It looks to me that we are now down to two candidates for President of the United States. One a war veteran and former P.O.W. who has been in the Senate for several terms named McCain and the other a relatively new ½ term senator from Chicago, Obama.

Although I am not entirely enthralled with McCain’s record on the national borders, his ties with Kennedy and Feinstein and a few other things that I would call mis-steps on his part, I feel he is hands down the most qualified of the two. The money that has been spent buying votes in this country by the House and Senate comes from our pockets, we the people who actually do the work and earn a living in this country.

We have been nickel and dimed to death and the idea of putting another diehard from the liberal side in charge of matters has me scared to death. Neither of these candidates has ever just worked for a living and Obama has not even had the experience of the military to fall back on. He was an activist in Chicago politics representing the black community in housing, welfare and all other things political in the Daley machine. He did all this to work up for his run for the Senate. Has he ever had a 9 to 5? Not likely, he has always earned his money from the teet of government.

Putting the possible scenario of his Presidency together with the liberal House with Reid and Pelosi that we now have is asking for this country to self destruct. The working class will soon find it better to receive than to give and no one will be left to tax. The very principles of the founding fathers have been stretched and convoluted to the point of breaking by liberalism in the courts and in the area of representation.

If that is what the majority of the American people want then I am way out of touch with right and wrong. I was brought up to believe that man should be rewarded for his positive actions not his negative inactions. With welfare structured the way it is and along with the availability of section eight housing programs, what incentive does one have to work? Once entrenched in the welfare system it is nearly impossible to get free. Check the family histories in the welfare rolls and you will find the same families generation after generation sopping up the gravy created by your hard earned tax money.

And that's my opinion,
Don

Bush pitches funding plan for military aid to Mexico
President seeks $500 million to help fight the war on drug cartels

By STEWART M. POWELL
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

• $2.8 million : to upgrade and equip two Citation surveillance aircraft for Mexico's attorney general

• $104 million : to buy eight medium lift 13-passenger utility helicopters for Mexico's air force

• $100 million : to provide four maritime patrol aircraft to supplement seven surveillance aircraft already operated by the Mexican navy

WASHINGTON — President Bush on Wednesday showcased his request for $500 million in U.S. military assistance to help Mexico combat murderous drug cartels in a bid to build congressional support for the more contentious part of his spending package — the latest multibillion dollar request for emergency war spending in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bush crafted plans for the U.S. military assistance to Mexico at a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon 14 months ago and sketched details last October, including money for military equipment such as helicopters, training and assistance in combating corruption in the criminal justice system.

Administration officials have said the remaining $900 million originally proposed in the Merida Initiative will be requested later.

Some members of the Houston-area congressional delegation have been leading advocates of helping Mexico beef up security forces along the U.S.-Mexico border to help stem a wave of drug-related killings that claimed an estimated 2,700 lives last year.

"There is a war going on down there and if Mexico loses that war it will be worse in our own country," said Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston. "If Mexico can control these drug traffickers, it means they don't come here."

Bush pivoted off the remarks at the Council of the Americas to appeal for favorable congressional action on his entire emergency spending request, not just the tiny share set aside for U.S. military assistance to Mexico and Central American nations.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill may get a more detailed look at the program's spending blueprint today when the House Foreign Affairs Committee's panel on Latin America hears testimony from the State Department's top Latin America specialist, Thomas Shannon.

Adam Isacson of the Center for International Policy, a non-profit think tank that opposes the Merida Initiative, said the administration included financing for the program within the emergency war supplemental bill because it would be ''hard to strip out any part of that spending package.''

Details of the spending proposal were not made available by the White House.

But Isacson's organization published on its Web site (www.ciponline.org) two State Department documents that he said had been used to brief members of Congress on details of the Merida Initiative.

The documents showed that most of the $132.5 million designated to bolster Mexican law enforcement agencies would be poured into the Mexican Federal Police Force with another $112 million being used to assist operations by Mexico's attorney general and the criminal justice system.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, said he favored providing U.S. military assistance. ''We must fight to keep these drug cartels from operating with impunity on our border," he said.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, vowed to work in the Senate to win the requested money.

But Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, opposed including the funds in the war supplemental. A spokesman said Cornyn "believes additional funding requests should be reviewed on their merits through the normal appropriations process."

stewart.powell@chron.com

What do you think?

KEY DEMS SEND WORD TO HILLARY:  “IT’S OVER!”

I predicted two months ago that North Carolina would seal the fate of one of the remaining Democrats seeking the White House.  I believe that happened this past Tuesday… with an impressive double digit victory for Barack Obama.  Plus, of course, we had that squeaker in Indiana… a 20-thousand vote Clinton win, out of about a million votes cast.  She had to do better this week, a lot better.

His 240,000-vote victory in North Carolina, coupled with her narrow, 18,000-vote triumph in Indiana, all but assured Obama will finish the primary season with a lead in the cumulative popular vote.

But Hillary Clinton is the ultimate fighter.  She is all about tenacity with a capital T and apart from George McGovern, a plainspoken man who knows something about losing elections, not a single Democrat of national stature publicly urged Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday to end her campaign for the White House.

They didn't have to.  There’s no shortage of other ways to signal, suggest, insinuate or instigate the same thing.  Besides it would be unseemly to publicly pressure a historic political figure, a woman who has run a grueling race, won millions of votes and drawn uncounted numbers of new Democratic voters to the polls.

Instead, many Democrats preferred to say softly what the party's 1972 presidential nominee said for all to hear. Barack Obama has won the nomination "by any practical test," McGovern said.    He was an early Clinton backer but has now switched his allegiance to Obama.

The bottom line is that barring a sudden huge negative revelation or an act of God, the Illinois senator is on track to become the first black presidential nominee of a major party.   The latest Time magazine cover really says it all… sporting a picture of Obama with a million-watt smile… the headline says:   “And the winner is….”

Yet Obama and his key spokespeople are giving Clinton some breathing room.   "I think that it would be inappropriate and awkward and wrong for any of us to tell Senator Clinton when it is time for the race to be over," said Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, speaking on a campaign-sponsored conference call with reporters.   "This is her decision and it is only her decision.”  Sen. Chuck Schumer, a staunch supporter of his fellow New Yorker, said, "It's her decision to make and I'll accept what decision she makes." Asked about her chances of still capturing the Democratic nomination, the normally loquacious Schumer fell silent.

Other Democrats preferred to speak more freely, but only on condition of anonymity. They, too, said that Tuesday's primaries in North Carolina and Indiana had effectively sealed the outcome.

SHIFTING SUPERDELEGATES

The only yardstick by which Obama still trails Clinton: the 796 party insiders and elected officials, known as superdelegates, who are free to back either candidate.   And if the trend of the past few days continues, Obama will soon overtake Senator Clinton on this final frontier.   That will be a tipping point that’s likely to encourage a cascade of endorsements from holdouts and seal the nomination for the Illinois senator.

THE CASH GAP

There’s also the money matter.  With six primaries to go, Obama is flush with cash.   Clinton’s campaign concedes she’s out of dough… and on Wednesday we heard she had pumped another $6.4 of her own money into her campaign.   So Bill and Hillary Clinton have poured $11 from their own nest egg into her increasingly bleak prospects of securing the nomination.

Obama has led the money race throughout the primary season and he already has more offices in the upcoming primary states.   He is advertising in several of them, including Oregon and Kentucky.   And – as Politico.com noted this week -- the extreme financial imbalance between the two candidates at this phase underscores the strategic advantage Obama gained by forcing Clinton to spend all her money to capture Pennsylvania and stay in the race.

Clinton's dire financial condition was evident Tuesday night when she opened her Indiana victory speech with an appeal for donations to her web site.   That request was followed up with a late night e-mail blast to supporters celebrating the win and soliciting money.   In that message:  "Tonight's victory in Indiana was close, and a margin that narrow means just one thing: every single thing you did to help us win in Indiana helped make the difference."

The question is:  How many will need that call for help… with the likelihood their cash will wind up going down the drain?

Now… your turn.

I’ll be back with another THIS POLITICAL WEEK on Fri May 16.

Cheers, Bob

HERE IS A REAL EYE OPENER FOR YOU.






Another Monster Layup/Rest Area Discovered by MCDC AZ SEARCH & RESCUE

This is criminal. Food meant for honest children and seniors instead is being diverted to be given to illegal aliens.

The real problem is that our government prefers illegal aliens to innocent, good people.

This needs to stop immediately. In order to get benefits, the immigration status needs to be checked. Citizens get the food, those here illegally deported.

This is theft of food by illegal aliens. Shame on us for allowing the government to give benefits to illegal aliens. Now that we know this, will the Feds fix it or allow it to continue?

SEE STORY BELOW

Senator George Runner has a ballot measure, "Safe Neighborhoods Act" that will give the justice system more funds to control gangs and illegal aliens.

Democrats like Congresswoman Barbara Lee, demand we stop opposing criminals and give the money to other causes.

I proudly support the Runner effort and am working for it on a daily basis.

With Lee and her Lefties opposing it, you know it must be a good measure.

If you would like to help, please sign up here

SEE STORY BELOW

By Steve Geissinger, Contra Costa Times, 5/7/08

SACRAMENTO — Civil rights groups, teachers and clergy — many from the Bay Area — plan to form a coalition today to oppose a pending ballot initiative that they say would divert funds needed for schools and health care into misguided attacks on crime.

The "Safe Neighborhoods Act: Stop Gang, Gun, and Street Crime" aims to bolster law enforcement funds and toughen gang-related crime penalties.

Republican lawmakers and other authors of the proposed initiative submitted petitions bearing voters’ signatures to election officials April 25 in hopes of qualifying it for the November statewide ballot.

U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, said in a statement Tuesday that the "so-called Safe Neighborhoods Act will not lead to safer streets, less crime or a reduction in drug dealing in our community."

"The initiative doesn’t address the core problems or create real solutions," she said. "In light of the current California budget crisis, we cannot afford to irresponsibly spend even more California tax dollars on a failed policy of only funding prisons and criminalizing youth."

Jakada Imani of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights said that the proposal "makes us less safe." Effective public safety results from employment and a strong economy, which is based on a strong school system,’’ Imani said.

Opponents include the California NAACP, the California Federation of Teachers, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and California Church Advertisement IMPACT, the advocacy arm of the California Council of Churches.

Foes of the proposal plan to hold similar news conferences today in Los Angeles and Fresno. Safe Neighborhoods initiative co-author George Runner, a Republican state senator from Lancaster, said in submitting initiative petitions that supporters had "received passionate responses from voters up and down the state for this ballot measure."

"But we are not surprised by their enthusiasm,’’ he said. "Our constituents tell us all the time that they are fed up with gangs and the violence and destruction they bring to our neighborhoods." Other supporters include the senator’s wife, Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, and Mike Reynolds, who championed California’s crime-penalty toughening "three-strikes" law.

A report by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office on the proposal says it would boost funding for police, sheriffs, district attorneys, jails and probation offices by about $365 million annually.

The initiative also would require a few hundred million dollars for operation of prisons that would house additional inmates imprisoned for longer periods.

The measure would bolster penalties for various crimes, including those related to gang participation and recruitment, intimidation of individuals involved in court proceedings, possession and sale of methamphetamine, vehicle theft and gun possession.

Border busts coming and going

A van driver unloads luggage belonging to several passengers being detained by federal agents at the checkpoint just north of the border. The operations occur at random, unannounced times.

 By Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 7, 2008

SAN DIEGO -- U.S. border authorities no longer apprehend illegal immigrants only as they enter the country. Now they're catching them on the way out.

At random times near the Tijuana-San Diego border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have been setting up checkpoints, boarding buses destined for Mexico and pulling off people who don't have proper documentation. The operation appears to be an expansion of a broader federal crackdown targeting illegal immigrants in jails, airports and workplaces across the country.

The checkpoints, which are not announced in advance, are set up on southbound Interstate 5 about 100 yards north of the border. Vehicles in all lanes must stop. Vincent Bond, an agency spokesman, said departing immigrants are fair targets.

"If our officers come upon people who are here illegally . . . regardless of whether they're leaving the country, we detain them, make a record of the fact they were here illegally and return them to Mexico," Bond said.

Immigrant rights groups and other critics say the crackdown is a sad reflection of growing anti-immigrant sentiment in the country.

"The policies of the Bush administration are designed to make life so difficult for immigrants in the U.S. illegally that they're forced to leave. . . . Now they're arresting people who they are actually driving out of the country. . . . Unbelievable," said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, a Washington-based immigration reform group.

But some GOP politicians and anti-illegal immigration organizations praise federal authorities for widening their enforcement efforts. A spokesman for Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon) said agents were simply doing their job.

"Whether people are coming or going . . . checkpoints are just another line of defense that targets illegal behavior," Joe Kasper said.

Customs and Border Protection, which typically provides detailed statistics on apprehensions, would not disclose details of the checkpoint operation. Nor would they say how long it has been underway.

The checkpoints have been randomly deployed since the Sept. 11 attacks, with inspectors typically looking for fugitives, stolen vehicles, weapons, drugs and other contraband.

Illegal immigrants became targets for arrest at the checkpoints only a few months ago, according to immigrant rights groups and human rights organizations in Mexico. It is unclear how frequently the checkpoints have been set up.

But Enrique Morones, president of the Border Angels, a San Diego-based group, said he believes that hundreds of immigrants have been arrested since the crackdown began.

Over a half-hour period April 30, agents appeared to be pulling over every bus and van heading for the border. But any vehicle, including cars, that agents deem suspicious may be stopped and searched.

Inspectors detained five young men from one bus traveling from Los Angeles to Puebla, a city southeast of Mexico City. After the inspectors made their apprehensions, only two passengers remained on-board.

"Pobrecitos (poor people)," said Lily Lujan, who watched the immigrants being arrested as she walked to the border crossing. "They were almost home. If they're already leaving the country, what's the problem?"

Federal agents say the checkpoints are a productive way to stop dangerous criminals, drug shipments and money launderers.

The illegal immigrants they apprehend are typically turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol for processing. Unless they have serious criminal records or numerous immigration violations, most are returned to Mexico within a few hours, the agents say.

Wayne Cornelius, director of the Center of Comparative Immigration Studies at UC San Diego, said he was not aware of similar crackdowns in the past. The checkpoints make sense for intercepting contraband, but targeting illegal immigrants voluntarily leaving the country is a "bizarre" way of handling the illegal immigration question, he said.

Other critics call it an enormous waste of resources and say it could be counterproductive and discourage immigrants from going home.

"There are people that want to go back, and even though they haven't done anything wrong, they might be intimidated from leaving," said Morones of the Border Angels. "It makes no sense."

But groups that fight illegal immigration praise federal authorities for showing more willingness to enforce existing immigration laws aggressively. Focusing on the criminality of people entering the country is only part of the job of border agencies, they say.

Rick Oltman, spokesman for Californians for Population Stabilization, said he hoped that the crackdown on departing illegal immigrants would be expanded to other exit points across the country.

He said apprehended immigrants who returned home to Mexico would become "ambassadors of enforcement" and might help deter illegal immigration.

"Each one of these people will then report increased enforcement to family and friends when they do get home, and that will give them second thoughts about sneaking back into the U.S.," he said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-checkpoint7
-2008may07,0,671538.story

Washington, May 6 - Democrats are prepared to bring to the House floor legislation purportedly written to assist Americans impacted by the recent housing slump. But in recent days, it has become increasingly clear who this legislation is really out to serve: scam artists, speculators, and trial lawyers.

That’s right: the bill forces taxpayers to pay for a massive $300 billion bailout at the expense of innocent victims who truly need assistance and hard-working families who continue to pay their mortgage on time. And it includes language slipped-in by House Democrats at the last minute to fund a giant $35 million slush fund for trial lawyers seeking to capitalize on the housing downturn.

But the goodies for the friends of the Democratic Majority don’t stop there. House Democrats quietly tucked another giveaway into the long, complicated bill in order to benefit their political allies with virtually no prior public scrutiny or debate. Take a look at this political giveaway – “Assistance for the Raza Development Fund” – straight from the text of the bill:

(c) ASSISTANCE FOR RAZA DEVELOPMENT FUND.—

(1) USE.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may make a grant to the Raza Development Fund for the purpose of providing technical and financial assistance to local non-profit organizations to undertake community development and affordable housing projects and programs serving low- and moderate-income households, particularly through organizations located in neighborhoods with substantial populations of income-disadvantaged households of Hispanic origin. Assistance provided by the Secretary under this subsection may be used by the Raza Development Fund…

(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— There is authorized to be appropriated for grants under this subsection—

(A) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; and
(B) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010.

In short, House Democrats are expecting American taxpayers to shell out $25 million to the Raza Development Fund – an arm of the National Council of La Raza and Democratic political ally that has made its name by promoting pro-illegal immigration policies and opposing real border security.

American families are struggling with rising costs for everything from gasoline to food to mortgages. Times like these require Congress to work in a bipartisan way on behalf of the American people. But instead, this Democratic Majority has produced a bill that rewards scam artists, speculators, trial lawyers, and political allies like La Raza…all at the expense of taxpayers and homeowners who really need help. Sadly, it’s yet more example of what American taxpayers have come to expect from a broken Washington under the leadership of House Democrats.

"In the internet age, there are going to be lies that are spread all over the place. I have been victimized by these lies. Fortunately, the American people are, I think, smarter than folks give them credit for." 

--Barack Obama, MSNBC Debate, January 15, 2008

NEWSWEEK: "Dueling chain e-mails claim he's a radical Muslim or a 'racist' Christian. Both can't be right. We find both are false. If these two nasty e-mail messages are any indication, the 2008 presidential campaign is becoming a very dirty one. One claims that Obama is 'certainly a racist' by virtue of belonging to Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, which it says 'will accept only black parishioners' and espouses a commitment to Africa. Actually, a white theology professor says he's been 'welcomed enthusiastically' at the church, as have other non-blacks. Another e-mail claims that Obama 'is a Muslim,' attended a 'Wahabi' school in Indonesia, took his Senate oath on the Koran, refuses to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and is part of an Islamic plot to take over the U.S. Each of these statements is false. These false appeals to bigotry and fear remind us of the infamous whispering campaign of eight years ago, when anonymous messages just before the South Carolina primary falsely accused Republican candidate John McCain of fathering an illegitimate child by a black woman."READ MORE HERE

PROMINENT JEWISH LEADERS: "As leaders of the Jewish community, none of whose organizations will endorse or oppose any candidate for President, we feel compelled to speak out against certain rhetoric and tactics in the current campaign that we find particularly abhorrent. Of particular concern, over the past several weeks, many in our community have received hateful emails that use falsehood and innuendo to mischaracterize Senator Barack Obama's religious beliefs and who he is as a person. These tactics attempt to drive a wedge between our community and a presidential candidate based on despicable and false attacks and innuendo based on religion. We reject these efforts to manipulate members of our community into supporting or opposing candidates."READ MORE HERE

JEWISH U.S. SENATORS: "Over the past several weeks, many in the Jewish community have received hateful emails that use falsehood and innuendo about Senator Barack Obama's religion and attack him personally. As Jewish United States Senators who have not endorsed a candidate for the Democratic nomination, we condemn these scurrilous attacks. We find it particularly abhorrent that these attacks arc apparently being sent specifically to the Jewish Community. Jews, who have historically been the target of such attacks, should be the first to reject these tactics. We won't dignify these falsehoods by repeating them in order to refute them. Instead, we will express our outrage at these tactics, which are being used to demonize a good and decent man and our friend and colleague. Attempting to manipulate voters into supporting or opposing one candidate or another based on despicable and fictitious attacks is disgraceful. These false and malicious attacks should not be part of our political discourse."READ MORE HERE

PBS On Obama Being A Muslim

 VIDEO: PBS On Obama Being A Muslim @YouTube

Los Angeles Times: The Rumors About Obama Are "False And Vile." The Los Angeles Times wrote in an editorial, "That the rumors are false and vile is self-evident...Presidential candidates of both parties have a duty to denounce not only the smear against Obama but the bigotry that underlies it." Los Angeles Times 12/3/07

Obama Spokesman Robert Gibbs Issued A Statement Explaining That "Senator Obama Has Never Been A Muslim, Was Not Raised As A Muslim, And Is A Committed Christian." "Obama's campaign aides have emphasized his strong Christian beliefs and downplayed any Islamic connection. The Illinois senator was raised 'in a secular household in Indonesia by his stepfather and mother,’ his chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said in a statement in January after false reports began circulating that Obama had attended a radical madrasa, or Koranic school, as a child. 'To be clear, Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ in Chicago,’ Gibbs' Jan. 24 statement said." Los Angeles Times 3/17/07

Obama "Beckoning" Felt At Trinity United Church Of Christ, "Submitted Myself To His Will, And Dedicated Myself To Discovering His Truth And Carrying Out His Works." Obama said, "So one Sunday, I put on one of the few clean jackets I had, and went over to Trinity United Church of Christ on 95th Street on the South Side of Chicago. And I heard Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright deliver a sermon called "The Audacity of Hope." And during the course of that sermon, he introduced me to someone named Jesus Christ. I learned that my sins could be redeemed. I learned that those things I was too weak to accomplish myself, He would accomplish with me if I placed my trust in Him. And in time, I came to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world and in my own life. It was because of these newfound understandings that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity one day and affirm my Christian faith. It came about as a choice, and not an epiphany. I didn't fall out in church, as folks sometimes do. The questions I had didn't magically disappear. The skeptical bent of my mind didn't suddenly vanish. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt I heard God's spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth and carrying out His works." Obama's Speech 6/23/07

Obama's Step-Father Saw Religion "As Not Particularly Useful," But Followed "A Brand of Islam" That Made Room for Animist and Hindu Faiths. Obama wrote in the Audacity of Hope, "When my mother remarried, it was to an Indonesian with an equally skeptical bent, a man who saw religion as not particularly useful in the practical business of making one's way in the world, and who had grown up in a country that easily blended its Islamic faith with remnants of Hinduism, Buddhism, and ancient animist traditions." Obama wrote in Dreams from My Father, "Like many Indonesians, Lolo followed a brand of Islam that could make room for the remnants of more ancient animist and Hindu faiths." [Audacity of Hope, p 204; Dreams From My Father, p 37]

Obama Found Faith During Community Organizing Days. "It was at Trinity United Church of Christ here, in the late 1980s, that Senator Obama says he found religion. Raised in a secular household, with ancestral roots running from Islam to Baptist to atheist, Obama had grown up a skeptic. But Mr. Wright's blend of scripture and social action resonated with Obama, then a young community organizer in black neighborhoods ravaged by steel-mill closings."Christian Science Monitor, 7/16/07

VIDEO: CNN Report About Obama's School

CNN Reporter: I've Been to Madrassas in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Obama's Indonesian Elementary School Is Nothing Like That. On January 22, CNN Reporter John Vause reported, "I came here to Barack Obama's elementary school in Jakarta, looking for what some are calling an Islamic Madrassa, like the ones that teach hate and violence in Pakistan and Afghanistan.. I've been to those Madrassas in Pakistan and Wolf, this school is nothing like that." [CNN, Situation Room, 1/22/07]

Indonesian Embassy Says That Besuki School Attended by Barack Obama "Has Never Been an Islamic Madrassah Type of School." A letter from the Indonesian Embassy stated that "Sekolah Dasar Negeri Besuki in Menteng, Jakarta, Indonesia has always been a public school. It has never been an Islamic madrassa type of school." [Letter From Ambassador Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat to Senator Barack Obama, 1/25/07]

Time's Joe Klein: Attacks On Obama's Elementary School Are "Laughable" Given the Moderate Form of Islam Practiced in Indonesia, Especially in Those Days." Time's Joe Klein wrote, "The effort to slime Barack Obama has begun in the slimiest possible way." Describing attacks on Obama's elementary school, Klein wrote, "Now, this is nonsense of course. Obama's stepfather was not a Muslim extremist (among other things, he worked for Shell Oil). Obama attended public school for two years in Indonesia, in addition to the two years he spent in catholic schools--although, as Obama's staff points out, Indonesia is a Muslim country, so the public schools undoubtedly reflect the dominant relgious culture. The notion that the Obama's school was a Wahabi madrasa is laughable, given the moderate form of Islam practiced in Indonesia, especially in those days." Time Blog 1/22/07

Obama has been a member of Trinity United Church Of Christ for twenty years.

 At the gas pumps in this morning, I stare at the swiftly spinning dials, and the cycle of anger begins. Oil Robber Barons strike at the pumps again. I check out at the grocery store, Oil Robber Barons impact the food I eat. I come home and watch the nightly news, Oil Robber Barons, Oil Robber Barons, something about Hilary and Obama, Oil Robber Barons.

It is true that we are a capitalistic society, and our country enjoys the luxury of a free market, but when our economy is driven by Oil Robber Barons, where is the line between a free market society and out of control greed?

The countries that regulate thier oil sales, have a stronger dollar then the U.S. (They are financially stronger than the United States.) Why, because they know their economy is based off the cost of fuel. Do we need the same regulations to protect our country, or do we allow Oil Robber Barons to drive down America until we are a weak, over inflated, hollow country, dependant on the generosity of other nations? 

Obama is less than 200 delegates away from securing the Democratic nomination. Hillary Clinton vows to continue full speed ahead.I must say that I have been very involved in the political process as the core of events have taken place right in my back yard. Special invitations that I took upon myself to attend. I did meet with Caroline Kennedy,Michelle Obama in Hammond for an hour event and Barrack Obama in Munster,Indiana. I did state early on that the plans were to deliver Indiana to Barack Obama. Well it fell short by 2% or 16,000 votes but my home County of Lake came thru as I expected and made it close as Lake County went for Obama. The delegates in Indiana will be about 50/50. but Barack big win in NC widens his lead. So now the race goes on.

It is reported that some of the voters in the southern part of Indiana have the feeling that Barack is a muslim and that if he was sworn in he would be sworn in with his hand on the Quran.In fact bogus e-mails accuse Him of being a Muslim.But Barack has never been a Muslim. And yet others in Indiana note Rev.Jeremiah Wright as being a problem for Barack Obama. It is yet my belief that Senator Obama will win the Democratic Nomination. If you have questions or comments I would like to see them.

Too much misniformation has been spread about Barack Obama, especially on this website.  This is part one of a series about Barack Obama.  Who is he?  His stand on issues as well as the TRUTH about his religion.  No chain emails, no moveon.org, no biased Right Wing or Left Wing media.  I went straight to the source: Barack Obama.  This is his official biography:

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4th, 1961. His father, Barack Obama Sr., was born and raised in a small village in Kenya, where he grew up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British.

Barack's mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in small-town Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression, and then signed up for World War II after Pearl Harbor, where he marched across Europe in Patton's army. Her mother went to work on a bomber assembly line, and after the war, they studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program, and moved west to Hawaii.

It was there, at the University of Hawaii, where Barack's parents met. His mother was a student there, and his father had won a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya and pursue his dreams in America.

Barack's father eventually returned to Kenya, and Barack grew up with his mother in Hawaii, and for a few years in Indonesia. Later, he moved to New York, where he graduated from Columbia University in 1983.

Remembering the values of empathy and service that his mother taught him, Barack put law school and corporate life on hold after college and moved to Chicago in 1985, where he became a community organizer with a church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment.

The group had some success, but Barack had come to realize that in order to truly improve the lives of people in that community and other communities, it would take not just a change at the local level, but a change in our laws and in our politics.

He went on to earn his law degree from Harvard in 1991, where he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. Soon after, he returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer and teach constitutional law. Finally, his advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate, where he served for eight years. In 2004, he became the third African American since Reconstruction to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

It has been the rich and varied experiences of Barack Obama's life - growing up in different places with people who had differing ideas - that have animated his political journey. Amid the partisanship and bickering of today's public debate, he still believes in the ability to unite people around a politics of purpose - a politics that puts solving the challenges of everyday Americans ahead of partisan calculation and political gain.

In the Illinois State Senate, this meant working with both Democrats and Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which in three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families across the state. He also pushed through an expansion of early childhood education, and after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Senator Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

In the U.S. Senate, he has focused on tackling the challenges of a globalized, 21st century world with fresh thinking and a politics that no longer settles for the lowest common denominator. His first law was passed with Republican Tom Coburn, a measure to rebuild trust in government by allowing every American to go online and see how and where every dime of their tax dollars is spent. He has also been the lead voice in championing ethics reform that would root out Jack Abramoff-style corruption in Congress.

As a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Senator Obama has fought to help Illinois veterans get the disability pay they were promised, while working to prepare the VA for the return of the thousands of veterans who will need care after Iraq and Afghanistan. Recognizing the terrorist threat posed by weapons of mass destruction, he traveled to Russia with Republican Dick Lugar to begin a new generation of non-proliferation efforts designed to find and secure deadly weapons around the world. And knowing the threat we face to our economy and our security from America's addiction to oil, he's working to bring auto companies, unions, farmers, businesses and politicians of both parties together to promote the greater use of alternative fuels and higher fuel standards in our cars.

Whether it's the poverty exposed by Katrina, the genocide in Darfur, or the role of faith in our politics, Barack Obama continues to speak out on the issues that will define America in the 21st century. But above all his accomplishments and experiences, he is most proud and grateful for his family. His wife, Michelle, and his two daughters, Malia, 9, and Sasha, 6, live on Chicago's South Side where they attend Trinity United Church of Christ.

Sen. John McCain, the de facto Republican presidential nominee, announced he will attend the national convention of La Raza, a radical Hispanic lobby tied to the movement to reconquer the Southwestern U.S. that was part of Mexico before the Mexican-American War that ended in 1848.

Though La Raza bills itself as a civil rights organization