Unity, Organization, HOPE

Two months ago, Ron Paul appeared alongside Ralph Nader on CNN to discuss their plans for a third party/independent presidential debate.  The debate is irrelevant at this point, but I want to convey the united message that the two shared as a continuation of the message from my last post.

They agreed that immediate action must be taken on the following issues:

A.) Foreign Policy

-We do not want the empire! 

-We cannot afford the empire!

-No more unjust wars!

-Cut the outrageous military budget!

-The President cannot declare war without congressional approval (see Constitution)!

-Bring our military home!

B.) Civil Rights

-Abolish the Patriot Act!

-No more torture!

-Appeal FISA!

C.) Federal Deficit ($56 trillion)

-Stop using the deficit for reckless government adventurism!

-Control the spending!

D.) Reform or Abolish the Federal Reserve

-It is funded and controlled by the banks!

-Totally out of control!

So these are 4 issues that are critical to the survival of our country, and activists on all sides need to come together to push them into the Obama agenda.  Somehow the millions of activists around the country MUST come together for common cause.  People need to be thinking about this and leaders must begin establishing the framework for grassroots organization.  The Congress is only 535 people... they have lives and personalities just like you and me... they can be persuaded. Imagine the possibilities.  

But this week we rest to admire the remarkable history that has been made.  By electing a man whose ancestors we once called "slave," we have proven once again that the American Dream is real.  The age of cynicism and fear has come to an end, and the world can once again look to the United States as a beacon of hope and leadership.  We must remember that in no other place in the world could this have happened.  It is like the French electing a citizen of Algerian descent to their highest office!  Ce n'est pas possible!

Coming of age during perhaps the most cynical period of American history prevented me from recognizing why our country truly is special.  It is because of this nation's ability to change that gives me newfound hope.  Today let the world know that the United States can be better, and I believe will.  

And to the Americans who have been disenchanted by our nation's failures and betrayals: I ask you to believe once more in the Dream that is our legacy, and in the government that we cherish so deeply.  Do not let it fail.

Much work is ahead of us, but it can be done.

Why Obama? Answer: Ending the Empire

Those who know me, know that the presidential candidate whom I supported has long been out of the competition. I'd say that I now align mostly with Ralph Nader (on the ballot in 45 states, by the way), but despite my inner urges, I will not be voting for him come November.

First, however, allow me to give an overview of how broken our electoral system is. First of all, 2 presidential elections have gone against the popular vote--in other words, the minority electoral college decides who wins, not the people. But the most important aspect of any election is the visibility of the debates. When Jesse Ventura was polling in the single digits during the race for governorship of Minnesota, there didn't seem to be much hope for the former pro-wrestler. Then he got into the debates, and bingo! Ventura connected with voters and ultimately won the race. Why was Nader forbidden to be a part of the debates of 2000 and 2004? Because the Commission of Presidential Debates is run by former Party heads--the Dems and Republicans. If you get into the debates, you have a real shot at winning, and the 2 party monopoly is not going to allow that to happen.

Despite Nader's efforts, I am confident that he will not be speaking at the debates, which is why I turn to Barack. As his public platform currently stands, Obama will be another status quo president who sold out to the military-industrial complex, which Eisenhower warned us so direly to avoid. His plans to increase military spending, grow the armed forces, and revamp efforts to develop new military technology simply feed into the United States Empire, and will be our downfall.

It is my hope that Obama is lying that I will be voting for him. That sounds really sad, actually ... that we are in a situation where we vote in anticipation for deception. Watch this video from early on in the Obama campaign (before he started going "centrist"):

This is promising, but I don't hear that anymore. If you check out his website, you can read all about his imperial policies. But I get it.  He has run with these kinds of policies.  After all, candidates who try to appeal more to the left tend to lose elections (though I would argue this is not a 'left' issue).  But I just pray that Obama has not lost himself in this campaign.  That he won't be like the others, and will scale the empire back.  The American people did not feel the Iraq War, but they are starting to.  And they will feel the next one.  If Obama is like the others (i.e., almost every president after WWII), I will be done with this sort of politics.  I will not throw my vote away ever again, and I will go the other way.

Americans will start to get it eventually.  The responsibility for change lies in government and the people.  When government fails, the Founding Fathers charged the people with fixing it.  Let me remind you:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

--The Declaration of Independence, 1776