Ron Paul and Main Stream Media

The media is tasked with getting info out to the public, right? The public should expect that info to be accurate, clearly presented and as complete as is humanly possible. In other words we don’t want lies, slants, tweaks to make it sound better, and we don’t want the media to ignore news because the media ‘thinks’ we don’t want to hear it.

The media does not get to ‘shield’ us from the truth as if it were our guardian trying to protect us. Give us the news, all of the news.

So, why is main stream media ignoring Ron Paul?

The media is covering GOP candidates that are ranked lower than him in polls. Polls that clearly identify choices the public has made.

When the media can pick and choose to cover only the candidates it chooses to then ‘fair and balanced’ along with ethics is taking a back seat to what CorporAmerica wants.

American media today is bought and paid for by CorporAmerica. They show this to be true the coverage they give and the coverage they don’t give.

The Journalist’s Creed is a code of ethics written around 1906 by Walter Williams shortly after founding the Missouri School of Journalism.

One of the statements made in that creed is “I believe that suppression of the news, for any consideration other than the welfare of society, is indefensible.”

Has this creed been tossed onto yesterday’s trash pile? It would seem so.

Have professional journalist thrown their ethics out the window for a paycheck? It would seem so.

The very large vacuum that has been left today’s ‘professional journalists’ is being filled by everyday citizens who want to get what they feel is missing in journalism today. The full and accurate news can be found only by citizen news reporters.

We have to educate ourselves in order to make informed decisions about our world. Relying only on the slanted and clearly biased news as presented by CorporAmerica will only serve them.

Reawaken the natural curiosity that separates humans from sheep and lemmings. We are not bred to be followers. We are not on this planet to be good little consumers of the watered down and biased version of the ‘truth’ tailored to match the views of CorporAmerica.

We can think for ourselves. We can make our own decisions. But we need a more complete picture than what main stream media is giving us.

Seek the real truth by following multiple sources. Don’t stake your future on only one source simply because it is convenient and less time consuming. The truth as it affects our future is worth much more than being thrifty with our time.

Be better informed in order to make better decisions for the sake of our nation’s future.

Are We a Part of this Government Or Are We On Our Own?

I was raised to believe in equality for all. Several other things I learned growing up are that no one has the right to take anything from you, no one is better than me and I am no better than anyone else. I also learned through my friends that we stand together or we fall alone.

These life lessons have been passed down for thousands of generations, throughout the entire length of time that man has been on this planet.

The words written on a certain document and signed by a bunch of farmers, scholars, and businessmen reflect these same life lessons. They were written with the understanding that all who come after them would be inspired enough to govern themselves according to the spirit in which these words were written.

Is this the case today? Do we govern ourselves in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution? It is going to take much more than simply reading this document to actually follow what is written.

The only idea that closely matches what our forefathers laid out is the physical makeup of government. Three branches, designed to oversee the other so that there is no imbalance of power. And of course a two party system.

Ideology is the point of contention that divides us, and it divides us sharply. More government, less government? What is enough government? Should citizens lives be monitored and dictated to by government or should we be 'allowed' to sink or swim based on our own choices?

How much should we expect from our government and when should government step in and tell us we are screwing up?

An agreed upon definition of values, ethics and morality is necessary for the efficient exercise of government. Not just some lip service agreed to in an oath. Of course, the individual is key in making this a reality. But individuals in this country are being raised without the necessary ethical and moral upbringing that citizens in the past (long ago past) received. You can see it by the uncouth behavior taking place within Congress itself. You can see it in how politicians resort to mudslinging during campaigns rather than engaging in polite debate. You can see it in the lengths that Hollywood and the music industry goes to sell what passes for entertainment.

Efficiency and fairness being the ultimate measures of a successfully run government bounded by ethics and morality in order to benefit every citizen should be of the highest order but in the end we fall short.

When we all believe in and practice the same virtues, ethics and morals we all benefit. It is when any one of these break down that someone benefits at the expense of someone else. This is when we begin a long slide into chaos, which, if not corrected will tear us apart.

America has been on this downhill slide for a very long time. It has become standard for our government to favor some groups over others. Certain groups get more out of this system than others.

The currency of this favoritism is money and power. America's ideal form of government as laid out by our forefathers was born out of the only form of government they had ever known, a ruling class, detached from its citizens by convincing itself that it was elite and it alone was therefore the natural choice to own the power. During their time, the factor that determined elitism was birthright. Today, the definition of elitism is wealth.

Do we as a nation believe in equality for all? Do we still believe that no one has the right to take anything from you and that no one is better than anyone else? Do we still know that we stand together or we fall alone?

Where has the American revolutionary spirit gone?

All American citizens are losing our freedoms while being seduced by fake reality shows and the latest electronic gadgets. While we sit in front of our televisions, blissfully lulled into a false sense of security, our federal government is planning its next tyrannical power grab. Where are our priorities?

High school graduation for me came in late 1960’s while society was undergoing some major attitude changes. With great curiosity and delight I witnessed and was swept up in the changes taking place in music, art, fashion, politics, technology, and lifestyle. People’s voices were beginning to be raised demanding an end to the unfair treatment of black citizens, an end to the war in Vietnam, and to demand full equality for women.

I became especially interested in the war protests, the marches, and the gathering numbers of counter-culture revolutionaries determined to break the bonds of their ‘oppressor masters’. Never mind that my sheltered Mid-West upbringing cushioned me from the sting of oppression, I felt a part of the problem if I was not going to be part of the solution. The energy emanating from the force of these protesters convictions and their sheer numbers, was almost palpable. They were on the front line in the battle against no less a daunting and deeply entrenched foe than the military-industrial complex, and everyone under the age of 25 were at once full-fledged brothers-in-arms and were expected to do their part in bringing down this unrepentant beast.

I was proud to be a part of a generation that was instrumental in forcing this nation to face its moral obligations towards its citizens, and in reminding our public officials that they served at our pleasure. This major shift towards taking more responsibility for each others welfare shook the very fabric of society.

The fire, that internal spark, that was necessary to drive an entire generation to stand up against the power elite has cooled in this generation. It has been dying for some time now and as a result members of our federal government, emboldened by our inattention, are being seduced by the corruptible nature of absolute power.

Our generation fought hard, some died, to get them to listen. Now, it is up to this current generation to recapture their attention and remind them that they serve us, not the other way around.

In 2006, campus police tasered an unarmed UCLA student while he worked at the computer lab. They did this because he did not show them his student ID card. While these ‘guardians of our safety’ crushed this man’s rights for failing to show ‘proper respect’, the entire library full of college students stood around and simply watched. Oh, someone happily took video of it and immediately put it on YouTube so they could brag about being there. If this scenario had played out in the 1960s, given that violent clashes with police took place every weekend over the Vietnam War, I think it is safe to assume these cops would have been pissing their pants.

Another bit of proof that the police do not fear the public or respect our rights: an unarmed man, on his stomach, who was restrained, with his hands behind him was shot execution-style by a police officer, in front of witnesses. Remember this? His name was Oscar Grant and the murder took place at a train station in Oakland. Look it up and try to muster some outrage that this police officer so callously devalued this man’s life. Will you only get pissed off if this happened to you or a friend? Once again, people standing around who witnessed this tragedy videotaped it with their cell phones, but did nothing. Not a single fellow officer raised their gun at the cop who just murdered a person who was in custody. Instead, the cops banded together and tried to collaborate and create a story that would justify the murder.

Really? When your chance came to make a stand, you could do nothing but video it and stay out of the way? God forbid anyone would actually put themselves out there. You will fight tooth-and-nail for a $199 flat screen TV on Black Friday, beating your fellow citizens senseless for something you don’t even need, but when it comes time to protecting your civil liberties you won’t even open your mouth to voice some opposition. And I thought the priorities of the government were screwed up.

How many more of these incidents are we going to witness, do nothing but walk away as we shake our heads and go home and talk on the Internet about what we witnessed, but ultimately did nothing about?

The generation before this one would have rushed the officers in both of these events, rendered them powerless, and let the police know that they won’t stand for abuses of power, excessive force, and murder of citizens.

Why is there no compassion for a stranger who is murdered by those sworn to protect us? We are all Americans. This government has already placed themselves squarely against us, as evidenced by every supposed non-partisan investigation into police aggression being ruled as ‘justified’.

What is it going to take to get people fired up?

This unchecked grab for power, especially under the GW Bush administration, has translated into a net loss of our personal privacy and individual rights to the extent that our standard of living has plummeted and we can no longer afford to live a basic middle-class life. To add further injury to our situation, when the economy tanked in 2008 our financial institutions were the first in line to be bailed out and none of that bailout money has ‘trickled down’ to the very people who foot the bill. We are so far in debt that our American Dream is to make next month’s payments.

The steady erosion of civil liberties, the blatant violations of the Bill of Rights, the complete disregard for the limits put in place by the US Constitution, are all taking place right under our noses. All the while, our military and police forces run around exerting their will, ultimately accountable to no one.

Many of these very issues are what triggered the revolution of the 1960’s. Is there any hope that the youth of today will stand up to our abusive police force, our corrupt and incompetent politicians? It is doubtful.

When did everyone forget that we invaded Iraq and killed civilians under false pretenses? There never were any so-called “WMDs” to justify going in there. Yet we did, and our military killed their citizens, and we completely destroyed a sovereign country. Why haven’t the perpetrators of these crimes been brought to bear for their actions? Where is the justifiable fury over these blatant and atrocious acts against humanity? Right, there were a few token permitted protests following a marching path they got approval for from the city. And like good little citizens, this generation stayed within the lines, went back to their jobs, back to their televisions, back to their toys and patted themselves on the back for ‘taking a stand’. Pathetic.

Let’s look again at the actions of the previous generation. How about the millions of people that marched in the Vietnam Moratorium? Millions of people all over the US stopped going to work and took a real stand. Protests and marches were held in every city, all over the entire country, attended by everyone from student activists, to the 9-5 corporate ladder climber. In Washington DC alone 500,000 showed up without a permit, didn’t follow the designated protest route, and surrounded the capital. They had the government trembling, as they knew they could no longer contain the will of the people. Another example of people who got together, fought for what they wanted, and despite violent and sometime deadly opposition from the government, they succeeded.

Do you all fear that success cannot be repeated? Do you not think marching today on the capitol would lead to anything worthwhile? The power elite are able to get away with crapping on us because we let them. The old saying ‘You have to stand for something or you will fall for anything’ is proving true right now. They will continue to walk all over us if we don’t show them we are tired of it.

The hand of our government is reaching too far. It is up to us to slap it back and force them to remember that the power lies with the people and that they rule by the consent of the governed, not the other way around.

Our liberties are being violated through tyrannical and illegal maneuvers signed into law by our federal government or simply carried out in secret behind our backs. Remember the illegal wire tapping made possible by the cooperation of telecoms?

A more current example of the rape of our civil liberties is taking place at our nations airports in the form of ‘enhanced pat-downs’. Over our objections to full-body scanning the TSA offered an Opt-Out-Day which was their way of heading off an ugly revolt that would have crippled a major industry. This so called “revolt” is just another example of how pathetic the American people have become with regard to confronting authority. But, that ‘victory’ was only temporary. Janet Napolitano has made it clear that the groping and scanning is slated for the American streets. Naturally, it will start at Federal buildings and major public events, and then slowly but surely find its way onto buses, trains, at highway checkpoints, etc.  It seems that these checkpoints have actually already begun. Will this finally be enough to show the American people how threatened our freedoms are?

It’s true that life has become hard for all of us who don’t have daddy’s trust funds or wealthy connections and it is not going to get easier, because the rich are not going to share anything. We are all too eager to crawl into our comfy electronic-gadget caves with our blinders on so we don’t have to deal with how bad off we really are. This type of escapism is not the answer to improve our condition.

Now is the time to take a stand. Our government is hoping we don’t. They are strengthening their positions because they think they are more important than us. Let’s show them they are wrong.

Neo-Nazi couple learn they are Jewish

How odd would it be to grow up convinced that another person is of lesser value then you based on their ethnicity only to learn you are of the same ethnicity? Can your beliefs suddenly change so drastically?

This is exactly what happened to two Polish neo-Nazis who were childhood sweethearts and later became skinheads. They discovered their shocking family secret, that they are both Jewish, a few years ago after going through records at the Warsaw’s Jewish Historical Institute. Both their families had escaped Nazi Germany and hid their true identities in order to escape persecution.

Before they learned of their true roots, they both practiced the belief “that Jews were the biggest plague and the worst evil of this world".

They've now embraced their Jewish identity and are active in their local orthodox synagogue.

When I read this story I was struck with the obvious very deep lessons to be learned here. Not the least of which is that all people want basically the same thing, we just have differing ideas on how to get it. And who is to say that one idea can be judged as better ot more value than another?

Before these two ex-skinheads learned they were Jewish they would have never stepped into a synagogue and now they worship in one. The basic concepts of their belief system can not have drastically changed, they just focus them in a different direction within a different frame f reference. They are still the same people.

Plus, we can see how we are shaped by ideas and stereotypes. Now that they have learned they are Jewish, surely, they no longer believe “that Jews were the biggest plague and the worst evil of this world".

CNN did a documentary about Poles rediscovering their Jewish roots generations after their ancestors hid their religious identities to escape persecution during World War II. You can read more about it and watch excerpts from the documentary on CNN.

Falling From High Horses and Journalism As It Should Be

Two things that came about because of WikiLeaks. Journalism and diplomacy have both been given higher standards. What the American public expects from each is slightly different but very much the same thing.

We expect transparency from our public leaders. We expect not to be lied to. We expect journalists to not pander to special interests and to present all of the truth about everything that affects every aspect of our lives.

Our political leaders have been given the opportunity once again to listen to what the voters think about a very important issue. We want them to end their policy of keeping things hidden from public view.

Far too many politicians believe they are the wizard behind the curtain and that we should pay them no mind. They put themselves above the public and consider themselves too important to be replaced. They are neither.

What WikiLeaks unveiled about U.S. diplomats and foreign leaders is something that U.S. citizens have known for ages. It is refreshing to see that people in these positions make mistakes just as the rest of us do. However, the people in these positions remain indignant that this simple truth has been revealed about themselves. My advice to these people is to get over yourselves. So you have been embarrassed by the same human traits the rest of us suffer. Correct your blunders and get on with doing the job your are tasked with doing.

Another bit of advice, and trust me I feel it is ridiculous that this even needs to be said to adults, keeping secrets from the American public only makes you look worse for having kept the secret in the first place.

You politicians must think we view you as infallible. Well, you are sadly mistaken. Just as mistaken are you if you believe we think you are above the law. Truth be told, we don’t believe that you are ‘privileged’. We do believe that if and when you are caught committing a crime and you are then determined to be guilty of that crime you should not get to keep your salaries and your pensions. We don’t get to keep ours, why on earth should you?

Concerning your outrage over WikiLeaks, who do you people think you are fooling? The American people see who these leaks have hurt. We would never condone the leaking of secrets that brought death and destruction to anyone. Nor would we accept the malicious telling of secrets that would bring down legitimate governments.

WikiLeaks did neither of these things and yet the federal government views him as a traitor of the highest degree. Again, I say to our political leaders, get over your embarrassment and get on with life. Hopefully, you can do a better job with the knowledge that we know you all make mistakes, just like us.

Here’s something for all of you to think about, the Society for Professional Journalists, in regards WikiLeaks, after addressing issues such as ‘is this journalism, is it responsible and have news organizations responded ethically’ has deemed that the action of WikiLeaks did fall within the ethical guidelines of good solid journalism. In fact it is my guess that a vast majority of journalists are crying in their afternoon mixed drinks that they themselves did not uncover those secrets.

Journalism, needs to be informative. Journalism needs to investigate issues and report on them ot just report on them. Journalism should confront every issue with the sole determination of presenting all of the facts. Allow the public to determine what is important and what is not. We do not need or want to be pampered or protected from the truth. If anyone tries to prevent the truth from being reported then that person needs to be put out in front of the public eye so we can deal with them.

WikiLeaks has shown us finally what journalism can be. Responsible. Hard-hitting. Truthful.

Internet Access or Food and Shelter?

Many of you may not be aware of yet another serious threat to our constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech. This time the threat concerns access to the internet. Large telecoms, through their license as Internet Service Providers, and their forever insatiable 'need' to make more money, are planning on creating a tiered internet access system much the way they currently use for cable television.

A tiered charging system may work fine for access to entertainment, but access to information, news, and forums for the exchange of opinions should not be hindered in any way, let alone charged for. Charging a higher fee for internet access in effect dictates how much access you have to the flow of news and information. This restriction will result in slowing down the very growth of the internet and is tantamount to controlling the free flow of ideas and opinions which is one of the tenets of Fascism.

If only a few can afford access to news and information then those few will be the ones who determine what passes for news and information. A free society cannot survive under this type of control. An open internet is a form of checks and balances to what politicians as well as corporations are allowed to say and do publicly. Can you imagine a world without unbiased news sources? This is what tiered pricing will lead to.

As we are forced to pay more for the amount of data we are accessing and posting, i.e., opinions, we will most likely begin not expressing those opinions thereby narrowing the rich, diverse free flow exchange of ideas that has allowed the internet to grow at such an exponential rate.

Internet access should be viewed much like our system of public libraries: free access to all. Information in a society as large as ours demands that all individuals be given access to the latest news and views in order to keep us all informed concerning what our political leaders are up to.

Write your congressperson and demand that the internet be unfettered by greedy corporations. Explain that if their plans are allowed to go forward the free flow of information and creativity will dry up and the very foundation of our great nation will suffer bringing us ever closer to Fascism. We, the general public realize that their pursuit of more money is at the heart of the destruction of the United States of America. We simply must pull together and allow everyone the right to voice opinions and keep up to date on world and national events, without having to choose between spending our after tax dollars on data or food and shelter.

Net Neutrality – Another Tool for Republicans Lies

Interesting insight into how Republicans see reality. A Republican spokesperson has come out against the net neutrality proposal claiming that the FCC decision is insulting and nothing more than a government takeover because it restricts unfair business practices that deprive consumers and providers equal and unfettered access to the Internet.

FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski’s recently released draft proposal on net neutrality states the proposal is intended to keep the Internet free of control and manipulation by any public or private group. In short, it will put regulations in place to protect consumers and innovators so the Internet remains a free and open means of communication. Genachowski says that, “The proposed framework will bar unreasonable discrimination of lawful Internet traffic.”

Here we have the GOP claiming the consumer will lose if the proposal passes and the FCC chairman saying it’s passage is in the best interest of the consumer.

These guys are all, regardless of party affiliation, suppose to be looking out for the best interest of all consumers so how can these two opposing views both be accurate?

Simply put, the draft proposes that consumers and innovators have a right to send and receive lawful Internet traffic, and it prohibits blocking of connections, content or devices by any public or private entity. And that no central authority should have the right to pick which ideas or companies win or lose on the Internet, and it should be the role of the marketplace and free market to dictate consumer’s and innovators choices.

To me this sounds like a full on protection of internet access for all consumers.

Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) sees it differently. She claims this proposal is insulting and claims that net neutrality is nothing more than government takeover of the Internet.

Excuse me Ms. Blackburn of Tennessee, but if my access to the internet will be protected from control by any group, please explain to me how this is insulting? Please lay out your views on how this proposal is a government takeover of the internet.

Also, how is it in your warped sense of reality that the Federal Communications Commission has no right to regulate communications?

Your claim that “tepid support of the FCC proposal by Internet Service Providers is in fact proof that no one wants Obama to control the Internet”, is flawed by simple common sense. Allow me to enlighten you madame R-TN, Internet Service Providers make money off of their control of Internet access, namely through the gluttonous concept of tiered pricing. This unabashed scheme to bilk as much money as possible from the very consumers who keep them in business is shameful, and I am trying to be as kind here as I possible can.

No other nation in the world so strangles the innovation and consumer access to the Internet by adhering to this Machiavellian means of control of Freedom of Speech. Internet access should be guaranteed for all people, much the same way in which libraries and news media is.

ISP’s dictate the speed at which the Internet can reach consumers by following the same business model as that used for cable television. The Internet is not cable television. To decide that only the rich can have the greatest access to information, news, entertainment and a forum to voice our opinion is to draw the same hard line of division that King Louis IV maintained which lead to the French Revolution.

This is representative of a growing Republican mantra, when a government agency tasked with protecting consumers makes and enforces regulations; Republicans scream ‘government takeover’ or another Obama power grab. Even though the attempt by government is to enforce protection of free speech, unfettered access and to prevent control and manipulation by any public or private group.

Witnessing their continued blatant corporate protectionist tactics at the cost of consumer protection, I think it’s obvious who Republicans are really looking out for.

Net Neutrality is not government takeover. Nor is it in any way near socialism. It is as much about equal rights for everyone as was the Womens Suffrage Act of 1920, Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The bottom line here is that Republicans hate any regulations that do not favor the wealthy, banks, or corporations, and their deregulation mantra is predictable. It has been Democrats who advocate for consumers and put in place regulations that protect every American, including Republicans.

Blackburn’s lies that Genachowski’s proposals hinder access to the Internet are meant to garner support from voters who have no idea what the proposals mean for consumers.

Education is what is needed for the ultimate in consumer protection.

It is clear that Republicans will go so far as to prevent access to education if it will aid in furthering their lies about regulation as a means to frighten voters.

Please get the word out that Net Neutrality is a step towards better Internet access not an attempt to take it away from us.

Dozens in Congress Under Ethics Inquiry. Transparency Not Allowed

Any surprises here? That some members of Congress are being investigated for ethics violations and Congress does not want the public to know? House ethics investigators have been keeping an eye on more than 30 lawmakers and several aides, according to an ‘accidentally’ released report.

The report was ‘accidentally’ placed on a publicly accessible computer network.

Could we have another ‘deep throat’ in the making? Could this happy ‘accident’ be the work of a concerned individual? Let’s hope so.

The ethics committee is one of the most secretive panels in Congress, and its members and staff members sign oaths not to disclose any activities related to its past or present investigations. And why is this? Why are they sworn to secrecy? If an individual or group is being scrutinized, the public needs to know it. Mainly because it has become abundantly evident that many politicians cannot seem to avail themselves to ethical behavior.

Temptations are always present. It goes with the territory in Washington. As well as in any other seat of power. It is fairly easy to succumb to the seduction of more power and more wealth. Politicians need to be constantly reminded that they are always under the mantel of trust that we the voters and tax payers put on them. A position they themselves openly aspire to.

Ethics is something that should be prized. We should praise those who keep adhere to the higher calling of doing the right thing. And, just as importantly, they should be held out to the public when they commit an act that, while temporarily enriches themselves, ultimately erodes our faith in the system.

The thing about keeping these investigations secret is that we the voters don’t know if they are being actively pursued. Tax payers have witnessed far too many scandals to think that there are none taking place right now. We need to see the finger pointing. We need to know who is being investigated. We need to be reassured that ethics are actually being held to the light and that we are not being taken for another ride.

When the ethics committee holds back results of investigations we see only favoritism being played out. Zoe Lofgren, the House ethics committee’s chairman illustrated this fact when she emphasized that the panel’s activities are preliminary. This is a soft statement with very little meaning. The common currency in political circles. Whomever is being investigated has now been told the investigations are not serious. She basically told everyone under scrutiny that they are safe.

What ever comes of these secret investigations? Typically a private letter of reprimand. A mere slap on the wrist.

Ethics investigations are serious business and their findings should be made public so we the people can decide how to handle the offending party. This wholesale selloff of our government needs to end. And it never will as long as the beneficiaries of handouts and outright bribes are allowed to slink through the halls of Congress unquestioned.

Leo Wise, chief counsel for the Office of Congressional Ethics, declined to comment, citing office policy against confirming or denying the existence of investigations. A Justice Department spokeswoman also declined to comment, citing a similar policy.

So much for Obama’s pledges of “an unprecedented level of openness in Government” and to “establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration.”

Getting the Rich to Help the Poor

On the blog War On You, Pam Martens offers an assessment of the problem facing President Obama and her submission “Our Economy Is Going to Keep Tanking Until We Stop Shoveling Billions to Rich People” is accurate. I applaud the expertise she brings to this issue.

While she is addressing the problem of allowing money to be concentrated in the hands of the rich, I want to throw in my two cents worth.

The middle class is the engine of our economy and the rich supplies the ‘fuel’ to keep it going. We need each other to make this thing work.

We also need an incentive for companies to hire more people and pay a higher wage instead of allowing them to stash their earnings in foreign banks to avoid taxes.

Likewise, if the rich had an incentive to work with the government to help the poor and disadvantaged there would not be such a overwhelming burden on the government to do it by itself.

The benefit of living in a capitalist economy is that people can become rich. I would not disparage anyone from using this system to better themselves and their families unless they do it illegally or unethically. Ethics unfortunately is the one aspect of this system that is the most perplexing. Which is why we need regulation.

Regulation is one of those necessary evils in a free-market economy only because there will always be dishonesty surrounding the game of making more money. And nothing grabs the attention of money makers quicker than financial incentives.

As the gap between the haves and have-nots widens we can only sit helplessly by and watch it happen. It is a very frustrating and debilitating feeling. People are losing their homes, their jobs, their hope for their families.

We know we cannot simply rely on the rich to just give their money away to help close this gap. We have seen too much money go to the rich as a means of re-starting the economy. It obviously is not working. The banks hang on to it instead of loaning it out to help people save their homes.

My sister-in-law works in a mortgage lenders office that has an excessive amount of foreclosed homes. Her problem is not unique. Buyers come to her every day hoping to take advantage of depressed prices but the bank refuses to sell at less than what is owed on them. This situation does nothing for the economy or the banking system. The homes sit there empty, the banks continue to lose money on them. If the government continues to give banks bailout money they have no incentive to get these homes off of their books. This is an untenable situation.

The banks need to understand that if the economy does not get on its feet all the money they are holding will be worthless.

This is a crisis situation and the banks and mortgage lenders need to loose this round, taxpayers have already lost all they possibly can.

Time to find corporate billions kept offshore

clipped from crooksandliars.com According to the Government Accountability Office, nearly all of America's top 100 corporations maintain subsidiaries in countries identified as tax havens. As the GAO notes, there could be reasons other than avoiding the IRS to set up branches in places such as Singapore, Luxembourg and Switzerland, where taxes are light or nonexistent and keeping clients' illicit secrets is considered a matter of national pride. Goldman Sachs Group Countrywide Financial Wachovia Lehman Brothers Citigroup Morgan Stanley When the cost of these shenanigans was last estimated two years ago, the U.S. government's annual loss in revenue due to tax avoidance by major corporations and super-rich individuals was pegged at about $100 billion -- considerably more than a rounding error, even today. But of course that is only a rough assessment, as is the estimate of $12 trillion in untaxed assets hidden around the world. Nobody will know for certain until the books are opened and transparency is established.

Tax evasion is basically theft and can be secondarily considered treason.

The tax system is set up to benefit the general population through maintenance of infrastructure, paying the military, paying our politicians, etc.

American corporations making a profit from doing business in the U.S. and conducting their business through overseas subsidiaries to avoid U.S. tax laws are in effect stealing from the American public.

This leaves the bill for these government supported services to be footed by honest tax payers.

This is also an issue of morality and ethics. Corporations take and use all the benefits of living and working in America but don’t pay for the privilege.

These corporations need to step up and pay their fair share of being allowed to do business in America. Politicians will never force the issue because they are benefiting from these corporations doing business here.

We all need to raise our voices high and boycott those corporations that are stealing from

You could be a terrorist if...

clipped from www.naplesnews.com You're probably a terrorist if you supported former presidential candidates like Ron Paul, Bob Barr, or Chuck Baldwin. The guy with the flip-charts doesn't count. Yet. You're probably a terrorist if you're against the New World Order, the North American Union, and those united numbskulls, the UN. Reading Tom Clancy novels doesn't help your case. You're probably a terrorist if you're against RFIDs (Radio Frequency Identification) and universal service programs. You're probably a terrorist if you're for the US Constitution, for property rights, for national sovereignty, and for Christian ideologies. You're probably a terrorist if you stock up on things like water, baby formula, ammo, cigarettes, alcohol, denim jeans, and medicines. And for all you folks rushing out to buy guns and ammo out of fear that the current administration will enact severe gun restrictions, hey, you may have made the list as well.

If you are a puppet-on-a-string assiduously following every law to the letter, enthusiastically nodding in agreement to everything the government tells you, patriotically turning in your neighbors for every infraction of the law (both written and social), then you have nothing to worry about.

Many Americans, Republican and Democrat, have grown tired of the direction in which this country is headed. The once occasional lapse in ethics has become common place, greed and irresponsibility by our financial institutions are being rewarded in the form of ‘bailout’ tax dollars, citizens have to watch what we say and do and how we do it, self-interest has supplanted “doing what is right for this country”, special interest groups are favored over national security and welfare, food safety has been jeopardized in favor of profit.

Civil unrest is brewing and FEMA detention centers are sprouting up across the nation. http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/FEMA-Concentration-Camps3sep04.htm

Teen gunman dead after killing 15

WINNENDEN, GERMANY -- A 17-year-old gunman dressed in black opened fire inside his former high school in southwestern Germany today killing 15 people before he turned the gun on himself, authorities said.

I will never understand the level of frustration or hatred someone feels that allows them to take the lives of and destroy the families of so many people that did not have anything to do with the shooters problems.

Is it the fault of the pressures of our society?

As far as I can tell it amounts to selfishness. The gunman says “I am pissed off at the world and therefore you will die!” I just don’t get it.

Obama Puts Defense Contractors on Notice

clipped from online.wsj.com President Barack Obama fired a surprise broadside at the defense industry, saying he intends to clamp down on practices that have resulted in billions of dollars in cost overruns and delays in recent years At a time when Washington faces the prospect of bailing out multiple sectors of the economy, contractors' cost overruns are showing up on the radar of many in the capital. And the Pentagon, which spends about $330 billion a year to buy everything from fighters to paper clips, is a particular focus of the new administration. "In this time of great challenges, I recognize the real choice between investments that are designed to keep the American people safe and those that are designed to make a defense contractor rich," the president said Wednesday.

It's about time. Examples of cost overruns have plagued this entire industry for decades and nothing is ever done.

Contracts awarded in shady 'no bid' deals, prices formally agreed on while under the table everyone involved expects their 'cut'.

This is the good ole boy network on steroids.

Items that civilians can purchase anywhere are priced many times higher if they are designated for military use.

Reports of substandard equipment sent to troops in Iraq and substandard performance by defense contractors pepper the media while companies responsible for this disgrace get fat on inflated costs just because the buyer is the U.S. government.

The actions of these contractors border on treason and is clearly guilty of theft.

They should be punished accordingly.

Sarah Palin Needs to Step Down and Stay Out of the Press

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it the republicans you complain about how welfare recipients ‘sponge’ off the government? Aren’t they the same people who think you should sink or swim without any assistance from Uncle Sam?

One of GOP’s shining stars has become so tarnished that she needs to be taken off display and retired, for good.

This country dodged a huge bullet when McCain/Palin lost last November. And I pray to God that we do not have to face the prospect of her running for national office again.

This woman takes ‘perks’ from her position as governor as if tax payers dollars belong to her. Can you imagine what she would do with the much larger federal ‘treasure chest’ she would have had access to as Vice President?

Every tax dollar she siphons off from her fellow Alaskans is less that goes to running Alaska. Sure, the amounts she has been using for her own pleasure is a drop in the bucket but the issue is the ethics of using tax payer money to fly family members to such non-state functions as the Iron Dog snowmachine race.

She even accepted per diem reimbursements while living in her own home. This is an obvious mis-appropriation of funds. And being committed by the governor should be grounds for impeachment.

Ethics is obviously a strange concept to Sarah Palin. Oh she can speak to how others should follow ethical behavior but to apply it to herself obviously requires a complaint and an investigation, which costs Alaskans even more money.

America was saved from Palin once, please, let’s not have to go through this again.

And to the main stream media, stop giving her press coverage. You are only encouraging her.

Porn and Politics

Dusty Storm, a ‘personality’ in the porn business, is being considered to run for political office in the state of Louisiana. Has the state of our political system gotten so distorted and fallen to such a low level of respect that this proposal can be entertained as serious? As if to say, “people we have elected to political office exhibit the same low-moral character of the porn industry so why not elect a person whose only qualifications are that she ‘rose to the top of her profession’.

Who are these fans but a bunch a men in a perpetual state of arousal.

If the political arena was not so riddled with corruption and ineffective personalities then candidates like this could never be considered. We have done this to ourselves.

Her backers say her ”real world experience and special understanding of the economic hardships facing Louisianans and Americans make her uniquely qualified to take on the tough challenges we face.” What a load of hogwash! Special understanding? Uniquely qualified? Please enlighten us as to what special understanding and unique qualities does having sex with anyone who breathes makes her think she is more capable than someone engaged in legitimate employment facing the daily struggle of putting food on their table and keeping a roof over their head.

Her backers claim she has a wide political spectrum of followers (I’ll bet she does) who think her philosophy of personal responsibility and the promotion of individual enterprise are enough to get her elected. This is the same philosophy of personal responsibility that pushes every law-abiding, tax-paying, blue-collar worker in America to trade their time for an increasingly diminishing paycheck in hopes of providing for their family. And these are the lucky ones who managed to hang on to their jobs after their corporate leadership has taken everything they can get first.

There is a dangerous undercurrent here that promotes promiscuity and breaks down family values. Let’s find out what her parents think of "her determination and talents to the professional level, becoming a featured performer in the adult entertainment industry."

Political careers have crumbled over promiscuous behavior. Families dissolve over promiscuous behavior. Is this symbol of an entire industry that considers monogamy as passé and turns the act of making love into a money making enterprise really a champion of family values or an example of morality and ethics? Have we become so jaded that we now expect so little of the process of writing our laws and protecting our rights that we can elect a porn star to take on these responsibilities?

Perhaps the time is right for porn to get into politics. Politicians have screwed us out of everything else we hold dear.

Unethical and Immoral Behavior Hurts Us All

The most persistent and egregious problem we face today, actually, we have always faced it, is unethical and immoral behavior. The distrust and fear it breeds cripples and severely stifles production and efficiency in every facet of every society.

Every individual will publicly say that they abhor unethical and immoral behavior from our business and political leaders. These same individuals will tell you that those who abuse our trust in them should be removed from their position and punished.

We will all, at some point in our lives, find ourselves in a situation where our moral and ethical character is tested. I have met and spoken with thousands of people in my short life on this planet, and I can tell you that the vast majority of them are down to earth, good hearted people who would not think to screw over a friend. A few others, not so much. I can’t speak for how they will treat someone they don’t know but I have read many accounts where people have screwed over someone (or even committed murder) and then their friends say they can’t believe their friend would do this. So, what are we left to believe? Some people may pass a test of their moral character but succumb to constant and repeated tests. Very few will pass every time. So prevalent is this unethical and immoral behavior that we all know of some untrustworthy person.

If we are truly honest with ourselves we will recognize that the potential to be immoral or unethical is present in all of us. Such is the nature of the human being.

To protect ourselves from being taken advantage of, whether by politicians, business people, or friends, some of us never put ourselves in a position to trust them. Unfortunately, we cannot go through life without trusting at least one or some of these people. So, to keep an eye on our politicians and business executives we hire other people to oversee them, supposedly to prevent them from committing, or at least, getting away with committing, unethical and immoral behavior.

When these people who are being scrutinized commit unethical and immoral behavior, as they seemingly always eventually do, and then get caught we call for some sort of punishment for their wrongdoing that should also serve as a deterrent against future ethical and moral breeches from others. Yet invariably the punishment is toned down by the very people we hire to carry out the punish which results in leniency for committing what cripples us the most. The end result is that there is no real deterrent therefore the unethical and immoral behavior continues.

The root of this behavior, the driving force, always centers around money and power.

These two goals: to have more money than you can possibly spend, and to be the most powerful (whether it be over other people or over property), are the two most corruptible forces we will ever be faced with. We don’t possess the ability to obtain power and money, it possesses us.

Why do we continue to play the game of pretending to be ethical and moral to get ourselves into a position where we will be caught abusing ethics and moral standards? Simply put, because we are all we have. Sad to say, there is no methodology or deterrent that will prevent greed from rearing its ugly head and taking down another seemingly once moral and ethical person.

Why do we allow our principles to be compromised so easily? Why do we bow down to these masters? Any explanation we can come up with will only serve to become a rationalization which will further allow this behavior to continue. Each of us needs to constantly remind ourselves that empathy in relation to others peoples’ trust and money must be the rule for our conduct. We need to ask ourselves, if this was my money and someone else stole it from me how would I feel, instead of thinking how can I take this money without getting caught.

The motto “do unto others before they do unto you” has replaced “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Why? I don’t know. But stealing from someone because a third party stole from you does not balance anything. That behavior simply feeds an evil society that no one can possibly live in peace with.

We sell our souls to have more than what we have worked for. This moral dilemma can only be addressed at the individual level. And therein lies the problem. So far, we are doing a pretty miserable job at policing ourselves. The recent default of the economic situation plus the last eight years of the Bush administrations’ wholesale sell-off of corporate America and invading a sovereign nation based on lies, as well as a whole host of other atrocities and attacks on our personal freedoms should serve as enough proof.

If the predictions are correct, our economy is going to get worse before it gets better. This is going to create more pressure on us to be on guard against unscrupulous individuals who would rather steal from us than try to get by on what they have worked for. In the meantime, please remember that we are all suffering. Don’t make it worse on someone else just improve your position. You will only be breeding more hate and fear.

Reconstruction in Iraq and Our Economy Are Failing for the Same Reason

An unpublished, 513-page federal history of the U.S.-led reconstruction of Iraq depicts an effort crippled before the invasion by Pentagon planners who were hostile to the idea of rebuilding a foreign country.

The reconstruction effort is being hampered by fake numbers, mismanaged funds, ill-thought out plans, technical ineptness, poor organizational structure, political turf wars, personal greed, and a ‘cover-your-ass’ mentality. Our economic leadership has been guilty of the same short-comings. This is yet another legacy that Bush cannot hide from.

The only ‘success’ that has come out of the rebuilding effort thus far can be claimed by the CEOs of the construction companies and building-materials suppliers that were given contracts by a corrupted bidding system. Contractors working in Iraq know they are being paid for slip-shod work and they are well aware of the mismanagement of funds and lack of over-sight. Yet their conscience will be placated by the overly exaggerated paychecks they receive. Paychecks funded in part by their fellow Americans’ tax dollars.

These ‘leaders of industry’, these so-called ‘professionals’ were given the task of rebuilding Iraq and the single most driving force to ‘win’ the contract was not in producing quality workmanship, but in how to make the most money for themselves. How to set up companies and an infrastructure that would funnel the most money into their own pockets.

The only ‘success’ to come out of the banking system bailout goes to the CEO’s who received outrageous bonuses and to mortgage brokers who made money from taking advantage of the ‘dream of home ownership’ of families they knew would not be able to payoff the loans. They were all aware of the failings of the system but sloughed off their responsibility and took their paychecks and walked away from it.

These leaders of the banking and home mortgage industry who kept a close watch on the pulse of our economy knew how to make the most money from the unwary and under-informed consumer and manipulated the system to funnel the most money into their own pockets.

We Americans have collectively been bilked out of billions of dollars over the course of our history by conniving, thieving individuals who greased the palms of corrupted political office holders in order to have money diverted from more deserving projects to fall under their control. Cost overruns are nothing new to construction projects and the manipulation of the contract bidding process has become an art for those who know how to do it. Especially when you have politicians pushing and pulling for you on the inside.

If we take a leap of faith, and conclude that politicians are being taken advantage of by contractors in regards to how contracts are awarded and money is managed and spent, then it is time for our government to put in place strict controls over how contracts are awarded and how money is used. We also need to have stricter over-sight on how the process is overseen. Corruption that has become inherent in this capitalist society has made this type of bureaucracy management an unfortunate necessity.

Capitalism has taken too great a hold on this country for us to ever get anything done without the expectation of every individual involved to arrive with their hand out.

Before Iraq reconstruction plans were put to paper the planning was disjointed and botched due to jostling of position of who was going to get the biggest cut. American homes and office buildings are constructed in record time in the U.S. There is no reason why these buildings cannot go up just as quickly and just as cheaply in Iraq unless delaying the process meant more money for project managers and workers. The construction field is filled with areas where a master of manipulating costs can exaggerate building time and increase building materials costs because of a lack of honest oversight.

We are a nation that is supposed to work together for a common cause. We have flag-waving politicians who tirelessly spout off about how we Americans stick together against outside forces bent on our destruction, yet behind closed doors they plan and scheme on how to take the American tax payer for even more money to bail out a banking system that they themselves refuse to regulate. Anytime any politician slings his/her line of crap under the banner of patriotism and not have to gargle to rid themselves of the resulting foul taste is a crooked politician corrupted beyond redemption. They cannot possibly believe their own rhetoric. We sure as hell don’t.

Money for construction projects are divided up by a spoils system controlled by neighborhood politicians and tribal chiefs. "Our district council chairman has become the Tony Soprano of Rasheed, in terms of controlling resources," said a U.S. Embassy official working in a dangerous Baghdad neighborhood, referring to the popular TV mob boss. “You will use my contractor or the work will not get done.”

Pentagon officials should be held to account for mismanagement and the inflated numbers (lies) it gave the public and the administration to show progress being made in Iraq. These officials are more concerned with covering their own asses when reality doesn’t look as rosy as their expectations or when things go wrong than they are in working to improve the situation.

The reconstruction effort has failed because no single agency in the U.S. government has responsibility for the job.

This can also be said for the current collapsing economy we Americans are being forced to endure.

Sarah Palin: Maverick American or Snow Job?

The typical American does not keep abreast of current events until it affects them directly, such as a natural disaster, or a gas shortage, or a tax increase. For whatever reason. Maybe they feel that after struggling all day to make ends meet they want to shut reality out and numb their minds with the cultural wasteland that is television. Maybe they feel their opinion doesn’t amount to much on the local, national or international stage, so why bother? Maybe they simply just don’t have the time or don’t want to make the time. How many people actually pick up a newspaper or news magazine to learn details of current events? How many people actually seek out political blogs or websites to learn about what their representatives are doing in Congress? Aside from the previously mentioned major events, more often than not it is the ‘sensational’ that captures the attention, such as, the school bus crash that killed all children onboard, or the bridge collapse that killed x number of people, or the maniac that decided to kill a bunch of people before killing himself.

We expect our elected officials to be well versed concerning their sphere of influence. We trust them to maintain a level of understanding in these matters in order to do their job effectively. Likewise, the American public should keep ourselves well enough informed in these same matters so that we can hold politicians to account for their occasional bonehead decision and to give proper recognition when they make the right choices. Since the media is the conduit through which the public learns details of events and individuals running for public office we expect the media to dig deep into these matters and to present their findings in an unbiased presentation so that the public can make informed decisions concerning how to proceed.

When it comes to learning about who is running for public office, we want to know everything about our candidates. When a candidate throws up a curtain to shroud his/her past, the American public becomes suspicious. This is what is happening with Sarah Palin. Her unwillingness to participate in investigations and her attempt to embellish her past accomplishments are smoke screens designed to hide the real Sarah Palin.

Sarah Palin is part of that group of individuals who do not keep up with current events, international or national. Katie Couric recently asked her what periodicals she reads in order to keep up to date on world and national events. Palin did not answer the question. She employed her usual smoke screen and took off on a tangent, several, in fact. Despite repeated attempts by Ms. Couric, Palin would not answer the question. She didn’t want to answer the question because she doesn’t keep herself informed. To not keep abreast of current events is unforgivable for a candidate for national public office. The fact that she tried to hide this fact proves she places herself above this nation’s needs.

It is the media’s job to bring this type of selfish and disingenuous character to light so the public can see that the candidate is a fraud. Once we see Sarah Palin is a fraud we then see that the republican party is a fraud by association and McCain’s refusal to drop his running mate proves that neither of these people put the nation first. To them, winning is the only thing that matters.

We have only to listen to Palin speak to see that she has no tangible recognition of what dangers this nation faces. In another recent interview with Katie Couric, Palin makes this fact very clear. When asked her thoughts on whether the economy would be better served by giving the bailout money directly to the people rather than to Wall Street, she fumbled. We cannot deny that this current economic situation is a complex topic, but it was clearly too ‘hardball’ for Palin. Her convoluted and rambling answer, full of republican talking points, clearly showed that Palin does not have the ability to formulate a coherent and educated response, and is more focused on towing the party line, and requires cue cards even to pull this off. Given the fact that she is vying for Vice President and “just a heartbeat away” from President of the United States, she is a pitiful choice for this position.

For someone who is being dressed-up and sold to the American public as being a maverick, Sarah Palin looks and sounds like every other run-of-the-mill American not suited to hold public office. She delivers one-liners and personal jabs that seems to appeal to the sarcastic and competitive side of many Americans, but there is no substance.

Being able to relate to the every day American has its merits, but when a person aspires to be the leader of the most powerful country in the world and faces the deepest and most profound problems we face today, I personally don’t want some run-of-the-mill, sarcastic person off the street who relies on populism instead of policy and parrots the party mantra as my leader.

The American people deserves a leader with ethics, someone with the leadership skills to bring people together instead of cleaning house of all who oppose, someone with an understanding of foreign affairs well beyond believing that living in close proximity of a foreign country is a qualification, someone who has a grasp of domestic issues outside of what books should be made available in the local library, someone who can answer straight forward questions with straight forward meaningful and insightful answers without trying to misdirect the issue.

During the vice presidential debate this coming Thursday, we will finally see the real Sarah Palin, raw and without cue cards. Rest assured, she will be highly coached, but we will have irrefutable proof that Sarah Palin is not the maverick she has been purported to be. We will see, once and for all, that Sarah Palin is way out of her league. Unfortunately, her ability to connect with the audience on a personal level will serve her and the Republican party in overshadowing substance in favor of leading her followers around like the sheep they have become.

Palin Brings More Cancer to the Political System

Palin’s refusal to cooperate in any legislative investigation into her actions as Alaska’s governor reveals more about her than she wants the nation to know. We should demand her cooperation.

There have been enough allegations surrounding the wrongful termination of Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan over personal reasons that this investigation cannot be considered a ‘witch hunt’. And her characterization of the investigation as ‘tainted’ and therefore not worthy of her participation smacks of the George W. Bush neocon modus operendi.

How very convenient to name a Democratic lawmaker, namely Alaska state senator Hollis French, as the reason for refusal to participate. Sure he’s an Obama supporter, it takes no real stretch of the imagination to see he is, after all, he is a Democrat. The Republican party wants a Republican to lead the investigation, complete with guaranteed results in her favor. We get that. But to refuse to participate at a time when this nation needs complete transparency in what Governor Palin will bring to the Vice Presidential office can only lead us to believe she is trying to hide the truth.

McCain campaign spokesman Ed O'Callaghan said, "I think it's fair to say that the governor is not going to cooperate with that investigation so long as it remained tainted and run by partisan individuals who have a predetermined conclusion," referring to a comment by French this month that the case could produce criminal charges or an "October Surprise" for the GOP ticket.

The Obama campaign denies sending campaign staff to Alaska to work with the legislative committee's investigation.

Her husband, several aides and phone records have been subpoenaed in the investigation but she has not been. Why? Since she is the main target of the investigation wouldn’t it be prudent to have her swear under oath what her actions concerning this case were? If she was justified in firing Monegan over budget issues then why doesn’t she want to present those justifications and let the facts speak for themselves?

She stated in her interview with ABC’s Charles Gibson that she welcomed the investigation. And yet now we learn she will not participate.

This country deserves better ‘leadership’ than this. This trend of using political office to bully and then refuse to take responsibility for doing so is a cancer that needs to be eradicated.

Presidential Ad Campaigns Are Not Very Presidential

The latest attacks and counterattacks in the race for president have taken on a sense of desperation. In attacking each other, Obama and McCain are displaying a form of unproductive leadership. Leadership should be a positive attribute for a president.

Attacking each other is trying to ensure the American people see the bad points in the other person. We all have bad points. What we want to know is what are your good points. If the best you can do is attack each other like schoolyard bullies then maybe neither of you are befitting of the office you are running for. Why don’t you guys focus on the positive aspects of your own campaigns and let us decide which one is better. Show us what you will be like as president. Just anybody can attack another person with negative slurs, but it takes a leader to rise above the dirt slinging and bring some much needed class back to the office.

McCain made the comment that “campaigns are tough”. I agree with this statement but I disagree with his obvious assessment that tough means “ugly” and “hostile”. This is where ethics comes into play. If the presidential candidate can keep himself above this type of negativity the American public will respect him for it. Trying to make yourself look better by making the other person look bad is not the basis we want to use for deciding a president. That decision should be based on actual substance and only the candidate can display that substance. Don’t force us to choose the lesser of two evils. We are tired of you guys thinking you have to lower the bar as if the office you guys are vying for is some local prize at the county fair.

Raise your expectations of us and we will follow. Show us that you are worthy of the office instead of how the other person is not worthy.

Take the initiative to show the leadership qualities that indicate you are capable of taking on the role of the leader of the free world. Don’t taint the position by resorting to the same low-level dirty politics that past unethical parties have used.

It is a truly sad day when a presidential candidate can put forth an ad comparing his opponent’s celebrity with the likes of Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears and hold his head up and declare “We’re proud of that commercial”. This gives a whole new perspective of that candidates expectations of himself and the American people.

We need debate on important issues such as energy, the environment, economics, and foreign policy. Instead, you are focused only on the prize and don’t seem to take into account the eroding away of the high class and dignity that goes with the office of President of the United States of America by tearing down your opponent. Each time you politicians attack one another you are chipping away at the high regard we Americans hold for this office and you lower the qualifications of the occupant to those of unethical and low-class individuals.