I followed over time the comments and insinuations by so-called African-American leaders about Senator Obama. I personally found the disparaging ones to be without merit. None of these folk spoke for me. They may give the impression that their views are predominant in the black community, but I don't see how that can be at this point established by facts. It is however true that President Clinton and Senator Clinton have been receptive and accomodating to the African-american community, and I think it would not be good politcs were all the black leaders suddenly to abandon ship and forsake proven political allies in favor of someone simply because he is also black. Such an occurence would have invited the worst criticisms of African-americans and their leaders as bold-faced bigots and racists, and would certainly not have helped Obama, as you pointed out, though I think your reasons are a bit different from mine.
It must also be considered that our self-appointed leaders and spokespersons are not held in exceptionally high esteem by us, being aware of their flaws and frailties, but nevertheless giving them the ovation when they do well, and ignoring them when they bring shame. Their words have no force of authority upon our beliefs or values, and they cannot deliver our votes to anyone, but may try to forecast or even influence our general inclination as to who to support. What I am trying to say is that of the 50-60 million African-americans in this country, there are social strata that perhaps are not being considered when describing the group as a whole. The outlandish and/or unprincipled behavior of some, even many, African-americans or their leaders cannot be generalized to the whole without a grand error being committed. That is all I am saying.
___________________ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves... Posts: 802 | From: Valle del Sol, AZ | Registered: Nov 2004
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I am practically seething with all of the black people, especially so called "intelligent", "educated", black people giving a million tired excuses of why they won't vote for Barack Obama and will vote for Hillary Clinton: 1. He's not ready/He's not experienced. Man please. Who is? Was Bush? But he got in anyway. You have the top 3 Democratic candidates with 1 Senate term under their belt. Hillary as the First Lady as experienced? Not one executive decision is made being as the first lady. That's like Stedman recommending a book, endorsing a candidate, or having his own show...SO WHAT. I'll take Obama over Bush everttime! 2. White America is not ready for a Black president. Whaaa? Was White America ready for slavery to end? Giving us the right to vote? Desegregation of our society? When did black people ever let white people dictate when and where we were getting our just due, our break? We've always stepped up and demanded what we wanted, or we're either hitting the streets and tearin' up some stuff, escapin', marching, or picketing. White America is ready for a Black President because Barack Obama is the right man for President, PERIOD. Besides, that never stopped anyone from voting for Jesse Jackson, a man with NO political experience AT ALL from almost snatching the Democratic nomination in 1984, and coming darn close again in 1988 20 YEARS AGO. 3. Barak is half black and half white, so he's not really black anyway. I should back smack anyone who has ever thought that. Ever heard of the one drop rule? It has not only been a social standard for WHO is black, but it also upheld the constitution in keeping us from suing a white person over personal property. No black person ever refers to another black person as "biracial". You black. You might have another heritage in your lineage, but this country as well as any other sees you as black, PERIOD. Lame excuse people. 4. I don't know what issues Barack stands for. When the heck has that ever prevented black folk from voting for a black candidate, really? I guess now, but the main people saying that couldn't tell you anything about Hillary's or John Edwards platform either. Please stop fronting. Read up on him, get the 411. Get informed - Don�t just listen to the news propaganda. Be an intellegent voter. 5. All he did was give that one speech. How many great people have defined their lives, the scope of human history, and changed the world in a speech? Moses, Jesus, Paul, Martin Luther, Frederick Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Mandela, Jesse Jackson, and Jim Valvano all have changed the course of history of the world and the hearts of billions of men and women in societies since the beginning of time with a speech. That is the purpose of a rally. A person speaks, and it prepares all to act in relation to the spirit of what is spoken. That is why we go to church, not to just hear our pastor blather, but to refresh God in our hearts and spurn us to take up God's will in our lives. So save all that ying yang about that speech. 6. If all of those white people are supporting him, he must be in their back pocket. Save the conspiracy theory home skillet. He's liked because he comes at a time where a person that looks exactly like them lied to their face (two in a row, if you include Bill Clinton with Monica and of course Bush with Iraq), and flat out said what no politician would admit: We have two Americas, blue and red, black and white. It was not publicly said, and on top of that proposed that we ACTUALLY DO something about it, not find more ways to be divided and not come together despite our differences. Noble concept and one to be championed. That's JFK, FDR, and Abe Lincoln material. So they were feeling it, just like I was and you should too. His legislative work has been indicative of this as well, including his Fuel Standard work with President Bush. Check the resume, it shines. THE REAL REASON BLACK PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO VOTE FOR OBAMA IS THAT THEY ARE AFRAID THAT HE'LL WIN, AND:
1. WE�LL HAVE NO MORE EXCUSES LEFT. We won't be able to say, "America is racist", "I cannot get a break because I'm black", and all other random excuses many blacks make for not achieving anything in their lives. 2. IF SOCIETY IS LEFT UNCHANGED AFTER HIS PRESIDENCY WE'LL LOSE HOPE. If a black man becomes President, I honestly believe many black people feel that all of the world's problems should come to an end. No more crack selling, no more black on black crime, no more baby mama drama and dead beat daddies, no more people on welfare and on the chow line, no more winos, no more police brutality, no more DWB, no more predatory loans, no more ghettos, no more racism period, no more Middle East unrest, just everybody singing kumbahya. To some degree, I think a lot of white people, especially liberal, feel that way too, that's why they are all up on him like that. THAT'S RIDICULOUS. If it happened, he'd be one of the greatest people that ever lived, but that's way too much pressure to put on one man. DANG! I feel that people are really not ready for the world to get better anyway. It's like that father you never knew but won't make a relationship with because you don't want to be let down. It's unfair and let that go. Barak will make a great President, but he won't solve all of the world's problems, nor can he solve all of black peoples' problems either. 3. SO CALLED "EDUCATED" BLACK PEOPLE WON'T BE SO SPECIAL ANYMORE BECAUSE THE PLAYING FIELD WILL BE LEVELED. Absolutely hate more than anything else. The above 2 reasons were largely a poor disadvantaged black person's inner fear about Barack. Many of number 2 and all of this one is specifically tailored to you bourgeois folks that actually like being the only black person (or one of a very few) in your medical school, your law school, your master's program, your Ph.D. program, your high fallutin' Fortune 500 Company, your faculty at your prestigious institution. You feel deep inside being a talented 10th will become a talented population. As much as you detest and look down at your disadvantaged brothers and sisters, and claim they need to "get a job", "get an education", "pull themselves up from their own bootstraps", and "stop being so ignorant", you like them where they are. You are the one that has that shady feeling in your belly when a new black person is hired because you don't want them to screw it up for you. Yeah you...I'm talkin' about you. You know who you are. You think deep inside, Keishas, Darnells, Shequans are going to get theirs now that Barak is in office, and you won't be so special anymore. See you like racism. You probably are like Clarence Thomas, the man that benefitted from Affirmative Action but now you got yours, nobody else can get in too, so you vote against Affirmative Action. Yeah, claim you got your opportunity on merit. No, you got it on the backs of our ancestors that had to fight for you to get that job. Now you don't want a world where everyone has an equal opportunity. Well actually neither do poor blacks either, see 1. 4. IF HE MESSES IT UP, WE'RE ALL SCREWED. Back in the day blacks with degrees could do nothing but shine shoes outside the company. Now we're in them, making decisions, even CEOs like my man Stanley O'Neal, the first black American to take the helm of a major Wall Street firm. That brother completely mismanaged the company, like many others who mismanaged banks and because losing equity because of security back subprime loans. Now, those that are in the know are afraid that a black man cannot ever get that opportunity to be THE MAN at a major institution again.
Not only that, if Barack messes it up, there will be a backlash on all of black America. "You guys had your chance to run the free world, and you blew it". Sorry Charlie, Barak is one man. You can't use the logic for yourself as far as getting ahead, but lose it for this man. George Bush completely botched America's standing in the world, but I don't see anyone afraid to elect another white man. So come off of it. 5. BLACK WOMEN FEEL SORRY FOR HILLARY BEING CHEATED ON BY THE REAL FIRST �BLACK� PRESIDENT. This is so dumb, I cannot address with words, but it's the truth for a lot of black people, who felt Bill was the first Black President, and sistas especially would feel like they were vindicating a woman that was done wrong by anotha brotha. 6. BLACKS LIKE TO BE DIFFERENT FROM WHITES AND BARAK WILL BREAK DOWN BARRIERS WE LIKE HAVING UP. Keep it real people. You hate it when anything we do gets imitated. It is instantly uncool. Most blacks love that we have our own thing, our own culture. Having Barack win means for a lot of people America will have more of a shared consciousness. We'll actually have to come together and squash some beef to make this country cooperative. I don't completely believe this concept, but I'm down for it. Once again, Black people really do like racism. For all of you doubters out there this is what you really need to ask yourselves: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. That's all the brotha is trying to do. So vote for him, drop the excuses, and support the first viable Black Candidate. Our ancestors demand that we do so. Stand up, be proud and respect the fact that he�s here and on the road to making history for black people in America! After all, he and we got this far by faith, sacrifice, and determination for a better world with freedom for all God�s children!
Hail Biafra Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Accept tribunal�s verdict, Yar�Adua tells Buhari, Atiku By Our correspondent Published: Wednesday, 27 Feb 2008 President Umaru Yar�Adua on Tuesday advised former Head of State, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) and ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to accept the affirmation of his victory by the Presidential Election Tribunal in good faith.
Yar�Adua, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Communications, Mr. Segun Adeniyi, said Buhari and Abubakar needed to do so in the interest of the country.
The statement titled, �The Ruling of the Presidential Elections Tribunal,� reads, �President Umaru Yar�Adua welcomes with humility and gratitude to God Almighty from whom all power and authority come, today�s (Tuesday�s) affirmation by the Presidential Election Tribunal that he was duly elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the majority of votes lawfully cast in the presidential election of April 21, 2007.
�The President is gratified that the tribunal unanimously confirmed his often stated belief that the acknowledged imperfections notwithstanding, he was the clear winner of the presidential election which were conducted in substantial compliance with all relevant laws.
�President Yar�Adua seizes this opportunity to, once again, thank all Nigerians who have remained steadfast in their support for his administration as it strives to fulfil its mandate for positive and significant changes in the living conditions of all citizens.
�The President urges his two valiant opponents in the elections who petitioned against its outcome to accept the verdict of the tribunal in good faith. His invitation for them to cooperate with him in moving Nigeria forward remains and he calls on them to accept it now in the greater interest of the country.
�He reaffirms his total commitment to serving Nigeria to the best of his abilities and running a purposeful and result-oriented administration that will yield tangible and visible benefits for all Nigerians.
�The President also reaffirms his commitment to working with all stakeholders to fully address the problems associated with past elections in the country and achieve a positive reformation of Nigeria�s electoral system that will ensure that the problems do not recur in future.�
Adeniyi, who later spoke with journalists, was evasive on the Presidency�s position on the impending appeal by Buhari and AC.
�I will not respond to speculations. They have not appealed yet and if they appeal, it is their right, so there is no big deal about appealing,� he said.
Adeniyi added that Yar�Adua would leave for China on Tuesday night.
�The President is leaving for China for a four-day state visit. It had been long planned before this judgment.�
In his own reaction, Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, said the judgment was a clear victory for the Federal Government, the Peoples Democratic Party and Nigerians.
Jonathan said in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Mr. Ima Niboro, that the verdict further justified the faith Nigerians had in the Yar�Adua administration.
He said, �Today (Tuesday) is an important day in our history as a country and we thank Nigerians for keeping faith with the administration, we thank the Almighty God for this judgment, and we reiterate our resolve to ensure good governance and maintain the stability of the nation.�
The VP called on all political parties in the country to join hands with the administration to fashion out a path of mutual trust and unity of purpose.
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___________________ Feel me? Ofu onye ana asi unu abia go. - Ednut Igbo-American . www.airamericaradio.com visit her. Posts: 2513 | From: Mother Earth | Registered: Mar 2001
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The real Hillary Clinton stood up at the Democratic presidential debate this week: angry, sarcastic, stubborn, secretive, arrogant, mired in the past, victim of the media, and still firmly convinced that she is uniquely entitled to the Democratic Party nomination and the presidency. That Hillary hasn�t really been on display much since the debacle of her disastrous health care plan and the end of Bill Clinton�s impeachment trial, when she haughtily flaunted her combative personality. But make no mistake about it � that�s the Hillary Clinton that we�ll see if she somehow manages to steal the Democratic nomination. She�s found her voice. The one that so alienated everyone she came into contact with over her health care plan that her own party destroyed it. The one that publicly and loudly defended Bill and arranged for attacks on Monica Lewinsky when she knew the complete and sordid truth. She�s always had a chip on her shoulder and a strange paranoia, but it�s definitely gotten worse. Now it�s not just the vast right wing conspiracy that is out to get her. Now it�s the mainstream media. How are they doing that? By asking her the first questions at the debates! Related
Hillary�s snide comment about whether Barack needed a pillow to be made more comfortable was downright embarrassing. The anticipated applause line on her script never happened. The audience was silent. The press was amazed. And Barack seemed genuinely startled by her nuttiness � he looked over at her as if he was viewing a dotty old aunt at a family dinner, the one that everyone politely humors. Her lifelong pattern of secrecy was once again evident. While publicly promoting transparency in government, she steadfastly refuses to release her personal income tax returns. That�s a clear tip-off that there�s something to hide. Recall that the Clintons selectively released tax returns in Arkansas, but refused to go back to 1980, when Hillary had her windfall in cattle futures. During the debate, Hillary suggested that she�d release the returns �soon,� but her staff quickly backtracked. She implied that she�s been too busy to deal with releasing the returns. Does she really think anyone believes that it will take more than simply making a copy of the return? She�s stalling and there�s a reason for that. Most likely, the return will show how much Bill has been making from his partnership with the Sheik of Dubai and his other business ventures. Should the spouse of a presidential candidate be in business with a foreign leader who needs favors from the U.S. government? Definitely not. That�s why we�ll never see those returns. And then there are the Clinton Library records that document her schedule as first lady. She doesn�t want them released either because they will definitively show that she was never the co-president. The Library has been stalling on the release of those documents for years. During the debate, she said that she wanted them released as quickly as possible and seemed to blame the Bush administration for the delay. But today, the White House indicated that she had made no requests for any expedited release. The old Hillary, the real Hillary, is back. And there�s apparently been no one to stop her from acting on her own worse instincts. Underneath the veneer of the practiced smile and the strategically used giggle, there is a rage that is always close to the surface. It was on display in the debate. Hillary Clinton is furious that America has not agreed to her coronation. She doesn�t understand why voters are rejecting her and embracing Barack Obama. She just doesn�t get it. Never one to engage in self reflection, she can�t blame herself or even her incompetent strategists and advisers. They�re too close to her. She can�t accept the sorry fact that her campaign has been a disaster because it was based on the past and not the future, because it was premised on her phony experience and maintaining the status quo, and because her negative outlook is completely out of step with the mood of America. And finally, because in the positive message of Barack Obama, Americans see a stark contrast with her doom and gloom view of the world. So, she�ll blame the media. It�s their fault. And she�ll keep screaming about what a fighter she is. More like a bully.
Hail Biafra
Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Obama may be sinking gradually, he appears to be guilty by association and frankly, I am disappointed. I have never had any fancy for black militants in this Century blaming white man for their problem. And I ask, why should a gentleman like Obama have any relationship with Rev Jeremiah of Chicago? and how do you expect him to disown the man who christianed him? Kinda complex. This association with the Rev may put a stop on Obama's rock star image.
Hail Biafra
[ March 19, 2008, 02:38 PM: Message edited by: Waypoint1Biafra ]
Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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....Then again I'm impressed by his speech and the way he tackled the issue of color struck America. Once gain he has been tested. Read on....
updated 4:56 a.m. ET March 19, 2008 It was an extraordinary moment — the first black candidate with a good chance at becoming a presidential nominee, in a country in which racial distrust runs deep and often unspoken, embarking at a critical juncture in his campaign upon what may be the most significant public discussion of race in decades. In a speech whose frankness about race many historians said could be likened only to speeches by Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, Senator Barack Obama, speaking across the street from where the Constitution was written, traced the country’s race problem back to not simply the country’s "original sin of slavery" but the protections for it embedded in the Constitution. Yet the speech was also hopeful, patriotic, quintessentially American — delivered against a blue backdrop and a phalanx of stars and stripes. Obama invoked the fundamental values of equality of opportunity, fairness, social justice. He confronted race head-on, then reached beyond it to talk sympathetically about the experiences of the white working class and the plight of workers stripped of jobs and pensions. Story continues below ↓
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"As far as I know, he’s the first politician since the Civil War to recognize how deeply embedded slavery and race have been in our Constitution," said Paul Finkelman, a professor at Albany Law School who has written extensively about slavery, race and the Constitution. "That's a profoundly important thing to say. But what's important about the way he said it is he doesn't use this as a springboard for anger or for frustration. He doesn't say, 'O.K., slavery was bad, therefore people are owed something.' This is not a reparations speech. This is a speech about saying it's time for the nation to do better, to form a more perfect union." Broad coalition Obama's address came more than a year into a campaign conceived and conducted to appear to transcend the issue of race, to try to build a broad coalition of racial and ethnic groups favoring change. In the issues he has emphasized and the language he has used, as well as in the way he has presented himself, he has worked to elude pigeonholing as a black politician. He has been criticized as "not black enough" and "too black," he acknowledged Tuesday. In recent months, the issue of race has stirred up the smooth surface of his campaign and become a source of tension between him and his opponent, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. In the past week, videotaped snippets of the incendiary race rhetoric of Obama's longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., seemed on the verge of tainting Obama with the stereotype he had carefully avoided: angry black politician. He faced a choice: Having already denounced Wright's ferocious charges about white America, he could try to distance himself from the man who drew him to Christianity, married him and baptized his two children. Or he could try to explain what appeared to many to be the contradiction between Wright's world view and the one Obama had professed as his own. To some extent, he did both.
In a setting that bespoke the presidential, he began with the personal: He invoked his own biography as the son of a black Kenyan man and a white American woman, grandson of a World War II veteran and a bomber assembly line worker, husband of a black American who carries "the blood of slaves and slave owners." Seared into his genetic makeup, he said, is "the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts — that out of many, we are truly one."
Obama urges U.S. to grapple with racial issues. He condemned Wright’s remarks as divisive but at the same time embraced him as family, "as imperfect as he may be." He traced the roots of black church preaching deep into "the bitterness and bias" of the black experience. He offered a primer on the link between today's racial disparities and the system of legalized discrimination that prevented blacks from owning property, joining unions, becoming police officers and firefighters, and accumulating wealth to pass on to future generations. "For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away," Obama said. "Nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends. But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table." And occasionally, he said, "in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews." CONTINUED: Obama addresses 'white anger.
Obama addresses 'white anger' He acknowledged white anger, too — over things like affirmative action and forced school busing — but urged both sides to address the subject to find a way forward. "Race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now," Obama said. He said the controversies over the past couple of weeks "reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through — a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American." Historians and others described the speech's candidness on race as almost without precedent. John Hope Franklin, a Duke University historian who led an advisory commission on race relations set up by President Bill Clinton, said Obama pointed out how easily the question of race can be distorted in this country, "which has three centuries of experience with it and yet we act like this is something new."
Hail Biafra
Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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"It will be nice to see two people who love this country go against one another" in the general election_____> PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON.... referring to his wife and John McCain as white petriots and Obama as a foreigner from Africa.
Hail Biafra
Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Is over for the Bitch, mathematically . She needed a big victory from the Caroliner Panthers and a jaw breaking victory from the Colts, instead she lost the former and won the later by only 2 points. Obama was an over drive. Hillary is in the race because of her reputation for road Kill, destroy the party and make it hard for Obama come November not because of her capability for the impossible. The next election is West Virginia, Puerto Rico, Oregon and Kentucky not much numbers to convince the Sup for her. Her last savior is AL Gore, and I particularly do not see him siding for the bitch since her husband indirectly caused him the Presidency via Monica Luwinski sex, lies and video tapes. Congratulation Obama, you now can go and attack the 78 year old one armed man, MCcain who has no clue about the economy, being a War hero and Patriot has long gone and will not put food in Middle class household.
Hail Biafra Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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HILLARY MENTIONS RFK ASSASSINATION IN THE RELATION TO '08 RACE.
There is no wonder why Hillary is still in the race. It appears she may be hoping that Obama is assassinated. Read this.....
ABC News' Kate Snow Reports: In an interview with the Argus Leader, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., took the unusual step of invoking the assassination of Sen. Robert Kennedy, D-N.Y., when discussing the continuing Democratic nomination battle.
"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it." Clinton said.
Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton responded: "Senator Clinton's statement before the Argus Leader editorial board was unfortunate and has no place in this campaign."
The thoughts had already been going through my mind about the increased risk to Obama's life if Hillary was the VP. Why did she say it? She is an intelligent calculated person. Scary skeletons in Clinton's closet. The Clintons have powerful connections. No charges are being made:
1-James McDougal - Clinton 's convicted Whitewater partner died of an apparent heart attack, while in solitary confinement. He was a key witness in Ken Starr's investigation.
2 -Mary Mahoney - A former White House intern was murdered July 1997 at a Starbucks Coffee Shop in Georgetown . The murder happened just after she was to go public with her story of sexual harassment in the White House.
3- Vince Foster - Former White House counselor and colleague of Hillary Clinton at Little Rock 's Rose Law firm. Died of a gunshot wound to the head, ruled a suicide.
4- Ron Brown - Secretary of Commerce and former DNC Chairman. Reported to have died by impact in a plane crash. A pathologist close to the investigation reported that there was a hole in the top of Brown's skull resembling a gunshot wound. At the time of his death Brown was being investigated, and spoke publicly of his willingness to cut a deal with prosecutors. The rest of the people on the plane also died. A few days later the air Traffic controller committed suicide.
5- C. Victor Raiser II- Raiser, a major player in the Clinton fund raising organization died in a private plane crash in July 1992
6-Paul Tulley - Democratic National Committee Political Director found dead in a hotel room in Little Rock , September 1992. Described by Clinton as a "Dear friend and trusted advisor".
7-Ed Willey - Clinton fund raiser, found dead November 1993 deep in the woods in VA of a gunshot wound to the head. Ruled a suicide. Ed Willey died on the same day his wife Kathleen Willey claimed Bill Clinton groped her in the oval office in the White House. Ed Willey was involved in several Clinton fund raising events.
8-Jerry Parks -Head of Clinton's gubernatorial security team in Little Rock . Gunned down in his car at a deserted intersection outside Little Rock . Park's son said his father was building a dossier on Clinton . He allegedly threatened to
9-James Bunch - Died from a gunshot suicide. It was reported that he had a "Black Book" of people which contained names of influential people who visited prostitutes in Texas and Arkansas
10-James Wilson - Was found dead in May 1993 from an apparent hanging suicide. He was reported to have ties to Whitewater.
11-Kathy Ferguson- Ex-wife of Arkansas Trooper Danny Ferguson, was found dead in May 1994, in her living room with a gunshot to her head. It was ruled a suicide even though there were several packed suitcases, as if she were going somewhere. Danny Ferguson was a co-defendant along with Bill Clinton in the Paula Jones lawsuit. Kathy Ferguson was a possible corroborating witness for Paula Jones.
12-Bill Shelton - Arkansas State Trooper and fiance of Kathy Ferguson. Critical of the suicide ruling of his fiance, he was found dead in June, 1994 of a gunshot wound also ruled a suicide at the grave site of his fiance.
13-Gandy Baugh - Attorney for Clinton 's friend Dan Lassater, died by jumping out a window of a tall building January, 1994. His client was a convicted drug distributor.
14-Florence Martin - Accountant & sub-contractor for the CIA, was related to the Barry Seal Mena Airport drug smuggling case. He died of three gunshot wounds.
15- Suzanne Coleman - Reportedly had an affair with Clinton when he was Arkansas Attorney General. Died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head, ruled a suicide. Was pregnant at the time of her death.
16-Paula Grober - Clinton 's speech interpreter for the deaf from 1978 until her death December 9, 1992 . She died in a one car accident.
17-Danny Casolaro - Investigative reporter. Investigating Mena Airport and Arkansas Development Finance Authority. He slit his wrists, apparently, in the middle of his investigation
18- Paul Wilcher - Attorney investigating corruption at Mena Airport with Casolaro and the 1980 "October Surprise" was found dead on a toilet June 22, 1993 in his Washington DC apartment. Had delivered a report to Janet Reno 3 weeks before his death.
19-Jon Parnell Walker - Whitewater investigator for Resolution Trust Corp. Jumped to his death from his Arlington , Virginia apartment balcony August 15, 1993 . He was investigating the Morgan Guaranty scandal.
20-Barbara Wise - Commerce Department staffer. Worked closely with Ron Brown and John Huang. Cause of death unknown. Died November 29,
21-Charles Meissner -Assistant Secretary of Commerce who gave John Huang special security clearance, died shortly thereafter in a small plane crash.
22-Dr. Stanley Heard - Chairman of the National Chiropractic Health Care Advisory Committee died with his attorney Steve Dickson in a small plane crash. Dr. Heard, in addition to serving on Clinton 's advisory council personally treated Clinton 's mother, stepfather and brother.
23-Barry Seal -Drug running pilot out of Mena Arkansas , death was no accident.
24-Johnny Lawhorn Jr. - Mechanic, found a check made out to Bill Clinton in the trunk of a car left at his repair shop. He was found dead after his car had hit a utility pole.
25-Stanley Huggins - Investigated Madison Guaranty. His death was a purported suicide and his report was never released.
26- Hershell Friday - Attorney and Clinton fund raiser died March 1, 1994 when his plane exploded.
27-Kevin Ives & Don Henry - Known as "The boys on the track" case. Reports say the boys may have stumbled upon the Mena Arkansas airport drug operation. A controversial case, the initial report of death said, due to falling asleep on railroad tracks. Later reports claim the 2 boys had been slain before being placed on the tracks. Many linked to the case died before their testimony could come before a Grand Jury.
Hail Biafra Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Why Hillary was wrong and hoping for Obama to be killed. First her analogy was wrong, she compared apples to apples not oranges.
"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it." Clinton said.
First, Kennedy came into the race late after Lyndon Johnson declined to run the third term, that was the reason why Kennedy was into June.
Second: Her husband stopped his campaign in March after every other candidates dropped out. Her comparison was tottally wrong with a subliminal message to have Obama killed.
Hail Biafra Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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EXIT THE BITCH---------- : OBAMA IS THE MACK DADDY
It was going to be short and simple: Hillary Clinton vs. Rudy Giuliani. That was the initial preferences of the 2008 primary season didn't end that way underscores an eternal truth of American politics: campaigns matter.
Those were the long-ago and far-away days of initial preferences, when the two best-known candidates held commanding leads for their parties' presidential nominations. That it didn't end that way underscores an eternal truth of American politics: Campaigns matter. Now, with the primaries at last over, deciphering how they played out can provide invaluable intelligence on what comes next. Exit poll results are clear: Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., looks likely to lose the nomination because her party's voters wanted change. And former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, R-N.Y., lost it because his party didn't. Beyond those realities lie a wealth of data that both rebut conventional wisdom and give the likely Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama and the presumptive Republican nominee John McCain a blueprint of bridges to build, strengths to promote and shortcomings to address. Obama cornered the market on change: Across all Democratic primaries, 50 percent of voters called it the single most important candidate attribute, more than twice as many as picked No. 2, experience. Change voters favored Obama by a vast margin, 68-29 percent.
Change, though, is a double-edged sword ? it can be good or bad. In national ABC/Post polling, while Democrats clearly prefer "new ideas and a new direction" over strength and experience, the public overall divides more evenly ? with a slight tilt toward the stability of experience rather than the chance of change. Indeed on the Republican side it was experience that worked for McCain ? he won voters who cared most about it by a 61-27 percent margin, his best vote-winning attribute. Yet McCain faces challenges in the core of his party. "Experience" wasn't the most attractive candidate quality to GOP voters; cited by 24 percent, it finished a distant second to shared values, cited by 44 percent. And among values voters McCain finished only third, behind former Govs. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., and Mitt Romney, R-Mass., alike. Similarly, McCain was weak among "very" conservative voters, evangelical Christians and opponents of legal abortion ? overlapping groups at the heart of the Republican constituency. While large numbers of them are unlikely to vote Democratic, McCain needs to motivate them to vote at all. If appealing to conservatism is a task for McCain, it was an insurmountable one for Giuliani. In all 29 Republican primaries in which exit polls were conducted, a remarkable 65 percent of voters on average described themselves as conservatives, more than in exit polls since 1976. When it came time to vote, a pro-choice, pro-gun-control, sometime pro-gay-civil-unions Republican was not their cup of tea. Triangulated by McCain (more appealing to moderate and the few liberal Republicans), Romney (conservatives) and Huckabee (evangelicals), Giuliani was gone before January was out. CONGRATULATIONS OBAMA, YOU WORKED HARD TO EARN THE NORMINATION OF YOUR PARTY
Hail Biafra
Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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MEDIA COVERAGE BETWEEN OBAMA AND JOHN McCAIN.
GLEN BECK FROM CNN......And then you have the almost embarrassing way the media have gushed over Obama's trip to the Middle East. There were 200 requests for the 40 press seats available on Obama's plane, and all three top network anchors (Katie Couric, Charles Gibson and Brian Williams) made the trip and are broadcasting live from each country Obama visits. You can't buy that kind of publicity. And neither could McCain. McCain made a trip to the Middle East in March and didn't have to worry about finding seats for any network anchors, because none of them wanted to go. And while Obama was flying from country to country this week in a plane packed with celebrity reporters, McCain flew to an event in New Hampshire. After his Boeing 737 landed in Manchester, he stepped out onto the tarmac and glanced at the one reporter who'd bothered to show up. Yes, one. And then you have the print media's fascination with Obama. He's been on the cover of U.S. News and World Report, GQ, Rolling Stone, US Weekly (twice), Time and Newsweek (a combined 12 times) and will soon be on the cover of Men's Vogue for the second time. To be fair, Men's Vogue also did an in-depth story on John McCain but, strangely, a photo of McCain didn't make their cover
ANSWER: JOHN McCAIN IS VERY BORING. OBAMA IS NOT ONLY A NOVELTY, HE IS VERY INSPIRATIONAL.
Hail Biafra
[ July 24, 2008, 07:19 PM: Message edited by: Waypoint1Biafra ]
Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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OBAMA SPEECH IN BERLIN PACKED WITH OVER 200,000 PEOPLE.
"People of the world - look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one." "The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down." "No one welcomes war. I recognize the enormous difficulties in Afghanistan. But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATO's first mission beyond Europe's borders is a success. For the people of Afghanistan, and for our shared security, the work must be done. America cannot do this alone. The Afghan people need our troops and your troops; our support and your support to defeat the Taliban and al-Qaida, to develop their economy, and to help them rebuild their nation. We have too much at stake to turn back now." "This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many. Together, we must forge trade that truly rewards the work that creates wealth, with meaningful protections for our people and our planet. This is the moment for trade that is free and fair for all." "This is the moment we must help answer the call for a new dawn in the Middle East. My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions. We must support the Lebanese who have marched and bled for democracy, and the Israelis and Palestinians who seek a secure and lasting peace. And despite past differences, this is the moment when the world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close." "Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands. Let us resolve that all nations - including my own - will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere." "I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions." "People of Berlin - and people of the world - the scale of our challenge is great. The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope. Let us build on our common history, and seize our common destiny, and once again engage in that noble struggle to bring justice and peace to our world."
HAIL BIAFRA
Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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There were 14 candidates running for the position of the most powerful President in the world..America, that is and only 2 is standing tall. What a democracy should be about.
CANDIDATES
JOE BIDEN, HILLARY CLINTON, CHRIS DODD, RUDY GUILIANI, JOHN EDWARDS, MIKE HUCKABEE, MIKE HUNTER, DENNIS KUCINICH, JOHN MCcLAIN, BARACK OBAMA, RON PAUL, BILL RICHARDSON, MITT ROMNY, TOM TANCREDO AND FRED THOMPSON.
In Nigeria, the scenerio is different, 20 will run, or 15 out of that 20 will remain to the last drop or 19 will be assissinated before one is imposed on the people...like Yaradua who never campaigned for the position but emerged as the winner a day after the election...Democracy will never survive in Nigeria, so long as we have the parasitic and the moslem North. Islam does not promote or recorgnise Power of the People or freedom. If you're hoping for Democracy in Nigeria, hold your breath, it ain't gonna be by the people, the North don't have a clue about what it means.
Hail Biafra
[ August 06, 2008, 09:33 PM: Message edited by: Waypoint1Biafra ]
Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Following all your previous postings, I would have thought you to be an Italian politician because they always contradict themselves. I know you being a diehard Republican, but you seems to be a tipical human who one minute you and the likes of a guy I saw, Kokori, were slagging off Barrack Obama, you saying he would be a VP in HRC's cabinet. But now what has happen, let me advise you and other Republicans for nothing, the biggest mistake that party made was choosing that old man who might die before the end of his first term. The republicans fooled the American people by showing the world that even idiots can rule the greatest nation on earth, when they buldozed GWB on the world after he promised giving his businiss backers war which he did in Iraq against all reasonable facts. The republican magic that fucked Al Gor, is just like the magic that brought Yaradua to power. GWB got the votes because of his old man and with the help of his dad's cronies, so also Umoru who's there because of OBJ's connection with his brother Musa Shehu Yaradua. If it could happen in the greatest country in the world, why should you be surprise when it happen in a jungle bannan republic.
Posts: 112 | From: United Kingdom | Registered: Jun 2007
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Well, my friend, stroll up and you will notice from git-go, I have never advocated for Obama being a VP for Hillary. As a matter of fact, I imploded that if Obama does not win the ticket,I will vote for McCain. Like other prominent African American Republicans like Collin Powel and the retired first African American US Senate, I will vote for Obama if he is the norminee. I have never sided with that bitch called Hillary or her hubby. Stroll up.. Feb 13th, 2007 to 8/6/2008.
Hail Biafra Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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I can very plainly see that you are a staunch Republican by your violent dislike(putting it gently) of Senator Clinton and President Clinton, the latter of whom, when he left office, had put our nation in the advantageous position of having a fairly large budget surplus(don't remember how much it was), but now your guys Bush and Cheney have brought us to the point of an economic recession(2 consecutive quarters of economic decline in GDP), but instead of discussing issues(like economics) relevant to the lives of hundreds of millions, you launch unsubstantiated claims of numerous murderous plots mysteriously related to the Clintons' political life as though they themselves were mass murdurers. Of course law and order authorities apparently have not the investigative resources you and the other extremist Republicans do. This is the sort of muddy innuendo and mis-information the Republicans sling around when they have no legs of political or economic accomplishment to stand on. The only thing I don't understand now is , why are you voting for Obama?, because Senator Clinton's views and Senator Obama's views are not too far removed from one another. I would have bet my boots you were a McCain man altogether.
___________________ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves... Posts: 802 | From: Valle del Sol, AZ | Registered: Nov 2004
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No Greg, I was never McCain man, he never appeals to me and does not have the platform that I believe. I will vote for Obama comewhat may because McCain is not a representative of the Republican party. I might consider changing party like the LIBERTERIAN PARTY.
Here is my reason against Mccain. He is no George Bush before and shortly 9/11. John McCain is shallow and intellectially screwd like my man Bush; he graduated 894 out of 899 at the naval Academy in Annapolis. His father was a 4 star general which explains his admission to the Academy; he crashed 4 fighter planes; he cheated on his wife, divorced her after an auto accident and married a girl old enough to be his daughter, Cindy McCain. Unlike George Bush, he is not likable. I don't fancy him at all. How about that Greg?
Hail Biafra Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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That's plenty good enough for me. I'll be voting for Obama too. He is simply the better man...but I do expect last minute racial attitudes to cost him the election. If that does not happen, I will be quite surprised...and pleased.
___________________ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves... Posts: 802 | From: Valle del Sol, AZ | Registered: Nov 2004
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BTW, are you a pilot or former pilot? Your handle suggests that.
___________________ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves... Posts: 802 | From: Valle del Sol, AZ | Registered: Nov 2004
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"I have a dream today, one day your sons and daughters and my sons and daughters would walk hand-in-hand togather; I have a deam today. One day this great nation would judge success and achievements of individual, and not the colour of his skin I have a dream". These are some of the prophecies of 'Prophet' Martin Luther King made when it would have been unheard of that a blackman whether mixed or black black would run for an elected office not to talk of that to be the commander-in- chief of the greatest nation on this planent. But if America would out of racism vote in that old man who is at the gate of death, it would, like Babylon, Greece, Rome and other ancent world powers see the down fall of their great empire. But should they elect Barrack Obama like I think they would, we would all be seeing the fulfilment of Martin Luther King's prophecy. Like John the Baptise, Obama have come to show that with hard work and believeing in ons's self, nothing is impossible in that God's country. I believe that though HRC ran for the nomination, but like King David of Isreal, it would be her daughter Chelsea who if she is into politics would be the first female president of America. When the time comes just remember I said it first. In the battle of Abagana, Biafra will return. Hail Biafra!!!
Posts: 112 | From: United Kingdom | Registered: Jun 2007
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Now, thats how you pick a President in a civilized nation.The speech by Barrack Obama on the last day of Demo convention was one of unclassy, aggressive, direct, substance and emotional, it was vintage obama as never seen before. I was impressed. What a match, I mean the VP pick, though I have never been a fan of his VP, the ticket appear to be strong and well balanced.
Now, My man McCain goofed and shows why he will make a dangerous Commander in Chief. This man woke up one morning to pick a VP unlike Barrack, it took him almost 6 months to pick Biden. McCain's pick to me was reactionary to spite Obama relationship with Hillary and with the possibility of attracting women. Good luck! But I have news for McCain, the women's vote is locked and loaded for Obama. His VP will only attract fishermen, like her husband; tobacco shewing rednecks and mountaineers in kentucky who sleeps and carry their guns as if hell is about to break loose, thats about all she can attract and of course some few trailer trash/beer drinking-hairy white women, who call themselves feminist for life. McCain decison shows lack of judgement and an act of despration. Anyone remember Geraldine Ferrero?, a Vice President to Walter Mondale? She is now a woman scorned and appears frequently on Fox and Friends "dissing" out Obama in defense of women/Hillary. She was ther first and in a major party and did nothing to win the Presidency for Walter Mondale, quite risky back then, although times have changed but McCain's pick is no force for majority of women. She is pro choice, pro gun, advocated to teach creationism in the classrooms, she smoked marijuna and inhaled, she is being investigated as we speak for Nepotism in her state. As Governor of Alaska, she ordered the firing of her brother in-law involved in a bitter divorce with her sister. she has a child with down syndrom. Many will ask, who will be taking care of her children if she happens to.... I am not particularly happy with the pick by McCain. But lets watch and see how this will play out.
Hail Biafra
[ August 31, 2008, 05:48 PM: Message edited by: Waypoint1Biafra ]
Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Waypoint1Biafra: ...She is pro choice, pro gun, advocated to teach creationism in the classrooms, she smoked marijuna and inhaled...
Mota, as you are an expert in the field can you tell us whether marijuana is legal in Alaska? and how was last year's crop?
___________________ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves... Posts: 802 | From: Valle del Sol, AZ | Registered: Nov 2004
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Yes, she smoked ganja when it was legal, but that does not deny the fact that she smoked ganja and that could explain her personality as a woman, wild-crazy fox. I am sure ganja is not the first thing she tried. The world awaits to deep deep in her personal life. I don't like the choice, Mitt Romnney would have been the best match.
Hail biafra Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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The whole world awaits the outcome of the American presidential election if only for the sheer novelty of there being a candidate of African descent. The so-called "rock star" status of Barack Obama in his bid for president of the most powerful country in the world cannot be denied, but there are other aspects of this unique historical moment that cause me a consternation of monumental proportions. Although inexperience in foreign policy has been cited as a crucial Obama weakness, it is not foreign policy that worries me...and regardless of whether a President Obama sucessfully ends the war in Iraq, it will in no way reduce my concern about near future events that will rapidly overtake our attention. The events of which I write have not been caused by Obama but have for some time been in motion, and are ready to burst forth upon an unperceptive, unprepared and rather complacent public. I speak of the American economy, and therefore the world economy.
For the last two quarters there has been a decline in America's gross domestic productivity(GDP). Officially, this is the definition of a recession. With the sharp rise in the price of crude oil, the cost of production of all goods and services has experienced a comensurate increase with no sign of any reversal. Unemployment rates from state to state are such that the national government has seen the need to grant extended benefits nationwide for an additional 12 weeks. In addition, the pump-priming tactic of the recent tax relief payments betray a certain panic on the part of the government as it regards the potentially disastrous results of record bankruptcy filings by banks, businesses and individuals. Foreclosures of homes and businesses are also rapidly approaching record levels without intermission. One does not have to be an economist to recognize the signs of these times.
Whether or not Obama is elected the above-mentioned economic pressures will cause a run on banks in this country, that is, persons and corporations removing their assets from banking institutions, especially if those institutions hold lots of short-term debt, which is being defaulted on in alarming numbers. If your money is in one of these institutions that declares bankruptcy, you may lose big time. Most, however, of the "movers and the shakers" in the economy will move quickly to protect their assets by alternatively investing in precious metals, leaving the general public to pay the bills of the risky debt they have taken on paper. I predict that if Obama wins, these same will overreact and stay out of the market altogether and be unwilling to risk their capital in an economy presided over by a black president, and therefore make mattters much worse.
If you have large assets or any considerable amount of money in the bank, you will do well to investigate that bank's financial strength by subscribing to several financial newsletters for the next six months...and even if you save your assets from being held in a bankruptcy proceeding, there will be hard times for the rest of us for some time to come because of the stated economic pressures which show little prospect for improvement.
The republicans have once again gotten their way. The poker game is almost over for this round and they are about to take their winnings and go home, leaving the "small-stakes guys" to fight for the crumbs. I gotta hand it to Bush and Cheney...deftly taking us from a budget surplus to recession. You gotta admire these Republicans; they bluff well and know when to quit.
___________________ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves... Posts: 802 | From: Valle del Sol, AZ | Registered: Nov 2004
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I told you about Palin, a woman who smoked Ganja has a lot of bad reputation associated with her such as wild-crazy sex and parantal irresponsibility. Don't forget a trailer trash reputation
McCain compared Obama as a celebrity with Brittany Spears and Parish Hilton. Now, Obama can compare Palin's daughter to Brittany's sister, who got preg at age 16 and outside wedluck. Stay tuned, more to come about the woman McCain selected as VP. We may not be shocked to learn that the same boy or man who got her daughter preg may be Palin's cousin and father of her D Syndrom child. WHERE IS JERRY SPRINGER WHEN YOU NEED HIM?
Trust McCain? His dad & grand-dad Navy Admirals� influence got him into Annapolis, not smarts. McCain graduated 894 out of 899, almost last. Later, said he didn't read flight manual, crashed 3 planes. At 42 traded in his 1st wife & family for 24 yr old millionaire Cindy, his beer distributor boss�s daughter, whom he romanced 9 months, while still snatching his wife and Cindy, to use her money & family influence to fund campaign for Congress. McCain used US Senator influence to get his trophy-wife Cindy�s felony charges reduced to pleading �no-contest� when she became a drug addict, stole drugs from her medical charity, used forged prescriptions, had to pay a fine, join Narcotics Anonymous, dissolve charity, do community soup-kitchen work & presto �h-e-e-r�s Cindy, our new First Lady Hurricane Gustav hits Louisiana, Hurricane Hanna is brewing in the Atlantic -- and now Hurricane Sarah is headed for St. Paul, Minnesota READ THIS BELOW .
GOV PALIN SAYS HER UNMARRIED 17-YEAR OLD DAUGHTER IS PREGNANT SEPTEMBER 1, 2008
"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us," reads the statement from Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband Todd.
"Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned," they continued, referring to their 17-year-old daughter. "As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support." The Palins said that "Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media, respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."
The campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who announced Palin as his running mate just three days ago, said the Palins would have no further comment. "We ask that the media respect their daughter in the same tradition that has been afforded children of past candidates," McCain spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said. A McCain campaign official tells ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that McCain knew of Bristol's pregnancy and "didn't believe Governor Palin should be disqualified" from the vice presidency because of it. "If Democrats try to attack, it will backfire spectacularly," the official said. Gov. Palin is a strong proponent of teaching abstinence-only sex education to teenagers. McCain campaign officials said the information was released to combat unsubstantiated rumors that Gov. Palin's fifth child, Trig, born in April, was actually Bristol's child. The unsubstantiated story, circulated on liberal websites, was based on circumstantial evidence, such as photographs of Gov. Palin looking quite thin when she was supposed to be seven months pregnant, as well as Palin's own account of Trig's birth -- which included her getting on an eight-hour flight from Texas to Alaska after her water burst. The McCain campaign refused to comment on the record about those rumors.
Hail Biafra
[ September 01, 2008, 07:43 PM: Message edited by: Waypoint1Biafra ]
Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Did anyone else notice in the so-called "country first" video narrated by Robert Duvall the subtle and perhaps subliminal hints at resurrecting dormant racism in white America? Here we have the first person of African descent to have won the Democratic Party nomination and the only images of black people the republicans can conjure is a demeaning caricature of a black man as a kneeling slave, an image of Rosa Parks so lightened up that you might miss the fact that she is African-American, and a mugshot of Martin Luther King. Now explain to me, any of you republican sympathizers, what kind of subconscious message the Republican Party is trying to convey? Probably that black males belong either on their knees, or in jail. That is the subliminal message to whites whether you believe it or not.
As if this were not enough, the Republican Party seems to try and steal the legacy of Lincoln, with which in these days it has nothing in common except name only. Futher, the video glorifies and dignifies the "founding fathers" and whites in general in heroic fashion, in sharp contrast to the manner in which African-americans are portrayed. Of course this is not news to me. The Republican Party has always done this sort of thing. It and it's members are the masters of dirty tricks. Of all, for instance, of the distinguished photographs of MLK, they chose a mugshot; and if they wanted to include the period of slavery there are authentic images of black people of that period. Instead they chose a cartoonic image of a fearful and cringing black to demean us as a people, and with which to associate Barack Obama, hoping that white americans will have a new birth of prejudice, vote against Obama, and usher in John McCain, all of which I have already predicted. Hopefully I will be proven wrong but don't bet on it. Please watch the video and decide for yourself, whether these republican strategists are the worst bunch of sneaky bastards on earth, or not.
Other photos of MLK: http://www.mlkonline.net/images.html
Photos showing the human side of captured Africans(called slaves)forced to labor in antebellum concentration camps(called plantations), rather than the cartoonic rendition the republicans used in their video to demean them. http://www.sonofthesouth.net/slavery/slavery-photographs.htm
___________________ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves... Posts: 802 | From: Valle del Sol, AZ | Registered: Nov 2004
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Notwithstanding the things I have written in my last post, and even though(in my opinion) the republicans have first played the race card in their "country first" video, Obama's camp would be well-advised to ignore the slight and not take the bait. Although nothing can be done to withdraw the subliminal message of prejudice the Republican Party has broadcast, if Obama's camp were to publicly scream 'racism,' it would hurt Obama rather than help him. I think this is the second leg of the strategy of the republicans...to provoke blacks, force Obama to respond, accuse him of crying racism, and realize their general goal of opening a prejudicial can of worms, thereby magnifying the race issue. Why else would they have chosen such offensive images?
___________________ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves... Posts: 802 | From: Valle del Sol, AZ | Registered: Nov 2004
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For those who think I am making more of this thing than what is really there, I've decided to post the still images. One note however is in order. The mugshot of MLK that the Republican Party used in their video is quite difficult to find...I mean, the angle of the mugshot. It is not easily found on the internet. As a matter of fact it is almost impossible to find. The more common one and the frontal view was somehow desecrated by an unknown person or persons, but since the photograph has been, and probably still is in the hands Alabama law enforcement authorities, it's a good bet they had something to do with it. It was reportedly found in 2004 by a deputy cleaning out a storage room. The desecration of this photograph and its unfitness for any public use shows how desperate the republicans were to broadcast a mugshot of MLK( never mind that he was protesting discrimination and segregation) in that they found another mugshot photo of the same arrest but of a differing angle that had not been desecrated and used that one instead. Am I making sense?
Be warned! The image of MLK of which I write can be disturbing.
But first, the way republicans portayed blacks in general.
Be warned!
Now go to the video(via the link I provided two posts up in this thread) and you will see that it is the same arrest and mugshot but from a different angle. Have I not reason when I say that the republican party wanted to use this mugshot so much that they searched for another copy of it. There are all kinds of other photos of the man but it seems that only a mugshot would do for the purposes of the republicans.
BTW, McCain was against the MLK holiday and wanted to rescind it.
___________________ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves... Posts: 802 | From: Valle del Sol, AZ | Registered: Nov 2004
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I wouldn't have predicted a takeover of these two financial giants but I should have known that something extraordinary would have to happen quickly to help stabilize the housing and bond markets, and the economy in general. The following is an historic first(italics in the following are mine).
THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICAL
Feds Take Control of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
Sam Zuckerman, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, September 8, 2008
(09-07) 17:49 PDT -- The federal government took control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Sunday in a bid to keep the two mortgage giants from failing, catastrophes that would have made home loans harder to get and taken the nation's housing collapse to a new level of crisis.
The government agreed to pump billions of dollars into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and assume responsibility for trillions of dollars of their debt, while handing control of the companies to federal regulators. The takeovers mark the most dramatic government effort thus far to stem the financial chaos precipitated by the housing bust. At the same time, seizure of the two could ultimately cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, experts estimate, widening an already bloated federal deficit.
Officials said they moved because the potential failure of the companies threatened incalculable harm to the mortgage market, the financial system and the broader economy. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bankruptcies would have left them unable to finance mortgages, potentially wreaking more havoc than a failure of brokerage giant Bear Stearns, whose near collapse and government-forced sale earlier this year sent credit markets around the world into a panic.
"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are so large and so interwoven in our financial system that a failure of either of them would cause great turmoil in our financial markets here at home and around the globe," said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. "A failure would affect the ability of Americans to get home loans, auto loans and other consumer credit and business finance."
Democratic leaders, including presidential nominee Barack Obama, said government intervention was necessary to keep the housing crisis from worsening.
Outside experts said the takeovers could stabilize the home loan market, making mortgages cheaper and easier to get. That, in turn, could act to limit any further downward spiral in home prices.
"The housing and mortgage market should benefit from the actions," said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo (Ventura County). "Mortgage rates should be lower than they would be without the government guarantee."
How it works
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac don't offer mortgages themselves. But they play a central, perhaps irreplaceable, role in the American system of home finance. Together, the two companies own or guarantee more than $5 trillion in mortgages, almost half the total outstanding in the United States.
They buy mortgages from banks and others lenders that make the loans, either keeping them as investments or packaging them for resale to investors. This ready market for mortgages multiplies the capacity of front-line lenders such as Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual to make loans and allows them to offer lower interest rates.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac accept only high-quality mortgages made to borrowers who meet strict financial standards. They buy only so-called conforming loans, mortgages made to prime borrowers up to a limit that varies by locality. In San Francisco, the conforming loan limit was recently raised to $729, 750.
Yet, as the housing boom has turned into a bust, even top-notch borrowers have fallen behind on their mortgages or defaulted altogether. The two companies have posted billions of dollars in losses, crippling their ability to raise money and buy additional loans, ultimately threatening their survival.
Congress chartered Fannie Mae in 1938 as the Federal National Mortgage Association and created Freddie Mac in 1970. Both later were reorganized as private, for-profit companies and sold off to shareholders. But their beginnings as government-sponsored enterprises and the vital part they play in the housing market convinced many experts that they were "too big to fail," meaning the government would not let them go under.
That implicit guarantee permitted the two companies to borrow money at nearly the same low rate as the federal government. Their ability to get money cheaply meant they could buy loans with low interest rates and still make a profit, a key factor in keeping mortgages affordable in the United States. In recent months though, the interest rates they have had to pay has jumped as skittish lenders backed off, despite the assumed federal protection.
Sunday's developments transformed the too-big-to-fail doctrine from a theory to a reality. Nonetheless, it's not a full bailout. Top Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives are being replaced and the companies will be put under the supervision of conservators. The companies will be forced to stop lobbying efforts.
Dividends suspended
Dividends to shareholders are suspended. And if losses continue, common shareholders, in two of the most widely held stocks in the United States, could find their stock worthless. However, holders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage securities and other debt will be paid in full.
The takeovers mean that if the capital of the two companies is wiped out, any further losses would be covered by the federal government. Given that home prices are still falling, it's probable that the government will have to pump many billions into the two companies, analysts say. Several months ago, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the potential cost of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac takeovers at roughly $25 billion.
"The markets are still going down," said Dean Baker, an economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. "They're already holding debt that will go bad. And if they continue to make bad loans, it could get much worse. I would be surprised if we get off for less than $50 billion, and it could easily be as much as $100 billion."
The ultimate fate of the two companies remains in doubt. Some Democrats want to transform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into government agencies. Some conservatives want to keep them private and break them up into smaller companies.
"It's not clear at all what the government plans to do," said Michael Carney, professor of financial institutions at California Polytechnic State University Pomona.
Rescue provisions
The government's financial rescue of mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac includes the following provisions:
-- The two companies will modestly increase their holdings of mortgage securities through 2009, growth that is needed to stabilize the mortgage market. After that, they will be required to cut back their direct mortgage holdings to reduce risk.
-- The Treasury Department will buy up to $100 billion in preferred stock from each of the companies to ensure they have capital and are able to pay off their private debt.
-- Treasury will also lend directly to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as needed through 2009.
-- The department will buy mortgage securities from brokers to help keep the market healthy.
This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Forumites,
Unfortunately, lesser financial giants in similar crises may not be able to extract the same sort of benefits from the taxpayers' purse; and you as a depositor may find your needed funds held up in a protracted bankruptcy proceeding unless you move quickly to ensure that your money is in an institution that is financially sound, and one that will be around to fill up the void left by failing ones. You will read about those, I think, in the very near future.
___________________ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves... Posts: 802 | From: Valle del Sol, AZ | Registered: Nov 2004
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No matter what the government does to shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and no matter what the rosy forecast some bureaucrats have made because of the infusion of government money in to these giants, the fact remains that they are broke, without any capital, and therefore bankrupt. The 5.2 trillion debt now assumed by the government is about half the amount of the whole national deficit. How will the government get this kind of money in the short run? by printing more paper money, that's how; which means that the value of the rest of the paper money already in circulation will lose purchasing power, in short, get ready for some chronic inflation.
Now where did all this money go. The banks certainly paid the sellers of property, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac paid the banks for the promissory notes that purchasers executed. So the purchasers who could not pay back were foreclosed on, and the properties sat vacant for the most part, assets to be sure, but unlike cold hard cash, without liquidity. The government nows spends taxpayers' money and gives it to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac so that they can continue to buy promissory notes from banks in hopes that they will make profits this time around. Now those that were sellers originally can buy up foreclosed properties cheap(you guessed it, from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), sell them, and start the whole process over again. This happens, more or less, every time republicans take over the presidency(witness Reagan and the S&L; crisis), leaving the rest of us with less money, fewer jobs, greater tax burden, and pathetic speeches about family values. These same republicans vociferously oppose any form of public assistance but are the greatest offenders in terms of the number of dollars they cost average taxpayers, in this case 5.2 trillion dollars. They rob the U.S. government blind. While the rest of us may be uneasy about unfolding economic tragedy being played out, the ruling class of republicans is realizing spectacular profits, and most of it at taxpayer's expense. The richest of them make money in times like these, and that is why you will have less.
___________________ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves... Posts: 802 | From: Valle del Sol, AZ | Registered: Nov 2004
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Why The Fannie-Freddie Bailout Will Fail by Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D. 09-08-08
With yesterday's announcement of the most massive federal bailout of all time, it's now official: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest mortgage lenders on Earth, are bankrupt.
Some Washington bigwigs and bureaucrats will inevitably try to spin it. They'll avoid the "b" word with vengeance. They'll push the "c" word (conservatorship) with passion. And in the newspeak of 21st century bailouts, they'll tell you "it all depends on what the definition of solvency is."
The truth: Without their accounting smoke and mirrors, Fannie and Freddie have no capital. The government is seizing control of their operations. Their chief executives are getting fired. Common shareholders will be virtually wiped out. Preferred shareholders will get pennies. If that's not wholesale bankruptcy, what is?
Some Wall Street pundits and pros will also try to twist the facts to their own liking. They'll treat the bailout like long-awaited manna from heaven. They'll declare that the "credit crisis is now behind us." They may even jump in to buy select financial stocks. And then they'll try to persuade you to do the same.
The reality: This was the same pitch we heard in August of last year when the world's central banks made a coordinated attempt to rescue credit markets with massive injections of fresh cash. It was also the same pitch we heard in March when the Fed bailed out Bear Stearns. But each time, the crisis got progressively worse. Each time, investors lost fortunes.
Together, both Washington and Wall Street are trying to persuade you that, "no matter what, the government will save us from financial disaster." But the real lessons already learned from these events are another matter entirely:
Lesson #1. Each successive round of the credit crisis is far deeper and broader than the previous.
* In 2007, the big news was big losses; in 2008, it's big bankruptcies.
* In March, the failure of Bear Stearns shattered $395 billion in assets. Now, just six months later, the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is impacting $1.7 trillion in combined assets, or over four times more. And considering the $5.3 trillion in mortgages that Fannie-Freddie own or guarantee, the impact is actually thirteen times greater than the Bear Stearns failure.
Lesson #2. Despite unprecedented countermeasures, Washington has been unable to stem the tide.
Yes, the Fed can inject hundreds of billions into the banking system. But if banks don't lend, the money goes nowhere.
Sure, the Treasury can inject up to $200 billion of capital into Fannie and Freddie. But if their mortgage portfolio is full of holes, all that new capital goes down the drain.
And of course, the U.S. government has vast resources. But if the $49 trillion mountain of U.S. debts and the $180 trillion pile-up of U.S. derivatives are beginning to crumble, all those resources don't amount to more than a band-aid and a prayer.
Lesson #3. Shareholders are the first victims.
Bear Stearns shareholders got wiped out. Fannie and Freddie Mac shareholders are getting wiped out. Ditto for shareholders in any of Detroit's Big Three that go belly-up, any bank taken over by the FDIC or any insurer taken over by state insurance commissioners.
The Next Lesson: The Primary Mission of the Fannie-Freddie Bailout Will Ultimately End in Failure
Most people assume that when the government steps in, that's it. The story dies and investors shift their attention to other concerns. In smaller bailouts, perhaps. But not in this Mother of All Bailouts.
The taxpayer cost for just these two companies � up to $200 billion � is more than the total cost of bailing out thousands of S&Ls; in the 1970s. But it's still just a fraction of the liability the government is now assuming.
Why?
First, because the number of home foreclosures and mortgage delinquencies has now surged to a shocking four million � and a substantial portion of the massive losses stemming from this calamity have yet to appear on Fannie's and Freddie's books.
Second, because the U.S. recession is still in an early stage, with surging unemployment just beginning to cause still another surge in foreclosures and mortgage delinquencies.
Third, even before Fannie and Freddie begin to feel the full brunt of the mortgage and recession calamity, their capital had already been grossly overstated.
Indeed, right at this moment, while Wall Street analysts are trying to evaluate the details of a bailout plan that's supposed to save them, regulators and their advisers are poring over the Freddie-Fannie accounting mess they're supposed to inherit. According to Gretchen Morgenson and Charles Duhigg's column in yesterday's New York Times, "Mortgage Giant Overstated the Size of Its Capital Base" ...
* Freddie Mac's portfolio contains many securities backed by subprime and Alt-A loans. But the company has not written down the value of many of those loans to reflect current market prices.
* For years, both Freddie and Fannie have effectively recognized losses whenever payments on a loan are 90 days past due. But in recent months, the companies saidthey would wait until payments were TWO YEARS late. As a result, tens of thousands of other loans have also not been marked down in value.
* Both companies have grossly inflated their capital by relying on accumulated tax credits that can supposedly be used to offset future profits. Fannie says it gets a $36 billion capital boost from tax credits, while Freddie claims a $28 billion benefit. But unless these companies can generate profits, which now seems highly unlikely, all of the tax credits are useless. Not one penny of these so-called "assets" could ever be sold. And every single penny will now vanish as the company goes into receivership.
In short, the federal government is buying a pig in a poke � a bottomless pit that will suck up many times more capital than they're revealing. My forecast:
Just to keep Fannie and Freddie solvent will take so much capital, there will be no funds available to pursue the primary mission of this bailout � to pump money into the mortgage market and save it from collapse. That mission will ultimately end in failure.
The Most Important Lesson of All: As the U.S. Treasury Assumes Responsibility for $5.3 Trillion in Mortgages, It Places Its Own Borrowing Ability at Risk
The immediate reason the government decided not to wait any longer to bail out Freddie and Fannie was very simple: All over the world, investors were beginning to reject their bonds, refusing to lend them any more money. So the price of Fannie and Freddie bonds plunged, and the yields on those bonds went through the roof.
As a result, to borrow money, Fannie-Freddie had to pay higher and higher interest rates, far above the rates paid by the U.S. Treasury Department. And they had to pass those higher rates on to any homeowner taking out a new home loan, driving 30-year fixed-rate mortgages sharply higher as well.
Now, with the U.S. Treasury itself stepping in to directly guarantee Fannie-Freddie debts, Washington and Wall Street are hoping this rapidly deteriorating scenario will be reversed.
They hope investors will flock back to Fannie and Freddie bonds.
They hope investors will resume lending them money at a rate that's much closer to the Treasury rates.
And they hope Fannie and Freddie will again be able to feed that low-cost money into the mortgage market just like they used to.
In other words, they hope the U.S. Treasury will lift up the credit of Fannie and Freddie.
There's just one not-so-small hitch in this rosy scenario: Fannie's and Freddie's mortgage obligations are just as big as the total amount of Treasury debt outstanding.So rather than the Treasury lifting up Fannie and Freddie, what about a scenario in which Fannie and Freddie drag down the U.S. Treasury?
To understand the magnitude of this dilemma, just look at the numbers ...
* Mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie: $5.3 trillion.
* Treasury securities outstanding as of March 31, according to the Fed's Flow of Funds (report page 87, pdf page 95): Also $5.3 trillion.
If Fannie's and Freddie's obligations were equivalent to 10% or even 20% of the U.S. Treasury debts, the idea that they could fit under the Treasury's "full faith and credit" umbrella might make sense. But that's not the situation we have here � Fannie's and Freddie's obligations are the equivalent of 100% of the Treasury's debts.
And it's actually worse than that:
* Foreign investors, the most likely to dump their holdings if they lose confidence in the United States, hold an estimated 20% of the Fannie- and Freddie-backed mortgages outstanding. But ...
* Foreign investors own 52.7% of the Treasury securities outstanding (excluding those held by the Fed).
So based on the above stats, Treasury securities are actually more vulnerable to foreign selling than Fannie and Freddie bonds.
What happens if the international mistrust and fear afflicting Fannie and Freddie bonds infects U.S. Treasury bonds? Foreign investors would start dumping Treasury securities en masse. They'd drive Treasury rates sharply higher. And they'd wind up forcing Fannie and Freddie to pay much higher rates for their borrowings after all.
How will you know? Just watch the all-critical spread (difference) between the yield on Fannie-Freddie bonds, considered lower quality, and the yield on equivalent government bonds, considered high quality. Then consider these two possibilities:
* If that spread narrows mostly because Fannie and Freddie interest rates are coming down toward the level of the Treasury rates, fine. That means the immediate goal of the bailout is being achieved. BUT ...
* If the spread narrows mostly because Treasury rates are going up toward the level of Fannie's and Freddie's rates, that's not so fine. It not only means a failure to achieve the immediate goals, but it will also imply that the entire Fannie-Freddie bailout is backfiring on the Treasury.
For the complete article go to http://moneyandmarkets.com/Issues.aspx?Why-The-Fannie-Freddie-Bailout-Will-Fail-2199
___________________ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves... Posts: 802 | From: Valle del Sol, AZ | Registered: Nov 2004
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Hey bro waypoint1, I hope you still remember your pledge a while ago when you said that if Obama was selected to represent the Democrats, you will vote for him. Though I wont be there to hold you to your pledge, I hope you are your father's son whose word is his bond. As for McCain, it looks like the fool who think he is tougher than the other candidates he saw off, but it seems the gods have stripped him of all sorts of common sense. He thought he was capitalizing on HRC's redneck supporters who are still bitter with Barrack for beating their candidate, but ended up with that, according to you, the trailer trash. If that old gizzer and his TT running-mate are elected, sorry for the greatest country in the world, as well as the world. Because if anything should happen to the old guy, she will make GWB look like archangel Gabrel. A vote for Obama is a vote for stability, but a vote for McCain is a vote for more wars and a rule with fear tactise, hope you make a wise choice at the voting booth. In the Battle of Abagana, We Shall Return:Hail Biafra
Posts: 112 | From: United Kingdom | Registered: Jun 2007
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If there is any thing that worries a lot of democrats and excites the Republicans, it is the flippant and the uncontrollable and endlessly loquacious Biden, the Vice for Obama. The man talks too much and sometimes does not stop to listen to his own conscious awareness of his Auto pilot dribbling of his tongue.
Hail Biafra Posts: 1832 | From: Minnesota USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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. She needed a big victory from the Caroliner Panthers and a jaw breaking victory from the Colts, instead she lost the former and won the later by only 2 points. Obama was an over drive. Hillary is in the race because of her reputation for road Kill, destroy the party and make it hard for Obama come November not because of her capability for the impossible.
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