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Letters to the Editor

Is the recent a sudden snowy weather a sign for the better?

Some cultures believe that snow is sign of coming prosperity and a fresh start. When it snowed early this year in Baghdad, some speculated that the snow was a sign of peace. After years of the climate growing warmer, record natural disasters, wars, terrorism, and bad economic times, we are all ready for a change for the better.

Well, it seems like since Obama's elections good things are already beginning to happen. The oceans are getting cooler, scientists say; the record snowy weather across America, especially in New Orleans, and other things, could be a signal that prosperity is in air. All this may just be a coincidence, but it is worth giving a thought or two. When Bill Clinton was Elected in ’92 and began his Presidency in ’93, we had the "Winter Storm of 93" that paralyzed the South and other regions with record snow fall. The Bill Clinton Presidency was a time of peace and prosperity for America. Regardless of what you think about President Bill Clinton, many of us remember that 1993-2000 were great years for America. Could history repeat it self with the election of Obama? Only time will tell for sure!

To the far left-leaning Democrats that are upset with Obama for inviting Rick Warren to say a Prayer at his inauguration: learn to forgive, guys. Obama has given people who said bad things about him, didn't endorse him, didn't vote for him, and even said he was not ready to be President a place beside him in his cabinet. If Obama is willing to appoint people to his administration that he has not always agreed with, why can't you all just let Pastor Warren say a prayer, even though you don't agree with him on some issues? That is why Obama won red states that no Democrat has won in 40 or 50 years—because he reached out to those who don't always agree with him. That is something that the far left and the far right need to adopt as one of their ways of handling the business of government. Lincoln came under fire for trying to unite the North and the South. Obama is coming under fire for trying to unite Democrats and Republicans. Yet a strong America must be a united America. A house divided cannot stand!

One change we all need is to not let things we disagree on cause us to overlook the fact that we are all Americans, we are all God's creations, and we all must learn to work together.

Let it snow, let it snow!

I have some advice for the President. If the shoe fits, wear it.

On January 20, President-elect Obama will finally have the opportunity to bring the change he has promised by signing an Executive Order that bans torture and cruelty.

In doing so, he would end the ambiguity clouding U.S. interrogation policy and send a clear message to all Americans that torture and ill-treatment of detainees will not be tolerated. Immediate presidential action would also signal to the rest of the world that the U.S. is making a clear break with the mistakes of the recent past.

The National Religious Campaign against Torture, Evangelicals for Human Rights and the Center for Victims of Torture have crafted a Declaration of Principles that calls for a Presidential Executive Order ending the use of torture and cruelty. This Executive Order would provide the basis for a new standard for U.S. interrogation policy that is both effective and lawful—a standard that will allow us to defend our country from terrorists while preserving our shared American values. The Declaration has the support of a broad bipartisan coalition of over two-hundred American leaders—including three former Secretaries of Defense, three former Secretaries of State, four former National Security Advisors, and numerous religious leaders.

You can help ensure that President-elect Obama knows that the American people will support him if he strengthens our security and restores our adherence to our values by instituting an interrogation policy based on a commitment to the rule of law. Please visit www.campaigntobantorture.org and join your voice to the call to end to torture.

Quite a few years ago, I was urged to take an early retirement. I was a skilled trades worker at Chrysler, a die model builder. Since that time I witnessed most of my coworkers being shuffled out by retirement programs or attrition. The apprentice program came to a halt.

I’ve been haunted over the years by the question, where will the skills go? With all the American skilled tradesmen retired out, getting too old to return to work and dying, who will be there in emergency situations? I was assured that the tradesmen were relocating into the job shops, but they are becoming fewer in number.

The answer is obvious: The trades are thriving in Europe and Asia. Our skills have been taught to the rest of the world while we busy ourselves with more important things like counting what’s left of our retirement funds and stock investments. Manufacturing machinery, as well as our talent, has been sold, at discount prices, all around the world, while we deprive ourselves. We buy imports from every market (not only automobiles) because they are cheaper. We give tax breaks to all in the free marketplace....

Soon, if we get into a confrontation with some other world power, they will have the capacity to manufacture ships and planes and tanks and bombs at an alarming rate, while we are scrambling to figure out how we can re-arm ourselves. Historically, the auto industry would change over in an instant to become the greatest arms producer on earth. But we are selling that industry out. If we allow the American auto industry to die, we become vulnerable to attacks from any scatterbrained dictator in the world.

The first step to remedy the problem is to help American auto manufacturing as much as possible with government aid. The next step is just as important; that is, to begin putting taxes on imports which will be, at minimum, at the same rate that other countries tax our exports. Then restore the apprenticeship programs so we can remuscle our manufacturing capacity.

Pulling together now means putting the United States of American, as a country, ahead of everybody else. We must put ourselves before Europe, or Asia, or any import business, or any individual, whether they be foreign or American. This country must come first if we are to survive.

For two decades, the "big three" American auto makers have been making a fortune building and selling gas-guzzling SUVs while Toyota and Honda were developing energy-efficient, well-designed, long-lasting cars. The U.S. automakers were able to profit so mightily because their SUVs were exempted from the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) standards, due to their lobbying of Congress. Now the cry-babies want a bailout? I say, "Heck NO." Let these companies wither or get bought up by companies who know how to make good and useful cars for the 21st century.

The Maryland Taxpayers Association opposes Amendment 2 on the ballot establishing slots in Maryland. MTA takes no position on having fun playing slots. However, the suggestion by those supporting slots that “A vote for slots would prevent new taxes” is blatantly not true. If that were true, tax protection would be written into the law. If it were true that the money would go to education as additional funds, that too would be written into the law.

The problem in Maryland statewide is and has been spending. More money means more to spend. The Governor and the Legislature are addicted to spending and so are many of the counties.

Of course, the budget, no matter how much is wasteful, won’t really be cut. Only cuts in “wished for” increases in spending will be made by the politicians, and then, only by a little, if history is any guide.

Zero spending discipline means more money needs to come from taxpayer pockets. And every Marylander is a taxpayer. We all pay sales taxes, don’t we? And they get raised, don’t they? As also do income, corporate and other taxes.

Government is created by the consent of citizens to foster conditions for individuals to achieve “happiness.” It was not intended to dominate and fleece the public.

Marylanders should vote “NO” on slots and not give Annapolis more license to spend.

It's astonishing to read how much money the McCain campaign and the GOP have spent to turn Governor Sarah Palin into an aw-shucks, Joe Six-packs, Soccer/Hockey mom, who is just like you and me. $150,000 for Ms. Palin's campaign wardrobe ($75K at Neiman Marcus and $50K at Saks Fifth Avenue!). $22,800 for her make-up and $10,000 for her hair (these last two expenses are just for October!) That's more than most average, middle-class Americans make in a year! Not exactly your average soccer/hockey mom, is it?

Remember Cindy McCain's $300,000 outfit that she displayed at the Republican Convention? Okay—$280,000 was for the 3 carat (per ear, I believe) diamond earrings, but still and all, that's a lot of money. And let's not forget the McCain's 8 houses, 13 cars, and private jet. And while the Palins' assets are a more modest $2.1 million, they are still very well off. And these people have the audacity to call Barrack Obama an elitist and claim he is out of touch!

John McCain and Sarah Palin are two very financially fortunate Republicans who claim they feel our pain and can identify with our fears and anxieties. But c'mon, now. McCain and Palin are not afraid of losing their homes, or their jobs, or seeing their life savings and 401K go down the drain, are they? The only thing the maverick and his sidekick, the newly invented hockey/soccer mom, are afraid of is losing this election. And they'll say anything, do anything, and yes, spend anything to keep that from happening.

Well over a billion dollars has been raised by Democrats and Republicans so far during this election season. I believe that Congress should create a political campaign tax. The political parties, political action committees, campaign committees, and all candidates should be required to pay a 10% tax on all contributions and donations. The money could be used to pay for elections, primaries, conventions, and caucuses. Under the current system you and I pay for the two-party election system. I think we need change.

How did Barack Obama become indestructible? No matter what John McCain throws at him, he continues to stay afloat at the top of the polls. I think the answer is that Americans are looking for hope. We've had a financial debacle and a deadly foreign policy mess among many other problems. McCain's past votes and statements have tied him too closely to the causes of those problems. On the other hand, Obama isn't tied to the mistakes of past liberals. Instead, he has had the opportunity to learn from those mistakes.

In our erratic times, Obama is stable and knowledgeable. Success requires hope, and he embodies hope.

This, more than anything, is what attracts me to Barack Obama—the necessary and realistic possibility of hope.

In less than a month, many of us believe that we will be voting for president. What a lot of people don’t know, or have forgotten, is that the Electoral College actually chooses who the next President will be. As I understand it, when we vote for a presidential candidate, we are really voting for a slate of electors. The number of your state's electors is supposed to be equal to the number your state’s Representatives and Senators in Congress. I am sure that you knew that. I would like to know the names of the electors, and I would also like to know why they aren’t listed on the ballot in my state. Do you know the names of your state's electors?

I hope that the Chronicle will explain the Electoral College to the voters so they will understand that “we the people” don’t actually get to decide who becomes president. A group of unknown individuals gets to choose who holds the highest office in the land. If they can’t decide, then either the House of Representatives or the Supreme Court gets to choose.

I believe in popular sovereignty. The Electoral College should be eliminated, and the American people should be allowed to directly elect the President.

I ran for office in 2003 as the Baltimore City Green Party's, first candidate, first African American, and first female. Later, we sued the State of Maryland as a Green Party member for Green Party ballot access (and we won). I am a founding member of the Baltimore City Monumental Greens. I am supporting Barack Obama for the office of President of the United States. I am proud of the professional way he's run the campaign, admire the campaign's imaginative use of marketing, internet tools and am impressed with his superb communication skills. His candidacy gives my grandson a visual image about unlimited possibilities, if he properly prepares himsel . I traveled around the world and lived overseas for over a decade, in Africa, Mexico, the Caribbean and Asia. I saw the effects of the sea shift in American policies, and experienced some negative reactions to my being identified as a American. The Statue of Liberty and all it stands for has been corrupted by USA foreign policies. I am affected by the greed of Wall Street and my grandson and his grandchildren will pay that tax bill. I respect Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party presidential candidate, and were these different times and my country in a different situation, Ms. Cynthia McKinney would have my support. But these are challenging times. I support Barack Obama and believe in his ability, with our help, to effect real change in Washington.

Look, I know I'm not part of the majority here in Texas who plan to vote for Senator John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin.

But I am willing to work in the best interests of the American community and would consider voting for McCain if:

• McCain drops Palin like a hot potato for another running mate

• Americans recognize that the last person we need as VP is a "Joe 6-pack hockey mom"

• We see that a person who lives her life in Wasilly, Alaska cannot and does not speak for most Americans

• McCain changes his mind re: voting for the IAG bail-out and tells Wall Street to pick itself up and start over again without government interference; after all, McCain did vote for more deregulation and should not flip-flop on his previous voting

• Palin stops trying to present herself as a middle class remedial high school dropout

• The "light bulb" goes on above members of our Congress and they all see that deregulation is not just for when corporations make huge profits

• After years of having a dope president, Americans realize that it might not be a bad thing if we elect someone more intelligent to lead our nation.

Only then would I reconsider to vote for Sen. John McCain.

But of course, McCain does not need my vote to win in the state of Texas.

When I saw Sarah Palin look into the TV camera, flash her cosmetic eyelashes, and say so sincerely, "change is coming, and John McCain is the leader of that reform," I could almost believe her. Except I wasn't born yesterday. I've seen McCain fight to remove government regulation and oversight for 26 years, which has dumped us in the financial firestorm that is now melting our economy.

Senator Biden reminded debate viewers that the so-called "maverick" voted for George Bush's budgets, which piled up over $3 trillion in debt. McCain voted for Bush's exclusion of 3.6 million children from the S-CHIP health care plan. He supported Bush's war in Iraq from the beginning, and voted billions of tax breaks for the most wealthy corporations and CEOs.

But even if Palin really does believe that McCain would bring change, he couldn't do it single-handedly. He'd have to use many of the same Republican operatives and lobbyists that are so deeply entrenched in Bush's administration. These are the birds he's flown with all his career, from Alaska to Arizona, to K Street in DC.

Sara Palin did indeed do better than expected last night. In fact, she was frighteningly adept at propaganda, enthusiastically spouting her talking points, while owning Obama's talking points as well. You would hardly have known she's a Republican, except she is such a facile and unapologetic liar!

She kept tossing these lies like little wildfires at Biden's feet, while he was left to stomp them out...that is, when Gwen Ifill's format allowed. In fact, there was not nearly enough time for all the rebuttal that was necessary. Palin took absolutely no responsibility for the massive blunders, theft and criminality of her own party that has been in power these last 8-12 years.

It irritated me to no end that there were no follow-up questions. I was afraid Gwen Ifill would be too concerned with being seen a "partisan" instead of staying on Palin's case, or at least allowing Biden to set the record straight.

But...allowing Palin to dictate the format? That's ridiculous!

....Lots of Americans like "folksy," I guess; to heck with the truth...but let's remember what "folksy" got us LAST time!

In the Sept. 26 debate John McCain again pointed to his leadership. But what kind of leadership? He admits he has followed Bush's policies 90% of the time. Do we want four years of McCain rearranging the deck chairs on Bush's Titanic?

Barack Obama's rise to success is an example of what is right with America. And he is respected by the world's leaders, whose support we need to help protect us against terrorism. Obama's good judgment and Joe Biden's experience are a powerful combination.

McCain hopes that smearing Obama's leadership will appeal to us. et he is vague about the details of his own leadership, since those details would point back to Bush's policies. McCain's many lobbyist advisers would eagerly favor continuing in that direction. That would make Mr. Bush, one of McCain's biggest supporters, happy.

Now yet another Wall Street economic upheaval is demonstrating the danger of poor judgment. We've suffered from the Bush/McCain policies. The GOP has weakened us with economic and foreign policy failures. Do we want to keep going in that direction?

Obama can lead us forward; McCain would drag us Bushward.

1. Adequate oversight and accountability
2. No excessive compensation for officers of bailed-out companies
3. A taxpayer stake in bailed-out companies, through something like stock warrants, so that if/when the bailed-out company regains value, the taxpayers' bailout is recovered, perhaps with profit
4. Opportunity for endangered mortgage holders to renegotiate affordable repayment terms.

As representatives of the mass media, you might be interested in [reporting] on the sociopathic corporate mindset that has led to the current disaster in the housing market and financial sector and that threatens to deprive countless millions of average ciztiens of their homes, if not complete bankruptcy.

I am waiting for even one of you to begin focusing attention on the systemic abuses committed by the real estate cartel over the past two decades ever since the introduction of the legalized fraud known as dual agency (in conjuction with duplicitous affiliated business arrangements and collusion with underhanded appraisers, mortgage lenders, and home inspectors, and with the connivance of venal legislators and so-called regulatory bodies such as state real estate commissions) as a major factor in the artificial inflation of housing values, which were bound to collapse through the sheer weight of fraud, just like the property scams in Florida in the early twentieth century.

If there is any among you with the facts to refute this assertion, I am ready to respond. But after witnessing the mainstream media's univeral cowardice and apathy toward the undue influence and corrupt practices of the [real estate] lobby and its allies in every major institution, I do not expect this ever to happen.

John McCain is behind in the polls. So what does he do? He cancels the freaking national presidential debate! "Country First!" he cries. "I need to go back to Washington to help get the financial crisis resolved. I gotta act Presidential." Yeah right. Like Congress is actually going to be in session at 9 p.m. on a Friday night.

Or are you going back to Washington to protect your buddies on Wall Street, John?

And what about us THREE THOUSAND media people who are scheduled to descend on Oxford, Mississippi in just two days? And what about Obama? Now if he shows up, he's gonna look like a slacker. All because McCain can't get his numbers up in the polls!

And what about ME? I already got my ticket to Memphis. What the freak am I gonna do in Oxford all by myself with all those other lost and distracted 3,000 reporters wandering around looking for a story?

And what about if McCain also cancels the Biden-Palin debate? What if Palin suddenly declares that she has to go back to Alaska to keep her eye on the freaking Russians?

"Country First!"

That's just bull-moose dookie.

The proposed text for the $700 billion bailout does not seem to have a ceiling?

"Sec. 6. Maximum Amount of Authorized Purchases.
The Secretary’s authority to purchase mortgage-related assets under this Act shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time"

"at any one time"? Doesn't that mean they can lend out $700 billion each year, month, week or day, effectively, until the two year limit is up?

It's the law of supply and demand. The more we increase the money supply the less it's worth. So the appointees and lawmakers that neglected common sense to keep CEO's in their jobs, with their salaries, at taxpayer expense. If the taxpayers have to pay for it, why don't they get stock in these companies? As to the assets of the bailouts to be owned by the government, how many of them are already distressed?

We all need to get closer to the truth of what this means.

"This is a crisis of confidence," President Bush intoned from the Rose Garden, and this time... he got it right! Confidence and trust are the fiber of the financial system. People don't sign contracts if they think they won't be honored. Lenders won't lend money if they think the borrower won't repay. But there are some people who try to cheat the system, who break the trust. That's why rules, regulation, and enforcement are needed in the marketplace. Most importantly in this era of complex financial products like repackaged "mortgage securities," truthful reporting of what they are, and what are the risks, is essential for confidence in the market.

George Bush's administration, and its enablers like John McCain, have worked to remove market regulation and reduce its enforcement. Their career-long philosophy is to let business operate without government "interference." As a result, the cheaters took over. They lied on their balance sheets, they misled security ratings, and they created products of deceptive value. Honest brokers couldn't compete for profits that looked too good to be true, and they joined in. The result, we now see, is a collapse of an untrustworthy market.

The critical step toward rebuilding confidence in our economy is to remove the cheaters, liars, and thieves, and their political enablers. Responsible government regulation must protect its citizens, and accordingly, the markets themselves. Game over for Bush, McCain, and the Republican administration.

We American voters believe we have been exploited and abused by self-serving, dishonest lawmakers. We think this is the chief reason why our federal government in Washington is broken. We think there is one Presidential election issue all voters can agree on, and that is they want genuine public servants who genuinely serve our country and its citizens, rather than ceaselessly dissembling and secretly pursuing private agendas of the lawmakers to serve their own interests and paying off friends.

We voters see evidence of this corruption in political scandals that come to light, criminal charges that are brought, the legislative earmarks lawmakers cannot stop making even though they say they will end it, the gerrymandering that goes on, the passing of halfway ethics reforms only because heat has gotten turned up, and the revolving door between government and lobbyists.

Moreover, we voters think that the corruption we see is only the tip of an iceberg.

We voters believe that our self-serving lawmakers manipulate and exacerbate legitimate partisan differences among oters in ways calculated to gain and keep elective office and to distract the voters from focusing on the real self-serving agenda of the lawmakers, which in turn leads to our broken government.

We voters believe the 2008 Presidential election presents an extraordinary opportunity for us to unite and take action against our corrupt and broken government in Washington.

To that end, we voters pledge that, in this election campaign, we will make ethics and corruption the most important issue for us. We will tell that to the Obama and McCain campaigns in every way we can. We will demand that Obama and McCain confess to the voters about their own ethical transgressions in the past, and that, using their campaign resources for research and investigation, McCain and Obama name names and give details about lawmakers who they believe have been transgressors, starting with the most egregious transgressors in their view. We will demand that McCain and Obama call upon Congressional candidates of their own party to do the same thing, that is for those candidates to confess about their own past transgressions and name names and give details about other transgressors. We voters will closely observe how McCain and Obama, and other candidates, respond to our demands. Based on that, we will decide which of the candidates we most believe, if they are elected, will be honest public servants and will reform the ethics laws and take other legislative actions to eradicate corruption in our lawmakers, and we voters will vote accordingly.

We voters will make clear that we will do exactly the same thing in 2010 if it turns out we think we have been deceived by McCain or Obama and other candidates in 2008.

The American people must have forgotten what the 2008 election is about.

It is NOT about building Sarah Palin's image in the eyes of the voters. She is a self-centered narcissist just like the rest of the politicians.

The number 1 issue is the American economy! What are McCain and Palin going to do about it? What will Obama and Biden do?

The number 2 issue is Iraq and the Middle East!

Let the politicians and the media focus on those two issues and NOT what Palin eats for breakfast or what her pregnant daughter is going to do with her life.

It's so easy to divert the focus of American voters. How did we get to be so stupid?

On the 7th anniversary of 9/11, a senseless act of violence, we of American Muslim Voice, striving to create a culture of peace, acceptance, mutual respect and harmony, extend our deepest condolences and prayers to those who have been affected by that event. It has been a difficult time for all of us. We stand divided as a nation and that tragedy has created a culture of fear, anger and hatred. We need to replace it with a culture of hope, love and peace. We need to come together to comfort, love and care for each other so we could heal.

AMV will remain dedicated to the cause of peace. AMV is urging all Americans to honor the victims of 9/11 by working towards creating a culture of peace, acceptance, mutual respect and harmony in the world.

“If one takes a life, it is as if one has taken the life of all humanity. If one saves a single life, it is as if he has saved the life of all humanity.” The Qur'an 5:32.

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it... Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate.

In fact, violence merely increases hate.... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. This is the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We have set before us two paths, a path of hatred, anger and destruction or the path of forgiveness, love and peace. I am begging all my fellow Americans to choose the path of forgiveness, love and peace for the sake of our children, future of our country and peaceful tomorrows.

"Reduce government regulation" is the bedrock Republican philosophy. Even after Enron's larceny, Republicans fought for more deregulation of financial institutions. Having cut operating funds for the SEC, Bush's administration enabled investment banks to operate without adequate oversight.

Now, we taxpayers have bailed out Bear Sterns, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, and Lehman Brothers is lining up for the next handout. We're left paying for Republican billionaire swindles. And John McCain? As one of the Keating Five, he was caught in the savings and loan scam during the other George Bush's presidency. His former campaign co-chair, former Senator Phil Gramm, pushed for the deregulation that set the stage for these scams. Reformer, or more of the same?

We need to kick all those Republicans out of government. Clean up the pig trough. We can't afford four more years of financial corruption.

Elected officials continue to battle amongst themselves, playing politics, instead of doing what is best for the American community.

Probably it won't matter much whether Obama or McCain becomes president. Most likely the fighting will continue in Iraq and here at home and in Washington, D.C.

Democrats and Republicans can't seem to put aside their differences and petty squabbling to do what is best for the American people. Instead of working together "to put things right," each party points a finger at the other, as if putting the blame on a party makes things better.

So, apparently no matter if we get Obama or McCain, the game of "Politics" is destined to continue and consequently, so will the perils within our own democracy as well as the pitfalls of our unstable economy.

Sarah Palin is a Republican WMD: Weapon of Mass Distraction. She is helping to distract the American public and our knee-jerk media from the real issues in this election, principally the abysmal and continuing failure of the Republicans on the domestic and international fronts and McCain's similarities with G.W. Bush from a broad policy standpoint. Not to mention the lobbyist-run McCain campaign and his promise to have "many more wars." Palin the WMD seems to be effective as of now, especially on the pathetic mainstream media. It will be interesting to see in the coming weeks if the WMD effect will weaken or wear off the public or the media. I would not put my money on it.

In case you missed it, the FDA has stated that the offspring of cloned animals may be in our food supply. It is also possible that our food supply contains food that has been genetically engineered, irradiated, or altered by nano-technology. Also, the packages that these food products come in may contain brominated chemicals. But we may never know, because the FDA doesn't require food corporations to put warning labels on food products.

I don't really mind if some people voluntarily choose to eat ''food'' that has been cloned or genetically modified in a laboratory. But what about all the people that don't want to be guinea pigs? If we really are what we eat, then the government needs to clean up our food supply. What is wrong with warning labels?

I can sympathize with GOP VP choice Sarah Palin over her problems. She's being investigated by her own state in a corruption probe over the possible wrongful firing of a public safety officer, which involved her sister's ex-husband. Then we learned that she had supported the Alaskan pork-barrel "bridge to nowhere" until it became an embarrassment. Now we find she may have been a member or supporter of the Alaskan Independence Party, which wants to have a vote on whether Alaska should secede from the United States. She has no foreign policy experience. The right-wing adores her. And on top of all that, her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant.

What next? Doesn't she have enough problems to juggle without being a 72-year-old heartbeat away from our presidency?

John McCain, who'd met Palin only once, claims she was adequately vetted before he chose her for his highest ranking position. So here we have a prime example of the kind of appointments and judgments we can expect from McCain if he finds himself in the White House.

Haven't we had enough embarrassing and painful setbacks during the last eight years?

It looks like Senator Experience just used his good judgment to select the prettiest girl to be his running, er, mate. No more long, lonely hours on the, ahem, Straight Talk Express! The old codger still has a few tricks! Whatta guy.

Dontcha just love the way Republican pundits are spinning her "executive experience!"

Clearly, the Republican candidate and his party have put political game-playing way above concern for governance, and yet their slogan is "Country First." Go figure.

Experience, even the experience that comes with age, does not necessarily make for good judgment. Take Senator John McCain, for instance. On April 1, 2007, he and three Republican Congressmen made a special tour of the Shorja marketplace in Baghdad. Wearing bulletproof vests, they were accompanied by over 100 soldiers in armored Humvees while attack helicopters circled overhead. The area was sealed off from traffic, and sharpshooters protected the roofs.

After walking down the street, talking amiably with specially selected Iraqi merchants, McCain and colleagues announced at a news conference that Shorja was a safe, bustling place, just like a normal outdoor market in Indiana. McCain said he was deeply moved to be able to mix and mingle unfettered.

If Senator McCain could be fooled so easily, on April Fool's Day no less, then his experience isn't all that impressive. We don't need more of the same in the White House.

Later that day, 21 Iraqi workers in the market were abducted.

Many newspapers recognize the absurdity that seniors are being forced to pay penalties for late enrollment under the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan; however, there is another similar and even larger issue no one seems to acknowledge or address.

Every year thousands of senior Americans are charged LIFETIME penalties for "late" enrollment into the Medicare system. Why? Because it's another special interest issue that charges seniors a lifetime penalty of 10 percent for EACH year after their eligibility date that they didn't sign up for their benefits.

So, if someone opts NOT to sign up, or forgets to sign up, during their eligibility year, but decides to do so—say—after four years, they are charged a total penalty of 40 percent EVERY year for the rest of their lives!

Does THAT make any sense?

These are people who have paid into the Medicare system their whole lives. Shouldn't it be their right to sign up at ANY TIME they wish? After all, it doesn't add additional taxpayer costs for them to do so, does it?

The LIFETIME Medicare "late" enrollment penalty TAX is another special interest manipulation of the Medicare system that must go the way of the Wooly Mammoth. Legislators need to get rid of it!

I had to watch the YouTube video to believe Senator John McCain actually said this. n his recent response to the Russia-Georgia conflict, McCain claimed: "In the 21st century, nations don't invade other nations." Has he already forgotten his own support for President Bush's invasion of Iraq? A needless invasion that cost over 4,100 of our troops their lives? Now, that is a true death tax. The invasion of Iraq, which McCain still supports, has also claimed the lives of at least tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians. Are we surprised that Iraqis and the Iraq government are so fed up with our lingering occupation of their country that they want us to get out? How would we feel toward a country if they killed our loved ones, as Bush and McCain have done in Iraq?

Now McCain thinks other nations will take him seriously when he tells them not to invade each other.

The invasion of Iraq was a major event. If McCain can't even remember the most deadly Bush blunder of the 21st century, what other things is he going to forget?

We all know that America is addicted to oil. This addiction plagues our health, our environment, and our security. Given that two thirds of our oil comes from foreign nations leaves us open to the whims of potentially hostile foreign governments, and the combustion of oil in our vehicle chokes our skies with smog and contributes greatly to global warming.

It's not enough to get off of foreign oil—we need to get off of oil altogether. If we are to successfully accomplish this, we need better funding for public transportation, strong conservation measures, higher fuel efficiency standards, and more funding for alternative energy sources. Opening up Virginia and more of Alaska to oil drilling will not solve the problem.

These are common sense solutions, and are well within our grasp—I only hope our elected officials have the wisdom to enact them.

In case you missed it, Homeland Security, Border, and Customs officials now have the right to seize laptop computers, cellphones, iPods, books, and videotapes from American travellers. There is no requirement that they have a warrant or probable cause. And, not too long ago, the government gave phone and cable companies immunity for monitoring our phone calls after 9/11.

I am all for punishing those who were responsible for 9/11, but when did all American citizens become perpetrators and '' persons of interest ''? Big Brotherism is here and we have to fight it before it is too late.

The threat of climate change does surpass the threat of rising gas prices, and the idea of drilling for more oil offshore in order to bring down gas prices is not a good one ["We're a Nation of Lemmings," 7/24/2008]. Even the Bush administration's Energy Information Administration says that drilling off our coasts would have "no significant" impact on gasoline prices, due to the small percentage of oil in the US and the fact that gas prices are determined in the global market. But let us focus on the issue of Global Warming.

Yes, individuals do need to take action to reduce carbon emissions, even if this means making a great personal sacrifice. But individuals aren't the only people who need to take action. Our government is letting us slip through the cracks. We need a national plan that can bring together our individual efforts and push us in the right direction.

Congress has not yet passed global warming legislation that would reduce our national carbon footprint. Our elected officials need to step up to the plate. Achieving meaningful reductions in our carbon footprint requires immediate and significant action.

As individual Americans we need to put in our all; but Congress needs to meet us halfway, by passing strong global warming legislation to send to the new president within months of his taking office.

Quarter after quarter, and year after year, the oil companies post record profits that are even higher than ever before. If they were just passing the high cost of crude oil on to the consumer, their profits would be constant. No, they are squeezing us for excessive profits simply because they can.

Sure, this hurts us consumers. It is also wreaking havoc on our country's economy. And still, they receive billions in tax breaks. These must stop. Instead, the oil companies should pay a windfall-profits tax. Let's use their profits to fund solar and wind energy alternatives. Then we could drive plug-in electric cars with no carbon footprint on the environment.

Karl Rove is a symptom of long-time corruption and manipulation in Washington, DC.

He's a symbol of what's bad in our administration and within our Congress. Both parties are guilty of special-interest catering.

A House panel Wednesday voted to cite former top White House aide Karl Rove for contempt of Congress as its Senate counterpart explored punishment for alleged Bush administration misdeeds.

Voting 20-14 along party lines, the House Judiciary Committee said that Rove had broken the law by failing to appear at a July 10 hearing on allegations of White House influence over the Justice Department, including whether Rove encouraged prosecutions against Democrats such as former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.

The committee decision is only a recommendation, and a spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she would not decide until September whether to bring it to a final vote.

While the symbolic "gesture" of the panel was a Democratic push, our Congress needs to "clean-up its act" and hold more officials of both parties accountable.

Congress has failed Americans and it needs somehow to modify its lack of appropriate decision-making and refraining from providing ongoing profits and perks to special interests.of both parties It's time to move quickly to offer relief to struggling Americans under the crushing weight of economic hardships and general miscalculations regarding many issues, including that of our "free" trade agreements.of both parties.

Apparently, there is a public finance loophole that candidate McCain created to allow him to raise a substantial $62.5 MILLION in private funds.

According to FEC reports that were analyzed by JedReports, a blogger contributing to the Daily Kos, McCain can use the funds for his general election campaign at the same time he uses public financing.

"So not only is John McCain blatantly violating his public financing pledge, but he's doing it in grand style, raising money in increments of up to $70,000 per donor --- more than 30 times the amount a donor can give to [Senator] Barack Obama's general election campaign."

Americans just can't seem to find an abundance of ethical officials at national or state/local levels.

This is another case in point of the American 2-party political system failing the voters and taxpayers in favor of their special interests.

What is happening with John McCain? Recently when he was asked if Barack Obama is a socialist, he said, "I don't know." If Obama is a socialist, that would come as quite a surprise to his many business supporters. But that's not the only thing McCain seems confused about. When asked recently if insurance companies should cover birth control, as some do for Viagra, McCain hedged with, "It's something that I had not thought much about." Apparently he forgot that he'd voted against legislation calling for insurance coverage of birth control.

McCain sometimes seems bewildered when trying to answer questions. He acted surprised this month that Social Security payments come partly from money paid by young workers. Then again, he has admitted he doesn't know as much about our economy as he should. But such knowledge is crucial to us, given the latest Republican recession. And while we're mired in Iraq, he sometimes confuses Sunnis with Shiites and says he wouldn't mind if our troops stayed there for a hundred years.

It's all adding up to a disturbing pattern. Please take care of yourself, Senator McCain. Because I don't think you can take care of us.

There is a lot of blame being thrown around about the high costs and prices of gasoline.

Apparently, nothing will stop Democrats from pointing their fingers at the GOP and vice-versa, blaming each other for all our woes regarding gasoline usage and high costs.

Many people point their fingers at oil companies as the source of the problem, stating that these companies are pushing prices up for profiteering motives.

Others look at OPEC, condemning it for exploiting its "power & control" over the world's oil supply and its desire to increase profits.

Certain people point to consumers as a major source of the problem, since gas and oil usage continues to escalate throughout the world. Emerging nations during the next decade, e.g., China, will increase energy usage dramatically and add to the problem of increasing gas prices.

It is a good bet that many people also view the lack of more U.S. oil drilling and refining along with the need to provide incentives for more research and development of realistic alternative energy as two additional causes for our current oil and gas problems.

In reviewing the above issues, we may draw the conclusion that each of these is an ongoing problem and together they are causing high gasoline prices here at home and abroad.

The sooner we stop trying to assign the blame and start to develop resolutions for all these issues, the sooner we will become a nation more independent in its own energy usage and better able to control its energy costs.

High energy costs are a global issue, not just here at home.

Former Senator Jesse Helms is dead and gone. Many conservatives will call him a patriot [just like Strom Thurmond] and try to moderate some of views. They will point out that he was friends with Bono. We must never forget that he never supported civil rights. Just like Strom Thurmond, Jesse Helms was a racist when he was a Democrat, and he was a racist when he was a Republican.

I am writing to inform you that some of Mr. Brasch's assertions are incorrect. In particular, the statement ..."Once he said he would pull the U.S. out of Iraq. End that war. Now, he’s calling for a phased withdrawal." This is incorrect. Barack Obama's position has always been to leave Iraq carefully but steadily, with the goal to be out in 16 months. His statement Friday was a restatement of that policy with specific reference to speaking to the generals on the ground. In fact, he reiterated his commitment to end the war!

Please ask Mr Brasch to more thoroughly research his subject matter before publishing his material.

Some members of the Bush administration are upset about the sham elections in Zimbabwe, and are calling for sanctions. I don't think that Saudi Arabia has ever had national elections [sham or otherwise]. How about sanctions against the Saudi dictatorship?

Communist China spies on our government, forces women to have abortions, executes political prisoners, controls Tibet, and supports Zimbabwe. How about sanctions against against the Chinese dictatorship? How about sanctions against North Korea?

For some reason ''our'' federal government has a hypocritical foreign policy that is full of double standards. Our country should have a standardized foreign policy that opposes all dictatorships, and supports democracy in all countries.

Five members of the Supreme Court recently made the right decision by stating that foreign prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay have the right to challenge their detentions in federal civilian courts. Any person imprisoned, held, or detained by the U.S. government should have some Constitutional rights.

There are some supporters of the Bush administration that are for torture and executions, and against Miranda rights, habeas corpus, the right to an attorney, and the idea of innocent until proven guilty. Even foreigners accused of terrorist acts against innocent Americans should have some minimum amount of human rights and civil liberties.

My husband and I want to add our voices of thanks to your gift of light in the prevailing darkness of regular media, through publishing Dennis Kucinich's filing of 35 articles of Impeachment.

This is an extraordinary event in extraordinary times, and should be on the front page of every newspaper in the country and elsewhere.

We are from Canada and are equally concerned about the prevailing trends with the liaison between PM Stephen Harper and your President—and the third Amigo, the president of Mexico.

So Thank You from all of us who seek truth and justice and reality out of the miasma of selective "messages."

The U.S. economy is in danger of sinking like a stone.

"Is the glass half full"? While a few hold up the glass for observation, it is doubtful.

The stock market does NOT think so.

The people who are losing jobs do NOT think so.

And finally, President Bush (though still in partial denial) does NOT think so.

The main reason that the U.S. economy is in crisis is that our leaders have had blinders on. They and their special interest constituents have made BILLIONS in profiteering while the majority of Americans have been left in financial "dust".

These issues were foreseen. Many writers and political observers (including myself) forewarned of the hard times ahead, yet few listened to the warnings. Americans are paying now for that lack of attention—literally.

Now that we have the attention of the President, his administration and our congress, perhaps we may move on towards some expeditious resolutions to our urgent economic, political and social issues.

As proud graduates throughout Maryland bid farewell to their classmates and prepare to embark the next chapter of their lives, our State colleges and universities anxiously await the next generation of students.

It is our goal at the Higher Education Commission and throughout the O’Malley-Brown administration to open the doors of educational opportunity to more Marylanders. After seeing college tuition increase 42% during the previous administration, we’ve held the line on tuition with no increase for three years in a row.

For parents and students who are concerned about the affordability and accessibility of higher education, there is good news: help is available.

One of the Maryland Higher Education Commission’s major responsibilities is administering nearly $110 million in scholarships and grants to students seeking degrees in higher education. These financial assistance programs are diverse, including need-based, legislative-based, merit-based, career-based and unique population-based scholarships.

To determine a grant or scholarship for which students may be qualified, they can access our website: www.MDgo4it.org and click on the Student Financial Assistance link. Students can search for scholarships or grants, and download the applications. MHEC administers 22 scholarship and grant programs.

The O’Malley-Brown administration is committed to making sure that college education is accessible to more Marylanders, rather than fewer.

Don't under-estimate what "new blood" can do in the White House after 8 years of lies, reckless expenditures (you call this fiscal conservatism?), tax cuts, abuse of presidential powers, a.k.a., "spying on Americans", etc., etc.

I may not be "in love" with the Obama-train, but he sure does look a lot better than Bush and his brigands, and also John "the fence-sitter" McCain—even his own party at first did NOT support him.

Now that all other options have been erased for the GOP, everyone has jumped on the McCain bandwagon.

In the pathetic Democrat camp, the "dueling banjos" continue to pick-out the miserable primary campaign tune.

Even members of the GOP (me included) do NOT want another 4 years of overseas war and lost domestic objectives.

We all know on some levels it won't matter who wins the presidency because wealthy and powerful individuals and corporate america will continue to manage this nation's economic, social and political direction.

However, a president who listens to the people and who wants to create at least SOME positive changes for the community good, would be a refreshing change.

Unfortunately, Americans need to select one of these 3 Stooges in November.

"New blood" might not be so bad.

I am sure that you have seen the most recent video of police brutality. This one shows up to 15 Philadelphia police officers beating and kicking 3 unarmed men. It reminded me of the Rodney King beating. All the cops in that video should be fired. Some of them have been ''taken off the streets," but they are still being paid. This comes after the 3 New York police officers who shot unarmed Sean Bell in a hail of 50 bullets were wrongly freed by state supreme court justice Arthur Cooperman. Mr. Cooperman should be impeached, disbarred, and/or recalled.

Police officers have stressful jobs, but that doesn't mean that they should be above, or exempt from, the law. We need cops who are willing ''to serve and protect'' all the people. We need police officers who believe in human rights and civil liberties. Police brutality, abuse, and corruption must be punished unless we want to live in a police state.

The 2007 U.S. Farm Bill currently being considered by the United States Congress is a multi-billion dollar, farm subsidy bill renewed every five years. It is a continuation of the 2002 Farm Bill.

The bill first became law in 1933 as a means of preventing farmers from taking a loss on their annual production of crops {corn, wheat, cotton, rice and soybeans}. The government paid farmers the difference between what they sold and what it cost to produce. At the time it was a brilliant means of "priming the pump" so that farmers could be temporarily shielded from the effects of the Great Depression on their industry.

Today's Farm Bill is a clear example of a government program being continued way beyond its original intention. Essentially, the government now pays farmers to under-produce crops in order to charge higher prices. Adding to the controversy is that it gives two-thirds of the subsidy to the top 10 percent of farmers. As with most government programs, bureaucratic self-perpetuation has allowed for this subsidy to become corrupted.

Not surprisingly, the government has it backwards. Why not let the farmers produce as much crops as possible, sell what they can on the world market and give their surplus to the poor? The government should pay them for their surplus (whatever they don't sell) and distribute it among those in poverty. In a world facing a food crisis never before seen in the history of humankind, we should never halt the production of food under any circumstances.

Even if Reverend Wright had been reading a phone book from the pulpit instead of making remarks about American foreign policy, we would’ve been offended by him anyway. Why? It’s the tone. It’s that slightly unhinged fanatical-sounding preacher-style, one that favors soliloquisms (“I’m not divisive, I’m descriptive”) one that favors simple moral equivocation (My church fought against slavery, the other church held slaves). In modern times, we find that style itself too divisive, too much in love with the sound of its own voice. It makes us suspicious. Today, if you want to carry on with poetic, over-the-top bravado, you have to rap, not preach.

What we prefer is the more muted, kid-driven, ironic tones of YouTube videos, a self-depreciating, self-mocking voice that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Watching one, we ask, “Is the video being sarcastic? Is it sentimental? Is it a big joke?” The answer is: all three.

Why this preference? In America, we believe that everything we’re told about the important issues is manipulated dishonestly, slanted towards a hidden agenda. Therefore, if anyone talks with hubris, using a loud, strident tone, we don’t listen. We assume we’re being sold swampland.

For these reasons, it makes us nervous that Mr. Obama would sit at the knee of someone so brash and one-sided in his rhetoric. However, what should be clear by now is that Obama, a younger man, realizes the limits, not only of that style of communicating, but also, of a fundamentally one-sided view of life. My guess is that he’s tried to sit down with Rev. Wright and point out that you can’t go through life as if there are still Whites-only signs in storefronts. But how to make that point without disrespecting the sacrifices of his pastor’s generation? That’s Obama’s dilemma.

Obama’s choice of church has value. It’s great to go to a church with dynamism, with palpable vibrancy. It’s good to go through life “all fired up,” as he says. But Obama is not a rote follower. He’s perfectly capable of listening respectfully to the voice of a trusted elder, while not swallowing whole everything he hears. If a church is emotion-driven, you’ll often hear an us-against-them attitude in many of the sermons. And like many intelligent leaders of his generation, Obama has sifted through the voice of those more experienced, taken what’s good, and left behind what no longer works. This is a skill that will serve him well as President: No sacred cows. Let’s see what gets the job done.

This letter is in response to the articles covering the controversy surrounding the Michigan and Florida democratic primaries.

Michigan and Florida defied the Democratic Party's rules by moving their primaries to January in an attempt to leap-frog other states' primaries. As a result, the Democratic National Committee is planning to deny seats to the delegates from these two states at the Democratic National Convention. In spite of all this, a legally binding primary was held in these two states. It is only a matter of time before someone who voted in these primaries will file a lawsuit because their vote must be honored.

Nobody in this country can be told that their legally cast vote does not count because leaders of a state and national party made a mistake. Before those primaries were held, the DNC and the Michigan/Florida Democratic Committees should have realized that you cannot simply disregard a vote {once it is cast} just because they could not come to an agreement. And you cannot just "re-do" an election to fix a mistake. If anything, the DNC and the Michigan/Florida Democratic Committees should have learned this from the 2000 Presidential Election.

You must count every vote that is cast on the day, place and time that it is legally cast. Otherwise we run the risk of putting in jeopardy the very foundation of our nation. Unfortunately, this issue will once again have to be resolved by the courts, because the so-called party leaders tried to get cute with the process.

As it turns out, Rev. Wright is a brilliant thinker and compassionate pastor, and a fiery prophet... watch the Bill Moyers interview—pretty impressive.

I am usually not a fan of the U.S. Senate. I think that this Congressional house should be abolished, or at least cut in half. But this ''special club'' recently did a good thing. A few days ago 95 members of the Senate did the right thing and passed a bill against genetic discrimination.

Genetic discrimination is wrong. We individuals shouldn't be punished because of the genes that we inherited from our ancestors. Hopefully the President and House of Representatives will support this bill and make sure that it becomes law.

"Brilliant Disguise: Bush Torture, Obama and The Boss" is an excellent piece and very thought-provoking. To me, at least, it seems to confirm that there is very little hope in the two major parties. The boldness is not there. Democrats shrink before the obvious evil embodied in Republican rule. They are guilty by association in voting for the despicable legislation of the past seven years. Not bringing an impeachment resolution to the floor is being complicit in the crimes of this administration. For Obama not to renounce the Bush administration in the strongest terms that it deserves seems to be an acceptance that no matter how bad the record of the opposition, they must be placated in order to have some semblance of order, decorum, and cooperation in the next presidential term.

It is, perhaps, an acceptance of the evil that lurks in all our souls. After all, the people could have taken to the streets in the millions to protest this administration, and they didn’t. Protests tended to be relegated to the internet. Read Tom Hayden’s book Ending the War in Iraq. In fact, even now, the polls show McCain with a real chance to win the Presidency for Republicans, a man who is pledged to follow the Bush doctrines.

I truly believe it will take a strong third party candidate to be able to speak the truth to the American people. In some ways this will be the truth about themselves that they may not want to hear. There are a dozen or so progressive people in Congress that should give up on the major parties and seek a clean break from the politics of the lesser evil. Cynthia McKinney is one of the first to do this and will likely be the Green Party candidate for President this year; not that many will notice, as there is likely to be a complete mainstream press blackout of what they will deem a non-event.

So, hope is minimal, but it is not extinguished.

Big businesses continue to reap huge profits while most Americans are having a tough time putting food on their tables and paying their astronomical daily living expenses. Consider these facts:

Exxon is the leading American company in profits and market value!

On the world market, China owns 5 of the top 10 companies with the most market value.

According to Fortune Magazine, Exxon is the world leader of profits, boasting a hefty $40,610,000,000 in profits.

Also in the Fortune Top 20 are 4 oil companies, so Americans should stop "buying into" the myth that gas and oil companies have raised our pump cost so dramatically due to an overall oil shortage and/or manipulation by the OPEC nations and the laws of supply and demand.

The gas & oil companies in the top Fortune Top 20 are: Exxon, Chevron, Conoco-Phillips and Valero Energy. These gas and oil companies are "milking" consumers and are reaping huge profits.

Time to contact our congressional officials and tell them we're wise to their tricks. It's time to stop ever-escalating gas prices. We need to regulate gasoline costs.

We need change and I hope it is not to late. I’m honest, I’m bitter, and hurt. I know I don’t have much more time here, but faith in God is all I have, and I am old enough to know that guns are a sign of freedom.

I read your article on Obama’s statement concerning the people are bitter against the government leaving the medium income citizens out of the loop of tax cuts and other benefits. Of course the government’s controlled news stations (FCC) are letting the people of Pennsylvania think everyone is offended. I live in the Southwest, and when I heard the statement from Senator Obama I said "right on!" We the people of this great nation are standing up and being counted. We are tired of the propaganda telling us we need to crush anyone or anything that stands in the way of the government’s agenda to have us pay all our neighbors' reconstruction, and economic growth while our country’s people are losing their homes, jobs, and future. Charity begins at Home in the USA.

The USA’s Government is no longer Of the People, By the People, For the People. Our elected officials have let us down and we are at the threshold of being put under a dictatorship. Blame it on President Bush if it fits, but our Congress passed these laws to sell out our jobs and our future. We are in a position that at any time the President can set up a dictatorship. He has the laws backing him, approved in the name of National Security, which is something that most people aren’t concerned about as much as where am I going to lay my head after the uncontrolled banking industry gets through with my family and me.

My family fought for this great nation and I am a proud to be American, but all of us, including the poor and destitute of this land, can see the loss of freedom with every law passed to control the citizens. Where are the laws to control the rich from unfair practices of fees and charges?

I stood on the Embarcadero for four hours, immersed in a crowd of Chinese Americans waiving flags of China as we waited for the Olympic torch. My "Free and Independent Tibet" sign jostled with their flags as we tried to position ourselves for maximum media exposure when the torch would pass us by.

After half an hour of this low grade competition, we started to talk, and more importantly, to listen to each other. I learned they felt "Tibetan independence" was an insult to China's national pride. Several people told me stories they believed about Tibetan slavery, ignorance and poverty. I told them the stories I've heard from my Tibetan friends, stories of Chinese oppression, repression, and brutality. We agreed that most news outlets were untrustworthy.

We didn't change each other's minds, but we did hear each other, respect each other, and we did deeply appreciate this country, in which people with opposing politics can stand peacefully alongside one another.

Was I disappointed that the torch was rerouted? Not really. It was four hours well spent. The way I see it, the torch ran away from the people who were all gathered at the appointed place. The Chinese government wants everyone to follow the Olympics, but today, the Olympics evaded the people.

Michigan and Florida defied the Democratic Party's rules by moving their primaries to January in an attempt to leap-frog other states' primaries. As a result, the Democratic National Committee is planning to deny seats to the delegates from these two states at the Democratic National Convention. In spite of all this, a legally binding primary was held in these two states. It is only a matter of time before someone who voted in these primaries will file a lawsuit because his or her vote must be honored. Nobody in this country can be told that their legally cast vote does not count because leaders of a state and national party made a mistake. Before those primaries were held the DNC and the Michigan/Florida Democratic Committees should have realized that you cannot simply disregard a vote—once it is cast—just because they could not come to an agreement. And you cannot just "re-do" an election to fix a mistake. If anything, the DNC and the Michigan/Florida Democratic Committees should have learned this from the 2000 Presidential Election. You must count every vote that is cast on the day, place and time that it is legally cast. Otherwise we run the risk of putting in jeopardy the very foundation of our nation. Unfortunately, this issue will once again have to be resolved by the courts, because the so-called party leaders tried to get cute with the process.

The eight warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998, and we are seeing the early signs of global warming worldwide. In Maryland, global warming threatens to raise sea levels 17 to 19 inches above their current level, continuing the trend of over a foot increase in sea levels in the last 100 years. The effects of this increase in water level will be to inundate all areas close to the bay. The water will spread an estimated three to six miles inland, destroying coastal developments. In Baltimore, city officials predict that over 860 buildings will be flooded, causing an estimated $420 million in damage.

To protect future generations from the worst effects of global warming, our leaders in Congress must act boldly and decisively to reduce global warming pollution from cars, coal-fired power plants, and other sources, while jumpstarting the transition to a clean energy economy.

This spring, the Senate is slated to consider the Climate Security Act, a global warming bill introduced by Senators Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and John Warner of Virginia. Senator Mikulski should support strengthening the bill so that it cuts pollution at the pace that the science says is necessary—reducing emissions by at least 80% by 2050—and invests in the clean energy economy rather than lavishing billions on polluting industries.

I have always heard that we [ the people ] own the airwaves. The federal government recently auctioned off some of our public airwaves for $19 billion. When do we get our cut? If we do own [or used to own ] the airwaves, then shouldn't we receive some commissions, residuals, or user fees ?

Project Humanbeingsfirst cannot humbly emphasize enough the first-order most crucial question that must concern all conscionable 'United States persons' today, including courageous genuinely patriotic whistleblowers. How do Sibel Edmonds' revelations of FBI recordings about supposedly 'treasonous' matters that are already fait accompli from ten years ago, and the incessant demands by Ms. Edmonds and her supporters to hold a (surely to be sensationalized) Congressional public inquiry to air them out, today deter Presidents Bush/Cheney or Israel from their devilishly crafted premeditated plans for launching nuclear attacks on Iran disguised as a "defensive U.S. military action" (Brzezinski)? There must be only one immediate near-term and long-term goal for the equitable security (and prosperity) of all peoples on the planet Earth so long as there remains an imbalance of power among us, so long as there remain 'hectoring hegemons' seeking "full spectrum dominance" among us, and so long as there remains an absence of "full spectrum deterrence" to "the pursuit of power," for indeed, "hegemony is as old as mankind": prevent new "defensive U.S. military action." Anything, including all acts, revelations, and magical mantras that distract from this goal, regardless of how compelling the reasons, must be treated by the unwary and gullible American public and its intellectual dissenting-chiefs as red herrings, pretexts, and deceptions for premeditated "imperial mobilization" by their nation's rulers.