strong Israel. Eco Villages, Tribal Arcologies, Permaculture,
Cable cars, Solar power, Geothermal power, Wind power, Tidal power, and other such
Civil engineering solutions can solve myriads of problems that would be untenable from the sociologist’s desk alone. Simultaneously, Good civil engineering requires us to be honest about things that don’t work, such as fossil fuels, bio-fuels, nuclear power, hydroelectric power from rivers and dams, and individualized mass transportation.
Ideally, most people should live in communities rather than in nuclear families
Cut off from community support, and communities should maintain community gardens
And local employment to increase the efficiency of civilization as a whole.

Civil Engineering;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_engineering
http://www.icivilengineer.com/
https://engineering.purdue.edu/CE/
http://www.unm.edu/~civil/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Civil_engineering
http://whatiscivilengineering.csce.ca/

Economic Social Justice;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_justice
http://indymedia.us/en/topic/economicjustice/archive.shtml
http://www.commondreams.org/community.htm
http://www.cesj.org/thirdway/economicjustice-defined.htm
http://www.cesj.org/

Eco-Village;
http://www.gaia.org/gaia/
http://gen.ecovillage.org/
http://www.ecosustainablevillage.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-village

Arcologies;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcologies
http://www.arcosanti.org/theory/arcology/main.html
http://www.arcology.com/
http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Self-sufficient_20Arcologies

Permaculture;
http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/perma.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture
http://www.permaculture.net/about/definitions.html
http://www.permaculture.net/about/brief_introduction.html
http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index.php/site/index/

Cable Cars;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_car
http://www.rickly.com/sgi/cable_cars.htm
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/html/ccmain.html
http://www.photovault.com/Link/Vehicles/Rail/CableCars/VRCVolume01.html

Solar Power;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power
http://www.solarelectricpower.org/
http://www.montanagreenpower.com/solar/index.html

Geothermal Power
http://geothermal.marin.org/pwrheat.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_power
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/powerplants.html
http://geothermal.marin.org/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15749933/

Wind Power;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power
http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_wind.html

Tidal Power;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_power
http://inventors.about.com/od/tstartinventions/a/tidal_power.htm
http://waterpower.hypermart.net/tidal.html
http://www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/01-02/RE_info/Tidal%20Power.htm

POLITICAL SCIENCE General
What kind of government does the USA have? What kind of government does Santa Barbara have? Because while it is intended to be an approximation of democracy, via
The process of representation, how much representation does the common person have
In a false dilemma war between republican and democrat? How much access do we have
To our representation? How much does our representation really work to represent us? And are they loyal to the people, or, are they loyal to that fraction of the people who can afford to belong to the aristocrat class? In theory, the political process is where and how society codes ethics and social and civil engineering into actual laws and rules and actions of the government. Politics might be defined as that sphere of social reality devoted to government, and in a democracy, Political science becomes the complicated process of getting social participants to fully invest in their own self governance.
Political science is thus about the cycle of communication, ideation, and manifestation of social and civil self administration. In America, this is a dialogue allegedly between any and all, but in reality, it is a monologue with two sock puppets
Taking up all of the air space. What difference is there between the $rich$ leftists and the
$rich$ rightists? Both rule over the under-caste of laborers and Workers, who in truth end up having little or no say in government. The masses are drowned out by two sock puppets screaming at each other.
Political Science combines all other sciences in one way or another. It involves Ethics, Morality, Physics, Architecture, Psychology, Sociology, Law, communications, Logic, and in one way or another every other science or paradigm. The subtopics of Political science are therefore Political Science sub all of the other Sciences and paradigms. But do our representatives have the information they need to juggle so many
Problems and issues? Do we as a society have a problem solving process, and are we solving problems? Or are we mostly making social problems worse by complicating society?
Perhaps more importantly, all of the sciences have bearing on Political Science.
Communications theory gives us solutions to most problems in government which we simply fail to employ. Civil Engineering tells us with mathematical certainty what the
Consequences are of building or failing to build any given thing. Sociology has the answers easily to almost all serious social problems. Hard Science can solve the energy
Crunch. The problem is that people are allowing money to make the decisions, not a lucid
Problem solving process. The problem is that the answers the sciences have to give us are being ignored, so that power hungry fools can continue to stay on top of their power-play games, and stay cozy, unaffected by truth or knowledge or reason.
All opinions were not created equal. The perspective of a sociologist is simply a more well formed perspective than a laypersons is if we are to seriously consider solving social problems. Opinion is based in emotions, in simplifications, and usually, in leftist or rightist sponsored propaganda. But neither left nor right side is interested in solving problems, as much as they are trapped in a net of their own making of lies they told themselves often enough that they believed them. The saddest part of ignorance is that if
People would just slow down, they could take the time to educate themselves.

Political Science;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_science
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Political-Science/index.htm
http://www.apsanet.org/
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9109548/political-science

Propaganda
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda
http://www.propagandacritic.com/
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Propaganda
http://www.esrnational.org/whatispropaganda.htm
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9109443/propaganda
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061115153632AAcIoJT
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Propaganda_techniques
http://www.serendipity.li/more/propagan.html
http://mason.gmu.edu/~amcdonal/Propaganda%20Techniques.html
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=405

Types of government;
http://stutzfamily.com/mrstutz/WorldAffairs/typesofgovt.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/world/united_nations/types_of_government/newsid_2151000/2151570.stm
http://home.earthlink.net/~kingsidebishop/id2.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Form_of_government
http://www.twyman-whitney.com/americancitizen/foundations/types_of_government.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_forms_of_government

Oligarchy;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9057016/oligarchy
http://www.bartleby.com/65/ol/oligarch.html
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/oligarchy
http://www.oligarchyusa.com/
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200503u/pp2005-03-30
http://www.democracymatters.org/article.php?cat=Press&select=458
http://familyrightsassociation.com/news/federer/american_oligarchy.htm
http://www.shoutwire.com/comments/15598/The_American_Decline_Into_a_Two_Tiered_Theocratic_Oligarchy
http://www.irregulartimes.com/oligarchy.html

Class warfare;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_Warfare
http://www.therationalradical.com/outrages/class_warfare.htm
http://www.disenchanted.com/dis/technology/class-warfare.html
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?bid=3&pid=292
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/business/yourmoney/26every.html?ex=1322197200&en=0cf877b05b918674&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060902110547AAc3Bjq

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 1 reply

economy

2008-05-17T19:29:08Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/

Plan to Strengthen the Economy

“I believe that America's free market has been the engine of America's great progress. It's created a prosperity that is the envy of the world. It's led to a standard of living unmatched in history. And it has provided great rewards to the innovators and risk-takers who have made America a beacon for science, and technology, and discovery…We are all in this together. From CEOs to shareholders, from financiers to factory workers, we all have a stake in each other's success because the more Americans prosper, the more America prospers.”

— Barack Obama, New York, NY, September 17, 2007

At a Glance

* Provide Middle Class Americans Tax Relief
* Trade
* Technology, Innovation and Creating Jobs
* Labor
* Protect Homeownership and Crack Down on Mortgage Fraud
* Address Predatory Credit Card Practices
* Reform Bankruptcy Laws
* Work/Family Balance

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas

Watch the Video

Download Keeping Americas Promise: Strengthening the Middle Class
The Problem

Wages are Stagnant as Prices Rise: While wages remain flat, the costs of basic necessities are increasing. The cost of in-state college tuition has grown 35 percent over the past five years. Health care costs have risen four times faster than wages over the past six years. And the personal savings rate is now the lowest it's been since the Great Depression.

Tax Cuts for Wealthy Instead of Middle Class: The Bush tax cuts give those who earn over $1 million dollars a tax cut nearly 160 times greater than that received by middle-income Americans. At the same time, this administration has refused to tackle health care, education and housing in a manner that benefits the middle class.
Barack Obama's Plan
Provide Middle Class Americans Tax Relief

Obama will cut income taxes by $1,000 for working families to offset the payroll tax they pay.

* Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families: Obama will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers the tax relief they need. Obama will create a new "Making Work Pay" tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family. The "Making Work Pay" tax credit will completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans.
* Simplify Tax Filings for Middle Class Americans: Obama will dramatically simplify tax filings so that millions of Americans will be able to do their taxes in less than five minutes. Obama will ensure that the IRS uses the information it already gets from banks and employers to give taxpayers the option of pre-filled tax forms to verify, sign and return. Experts estimate that the Obama proposal will save Americans up to 200 million total hours of work and aggravation and up to $2 billion in tax preparer fees.

Trade

Obama believes that trade with foreign nations should strengthen the American economy and create more American jobs. He will stand firm against agreements that undermine our economic security.

* Fight for Fair Trade: Obama will fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs. He will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world and stand firm against agreements like the Central American Free Trade Agreement that fail to live up to those important benchmarks. Obama will also pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements and stop countries from continuing unfair government subsidies to foreign exporters and nontariff barriers on U.S. exports.
* Amend the North American Free Trade Agreement: Obama believes that NAFTA and its potential were oversold to the American people. Obama will work with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to fix NAFTA so that it works for American workers.
* Improve Transition Assistance: To help all workers adapt to a rapidly changing economy, Obama would update the existing system of Trade Adjustment Assistance by extending it to service industries, creating flexible education accounts to help workers retrain, and providing retraining assistance for workers in sectors of the economy vulnerable to dislocation before they lose their jobs.

Technology, Innovation and Creating Jobs

Obama will encourage the deployment of the most modern communications infrastructure to reduce the costs of health care, help solve our energy crisis, create new jobs, and fuel our economic growth.

* Support Job Creation: Barack Obama believes we need to double federal funding for basic research and make the research and development tax credit permanent to help create high-paying, secure jobs. Obama will also make long-term investments in education, training, and workforce development so that Americans can leverage our strengths - our ingenuity and entrepreneurialism - to create new high-wage jobs and prosper in a world economy.
* Invest in U.S. Manufacturing: The Obama comprehensive energy independence and climate change plan will invest in America's highly-skilled manufacturing workforce and manufacturing centers to ensure that American workers have the skills and tools they need to pioneer the first wave of green technologies that will be in high demand throughout the world. Obama will also provide assistance to the domestic auto industry to ensure that new fuel-efficient vehicles are built by American workers.
* Create New Job Training Programs for Clean Technologies: The Obama plan will increase funding for federal workforce training programs and direct these programs to incorporate green technologies training, such as advanced manufacturing and weatherization training, into their efforts to help Americans find and retain stable, high-paying jobs. Obama will also create an energy-focused youth jobs program to invest in disconnected and disadvantaged youth.
* Boost the Renewable Energy Sector and Create New Jobs: The Obama plan will create new federal policies, and expand existing ones, that have been proven to create new American jobs. Obama will create a federal Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) that will require 25 percent of American electricity be derived from renewable sources by 2025, which has the potential to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs on its own. Obama will also extend the Production Tax Credit, a credit used successfully by American farmers and investors to increase renewable energy production and create new local jobs.
* Deploy Next-Generation Broadband: Obama believes we can get broadband to every community in America through a combination of reform of the Universal Service Fund, better use of the nation's wireless spectrum, promotion of next-generation facilities, technologies and applications, and new tax and loan incentives.
* Protect the Openness of the Internet: Obama supports the basic principle that network providers should not be allowed to charge fees to privilege the content or applications of some web sites and Internet applications over others. This principle will ensure that the new competitors, especially small or nonprofit speakers, have the same opportunity as big companies to innovate and reach large audiences.
* Invest in Rural Areas: Obama will invest in rural small businesses and fight to expand high-speed Internet access. He will improve rural schools and attract more doctors to rural areas.

Labor

Obama will strengthen the ability of workers to organize unions. He will fight for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Obama will ensure that his labor appointees support workers' rights and will work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers. Obama will also increase the minimum wage and index it to inflation to ensure it rises every year.

* Ensure Freedom to Unionize: Obama believes that workers should have the freedom to choose whether to join a union without harassment or intimidation from their employers. Obama cosponsored and is strong advocate for the Employee Free Choice Act, a bipartisan effort to assure that workers can exercise their right to organize. He will continue to fight for EFCA's passage and sign it into law.
* Fight Attacks on Workers' Right to Organize: Obama has fought the Bush National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) efforts to strip workers of their right to organize. He is a cosponsor of legislation to overturn the NLRB's "Kentucky River" decisions classifying hundreds of thousands of nurses, construction, and professional workers as "supervisors" who are not protected by federal labor laws.
* Protect Striking Workers: Obama supports the right of workers to bargain collectively and strike if necessary. He will work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers, so workers can stand up for themselves without worrying about losing their livelihoods.
* Raise the Minimum Wage: Barack Obama will raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to make sure that full-time workers earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs.

Protect Homeownership and Crack Down on Mortgage Fraud

Obama will crack down on fraudulent brokers and lenders. He will also make sure homebuyers have honest and complete information about their mortgage options, and he will give a tax credit to all middle-class homeowners.

* Create a Universal Mortgage Credit: Obama will create a 10 percent universal mortgage credit to provide homeowners who do not itemize tax relief. This credit will provide an average of $500 to 10 million homeowners, the majority of whom earn less than $50,000 per year.
* Ensure More Accountability in the Subprime Mortgage Industry: Obama has been closely monitoring the subprime mortgage situation for years, and introduced comprehensive legislation over a year ago to fight mortgage fraud and protect consumers against abusive lending practices. Obama's STOP FRAUD Act provides the first federal definition of mortgage fraud, increases funding for federal and state law enforcement programs, creates new criminal penalties for mortgage professionals found guilty of fraud, and requires industry insiders to report suspicious activity.
* Mandate Accurate Loan Disclosure: Obama will create a Homeowner Obligation Made Explicit (HOME) score, which will provide potential borrowers with a simplified, standardized borrower metric (similar to APR) for home mortgages. The HOME score will allow individuals to easily compare various mortgage products and understand the full cost of the loan.
* Create Fund to Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosures: Obama will create a fund to help people refinance their mortgages and provide comprehensive supports to innocent homeowners. The fund will be partially paid for by Obama's increased penalties on lenders who act irresponsibly and commit fraud.
* Close Bankruptcy Loophole for Mortgage Companies: Obama will work to eliminate the provision that prevents bankruptcy courts from modifying an individual's mortgage payments. Obama believes that the subprime mortgage industry, which has engaged in dangerous and sometimes unscrupulous business practices, should not be shielded by outdated federal law.

Address Predatory Credit Card Practices

Obama will establish a five-star rating system so that every consumer knows the risk involved in every credit card. He also will establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights to stop credit card companies from exploiting consumers with unfair practices.

* Create a Credit Card Rating System to Improve Disclosure: Obama will create a credit card rating system, modeled on five-star systems used for other consumer products, to provide consumers an easily identifiable ranking of credit cards, based on the card's features. Credit card companies will be required to display the rating on all application and contract materials, enabling consumers to quickly understand all of the major provisions of a credit card without having to rely exclusively on fine print in lengthy documents.
* Establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights to Protect Consumers: Obama will create a Credit Card Bill of Rights to protect consumers. The Obama plan will:
o Ban Unilateral Changes
o Apply Interest Rate Increases Only to Future Debt
o Prohibit Interest on Fees
o Prohibit "Universal Defaults"
o Require Prompt and Fair Crediting of Cardholder Payments

Reform Bankruptcy Laws

Obama will reform our bankruptcy laws to protect working people, ban executive bonuses for bankrupt companies, and require disclosure of all pension investments.

* Cap Outlandish Interest Rates on Payday Loans and Improve Disclosure: Obama supports extending a 36 percent interest cap to all Americans. Obama will require lenders to provide clear and simplified information about loan fees, payments and penalties, which is why he'll require lenders to provide this information during the application process.
* Encourage Responsible Lending Institutions to Make Small Consumer Loans: Obama will encourage banks, credit unions and Community Development Financial Institutions to provide affordable short-term and small-dollar loans and to drive unscrupulous lenders out of business.
* Reform Bankruptcy Laws to Protect Families Facing a Medical Crisis: Obama will create an exemption in bankruptcy law for individuals who can prove they filed for bankruptcy because of medical expenses. This exemption will create a process that forgives the debt and lets the individuals get back on their feet.

Work/Family Balance

Obama will double funding for after-school programs, expand the Family Medical Leave Act, provide low-income families with a refundable tax credit to help with their child-care expenses, and encourage flexible work schedules.

* Expand the Family and Medical Leave Act: The FMLA covers only certain employees of employers with 50 or more employees. Obama will expand it to cover businesses with 25 or more employees. He will expand the FMLA to cover more purposes as well, including allowing workers to take leave for elder care needs; allowing parents up to 24 hours of leave each year to participate in their children's academic activities; and expanding FMLA to cover leave for employees to address domestic violence.
* Encourage States to Adopt Paid Leave: As president, Obama will initiate a strategy to encourage all 50 states to adopt paid-leave systems. Obama will provide a $1.5 billion fund to assist states with start-up costs and to help states offset the costs for employees and employers.
* Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities: Obama will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve a million more children. Obama will include measures to maximize performance and effectiveness across grantees nationwide.
* Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides too little relief to families that struggle to afford child care expenses. Obama will reform the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by making it refundable and allowing low-income families to receive up to a 50 percent credit for their child care expenses.
* Protect Against Caregiver Discrimination: Workers with family obligations often are discriminated against in the workplace. Obama will enforce the recently-enacted Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines on caregiver discrimination.
* Expand Flexible Work Arrangements: Obama will create a program to inform businesses about the benefits of flexible work schedules; help businesses create flexible work opportunities; and increase federal incentives for telecommuting. Obama will also make the federal government a model employer in terms of adopting flexible work schedules and permitting employees to request flexible arrangements.

Barack Obama's Record

* Housing: In the U.S. Senate, Obama introduced the STOP FRAUD Act to increase penalties for mortgage fraud and provide more protections for low-income homebuyers, well before the current subprime crisis began.
* Predatory Lending: In the Illinois State Senate, Obama called attention to predatory lending issues. Obama sponsored legislation to combat predatory payday loans, and he also was credited with lobbying the state to more closely regulate some of the most egregious predatory lending practices.
* American Jobs: Barack Obama introduced the Patriot Employer Act of 2007 to provide a tax credit to companies that maintain or increase the number of full-time workers in America relative to those outside the US; maintain their corporate headquarters in America; pay decent wages; prepare workers for retirement; provide health insurance; and support employees who serve in the military.

For More Information about Barack's Plan

(PDF)Read the plan
(PDF)Read the plan for small businesses
(PDF)Read the plan to protect homeownership and crack down on mortgage fraud
Read the Speech

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 2 replies

service

2008-05-17T19:28:13Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/service/

Barack Obama's Plan for Universal Voluntary Public Service

“Your own story and the American story are not separate — they are shared. And they will both be enriched if we stand up together, and answer a new call to service to meet the challenges of our new century … I won't just ask for your vote as a candidate; I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am president of the United States. This will not be a call issued in one speech or program; this will be a cause of my presidency.”

— Barack Obama, Speech in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, December 5, 2007

At a Glance

* Enable All Americans to Serve
* Integrate Service into Learning
* Invest in the Nonprofit Sector

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas

Watch the Video
The Problem

Americans Not Asked to Serve After 9/11: President Bush squandered an opportunity to mobilize the American people following 9/11 when he asked Americans only to go shopping.

Insufficient Federal Support for Service: While more than 500,000 people have served in AmeriCorps, the program turns away tens of thousands of applicants a year because of limited funding.

Need for More R&D in Nonprofit Sector: Research and development in the nonprofit sector is limited and there is a disconnect between charitable foundations that can fund innovation and the organizations on the ground that can test new concepts and bring them to scale.
Barack Obama's Plan
Enable All Americans to Serve to Meet the Nation's Challenges

* Expand Corporation for National and Community Service: Obama will expand AmeriCorps from 75,000 slots today to 250,000 and he will focus this expansion on addressing the great challenges facing the nation. He will establish a Classroom Corps to help teachers and students, with a priority placed on underserved schools; a Health Corps to improve public health outreach; a Clean Energy Corps to conduct weatherization and renewable energy projects; a Veterans Corps to assist veterans at hospitals, nursing homes and homeless shelters; and a Homeland Security Corps to help communities plan, prepare for and respond to emergencies.
* Engage Retiring Americans in Service on a Large Scale: Older Americans have a wide range of skills and knowledge to contribute. Obama will expand and improve programs that connect individuals over the age of 55 to quality volunteer opportunities.
* Expand the Peace Corps: Obama will double the Peace Corps to 16,000 by 2011. He will work with the leaders of other countries to build an international network of overseas volunteers so that Americans work side-by-side with volunteers from other countries.
* Show the World the Best Face of America: Obama will set up an America's Voice Initiative to send Americans who are fluent speakers of local languages to expand our public diplomacy. He also will extend opportunities for older individuals such as teachers, engineers, and doctors to serve overseas.

Integrate Service into Learning

* Expand Service-Learning in Our Nation's Schools: Obama will set a goal that all middle and high school students do 50 hours of community service a year. He will develop national guidelines for service- learning and will give schools better tools both to develop programs and to document student experience. Green Job Corps: Obama will create an energy-focused youth jobs program to provide disadvantaged youth with service opportunities weatherizing buildings and getting practical experience in fast-growing career fields.
* Expand YouthBuild Program: Obama will expand the YouthBuild program, which gives disadvantaged young people the chance to complete their high school education, learn valuable skills and build affordable housing in their communities. He will grow the program so that 50,000 low-income young people a year a chance to learn construction job skills and complete high school.
* Require 100 Hours of Service in College: Obama will establish a new American Opportunity Tax Credit that is worth $4,000 a year in exchange for 100 hours of public service a year.
* Promote College Serve-Study: Obama will ensure that at least 25 percent of College Work-Study funds are used to support public service opportunities instead of jobs in dining halls and libraries.

Invest in the Nonprofit Sector

* Social Investment Fund Network: Obama will create a Social Investment Fund Network to use federal seed money to leverage private sector funding to improve local innovation, test the impact of new ideas and expand successful programs to scale.
* Social Entrepreneurship Agency for Nonprofits: Barack Obama will a create an agency within the Corporation for National and Community Service dedicated to building the capacity and effectiveness of the nonprofit sector.

Barack Obama's Record

A Lifetime of Service

Obama began his career by moving to the South Side of Chicago to direct the Developing Communities Project. Together with a coalition of ministers, Obama set out to improve living conditions in poor neigh- borhoods plagued by crime and high unemployment. After graduating from law school, Obama passed up lucrative law firm jobs to head Project Vote, which helped register 150,000 new African American voters in Chicago, the highest number ever registered in a single local effort. Michelle Obama was founding executive director of Public Allies Chicago, a leadership development program that identifies and prepares talented young adults for careers serving the public good.
For More Information about Barack's Plan

Read the Speech

Watch Excerpts of the Speech

(PDF)Read the Plan

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 1 reply

poverty

2008-05-17T19:26:59Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/poverty/

Plan to Combat Poverty

“I'm in this race for the same reason that I fought for jobs for the jobless and hope for the hopeless on the streets of Chicago; for the same reason I fought for justice and equality as a civil rights lawyer; for the same reason that I fought for Illinois families for over a decade… That's why I'm running, Democrats — to keep the American Dream alive for those who still hunger for opportunity, who still thirst for equality.”

— Barack Obama, Speech in Des Moines, IA, November 10, 2007

At a Glance

* Expand Access to Jobs
* Make Work Pay for All Americans
* Strengthen Families
* Increase the Supply of Affordable Housing
* Tackle Concentrated Poverty

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas

Watch the Video
The Problem

Poverty Rising: There are nearly 37 million poor Americans. Most Americans living in poverty work, but still cannot afford to make ends meet.

Minimum Wage is Not Enough: Even when a parent works full-time earning minimum wage and EITC and food stamps are factored into their income, families are still $1,550 below the federal poverty line because of the flat-lined minimum wage.
Barack Obama's Plan
Expand Access to Jobs

* Help Americans Grab a Hold of and Climb the Job Ladder: Obama will invest $1 billion over five years in transitional jobs and career pathway programs that implement proven methods of helping low-income Americans succeed in the workforce.
* Create a Green Jobs Corps: Obama will create a program to directly engage disadvantaged youth in energy efficiency opportunities to strengthen their communities, while also providing them with practical skills in this important high-growth career field.
* Improve Transportation Access to Jobs: As president, Obama will work to ensure that low-income Americans have transportation access to jobs. Obama will double the federal Jobs Access and Reverse Commute program to ensure that additional federal public transportation dollars flow to the highest-need communities and that urban planning initiatives take this aspect of transportation policy into account.
* Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Supports: Obama will work to ensure that ex-offenders have access to job training, substance abuse and mental health counseling, and employment opportunities. Obama will also create a prison-to-work incentive program and reduce barriers to employment.

Make Work Pay for All Americans

* Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit: Obama will increase the number of working parents eligible for EITC benefits, increase the benefits available to parents who support their children through child support payments, increase benefits for families with three or more children, and reduce the EITC marriage penalty, which hurts low-income families.
* Create a Living Wage: Obama will raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation to make sure that full-time workers can earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs such as food, transportation, and housing.
* Provide Tax Relief: Obama will provide all low and middle-income workers a $500 Making Work Pay tax credit to offset the payroll tax those workers pay in every paycheck. Obama will also eliminate taxes for seniors making under $50,000 per year.

Strengthen Families

* Promote Responsible Fatherhood: Obama will sign into law his Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Act to remove some of the government penalties on married families, crack down on men avoiding child support payments, and ensure that payments go to families instead of state bureaucracies.
* Support Parents with Young Children: Obama will expand the highly-successful Nurse-Family Partnership to all 570,000 low-income, first-time mothers each year. The Nurse-Family Partnership provides home visits by trained registered nurses to low-income expectant mothers and their families.
* Expand Paid Sick Days: Today, three-out-of-four low-wage workers have no paid sick days. Obama supports guaranteeing workers seven paid sick days per year.

Increase the Supply of Affordable Housing

* Create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund: Obama will create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund to develop affordable housing in mixed-income neighborhoods.
* Fully Fund the Community Development Block Grant: Obama will fully fund the Community Development Block Grant program and engage with urban leaders across the country to increase resources to the highest-need Americans.

Tackle Concentrated Poverty

* Establish 20 Promise Neighborhoods: Obama will create 20 Promise Neighborhoods in areas that have high levels of poverty and crime and low levels of student academic achievement in cities across the nation. The Promise Neighborhoods will be modeled after the Harlem Children's Zone, which provides a full network of services, including early childhood education, youth violence prevention efforts and after-school activities, to an entire neighborhood from birth to college.
* Ensure Community-Based Investment Resources in Every Urban Community: Obama will work with community and business leaders to identify and address the unique economic development barriers of every major metropolitan area. Obama will provide additional resources to the federal Community Development Financial Institution Fund, the Small Business Administration and other federal agencies, especially to their local branch offices, to address community needs.
* Invest in Rural Areas: Obama will invest in rural small businesses and fight to expand high-speed Internet access. He will improve rural schools and attract more doctors to rural areas.

Barack Obama's Record

* Tax Relief for Low-Income Working Families: Obama created the Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income working families in 2000 and successfully sponsored a measure to make the credit permanent in 2003. The law offered about $105 million in tax relief over three years.
* Housing: In the Illinois State Senate, Obama championed multiple pieces of legislation to help low-income families find adequate affordable housing.

For More Information about Barack's Plan

(PDF)Read the Plan
Read the Urban Poverty Speech

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 1 reply

the issues

2008-05-17T19:26:18Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/civilrights/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/disabilities/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/education/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/energy/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ethics/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/faith/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/family/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/fiscal/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/foreignpolicy/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/homeland/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/immigration/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/poverty/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/rural/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/service/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/socialsecurity/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/technology/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/urbanpolicy/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/veterans/
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/additional/
http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/ObamaBlueprintForChange.pdf

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 2 replies

iraq

2008-05-17T19:25:11Z

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/iraq/

Plan for Ending the War in Iraq

“But conventional thinking in Washington lined up for war. The pundits judged the political winds to be blowing in the direction of the President. Despite - or perhaps because of how much experience they had in Washington, too many politicians feared looking weak and failed to ask hard questions. Too many took the President at his word instead of reading the intelligence for themselves. Congress gave the President the authority to go to war. Our only opportunity to stop the war was lost.

I made a different judgment. I thought our priority had to be finishing the fight in Afghanistan. I spoke out against what I called 'a rash war' in Iraq. I worried about, ‘an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences.’ The full accounting of those costs and consequences will only be known to history. But the picture is beginning to come into focus.”

—Barack Obama, Clinton, Iowa, September 12, 2007

At a Glance

* Judgment You Can Trust
* Bring Our Troops Home
* Press Iraq’s leaders to reconcile
* Regional Diplomacy
* Humanitarian Initiative

Speak your mind and help set the policies that will guide this campaign and change the country.

* Present your ideas

Watch the Video
The Problem

The Surge: The goal of the surge was to create space for Iraq's political leaders to reach an agreement to end Iraq's civil war. At great cost, our troops have helped reduce violence in some areas of Iraq, but even those reductions do not get us below the unsustainable levels of violence of mid-2006. Moreover, Iraq's political leaders have made no progress in resolving the political differences at the heart of their civil war.

Military Strain: The military is being severely strained by repeated and lengthy deployments. The Army and Marine Corps are facing a crisis as 40 percent of their equipment is either in Iraq or being repaired. This crisis has led many of our generals to conclude that current demands make our forces unable to rapidly respond to the contingencies we may face in the future.
Barack Obama's Plan
Judgment You Can Trust

As a candidate for the United States Senate in 2002, Obama put his political career on the line to oppose going to war in Iraq, and warned of “an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences.” Obama has been a consistent, principled and vocal opponent of the war in Iraq.

* In 2003 and 2004, he spoke out against the war on the campaign trail;
* In 2005, he called for a phased withdrawal of our troops;
* In 2006, he called for a timetable to remove our troops, a political solution within Iraq, and aggressive diplomacy with all of Iraq’s neighbors;
* In January 2007, he introduced legislation in the Senate to remove all of our combat troops from Iraq by March 2008.
* In September 2007, he laid out a detailed plan for how he will end the war as president.

Bringing Our Troops Home

Obama will immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda.
Press Iraq’s Leaders to Reconcile

The best way to press Iraq’s leaders to take responsibility for their future is to make it clear that we are leaving. As we remove our troops, Obama will engage representatives from all levels of Iraqi society – in and out of government – to seek a new accord on Iraq’s Constitution and governance. The United Nations will play a central role in this convention, which should not adjourn until a new national accord is reached addressing tough questions like federalism and oil revenue-sharing.
Regional Diplomacy

Obama will launch the most aggressive diplomatic effort in recent American history to reach a new compact on the stability of Iraq and the Middle East. This effort will include all of Iraq’s neighbors — including Iran and Syria. This compact will aim to secure Iraq’s borders; keep neighboring countries from meddling inside Iraq; isolate al Qaeda; support reconciliation among Iraq’s sectarian groups; and provide financial support for Iraq’s reconstruction.
Humanitarian Initiative

Obama believes that America has a moral and security responsibility to confront Iraq’s humanitarian crisis — two million Iraqis are refugees; two million more are displaced inside their own country. Obama will form an international working group to address this crisis. He will provide at least $2 billion to expand services to Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries, and ensure that Iraqis inside their own country can find a safe-haven.
Barack Obama's Record

* Barack Obama opposed the war in Iraq from the beginning. In 2002, as the conventional thinking in Washington lined up for war, Obama had the judgment and courage to speak out against the war. He said the war would lead to "an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs and undetermined consequences." In January 2007, Obama introduced legislation to responsibly end the war in Iraq, with a phased withdrawal of troops engaged in combat operations.
* Obama has a plan to immediately begin withdrawing our troops engaged in combat operations at a pace of one or two brigades every month, to be completed by the end of next year. He would call for a new constitutional convention in Iraq, convened with the United Nations, which would not adjourn until Iraq's leaders reach a new accord on reconciliation. He would use presidential leadership to surge our diplomacy with all of the nations of the region on behalf of a new regional security compact. And he would take immediate steps to confront the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Iraq.

For More Information about Barack's Plan

(PDF)Read the Plan
Read the Speech

posted in ObamaOpenSourceCabinet - 2 replies