ICDP:Dispatch

Obama in Afghanistan

2009-11-25T14:05:00.001-05:00

In addition to being a Democrat and a strong supporter of President Obama, I am also a Vietnam veteran and I have been closely following the news reports of his decision about what to do in Afghanistan. He is scheduled to make his announcement next week, but there are many “leaks” coming from the White House about what his decision will be. It appears that he will be sending more troops, a lot more troops.

There are many reasons we should be disturbed about this, assuming the leaks are accurate. One of the most cogent reasons for concern is that President Obama is sounding more like President Bush with every pronouncement he makes about his reasons for putting American troops in harm’s way. He has been quoted as stating that he will “finish the job,” but cannot tell us exactly what that job is or how he will know it is finished. Until he can give clear guidelines of what he means to accomplish and how he will know when it has been accomplished–in other words, give us a credible exit strategy–he will not receive my support or the support of any veterans who value the lives of our sons and daughters in uniform more than vague hopes of some illusive political gain.

Our soldiers, their families, and our country deserve better than to have yet another president think he can overcome the bitter lessons of history and impose Western democratic ideals on an unwilling nation; that he can win the hearts and minds of a populace by supporting a corrupt government and using our patriotic soldiers as enforcers for that government, or that he can subdue his enemy without injuring our nation.

However, he has not announced his intentions, so perhaps the skies will open and a light from above will shine on him as he announces an end to the fighting. Maybe he will announce that the Afghanis must set up their own government without our troops shedding their blood in the process. Maybe, just maybe, this could happen... But I doubt it.

A Reflection on Veterans Day, November 11, 2009

2009-11-10T10:32:00.000-05:00

In 1950, when I was five-years-old and living in a small town in Kentucky, my first contact with anything military happened when my next-door neighbor, Mr. Abbot, gave me a disarmed shell he had brought back with him from World War I. Not long after that, my mother took me to a parade where Mr. Abbot and other old men paraded down the main street of town wearing funny-looking uniforms. Mom told me that the men had been soldiers when they were a lot younger. As I looked around, I saw men take off their hats and put their hands over their hearts as the American flag passed, and I noticed that several of them were crying.

All over the country on that particular day, Mom said, there were parades like this one. It was a special day called Armistice Day. Personally, I was disappointed because I had assumed there would be clowns and animals–maybe even elephants–in the parade. Why else would people be excited about a parade, and why would men cry because a flag passed by?

Jump forward to November 11, 1995. I was standing on the steps of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City with my grown-up son as we watched veterans from all American wars since World War I parade up Fifth Avenue. It took more than an hour for the parade to pass us. There were lines of cars carrying vets who were no longer able to walk. Some groups of veterans had tried, without much success, to organize themselves into discernible marching units. The desert camouflage of the veterans of the recent Gulf War looked peculiar to me, mixed in, as they were, with the solid colors of the uniforms from the other units.

But the groups that affected me the most were the veterans of the war in Vietnam. That was my war, a war that I had tried, unsuccessfully, to put behind me for so long. Tears blurred my eyes as I peered through the telephoto lens of my camera, hoping to spot a familiar face although I knew there was little hope in finding anyone I served with in 1970. Even if I had recognized them, I doubted they would recognize me. The twenty-five years that had passed had changed me from a cynical, sarcastic draftee into a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and expanding paunch. On this day, I stood on the steps of St. Pat’s silently weeping for the all the soldiers who had died in that unnecessary war.

My son put his arm around me and asked if I was okay. I told him that I was, but I didn’t say that I was immeasurably sad when I thought of what my beloved country had lost in that war: all the young men and women who had died, and the millions of veterans who had survived physically but who had never truly “come home.”

On Veterans Day this year, I will once again feel the sorrow of loss, but also a burning anger. When I consider what the warmongers in Washington have done with the lives our sons and daughters in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan, and what these new veterans face when they return home, I am filled with rage. When I think about the impotence of our elected officials of both parties to end this senseless war, and when I hear the drumbeats for starting yet another war in Iran, despair washes over me. Will we never learn?

For most of my fellow citizens, this Veterans Day will pass unobserved as have so many others. But if there is a parade in my hometown on this Veterans Day, and if a five-year-old boy sees an old man with his hand over his heart and tears running down his face as our flag passes by, he might be looking at me.

Open Letter to Dave Camp About His NO On Health Care

2009-11-09T08:05:00.002-05:00

Representative Camp, when you voted NO on the House Health Care bill, you once again sided with the health insurance companies in denying Americans their moral right to basic health care.

You will have another opportunity to vote again in the final House vote. I hope you will, for once, take into account the number of your constituents who are either without, or struggling to keep, a basic level of health care for themselves and their families, while your corporate sponsors are raking in huge profits. I hope you will think about your constituents who are the working poor, who have jobs that pay no benefits because the companies cannot afford to cover their health care needs. I hope you will think about your constituents who are one hospitalization away from losing all they own.

Representative Camp, you will have another opportunity to consider whether your political ideology is more important than your moral obligation to work to benefit all of your constituents. You will have the opportunity to decide what your position of Representative really means: kowtowing to the rich and powerful, or truly representing all of us. The decision is yours, Representative Camp, and we will be watching closely.

Domestic Violence: a pre-existing condition

2009-09-19T17:35:00.001-04:00

The SEIU (Service Employees International Union) blog recently posted shocking news. In DC and six other states, insurance companies claim that domestic violence is a pre-existing condition. Including DC, they are Idaho, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

In a related survey, half of the national carriers (8 out of 16) claimed domestic violence as a pre-existing condition.

We need health care reform now!

Protecting Michigan's Water

2009-08-09T12:42:00.005-04:00

The last remaining investigative newspaper in Michigan, the Traverse City Record-Eagle, has run an editorial that is both scary and hopeful. The scary part is information about some major loopholes in the public trust pacts that treat our lakes and streams as commodities and allow companies to remove unlimited amounts of water so long as it is in containers that hold less than 5.7 gallons of water. You can read the editorial here.

The hopeful part is that various citizens groups and a few elected officials are waking up to the threats. Read the story, then contact your elected officials and alert them to these issues. Remember, without legislative actions to close these loopholes, whenever Nestle's wants to take water from your water table, the courts will have to base their decisions on the law, and the law currently is based on the pacts.

Obama and His Ethical Dilemmas

2009-08-09T10:20:00.006-04:00

In the New York Times, on Sunday, August 9, 09, Frank Rich raises some provocative issues about Obama's broken promises and whether or not he is capitulating to the corporate establishment. You can read the article here.

Obama, and any reformer who has political power, faces a difficult moral and ethical quandary: in politics, money always talks. In Western law, corporations are legally considered to be single individuals, and as such retain the rights of individuals to free speech and access to lawmakers so they can influence their opinions and laws in their favor. In the United States, campaign financing has been the accepted form of legal bribery. This is why the efforts of various citizens groups, such as Common Cause, to control and eliminate corporate campaign contributions have always stalled.

Back to Obama's quandary: how will he make fundamental changes when the corporations control the elected officials who ultimately decide on the changes? Obviously, he has to find ways to work with the corporations. The questions are: how many goals do you sacrifice in order to obtain your highest goals? How many concessions to big business do you make before you simply arrive at the status quo that Business prefers?

As Frank Rich points out, in the battle to reform health insurance, almost every Representative and Senator in both parties have accepted large bribes, er, “campaign contributions” from the health insurance industry. Obama, himself, appointed many of the good ol' boys from the financial industry–men who were at least complicit in the financial collapse–in the reconstruction efforts we know as the bail-out and stimulus packages.

Obama is a brilliant men, so he certainly was or is aware of the roles his appointees played in the collapse. Does this make him (Obama) a part of the solution or part of the problem? I believe he is a highly ethical person as well as being a shrewd politician, so I imagine that these thoughts are not new to him. He is also very aware that Jimmy Carter tried to clean up government but without engaging the Establishment, so he had only one term, and the effects of his efforts evaporated almost as soon as he left office.

Bill Clinton found himself in similar positions on a number of issues, however he faced a hostile Republican Congress. The results of his quid-pro-quo were that the country had the largest and longest period of economic growth in recent history, and two major mistakes: NAFTA and the “reform” of welfare that, in fact, broke a well-run system. The middle-class continues to pay the price for both of these mistakes, particularly NAFTA.

Many of us are working hard to support Obama's efforts at health insurance reform. Whatever passes into law will be a major advance. Let's just hope that he does not give the farm away to the corporations in the process.

Dogs and Health Care Reform

2009-07-31T16:03:00.004-04:00

Every American has a dog in the fight for health insurance reform. The United States, still the richest country in the world, has almost 50 million people without health insurance, and in this country, health insurance equals health care. Providing every single American with basic health care is a moral obligation, just as seeing to it that every American has a shot at a decent education.

One of the ironies with several of the lies that come bubbling out the health insurance industry is that they use what is happening now as examples of the horrible things that will or might happen if the government is involved. Examples:

“You'll have an unelected government bureaucrat standing between you and your doctor.” If you have health insurance, you already have an unelected company bureaucrat standing between you and your doctor, or maybe even between you and having an insurance policy (ever hear the term “pre-existing condition?”). And because the bureaucrat works for the insurance company, she has a good reason not to authorize a particular procedure or to deny your claim:her paycheck.
“A government health insurance will cut off old people from life-saving treatments, so they will die.” The health insurance companies have done this for decades, refusing to cover “experimental” or “unproven” treatments not only for the elderly, but also for young people whose health falls below of certain necessary level. The latter situation is based on medical protocols, so that will not change. Can you imagine the outcry if the government allowed everyone to have every treatment they thought would make them better, even over the objections of their doctors? The “tea-baggers” would have a field day.
“A national health insurance would allow for abortions.” This is true, and it infuriates the so-called “pro-life” folk because their efforts to stand between women and their doctors when it comes to reproductive health would be for naught. Ah, the irony.
“A single payer national health insurance would never work because the government would be running it.” Ever heard of Medicare?

It has been said that a nation deserves the kind of criminals it has. The same can be said of health care.

New Dangers in National Parks

2009-05-29T15:26:00.006-04:00

You and your children are visiting a national park. During the Ranger’s presentation, you notice that the man next to your son is carrying a shotgun, and the man next to your wife is carrying a rifle. And they are carrying them like they are loaded.

Thanks to Representative Dave Camp, most of the members of Congress, and President Obama, these men are carrying loaded weapons legally. This is because the amendment was tacked onto the recent credit card legislation that was passed by Congress and signed into law. This law replaced an earlier, more reasonable law from the Reagan era that allowed weapons to be brought into national parks but were not loaded and had to remain in the trunks of cars.

So you should let Dave Camp know that deaths and injuries from gunshot wounds that will occur in our national parks–possibly to you or your family–are in part a result of his caving in to the more extreme elements of the NRA. Going to the bathroom in the night while camping in the park has suddenly become a lot more interesting when the inebriated guy in the RV next to yours thinks you are a bear.

Rethinking Afghanistan

2009-04-17T09:12:00.003-04:00

Each day, more disturbing news comes from Afghanistan, and each day, Obama’s decision to increase the number of troops is called into question. It is particularly disturbing that he has no exit strategy from Afghanistan, and is running the risk of miring the U.S. in another endless war.

Brave New Films has put together excellent interviews with Afghanis (“Afghan” by the way, refers to a kind of blanket not a person from Afghanistan), economists, and troops on the ground who talk about the rampant corruption and misuse of our tax dollars. You can find the interviews here.

Like the country, Congress is distracted with the economy. We need to bring this to their attention.

(also posted on thechaplainsassistant.blogspot.com)

Pursuit of Jobs Trumps a Healthy Planet

2009-03-29T22:01:00.003-04:00

On March 19, 2009, State Representative Bill Caul, along with 71 other representatives (including, unfortunately, Andy Dillon who should have known better), sent the following letter to Governor Granholm. They sent it because she had the audacity to issue a directive that in order for a coal-burning power plant to be built, the company would have to show that burning coal was the cheapest, most environmentally friendly way to generate power.

It was a perfect setting for the folks who taut “clean coal” to prove they could, in fact, mitigate the environmental damage that comes from producing, burning, and storing the toxic byproducts of coal. But did they take advantage of the opportunity? Nope, instead they chose to roundly criticize the governor for not considering coal to be a renewable resource (yes, you read that correctly) and missing out on the jobs that would come from building the next generation of coal-burning power plants.

Their theme is, jobs, jobs, jobs, even if the products of these jobs poison the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. These are our elected public officials who are willing to condemn their descendants to a poisoned planet in order to win the votes of their constituents who are caught in a sinking economy. Is this what they meant when they wrote “the urgent need to create jobs in Michigan trumps most all other priorities during this time of economic crisis.” Do jobs really trump emitting poisonous gases into the atmosphere, polluting our water, sickening our children? Is clean air a lower priority than having a job where you contribute to the pollution of our planet?

What were Caul and Dillon thinking when they wrote this letter? Were they thinking?
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March 19,2009

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm
George W, Romney Building
111 S. Capitol Ave.
Lansing. Ml 48909

Dear Governor Granholm:

We are writing to express our concern about the change in direction of Michigan’s energy policy as affected by Executive Directive 2009-02, which suspended the permitting and construction of new coal-fired power plants in Michigan.

When the 94th Legislature undertook the task of reforming PA 141 and crafting a comprehensive energy policy for the 21st Century, many important principles guided the process, including expanding sources of renewable energy, developing a statewide energy efficiency plan and updating the state’s aging base load power plant capacity. While all important in their own right, no factor loomed as large over the deliberation as the prospect for expanded job creation and economic growth that these changes would facilitate, As a result, a broad coalition representing business and labor worked hand-in-hand with legislators of both parties as well as the Administration in crafting this multi-faceted proposal that you signed into law.

With the issuance of ED 2009-02, we are concerned that this central goal of the legislation, namely job creation, may be compromised or at the very least stalled in a time when Michigan can least afford to move slowly. By delaying the permitting process for construction of new base load power plants in the state, the state is in a sense reneging on the promise of’ thousands of new construction jobs far Michigan residents. While the stated motivation for ED 2009—02 may be admirable, we feel that the urgent need to create jobs in Michigan trumps most all other priorities during this time of economic crisis.

Therefore, we respectfully ask that you reconsider this shift in energy policy. Though we may not be able to control all the factors that have driven Michigan’s unemployment rates, we have an obligation to use the tools at our disposal to affect the change that we can. Clearly rethinking the policy set forward in ED 2009-02 is something you can control. Thank you far your attention to this matter.

Educate Yourself Before Voting

2008-10-15T13:25:00.011-04:00

By Rob, a Meat 'n' Potatoes Voter

"The biggest argument against democracy is a five minute discussion with the average voter." -Winston Churchill

Inform yourself. These sites provide information on candidates, ballot proposals, the issues, and voting procedures. Share this with friends, family, and colleagues.

Research the Candidates and Ballot Proposals

Project Vote Smart
http://www.vote-smart.org/
Enter your ZIP Code to research your candidates, including:

Issue Positions from the Political Courage Test (some candidates are too weak to make their stances known)
Campaign Finances (find out who's giving them money)
Interest Group Ratings (certain interest groups rate the candidates)
Voting Records
Public Statements
Biographical Information

Michigan Voter Guide (from League of Women Voters of Michigan)
http://tinyurl.com/6s9oqo
Explanation of ballot proposals and questionnaires submitted to the candidates

Watch the Presidential and Vice Presidential Debates

Presidential Debate 1

Presidential Debate 2

Presidential Debate 3

Vice Presidential Debate

Vote411 (from the League of Women Voters)
http://www.vote411.org/
Information on election procedures.

Research the Issues

citizenJoe
http://www.citizenjoe.org/
This site explains the issues in simple terms. Just click on a category on the right-hand side. I haven't checked it out too much, but it claims to be "the friendly, smart antidote to partisanship and spin. A multi-partisan organization - with conservatives, liberals and everything in between - cJ promotes open, fact-based dialogue both online and off."

"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried...." -Winston Churchill

Let's make it a little better. Share this with friends, family, and colleagues, and remember to vote.

Get Out the Vote!

2008-10-14T18:03:00.003-04:00

McCain pulling out of Michigan is old news, by now. There isn't anyone who hasn't heard, who doesn't know.

And it is for precisely that reason that the democratic campaign in Michigan has transformed from Obama vs. McCain to Obama vs. Voter Apathy.

What this means, friends, is that you need to get out and vote. There are 22 days remaining until Election Day, and even if we are leading by a massive margin at that time, it'll mean absolutely nothing if we don't vote. Voter apathy is very real, and a strong lead only makes it worse. If voters, especially first-time ones, see an inevitable win by the leads in the polls, they are less likely to get up and vote because they figure we've got it in the bag.

Now, more than ever, we need everyone we can get canvassing and calling and campaigning. You can sign up to canvass and call at the Obama Campaign for Change Office. Just putting up a yard sign is not enough.

Make sure everyone you know gets to the polls on Election Day, and have them make sure everyone they know gets to the polls, and so on and so forth. We need every vote we can get!

Get Out and VOTE for Change in November!

Intelligence and the Presidency - Rushdie and Obama

2008-10-08T01:22:00.003-04:00

On Monday night in Mount Pleasant we were treated to a delightful intelligent presence in author Salmon Rushdie who among other things hoped Americans would chose this time an intelligent President.

On Tuesday night we saw the difference between a Harvard-educated attorney who was the first black man to become the editor of the Harvard Law Review and a spoiled petulant Navy brat who finished near the bottom of his Naval Academy class.

On the one hand we have an old Navy brat who crashed several planes and despite "collaborating" with the enemy while imprisoned is still considered by some a "hero."

On the other hand we have a thoughtful, skilled and yes, intelligent. man speak gently and clearly about where he would lead the country.

The make believe maverick referred to his opponent as " the other one." The intelligent one disagreed without being disagreeable.

Intelligence won the debate. And with all of our help, he will be President Obama soon.

Sir Rushdie, America IS better than Europeans now think we are. We will prove it on election day 2008.

Dirty Election Tricks and How to Avoid Them

2008-10-07T18:21:00.003-04:00

As we reach the endgame, with less than a month remaining until Election Day, parties are pulling out the stops. This means dirty tricks to keep out the vote, folks. I encourage each and every one of you to read this article and send it to all your friends.

The more who are informed, the less who are taken in and cheated out of their voice!

If You Can't Stand the Heat...

2008-10-06T22:31:00.002-04:00

The saga of the probe into Sarah Palin's firing of a state commissioner continues as Alaskan Republicans are asking the state's highest-level courts to block the investigation, saying it is too political and too invasive.

Come on, Republicans! How much more obvious can you make it that Palin is at fault here? If she has nothing to hide, then why are you hiding it for her? The Republican Party is incriminating itself and sullying its appearance. How can you preach straight talk to the peoples' face, then turn around and hinder an investigation into the past actions of your oil princess? That's not straight talk! That is good old-fashioned dirty, deceptive politics. I have no idea how the actions of the Republican Party and McCain campaign in Alaska have not garnered more attention and discussion. This is a huge deal, and apparently no one is noticing.

Today marks the end of the voter registration window, but that means it's time to focus our efforts on the independents and iffy Republicans. We cannot stand for four more years of the same dirty politics that we have seen so far in the handling of the Palin probe!

Obama Rally 10/2/08

2008-10-04T09:51:00.002-04:00

On Thursday I had the privilege and honor of seeing Sen. Barack Obama speak live at Michigan State University. Some almost 20,000 supporters and otherwise came to the rally, completely filling Adams Field and spilling out onto the street, blocking traffic. My high school, Sacred Heart Academy of Mt. Pleasant, sent along some 60 students, filling two buses - for those of you who aren't acquainted with SHA, that is nearly half of the high school.

We were lucky to be near the "front" - that is to say, 50-60 rows of people back, and barely able to see the Senator. However, see him we could, and hear him we did.

One of the first topics he touched on was voter registration, reminding us that only a few days are left until registration closes. He stressed the importance of registering friends and family and acquaintances and encouraging them to the polls come November.

He also talked a lot about the economy, especially as related to the college student and the prospective college student. He pointed out that college is expensive as is, and if the economy gets worse, higher education will become even less affordable. He discussed the absolute importance of our political and social freedoms as outlined in the Bill of Rights, as well as the American dream, and keeping that dream alive and achievable for every one of us.

The speech gave me chills and inspired me, and it was an experience I wish I could share fully with each and every one of you.

Read the official article here.

McCain Abandoned Michigan and Forgot to Tell Palin About It

2008-10-04T09:32:00.004-04:00

In this morning's edition of the Chicago Tribune, there is a startling revelation. Sarah Palin was not told by McCain that their campaign abandoned Michigan. She read about it in Friday's newspaper!

Of course she didn't mention by name which newspaper she read it in - and we all saw the interview last month in which Palin couldn't specifically name any ONE newspaper that she read.

However alarming the apparent disconnect between the Republican Presidential nominee and the Republican Vice Presidential nominee is, more disturbing is the fact that it took Sarah Palin a whole half day to discover the fact that McCain was pulling out of Michigan in the first place. By Thursday afternoon CNN and Fox News were both running stories on the planned pull-out. Surely even if the lines of communication between McCain and Palin are broken SOMEONE on Palin's entourage is tasked with monitoring the major tv national news networks.

The reality is that now we have a Golden Opportunity to reach out to fair-minded and moderate Republicans. McCain has turned his back on over 10 million voters by abandoning Michigan. McCain has given us Straight Talk that he believes that there is nothing for him to gain in Michigan. Let's reach out to our neighbors and friends and show them that there is someone in this race that really cares about us.

And lest they believe the rhetoric by Palin that she wants to visit Michigan and try and woo us, let us not forget the fact that there are parts of Alaska, the state that she is the governor of, that she hasn't even been to.

So before the voters of Michigan welcome Sarah Palin with open arms, maybe she should return to her home state and visit the parts of Alaska that she's never been to before. Just a thought.

It's Official: McCain is Abandoning Michigan

2008-10-02T22:36:00.004-04:00

I had just came back from hearing Michelle Obama speak in Saginaw and was browsing the web. A blogger on Politico.com reported that anonymous Republican officials were quoted as saying that McCain would be pulling his campaign out of Michigan. However the NYTimes has just published a more reputable story, citing statements by the McCain Campaign itself. McCain is giving up his attempts to win over Michigan voters. He is withdrawing his campaign staff and campaign dollars from Michigan.

Ironically, Senator McCain gives on his own website, the following "quote of the week":

"We will disagree from time to time on a specific issue, but I promise you this: I will never let you down and I will always, always put my country first."

Apparently Senator McCain has decided that he's going to disagree with Michigan voters on enough issues that he's not going to spend any more time in Michigan. And if he's willing to turn his back on Michigan voters BEFORE he's elected, what does that tell us about how a potential McCain-Palin Administration would treat Michigan residents?

And just now, Steve Schmidt, the Chief Operating Officer of McCain's Presidential campaign, when asked by a reporter to comment on the campaign's decision to pull out of Michigan TURNED HIS BACK on the reporters and walked away, without responding.

And that tells us what the entire McCain organization thinks of Michigan. Thanks for the Straight Talk, Senator!

Even the Conservatives Are Wondering....

2008-09-30T16:55:00.002-04:00

The articles are popping up more and more frequently. Right-wing columnists are questioning the Republican Party's VP choice, and the faction calling for Governor Sarah Palin to step down from her VP candidacy is growing larger every public appearance.

This issue really tears me: my optimistic side says that she should stay on, because it will make a Democratic win that much easier, but my pessimistic side wants very badly for her to step down - in the event of a Republican win, I do not want her second in line for the presidency.

However, one must also ask - is a month and change enough time for Palin to step down, and for McCain to choose and campaign a new running mate? We are too close to the election for Palin to step down now, which is both great news and potentially terrible news.

Read more about right-wing opposition to Sarah Palin here.

Smear mail, and what to do about it

2008-09-29T21:44:00.003-04:00

This is from an organization called Truth Fights Back. They are providing an excellent new service to counter the smears that the Republicans are sending every day.

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John McCain Hopes You Delete This!
If you're like tens of millions of others, you've gotten an email with a subject line like that. A forward of an email with a catchy, titillating subject.

Only they are never about John McCain. They're about Barack Obama. And they are almost always filled with distortions, misstatements, and outright lies.

We started TruthFightsBack.com to deal with smears, and those types emails were a big motivator for us. And, thanks to all of you, TruthFightsBack has been a great success.

But we can do better. We know that when you get a smear email, you want to get the truth fast, and you want it laid out in a way that can convince the undecided, swing voters. So we began a new project of TruthFightsBack.com called the Center for Political Accuracy focused specifically on this aspect of fighting anonymous smear emails in real-time, and we've got an exciting new tool to use in this battle.

You can email me at brian@politicalaccuracy.com with your smear and our system can read your smear and get me our researched response immediately, and I'll email back a reply debunking the original email. This can all happen in 10 minutes or less, so you can be armed with the truth and reply to everyone who got the original smear.

Just copy this email address into your address book, and make sure to email me right away next time you get a smear.

brian@politicalaccuracy.com

700 Billion and no oversight

2008-09-23T08:18:00.003-04:00

President Bush is at it again. The 700 billion dollar bailout bill that is currently before Congress has this little clause:

“Section 8 Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.“ If you think I’m making this up, you can read it here in the Wall St. Journal blog.

Yes, the Bush administration is asking Congress to give the Secretary of the Treasury the authority to spend $700 billion as he wishes, without any real oversight or accountability. With respect to Congress, the proposed legislation requires the Secretary to merely submit reports about his activities to Congress. This is like giving your n’er do well brother-in-law carte blanche to your retirement fund, and asking that he just let you know every now and then what he did with the money that you’ll never see again.

We’ve already been told that this amount of money will likely cripple the American economy (this is on top of the approximately two trillion dollars the war will cost us), but the Administration is trying to, once again, remove Congress from having any say in how the money is spent.

Contact Stabenow and Levin TODAY and ask them, once again, to stand up to the insanity and keep this bill from passing.

Transparency No More

2008-09-21T21:56:00.004-04:00

We've heard it countless times from the Republican Party. The mass media market is a tool of the liberals throughout the country. I wonder if they say the same thing of the Anchorage Daily News in Gov. Palin's home state of Alaska.

In a stinging editorial published Saturday, the Editorial Board of the Anchorage Daily News came right out and stated that the McCain Campaign has taken over the state government. Read all about it here.

"Gov. Sarah Palin has surrendered important gubernatorial duties to the Republican presidential campaign. McCain staff are handling public and press questions about actions she has taken as governor. The governor who said, "Hold me accountable," is hiding behind the hired guns of the McCain campaign to avoid accountability." writes the Editorial Board in Saturday's paper.

What happened to transparency? What happened to accountability? Of course this isn't the FIRST action of the McCain campaign.

"Edward O'Callaghan, who until recently was co-chief of the terrorism and national security unit of the U.S. attorney's office in New York, and a former Palin spokeswoman now working for the national campaign, accused Monegan of a "rogue mentality" and "outright insubordination." They said he had flown to Washington, D.C., without Palin's approval to lobby for more police funding."

BUT WAIT. It gets better. Monegan's "outright insubordination" of flying to DC to lobby for more police funding was approved by Palin's Chief of Staff. Read about the authorization here. Maybe Gov. Palin will now tell voters that she didn't know what her Chief of Staff was doing when he authorized the Commissioner's trip to DC.

That darn liberally-biased media. No bias here. Just the facts. Or in this case, the tell-tale signature.

A beautiful day in the neighborhood

2008-09-20T16:22:00.001-04:00

Joe Biden, in an email to Obama-Biden supporters:

Right now, this race is neck-and-neck.

And it's all going to come down to what supporters like you do -- or don't do -- in these last 45 days.

...

Millions of Americans are counting on Barack and me to defeat John McCain and deliver the change this country needs -- but we can't do it alone.

Each of us needs to do our part. What's going to win this election for us is organizing on the ground, person-to-person, and growing this movement.

Biden took the opportunity to highlight the Neighbor-to-Neighbor tool, which is an online mechanism that allows you to get in touch with people in your neighborhood.

Check it out, use it, and spread the word!

The Republican Rally

2008-09-18T00:22:00.004-04:00

Tonight I found myself at the McCain/Palin rally in Grand Rapids on a trip with my school. My history teacher told me Monday that he had twenty tickets to see speeches from both candidates, and I practically jumped out of my seat to go, mind working all the while on how I could cover the rally for the left side.

Needless to say, I was a bit overprepared tonight - I had with me a voice recorder (yes, I recorded both speeches and the Q & A in their entirety) and a notebook, as well as a camera manned by a Democratic classmate and close friend. I took five pages of notes, front and back, and I hope that I can give you a bit of insight into what the Republican Party's got planned.

Before the doors opened for seating, we got to spend a delightful 20 minutes outside in the sun - an experience made WAY better by seeing our Dems out in full force, lining the streets in protest. In fact, the Democratic protestors were more enthusiastic than the Republicans, and it wasn't even our rally!

Once inside, I was struck by the "well-behavedness" of the Republicans. Isn't this supposed to be a rally? Where's the screaming? Instead, we all filed into chairs and were treated to - oh boy! - country and sixties music. A recurring theme tonight was just how well the Republicans knew who their constituencies were.

Eventually, ten to twenty minutes after the advertised start time of 5:30, Congressman Pete Hoekstra emerged, introducing a few speakers and, ultimately, Governor Palin and Senator McCain. I was possibly alone in that I was irked when Hoekstra made a comment about how the McCain/Palin ticket was going to fight back and finally beat the "radical jihadist" threat. Let's see if we can be any more offensive, Pete!

And this militarism was not only found in Congressman Hoekstra. The all-volunteer Christian school pep band played Anchors Aweigh a total of three times. Yes, we get it, McCain was in the Navy! Cool! Additionally we got to hear God Bless America and My Country Tis of Thee a number of times, as well as reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, singing the National Anthem, and being led in prayer, all of which was a great introduction to the major themes of the night - nationalism, militarism, and blurring the line separating church and state.

It was incredibly ironic how many of McCain's buzzwords and 'quotable lines' were stolen straight from Senator Obama. Right at the beginning of the rally, speaker Ann Schmidt, a collegiate Republican, mentioned that "McCain doesn't see Republicans and Democrats, he sees Americans," to a rousing wave of applause. Is this reminiscent of the 2004 Democratic Covention to anyone else? How about their new slogan, "We Can Do It"? Ring a bell to anyone? To top it off, McCain and Palin both went on and on about change and hope and "no more politics as usual" and a "government on your side." Gee, those ideals sound mighty familiar!

Even the young woman held up as a 'turn voter' testified that she wasn't much of a Democrat to begin with, just brought up that way. Flimsy!

The whole night I heard pandering to one group of voters after another. Nationalism that toed the line, on the other side of which stood rampant imperialism. A blatant disregard for separation that send shivers down my spine straight into my hardcore atheistic boots.

However, my abosolute favorite (read: ironic) quote of the night was when McCain was asked about his plans for defense of the country, and how he would treat defense spending. He responded that he would never cut defense spending. His reason? "We live in a dangerous world!" Wow. A vote for McCain really is a vote for George Bush III.

John McCain's Not-So-Secret Campaign

2008-09-17T03:42:00.007-04:00

The current election is in a bizarre state. In a society so tired of Republican smear campaigns, I have to question what levels of apathy the majority of Americans must have. Has anyone actually been following the news? Does anyone even care?

Barack Obama, according to the National Journal, is the most Liberal Senator in the United States Congress.

The same poll was unable to rate John McCain because he missed more than half of the votes taken in Congress. That's right: more than half. The only Senators to miss more votes than John McCain: a man with a brain hemorrhage, a dead guy, and the guy to succeed him.

That's just a little bit of information I had to get out of the way. Anyway, this election is turning out to be a chapter from a Karl Rove strategy book, circa 2004. The Republican party has, once again, been able to fool the country (AP- John McCain is leading Barack Obama at 52%). The stock market fell 509 pts. Monday, one of the most devastating economic blows in history, thanks to the lax policies ann no oversight of the Bush administration. Strikingly, John McCain has somehow disconnected himself with the policies of George Bush by using the same smear tactics Bush himself used in 2004.

Let me make this perfectly clear: John McCain has voted with President Bush, including supporting his failed Economic policies, 95% of the time. So how can a man who offers no change from Bush's economic plan make people believe he does? Its simple: lie.

Well, ok, that may be a strong word. But John McCain certainly isn't telling the whole truth. Its actually amazing political strategy, I will give the Republicans that: they certainly know how to manipulate. Here's what John McCain is doing, and don't take my word for it: turn on a TV.

John McCain is promising to put the country on a different track, and bring change to America. What's odd is he offers no real plan to do so. Instead of ever offering an actual plan, McCain's speeches go a little something like this:

"John McCain and Sarah Palin will bring change to America!"
'Backtrack a previous statement'
"They are the real Mavericks in this campaign."
'insert three slurs about Obama'
"Drill, baby, drill!"
'insert sexism accusations'
"Experience you can believe in.
'insert elitism accusations'

No real ideas or plans, no specific solutions; just fancy one-liners followed by hundreds of personal attacks on Barack Obama's character.

In fact, The Washington Post calls John McCain's campaign "A Disgraceful and Dishonorable Campaign" and Time Magazine says he is running "the sleaziest ads...ever seen".

I've had enough of John McCain's series of lies about Obama to distract from actual issues. Even more, I've had enough of the same tactics the Republicans have been using to scare the American public into voting for them. Mostly, however, I've had enough of the implications that suggests about our society. Does John McCain really believe we are that stupid?. Anymore, John McCain's lies are so obvious that even the news pundits are refuting them, citing them as "deception". If the American public is as smart as I believe it to be, why is a strategy this blatant working? How can the American public take a Presidential candidate seriously who tries so desperately to pull the wool over everyone's eyes?

I personally believe America to be a great country full of smart and hard-working individuals. The problem is, many Americans have become too apathetic to politics. Who can blame them, really? The mean, bitter fight that the Republicans have turned Presidential races into is repulsive enough to deter anyone. That still doesn't excuse the fact the fate of this country rests on the outcome of the election: no person in this country will be better off by simply deciding their votes on the one-liners between two candidates.

I implore every American: take twenty minutes a day out of your life to watch some sort of nightly news. There's no possible way to determine who should run our country if you aren't even aware of who is running.

Many political analysts are beginning to wonder whether all of these dishonest statements are going to backfire against McCain. If something doesn't change, I'm not sure it will.