Author Topic: My New Hero  (Read 6692 times)

Offline Daniel

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Re: My New Hero
« Reply #10 on: November 06, 2006, 05:40:08 pm »
What issues is Barack Obama running on? I haven't been very much involved in politics since the Natural Law Party dropped out of the national running, and I would certainly love to find a candidate with a forward-looking platform instead of one trying to content the masses.
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mvansand76

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Re: My New Hero
« Reply #11 on: November 06, 2006, 05:43:44 pm »
Oh God, I love Keith Olbermann from the bottom of my heart, I always watch his special comments on the internet, because we don't have MSNBC on TV here in Holland. His clear way of speaking is brilliant and he reminds me of 50's anchormen... Is he one of the only anchormen in the US who really speaks his mind?

Offline ednbarby

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Re: My New Hero
« Reply #12 on: November 06, 2006, 07:51:28 pm »
Um, it's Barack Obama--and he could well be our first Black president. At the risk of sounding both offensive and more cynical than I am, I think he's ideal for that role, and one reason being that while his father was Black, his father was also an immigrant to the U.S. from Africa--which means that while Obama is Black, he is not personally--as in his own family background--burdened with the history of slavery, so that issue cannot be used against him.

And I have another new hero, too, at the moment--Mike Jones, the hustler who blew the whistle on that hypocritical Pharisee Ted Haggard.

Uh... I was doing the last name first thing?

It's official:  I'm retarded.  Shows what I know.  Thanks for straightening me out on that one, Jeff.

And I agree with you - I'm a big fan of Mike Jones, too.  And not because he happened to out a particularly hypocritical Republican that I loathe passionately anyway - but because it took a lot of cajones to do what he did knowing that he'd be incriminating himself for hustling and for possibly trafficking meth.  I don't know how the law works on that (hell, I don't know my favorite politicians' names!) - maybe you can't be prosecuted for things of that nature when you're no longer hustling/selling.  Still, it took a lot of guts.  I've seen an interview of him, and he doesn't at all strike me as someone who's looking to get his fifteen minutes of infamy.  It seems like he's sincerely just trying to point out the hypocrisy in terms of the coming election.

And as I always say and has been said in other ways here, show me a homophobe, and I'll show you a closeted homosexual.  It's tragic how he's propogated his self-loathing to so many impressionable young minds.  If nothing else, that Mike Jones brought that to an end is reason enough to find him heroic.
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Offline ednbarby

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Re: My New Hero
« Reply #13 on: November 06, 2006, 08:05:23 pm »
What issues is Barack Obama running on? I haven't been very much involved in politics since the Natural Law Party dropped out of the national running, and I would certainly love to find a candidate with a forward-looking platform instead of one trying to content the masses.

Here is some very good news about Mr. Obama:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-11-06-obama-president_x.htm

And from his "official website," here's how he stands on the issues:

http://obama.senate.gov/issues/

Defense

With the nation facing unprecedented threats, our military needs to remain the world's best. We must adapt the Pentagon to face 21st century threats such as global terrorists and loose nuclear weapons in the former Soviet states. Senator Obama is working to ensure that the nation's defense capabilities are strong, agile, and prepared and that our troops are provided with the equipment they need.

Seniors

As we transition to an increasingly global economy, many Americans are at risk of being left behind through no fault of their own. Among those most affected by these changes are senior citizens, many of whom are on fixed incomes. We need to modernize our social safety net to help senior citizens meet these new challenges, but we also must preserve those elements, such as Social Security and Medicare, that have enabled us to fulfill our moral commitments to our parents and grandparents.

Crime

Senator Obama is a strong proponent of tougher measures to fight crime, in particular the growing problem of methamphetamines, which has ravaged many communities in Illinois. He has also advocated providing more resources to local law enforcement officers.

Environment

As a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator Obama has worked to ensure our nation's environmental laws and policies balance America's needs for a healthy, sustainable environment with economic growth.

Homeland Security

Senator Obama believes that greater attention needs to be paid to the nation’s homeland security. To that end, he has supported efforts to distribute more funds to cities like Chicago most at risk of a terrorist attack. He has also introduced legislation to strengthen chemical plant and drinking water security and to enhance disaster preparedness.

Immigration

Senator Obama shares the growing public concern about illegal immigration in the United States. The challenge facing President Bush and Congress is how to effectively stop the flow of illegal immigrants across our borders, better manage immigration flows going forward, and deal with illegal aliens who are already living and working in this country.

Education

Senator Obama is committed to providing every American with the opportunity to receive a quality education, from pre-kindergarten to college or vocational school to job retraining programs.

Health Care

Promoting affordable, accessible, and high-quality health care was a priority for Barack Obama in the Illinois State Senate and is a priority for him in the United States Senate. He believes firmly that health care should be a right for everyone, not a privilege for the few.

Veterans

As a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, Senator Obama is committed to helping the heroes who defend our nation today and the veterans who fought in years past.

Ethics and Lobbying Reform

Throughout his political career, Barack Obama has been a leader in fighting for open and honest government. During his first year as an Illinois State Senator, he helped lead the fight to pass Illinois' first ethics reform bill in 25 years. As a U.S. Senator, he has spearheaded the effort to clean up Washington in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal.

__________________________________

Nothing revolutionary, here, except maybe the health care issue.  Otherwise, pretty moderate.  But that's why I think he's the answer.  I don't think you're going to get the majority of electoral votes by being too extreme either way anymore.  I know quite a few Republicans like my father who think Bush is out of control and who are very much against the role religion seems to be starting to take in politics.  They're not adverse to voting for a Democrat if he's considered truly moderate.  Kerry really wasn't.  And too many people seem to dislike the idea that Gore felt he was somehow entitled to be President (and yet these same nimrods have no problem with the Bush Family running this country - go figure).  Still that's an image Gore can't shake.  I'm hoping his mumblings about possibly running again will be one of those ideas that doesn't come to pass.

________________________________________


Here's a little more from his website - a bit more in-depth stuff on what he's been working on and his background:

About Barack Obama
United States Senator for Illinois



Senator Barack Obama

Barack Obama has dedicated his life to public service as a community organizer, civil rights attorney, and leader in the Illinois state Senate. Obama now continues his fight for working families following his recent election to the United States Senate.

Sworn into office January 4, 2005, Senator Obama is focused on promoting economic growth and bringing good paying jobs to Illinois. Obama serves on the important Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees legislation and funding for the environment and public works projects throughout the country, including the national transportation bill. He also serves on the Veterans ’ Affairs Committee where he is focused on investigating the disability pay discrepancies that have left thousands of Illinois veterans without the benefits they earned. Senator Obama also serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

During his seven years in the Illinois state Senate, Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which in three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families across the state. Obama also pushed through an expansion of early childhood education, and after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Senator Obama enlisted the support of law enforcement officials to draft legislation requiring the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

Obama is especially proud of being a husband and father of two daughters, Malia, 8 and Sasha, 4. Obama and his wife, Michelle, married in 1992 and live on Chicago ’s South Side where they attend Trinity United Church of Christ.

Barack Obama was born on August 4th, 1961, in Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. and Ann Dunham. Obama graduated from Columbia University in 1983, and moved to Chicago in 1985 to work for a church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment. In 1991, Obama graduated from Harvard Law School where he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review.





« Last Edit: November 06, 2006, 08:11:56 pm by ednbarby »
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Offline ednbarby

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Re: My New Hero
« Reply #14 on: November 06, 2006, 08:21:53 pm »
Oh God, I love Keith Olbermann from the bottom of my heart, I always watch his special comments on the internet, because we don't have MSNBC on TV here in Holland. His clear way of speaking is brilliant and he reminds me of 50's anchormen... Is he one of the only anchormen in the US who really speaks his mind?

I agree - he reminds me very much of Edward R. Murrow.  And not the cold, soulless one as he was depicted in George Clooney's - I'm sorry, but - awful "Good Night and Good Luck," but the real one you can see in documentary footage.

And if there is another TV journalist (who isn't a comedian pretending to be a journalist, with all due respect to Jon Stewart)who speaks really his mind against the Bush Administration, I've sure not seen one.  God knows there are enough of them who regularly sing their praises.  Liberal media, my arse.
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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: My New Hero
« Reply #15 on: November 06, 2006, 08:24:29 pm »
Uh... I was doing the last name first thing?

It's official:  I'm retarded.  Shows what I know.  Thanks for straightening me out on that one, Jeff.

And I agree with you - I'm a big fan of Mike Jones, too.  And not because he happened to out a particularly hypocritical Republican that I loathe passionately anyway - but because it took a lot of cajones to do what he did knowing that he'd be incriminating himself for hustling and for possibly trafficking meth.  I don't know how the law works on that (hell, I don't know my favorite politicians' names!) - maybe you can't be prosecuted for things of that nature when you're no longer hustling/selling.  Still, it took a lot of guts.  I've seen an interview of him, and he doesn't at all strike me as someone who's looking to get his fifteen minutes of infamy.  It seems like he's sincerely just trying to point out the hypocrisy in terms of the coming election.

And as I always say and has been said in other ways here, show me a homophobe, and I'll show you a closeted homosexual.  It's tragic how he's propogated his self-loathing to so many impressionable young minds.  If nothing else, that Mike Jones brought that to an end is reason enough to find him heroic.

No, you're not. Retarded. I completely missed it.

Like: "Obama. Barrack Obama."  ;D

And thanks for your observations on Mike Jones, too. What he did took more intestinal fortitude than I possess, and I know it. I was a little troubled that he was said to have flunked the lie detector questions that had to do with having sex with Haggard, but I guess that's a moot point since Haggard has confessed.

I cannot begin to say how much I am physically revolted by people like Ted Haggard. I'm not looking to preach a sermon here, or to offend the atheists, but, as a believer myself, I meant exactly what I said when I called him a Pharisee. If people like him don't like gays, that's their right in a free nation, but people like him who try to use religion--specifically Christianity--to cloak their reactionary social opinions/agenda while they cozy up to the ruling authorities are just like the sort of people--the Pharisees--whom Jesus of Nazareth excoriated in first-century Palestine. And they're just as blind, since they cannot see themselves in the Bible they profess to revere so much.

OK, sorry folks--out of my pulpit/off my soap box. ...
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline ednbarby

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Re: My New Hero
« Reply #16 on: November 06, 2006, 08:33:50 pm »
And thanks for your observations on Mike Jones, too. What he did took more intestinal fortitude than I possess, and I know it. I was a little troubled that he was said to have flunked the lie detector questions that had to do with having sex with Haggard, but I guess that's a moot point since Haggard has confessed.

I cannot begin to say how much I am physically revolted by people like Ted Haggard. I'm not looking to preach a sermon here, or to offend the atheists, but, as a believer myself, I meant exactly what I said when I called him a Pharisee. If people like him don't like gays, that's their right in a free nation, but people like him who try to use religion--specifically Christianity--to cloak their reactionary social opinions/agenda while they cozy up to the ruling authorities are just like the sort of people--the Pharisees--whom Jesus of Nazareth excoriated in first-century Palestine. And they're just as blind, since they cannot see themselves in the Bible they profess to revere so much.

I will hand it to Haggard in that he at least has confessed, only insomuch as it takes the burden of proof off of Mike Jones.  I can totally understand where he would have an emotional reaction to that question that would make the lie detector needle jump.  I'm with all the folks, really, who think it's a lousy way to prove someone guilty or innocent - they don't use it in court generally for the reason that it is so unreliable.  I think the fact that he volunteered to do it in the first place says way more than a little blip on the machine.

I despise hypocrisy in any form.  But when someone uses it to influence large numbers of people, many of them young, it absolutely infuriates me.  Is there room up there on that soapbox for me, too?  ;)
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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: My New Hero
« Reply #17 on: November 06, 2006, 11:46:30 pm »
I despise hypocrisy in any form.  But when someone uses it to influence large numbers of people, many of them young, it absolutely infuriates me.  Is there room up there on that soapbox for me, too?  ;)

The more the merrier, Little Darlin'! Yeehaw!  ;D
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.