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Barack Obama and Global Warming

Is anybody sure about the cause of global warming? One thing is certain. The answer to THAT question is NO.

A lot of people would say it is air pollution, and the newest president of the USA seems to think so. Can a new government save future generations from global catastrophe? A market for cleaner-burning fuels might help stop climate change and President Obama’s administration could make this possible. So a number of environmental groups and lobbyist groups hope.

One such special interest group is known as Ceros. This coalition of environmental organizations and investors wishes for Obama to curtail global warming. They figure he could pass legislation to reduce green house gas emissions by 25% below 1990 levels before 2020, and they might be right.

One step in achieving this end is “honest accounting of financial risks that companies and investors face from climate change,” according to Ceros. Another might be dispensing with a system of emissions credits to force this honest accounting instead of providing an avenue for deep-pocketed corporations from easily buying their way out of responsibility.

Who wouldn’t want Barack Obama’s government to take charge in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and rates of deforestation? Is this even the right person for the job? No one person can do it all, of course.

According to Obama, “The issue of climate change is one that we ignore at our own peril. There may still be disputes about exactly how much is naturally occurring, but what we can be scientifically certain of is that our continued use of fossil fuels is pushing us to a point of no return. And unless we free ourselves from a dependence on these fossil fuels and chart a new course on energy in this country, we are condemning future generations to global catastrophe.”

This tells us that he has some regard for scientific research, and that he believes we CAN do something about global warming. Applying science correctly provides a good start to arriving at a solution. And scientists will play a big role in finding a solution, even if that solution is simply a “wait and see what happens”.

A scientific approach includes taking off the blinders and thinking creatively to arrive at one or several solutions. Focussing on carbon in initiatives such as the National Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which is trying to find “clean” fuels instead of the ones we currently consume, takes the sights off other climate drivers and other greenhouse gases. Water vapour being chief amongst those.

Another example, please…

It has been said that the sun is the only source of global warming. A new energy economy proposed by Obama would rely on renewable energy such as solar and wind, both of which depend on sunlight. Other documents have said that extra sunspot activity can reduce cloud cover, resulting in a more heated planet/atmosphere system.

Furthermore, An Inconvenient Truth shows Al Gore putting carbon dioxide as the culprit as far as global warming is concerned. Anthropogenic carbon dioxide. But a credible theory of climate variations points to Milankovitch Cycles, where changes in earth-heating patterns occur in a recurring pattern.

Maybe Obama got in at the right time with his campaign promises and we will see improvements take place that would have happened without anybody’s effort at all. Barack will certainly get the credit, though.

Barry is an air quality scientist who writes about atmospheric environmental issues. See this Cause of Global Warming article for further perspective on global warming. Barry’s Weather Man page gives you more about the author.

Cool & Unique Barack Obama Apparel, Gifts & T-Shirts on Sale

Robert Walsh Kids Clothing announces the publication of their newest page, “Cool & Unique Barack Obama Apparel, Gifts & T-Shirts On Sale”.

Today in history, November 4, 2008, the presidential election of 2008 will place an asterisk in the history of US Presidents next to the 44th President as the first black American President, Barack Obama. His name will be found on lists that include major historical events, American history, famous people in history, history of racial discrimination, famous black Americans, and historical event dates.

The “Obama for President” theme was a dream for many Americans, particularly the Afro-American community. Given very little chance to succeed at the start of the primary season in 2007, history channel will chronicle his journey to the White House. The historical events timeline of his run for the Presidency began on a cold winter day on the steps of the Old Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, where President Abraham Lincoln announced his run for the Presidency almost one hundred fifty years before.

This will be included among the interesting president facts that historically connect these two tall young lawyers from Illinois who made their way as little known individuals to the nation and reached the White House to heal a divided nation. Each attracted attention of their political parties through speeches they gave prior to running for office. And each will be historically recorded in the almanac of Black American History.

This day in history also makes internet history with the fact that prior to going out to make his Election Day victory speech Barack Obama texted a message to all his supporters. His Speech in Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, his home town, brought out almost a quarter of a million people and journalist from around the world. Nearly as many as Martin Luther King had in Washington, D.C. for his “I Have A Dream” Speech.

Now that the election is over, and the truth can be spoken more freely without distortions about the next President of the United States, Americans can celebrate his story of success, and make it the bedtime story they tell their children as they go off to sleep.

Barack Obama’s life story is the American dream brought to life before our very eyes. Every parent’s dream is that their child can and will be a success in life, even become the President of the United States. This story is not about race, as much as it is about success; but because it includes the race factor, it is more impressive because of Barack Obama’s biracial makeup. The storyteller is free to tell the story in any color they wish.

It is a story of a young boy who grows up without a father present in his life. His parents separated when he was 2, and later divorced. His mother works hard to care for the children while at the same time works and goes to night school. Then when she takes leave from her children for educational pursuits, he is left in the care of his grandparents, having to deal with his feelings of abandonment by his parents. Moved not just from one town to the next, he is uprooted and transported half way around a world at the age of 6 to Indonesia. Brought to a foreign land with a new language, and a new culture to adjust and develop new friendships.

Stability and consistency are important for every child’s upbringing. Every parent would agree with that. When a family has to move their children from one location to another for whatever reason, their parents recognize the difficulties that their child will have to face in readjusting to their new locale, school, and fitting in with their new schoolmates. He returns to Hawaii at the age of ten, and attends a top Prep Academy in Hawaii.

Los Angeles hosted his next educational stop at Occidental College for two years. He then crossed the mainland and attended Columbia University in New York City. There he graduated with a major in Political Science specializing in International Relations.

He worked in NYC after Columbia with a New York Public Interest Research Group. Then in 1985 he moved to Chicago, and worked as a Community Organizer. In 1988 he joined Harvard Law School. There he became the first *Black* President of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated in 1991. *To avoid a color, use “culturally-mixed”* in your story. He married his wife, Michelle, in 1992, and they have 2 children.

He worked at a Law Firm, in Chicago and was a part-time lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School. He was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996, and re-elected in 1998 and 2002. In 2004 he was elected the junior Senator from Illinois to the United States Senate with 70% of the vote.

In 2007 he ran in the Democratic Primary and defeated Senator Hillary Clinton in June 2008 to be the Democratic Party’s Nominee for the President of the United States. He defeated Senator John McCain, the Republican candidate, in the general election to become the 44th President of the United States, and will be sworn into Office on January 20th, 2009.

This is an amazing story of Success in America. A young boy from a divorced home, who barely knew his biological father, left to be cared for by his grandparents while his mother was off studying, being uprooted from his home to live in a foreign country half way around the world, dealing with feelings of abandonment and loneliness returning to complete his junior high and high school education. Leaving home again and travelling 2,000 miles to go to College. After his first 2 years, he travelled another 3,000 miles to complete his College education.

He applied and was accepted at one of the most prestigious Law Schools in the Country. He became the President of their Law Review Publication. Five years later he was elected to the first of three terms in the State Senate of Illinois. In 2004 He was elected to the U.S. Senate. Just 17 years after graduating from Law School he has become the country’s choice to be the next President of the United States. Only in America can this be possible. A little known young politician born in Hawaii, and calling Chicago his home, can become President of the United States after only 4 years after gaining national political attention with a speech given at his party’s convention in 2004.

Robert Walsh Kids Clothing offers one stop Christmas shopping from baby needs, strollers, teen jeans, to educational & developmental kids toys and now Barack Obama apparel, gifts, and t-shirts at http://www.robertwalshkidsclothing.com/21.html. For FREE “Bargain Kidswear Newsletter” visit website.

Astrology & The Presidential Election: Obama VS McCain

Stepping into the world of political prediction is a murky arena for an astrologer. I want you to know my personal position, I am for the good of all humanity, what I want is whoever wins to have a pure heart and intelligent mind, I want the candidate who will uplift and do what is right for the country, for all of humanity, and the planet. I am not a politician, I am simply offering what I see astrologically for the presidential race. Astrology offers insight into the nature of individuals and what the universe is asking us to do.

When an astrologer is looking to make a prediction he or she looks at the symbols and from there makes a judgment based upon the symbolic language of the planets.

This election is very difficult as there are many mixed messages as to who will win. The greatest symbol for the election is that everyone appears to be surprised in some way. One thing is certain the astrology is saying that election day will be anything but normal and that the results can surprise many people. That in itself would imply that McCain could win as Obama is expected to win. However I do not think that will happen.

When we look at the day of the election we are looking at the emotional symbols around the candidates for the symbols that would represent victory, achievement, accomplishment and being happy. When a person wins a hard fought fight one would expect a feeling of elation that will accompany that victory, when someone loses we would expect a feeling of being deflated. In very simplistic terms we want to see who looks the happiest. McCain has a Venus aspect, although minor, getting something he wants, the larger influence points back to the date that he was taken prisoner of war and is indicating he is coming into a time of his life that the decisions he made then come to fruition and completion. McCain’s chart also show that he will have a “date with destiny” by the beginning of December, meaning that he will be taking on something new in his life that will fulfill what he feels he needs to do in this life. This does not mean that he will be president, and it doesn’t mean he won’t: it is indicating he is about to make major changes in what he has been doing to fulfill a mission he feels is important.

Obama’s chart also shows he will lose something that is precious to him, yet in light of the health of his grandmother, (she is still alive at the time of this article) it may not be that he loses the presidential race he has been fighting for but his grandmother.

I think the most telling chart is not in the charts of the presidential candidates, but in the chart of Sarah Palin.

There are two reasons why I think that Senator Obama will win the presidential race. 1.) The day of the inauguration he has several indications of being in the public eye. 2.) In Michelle’s chart it indicates she will be concerned around her children for the next couple of years and their school will be changing, and that they will be moving. 3.) The evening of and following day of the election Sarah Palin chart is indicating that she will be very angry.

All of these influences could be manifested in other occasions, such as Palin being angry does not mean that McCain loses, it could mean her kids do or say something that embarrass her and she is mad at them. When you look at an astrological influence you must make a conclusion about where and how you think the influence will manifest. The simplest and most straight forward way to predict the astrological influence which is present on November 4th 2008 is to say the candidate that is not expected to win will win, however my conclusion is that Obama wins after a day of chaos at the polls.

Whoever wins we know has a very tough job ahead of them, the chart of the USA is in very bad shape, indicating bankruptcy, continued disruption, and economic problems. However the nation seems to come together in June of 2009, that whoever wins can pull together the divisiveness and unite the country in hope and expectation. As difficult as the upcoming charts indicate there is the protection and gift from Jupiter; optimism, hope, and with it the opportunity to learn that will take us to a better future.

>Donna Page is an expert in the psychology of astrology incorporating metaphysical principles of spirituality for personal development and awareness. She has touched the lives of thousands of people across the globe. A leader in astrological innovation she has developed a system to help individuals in their day to day challenges that empower people to live a life that is designed by choice. www.lovinglightastrologer.com

Obama Inverts Civil Rights

Have African-Americans considered all sides of an Obama presidency?

Ironically, it was southern Democrat mayors and governors who used police dogs, batons and fire hoses on peaceful civil rights marchers of the 1960’s. It was southern Democrat Congressional members who, being more concerned with reelection to Congress than fairness for black Americans, orchestrated a filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (the longest in Congressional history). Many white voters back home supported segregationist presidential candidate George Wallace.

To be sure, when our first black president is elected, it will be the final victory of our bloody Civil War. From that day forward, every African-American child can realistically hope to be whatever they want to be including President of the United States, because Obama did it.

The Grand Old Party of the Republic (GOP, Republicans) freed the slaves, used the National Guard to enforce integration of schools (Dwight D. Eisenhower), nominated the first black Supreme Court Justice since Thurgood Marshall (Clarence Thomas), the first black National Security Advisor - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - Secretary of State (Colin Powell in all three positions) and the first black, female National Security Advisor - Secretary of State (Condoleezza Rice in both positions). Martin Luther King, Jr. understood the difference between party rhetoric & actual political support of the goals and rights of African-Americans. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech was at the Lincoln Memorial. Dr. Alveda C. King has affirmed that her uncle, Martin Luther King, Jr. was a registered Republican (video http://www.trustedpartner.com/docs/library/000143/Alevda%20King%20-%20Dr.%20Martin%20

Luther%20King%20Jr%20Was%20A%20Republican.wmv at NBRA dot info). She further confirmed that, Dr. A. D. King (her father) & Martin Luther King, Sr. were all Republicans. The logic of it is obvious but what happened to change the party loyalty of most African-Americans? Are Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton so hypnotic, to erase all these memories of real history? What happened?

The US Census Bureau recently concluded that, by the year 2042, non-white Americans will represent 54 percent of our nation’s population. Put another way, in 2042 white Americans will be a minority in the US. Will affirmative action and racial quotas then apply to white Americans? Will Jesse and Al organize boycotts for white minorities?

An Obama presidency, with reversed racial demographics coming soon, will be the end of affirmative action and racial quotas for non-white Americans. When non-whites are seeking jobs and college admissions in the near future, won’t those positions go to minority whites based upon diversity and their minority status?

Obama was recently caught on camera telling Joe-the-plumber that he wants to “spread the wealth around” from higher earners to those with lower incomes, taxing high earners even more; increased wealth redistribution. Will affluent African-Americans relish their earned wealth being “spread around” to poor, less educated or less hard-working neighbors, and global citizens? When government handouts go mostly to a less employable minority, won’t redistributed income (confiscated mostly from non-whites) affect the minority’s motivation to excel? How will the spending spree of socialist wealth redistribution be stopped, under “Progressives”, even at our borders?

Unlike Obama, a conservative black President would support policies to reward the hard work of all Americans with lower taxes, smaller government and more freedom. Our first black president should support capitalist and conservative principles, not Marxism.

Are Obama supporters really ready for higher taxes, bigger inefficient government and less financial freedom? Why not just quit your job today and go to work for a poor person? You don’t need an Obama presidency to work for a poor person.

Average Joe Boomer works to help you boost troop morale, by influencing voters, with his Wear the Gear products and more info at his website VoteWithTroops.com A two minute video of his imprinted images can been seen

Where Do the Candidates Stand on U.S. Homeland Security?

The mere mention of 9/11 brings back vivid memories for most Americans. Many can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when terrorists slammed airplanes into three American landmarks, killing thousands of innocent and unsuspecting people. With that act of terrorism, America’s innocence was lost forever and U.S. homeland security became an issue that will remain relevant for generations to come.

Barack Obama and John McCain will both agree that the safety of Americans is an issue that has to be solved, but how would each candidate address U.S. homeland security and make this country the safe harbor it was before September 11, 2001.

John McCain co-wrote legislation that created the 9/11 Commission and helped implement many of is recommendations. However, the 9/11 Commission gave the country five F’s and 12 D’s for its lack of effort in implementing the commissions recommendations, according to Barack Obama’s official website.

Obama is a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee and co-authored legislation that would increase security and safety for chemical plants and the nation’s water supply. According to his website, “This bill requires chemical facilities to enhance security—including improving barriers, containment, mitigation, and safety training, and, where possible, using safer technology, such as less toxic chemicals.”

The Illinois senator acknowledges that improvements have been made at chemical plants, but he wants to establish permanent security regulations that all plants would have to adhere to in order to strengthen U.S. homeland security. Senator McCain would implement Security Vulnerability Assessments and Site Security Plans that would address security concerns at the plants.

According to McCain’s website, “(He) will work to ensure that all States and municipalities that are responsible for water supply or storage function adequately secure those systems in a manner that eliminates any risk of devastating contamination.”

Obama introduced a bill that will give $37.5 million over a five year period “for drinking water systems to upgrade their monitoring and security efforts,” because he believes that if water is contaminated it would disrupt society and produce a health catastrophe and compromise emergency services such as fire protection.

Nevertheless, McCain believes the key to improve U.S. homeland security is to prevent terrorism before a catastrophe occurs. He plans to accomplish this by working with United States allies and breaking up terrorist organizations and interrupting their financing to ensure that they do not obtain weapons of mass destruction. The Arizona senator wants to modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to improve intelligence and “to provide in statute clear guidance for future actions that may need to be taken.”

The Republican nominee also sees securing American borders as a key to improving U.S. homeland security. He plans to accomplish this by establishing operational control over the entire U.S. border, providing funding to construct 700 miles of fencing and hiring and training more border patrol agents to prevent terrorists from entering into the country illegally.

The senior senator also sees disaster recovery as a key to U.S. homeland security. He wants to establish a uniform standard of dealing with natural disasters that would better assist state and local governments with relief efforts. Obama also sees disaster recovery as highly important, introducing and passing legislation that requires a mandatory plan for evacuating special needs Americans. He also introduced and passed legislation that creates a national database for family members to locate each other after disasters like Hurricane Katrina.

Todd A. Smith is the publisher of Regal Magazine, the preeminent online magazine for African American Men. To read more about homeland security visit our Community section.

Where Do the Candidates Stand on Education Reform?

Education was once the foundation of American society. To advance in life, one saw receiving a quality education as the ticket to the middle-class and a comfortable life. However, over time Americans began placing less emphasis on education. The public school system began to suffer and the achievement gap between American children and their foreign counterparts widened.

Both Barack Obama and John McCain emphasize education reform in their platform, but whose plan benefits you and your children the most?

McCain believes the key to education reform is the ability of parents to choose which schools their children attend, similar to his colleagues in Congress who are able to send their children to the best private schools in their area. The Republican nominee equates equal education to equal access to the best education. According to his website, “John McCain will fight for the ability of all students to have access to all schools of demonstrated excellence, including their own homes.”

The Arizona senator wants to encourage competition among schools to be the most innovative and flexible, and compete for the best teachers and administrators.

Furthermore, McCain believes that financial assistance must be based on a parent’s desire to relocate their child to the best school available.

However, Obama sees teacher retention and affordable higher learning as the key to education reform. According to his website, thirty percent of schoolteachers leave the field of education within their first five years. In addition, the cost of a college education has grown by forty percent in the last five years.

Obama and running mate Joe Biden’s plan for education reform includes the Zero to Five Plan, reforming No Child Left Behind and supporting college credit initiatives.

The Zero to Five Plan will not only place emphasis on early childhood education but also early care and education for infants, which they see as paramount in preparing a child for kindergarten. The senator from Illinois will quadruple Head Start, increasing its funding and improving its quality. In addition, he wants to make high-quality child care affordable for working-class families.

Obama believes the problem with the much-maligned No Child Left Behind program was a lack of funds for the law. He will fund the law, but not force teachers to spend an entire year preparing for a standardized test, but instead will find other tools to assess a student’s achievement and readiness for higher education. He plans to support the formation of more high-performing charter schools by doubling the funding of the Federal Charter School Program, while closing low-performing existing charter schools.

The Democratic nominee wants to make math and science a national priority by recruiting college graduates with math and science degrees and supporting efforts to team teachers with professionals in the fields of math and science. In an effort to retain teachers, he would allow a mentoring program that would team young teachers with experienced teachers.

Another key to Obama’s education reform plan is his “Make College a Reality” initiative, which will increase advance placement courses in high school and implement a new American Opportunity Tax Credit, which will ensure that the first $4,000 of college tuition is completely free for most Americans. According to his website, “Recipients of the credit will be required to conduct 100 hours of community service.”

Consequently, whether it is McCain or Obama in the White House in January 2009, both candidates are determined to make education the foundation of American advancement once again.

Todd A. Smith is the publisher of Regal Magazine, the preeminent online magazine for African American Men. To read more about education reform visit our Community section.

ACORN’s Voter Fraud?

You may have heard a lot about the so called “voter fraud” of the group ACORN lately. I’m writing this article to clear up any misconceptions that you may have on this subject because there have been a lot of untrue things about this topic spread around by the GOP/Fox News & the McCain/Palin campaign.

The claim that the right wing makes is that ACORN has purposefully created thousands of fake voter registrations in order to swing the upcoming elections towards the Democrats in general and towards Obama/Biden in particular.

This claim is ridiculous on it’s face and here’s why:

1. Even if it were true that ACORN purposefully creates fake voter registrations (they don’t) that would have no influence on the elections because fake voter registrations can’t actually vote. A “fake person” created for a fake voter registration would also need a fake address and a fake ID in order to actually vote. How many people do you think go that far out of their way just to vote one more time? It’s doubtful that very many at all do that. The amount of fake votes that such fake voter registrations lead to is minuscule if existent at all (there’s never been proof of a single actual fake vote being cast due to this.)

2. Because such fake voter registrations don’t lead to actual voting, they are a complete waste of time & money for ACORN.

3. These fake voter registrations are actually a problem for ACORN, not something that they want to happen. They are created by lazy employees who want to get paid without actually doing the work of registering people to vote. It’s an unfortunate situation but only because it wastes ACORN’s time & money, not because it has anything to do with voter fraud (it does not.)

It becomes clear by looking at the above points that the McCain/Palin attacks on ACORN are entirely dishonest (no surprise there.) Republicans do not like ACORN not because they register fake people to vote (because that doesn’t lead to any actual votes) but because they register poor people to vote (and yes that does lead to actual votes by real people who deserve to have their say.) Poor people tend to vote for Democrats, and therein lies the “problem.”

By trying to discredit ACORN in this way the GOP is trying to win political points and they are also trying to sow doubts about what is becoming very likely to be an Obama victory this November 4th.

Perhaps most disturbing about these dishonest attacks on ACORN is that it’s a diversionary tactic from the real voter fraud that is done almost entirely by the GOP: voter caging & voter suppression.

It’s beyond the scope of this article to go into voter caging and voter suppression in great detail but if you care about democracy and the future of America then I highly recommend looking into it.

Johnny Moon recommends reading ACORN’s response. He also asks the question: Who Is Sarah Palin? ThePresidentialCandidates.US

Unfounded Fears - What if Obama Doesn’t Win?

What happens if Barack Obama doesn’t win this election cycle? Look, I know everyone is saying this a given, but what if? He’s been given more coverage than McCain, more positive coverage than McCain. Bastions of our popular culture are Pro-Obama, from SNL to US Weekly. Polls say people want Obama.

Most Democrats have an unspoken fear that Obama will manage to blow it during the next few weeks. There is still one final debate that will take place. Some Dems worry that people have been deliberately lying to pollsters, so as to skew results. Today’s Gallup Poll shows Senator Obama ahead by 11 points, so there is little fear of that. With what seems like vast media, public, and even International support, what could stand in his way?

Let’s examine some of the problems that may be in the making for him:

It’s the beginning of October, with less than a month to go in the election. Most psychologists wholeheartedly subscribe to what is known as the “Primacy and Recency” effect. It simply states that the first and last impression you have of any person, or in this case, candidate will have a great deal of effect. This is not so much in play with political partisans. Most of those people knew who they were voting for before the general election started.Where it will have a great deal of effect is with those who have declared themselves “independent” or “undecided”.

Now, as we stated earlier, there is still a single debate left. It is possible that it will be the most watched of the debates. It will be the time when those who missed the first two debates fell obligated to watch. Any flubs, gotchas, or wins will be greatly magnified in the eyes of these influential voters. Obama must play it safe, and make it through the debate unscathed. John McCain has stated that he believes the last 72 hours is where the election is won. McCain will pull out all the stops. One only has to look back a short while, when George Bush was forced to confirm his DUI conviction, on November 2nd 2000. Who knows what kind of impact this made? It surely cost Bush a few votes in a tight election. This is what is feared may happen again.

Then, there is the fear that Republicans will make the William Ayers connection stick. The Obama campaign is doing their best to distance themselves from the former leader of the domestic terrorist group, known as “The Weather Underground”. The events of 30-some-odd years ago are of less concern to the Obama campaign, than the fact that Ayers has embraced Hugo Chavez, and argues vehemently for socialist ideas in his posittion as professor at the University of Chicago. The crux of the matter is this: Obama states that Ayers is merely someone who lives in his neighborhood, someone whom he has served with on boards at educational institutions.

Republicans(and Hillary Clinton) have tried to argue that it goes deeper. Evidently, when Obama launched his State Senate campaign, the initial introduction to movers and shakers was done in the home of William Ayers.

Whether this is a valid point or not, these are facts that Senator Obama does not fight. It remains to be seen if he will be able to keep it from having an effect.

Another issue that Democrats are worried about is overall turnout from the youth vote. While this is played as a strength for the Obama campaign, the youth vote has been extremely unreliable. It is very popular amongst 18-30 year olds to be Pro-Obama. Whether this fad will translate into an increase into actual Generation X/Y turnout has yet to be seen. 26 year old “Obama Girl”, Amber Lee Ettinger, failed to vote at all in the primaries. This gives everyone a little “cause for pause”.

There is also a “good” problem that has reared its head in the past few days. Some polls are showing a virtual landslide leading into November 4th. Will this kind of projected win lull people into a sense of false security, and give us the kind of close election we saw between George Bush and Al Gore? Will people just stay home, and assume Obama has the votes to lead him to victory?

I would not want to be in the position that the Obama campaign finds itself in currently. They are defending an ever-widening lead. The problem with defense, is that you are not in a position to go on offense. McCain/Palin has nothing to lose, but the election. Obama is carrying “the hopes and dreams” of his constituents. That is a far heavier burden to bear. Time will tell whether Obama can push through to the finish line without disaster. In the meantime, he must keep the fears of his colleagues from being realized, and their hopes from being dashed yet again.

Kurt Hartman is Head of Employee Training at Mobile Fleet Service, Inc, in addition to being a political and new junkie. His company sells off the road tires to the mining and construction industries.

It’s Just A Piece Of Paper: The Bush Administration’s Disdain Towards The Constitution

There is one thing that both Republicans and Democrats can agree on during this contentious election cycle: The Bush Administration has completely undermined the US Constitution. While most Republicans will not admit it publicly( I happen to be one of the ones that will. ), President Bush has willfully tip-toed around, loopholed through, and outright taken scissors to the Constitution.

What I once thought was just a bunch of ranting by leftover Vietnam war protesters has turned out to be true. It took the latest financial bailout for me to put it into perspective. I have long opposed the Federal Reserve, and the fiat currency that this nation has been based on for so many decades. This latest abuse of the system being championed by the President pushed me to revisit some of the arguments against this administration’s abuses of power.

Let’s start with the Patriot Act, a piece of legislation designed to take our rights away, and turn us into a surveillance society. I was okay with this when it first passed, because the government promised to spy only on the “bad guys”. The problem is that the Patriot Act builds on FISA, which allows circumvention of the 4th amendment’s granting of a warrant based on probable cause. The newest legislation expands those powers. Where the 4th Amendment doesn’t apply-like phone companies, utilities, etc.-it has been used to threaten these companies into giving up private information. The reason that the Patriot Act was not declared unconstitutional, is because the 4th amendment is subject to suspension due to national security concerns.I think that if the amendment were to be suspended in that case, that the Congress would have said so in the amendment.

Then, there’s his use of Executive Orders to bypass the need for Congressional approval of his actions, or even redefine what constitutes torture. He’s used them to redefine the manual of Courts Martial several times and to establish a National Counter-terrorism Center. He’s issued tons of them, some innocuous, some controversial. Basically, any legislation he wants to pass, he just issues an executive order. It’s exempt from judicial review or congressional oversight. At the very least, it is an abuse of power. At worst, it is an grossly unconstitutional concentration of power in the Executive branch. I guess this is what we can expect from a President who is widely reported to have said in 2005 “Stop throwing the Constitution in my face. It’s just a g-d*****d piece of paper!”

This disregard of the Constitution extends to the Vice-President’s office, who has redefined his role in the grand scheme of things as a member of the legislative branch. While this is fine if contained within his philosophy of government, the implementation of this philosophy within the governmental administration is a slap in the face to any intelligent American. The reason that VP Cheney has adopted this stance, is to keep the National Archive from viewing and recording the communications of his office. It keeps the rest of America from insights into the logic, actions, and oversight of his office.

Now we have the bailout, which gives unconscionably vast power to the Treasury and Federal Reserve. This is now law, and will not be challenged, even though it is subject to Judicial review. This law was only spawned because of the Bush Administration’s paradigm regarding the Constitution.

During the bailout, certain lawmakers have testified that they were told, unless the bill was passed, martial law would be declared. You can understand why it was passed now. Who wants to give a President with no regard for the Constitution an opportunity to suspend its powers, and declare himself supreme ruler?

As someone who voted for him twice ( and regrets the second time most bitterly ), I can tell you that we have not yet seen the erosion of our rights realized. The impact of these infringements on liberty and national sovereignty will be apparent in the near future, and will burden or empower the next Administration. We can only pray they have the common sense and wisdom to begin rebuilding the liberties and security the Constitution once offered us.

In closing, I offer this prayer: May God save us from our Government’s attempts to save us.

Kurt Hartman is for strict construction of the Constitution, and an advocate for religious liberties and free speech. He is head of Employee Training at Mobile Fleet Service/ BuyBigTires.com. They sell otr tires for the mining and construction industries.

North Cyprus Reunification Heralds Duel Awards For Cyprus’s Leaders

Property developers and investors consider North Cyprus to be the most attractive property market in Europe right now, with property prices starting low and already rising in line with the reunification talks that are going on between Demetris Christofias and the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.

Prices in the Turkish controlled North of the island are low because of the conditions that the North has been in for the last thirty years, specifically in regard to international trade embargos and the refusal of international airlines to fly directly into the North. However with both leaders now aiming to heal the division that has separated the island’s two communities, property prices in the north – which are, at the moment, currently between a third and a half of those in the Republic of Cyprus – are all beginning to rise, and the extent of developer and investment interest in both North Cyprus properties and land highlights the jump in property values that will almost immediately follow a successful reunification blueprint being tabled.

The current round of negotiations have met with huge approval from the international community – a community who remained largely indifferent, if not disillusioned, during the stalled attempts at delegation that defined the leadership of Christofias’s predecessor - the conservative, anti-reunification Tassos Papadopoulos.

Of course, the international community’s support for the reunification talks- talks that are now taking place on a weekly basis until a solution is reached – is a fantastic indicator that the talks really are moving ahead, and that the early bird investors – the people who buy property in North Cyprus now – are likely to reap the benefits of an investment opportunity that simply could not have been made anywhere else in Europe.

The European Voice, a highly regarded newspaper owned by the Economist group, has galvanised the spirit of support that the two leaders now evoke around the world, by short-listing them for their ‘Europeans of the Year Award’ in recognition of the effort that both men have made in moving toward a reunified Cyprus.

The other nominees for the award include Nicholas Sarkozy, in recognition of his efforts to broker a peace between Russia and Georgia, Boris Tadic, the Serbian president, in recognition of bringing Radovan Karadzic to trial and Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister for restoring his country’s position in the EU.

The shift in diplomatic attitudes reflects a genuine opinion change in both of Cyprus’ communities – Turkish Cypriot voters chose to oust the long standing Rauf Denktash in favour the left wing Republic Society Party who ran with their pro-reunification solution mandate, as did Greek Cypriot voters choose to bring in the left-wing, pro-reunification Demetris Christofias this February. The feelings have not abated ; according to one poll, quoted in the International Crises Group’s report ‘Reunifying Cyprus, The Best Chance Yet’, three quarters of Greek Cypriots still backed their leader’s pro-reunification stance three months into his presidency. Considering that it was this community who, just four years ago, rejected the Annan plan, there has indeed been a shift in opinion.

The potential that will be released from idyllic North Cyprus upon reunification is huge, and for this reason many property investors are looking at properties and developments for their fantastic investment opportunities. The reunification process, now being supported by both leaders, the international community and – most importantly perhaps – the people themselves, looks to be the best chance for bringing an end to the islands long entrenched problems, and the beginning of a new era for property in North Cyprus.

Want to read more about the North Cyprus Property? Visit www.whiterocksbafra.com where there is a regularly updated property news section along with several property investment opportunities in North Cyprus.

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